August 23rd, 2279

It took a few moments for Zack to regain himself and lift his head up to see who had assaulted him. He was being restrained on each side by two male NCR Rangers. He didn't recognize either of them. They moved him down from the wooden planked sidewalk to the path in front of the Good's Store. They started pulling him to the right along the path. Zack had no choice but to allow them to lead him. He couldn't resist the both of them with his arms restrained.

"Hey! What's going on? Leave him alone!" Kade came along the side of one of the Rangers and tried to tug on his arm.

"Please don't hurt her."

The Ranger brushed her off easily by jerking his arm away from her. "Back off, this doesn't involve you."

"But-" Kade's face looked like she was pondering something she could do.

Zack turned his head towards her. "Kade," he spoke hoarsely, "just do as they say until I find out what is going on."

Kade looked quite concerned. She was biting her lower lip and nodded once. She paused on the path and stood watching as they made their way towards the building next to the power storage unit.

Zack spoke but kept his voice low. "So, what exactly is going on?

"You'll find out soon enough, you're going to have a little chat with the Lieutenant." The Ranger from the right spoke this time and chuckled afterwards.

Multiple things were running through Zack's mind. He couldn't fathom what he had done to anger the NCR troops. Or perhaps the Lieutenant just wanted to thank him personally for helping patch up Calhoun yesterday. He shook this thought off though. They wouldn't have the need to attack him and drag him off for a pleasant exchange. Something was definitely up.

"Well, if I'm going to be occupied for a bit, will you at least give my belongings to that woman back there first?" Zack tried his best to sound unnerved.

"Shut up!" One of the Rangers barked. There was no more conversation as they continued onwards.

When they neared the building that had the Ranger patrolling back and forth the previous night, Zack saw the man that Kade had described as Lieutenant Green. He was dressed similar to the other Rangers, but his uniform seemed more suited towards commanding officers. It looked like he was more ready to go to a dinner party than a battlefield. He was leaning against the railing on the porch with a cigar in his right hand. He looked more menacing than he'd imagined him to be. Zack could see that Sergeant DeLeon was on the porch as well. He was on the far right side and seemed to be staring off into the sky. Green looked down to Zack with his one eye and gave a nasty grin. His gold tooth was glinting from the morning sun. The Rangers stopped pulling Zack along when they neared the stairway to the porch. They let go of him and moved outwards on each side with their rifles raised and aimed towards him. Zack placed his arms at his sides with his fists closed. He knew better than to try anything.

"Lieutenant Green I suppose? What do I owe the pleasure of being brought here?" Zack asked cautiously.

Lieutenant Green pushed up from the railing and made his way down the steps placing his cigar in his mouth. He walked in front of Zack and stood there for a moment looking him over.

After a few moments he spoke, while the cigar hung from the right side of his mouth. "Let's cut the bullshit alright, Zack is it?" His voice was deep and had a commanding nature to it.

Smoke from the cigar made its way towards Zack's face. His eyes stung some but he hid his discomfort. "Very well, what do you want from me?"

"It seems you caused quite the disturbance in J's last night. You had the gall to pull a firearm on a drunken bastard who only held a knife and probably couldn't wield it all to well. I got quite a few complaints from the owner and some of his customers that you also ended their entertainment. I don't like my residents and passerby's to be discontent. They tend to cause me trouble later on, or never return to spend their caps. This cannot go unpunished. So I as you, what do you think is fair?"

"Ended their entertainment did I? They were sitting around gawking and drooling at a woman who had a little bit too much to drink and was unknowingly making a fool of herself." Zack tried to keep the anger from his voice as best as he could.

"I don't care how much the skank had to drink." Green threw a punch that connected with the side of Zack's jaw. "You should have left her ass up there!"

Zack had to pause to recollect himself while rubbing the left side of his face. He could taste blood on the inside of his mouth. "She happened to be my friend of mine, and any person with a shred of decency should have done the same thing!" The anger in Zack's voice was clearly evident now.

