Authors Note
kistune-demon16: Thank you, I'm glad you enjoy it.
DesertStar87: I added Cass in this chapter. ED-E will unfortunately not be making an appearance in this one though. I'm thinking of having Arcade and someone else find him. Either Beth or Sam.
ScarletChakra: I had Arcade notice it in this chapter, and tell her off on it. She'll be off the chems...for now. Who knows where this story will take her?
TiredTired: I'm sorry that you think that, and I appreciate the criticism. In my defense, I would like to say Fallout is a messed up world. People do things in the game to get by, or to get what they want. I also wanted to not portray Beth as the perfect hero that the Mojave needs. She does chems, she had sex for a poker chip. Everybody has flaws, and I'm trying to get to her to a point of people thinking of her as someone who has to help people because she can, not because she wants to. That's a little confusing, but eh.
Dark Flygon Naxi: You clever devil. I did not have them pick up ED-E, because I would like to add the little eyebot with Arcade and another character. And because two companions added in one chapter was a little too much for me.
Drust: I am sorry you think the same as TiredTired. If you are reading this, please read what I said to him above, as I would not like to copy and paste. And about Sarah Lyons, I have plans for her for a battle for Hoover Dam. I'll have to think about it though.
Ace Venom: Hahahaha, I'm not going to lie, I didn't mean to write it like that.
ZeroHeroes23: I'm EXTREMELY sorry I didn't make it clear, but the dream was as if he had never left the Vault. When I was writing, I actually looked up the date, and decided of the dream as if he and his father had never left the Vault. Sorry if it was unclear, thank you for pointing it out for me.
Ovall Aocrog: Thank you for reading and reviewing. :)
Okay, well this one is for EVERYONE:
I'd just like to say thank you for everyone who reads and reviews, whether you like it or not. It means a lot. Also, some people have added the story to their favorites and subscriptions or whatever. Don't be afraid to comment or review, although you don't have to. I reply to everyone, and always answer everyone's questions. Once again, thank you for reading, and enjoy.
Beth awoke the next morning with a headache. Had she woken in the middle of the night? Then she remembered. She had woken and saw Sam, and he had commented on her eyes. She got up from the bed and took a look at herself in her mirror. Her eyes were fine now. She looked back at the bed, seeing an empty syringe on a pillow. She dived back into the bed, and dug into her drawer for another syringe of Med-X. She injected herself with it, and frowned when she realized she didn't have that relaxing feeling. She took another one. Ah. That was better. A knock at her door made her get up and open it. It was Victor. He held a tray of food, as always. He handed it to her, along with a piece of paper.
"This is for you from Mr. Boone and your other friend." He told her. He rolled away after closing the door behind him. Beth curiously opened the letter.
Boone and I are out on a road trip I guess. We'll be back in a couple of days. Take care of Rex for me. He likes Brahmin Steaks, but don't spoil him.
-Sam
She tossed the note aside, and noticed the Platinum Chip, which she had carelessly thrown in one of the shelves of her drawer. House would probably be expecting it. She checked her Pip-Boy, which she now used as a clock. It was noontime already. How late did she sleep last night?
If Boone and Sam were gone, then the only person to talk to in the Lucky 38 would be Arcade. She stripped out of her sleepwear and was about to redress in her leather armor, but realized it was in poor condition. She would have to get it repaired or even replace it sooner or later. Jeans and a T-Shirt would have to do for now.
Arcade was in the main lobby as usual, this time nose deep in a Pre-War magazine about medicine. He looked up as she approached.
"Boone and Sam are gone." She told him. He merely nodded. Of course he knew, he was Arcade. She sat down beside him. "So, how long have you been with the Followers?"
Arcade looked up from his magazine again. He looked slightly annoyed. "Not forever I suppose."
"Where'd you come from?"
"What's with all the questions?" he said angrily. Beth seemed a little taken back by his response. After she didn't reply he sighed. "You can't speak of this to anyone. No matter what. If you say anything-"
"I won't" Beth said interrupting him. He nodded and continued.
"My family…All of us are Enclave. Not any more I guess though. Sure we're not known much by the people around here, but hey, that's the point."
"I don't get it. Why don't you want to be known?"
