CHAPTER SEVEN

THE BURDEN OF TRUST

MONDAY, APRIL 16TH, 2282, LAKE LAS VEGAS

Journeying across the Mojave to the site that Hanlon's body was found didn't turn out to be all that bad. They expected to run into more trouble than they did. Only things that had bothered the trio was a pack of vicious dogs and some Radscorpions. All were dispatched during the travel with relative ease. In terms of speaking and co-operation between the three men, it'd been a little harder. Brendan was the only one without much to say for once. Shaun wasn't happy at all about what they were doing and made that quite clear. Connor was eager to get to the bottom of everything but was still navigating a web of confusion. The ex-legionary was still very unsure of what he was being asked to do and why. He still believed that General Oliver hadn't told him the full truth in their private meeting and that Connor was keeping something from him and the truculent Brotherhood Knight. Throughout the whole walk from McCarran to the lake, Brendan had wanted to broach the subject and get his answers but he just couldn't seem to find the right time.

Having arrived at the site and area that Hanlon's body was discovered just days earlier, the trio were met by two NCR soldiers. Fully uniformed and kitted out, they looked just like any other soldiers of the Republic. Almost like cannon fodder. Connor stepped forward to greet them, shaking their hands and making general chat away from Brendan and Shaun, who had stayed back a few yards on the crusty road.

"This is bullshit." Shaun turned to Brendan.

Brendan didn't respond nor make eye contact. Instead he just silently nodded in agreement.

"You trust him?" Shaun asked, pointing towards Connor.

"He did save my life. And me his. But do I know him enough to trust him? No."

"What did the fucking General tell you? That our help towards the Republic will go down as heroic and they'll reward us with our freedom? Did he spout you that shit too?" Shaun asked, his voice low.

Again, Brendan didn't answer, but what Shaun had said was true. That was exactly the same thing that Oliver had told him. It might not have been a load of bullshit, but the chances were more likely that it was. It didn't matter what the circumstances were, the NCR were not in the business of helping out members of the Brotherhood or the Legion. Even if a person was no longer a part of said faction.

"Come on, it's over here!" Connor shouted to his comrades down the road.

Brendan and Shaun reluctantly followed their acquaintance and the two NCR soldiers. They were led over a hill and eventually to the site of a small, dried up patch of blood. It wasn't even red anymore. Scorching sun and dust had turned it a dull brown. From the blood patch, stretching all the way back to the road, was the same tracks left by Hanlon's body and his killer. Thankfully, the soldiers who'd found him were smart enough to leave the tracks untouched. Since the body had been taken back to Camp Golf the day it was found and checked over by medics, the only reason for the trio to be here was to get some form of perspective. Instinctively it seemed, the two NCR troopers distanced themselves from Brendan, Connor and Shaun. They'd obviously been told what the three men were there to do and therefore let them do their job. Brendan watched as Connor naturally became the first to inspect the blood and the tracks, kneeling down over them and looking close.

"Oliver said he was 'slaughtered'. Could've been overdramatic but the amount of blood here doesn't warrant that word being used." Connor inspected and then said to the soldiers.

The two NCR's looked at one another and then back to Connor.

"Well his throat was slit... He did have more blood on himself than he left on the ground." One soldier said, his voice muffled by his facemask.

"You're saying you found him?" Brendan then asked.

"Yeah, that's why command asked us to show you."

Brendan then walked over to Connor who was still looking over the blood. He knelt down beside the former medic.

"Throat slice. That's definitely a personal touch, wouldn't you say?" Brendan asked Connor, his voice low.

The former NCR soldier nodded. "Just a patch of blood isn't enough to go on, though. And I'm not so good with working out tracks."

Brendan instantly swerved around and pointed out at the sandy gravel below their feet.

"Two sets of tracks over here." Brendan stood up, Connor watching. "One was Hanlon's feet, already long dead. You can tell by the fact that they're almost like a line, just a little bumpy."

Connor stood up too and followed Brendan.

"The other tracks... Are the person who was dragging him." The ex-legionary concluded.

That part even made Shaun interested. He'd been standing a few yards away keeping an eye out for any trouble.

"So he had his throat cut, dragged for awhile out to this place and then just... posed out here." Shaun asked, pointing with his fingers.

Brendan gave an almost apologetic nod to Connor, Shaun and even the NCR soldiers.

