So, I had revised this and I hit the save button and the site had apparently logged me out. So I had to go back through and revise it again. How great is that?
I introduce Veronica in this chapter. Her role isn't as significant as I had originally intended for it, but it'll pick up - so you Veronica die-hards don't worry. I think I'm going to have to raise my original cap from 3,000 to about 4,000-5,000 words per chapter...cause it just seems to be about the average now. I don't mind the extra writing if you don't mind the extra reading.

Before we delve into this, I'd like a warm shout out to deadpool626 for the encouraging comments. I'd also like to thank everyone else for their wonderful reviews. My ego eats it up, you have no idea. A little bit of encouragement goes a long way. One other thing I'd like to note - something that was brought to my attention a few chapters back - was that it is possible to retrieve Ed-E from Primm on your first pass through. I am aware, but I chose not to for a special reason. I have a special way I'd like to introduce Ed-E into the story. Anyway, enjoy.


Six awoke to the sound of running water. He sat up, stiff from sleeping on the couch, and took a long look around; surveying his environment. The room was empty and quiet, save the sound of running water. Six stood, his duster falling to the floor at his feet, and made his way to the refrigerator. He opened the door, just wide enough to peek inside, and let his weight rest on it. The inside of the fridge was cool and mostly clean. The selection was relatively poor – a bottle of scotch, whiskey, a few beers, and a half dozen bottles of water. Six eyed the scotch but ultimately grabbed one of the waters, twisting off the cap in a single fluid motion and guzzling it down. He turned back to the fridge to quell his grumbling stomach – but the only contents of the fridge were a few cans of Cram, a box of Sugar Bombs, and a couple cans of Pork n' Beans. Six cringed at the thought of eating pre-war food. It just…seemed weird eating food from that long ago. His thoughts were interrupted by a brief tap at the room's entrance. Six lazily closed the refrigerator door and made his way across the room. The door rattled again.

"Hold your horses!" his voice started out loud and drifted to a soft crawl. "I'm coming." Six picked his duster up off the floor, giving it a shake as he did, and slid it on. He opened the door with a yawn. Boone stood motionless; his eyes obscured by his dark glasses. "Yeah?"

"Hey."

Six swallowed, his eyes adjusting to the light and stared at Boone. Boone remained silent, staring right back. "You…want to come in?"

"Yeah."

Six stepped to the side, gesturing his right arm in a wide motion. "Mi casa es su casa."

Boone entered the dim lit apartment without saying anything. He made his way to the couch and sat down. "So. When are we leaving?"

"Didn't you just get off duty? Don't you want to…I don't know. Rest first?"

"No."

Six blinked rapidly a few times, trying to work the sleep from his eyes. "No. Of course not." He stretched and sat down at the foot of the bed, running his fingers through his short ash-brown hair. The room was silent now – the sound of running water coming from the bathroom had hushed sometime between Six looting the fridge and Boone knocking on the door. "Ah…well, Cass isn't ready right yet. Might take her a bit. You could go pack whatever you need."

Boone sat for a long moment, unspeaking.

"Or you could stay here…"

"Here works."

Six dug around the foot of the couch and found his boots. He began unlacing them – he always pulled them off without unlacing them first. That's why he went through them so quickly, he thought. He slid them on and tied them. "Any action last night?"

Boone tilted his head.

"Other than that I mean."

"Raider. Came in from the east. I got him."

Six pressed his lips and shifted a bit. He glanced around the room and saw his hat sitting on the non-functioning television. As he stood to retrieve it the bathroom door swung open and Cass emerged in a rather revealing leopard skin nighty. She stopped when she eyed Boone and turned to Six – who was watching her rather intently. She flipped her shoulder length red hair back and continued drying it. "What? It was in the dresser."

Six shook his head, as if trying to regain composure, and turned back to his hat. Removing it from the television set, he placed it snugly on his head. "Cass, this is Boone. He's going to be traveling with us."

