Two Weeks Later…

Miles walked with Clover through Freeside. They were checking on the new laser turrets, missile turrets and Brotherhood patrols to make sure everyone and everything was ready for the quickly approaching Enclave. They had even got support from the Boomer tribe as well, as they were watching out with their artillery for threats! However, Miles was wrestling with his inner demons. He had been wrestling with them ever since he met Agent Folwer that night.

Clover noticed Miles' troubled look after they checked the last laser turret. "Miles? What's wrong?"

Miles looked up to the sky. "…I'm starting to wonder if I could have avoided this whole scenario. Maybe I should have just given myself up all those years ago..."

That earned him a hard slap across the face from Clover. "Don't you dare even start thinkin' that way, Miles!" She snapped. "You're worth more than just your cooking skills, you know! And I ain't just talking about Project: Purity, 'neither!"

Miles was stunned speechless as he held his hand up to his face, which was starting to sting from the force of Clover's slap. He then noticed tears in Clover's eyes.

"Miles… You are the best thing that's happened to me since I got into New Vegas and got my job at the Lucky 38." Clover said. "You are the best thing that's happened in my life, period! Sure, you may have had things rough as you traveled through DC until your dad died, but you kept going, didn't you? You didn't let anything stop you then! And you sure as hell didn't let anything stop you from gettin' here to New Vegas! So are you really going to let a stupid Enclave general on a power trip stop you from settling somewhere and being happy? I sure wouldn't!"

Miles paused, then spoke up. "You must have had a similar experience, then?"

Clover looked Miles in the eye, and motioned for him to walk with her. "I never told anyone outside my circle this Miles, so listen carefully. I… I grew up poor, in a very bad part of Nevada. A place northwest called Sugar Bunker. Trust me, there was no sugar there." Clover laughed a hollow laugh, then tears started to fall from her eyes. "It was a horrible place. Plagued by raiders, slavers, chem addicts, and swindlers. My ma got hooked on buffout, and started to graduate into greater things. Eventually, she overdosed on Med-X one night on my sixteenth birthday. Me and my dad were devastated. After we buried her, we got the hell out of Sugar Bunker, and eventually settled in Coyote Springs. Me and my dad both got jobs at the Mojave Express branch there. It made sense. We were both good runners, and could carry a lot if we needed to. The gamble paid off. We finally were making enough caps to eat, enough to live a stable life... Then he had a heart attack one night. I was alone, for the first time in my life. It was very difficult..." Clover wiped the tears from her eyes. "About five years later, I got the contract for the Platinum Chip for New Vegas. That was on my birthday… That was also the day I got shot, and the day I met him..." Her face changed to a scowl.

"Who?" Miles asked.

"Benny." Clover said bitterly. "The bastard didn't even have the decency to make sure I had my clothes when I was buried. I don't even know if I was violated by his little Khan lackeys while I was out. Thankfully, Victor found me, and brought me to Doc Michell. I owe both of them my lives. But that day when I awoke, after being patched up… Something in me snapped. Before I was shot, I was a very timid, very fearful person. I would usually stick to the settlements to make sure I had people 'round me. It made me feel safe. After I was shot by Benny, that part of me just shattered like an old-world glass window. I was angry. I wanted vengeance… I wanted to pay Benny back in spades for what he did to me. Eventually, I tracked him down. Had to chase him all the way to the Leigon's camp across the river."

Miles felt horrible, but also afraid. He had never seen this side of Clover. "What did you do?"

Clover turned to Miles, fire in her eyes, and a wicked smile on her face. "Well… After I did a fake deed for Ceasar, I had my revenge on Benny. See, they caught him. So I got payback. First, I shot out his kneecaps. Then, I shot him in the nuts. By that time, he was begging me for mercy… I asked him, "Why? Didn't you have any mercy on me? You didn't show me any mercy when you tried to murder me and leave me in a shallow grave." Then, he just babbled out apologies, saying it was "Just Business, and nothing personal." At that point, I told him I was fresh out of mercy, and emptied an entire clip from my 9mm SMG into his head. I never looked back."

Miles was shocked! Clover did that?!

"...You must have an indomitable determination when you set your mind on something." He said.

"That I do." Clover responded. "That's partly how I got into the good graces of working with Mr. House. Though I haven't had to do much of anything as extreme on his payroll. But that's not the point I'm tryin' to make. The point I'm tryin' to make is that you shouldn't dwell so much on the past, Miles. What happened has happened. I know it's hard, but you should press on. Embrace the future. If you dwell in the past, you end up stuck in a rut, and it'll get you in trouble, and that's never good. I'm sure your father, James wouldn't want you still mopin' over his passing. Don't you think?"

Miles smiled. Clover made a point that hit home. "You're right."

Suddenly, there was a loud sound in the sky that sounded like fireworks. That caught both Miles and Clover's attention.

"Incoming!" A Brotherhood paladin shouted.

Clover and Miles ran for cover in an alley! They got right behind the wall just as something big impacted the ground where they were standing! After the smoke and dust cleared, they saw what it was.

It was a large holographic projector attached to a rocket.