35: War Council
Courier had called another meeting, and everyone was front and center. What was strange was the fact that Mark was here as well. In the month since Helios, he had proven to be… useful. He was probably going nuts, running errands for them, with them, and not hearing a thing from his wife.
She was keeping tabs on Faith though, via Jeff and whatever her Securitrons picked up. Faith had gotten herself involved in Freeside politics, and so far, she was swinging for the winning team. Courier wondered how much of that was intentional on Faith's part, wondering just how much about her plans Jeff had told the other woman.
As it was… she had other things to worry about.
"Can we get this started, darlin'?" Shawn asked softly, watching as she paced at the front of her 'war' table. He smiled when River's blue eyes landed on him, taking in the way her normally stern, harsh face mellowed out into something softer, a slight smile playing her lips. There was his girl. "Sit down."
She took her spot at the head of the table, accepting the beer John placed in front of her and took stock of her people. Her friends, if she wanted to be honest. Melina, her favorite drunk and new bath time buddy. John, fellow disenchanted NCR soldier, who made it a point to question her frequently, especially after the Bitter Springs incident. Jeff, Follower, cynic, and 100% at her back so long as she was genuinely looking out for the people and not herself.
Mark, the new guy and constant reminder of the ultimate pain in her ass, though he was damn useful in a pinch. He had gone through the Fiends in Vault 3 on that search for Faith, alongside his ghoul, Shawn, and Jeff. That had been a major boon for her because the Fiends were fucking batshit insane and causing problems just outside her walls. The fact that he had just waltzed in there and cleaned the nest out the way he had… he was very much like his twin…sometimes enough to throw her off-balance.
Kane, the ghoul, he was mostly an unknown to her. He trailed after Mark for the most part, though she had also noticed he tended to slip away for days at a time. She had no idea where he went or what he did, and the raw power that he was obviously keeping leashed was rather intimidating. She didn't know his story and she wasn't asking.
Then there was Shawn, her Shawn. Dependable, humble, and he was the reason her feet remained grounded. He knew her past, about her various lovers and her husband, he knew where she had come from, where she had been, and he knew where she was going. He knew the trail of blood she had left in her wake, and yet, he was still here. Sometimes, she thought her reason for doing what she did, what she was doing, was for him.
"The Legion is moving in, within weeks, they'll be at the dam." She announced finally, leaning back in her chair and taking in the suddenly grim faces staring back at her. Well, Mark and Kane weren't looking grim, but they had gotten the condensed version of the Legion, and the situation. "We knew it was coming."
"Yeah, it's one thing to talk about it, but another thing to…"Melina shook her head, reaching up to pluck her straw cowboy hat from her head and dropped it on the table. "Christ… so what's the plan? We let the NCR duke it out with our boys in skirts? Sweep in afterwards?"
"Sort of."
"Smart." John said after a moment. "Cowardly, but smart."
"Look, I told you all the stakes awhile ago. I'm not letting the Legion or the NCR have the Mojave. As far as I'm concerned, Mojave is my territory and New Vegas is its goddamn capital." She knew the Mojave, she had walked the desert, and met the hardy people who had managed to create lives out of what could have been a miserable existence. She wasn't these people be subjected to the Legion's cruel dogma or the NCR's resource stripping tendencies. It just wasn't happening. "If you want to walk, now is the time to do it."
When nobody moved, she nodded. "I'm not saying we're sweeping in afterwards, technically. We'll be fighting alongside the NCR."
"Bullshit." John snorted into his beer.
"No, we will, and after we win, the NCR is going to either into a new agreement or evacuate the Mojave."
"New agreement?" That was Shawn, and he looked more than mildly curious.
"The New Vegas Treaty, between the now deceased House and the NCR states that House conceded the McCarran airport for the NCR to use as a base of operations, as well as the adjacent land for their farming ventures. House also conceded a place on the Strip for the NCR to have their embassy and the dam, giving them 95% of the power generated with a guaranteed five percent coming directly to the Strip."
"House was supposed to be a genius…" Jeff said slowly, wondering if he was hearing right. "How in the hell did that benefit him at all?"
"Because, at the time of the agreement, House was in no position to flat out say no. He had just recruited the three families, or tribes, into New Vegas, and his Securitrons were not at the strength they are now."
"Three families?"
She glanced down the table to Mark, nodding. "The White Gloves, who are now dead, the Omertas, who will need tended to soon, and the Chairmen. Each tribe was given status and a casino to run, so long as they agreed to adhere to House's 'society' rules. Part of the agreement stipulated fresh food and water being transported into Vegas, and that the NCR adhered to the 'no guns' policy on the Strip, as well as allow its soldiers to frequent the casinos."