"West of the Colorado, used to be an Enclave base, Navarro. The NCR assaulted the base. The people who didn't die in the fight had to escape. I was just a kid back then. Only had my mom, and my…other family."
"What do you mean your other family?"
"Group of people who served in the same unit as my father before he died. They're all great people. Anyways, we tried to flee and integrate into civilian life, but the NCR and Brotherhood were trying to track us down. We eventually came here."
"So where are these people? Why aren't you with them?"
"Most of them are in hiding, posing as regular wasetelanders. I joined the Followers so I could help people without shooting more people. The Remnants helped my mother and me escape the NCR. I'll never forget it. I just hope one day I can repay them."
"Remnants? Is that what you call them?"
Arcade nodded. Beth put a hand on his shoulder. "If you ever need to talk about it, just come find me."
"Primm is pretty close by. We could stop there for the night." Sam told Boone. The sniper shook his head in response. So far their trip was quite eventless, only coming across a few Powder Gangers. Sam was under the impression Boone was looking for something. Probably Legion. "Where then?"
"Mojave Outpost further south. Ranger Jackson there owes me a favor. Safer place to rest for the night." Boone said.
Sam let him lead the way. It was late when they got there. They passed a huge statue of tow people shaking hands right before they got there. Sam asked Boone about it, but he just shrugged.
Ranger Jackson turned out to be a middle-aged man, with a growing beard. He was surprised to see Boone, but nonetheless offered the two a place to rest for the night. Boone hit the bed immediately.
"I'm going to sleep." Boone told him.
"I think I'm going to get a drink. Not that tired yet." Sam replied. He asked Ranger Jackson where he could get a drink, and was directed to a small bar inside the outpost run by an African American woman named Lacey.
He sat down in front of her, and ordered a whiskey. Lacey laughed a little at his request. He looked at her from behind his helmet strangely.
"Nothing," she said getting the drink. "It's funny though, poor woman over there has been drowning herself in whiskey ever since she found this place. Hey, I'm not complaining though."
Sam looked over the small bar to see the inhabitants. A woman, with pale white skin was in a corner drinking a beer. She looked albino to him, but he didn't say anything. Another woman, who was sitting at the bar with him, had red hair tied up in a ponytail. A beat up cowboy's hat was on her head. A suede leather jacket was hung over a chair next to her. She wore a pink and white plaid shirt, unbutton far down enough was him to see a small pendant around her neck. He guessed she must but the woman Lacey was talking about.
"What's wrong with her?" Sam asked as Lacey handed him a bottle of whiskey. He removed his helmet, popped the cork of the whiskey bottle and took a swig of the whiskey.
"Lost her caravan. Poor girl is so hung up about it." Lacey said. She might've said it a little too loud because the woman she was talking about stood up from her chair and threw her empty whiskey bottle at her. Sam acted quickly and lunged forward, catching the bottle with his free hand.
"Don't talk about me like you know me Lacey!" yelled the woman. Her hat had fallen off, as well as whatever held her hair in a ponytail leaving her red hair flowing down on her shoulders.
The woman gruffly picked up the hat stuffed it back on her head. Sam walked over to her, hand with the empty whiskey bottle out.
"I think you dropped this." Sam said. The woman lashed out unexpectedly at him, hitting a glancing blow to his chin. He could taste blood. When Sam looked back at her she was coming for him again.
He dodged her next punch, as well as blocking a round kick to his side. She punched again, but this time Sam caught her by the wrist. She tried hitting him with her other hand, but he dropped the whiskey bottle in his hand, grabbing her by that wrist too. After a few seconds of struggling her let her go.
"What's your deal?" Sam asked her. The woman cursed loudly and sat back down in her seat. Sam joined her. "I said, what's your problem?"
The red haired woman looked back to him strangely, wondering whom this man was. Then she had an idea. A stupid one, but it was a start.
"How about you buy me a drink? Several. We can have a little contest here."
"If I win will you tell me what's your problem?"
"You won't."
Sam took it as a yes and ordered several more whiskeys. He drank the small bottle quickly, and then looked back to the red haired woman. Hell! She had already started her second. He quickly drank that one as well. Lacey the bartender just watched as the two drank themselves drunk, and shook her head.