"And he was dragged for quite some time. These tracks go all the way back to the fucking road we were on." Brendan further added.

Connor stood thinking for a minute, scratching his chin stubble.

"What we're getting to is... that whoever did this, put him out here to be found. For a reason." Connor slowly theorised, looking back at the blood patch.

"Well it doesn't look as though they were trying to hide him does it?" Shaun began, approaching the scene closer. "I mean if whatever piece of shit did this managed to sneak into Camp Golf, get Hanlon out without alerting anyone, slit the guys throat and then drag him away. If they wanted to hide him, I'd say there'd have been more than capable."

Brendan and Connor looked at each other. Shaun was right. No question.

"I guess the million cap question is, why'd they put him in plain sight to be discovered?" Said the former Vexillarius.

Connor thought about that question for a minute and then turned to the NCR soldiers.

"Hanlon still have his own office up at Camp Golf?" Connor asked, pointing at them.

"Yeah of course."

"And it hasn't been touched or entered by anyone since he was found dead?"

"Not by us."

Connor then turned to Brendan and Shaun. "Alright, we inspect his office. Whatever's in there, on his computer or such, might give us some better insight."

"Alright, lead the way." Brendan responded.

Connor then walked over to the soldiers and asked them to take him, Brendan and Shaun to Hanlon's office up at Camp Golf. Promptly, the soldiers did as they were asked and the five men all set off back.

TEN MINUTES LATER...

"When are we gonna brace him?" Shaun whispered to Brendan.

Connor was again up front a few yards with the soldiers leading the way.

"When the time's right." Brendan responded quietly.

"We've had more than enough time, Brendan." Shaun said with a dose of impatience.

"But never the right time, remember that part." Brendan turned to him for a second, trying to keep the conversation discreet.

"I'm not going any further with this investigation shit until I know exactly what I'm doing here." Shaun slowed down to a stop and told his friend.

Brendan had to quickly double back just to get Shaun on the move again.

"I'm with you on that, but we gotta time this right. The NCR's fucking all around us right now and they probably all know why we're here. You really wanna be seen to interrogate our partner in the eyes of everyone here?" Brendan told Shaun, making him realise the impulsiveness of his intentions.

Shaun didn't reply but he did keep on walking. He could see they were just entering the grounds of Camp Golf now and truly didn't want to draw attention, so he listened to Brendan and shut up.

Camp Golf was big but tiny in comparison to places like Camp McCarran. There were two long rows of NCR tents outside the main three-story House Resort. Tents used for a variety of things from H.A.M Radio stations, medical units to simply being full of sleeping bags. As the trio were led through this area, they caught the eyes of practically every soldier there. It didn't seem to bother Connor as he'd been one of those soldiers in the past. Getting looks from them meant nothing. Brendan took it all with a grain of salt. The ex-legionary didn't care for anyone or their opinion of him, but he distrusted them all the same. Shaun was the man who, rightly so, felt the most watched. Given he was still wearing his rundown Light Recon Armour, synonymous with the Brotherhood, all the soldiers knew who he was and where he came from. Out of all three men, Shaun wanted to get outer there the most. Luckily for him, it only took another couple of minutes to reach the main doors of the Camp Golf House Resort. Once inside, Brendan and Shaun were taken aback by the sheer scale of just the lobby reception area. It was like a slightly dirtier version of a fancy hotel in New Vegas.

"Fuck me..." Brendan whispered aloud, taking it in. Given that he'd always been part of the Legion, he'd never really came across places like this.

Two huge staircases at both left and right ends of the lobby towered over them and in-between, on ground level, a long corridor leading to the Camp Golf offices.

"Hanlon's office is still down there, last on the left." One of the leading soldiers pointed.

"Alright, thanks. We'll let you know when we're done." Connor shook their hands. Something which really bothered Shaun.

Once the two soldiers had walked back outside, the trio all looked at each other, waiting for someone to make the first step towards Hanlon's office. Naturally it ended up being Connor as he was by default the only one of them who had been there before. The building was real quiet, not many soldiers around at all thanks to all the weird ambushes. Just like McCarran but even more empty. Despite that, for some reason Brendan had an odd feeling in his gut. Something only a man with Legionary training could feel. Almost like he was being watched, but he couldn't work out who by. Carefully, he put it to the side of his mind to focus on whatever they'd find inside Hanlon's office. Connor opened the door as soon as they arrived at the end of the dimly lit, creaking corridor.