Green scoffed and moved Zack's duster aside exposing his revolver. He pulled it from the holster. Zack could do nothing to stop him.

"Wow, very nice." Green held his revolver out in front of him looking it over while taking a few steps back. "Someone had said that the gun was something they had never seen before. I think a fair punishment would be for me to have this and for you to get the hell out of my town."

"No, please!" Zack stepped forward a bit, one of the Rangers moved quickly between him and Lieutenant. Zack halted his advance. "It means a great deal to me, I have caps you could have instead."

Green shook his head and turned his back to Zack. "No, I think this will do quite nicely. I had been looking for a new sidearm after all."

"But-" Zack's chest tightened, his eyes began to water, without his father's gun he wouldn't be able to continue on with the same fervor as before. Zack wouldn't be one to call materialistic. In this world at anytime, you could be rolled and be left with nothing but your skivvies. But, he couldn't bear to part with anything that was passed down from his parents. It was all he had left of them besides his memories. He quickly thought of his options, or of anything else he could say to persuade the Lieutenant, but nothing compelling came to mind.

Green turned back around when he neared the wooden steps. "Turner, move out of the way." The Ranger in front of Zack moved back to his previous position. Green pointed his father's gun at Zack's chest. "I was just going to drag your ass out of town. But, perhaps I should just be done with you so you won't have to worry about losing it?"

Zack stood silently, a small part of him didn't care at this point. Sergeant DeLeon moved from where he had stood on the porch and seemed to decide to finally speak his mind.

"Lieutenant Green!"

"What is it Sergeant?" The way he said it sounded like he didn't care what the Sergeant was about to say. The revolver never swayed from Zack.

"With all due respect sir, before you decide to make a mistake, this is the man that was at the entrance yesterday afternoon when the Rad Hawk attacked. He tended to Calhoun's injury quite well I might add. I'm guessing the woman that he took from the saloon last was the one that was accompanying him then as well."

"Like any of that makes a difference. I didn't ask him to help."

"Brian, I'm not asking as an enlisted soldier, I'm asking man to man. Most of the Rangers don't respect you all too much except these two goons here." DeLeon walked down the steps and stood next to the Lieutenant. "You do this, and I'm gone. With the way you act, it won't be too long till the others mutiny against you. I'm usually the one that keeps them at bay." DeLeon put his hand over Green's and eased the revolver down so it pointed to the ground by Zack's feet. "I'll escort him out of here, and I'm sure that he would be grateful to get his weapon back as well." Green stood motionlessly while DeLeon pried the gun from his hand. DeLeon then walked towoards Zack, he looked to both Rangers on either side. "Stand down guys. Come on Zack, let's go."

"Yeah, get that garbage out of my town. I don't want to see him again." Lieutenant Green said as he walked up the steps. He then entered the building and slammed the door. The two Rangers shouldered their rifles. One of them spit by DeLeon's feet as they walked onto the porch. They sat down on a bench that was to the left of the door and stared angrily towards Zack and DeLeon.

Zack turned and followed alongside DeLeon who was already leaving. He was able to breathe easier now. "Thank you for that Sergeant. I didn't really see any way out of that situation."

DeLeon shook his head with disgust. "I'm getting real fed up with that guy. He doesn't care about anyone but himself. I don't know how he got promoted to where is now. I'm sorry as well. You won't be able to come back here as long as we are stationed here."

"I don't plan on returning."

They both walked passed the bazaar. Zack had been looking around for Kade's presence since they started off, and finally found her sitting down by the entrance of the small canyon by the entrance. She had her arms wrapped around her knees with her head resting on top looking down. He stopped on the path and turned towards DeLeon. "Will you have to take me all the way out?"

"No, here is fine." DeLeon handed Zack's revolver back to him. Zack placed it back in his holster and thanked him. "If I recall correctly, you're on your way to New Vegas?"

"Yes I am."