No matter how many drinks Sam drank, the woman matched him. He stared at the empty whiskey bottles in front of him wearily. Maybe4 or 5 were his. The woman seemed to be on the brink of collapse. He thought tiredly to himself, How the hell did I get into this situation. He heard the woman's voice, but it sounded like she was far away.
"You're pretty good…call it…a truce?"
Sam turned to her, and saw her hand was pointed to him. He slapped it, tried to stand, and fell back in his chair.
"You never told me your name." Sam said.
"You can call me Cass." She said. She gave a yawn, indicating she was tired. "Hey…Lacey…can I sleep here again?"
"Sure." Lacey replied.
"Can he sleep here?" Cass said pointed to Sam. He nodded his head a couple of times. Lacey sighed.
"Yeah, okay. Why not?"
Sam stood up, as well as Cass. She collapsed on him for support, and they stood there like drunken idiots trying to regain composure. Eventually they made their way into a room behind the bar. There was a mattress on top of a cot, as well as a chair in the room. Hardly anything compared the Lucky 38.
"Only one bed." Cass told him.
Sam woke up the next morning with a nasty headache. He sat up, and jumped at the sound of the mattress he was sleeping on creak. Then he realized he was naked, and looked around the room for his armor. His gaze fell upon a woman next to him. Shit. He stood up, dressing back in his armor. He couldn't find his helmet. Shit. Cass woke up as well, rubbing her eyes.
"Uh…hello?" she said. Sam turned to her. She got out of the bed as well, dressing in her clothes. There was an awkward moment between the two as they stood there staring at each other.
"Uh…listen…I kind of have to leave. With my friend, Boone. So…uh…I guess I'm saying bye." Sam said awkwardly. He began to turn away, when she caught his arm.
"Let me come with you." Cass told him.
"Excuse me?" Sam said surprised.
"I said let me come with you. I'm tired of drowning myself in whiskey every night at this place. Let me come with you. Please."
Sam sighed. "Look, things are a lot more complicated. You see I've been traveling with this woman named Beth. Somehow she landed herself in the Lucky 38 in New Vegas. So I live there with her. My friend Boone too."
Cass looked at him blankly. "Uh…what?"
Sam sighed again. This was difficult. And weird. "All I'm saying is, if you want to come with me, then a lot of weird stuff happens. Just saying."
Cass gave him a mischievous grin. "Then I'm in."
Sam rubbed his forehead as if he was thinking. How on Earth was he going to explain this to Boone? But as it turned out, Boone was still his emotionless self when Sam told him Cass would be traveling with them.
"Lucky 38 has a ton of floors and rooms. I'm sure Victor can find a room for you." Sam told Cass.
"Who's Victor?" she asked curiously.
"A Securitron who works for Mr. House."
Cass shook her head, but didn't say anything. Robots crept her out. She cleared her throat before speaking. "Um…listen. If you don't mind I kind of want to find my caravan. Pay my respects, you know?"
"Sure, we'll make a stop on our way back to the Strip." Sam said dismissively.
Vulpes Inculta was a very patient man. After escaping the chaos of the Tops the previous day he had changed back into his armor, as well as remobilized the survivors of his Frumentarii group. Stalking the Black Ghost had been easy. There had been one close call when his companion, one with a sniper had almost seen one of his scouts. Although they could no engage them while they were at the Mojave Outpost, he knew they would leave sooner or later.
He had set up a trap for them at the Nipton Road Reststop, which was an inevitable location they would pass. It had been infested with Radscorpions, but his Frumentarii had made easy work of it. He knew of the Black Ghost's uncanny ability to turn invisible, but he doubted his sniper companion could. That was where his new toy would come in. He snapped his fingers and one of his Frumentarii came running to him.
"I want you to take 3 of your fellow Frumentarri and hide up on the hill over there. Take the Missile Launcher with you. If you see the Black Ghost and his companion approach, shoot them on sight."
The Frumentarii soldier quickly left Vulpes, yelling at three others to help him. Vulpes smiled to himself. The Missile Launcher had been easy to come by. Traveling traders were always easy prey. If the Black Ghost survived the explosion, then the rest of the Frumentarii would kill him easily. There was no way he would escape. And he could hand Caesar his head, and once again be rewarded for his skills of sabotage. It was only a matter of time before the Black Ghost would walk straight into his trap.
Boone raised a hand for the group to stop. He looked through his sniper's scope, and frowned.