"What the fuck?" Connor's voice raised.

Much to the trio's dismay, Hanlon's office appeared to have been ransacked. Papers were all over the floor and his desk, the drawers of which were open, one pulled out on the floor. The terminal computer on his desk had been used, all that was left on the screen was the green digital letters reading 'FILES DELETED'.

Shaun noticed this and pointed. "Somebody didn't want someone else to see something."

Two cabinets had been pulled over onto the floor and rummaged through. Connor put a hand on his forehead with stress and wiped away the small sweat patch that had formed.

"This is a fucking mess... right?" Connor turned to his partners, confused.

Brendan took a long look around the destroyed office. "Well if it's not, it'll certainly do until the real mess arrives."

Connor turned and slammed the office door shut with a real hard thud that echoed down the dead corridor. If there was any soldiers in the building at all, they'd have heard that. Shaun took a moment to stand one of the fallen cabinets back up whilst Connor walked over and sat down in Hanlon's desk chair. Brendan remained by the door.

"Someone's been here before us. Maybe the same motherfucker who killed him." Connor said, his voice straining.

Shaun took a quick glance through the files in the cabinet, or whichever one's were left in the large drawers, then turned to Connor who had slumped over onto the desk.

"What were we even supposed to look for in here?" Shaun asked.

"Mainly whatever was on his computer. But clearly whatever was on there is gone now. For fuck sake." Connor replied, his voice muffled.

Shaun took Connor's demeanour as a cue. The Brotherhood Knight looked at Brendan and then gestured toward the sunken medic. Brendan turned around slowly and pushed the bolt on the door, locking all men inside.

"Alright, Connor. We want answers. Now." Brendan said very sternly.

Connor finally lifted his head back up with a confused look at both his partners.

"What the fuck does that mean?"

With that, Shaun bolted over the small office and grabbed Connor with both hands, dragged him out of the chair and threw him against one of the grotty walls. The former medic hit with a painful thud and then found himself grabbed again, this time from behind. Shaun pulled Connor's arms behind his back and kept them there, turning the former Republic soldier to face Brendan.

"Are you fucking mad?!" Connor shouted, clearly in pain from the hit against the wall.

"No we're pretty calm, Connor. Really calm, believe me. Just a bit jaded." Said the ex-legionary.

"Shaun, let go of me. Let go of me now." Connor tried to reason, his voice still a strain.

"Nah, I think it's better if we don't for now, Kirkbride. If it's all the same to you." Shaun responded, tightening the hold on his arms.

Connor groaned and grunted in pain from the pressure. He wasn't stupid and he knew that his partners weren't either. He knew exactly what was happening here, it'd just been a matter of time.

"What is it you both want from me?" Connor finally asked after taking a moment to clear his throat and catch his breath.

"The truth." Brendan instantly replied.

"That's pretty fucking vague, Sawyer."

Again, Shaun tightened the hold, causing Connor more pain. It felt as though his arms could break if it got any worse.

"What are we both doing here? Me and Shaun?" Brendan asked, his eyes wide and his face close.

"Helping me... That's why you're here. If there's another motive behind it... I don't fucking know it." Connor replied, out of breath again and his eyes closed.

"Sure. We're here to help you and this back-ass-wards investigation, but why are we really here? Because with Shaun being a Brotherhood Knight and me a former member of the Legion, it rings loud alarm bells that the cunts down at McCarran would send us on a mission with you." Brendan scolded Connor.

"What's the other reason we're here, Connor?" Shaun asked into the medics ear.

Connor didn't know how to present the explanation to them. One slip up here and Shaun could snap both his wrists. He had to be real careful.

"Oliver doesn't know who killed Hanlon or who's behind all these random ambushes on NCR squads around the wastes. That's why we're here, doing this." Connor began, breathing heavily. "But naturally, he casts suspicion on the two main enemy factions of the Republic. Those being... Caesar's Legion and the Brotherhood of Steel."

Brendan looked at Shaun for a second and then back to Connor. "Go on."

"He thought the two of you might be good assets to me on this mission... But he also sent you both along to have me keep tabs on you... find out if either the Brotherhood or the Legion had anything to do with all this." Connor finally revealed, spit drooling down his chin and his whole face down.

