Chapter Fifty One: A Sinking Ship

I went back and did a bunch of editing on my older chapters. I cut some unnecessary stuff out, added more dialogue to flesh out character relationships and added some tidbits here and there. It doesn't matter if you don't go back and reread the other 50 chapters ('cause I wouldn't either,) since they don't change anything too drastically. Thanks for reading! We're finally nearing the end, I think.


Harley pushed a large oval table into the center of the cocktail lounge, Kennedy at her heels, struggling with a chair. Veronica was downstairs cooking with Lily, Craig and Cass were helping to find more chairs for the table – they'd need a lot more than just one. Joshua and Follows Chalk were on the casino level, watching for the thief – whoever it was was slippery. They hadn't been taking anything since they started watching tighter, but they hadn't let on that they were watching. Cameras were still working from House's reign, and Chalk and Joshua hadn't been on the casino floor any more than usual.

Queenie, who was now the receptionist, talked to a short, slender woman who had a fire burst of orange red hair on her head in a tight bun, and a mangy dog at her side. Queenie informed the very young woman that she couldn't bring the dog into the casino, but she insisted that she knew Harley and it would be okay. Her dog wouldn't bite anyone unless she specifically told her to. Despite her trepidations, the receptionist nodded and paged Harley, who wasn't ready yet. The girl nodded – "I'm early anyways."

Queenie watched the dog carefully - it was missing an eye and had a mangle of belly that was completely gone. Other than that, she walked around completely bright eyed and panting like a puppy. Like the girl said, she didn't leave her side – didn't even growl despite all of the people in the room asking to pet her. And it wasn't often Queenie had seen tame dogs. Maybe she should pet it?

A black man walked through the door, leaning heavily on a cane. He informed Queenie he was here to see Harley. Queenie, despite also being black, eyed the man up suspiciously. Is he actually crippled? What if there's a weapon hiding in the cane and he's here to hurt one of us? Stop it, Queenie. What if someone thought that way about you? She nodded, yet again paging the owner.

"Who?" Harley wasn't quite sure who it would've been.

"I'm sorry, sir, your name?"

"Boxcars."

"Boxcars?"

"Did I fucking stutter?"

"Sorry, sir," Queenie paged Harley again. Harley pinched the bridge of her nose, calmly telling the younger girl to stop paging her when someone walked in the door and she would let them know when she was ready. Queenie sighed and tapped her fingers impatiently on the desk. More people walked through the door and she greeted them cheerfully enough. Geez, how many people does Harley know? And they're all here for the meeting? I wonder what they'll be talking about…

Harley put the chairs around the table, having Kennedy run the food from the kitchen back to the cocktail lounge while Harley sat on a stool, nervously jiggling her leg up and down. What if they didn't agree with how she would be doing things? What if people started fighting and they all got mad at each other and wouldn't participate at the Dam? Stop, she told herself, beating yourself up isn't going to help. Yes Man said they love you. Just be you.

She took a deep sigh, "I'm ready," she called to Queenie.

Thank God Queenie sighed to herself, telling everyone to meet with Harley.

A slew of people packed into the elevator, and there were more waiting for the next trip. Victor greeted them with a "howdy pardner. Cocktail lounge!" As the elevator began it's ascent.

Sunny, Boxcars, Johnson and Ruby Nash, Cliff, and Mick stepped from the elevator, Harley greeting them all individually – surprised to see Boxcars there. Downstairs, The King, Julie, Elizabeth Kiernan, and Tom Anderson from Westside stepped in the elevator.

Mother Pearl, Papa Khan, Marjorie, Swank and Skylar from the Wolf-Paws took the next elevator up.

Rex and Cheyenne rolled around on the ground together, and Kennedy walked around the table, greeting everyone individually. The King was ecstatic to see that Rex was in better condition. Harley apologized for not bringing him back sooner, "it's been crazy here," she said.

"That's okay. Little Kennedy really seems to like him."

"Yeah, she does. He sleeps with her every night."

"As long as you don't mind me coming to visit him, consider him hers."

When everyone was seated, Harley spoke up, "glad everyone could make it." Sunny, The King, Johnson and Ruby said hello, "you guys all know me, obviously, so turn and get to know the person next to you. Veronica has been upstairs making food all day, so help yourselves," she gestured to the middle of the table.

Kennedy poked at Sunny's leg, "how old are you?" She whispered.

"16," she whispered back.

"That means..." Kennedy stuck out her fingers, "you're this much older than me."

She wasn't sure if she was right, or not, but Sunny smiled at her, "So you're nine?"

"…No…"

"Well how many more fingers do you need then?"

Kennedy looked at her fingers, then at the ground, and she sighed, "One more, right?"

"Are you 8?"

Kennedy nodded excitedly, "Yes!"

Harley tried to catch her breath while everyone chit chatted. She couldn't afford to lose her composure. Not here. Not now.