"Legion up ahead at that rest stop we passed earlier Sam. I count 5 of them, one with a coyote's fur on his head too."
Sam drew the Blackhawk cautiously. Cass took out a shotgun from her back Sam heard a sound in the air. It was so familiar. He realized what it was.
"Shit!" yelled Sam.
He dived forward, to the ground. Cass and Boone were quick to react. They jumped away too, just as a missile flew right where they had been before, exploding. He got up quickly looking for the source of the missile. There, up on the hill. He saw a group of 4 Legion soldiers reloading a new missile into the Missile Launcher. He yelled for Boone and Cass to get to cover, and opened fired upon the Legion Soldiers. Boone had ignored his warning and opened fired as well, managing to kill one of the Legion on the hill. Cass had a different strategy though. The Legion Boone had spotted at the rest stop were charging at them. She fired her shotgun, taking out one of their kneecaps before shooting again and finishing him off.
"Sam!" yelled Cass. He had forgotten about the Legion on the lower ground. He turned, ready to fire his Blackhawk when suddenly something sliced the barrel of the gun off. The weapon was making a loud humming sound. He looked to see it was a Ripper, wielded by none other than Vulpes Inculta, the Legion Frumentarii who he had met in Nipton.
"So we meet again." Vulpes said sneering. He took another swipe with his Ripper, but Sam dodged it, drawing his katana.
It would be hard combating against a Ripper. The rotating blades of the handheld chainsaw could easily cut through armor, as well as snap his katana if he wasn't careful. Vulpes took another swipe, which Sam dodged again by backing up. Sam countered with a swipe from his katana, which cut into the metal shoulder plate of Vulpes' armor, but otherwise did no damage. The blow jarred Sam's elbow, which Vulpes took advantage of by giving Sam a strong right hook, which made him drop his katana and drop to the ground. Vulpes tried to stab downwards at Sam while he was on the ground, but Sam turned invisible, and rolled out of the way. A sharp kick to the groin made Vulpes lose control of his Ripper. Sam grabbed him by the throat with both hand and began to choke him. The leader of the Frumentarii would not give up however. He arched his head back and flung it forward into the hard helmet of the invisible Chinese Stealth suit. It broke the stealth field for a second, and with his free hand he punched Sam in the face again. Sam lost his grip on Vulpes' throat, and rolled away. He deactivated the stealth field as he stood up. Vulpes stood up as well, rubbing his forehead in pain.
"You're strong. For a scum of this wasteland." Vulpes told him, breathing heavily. Behind his helmet Sam was breathing heavily as well.
Sam charged towards Vulpes and tackled him to the ground. Vulpes was quick to react, however. His fallen Ripper was just within his reach. He snatched it up as Sam gave him a vicious punch to the face, breaking his nose. Ignoring the pain he turn his Ripper back on and tried to stab forward with it, then realizing with his freehand Sam had pinned Vulpes' arm to the ground. Sam's fist was the last thing he saw before he was knock unconscious.
Sam stood up and looked around him. Boone had just finished taking out the last Legion soldier on the hill. Cass had blown the heads off of every other soldier with her shotgun. Sam was impressed. He collected his katana exhaustedly, and then found the remaining parts of the Blackhawk. The damage to it was too much. No matter how much duct tape he put on it, it wouldn't fire a bullet straight ever again. Sadly he took the parts and shoved them in his backpack. Cass ran up to him, breathing heavily.
"Hell, if you guys do this all the time, and there's some whiskey involved then I'm set for life."
"What are we going to do with him?" Boone asked pointing to Vulpes. Sam crossed his arms over his chest. Boone decided to speak his mind. "We should just kill him. Who knows how many he killed, or will kill?"
Sam let the sniper load another shot into his hunting rifle. He watched as Boone perfectly executed a shot between Vulpes' eyes, killing him instantly. The trio started to walk away. Only Sam looked back once before turning his back to the fallen corpses. As far as he knew, they deserved it.
Beth heard a knock at her door. It didn't sound like a hard metallic sound, so it must be a person. She opened the door to reveal Arcade. She let him in and plopped down on her bed.
"What's up?" she asked. Arcade stood where he was. He sighed.
"I know the signs Beth. Big red eyes, sense of invincibleness, change in mood. Your taking something. A chem. If I were to guess it would be Med-X."