Cass turned to Boone, who sat solemnly on the couch. She smiled. Boone did not. "Well Hi. there."

Boone turned towards her briefly, then turned his gaze from her and back towards the wall. "Hello," Boone's response was barely audible, sounding distant and void.

Cass lowered her brow and turned back to Six. "Are we leaving now? We have these rooms for as long as we want. Jeannie may said…"

"Doesn't matter what Jeannie May said," Boone told her. "She was killed last night, just east of town."

Cass froze. "How?"

Boone didn't answer, so she turned to Six. "Did you know about this?"

"Yeah…" Six rubbed the stubble on his chin. "Raider, came in from the east. She never saw him coming. Boone got the raider, but not before he got a shot off."

"Oh, no," Cass shook her head. "Wasteland's a dangerous place."

Boone huffed but didn't comment. Six glanced at him momentarily, then turned back to Cass. "Well, I guess if you're not wanting to leave now…Ranger Andy did ask me to go check out a station not too far south of here."

Boone turned his icy stare to Six. "Ranger station Charlie?"

"That's the one," Six agreed. "Said that they haven't been responding to his comms. Figured I'd go have a look."

"I'll go with you," Boone told him. "Old friend there, comm officer...Stepinac."

Six nodded and turned back to Cass. "You can just hang around here if you want. We'll be back in a while."

Cass smiled, but the worry in her eyes betrayed her. "Sounds good, hero. Don't go getting yourself shot…again."


Six and Boone walked the tracks south of town. Boone was quiet, only breaking the silence now and then to report any movement he saw along the way. Which was few and far between. At one point he spotted a young gecko, and in the distance to the west, he made short work of a wandering feral ghoul. Six imagined that this is what he must have made McGee feel like days back. "I don't think Cass is in any rush to leave. I can't very well leave her. So we might be hanging around for a few days."

"Hm."

"You don't mind that, do you?"

"Not really." Boone's voice was flat. Somehow void of all emotion. Six twisted his lips up into a ball and continued along the road, periodically snapping his fingers and bringing his hands together in a light clap. He studied the rifle slung around Boone's shoulder, admiring its craftsmanship. The rifle was scoped, with classic camouflage, and an insignia printed just above the clip. It read, "Airborne AA".

"Nice rifle."

"Thanks."

Six shifted uncomfortably again. "Carbine?"

"Yeah."

"What's it chambered?"

"5.56." Boone continued forward – never turning towards Six.

Six didn't say anything else. Just when he was getting used to the silence, Boone spoke. "That girl. Cass. She yours?"

Six grinned. "No. Why, you interested?"

"No," Boone told him in his drab voice. He was silent again for a long while before he finally spoke. "Keep her safe. The Mojave is unforgiving. It'll rip her out from under you."

"Is that what happened with your wife?"

"You got no right asking me that."

"So how do you know she's dead? Shouldn't you at least have faith she's out there somewhere?"

"I just know. Leave it at that. And drop it."

Six drew in a deep breath. It was going to be a long walk.


The first thing Six saw was the blood. Splattered across the wall adjacent to the entrance. The small communications office was dimly lit, two bodies strewn across the floor. A radio somewhere in the room played "Stars of the Midnight Range". Six took a step towards one of the bodies and gave it a nudge. The body responded with a faint beeping. Six tilted his head, analyzing it. The beeping grew louder, and quicker. Before Six could decipher the situation, Boone had him by the collar, throwing him behind a nearby desk and diving on top of him. Six didn't even have time to scream. The body exploded in a shower of bone, blood, and tissue. The radio, which had been perched on the desk, shot across the room and shattered against the wall.

"Holy mother of…what the hell was that?" Six shouted. Ears ringing.

"Frag mine," Boone said, standing up. He didn't seem too affected by the explosion. Six made his way to his feet, fingers digging in his ears.

"God damn…who the hell would do that?"

