"You're spoiling me, Wilber," Jackie said as the man set a plate of grilled cactus fruit in front of her.
"Don't say that until you've tasted it," the bartender replied. Jackie had struck up a deal with the bartender: she didn't have to pay for meals if she tried out his new creations. Some had yielded delicious results, like yesterday's mantis bisque. The boiled coyote sandwich hadn't been so good.
She bit into the grilled fruit and chewed thoughtfully.
"Well?" Wilber asked expectantly.
"I don't know if everyone's gonna go for it" the girl said, "but I think it's excellent."
He smiled broadly, "I'm glad you like it."
"I do."
"Well, I guess I'll let you finish your meal in peace," Wilber said.
"Thanks again," Jackie said with a smile.
"Not a problem, Miss Jackie."
Layla watched the man walk off and went back to her breakfast. It really was good; once this was all over, she was going to have to coax the man into giving her some of his recipes.
As she contemplated, Surly Li came up to her.
"Good morning," Jackie said with a smile. "You're up early."
"Yeah, I've got you to thank for that," the other woman answered with a frown. She placed a folded note on the table and left. Confused, Layla picked up the paper and unfolded it.
'Outside the quarry at noon.'
Layla tamped down a burst of anxiousness; she had her first terrorist assignment.
*.*.*
Pudd was waiting for her at the entrance to the quarry. He looked just as nervous as she felt.
"So, what's the plan?" she asked. The man grimaced.
"I don't know what I did to piss off Kreeder, but we're going to go snoop on that pack of snipers."
"We are?" Jackie asked, confused. "Aren't they going to notice us?"
"They might," Pudd shrugged as he lit a cigarette. "Kreeder thinks they've got some of the town bugged. We need to see if they have any listening equipment."
"Oh." Layla felt her stomach drop into her knees. "How many are there right now?"
"We know one group is at that post they've set up by the old railroad station. Two just went into town a while ago."
"What's that leave?" Jackie asked, even though Layla damn well knew.
"Five."
"How the hell are we going to sneak in with a bunch of snipers and rangers hanging around?"
"I don't know," Pudd said irritably. "Kreeder said part of your test was figuring it out."
Oh, that was just wonderful. Layla took a breath and thought for a moment. Whoever was on the tap just heard that. If she spelled out the plan, they'd know how she and Pudd would move and work with it.
Except if the plan worked out, they'd find out about the bug. That wouldn't be good. She was going to have to figure out a way to fail, but still look good doing it.
An inkling of an idea starting forming, but it was going to be tricky.
"Okay," she said. "We're going to walk by casually. If no one's visible, we'll sneak around the buildings."
Pudd nodded, but didn't look happy as he dropped his cigarette and stamped it out. They left the quarry and were soon approaching the encampment.
"See anything?" Jackie whispered. The man shook his head.
"No, they must be inside."
"Good, come on." They hopped over the fence leading to the buildings, and Layla led the way around the machine shop. She quickly peeked in through a window and found it empty.
"This one's clear," she whispered, looking around the building's interior. "None of this is listening equipment, I'm pretty sure."
Pudd looked as well. "I think you're right. Let's keep moving."
Layla nodded and headed for the bunk house. This wasn't going to be as easy. She peeked up, then ducked her head down again.
"Looks like most of them are in there," she whispered. Pudd nodded.
"Let's keep moving," Jackie said, and they continued. Now they were reaching the office, and the real trouble.
"Now would be a bad time to get caught," she said, hoping someone listening to the tap got the idea. Pudd merely nodded as they got close to one of the cracks in the building to peer in.
"What are you doing here?"
Layla turned to see Merritt facing them, pistol drawn. She saw Pudd reaching for his own gun and grabbed his wrist.
"We were looking for you," Jackie said, sounding annoyed.
Merritt gave them an undisguised look of suspicion. "Well, you found me, what do you want?"
"We heard you people were planning on enforcing a curfew for the town," she said, trying to sound angry. "Who the hell do you think you are?"
Merritt looked confused. "There isn't any-"
"You assholes just come in here and act like you own the place," Jackie snarled. "We don't want you here."
The ranger shook his head. "I'm sorry you feel that way, miss. But for now, the mayor is letting us use this camp, and that makes it a restricted area. You should go."
Jackie glared a moment longer, then turned. "Come on, Pudd."
The man looked amazed as he scrambled after her.
*.*.*
"I thought we were gonna get arrested at the least," Pudd said, laughing. "She just gave him some bullshit line about being pissed off about a curfew and he let us go!"
The gathered group laughed as Pudd finished his report. Kreeder found himself impressed. He liked to give impossible jobs to new members; most of the time it scared away people who weren't committed and got rid of the ones not clever enough to think on their feet.
Jackie had surprised him though. He'd expected to have to bail Pudd out of jail. Instead, they'd come out unscathed. It looked like the girl might actually become a viable member of the group.