"Again, how was this supposed to benefit him?"
"That's where I came in. That Platinum Chip, the thing Shane tried killing me over. It was a storage device with all the upgrades on it for his Securitrons. With those upgrades, he could have evicted the NCR from Vegas, and possibly the Dam. However…"
"The Legion happened." Mark finished, having sort of followed that.
"Exactly."
"Now, what happened to House?" When he, Faith, and Kane had set out for Vegas, they had been under the impression they would be dealing with its dictator, Robert House. He had the feeling there was no House.
"I killed him."
She said it so simply, so matter-of-factly. He could appreciate that. "Fair enough."
"Now… we have, maybe a week. The Boomers and Khans need to be alerted, because I'm going to need them ready." She was praying the Boomers had that bomber plane thing she and John had raised up from the lake ready to go. "John-"
"I'll go to Nellis." He said instantly, nodding. It was roughly 14 miles, round trip, he could definitely cover that by himself in less than a day. "The Khans though…"
"I already had David send one of his boys, former Khan himself." The Chairmen had been tribal, nomadic savages, but… similar to the Khans, somewhat. They are also the most open of the Families, so… with David being the new head, he's not opposed to recruiting from outside the house. When I left Red Rock canyon, Papa had already sent out runners to bring home all the Khans."
"How many are left?" John was asking out of curiosity, knowing damn well the NCR had slaughtered many. He waited for the twinge of guilt that usually accompanied his thoughts of the Khan's, but it didn't come. It would, he knew it would.
"More than you'd believe."
"They're junkies." Jeff disapproved, and by the way Shawn stiffened, he was guessing the other man did too.
"And warriors, and they're willing to fight for us so suck it up or go home." Courier wasn't messing around, everything was hinged on the Dam. Whoever controlled it, controlled the Mojave, plain as that. "Boomers with their artillery, Khans… I'll have a handful of Securitrons here at the Strip along with the Chairmen to escort NCR out of the city once I send word."
"Wait…" Shawn interrupted, sure he had missed something. "It sounds like you plan on being at the Dam…"
"I do." She could already see he was ready to launch into what would probably be a very interesting argument about why she shouldn't but… it was going to have to wait. "Shawn, you can try changing my mind later. Right now, business or get out."
He was obviously considering getting out, hazel eyes narrowed at her. Finally, he just nodded curtly, remaining in his seat, rigid, but seated.
"Anyways," Back to business, their personal issues would wait until later. "I have a man inside the Gomorrah-"
Shawn remembered visiting that viper's pit with her. She had encountered a former lover of hers there, Maria, the woman had been an addict and a victim of management. He was pretty sure said member of management, Cachino, was her informant. Cachino was not someone he would want working for him, the man held no loyalty to anyone but himself.
"And thanks to him, we know that the Omertas are working with the Legion."
"What are we doing about this? You know they're probably feeding the Legion information." Jeff shook his head, uncapping his bottle of purified water and took a small sip. "It's surprising that you let them…do this, for so long."
"It had its benefits." She admitted, knowing damn well if Jeff knew what she knew… he'd be pretty pissed. The Legion had infiltrated the NCR, here in Vegas, and at McCarran. Infiltrated their ranks pretty damn high from her understanding, and she knew for a fact that whoever was the spy was sending intel back to the Legion regarding NCR movement. The only reason she had let it go on like she had was because she supported neither side and wasn't about to undermine their attempts at sabotaging each other. It just meant less clean-up for her. "Benefits are over though. Omertas have to go."
It was silent for a while after that. Everyone else was contemplating what she had said, she was thinking over what else needed done. There was still the Brotherhood to contend with. They had gone into hiding after the NCR whipped their asses at Helios but she wasn't stupid enough to think that they had vacated the Mojave. The fact that Faith had come here, intent on seeing them, confirmed her suspicions. She also had a feeling that once they found out the NCR was gone, they'd be back, and she wasn't sure how that would play out.
Her attention was drawn to Jeff when she seen him fidgeting, frowning slightly. "Something you want to share?"
"I uh, might know some people… who would help with… the fight."
She did not miss the way Mark's eyes strayed to the Follower, or the way his mouth seemed to think out into a grim line. Well… what was that about? "All right?"
"You're joking…" That was Mark and he ran a hand down his face, letting out a sigh. His wife was going to kill him.
"How do you feel about retired Enclave?"
Courier cocked an eyebrow. That was… not what she had been expecting.