"Legion," Boone said somberly. He readied his rifle. Six followed suit, his caravan shotgun pressing against his shoulder. Boone took a look at his shotgun, and Six could have sworn he saw a smirk. "I'll go first," he told Six. Boone cautiously opened the door to what appeared to be a barracks room – with bunks and lockers. Boone stopped, kneeling a moment to cut a wire. They proceeded into the room. Inside they found two more bodies. One female, who had been stripped of all clothing and tied across a bunk. The other, a man – bound to the ladder of the same bed. Boone lowered his rifle and looked away. "Stepinac. They made him watch."

Six peered over Boone's shoulder and at the people. "Should we bury them?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because the bastards that did this are still here," He said, stepping back into the main room. "This is a trap."

They made their way back out into the lot – Six guessed that, at some point, this was some sort of trailer park or camp ground. Weapons drawn, they made their way from trailer to trailer, sweeping the area. They found nothing. Six let his shotgun fall to his side and turned to Boone. "Looks like they're not here after all."

Boone didn't answer. He just grunted. Six began making his way to the lot entrance when something caught his eye. Along the left barricade, in the brush was a body. Six made his way to it. "Legion," Boone confirmed. Six gave the body a light tap with his foot. It didn't react. He examined the body – the armor consisted of red and black fabrics and shoulder pads. Equipment from some prewar sport. The headwear was what stood out – it was the skinned head of a fox. But, perhaps more importantly, Six took notice of the shades. Six casually bent over to pick them up; as he did, he heard the familiar whip of a bullet flying through the air. Behind him, a large flag pole rang deafeningly. "Gah, what the fuck?" Six hit the ground and rolled around beside the barricade. "Boone? You alright?"

"Yeah!" Boone had ducked behind the opposite barricade. "Legion sniper! Up on the ridge."

"What the hell do we do now?"

"Draw his fire!" Boone shouted, still staying low.

"How?"

"Think of something! I'll take him out!"

Six's breathing was erratic. He frantically searched his surroundings. Then, an idea. Six crouched and withdrew his shotgun. Placing his hat on the end of it, he held his shotgun vertically, and began walking along the white stone wall – being certain to keep the hat just visible. Another shot sent Six's hat spiraling into the building. Boone immediately stood, rifle at the ready. He fired three shots in quick succession, then he began scanning the ridgeline. "Clear." Boone examined the flag pole, "Close one."

Six turned the shades over in his hands. "Must be lucky…was there just the one?" Six asked, lifting his hat and running his finger through a fine hole left in the wake of the bullet.

"No," Boone said, voice low. "Three."


Six and Boone made their way through the motel gates just before noon. They had been gone a couple of hours. Six turned to Boone, "I suppose I should go tell Andy what we found."

"No," Boone rubbed his forehead. "No. It should be a fellow soldier to deliver this news. I'll take care of it."

Six nodded lightly. "Yeah. I'll be in the room."

"Well."

Six began making his way up the stairs when Cass's jacket caught his eye. She had strung her clothes to the banister. Six raised an eyebrow and opened the motel door. Cass lay across the bed, still in the leopard skin nightwear, reading some pre-war book. She looked up at him, "Nice shades. Took you guys long enough."

Six held up his hat, finger through the hole. "Ran into company."

Cass sat up, "Are you hurt?"

"Nope. Boone's a hell of a shot though."

"Yeah, he has that look about him," Cass smiled and her eyes wistfully shined.

"What look?" Six asked, eyebrows slightly curled.

"You know…the kind of rugged, soldier boy quality that girls go gaga over."

"Oh…Well, good news for you then. He says you're a catch."

"Oh, he's not my type," she grinned. "Much too serious."

Six returned her grin.

"Well," Cass said, standing up. "I'm going to go check my laundry. Then, we need to find some food." Cass brazenly made her way out onto the walkway to retrieve her clothing – despite her scanty attire. After a beat, she returned and made straight for the bathroom, leaving the front door open. Boone walked into the motel room shortly after. Six tossed his hat onto the bed and sat down at a small rusted dining table.