Brendan got his answer. And it hadn't even taken much pressure or pain to get it out of the former medic who would've undoubtedly been trained to resist interrogation. It was at that point Brendan knew that Connor was being pressured by the powers that be just as much as he and Shaun were. Connor didn't really know why he was here or what was going on, he just wanted to know who killed Hanlon.

"So you're spying on me?" Shaun growled in Connor's ear again.

"They kinda asked me to... But I haven't been. Trust me." Connor said, his voice a low whisper.

"That's bullshit." Shaun sternly replied.

Connor snapped. "Oh 'the fuck, it's bullshit?! I had the option to take this mission on or not, I didn't want to get involved in any of this! The only fucking reason I came to McCarran is because of you two! Once I heard two prisoners were gonna help me on this, you think that didn't raise my own damn alarm bells?!" Connor shouted, sick and tired of the situation.

The desperation in Connor's voice rang true to Shaun's ears finally. The Brotherhood Knight's face fell and had a hint of sadness on it. Slowly and gently, he let go of the hold and both him and Brendan watched as Connor stretched his arms, pulled out his bottle of whiskey and sat in Hanlon's chair again.

"I'm sorry... I just needed the truth." Brendan told Connor from the opposite side of the desk.

Connor took a gulp of his whiskey and just respectfully nodded to both Brendan and Shaun.

"One more question though..." Brendan started. "Before we left McCarran, who was that guy you spoke to at the top of the escalator?"

Connor looked at Brendan and then his face twisted. "Oh you saw that, huh?"

Brendan just glared and nodded. Shaun hadn't seen it, but hearing this, he became even more interested in the conversation.

Connor took another drink. "That was Colonel James Hsu. Second in command under Oliver. But man... you should've seen him. He looked like he'd been haunted by ghosts. I'd never seen him like that. Like he was scared."

"What do you mean?" Shaun asked.

"He told me that he was supposed to meet Hanlon yesterday. Discreetly and seemingly under the nose of everyone else. Why? I don't know and neither does Hsu now since Hanlon ended up lacerated."

Brendan's eyebrows lowered, something was going on here. Something deep and dark.

"I don't like it. I don't like any of this." Brendan told both Connor and Shaun.

"Nah me neither. Seeing Hsu like that, like he was frightened, was fucking weird. He's the goddamn Colonel, why would he be scared? And what the fuck did Hanlon know for them both to have to meet privately?" Connor asked his friends.

"What else did he tell you? Because this office gives us nothing to go on. Someone's already been here and taken whatever evidence we could've used." Said the ex-legionary.

"He said that Hanlon had info... Bad info that Hsu had to hear. He said that Hanlon couldn't give it to him in public view and that they were supposed to meet up at the old REPCONN site. It's near Scorpion Gulch." Connor told his partners after another drink.

All three men went quiet. The situation was revealing itself ever so slowly. It had became almost clear that Hanlon had been killed after finding out something he shouldn't have. What that was was still very unknown, and whoever had raided the slain Chief's office had possibly taken away whatever evidence there was on that matter. Brendan paced around on the spot for a minute, wondering what the best course of action would be. Shaun stood silent, his face blank. He hated the NCR but after hearing Connor out and what the Colonel had told him, Shaun now wanted to really find out what was happening. If there was anything positive to come out of this, it was that Connor really did now have the full support of his partners.

"Alright, so we go to REPCONN?" Brendan asked both his friends.

"It's all we got." Connor sighed.

Shaun nodded and then reached his hand out to Connor. "We go there then. Let's do it, buddy."

Connor was dumbstruck for a moment. A friendly gesture from Shaun wasn't something he'd expected right now or ever. It was quite nice. Connor finally took his hand after a moment of hesitation and felt Shaun pull him up to his feet.

All three men suddenly heard a noise. A close nose. Like footsteps on creaking wood slowly getting further and further away. It shook them after everything Connor had revealed and the three men instantly equipped their weapons and aimed them at the door. Brendan was at the forefront, shiny .44 Magnum in hand. The ex-legionary reached to the door's bolt, pulled it back and swung open the door tactically. Quickly and almost like a trained squad, Brendan, Connor and then Shaun manoeuvred their way out of the office and checked the corridor for whoever was outside the room. They saw nobody. Nobody at all. Silence infested the dead creaking corridor like radiation. There wasn't anybody there. Anymore.