"How's the baby?" Julie asked.

"He's good. Wanna see him?"

"I'm sure we all do," the doctor said, and several people agreed.

Harley called Victor over, "Can you ask Craig to bring Isaiah up here?"

"Yes, ma'am."

She turned back towards the table, looking down at the clipboard, "Boxcars. I'm glad to see you."

"Well," he smiled, "when I heard you were having a meeting, I thought well damn, better go crash that fuckin' party. And…I never thanked you properly."

"It's okay. How's Nipton?"

"It's actually coming along nicely. That's part of the reason I'm here. I was gonna ask if it would be possible to get a few extra hands down there to help clean up?"

Sunny's hand flew up in the air, "I'll help, no sweat."

"Thank you," he said.

"Anyone else willing to help?" Harley asked.

Johnson and Ruby nodded, "we'll help, son," he said.

"Maybe some of the people from the soup kitchen will help as well," Major Kiernan offered.

"The Khans will be honored, friend," Papa Khan boomed from the other side of the table.

Boxcars nodded and thanked them, and after a few more minutes of chatting, they turned to Harley.

She breathed in deep through her nose, "Okay, so I've asked you guys to come here for a reason. The battle of the Dam is drawing very, very near. Not only do I ask for your cooperation, but as the owner of the Strip, I plan on doing some things that I think Vegas and her surrounding areas with benefit from. For one, I'm opening jobs – ones that will pay in caps and not NCR money – to help fix up Vegas and the surrounding areas, such as Freeside and West Side. As you may or may not know, we're starting to use the upper part of North Vegas as a graveyard, and I'm already paying someone to keep it free from squatters and keep it maintained. For two, places like Nipton that need fixing up, I'll send workers and caps to help rebuild. Johnson, how's the Bison Steve and Vicki and Vance coming along?"

"Great. But like you said, there's not enough people or money."

"Okay, so I'll send people there, too. But...the caps aren't free."

She listened as people whispered and looked around. Sunny nodded reassuringly at her and she took a second to catch her breath.

"Until the money is paid back, I'll be taking an extra cut from the two casinos in Primm."

"But that money could go towards –"

"M-money isn't free, guys. If I just gave you caps, then I-I'd have to give everyone caps."

"Well how the fuck you expect us to pay you back?" Boxcars demanded angrily.

"W-with the money you make in the stores," she was sweating, "it's called taxes. House had them in place as well, and I'm not going to charge you quite as much as he did, but money isn't free."

Sunny piped up, "she's right, guys. At least she's willing to give the caps and time and workers. We shouldn't be so hard on her."

"I agree with Sunny," Mother Pearl added, "you have the Boomers complete support in anything that you do, child."

"Thank you, guys," she could breathe a little easier knowing that at least someone else agreed with her as well. Before she opened her mouth to speak again, Isaiah and Craig appeared from the elevator, and his cries alerted everyone in the room.

"Oh my goodness, Harley! I didn't know you had a baby!" Ruby exclaimed, eagerly following Sunny and Kennedy over to see him.

"It sure doesn't seem like it's been that long since you were in my store buying a T-Rex from me," Cliff thought back, "wait...it hasn't been..."

"No. It hasn't. He was born four months too early. Spent the first four weeks of his life in a little incubation chamber. We were finally allowed to let him out a few days ago."

"He's gotten so big!" Julie said as they passed him around, complimenting his jade green eyes and his dark brown hair, "so much hair!" "Such pretty eyes, like his mom!"

"This gentleman here the father?" Johnson asked, pointing towards Craig.

Craig nodded, but Harley tripped over her words, "Y-yes, yes s-sir."

"You okay? I've never heard you stutter before. What happened?" He asked quietly, noticing her flinch when he put a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sorry." He was so quiet that if he weren't right in her good ear, she would've never heard him.

"I-I'm fine. Honest."

The others were too busy with the baby to notice. Johnson felt terrible for even bringing it up, but he noticed that even though Craig's peach fuzz was a rusted brown color, it wasn't chestnut brown, and the baby's eyes were large and round a darker green than either his or Harley's eyes. It didn't add up to him. He shouldn't have asked. It was none of his business.

"If you don't mind me asking…" Johnson started, waiting for her to nod at him, "How'd he get up on his feet so fast? He's growing like a regular baby, now."

"You'd have to ask Julie and Usanagi. They had him down at the Old Mormon Fort for a few weeks doing all sorts of tests. He was on so many medications, but it was like we could see the transformation happening right before our eyes."

Finally, Isaiah made his way back into Harley's arms, and she stood with the now-healthy baby rested on her hip as she took the clipboard in her other hand. Kennedy stood in front of her, hugging her legs.

The group laughed as Harley set the clipboard on Kennedy's head, "you're the perfect height for a table," Harley said, "now you have to stand very, very still for the rest of the meeting."