Beth stomach turned upside down. So he knew. So what? It didn't change anything. She was still a chem head. When she didn't answer Arcade continued to speak.
"I bet you're probably taking two to get the same effect as one now. It's called tolerance. Soon you'll be taking two just to feel normal. You're killing yourself here."
"It's none of your business!" she yelled. Arcade took a step back.
"Look, if you want help, Dr. Usanagi at the New Vegas medical clinic is always open. Pay a visit there. All I'm saying is eventually you're going to kill yourself. Overdose maybe. Just think about it." Arcade finished. He left the room closing the door behind him.
Beth shoved her face into a pillow and cursed. She was about to reach for a Med-X to calm herself down when her hand brushed the Platinum Chip. Looking up from the pillow, she realized she still needed to talk to House about it. With a sigh she pulled on her boots and walked to the elevator, pressing the button for the 38th floor. House wasn't surprised to see her.
"Well I see you've finally decided to come up here." Said Mr. House.
"I've got it." Beth said holding up the Platinum Chip.
"Good. Give it to Victor here for me. There's something you need to see."
Sam, Cass, and Boone met no resistance on their way to New Vegas. They found the remains of Cass' caravan on the way. Sam thought he saw a tear come to her eye, but it was quickly replaced by a look of anger.
"This wasn't Legion or wildlife. Look." She said showing Sam her hand. A handful of ashes flew from her open palm. At first Sam was confused, then realized it must've come from an energy weapon. Specifically, a Laser Rifle.
"Looks like the ashes made from a Laser Rifle shooting something." Sam said. Cass nodded.
"Listen, if it's still not too much there are two more caravans I've heard that have been hit. I'd like it if we could look for them."
"It's getting late." Boone said, staring off to the Lucky 38.
"Boone's right. We should get some rest and start in the morning." Sam told her. She nodded in acceptance.
When they arrived at the Strip, Sam noticed something different. The Securitrons looked like somehow had modified them to have missile launchers and stronger plating. Cass voiced her concern.
"You sure we're safe here?" she asked. Sam nodded, but was unsure. When they entered the Lucky 38, Beth and Arcade were waiting for them. Sam introduced Cass to them.
"This is Cass." He explained. "She lost her caravan, I found her at the Mojave outpost near Primm."
Cass eyed Beth up, and scoffed a little, as if she couldn't believe Sam followed someone like her. Beth was about to hit her, but Victor rolled in.
"Hello there partner! You'll be needing a room if your staying here, no? Follow me!" Victor said happily. Cass looked uncertainly at Sam, who just gestured for her to follow. She did, although reluctantly,
"Securitrons got an upgrade." Beth said.
"We noticed." Boone replied. "Is it from that weird do-hickey you got for House?"
"Yeah. Listen, guys, I uh…might not be here for a few days. I'll be visiting someone. Just try not to burn down the place, okay?" Beth said. Sam could've sworn she glanced at Arcade, but he pushed the thought aside.
"You leaving now?" Sam asked.
"In the morning tomorrow." She replied. Her tone seemed nervous, so he didn't push for details. He yawned unexpectedly.
"Well, I'm beat. Think I'm gonna hit the back early tonight." He said walking to the elevator. Boone joined him. When they were gone, Beth turned to Arcade.
"Thank you." She told him. He merely nodded, and tried not to say a witty remark back.
Sam had gotten Cass' floor number from Victor. Floor 27, which had been a woman only floor before the bombs fell according to Victor. There were 4 bedrooms, as well as 4 bathrooms. Cass had picked one of the rooms furthest down the hall. He knocked on the door, and entered when he heard her voice telling him to come in. He entered, and saw her jacket was discarded, as well as her hat. He thought she looked a lot better without the hat and her hair down. It looked like she had just taken a bath as her hair was plastered to her face.
"Liking it okay here?" he asked.
"It's not bad. Robots creep me out though." She told him. There was a pause. "Do you always wear that?"
She meant the Chinese Stealth suit he guessed. He shrugged.
"I don't know. Do I?" he said moving close to her. She stepped back, and put hand on his chest between them.
"No. Stop." She said. Sam backed up with his hands up. "Look. You're great and all, but I know what kind of guy you are."
