Chapter 50: Treat Me Nice
Six took a deep breath and headed back to the Strip. They got to the Monorail quickly. Six was digging in her bag for the note from Colonel Hsu when the guards saw her. Both stood up straight and saluted. Six smiled back and headed inside.
"Did they just salute me?!" Six asked incredulously. Boone just grinned.
When they reached the platform a hush fell over the waiting crowd as everyone turned to stare. Six couldn't help blushing at all the attention. She headed over to wait in a corner with Boone. A brave troopers eventually came over.
"You're the Courier, right? And Sergeant Boone?" The trooper asked in awe.
Six elbowed Boone in the side. "You're getting fa-a-a-mous." She said in a singsong voice. He merely grumbled.
"Ah… I just wanted to thank you for saving my little brother's life." The soldier reached out to shake both of their hands. "He's stationed at Bitter Springs."
"And you would be?" Six asked.
"Oh, sorry ma'am. Corporal Brix, at you service." Brix saluted.
"Oh! Private Brix!" Six said happily. "He makes an excellent stew!"
Brix laughed. "I was really worried about him when he was assigned to Bitter Springs. Thanks for being his guardian angels." Just then the Monorail pulled into the station. "I'll leave you two in peace. Thanks again."
Six waved goodbye and headed over to the train and grabbed a seat. The ride to Camp McCarran was quick. There were no broken windows nearby so Six had to settle for pushing her nose up against the glass. The only one who laughed at her was Boone. Once at McCarran they headed to the colonel's office.
"Ah Courier. I see you managed to catch up with her, sergeant." Hsu said in lieu of greeting.
"Yes. Thank you, sir." Boone responded. Six looked quizzically between them. "It's not important." Boone said.
"Alright." Six shrugged. "Colonel, I was wondering if you could help me."
"Of course, I'll do what I can."
"You probably know there's been trouble in Freeside."
"Yes, so I've heard. Did Ambassador Crocker send you?" The colonel asked.
"What? Uh no… he might have been going to… I kind of stormed out on him." Six said sheepishly.
"Oh? Then what can I help you with?"
"I've spoken to the King and he has agreed to do everything within his power to stop the violence against NCR citizens in Freeside but I was hoping the NCR could do something as a show of good faith, to get the rest of the Kings on board."
"Well, I do get to make the calls on the distribution of supplies there." Hsu pondered aloud. "As long as the King can curb the violence against the NCR I'll make sure Freeside gets more water, power, and food. If the violence isn't curbed however, the supplies with be stopped."
"Really?!" Six asked in surprise. "That's… that's more than I was expecting. Thank you, colonel." Six said with a big smile.
"How can I say no to the courier who's cleaning up the Mojave?" Hsu laughed.
"Oh, just you wait." Six grinned fiendishly. "Our next feat will be unbelievable!"
"I look forward to it." The colonel smiled back.
"Thanks again, colonel!" Six said as she waved goodbye.
"Good luck out there, you two." Hsu said as he waved farewell.
Six led the way back to the Monorail. The ride was similar to the previous one with lots of stares and whispers. They headed back to Freeside. The Kings outside the school were surprised to see them but let them pass.
"What can… oh, it's you." The kings greeted with a huff.
Six held her hands up in surrender. "No more yelling! Just good news." Six smiled. Rex came up to sniff Six now that she wasn't yelling.
"I could use a little good news right about now."
Six bent to pet Rex. "I spoke with Colonel Hsu at Camp McCarran. He says that if you can reduce the violence, he'll make sure Freeside gets more water, power, and food."
"Really? What's the catch?" The King asked sceptically.
"No catch. Make this place safer for everyone and everyone benefits." Rex whined as Six pet him.
"With that as incentive, getting the boys to fall in line should be a bit easier." The King admitted.
"I hoped it would help." Six got distracted by the whining cyberdog. "What wrong with Rexie?" Six asked.
"He's been acting peculiar for some time now. I took him to the Followers and had him checked out, and they said his brain is bad or something."
"He doesn't seem very happy." Six said sadly as she scratched him behind the ear. "Is he going to be okay?"
"For now, but they said eventually he's going to get worse. I don't know what to do." The King sighed.
"I wish I could help you, Rex." Six said to the dog.
"Maybe you can. If you found a way to help my poor Rex here, I'd be much obliged. Your best bet would be to talk to Julie Farkas over at the Old Mormon Fort north of here. Maybe you'll have better luck than I did."
"Alright, we'll head over." Six pat the dog on the head and said goodbye to the King. Six and Boone walked the short distance to the Fort. Once inside it was easy to find Julie.
"Welcome back, friend." Julie greeted happily.
"Hi, Julie. The King said you could tell me more about his robotic dog." Six said.
"Rex? It breaks my heart every time I see him. He's such a good dog."
"There's nothing you can do?" Six said sadly.
"No, Rex's condition is way beyond anything we can handle. He requires brain surgery, and some sophisticated cybernetics work, too."
"So, that's it then. There's no chance he'll ever get better." Six said with a sniffle.