"I don't know if I can!" She giggled.

"Well I don't have any other stand to use."

She put her hands down at her sides and stared straight ahead, "I'll be as still as I can be!"

Harley playfully tapped Kennedy on the head with the clipboard, "Go sit down, you weirdo. Anyways, so taxes. House had taxes at twenty percent of what you bring in. I'll be lowering it to ten percent unless I lend you caps. It'll be fifteen percent until the money is paid back and then lower to ten."

"Sounds fair," Cliff nodded, and a few more joined him.

"And now time for the fun part – war talk. The Boomers have their rocket launchers and the Lady. What else do we have?"

"I can supply ammo," Cliff said, "whatever guns I have."

"I'm sure Doc Mitchell can give us some more supplies," Sunny chimed in, "and all you have to do is say the word, and I'll be at the Dam beside you."

"Thank you all. Very much," Harley said, as she went on about different tactics. They hadn't been to the Dam, so all they had to go off of was some Old World pictures. Harley put a big X on each tower, explaining that there would be sniper nests at the top. There were four towers, and Craig was the only sniper, so far.

"We can ask Manny," Cliff said.

"Okay, that's an idea. Anyone else know of anyone good with a sniper rifle?" Harley asked.

Craig was leaning in the elevator doorway with his arms crossed. When he spoke up, people turned to face him, forgetting he was even there. "Manny is an excellent choice. He was a damn fine spotter. And the time you used a rifle at Nelson, you were pretty decent. I'm sure I can show you more and you can practice."

Harley felt her cheeks flare up, "t-thanks, Craig."

"I'd be glad to learn if he's willing to teach," Boxcars said, "my eyes are a lot better than normal."

"The more the merrier," Harley said, writing on the clipboard.

The meeting didn't last much longer. They'd have to see the layout of the Dam itself before they made any more plans, and people like Boxcars and Cliff who lived too far away wanted to get a start on walking before darkness fell. Harley sent a securitron with each group leaving Freeside to make sure they were safe.

Craig cleaned up the rest of the cocktail lounge while Harley sat at the table – Kennedy on one lap and Isaiah on the other, going through notes, and flipping through the old journal to see where exactly Arcade hid his research. In fact, she wasn't even sure what "research" Arcade was doing. Instead of skipping around, looking for something that might be useful, she started with the first page and began reading from there. Craig took Kennedy to bed, as Harley fed Isaiah and continued flipping through the journal.

It started off a few years back, detailing his arrival at the Old Mormon Fort. He talked briefly about his family, how much he missed them, and how difficult it was for him to transition. What transition? Harley wondered, marked the page by bending the corner, and continued reading. The first few days at the Old Mormon Fort, they put him with patients. As Harley already knew, he wasn't the greatest with other people. He was reserved and quiet, and when things didn't go Arcade's way, he folded in on himself and could only dwell on what a failure he was. He asked Julie to be transferred to the research department, and gave her a solid reason: he wanted to make stimpacks out of natural ingredients.

He had an old laptop at the Old Mormon Fort that he kept his research on. He never brought it back to the casino with him since he was afraid that someone would find it and figure out his secrets. What could've been so bad that he wouldn't have even told Harley about? Harley might be okay with it…if she even knows what we are. But Boone, I know for sure Boone will have my head on a pike, the entry read.

"What wouldn't I know about?" She asked out loud, though she knew Isaiah couldn't answer, aside from the small giggle he gave around her nipple.

She ignored the ding of the elevator, upset that Arcade didn't even trust her to tell her, even though he said she wouldn't know. Arcade was her best friend. They spent more time together than anyone else, especially when Craig was in Zion. She steadied herself as he walked around her and set his hand on her shoulder.

"Find anything?" He asked quietly.

"Not really. I don't know."

"It's pretty late. Come to bed. Kennedy is sound asleep with the girls, Isaiah is falling asleep…" He kissed her head.

"Okay," she marked the page and started cleaning up.

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Harley woke up to Isaiah crying – a lot louder than she expected – to find her bed had been taken over. Craig was sitting in the corner with the baby in his arms, trying desperately to put the bottle in his mouth, but he kept turning his head away from it. He sighed in frustration. Kennedy was laying practically underneath Harley, the two of them sweating where they made contact. Rex was laying at the edge of the bed, Harley stubbing her toe off his metal body more than once throughout the night.

"Thank God you're awake," Craig let out a breath, "I have no idea what he wants and he won't stop crying."

Harley unpeeled herself from Kennedy, who also woke up in the process and she took the baby in her arms, unwrapping him from the blanket and setting the bottle down on the end table.

"Did you change him?" She asked.

"Well…no, but Lily is still washing the other diapers, and I'm not sure what I should use…"

Harley sighed, standing up and stretching as she grabbed the bottle and the baby, "well, let's go see what she has done so far."