"What kind of guy am I then?" Sam said smiling beneath his helmet. Cass playfully shoved him out of her room, and shut the door. "We still looking for those caravans tomorrow?" he shouted. He took her silence as a yes, and went back up to his room.
The Legionnaire knew Caesar's temper could rise easily. That's why he didn't want to be the one to tell him Vulpes Inculta was dead. He had just been minding his previous orders, scout the Mojave, and learn as much as he could before reporting back. He guessed this was a good enough excuse as anything. Lucius shoved him in Caesar's tent roughly, but stayed outside. Maybe he didn't want to face his wrath as well? He bowed uneasily in front of Caesar. When he drew up his head he gazed upon the gauntlet on his hand. He had seen him use it before. It hadn't been pretty.
"My lord," he said nervously. "The leader of the Frumentarii, Vulpes Inculta, is…dead."
He wondered if he was going to die now. But he sighed in relief as Caesar merely shook his head.
"Get up." Caesar commanded. "Who killed him?"
"We believe it was the Black Ghost my lord."
"This 'Ghost' has become a pain in my head. I want you to find and kill him, no matter what the cost. Your are now the leader of the Frumentarii. Congratulations. Now leave me."
The Legionnaire could not believe his luck. He had managed not only to survive, but ranked up as well. Maybe something good had come out of this after all. Lucius shoved something heavy into his arms on his way out. He looked down to see it was bloodied and dented armor. Vulpes Inculta's.
"If you're going to be Vulpes' replacement, you might as well wear his armor." Growled Lucius before stomping off.
"I know who did this." Cass said to Sam. They were at another caravan, burned and sacked. This time, there were a couple of intact bodies. Cass seemed to know who they were.
"Who?"
"Looks like the Van Graffs. You can tell by the energy weapons. But there's no way they could've known where the caravans were going. Someone must've told them." Cass said. She thought for a moment, and cursed. "Crimson Caravan. They must've helped."
"What are we going to do about it?" Sam asked uncertainly.
"We're going to bust in and kill everyone of them." Cass said. Her voice was full of hate and contempt. Sam shook his head.
"What will that give you? A bounty? How about we find some evidence and show it to the NCR?" Sam suggested. Cass still seemed angry, but conceded his point. She spit angrily.
"Find the evidence. I'll be waiting back at the Lucky 38. If you don't bring me something by midnight, I'm going to blast all of their heads off." Cass said stomping into the distance. Sam shook his head.
The headquarters of the Crimson Caravans was easy enough to find. He had even met someone unexpectedly.
"Hey, knew you'd come around sometime. Where's that girl friend of your?" Ringo greeted. The two shook hands.
"Out on a trip or something. Say, could you help me with something by chance?" Sam asked. Ringo shrugged. "I have it to belief the Crimson Caravans and the Van Graff family have been taking out caravans along the Mojave. I need to know why, and evidence."
Ringo shook his head and seemed nervous, but spoke truthfully. "Look, if there's any evidence it's probably in the safe in her office. Just don't get caught!" he warned. Sam smiled beneath the mask.
"Thanks Ringo." He said. He started heading towards a building labeled office, when Ringo called out his name, tossing him a small sack jingling with caps.
"That's the rest of the payment for helping me back in Goodsprings. Thank you." He said.
Sam nodded and turned invisible, sneaking into the office. He saw the safe, located under a desk. It was locked though. He reached for his Blackhawk, to blow the lock with a shot and realized he didn't have it anymore. It was in pieces, laying on a table in his room back at the Lucky 38. Cursing, he opened drawers of the desk and found a screwdriver and a bobbypin. He made a reminder to himself to buy a new gun later. The lock clicked as he picked it, and he reached into to find a sack of caps as well as a piece of paper. He read over the paper quickly, and shoved it into his backpack for evidence. His eyes fell on the sack of caps. Might as well. He shoved the sack in his backpack as well, and closed the safe. He checked his Pip-Boy for the time. 8:23. He still had plenty of time.
When he arrived back at the Lucky 38 Cass didn't seem pleased to see him. He handed her the paper, which she read over.
"This isn't enough." She declared. He picked up her shotgun and loaded it. Sam pushed the gun back down.
"What do you mean?" Sam asked her.
"There's only enough evidence there to incriminate the Crimson Caravan. They were smart, they didn't write about to each other directly so if one got caught, the other wouldn't. Shit."