"Have a seat," he said, gesturing towards the neighboring chair. Boone sat down. "How'd Andy take it?"

"As well as anyone could expect."

Six sighed and Cass rejoined them from the bathroom. "I'm starving," she said – more to Boone than Six. "Anywhere to eat around here?"

"Small kitchen area in a tent out next to the gas station," Boone lethargically responded.

Cass curled her lips. "Anything else nearby?"

"Trading post a little ways north of here. About an hour's walk. A little café there. Food's good enough I suppose."

Cass turned towards Six. "Can we go?" She asked, eyes and voice full of anticipation. Six couldn't help but laugh.

"Why not?"

Cass beamed. "I hope they serve alcohol."


The 188 trading post was hardly worthy of its name. The three sat down at a long picnic table across from what was presumably the café's bar. Six tapped the table and waited. Before long a young, strawberry blonde woman made her way to them, laying a few menus out before Six. "Welcome to the 188 Slop and Shop. I'm Michelle. I'll be serving you today."

Six greeted the woman with a wide smile. "I think we might need a moment, doll," he said gently.

She returned his smile, "Just give me a wave when you're ready."

Six gave her a nod and wink. "I'll do that, pretty." He distributed the menus between them. Cass scooped up the menu with exuberance and began mulling over the choices. Boone did not. He glanced down at the menu casually and pushed it across the table. The menu's selection was by no means impressive – but it certainly beat anything stashed in the fridge at Novac. Six eyed the menu: grilled mantis, dog steak, brahmin burger, bighorner steak, desert salad, bloatfly slider…just to name a few. Six curled his lips and looked at his comrades. "You guys about ready."

"Yes…no," Cass brought her hand to her lips. "Yes."

Six looked at Boone, who gave him an indifferent shrug. Six had barely raised his hand when Michelle reappeared at his side, smiling from ear to ear. "Y'all ready to order?"

"I'll have a gecko steak. Medium rare. Baked potato, well done. With agave sauce," Boone told her, voice flat.

"And to drink?"

"Nuka."

"We have original, Victory, and I think we have a Quartz."

"Victory."

"And you ma'am?"

"Desert salad, and a lakelurk egg…scrambled. And for the drink, whiskey, please," Cass smiled.

"And you, sir?"

Six bit his lower lip. "Surprise me, pretty…and, you see that woman sitting at the table across from us by herself?" Six motioned towards a woman sitting at the adjacent table. Her attire consisted of worn rags halfway resembling a robe, and a tattered hood.

The waitress looked up, "Oh Vee? Yeah, she comes here often. Never orders anything. Just watches the people."

"Yeah, get her something too. My treat. And tell her she's more than welcome to join us."

Michelle smiled and made her way over to the robed woman. Six couldn't hear what she said, but the woman looked over at Six and smiled. Michelle began making her way back to the kitchen area, and the woman slid onto the bench across from Cass. "Hi," she greeted them, smile on her face. "I'm Veronica. Most people call me Vee."

Six returned her smile, as did Cass. "Well, Vee. I'm Six. The image of beauty sitting across from you is Cass," – Cass gave Veronica a quick nod, tipping her hat as she did – "And the stone sitting beside you is Boone."

"Six huh? Neat name. You all look like you've traveled a long way. Where'd you come from?"

Boone shifted uncomfortably, inching away from the overtly friendly woman.

"Goodsprings. Well, that's where I started out anyway. I don't rightly remember anything before there..."

"Wow, you have come a long way then. I've never been there myself, but I've heard about it. Best bottled water in the Mojave."

Six smiled. "It's a hole in the ground really. Nothing particularly impressive."

Veronica's grin widened. "Funny you should mention that. I kind of live in a hole in the ground. A bunker, really…but my way is catchier."

