In the Atomic Wrangler had a few dozen clients but they were mostly in the casinos gambling their money having a grand time. Yet the cheery and flamboyant spending they took pleasure in remained confined to the Blackjack tables and slot machines while Darrel and Loogie among a smattering of empty chairs facing a silent stage. At the moment neither of them cared about the surroundings or if there was any entertainment, given an ultimatum on leaving the Rangers or stay and march to their deaths. Given that the young men believed in the Ranger's as an organisation they felt their current leader had made a bad choice over how to handle the Raiders.

"They've probably made it to the Ruins by now," Loogie assumed.

Darrel said nothing; he simply sat in his chair looking at the glass of whisky in his hand before taking another sip. Now with no place to call home and no longer a Ranger he thought his future seemed rather bleak and without a proper direction there would be little opportunity for either him or his friend. Putting his glass down on the table in front of him Darrel started to look around only to feel old memories resurface. In the corner of the room, by the stairs that went up to the second floor, Darrel remembered a certain Friday night when he and Loogie had been hired as additional security by the Garret Twins, the Casino's owners. On that night one very drunk patron decided he didn't like the way James Garret was speaking to him, in an attempt to smash a bottle over his head the intoxicated patron slipped and fell to the floor. While Darrel and Loogie were charged with taking him up to his room the drunken gambler vomited onto the wall and floor as he was carried up. In this silence Darrel let out a muffled laugh just loud enough for Loogie to pick up on.

Turning his head back toward the stairway Loogie realised what Darrel was thinking about without even asking him, "…let me guess, the guy who bathed all over the wall?"

Darrel looked Loogie right in the eyes and within moments they broke out in hysterical laughter uncontrollably yet enjoyed reminiscing old times. As this brief sensation of joy slowly faded the smiles that reached from ear to ear they both had eroded at a snail's pace, with the near future seeming bleak and without much opportunity one of them had to decide on a course of action they should follow. With everything they could do compared to what was available Darrel had to confer with Loogie before he made a decision. Leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees Darrel asked, "How many caps you got saved up?"

Loogie leaned back in his chair as he thought about it, "A couple of hundred, why?"

"Simply put, we should get out of Vegas for a while. We could go down south and work as hired guns,"

Loogie became tense at the very idea but hardly flinched when he heard the words. Taking a mouthful of whisky which caused all the hairs on his neck to stand to attention Loogie replied, "…hardly worth it….We can handle anything out there but the Legion, Fuck that! I'd rather have the Raiders shoot my balls off"

"We've hardly left Vegas in our lives. Don't you wanna see what's out there? So long as we stick to the main roads we should avoid the Legion easily,"

"Alright. So we leave Vegas, where should we be heading exactly because I don't fancy just wondering around the desert for the rest of my days,"

"Novac, it's a town to the south where we can look for work and take some time off. Downside is its somewhat far from Vegas but we could do with the exercise,"

Loogie took one last mouthful and in doing so finished his drink. Placing his glass on the table beside Darrel's he wondered what the future would hold for the two of them, now they no longer had any ties to Vegas that bound them to the city he did feel a vague amount of excitement slowly taking hold with what could await them. Cautious of what they might encounter out in the wasteland the two tried not to focus on the negatives while picturing what will await them.

"You ain't gonna throw me out!" someone cried.

Both Darrel and Loogie looked to see two men from security were dragging a disgruntled gambler toward the door. Reaching into his jacket and pulling out a revolver all of the security guards instantly jumped back, firing rapidly and randomly bullets flew through the air hitting bottles, ceiling fans and even other patrons. For obvious reasons both of the former rangers dropped to the ground with their hands over their heads. Hiding under their chairs Darrel managed to mumble, "Kind of glad to be leaving. To avoid shit like this from happening"

With his face close to the aged carpet that generated a terrible stench Loogie shared another memory in the Wrangler, "I got my shoulder grazed last time I was here. Remind me, why did we decide to come here again?"

"Cheap drinks,"

When the Revolver ran out of bullet the guards pulled the weapon from his hand and started punching the gambler. As the two got up from under the chairs confusion had taken hold of the room with a clear opportunity to leave without paying. Darrel looked toward the bar and saw the Garrets were not there and no other guard even knew he was there, without thinking he ran toward the doorway and shouted back to Loogie, "come on, race ya to the city gates!"

Loogie's inner child took control of his mind and with a jubilant expression he willing chased after his friend as they bolted for the door. Darrel kicked it open with his foot and ran out into the street. Just as he reached the poorly constructed archway to the northern entrance to Vegas came into his sights Loogie charged through just as the Wrangler's door slammed shut. Everything serious they needed to take into account had slipped from their minds and in that moment of time they felt like there were children again. Blissfully ignorant of the world around them and what lay waiting in the Mojave.