"Okay, then I'll find the other piece of evidence. Where are the Van Graffs?"
"Freeside. They run Silver Rush, place that sells a bunch of energy weapons."
"Just wait for me Cass. Please. I'll be back soon." Sam said. He turned and started running. Cass looked at him as he left. Why was he not inclined to just spill their blood? It's not like they were innocent. She guessed he was just different. Maybe an old sinner trying to repent for his sins? Maybe.
Sam didn't head straight for the Van Graffs. Instead, he dropped by the Kings first. The King greeted him merrily, but asked where Rex was. Sam assured him he was safe, in the Lucky 38. The King took his word for it.
"I need a favor." Sam asked. The King nodded. "I think the Van Graffs might have something to do with recent caravans being sacked. I need to get in there, view a terminal or something."
"All right then. I'm sure Pacer could help you with that one. Come back safe, and not a pool of plasma." The King said laughing. Sam didn't get the joke.
Around two hours later, Sam was back at the Lucky 38. This time, he had another piece of paper in his hand. He gave it to Cass.
"Happy?" he asked her. She looked over it.
"Well it looks like you did it." Cass said. "Why?"
"What do you mean?"
"Why did you go through all of that trouble just to incriminate them? We could've just killed them."
Sam sighed. "When my dad died I wanted to kill the person who had killed him. I wanted to make him suffer and bleed before I killed him. Well, I finally got my chance. And you know what? It wasn't worth it. In the end I should've been blaming myself for not being able to save him.
Cass took it all in. Then she answered, "You didn't just make that up did you?"
Sam didn't answer. He just left her alone and went back up to his room. Rex probably wanted another Brahmin Steak.
Sam undressed from his armor, and tossed it on the bed. Beth wasn't back yet so he stripped out of his underpants as well and took a cold shower, washing his body with soap, his hair with shampoo, all supplied by Mr. House. He shivered at first when he stepped out from the shower, but the shivering stopped as he wrapped a towel around his waist. He went back to his room and smiled as Rex awoke from a slumber. He opened a refrigerator out in the hall, and grabbed a sealed "instant lunch" cup of noodles. He wondered what it meant by "instant lunch". He read instructions on the side of the sealed cup.
Open cup, add hot water. Wait for 1 minute.
Enjoy your noodles.
Seemed easy enough, there were only two steps, he thought. He went back into the bathroom, and ripped the plastic covering the top of the cup. He turned on the sink, making sure the knob he had turned was hot, and shoved the cup under the hot water. Instantly he smelled an aroma of spices. He quickly shut off the water before he burned himself. He brought the cup of noodles back to his room, and got a good look at his armor. He had to admit, it looked like something that belonged to some Pre-War comic book fanatic. The suit was durable though, and very useful. Most small caliber rounds wouldn't even pierce the armor, but they could still give him bruises. Although Power Armor gave more protection, he liked the Chinese Stealth Armor better for its convenience. He then realized he didn't have any eating utensils to eat with. He sipped the noodles and brother from the cup, deciding he wasn't in the mood to run around looking for Victor to tell him where the forks and spoons were.
It hadn't been hard, getting to the Mojave. But now that he had finally found something of his parents, he didn't really feel like staying. How was he going to get back to the Capital Wasteland? He shook the thought aside. He would deal with it later.
Beth was back the next morning. She looked tired, but happy. Sam was glad to see her back as well. He had been getting bored.
"I gave House the chip awhile back. He showed me some stuff. We're going to need to head to Caesar's fort soon. House says there's a bunker there that we need the Platinum Chip for." Beth said.
"What's all this stuff about the Legion and poker chips?" Cass asked. Beth ignored her.
"You up for a trip?" she asked Sam. He gave her a bare trace of a smile.
"Yeah. Where we headed?"
"I don't know. Boone, you want to come to?" Beth asked. Boone grunted for a yes.
"I was hoping to go to Bittersprings. I think I'm ready to face the past."
"Okay we'll head there then. I'll get my stuff." Beth said.
Cass scowled. The princess hadn't asked her to come with them? Sam noticed and gave her a shrug. He turned to Boone. Arcade continued reading, as he usually did. He didn't even noticed Beth hadn't asked him. He was happy where he was.