Michelle reappeared at the table side, quickly serving the group their drinks. "That's…A Nuka-Cola Victory for the soldier boy, bottle of whiskey for the cowgirl, a bottle of Jake Juice for the charmer," she smiled, "and…an atomic cocktail for my darlin' Vee."

Veronica's face beamed. "Oh, you know me just too well!"

Six lifted his bottle, "Jake…juice?"

Cass' widened her eyes, bringing her whiskey bottle back to the table. "That is really hard to come by." Six shrugged.

Boone turned towards Veronica, popping the cap off of his Victory and pocketing it. "A bunker? Only bunkers around here are what's left of vaults, or Brotherhood. Vault 3's inhabitants were wiped out. Vault 34 settled at Nellis, they don't mingle with the outside world. Other vaults are destroyed, overrun, or worse. You don't look like a city girl, so I'm willing to bet against Vault 21. You're Brotherhood."

Veronica's grin faded. Cass quickly spoke up, "Brotherhood's not so bad. A little misunderstood. Misguided, maybe."

"I know, right? Protecting people from technology seems like a big job for such a small group. Plus, tech just doesn't seem to be that relevant to most people's lives."

Boone's eyes narrowed behind his glasses. "Protecting?"

Veronica sank a little. "I know…we've made a lot of enemies. The Brotherhood is failing…but they're my family."

Cass cast Boone a harsh stare, rivaling Boone's own.

Six smiled at Veronica. "Well, Vee. You're more than welcome to have dinner with us. Brotherhood, or no Brotherhood. There are worse people out there."

Boone took a quick breath. "That's the truth. My mind right now is on the Legion. I don't really want it on anything else."

Veronica smiled at him, "So, where are you guys headed?"

"The Strip. Going to see a friend."

"Wow…must be an interesting bit of history between you two...for you to travel such a long way, I mean."

Six grimaced. "…to say the least."

"Gecko steak and baked potato…" Michelle sat a plate down in front of Boone, then turned to Veronica…"Double brahmin burger and potato crisps."

"My favorite," Veronica smiled, lightly clapping her hands.

Michelle returned her smile, "I'll be right back with your food," she said, eyes on Cass and Six.

Six eyed Veronica's right hand, "Speaking of interesting, that's a nice piece of equipment you've got there."

Veronica grinned, holding the yellow and black amalgamation of steel and cloth high for all to see. "Yeah. I call this baby Two-Step. What can I say? I like punching things. It's a gift."

Michelle returned, toting two plates. "A desert salad and lakelurk egg," she said, smiling at Cass. "And the house special for my favorite customer." She sat the plate down in front of Six, who smiled graciously. He eyed the plate for a moment…"My daddy makes the best fire ant fricassee this side of the Colorado," she told him proudly.

Six swallowed, "Thanks, pretty." He turned back to Veronica. "So, Two-Step?"

"Yeah. You know…cause if you step up, I'll take one step forward and send you two steps back."

Boone choked a moment, bringing his hand to his mouth. He cleared his throat, "Excuse me."

Veronica raised an eyebrow. Six couldn't help but grin."So, doesn't it make shooting difficult?"

"At first. But I've learned to cope. I shoot left handed now. I'm really flexible," She told him playfully.

Six laughed. "You'll have to show me some time."

"Not unless you suddenly turn into a leggy brunette, with a c-cup at least."

It was Cass' turn to choke. Her eyes wide, she looked back and forth between Veronica and Six. Six really didn't know how to respond.

"So, how'd you guys meet?"

"Uh...ah...We ran into each other at the Mojave Outpost," Cass said, casually chewing her salad. "Six helped me out. So I figured I'd tag along with him until we find this friend of his. I look forward to adding a bit of red to his checkered suit."

Six laughed. "We did a little bit of traveling around Primm and Nipton."

Cass shook her head. "What's left of Nipton."

Boone eyed her. "What's left?"

"Yeah. Legion attacked it. We snuck through."

Veronica shook her head. "Ordinary guys with guns and bullets…and they're taking over Nevada."

"How many were there?" Boone's voice was icy.