Darren patted Jackie on the back, giving her a smile. The girl gave him a slightly embarrassed look and ran a hand through her hair. Kreeder had to keep himself from reacting noticeably at what he saw. It couldn't be… He had to be sure.
"You've got our thanks, Jackie," he said to the girl, purposefully putting warmth in his voice. "It looks like you might be just what we've been looking for."
She smiled, red starting to show on her cheeks. She did it again, ran her hand through her hair. It was probably a nervous tick from embarrassment. Probably a new one too; she must not have realized what she was doing. Mussing her hair briefly revealed a scar on her head, one that looked like an old bullet wound.
He might have passed it off as a coincidence; bullet wounds were very common in the wastes. Bullet wounds to the head were not. Beyond that, Craig Boone's unit just happened to be stationed in town.
No, Kreeder was fairly certain now; 'Jackie' was Layla Granville, the Courier.
*.*.*
"Why are we here?" Boone asked Mitch as they strode up to the door of the Mayor's house. The sniper didn't want to end up face-to-face with Darren Williams. It wasn't like he couldn't control himself, but it was always best to avoid temptation. Especially because putting a fist between the man's eyes would cause a few questions he didn't want to come up with answers for.
"Mrs. Williams has been hounding Merritt to send some of us over, so he told me to take you and go."
"Why doesn't Gorobets do this?" Boone muttered. Meet-and-greets were a particular hell on earth he'd rather avoid.
"Probably because he didn't want to, and we're low men on the totem pole."
Boone had to fight back the urge to point out that Mitch was the rookie. It didn't matter; he was pretty sure Gorobets was still mad with him. This might be a good way to make up for his… misstep.
Mitch knocked on the door, and a moment later a teenager answered. Katie, the mayor's daughter, Boone remembered.
"Hello. Can I help you?" she asked coolly.
"Your mother called for us, princess," Mitch answered, giving her a grin. Boone could feel the temperature in the desert go down a few degrees from her reaction.
"I'll see if she still wants you," the girl answered, slamming the door closed. Mitch looked back at him, and Boone merely shook his head.
A few moments later, the door opened again. Mrs. Williams answered this time.
"Why hello," she said, smiling a little too widely. "Please, come in."
"Thank you, ma'am," Mitch said, walking into the house as the woman held the door open. Boone followed, feeling more and more uneasy about this whole set up.
"Please, call me Joanne," the Mayor's wife laughed. "You're going to make me feel like an old woman." She led them to a sitting room and turned back, smiling predatorily.
"Oh uh… thanks, Joanne," Mitch said, starting to sound uncomfortable as well.
"Have you boys had lunch?" she asked. "I always like to entertain any soldiers who come to my town, both here and back in California."
"We eat early," Mitch said quickly, clearly starting to pick up on the woman's intentions. Boone had to hold back a grin. Watching the other man squirm was starting to get amusing.
"Oh, too bad," she pouted, then perked up. "Well, we'll just have to have a nice little talk." She sat on a couch and patted the spot next to her. "Come have a seat."
Mitch turned a slightly panicked look on Boone, who shrugged. The other man swallowed, then moved over to the woman and sat. She moved to put a hand on his knee, and the spotter shot out of his seat.
"I uh, you have a real nice place," he all but squeaked.
"Thank you," Williams purred.
Fun was fun, but this was getting out of hand. Boone wasn't the best at making smooth social getaways, but they probably needed to cut this short before Williams started getting grabby. Just as he was trying to come up with an excuse, he saw Katie Williams waving at him from the door. Judging by the look on her face, whatever she wanted was serious.
Glancing back at his partner, Boone found the man starting to look nervous as Mrs. Williams kept advancing on him. Good, that would cover his departure.
Once he started heading her way, the girl disappeared back into the hallway. Stepping out of the sitting room, Boone found her walking down the hall and followed her.
She stopped near another door and waited for him to catch up.
"Hurry up," she hissed quietly, then opened the door and stepped in. Following, Boone found himself in what had to be the girl's bedroom. The walls were pale pink, and all the furniture was delicate-looking; reminding him how inappropriate it was for him to be here.
"Look," he said sternly, "you're way too young and I've got a girlfriend-"
"Oh stuff it," the girl said. "This isn't about that. I've got something important to show you."
She caught the distrusting look on his face, and sighed. "Why is it men immediately assume it's about sex? Look, I have information on the New Frontiersmen."
"What?" That he hadn't been expecting.
"It's better if I show you," she answered. "As soon as we're done here, go get your partner and meet me outside. I'll sneak out through my window."
Boone hesitated for a moment. Her brother was one of the terrorists; it wasn't hard to believe he'd have the girl set up a trap. Katie sighed again.
"I'm not going to wait long. Now get out before you're caught in here."
*.*.*
"Can't you stay for dinner?" Mrs. Williams said. "You know, my husband isn't going to be back from the Crimson Caravan office until late tonight."
"Uh…" Mitch glanced around for a way out. He'd noticed Boone had bailed on him a few minutes ago. So much for partners looking out for each other.