Turns out, Lily already had done the laundry, washed all of the dishes, made lunch, washed the dishes again and cleaned the kitchen. Harley wondered if she had even slept. The nightkin brought a clean cloth diaper to Harley, and she went back to her room to change him.

After a well-deserved shower and some pampering, Harley decided to make her way to the Old Mormon Fort. When she showed Julie the passage Arcade had written about wanting Harley to have his work, she simply nodded, telling her to follow her upstairs.

She knew Julie's office was in one of the four corners, and that's when she found out Arcade's was just opposite of hers. The metal key was small and cool as Julie placed it in her hand, telling her that the research Arcade was doing was very secretive, and should it get into the wrong hands, that could mean trouble for the New Vegas chapter of the Followers of the Apocalypse.

Harley shifted Isaiah to her other hip as Julie explained it to her. She couldn't imagine what kind of work he would've been doing that scared Julie or would piss Craig off. That wasn't like Arcade – not the Arcade she knew, anyway. It upset her that maybe she didn't quite know him so well after all.

The door made a satisfying click as she turned the key. The landing was dark and smelled faintly of old wood and most definitely like dust. Harley had to turn on her Pip-Boy light to see before walking up a flight of stairs to a landing, turning to the left and then walking up another flight of steps. After digging the baby's blanket from her bag, she laid it down on the immaculately kept floor and gently set him down. He was right beside the desk, on the side of her good ear so that she could listen to and see him if he needed anything.

The laptop was on the desk directly in front of the chair, surrounded by old medical books and journals, some opened but most stacked a few feet high with tabs and different markings hanging from the pages. Pens, pencils, scissors, highlighters, sticky notes and paper clips littered the desk. It was the only area in this room that was messy. Arcade was usually so neat about everything.

She opened the laptop, and a screen asking for a password immediately appeared. Good thing she remembered to mark the page in his journal, so she typed the password and waited for it to load. Arcade made sure to detail how to use the computer since Harley had no experience, and she sat there, scrolling through notes and emails.

Enclave Remnants believed to be in New Vegas area, one email was titled. She clicked on it:

Fwd: A woman in Novac named Daisy Whitman was overheard bragging about her time spent flying when she was younger. Only so many people have access to working Vertibirds, especially when she mentioned that she crashed one and had another at her disposal. She's not the president of the fucking NCR, so she had to have gotten that tech somewhere, and since she isn't hiding in a bunker like the BoS, then for now, I'm going to assume she's a Remnant.

There's also a doctor in Jacobstown named Henry who is living among nightkin. He is living with them. If that isn't suspicious enough, the doctor is a neurologist and I've seen him do brain transplants. That kind of training just isn't common around here. Especially with how much he knows about the mutations of the super mutants and the nightkin. Something's just not right, here. I'm sure there are more. Not a whole lot more, but at least a few. After all, that's why they're called 'the remnants.'

We should really look into this, Kimball.

"What do you think the Enclave is, Monster?" She asked Isaiah. His response was a belly laugh that made Harley's heart jump. Every time Craig said the word 'monster,' Isaiah would giggle and giggle and giggle until his face turned red. Isaiah the Monster.

She loved him. She didn't care who the dad was – it was her and Craig's baby. And even though she knew Craig wasn't the father, every time she looked at him, she saw Craig. More and more every day. Maybe it was her way of coping. She hoped not – she hoped that she would eventually find out Arcade was wrong, and that he was actually Craig's. It made more sense to her that Craig would be the dad; when she found out she was pregnant, she was ten to eleven weeks along. To her, it didn't seem like that much time had passed since the Cove. Maybe they were there longer than the week that she first thought.

She still didn't know what the Enclave was or who the Enclave Remnants were, besides this Daisy woman, and Doc Henry who fixed up Rexie. Arcade once said that Doc Henry had practically raised him, so does that mean that Arcade was a Remnant, too? Or was Arcade just picked up by Doc Henry and taken in?

Harley read all about the Tesla power armor passed down in the Gannon family from Arcade's dad, to him, and now to Harley. She saw pictures of people wearing it and read about how to put it on. Apparently, there were several versions of the Tesla Armor, but the Gannon Family Armor was the only full set still around to this day. It was in his closet at the Old Mormon Fort. Then, she stumbled across a document in the research folder labeled 'FEV.' When she clicked on it, a box appeared asking for the password. After entering the password she used to get on the computer itself, she got an 'access denied' screen. She reentered it to make sure she didn't accidentally spell it wrong. Still denied.

After she spent about an hour reading through the journal, she was stumped. There was nothing there to give her access to this FEV document. She decided to move on to something else for the time being and maybe ask Julie if she would know the password. But why would Julie know if Arcade didn't even write it down for Harley?

And then it dawned on her – maybe he wasn't hiding himself from just her. He was hiding himself from everyone.