"Well, most likely you'll pass through Hoover Dam to get to Nevada, be careful approaching it. There is a rather large detachment of NCR troops there. You don't want to be taken for a raider or slaver. Just take it slow and you'll be alright."

"Thanks. Good luck with things here. Perhaps Lieutenant Green will have a change of heart one day."

DeLeon laughed. "I don't know about that, but I'll manage. Take care of yourself." He turned and walked away.

Zack walked over to Kade and tapped her head a few times. She looked up slowly and her eyes lit up.

"Zack!" She quickly got up quickly brushing the dirt from her clothes. "I thought the worst. What was it all about?"

Zack thought best to spare her what had happened. "It was just a misunderstanding, no harm done. You ready to head out? We are starting off kind of late today, but it'll have to do."

She looked questionably at him for a moment. "Yeah, I'm ready as I'll ever be I suppose."

They both entered the small canyon to leave Cherry Cliff. Zack reached down and felt his revolver from the outside his duster. He was relived that he got it back. He looked over to Kade who had a blank stare across her face. "Everything ok?" He asked her.

"Yeah, I'm still embarrassed about last night is all."

"Don't be, we'll probably never see any of these people again."

"True."

"So, how are you feeling about traveling the unknown and what we'll encounter out there?"

"I admit I'm a little nervous. I have never been out more than a few days scavenging. I think we'll be alright though."

"Yep, should be fine. I might be changing our traveling time to nights though, it's what I started out on and it's usually safer."

"Alright I can manage that."

They both exited the gate to the mouth of the canyon. The sun was already above them and Zack could feel it toasting his skin. He pulled his goggles up to his eyes and placed his head wrap loosely as a hood over his head. Margret was seated at her desk, puffing on a cigarette waiting to record the information of incoming travelers. There were Rangers present on guard, but they paid no particular interest to Zack and Kade. They both walked down the dirt path towards the highway.

"A crazy thing happened while you were being escorted away by those two Rangers. I walked back to the bazaar to see if they had anything new to view and I saw a young girl who was by a booth sniffling. She was wearing filthy clothes and was very thin. I asked her what was wrong. She told me that her mother was hurt and needed some help. I asked her where she was. The young girl pulled me along to the left side where the stairs went up to the second level. She said she was lying underneath them. I went over to look when out of nowhere I was tackled to the ground. I must've had four kids on top of me. They were trying to pull my pack and side bag off while holding me down at the same time. One of them was holding a knife and looked ready to use it. Luckily I was able to kick one of them off and reach down for my laser pistol. They pretty much gave up when they saw I had it. They moved away and I was able to get up while keeping the pistol aimed at them. I told them what they did was wrong and that they'd get what was coming to them someday, but not from me. I then walked backwards away from them and decided to wait by the entrance for you. I didn't think that kids could do such a thing, horrible little monsters."

Zack was laughing when she finished. She shot him a playful angry look. "You think it was funny?"

Zack shook his head. "In a sense yes. But, I should of told you to never trust kids when their alone, it usually leads to trouble." He looked down to Kade's hip. She had made a make shift holster for her laser pistol out of leather and some stripped wire. "Very clever with that holster, was it loaded at the time?"

She looked down to it. "Yeah, it's functioning fine. I'm glad I didn't have to fire it though. Don't know if I could have the death of a child on my conscience."

"Sill, we'll get you some practice when were further away from here. Hold up for one moment." She stopped. "Turn around, I just want to make sure that everything is sitting right and won't go anywhere." He looked over her pack and sleeping pad that was attached on the side. He also lifted it to make sure the weight was balanced. "Did you put the dynamite in your side bag?"

"Yeah I did, along with my tools as well. Just the items I might have to grab quickly."

"Good thinking. So, we'll probably end this day short so we can rest and begin to travel at night."

She nodded and they both began walking down the road side by side.

Apologies, I was looking back at something and I realized that a chapter did not upload right. The proper one for chapter 11 is up now titled Heads I Win, Tails You Lose. I'm sure everything was confusing. I feel really dumb for allowing this to happen. Thank you for reading.