"Shit, two dozen maybe…heard one of the Legionnaires talking to his c.o. What'd he call him?" Cass' face crumpled...she couldn't recall.

Six rubbed the back of his head. "Ah…Vol…something? Maybe. He wore one of those fox hide helmets."

"Vulpes?" Boone's stiffened.

"Yeah. That's it," Six confirmed, finishing up his fiery treat.

"We have to go. Now."


Boone dropped to one knee, lifting the thin sheet near the foot of his bed. One arm disappeared underneath, and after a beat, he withdrew a long silver case. He tossed it onto his bed and popped it open. Inside Six made out the shape of an elongated rifle. Boone lifted the rifle, bringing it to his shoulder, staring down the scope. It was a sniper rifle – top choice, of that there was no doubt. Desert camouflage decorated its entirety. Boone pulled his carbine from his shoulder, and tossed it to Six. "You're going to need this," he said, pulling a long leather strap out of the case and attaching it to his rifle. He then turned back to the case and withdrew something else, he turned back to Six. "Welcome to the club…" he pushed a red beret into Six's chest. "Let's go."

Six found himself lying flat in the dirt on the mountainside overlooking Nipton. The sun had long set and Nipton was lit up by torchlight. Boone lay beside him, binoculars in hand. "I'm counting twenty six of them."

"I don't think the two of us can take that many," Six admitted. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. It felt as though it would jump out at any moment.

"We don't need to," Boone told him. "We just need to take one. Any after that are an added bonus."

Boone continued to scan Nipton. The crucified residents were long dead – crows nipped at their corpses. They sat there for what seemed like an eternity before Boone finally sat the binoculars down. "There, coming out of the town hall."

Six peered through his scope. Vulpes was making his way through Nipton, examining the inhabitants that were unlucky enough to be enslaved. He turned to Boone. "What's the plan?"

"We'll go north. Through Primm Pass. They won't follow us through there."

"Why?"

Thunder echoed across the valley. Vulpes hit the ground with a dull thud. Thunder again. Before Six had time to aim, Boone had emptied a clip and had reloaded. He began firing again. Six took aim - he wasn't accustomed to distance shooting, so his aim wasn't particularly true. But he managed to take out a few. It didn't take the Legion long to figure out where their attackers were shooting from. They began firing back. Before long, just over a dozen remained.

Boone turned to Six. "Low on ammo. Run."

The duo made their way along the mountain. Boone had taken out a few of their pursuers, and Six had taken a few unfruitful shots. Before long, they came to an opening…Boone paused, "Through there."

"Shouldn't we be…finding a cave or something?"

"They won't follow us through here. And the ones that do won't make it out."

"Why?"

"Deathclaws." Boone began making his way through the pass, crouched – weapon at the ready.

Six followed closely behind him. "Did you…uh. Did you say deathclaws?"

Boone didn't answer. He pressed his finger to his lips – pointing ahead. In the dark, Six could just make out four of them, hunched over and fast asleep. Behind them, Six could hear Legionnaires making their way to the entrance of the pass. If they caught up with them before they were able to sneak through…

Six stopped. Boone was searching his pockets. After a beat, he pulled out a miniature pistol…no, not a pistol. A flare gun. Boone turned to Six. In a hushed voice he spoke – "When I fire this, run. There's a shack on the other side of those rocks. We'll take cover there until things die down."

Before Six had the chance to agree or oppose, one of the deathclaws began to stir, sniffing the night air around it. Boone raised the flare gun and fired. The deathclaws flew into a fit of panic - they frenzied. Behind them, the Legion was closing in. Six and Boone made their way to their feet and ran. Past the deathclaws. But Six didn't stop. He kept going, past the shack. Six was terrified, and Boone...he stayed right with Six. They didn't stop, not even when the screams of the Legion filled the night air around them. They ran. All the way back to Novac.


I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Two more and I'll be starting Dead Money. I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty excited. Until next time.