Veronica hid the smoking box behind her back and attempted to smile as Victor stood in front of them, mechanical arms folded..
"Look, Victor, we…" She trailed off as the robot moved past her to the computer. He took a look at the monitor and whistled.
"Looks like you've got a bit of a technical problem there. You know, the boss man would be mighty steamed if he knew you two were up here." Both Veronica and Arcade winced, not sure of what to do. Arcade eyed Victor's gatling laser nervously.
"Well, scoot over. Let me take a gander." Perplexed, Veronica moved to the side, allowing the robot to approach the computer. He punched in a few keys, and the screen changed.
"Well, that ought to do it," the robot cowboy drawled as he moved away from the monitor. "Just be sure to put everything back the way you found it." Veronica took a look at the computer as Victor rolled away.
"Well?" asked Arcade.
"It's here! A database entry on the Sierra Madre.""How much is there?"
"Everything! Well, everything pre-war. Location, floor plans, a list of guests…"
Arcade turned to the departing securitron. "But House refused to help us…"
Victor turned, his screen flickering to a winking cowboy face. "You let me handle that. Don't worry, old Victor can take care of himself."
*.*.*
"Well, look who it is." Lieutenant Gorobets smiled as Craig Boone approached him with a cyberdog in tow, but strangely no Courier. The young man had once been part of 1st Recon, under his command, and he was always happy to see him. Gorobets had never heard the whole story of what had happened to him after his honorable discharge, but the next time he had seen him, the man looked like a ghost of himself. It had been in the recent months, as he traveled with Layla, that he had started acting like himself again.
Now, however, Boone looked lost again, lost, angry, and desperate. Corporal Sterling and Bitter-Root stopped their conversation nearby as Boone approached.
"I need your help," the sniper said, and 1st Recon gathered around him to hear what was wrong.
*.*.*
1st Recon usually had a certain degree of latitude when it came to orders. They were often given only a location to scout or a target to eliminate, and the squad leaders were free to come up with the details. There were always exceptions. The Battle for the Hoover Dam had definitely been one of those, as their orders had been crystal clear.
Currently, they were stationed at Camp Forlorn Hope awaiting further orders. The war with Caesar's Legion was coming to a head soon, and Colonel Moore wanted them near the Dam when it happened. In the meantime, they occupied themselves with short recon missions, scouting up and down the river for Legion incursions. Things had been relatively quiet since Cottonwood Cove was taken out. Layla and her companions had been responsible for that, and now 1st Recon was in the perfect position to return the favor.
Lt. Gorobets and 10 of Spades were on their way back to the camp from Nelson. The trip hadn't been very fruitful. The only unusual reports were of a lone nightkin in the area. Gorobets had sent Bitter-Root and Sterling to Novac to speak with any traders who had passed through the area. They were one soldier short with Betsy on medical leave.
Gorobets had suggested Boone travel with him and Spades, as Legion ambushes weren't uncommon in the area, but he had refused. The Lieutenant wasn't very worried about the man; he could handle himself. He had been with 1st Recon at the battle for the Hoover Damn. At twenty-two, he had proven himself along with the rest of the battalion when they held their ground against the Legion onslaught.
"Do you think the S-S-Sierra Madre exists?" 10 of Spades asked suddenly. He had been uncharacteristically quiet for most of the trip.
"If you had asked me a week ago, I'd have told you no. I'm not so sure now."
They reached Forlorn Hope and found Sterling and Bitter-Root waiting for them.
"Find anything?" the Lieutenant asked.
Sterling shrugged. "Not much, sir. The merchants in the area hadn't been around here lately. Nightkin sightings, otherwise nothing. Ever since Caesar got hit, it's been quiet from even Legion attacks."
Gorobets nodded, thinking. At first, he had suspected Layla had been kidnapped by the Legion in retaliation for her part in Caesar's death. Two things didn't add up to that theory, however. First, another girl that had been caught in the same trap with her was left unharmed. That wasn't exactly the Legion's M.O. Secondly, if those bastards had gotten hold of the Courier, they would have gone out of their way to let everyone, especially the NCR, know it was them.
His thoughts were interrupted as Boone and his cyberdog rejoined the group. Soon they had all compared notes, and only one common factor came up. A nightkin had been seen in the area by several people around the time of Layla's disappearance.
"Nightkin are rare in this area but not unheard of," Sterling said. "We're not that far from Black Mountain."
"There was one killing Brahmin in Novac a few months ago," said Boone.
