The Courier again wondered what she was doing back at the Gomorrah. She hated the place, from the sense of misery in the workers to the drugged up clientele. But here she was, sitting at a table in Brimstone, flipping through the diary of a very sick individual.
Joanna had warned them of the Omertas' plans for the Strip, and The Courier, despite her revulsion, knew they needed to check out what was going on at the Gomorrah. That had led her to the diary of Cachino, a high-ranking member of the family.
She abruptly closed the diary, having read the head of the entry 'Raider's sunrise.' Her sudden motion caught Boone's attention, as he had been scanning the room. He gave her a questioning look.
"This will not be a hard blackmail. I'm amazed the boss's didn't catch this guy years ago." The Courier stretched the kink out of her back and smoothed her dress, having seen the man in question walk into the room. "All right, you know the drill. Leave the talking to me."
Boone gave her a blank look as she got up and walked over to Cachino.
*.*.*
Placing the last thermite package on a pile of guns, The Courier found herself grinning. "I think I've found my calling: blowing stuff up." She looked over at Boone, who was keeping an eye out for Omerta goons. The girl took a look around the room. It was a shame to get rid of so many perfectly good weapons… but she wasn't about to let the creeps who ran this place have them either.
She walked over to her companion, who had helped himself to a shiny sniper rifle before she had started placing the explosives.
"Where exactly are you going to hide that?" the brunette asked. Boone shrugged, and the girl let it go. "Anyway, let's get this over with." They left the room and closed the door. The Courier peeked around the corner of the hallway, then threw the switch on the detonator. The pair started an awkward, hurried walk away from the area as explosions rocked the basement.
"Just smile, don't run. Act natural," the girl said through her teeth.
"How is not running from an explosion natural?" the sniper scoffed.
"Shut up, just go." They made a hasty retreat, heading back upstairs to meet with Cachino.
*.*.*
The Courier sat on a small couch, staring down the barrels of the two guns pointed at her. She tried to smile, but was having a hard time of it.
"We know you're the one who's been screwing up our plans," Nero, the Omerta boss, said. Big Sal stood next to him, glaring. The girl swallowed and after some concentrated effort, smiled her best smile.
"You're planning to kill me, right?"
Nero cracked half a grin and nodded.
"Well, at least let me know what you were planning. I never got the whole picture."
"We're Caesar's insiders. He wants the strip, and we're done with House."
The Courier's fake smile faltered. They had just said the magic word. She resisted the urge to look at Boone, who was probably reaching for his new rifle. If he was, the two casino bosses hadn't noticed, as Big Sal grinned easily at the girl.
"All right, it's a fuck's shame to blow a hole in that sweet a face, but business is business."
"I'm really getting sick of that line," The Courier said, gaining a confused look from the two men. They shrugged and cocked their guns. The Courier made to leap from the couch, sure she wouldn't be fast enough.
The room suddenly went silent, except for the hissing of a fuse as a stick of lit dynamite sailed over the couch and landed on the desk behind the two men. The Courier felt a pair of hands grab her under the arms and pull her over the back of the couch. She hit the floor and felt something bulky press over her, blocking her view. The next moment, a thundering boom shook the room.
The shock rattled her teeth, and then all she could hear was ringing. She opened her eyes and saw the fabric of Boone's suit pressed against her. The sniper got off the girl and peeked his head over the couch. He seemed happy with the result of the explosion. He bent down to help the girl up. She took one look at the remains of the Omerta bosses and turned away, feeling sick.
"Fucking dynamite? You could have fucking mentioned that," Cachino said from the hallway, looking singed. The sniper shrugged, guiding The Courier out of the room.
Once they had put some distance behind them, Cachino turned to them, all smiles.
"Well, I guess I owe you, so thanks." He handed the girl a stack of chips. "Now, I've got a casino to run."
The Courier had regained her composure by then and made a move to leave, but turned suddenly, facing Cahino. "You'd better start treating these people better, or next time you'll be the one getting the stick of dynamite up your ass."
The new casino boss glared murderously at her, but backed down. "Yeah, whatever, doll. Just don't wear out your welcome." He stalked off, and The Courier turned toward Boone, who was brushing the dust off his suit coat.
"Dynamite?"
The man looked at her and raised an eyebrow.
"Dress canes weren't going to cut it this time."
The Courier grinned.
"We have to talk about your sense of scale." She let out a breath she felt like she'd been holding since the meeting started. "Let's get the hell out of here. We linger too long and we'll end up finding out what a Raider's Sunrise actually is."
Yeah, Boone kept using dynamite for a hold out weapon. Weird, wild stuff.