"I didn't say that. While no one here has that kind of expertise, I do know of one man who might fit the bill. There's an old scientist named Dr. Henry who reportedly specializes in this sort of procedure. He'd probably be your best bet. Last I heard, he was living up in Jacobstown, far to the northwest."
"That's excellent news!" Six shouted. "I need to go tell the King! Thanks, Julie!" Six ran out of the Fort excitedly. Boone had to jog to keep up. Six ran straight into the school and burst in on the King.
"Julie said a man in Jacobstown can treat Rex!" Six squealed excitedly as she bent to pet Rex.
"She said what? Why didn't she just say so when I was there? Actually, come to think of it, I was pretty angry when I went down there. I vaguely recall something about upending a few tables, maybe knocking out one of her doctors. Anyway, that's incredible news! Only thing is, there's too much going on around here for me to make a trip like that, and I need all of my guys just to keep things settled here. You seem to be awfully interested in my boy Rex here. And you've done some good work for me already. I'll tell you what. You promise to get Rexie here to that doctor, and I'll lend him to you. What do you say?" The King asked hopefully.
Six looked up at Boone. "Is Jacobstown far?" Rex looked up at Boone and growled.
"About two days from McCarran…" Boone trailed off.
"But?" Six asked.
"Radio says there's a super mutant refuge in that direction."
"Those are like Nightkin." Six said absentmindedly as she looked at Rex. Six thought carefully. "Alright, King. We'll see that he gets better." Six said with a smile.
"I can't thank you enough. Now, there's a few things you should know about ol' Rex here if you're going to be traveling together. First, he hates rats. Can't stand the things. Giant rats, molerats, doesn't matter. He catches a whiff of one and he's off like a shot after them. He's normally pretty obedient, but you might have to chase him some if he goes after one of the little varmints. Second, he doesn't like hats, or the people wearing them."
"Uh oh." Six cut in as she looked at Boone.
"Don't ask. I have no idea why. Maybe because it rhymes with "rats". That should be it, though. Other than the occasional bad spot when his brain starts hurting him, that is, but I'm hoping you'll see to that. I wish you both luck. Take care of my Rex now, y'hear?" The King sounded choked up.
"I'll do my best." Six promised. "Come on Rex, we got a bit more to do before we head out tomorrow." Six lead the way out of the school with Boone and Rex behind her. As she led the way to the Strip, Six noticed both of them were growling behind her. She stopped and spun around.
"Have a problem with my new friend, Boone?" Six asked as she crossed her arms.
"There's a Legion symbol on that mutt." Boone growled.
Six knelt down beside Rex. "You're right." Six said as she inspected the red bull symbol. "Did you work for the Legion, boy?" Six asked as she held the dog's head in her hands. Rex whined at the Courier. Six looked up at Boone. "If he's from the east, he might not have had a choice. He could've basically been a slave." Six said as she pet the dog. Six reached into her boot and withdrew her knife. Rex whined. "You're not part of the Legion anymore, pup." Six proceeded to use the knife to scratch off the red paint. Rex barked happily. Six smiled. "Will you help us bring some law back to this land, pup?" Rex barked happily again and wagged his tail. "I think that settles it. Satisfied?" Six asked Boone as she stood up. Boone merely grumbled.
"Now, Rex!" Six shouted. She pointed at Boone's beret. "That is not a hat! It's a beret. There's a difference." She said adamantly. "Satisfied?" She asked the dog. He barked a reply then went over and butted his head against Boone's leg. Boone sighed and scratched the dog behind the ear. Six smiled. She then led the way onto the Strip and to the embassy. She barged in on the Ambassador without knocking.
"Ah, hello Courier. I trust you have something to report concerning the Freeside situation?"
"I spoke to the King, and he promised to stop the violence against NCR citizens." Six sighed.
"That's great to hear. He's got a lot of sway in Freeside, so we can expect a dramatic drop in violence soon."
"Then we visited Colonel Hsu and he agreed to send some supplies to Freeside as a gesture of goodwill."
"I was going to suggest that to you. I'm glad you came to the same conclusion as I did. Hsu's a man you can count on to handle a crisis. I'm just glad that things didn't end in violence."
"Me too." Six said with a yawn.
"Now, you're probably wondering about your reward. This has been something of a hot button topic, so I was able to secure this for you." Crocker presented a thick wad of NCR bills.
"Thanks." Six said. "Glad to be of service."
"I've received a message from Colonel Moore up at Hoover Dam. She's been following your exploits and has requested that you meet with her. You're not officially in the employ of the NCR, so there's nothing forcing you to go, but I'd go see her sooner rather than later. The Colonel is not someone you want to keep waiting."
"I see. If you speak with the colonel, tell her I'm no soldier and if she treats me like one she may find herself waiting a very long time to meet me."
"I see." Crocker said carefully.
"I do want to see the dam however." Six tapped her chin in thought. "I have a few things to do first, but I will visit her, eventually. Goodbye, Ambassador." Six left the Ambassador's office and headed back to the Strip. She caught Boone laughing under his breath.
"What?" She asked.
"Colonel Moore is not going to like waiting." He said with a shake of his head.
"Let her wait." Six smirked.