"I've never heard of nightkin kidnapping people…" Bitter-Root said. "It's probably unrelated."
"The timing fits, though," Sterling said thoughtfully. "And it could have been taking orders from someone else. Nightkin tend to attach themselves to powerful leaders."
"It's the best lead so far," Gorobets said, looking apologetically towards Boone. "Nothing on the Sierra Madre, though. We'll keep searching, maybe try to find this nightkin, but there's not much else we can do here."
Boone nodded. "Thanks. I'm going to try to find that bunker, take a look around. I'll check back with you tonight."
*.*.*
The abandoned Brotherhood of Steel bunker was just a dank as Veronica had described it. As his eyes adjusted to the dimmer light, Boone caught sight of a headless corpse on the floor. He made himself take a closer look, feeling strangely reluctant. He was relieved to discover the body was male, and had been dead for over a week.
Continuing down the stairs, he found the hallway that led to the radio and the trap. Instead of heading that way, he went down a short side passage to the right leading to a room with various scientific equipment. This must have been Elijah's room, as Veronica described it. He immediately spotted something that seemed out of place, a stack of packages under a drop box, all neatly wrapped and far too clean to have been here for long. Boone made his way over, keeping an eye out for further traps.
The packages were wrapped in a cream colored paper, emblazoned with a logo which clearly read 'Sierra Madre." Boone picked up one of the smaller boxes and tore the paper, revealing a plain cardboard box. Inside he found a card.
"Thank you for visiting the Sierra Madre! All foreign personal items have been shipped to this location as per our 'Visitor's Agreement.' Our automated system has delivered your items at the predetermined location you specified at check-in!"
Under the card was the engraved revolver Boone had given Layla for Christmas. The sniper stared at the gun for a few moments, turning over in his head what this all meant. The Sierra Madre did exist, Layla had been taken there, and she had been stripped of her weapons. He started opening the other boxes and found all of the Courier's guns, medical equipment, food, stimpaks, the duct tape for 'emergencies' and the white, flower printed dress she kept rolled up in her bag for 'real emergencies.' Everything she carried on her when traveling was wrapped up in these boxes.
He opened the last box, tearing the paper off and dropping it on the pile he had left from its predecessors. He stared at the contents for a few moments; it was the 1st Recon beret he had given Layla the night he had decided to travel with her. He had wondered what had happened to it. She had told him she wasn't a 'hat person' and she felt weird wearing something she hadn't earned. She apparently had been carrying it on her the whole time.
Staring at the hat, Boone thought back to when he had first met Layla. He had been at the lowest point of his life when the Courier walked into Novac. He had been friendless and alone, and once his wife's betrayer had been killed, he had nothing to live for. Had she not asked him to join her at that point, Boone knew he'd have been dead by now, gunned down or hanging from a Legion cross.
Now he had a purpose, a group of close friends, and a will to live. Boone refused to think the girl was dead. She was just out of reach at the moment. The thought of Layla, alone and frightened, thinking no one would come for her, made him uncomfortable in a way he didn't fully understand. He wasn't sure how to deal with it at first, then just let it harden his resolve to find her.
Boone pulled the hat out of the box and felt something fall out. Reaching back in, he pulled out the Platinum Chip. He looked at it for a long moment, then felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth. House would have to listen to them now, and if he had the information, he'd give it to them. If not, Boone would threaten to smash the thing into dust.
He wasn't foolish enough to take the chip directly to House to make his demands, so instead he cataloged potential hiding places. Anywhere on The Strip was out. Freeside was too close as well. There was always the hollowed out tooth in Dinky's mouth in Novac, or he could leave it with Marcus in Jacob's Town.
As he started to form an idea, he heard Rex barking from the entrance. Boone stowed the chip in his pocket, then closed the door on Elijah's room, which now held all of Layla's belongings. Drawing his machete, he headed in the direction of the barking dog.
"Rex? What are you doing here?" Boone sheathed his weapon when he heard Veronica's voice, then stepped into view.
"There you are," Arcade said. There was an awkward silence for a moment, and Boone was just about to reveal his discovery when Veronica spoke up.
"We got the Sierra Madre coordinates from House's computer."
"Good," Boone said. There was no point in arguing the matter further. "Let's go."
Soon, after a brief stop at Forlorn Hope, they were on their way. Boone could feel the tension between the group. He couldn't tell if they were still mad at him, if he was still mad at them, or if it was just awkward because no one was speaking. None of it mattered. Now that they had the location, they'd get Layla back. And make whoever had taken her pay.