"Hey, wait for me okay? I'll be at that Gun Runners place. I need something to replace my old .44." Sam told Boone. He assured him he would tell Beth to wait.
Sam snatched up the sack of caps under his bed, as well as his backpack and sword. He was rushing out when he heard Rex bark. He looked back at the dog's whimpering eyes. He wanted to come along. He waved for the dog to follow. The more the merrier, right?
He had heard of Gun Runners before, but he didn't expect it to be some stand with a Protectron behind a glass window. He wondered how he would get a gun, if the person selling them was behind a window. He walked up to it regardless.
"I need a new handgun. Preferably something that shoots a high caliber bullet. I'm probably going to need something along the lines of an assault rifle as well." He said to the Protectron. He noticed it had a label on it, saying: Vendortron.
"Of course. Please have a look." Said the Vendortron, turning around. It picked up two guns from a shelf behind it, and placed them in front of Sam, but behind the glass window.
One of the guns was a revolver. It looked brand new, with a solid metal finish and a scope mounted on top of it. It was a pretty large handgun, but Sam thought it would fit easily in his hand. Sam moved his eyes from the revolver to the other pistol.
The other handgun had a hard chrome finish. The pistol was still large, but smaller than the revolver. The grip was a dark black. Sam pointed to it.
"What is that?" he asked.
"That is an old Pre-War pistol called the Desert Eagle. We found schematics for it and have been producing it ever since. No one has bought one yet though. Would you like to purchase it?"
"What kind of round does it shoot?"
"It shoots a rare round called the .50AE. Currently, only the Gun Runners sell them."
"What is it like?" Sam asked.
"The gun has much recoil, and I do not recommend it to anyone who is not very strong."
Sam shook his head. He didn't care how strong a pistol was, if it had that much recoil, he wasn't interested.
"Show me other handguns you have."
"Certainly." Said the Vendortron. He pulled out several other revolvers and semi-automatic handguns. One of them instantly caught Sam's eye.
"What's that one? Right there." Sam said pointing. The Vendortron picked it up.
"Hm. I don't remember seeing this before. Oh, look!" The Vendortron said, picking up a similar gun from the pile. Both had black handle grips, but they were both different in the aspect of the barrels. Both had intricate designs on it, but they differed in color. One was a shining silver, another a glowing gold.
"What types of rounds do those two shoot?"
".45 ACP." Replied the Vendortron holding up a round. It was smaller than a .44, but bigger than a 9mm. Good enough.
"I'll take both of them. What about an assault rifle?" Sam asked. The Vendortron left he two pistols in front of Sam, and cleared away the rest. It turned back to a shelf and selected three, and laid them out for him.
The first was an AK assault rifle. It wasn't an AK-47, as he had seen one before, used by Neil the super mutant. It wasn't the gun he was looking for though. He turned his eyes to another rifle.
The second gun was a bullpup rifle. A sight was already on it, replacing the standard iron sights. Sam didn't like it. He found reloading bullpup rifles to be awkward, although it did help with mobility.
The third rifle looked more his style. A standard assault rifle, already fitted with a silencer. It had a standard black finish.
"What type of rounds does that one shoot?"
"That assault rifle is called a G36. Shoots 5.56. Quite commonly found in the Mojave, many traders sell them, but of course, we are the best."
"How much for both the pistols, that G36, and some ammo for both?" Sam asked.
"8000-10,000 caps, depending on how much ammo you want. Is 4 magazines for each sufficient?"
"Make it five." Sam said, taking out the large stack of caps he had. A couple of vendors gave him looks. The Vendortron processed the caps quickly, and slid him the guns through a hole in the glass window he hadn't seen before.
Sam heard a click as he pressed the two pistols to his thighs, both magnetically attaching. The G36 had a strap on it, but he kept it in his arms, as his backpack and katana were already on his back. He was surprised when he saw not only Beth and Boone approaching, but Cass as well. Cass had a smirk on her face while Beth was frowning.
"Looks like the whole gang is here. Minus Arcade." Sam joked. No one found it funny.
"Let's just head to Bittersprings before dark. I don't want to sleep outside." Beth said annoyed.
She led the party of 4, with Rex in tow behind Sam. For some reason, she didn't have a good vibe about the trip. But it was too late to back out now.