"I'm going to have to go soon," he sputtered out. He was all for cougars, but god damn, this woman was way too forward for his tastes. She was the kind of woman who wasn't going to be happy with just a quick tussle and go.
"I'm sure you can make some kind of excuse," Williams said as she moved closer. Yep, this was definitely a tie-you-down-and-whip-out-the-strap-on type.
"Mitch," Boone's voice rang out, and the spotter nearly sagged in relief. Looking over he found his partner making a grim face.
"We've got to go."
Mitch nodded and beat a hasty retreat from Mrs. Williams.
"Sorry, Ma'am, I've got orders," he said as he quickly made his escape. The woman was giving him and Boone a cool look.
"Fine, go. But don't forget what you missed today."
Mitch hurried after Boone as he left the room. "All I missed today is the chance for Mayor Williams to wave a shotgun at me," he muttered.
"Don't think he cares," Boone said as they left the house.
"What was that about?" Mitch questioned. "Or did you suddenly feel bad for leaving me out to dry?" Boone didn't answer until they were further away from the house.
"The Williams girl, Katie, she's got something we need to see."
"Man, what's with this family? How old is she again?" He paled slightly at the look Boone gave him.
"She's got information on the terrorists."
"Ooooh," Mitch nodded. "I see."
As they continued around the house, they found the girl waiting.
"Good, come on, we have to move quickly." She looked around the empty streets, then started hurrying east. "If we're caught, I don't even know what'll happen."
"Do you know about your brother?" Boone asked.
"I… Yes. The Frontiersmen weren't always about doing damage. Once they changed, a few people quit, but Darren stayed on. I don't know why."
The man seemed to take her word at that. Mitch wasn't so sure. They continued out of town toward the mountain to the east.
"Okay, we're going to have to be careful," Katie said. "There's a super mutant over here-"
"Neil?" Boone asked. "He's harmless." Both Mitch and Katie gave him surprised looks.
"Well, let's see if we can avoid him anyway," Katie said. "I don't know if he's working with them-"
"He isn't," Boone said firmly. "He works for Jacobstown."
Katie was still frowning. "We shouldn't let anyone see us. It might get back to them that someone was looking around.
That was a good point, and Boone nodded, waiting for her to continue. They moved away from the road and climbed up over a ridge.
"I think they dug out a spot over here somewhere…" Katie said, and they started searching.
*.*.*
It took longer than Boone would have liked to find the bunker, and they'd been lucky; Mitch had tripped over the entrance. Someone had covered it with a sheet of wood which was in turn covered with dirt. Underneath, they'd found a set of storm doors, secured with a padlock.
"Let me," Mitch said, bending down to look at it as he pulled a bobby pin and a screwdriver from his pockets. A few, curse-filled moments later, he got the lock off.
Boone bent over to help him pull the door open, and they found a set of metal stairs leading down to a cavern.
"That looks big," Mitch said.
"I'll take point," said Boone, and his partner nodded.
"Katie, go after Boone. I'll watch our backs."
The girl moved up behind Boone as he slowly made his way down, drawing his machete. The cavern appeared to be free of traps or people. It wasn't empty though.
"Holy shit," Mitch gaped at the three racks of weapons along the walls. There were a few trunks full of ammo as well. Boone looked through the weapons; there was enough here to arm the whole town. It looked like they were well-cared for too.
"Oh shit, look at this," he heard Mitch cry. He walked over to find his partner looking at something half-cobbled together on a workbench.
"They're making a bomb," the other man said, looking over the pile. "But I've never seen one like this."
"Chlorine bomb," Boone said, then noticed his partner's confused face. "Saw one on the Strip once."
"What are we going to do?" asked Mitch.
"We need to get back to base."
"We'd better get out of here soon," Katie piped in. "I-"
"Wait, did you hear that?" Mitch said. Boone turned, pulling his machete again as he heard the clinking of a metal object hitting the floor. Before he could move, something exploded.
He'd expected a concussive blast, but instead found smoke rolling out from a canister as he spotted it.
"Tear gas," he called to Mitch. "Move!"
His partner grabbed Katie's hand and started running as Boone took point again. They were running toward whoever had thrown the gas can, but if they stayed in the bunker, they'd be incapacitated quickly.
Boone cleared the opening of the cave just as his eyes started watering. He could hear Mitch and Katie coughing behind him.
As they barreled out of the cave, he found two men waiting for them, weapons aimed in their direction.
"Drop the knife, tough guy," said Lansing. Boone thought about lunging for the man, but he'd get gunned down before he made contact.
The effects of the tear gas were getting worse, and he started coughing as it got harder to breathe. One of the gunmen had walked up to him; he couldn't make out who as his eyes watered and he doubled over coughing. He felt hands on his arms and swung his machete in their direction.
He heard a cry, then laughter as something hard was slammed over his head. He groaned and collapsed as his legs gave out. Boone could just make out hands reaching for him as his vision faded.