"He did what, now? Well… son, of, a, bitch."

Sandra and her companions stood before Randall's desk after another drive across the Mojave, Randall sighing and shaking his head.

"Well… it doesn't surprise me that he'd sink that low," Randall remarked, crossing his arms and leaning back. "Considerin' the things I've seen him do…"

"Can we… can we do anything about him?" Sandra asked, still feeling incredibly angry toward this manipulative Judge Richter person. "He's the reason the NCR came after Arcade. He's trying to cut us down and ruin your business in the process… and if he's gonna try some more underhanded bullshit, we need to retaliate."

"No, now… don't lose your head," Randall advised, swatting a hand at her. "That's exactly what he wants. You step outta line, and there's gonna be a bounty on your head, too."

Sandra threw her head back and planted her hands on her face, groaning irritably and falling into the chair behind her. "Fuck… fuck… fuuuck…"

"I know, I know… he's a manipulative motherfucker," Randall remarked. "I was worried he'd try to put my ass outta business, but I was hopin' I was just being paranoid. Guess I was right on the money, though…"

"Okay, so… let's say I go to his place of business," Sandra proposed. "Say I walk in there and shoot him in the face. What's the worst that could happen?"

Randall stared blankly at her. "You musta lost your everlovin' mind."

"You're talking to someone who's willing to make a finger necklace," Sandra snarked at him with a sly smirk. "Is there any question of whether or not I lost my mind?"

Randall stared at her again. "You ain't really making a goddamn finger necklace, are you?"

"What? Who said anything about a finger necklace?" Sandra laughed and shot him a snarky look. "I never said that."

"You just said…"

"Nope, no I didn't."

"Kid, if you're really doing that, I swear to God…"

"I can neither confirm nor deny your allegations."

Randall began to reply, then stopped and looked down, chuckling and shaking his head. "You're a piece'a work…"

Sandra smiled whimsically and cocked her head at him. "Is there really nothing we can do about the Judge right now?"

"Right this minute? No… there ain't nothing we can do, not legally," Randall replied. "But I will tell you this. You ever see any of his fuckboys runnin' around in the wasteland… you steer clear of 'em. You hear? Because I wouldn't put it past that bastard to send his own bounty hunters after you, too."

"How do you know so much about him?"

"Well… I'm ashamed to say I worked a job with him once, way back in the day. I had no idea he was a sadistic fuckin' pederass, or I wouldn't have gone near that fucker. We were huntin' a bounty out in the middle of bum-fucked nowhere, and we were supposed to take the captive alive… but Judge went inside before me, and next thing I know, I hear this Godforsaken screamin' coming from inside the house. I run in there, ready to blow somebody's goddamn head off… but Judge was just standin' there, over that dead body, covered in blood and grinnin' like a madman. When I saw him, lookin' down at that body… I swear, I saw what I might've become. A fuckin' monster."

Sandra's expression fell intense. "Jesus Christ…"

"Yeah… I did shoot him, though," Randall added. "Reckon he might be sour about that… it's a damn shame that I only wounded him. Shoulda killed him right then and there. But, whatever… you got me distracted again. That's enough of fuckin' story-time with Uncle Steven."

"But I like story-time with Uncle Steven."

Randall scoffed and laughed behind his bandana.

"Well… don't worry about the Judge," Sandra said in a dark, firm voice. "Because first chance I get… I'm definitely gonna kill that motherfucker."

"Good… just don't go jumpin' in before the time's right," Randall ordered. "I don't need to lose my best bounty hunter, now."

"Speaking of that—what's our next bounty?"

"Oh, you wanna take that on? I thought you had a delivery to make to Westside."

"Yeah. I can do two jobs at once. I'm pretty good like that."

"All right, kid… your next bounty is actually near that neck of the woods. It's on a Jackal leader named Cullen. This guy is campin' out in the caves north of Westside, and he's gatherin' an army together… old disbanded Jackals, random fiends in the area, even civilians. With the NCR occupied by the Legion, they haven't had time to focus on the raider gangs… so even the sorry-ass Jackals are gettin' back on their feet, thanks to the charismatic Mr. Cullen. Now, this job might be a little harder than the rest, since he's holed up in a cave and surrounded by his goons. Your sniping tactic might not be enough this time. I'd recommend some form of overkill."

"Explosives," Niner grinned, leaning on the back of Sandra's chair. "I like explosives."

"Explosives would be good," Randall agreed with a nod. "Might bring that whole damn cave in over their heads, if you're lucky. Just be careful—you're still gonna have to get the finger off this guy, so try not to bury him alive in a mountain of rocks."

"I think I have an idea for that," Sandra smirked mischievously, rising from her chair. "Okay… off to Westside. Seeya later, Randall."

"Ya'll be careful out there."

At that, Sandra and her friends marched out of the building, strolling down the hill and returning to the bus. Once everyone was settled inside, Sandra started the engine and slowly began the drive north.

"We're gonna have to cruise through cazador country if we wanna get there before nighttime," she told the others. "So… just keep an eye on the windows, just in case."

Arcade suddenly looked uncomfortable in the passenger seat, gently scooting away from his window. Niner and Vulpes didn't move from their seated position between the two front seats.

"I can't believe you actually resolved everything with the NCR," Arcade remarked. "I wasn't expecting it to go that smoothly…"

"Yeah… are we gonna talk about how you did that?" Niner said curiously, giving Sandra a skeptical squint. "Because I know enough about the New California Fuck-up-lic to know they ain't very nice to anyone outside their little martial law cult."

"Well…" Sandra winced slightly, making a sideways nod. "I kinda… might've… told them that we'd be working for the NCR from now on."

"What?!" Niner and Vulpes gasped in unison.

"Oh Jesus fuck—calm down," Sandra scolded them. "It was a lie. It was obviously a lie."

"How is that a lie, Six?" Niner griped. "We're gonna be under their ruddy thumb from now on."

"No… we're the opposite," Sandra stated. "We're entirely free agents with full immunity to the laws of the NCR. And that's straight from the ambassador's mouth."

"Immunity?" Arcade uttered. "How on earth did you get them to agree to that…?"

"Just by laying out the facts," Sandra shrugged. "We're gonna be a powerful ally for them when the next battle for Hoover Dam comes around… and they know that. But I threatened to take that alliance away if they keep sending assholes after us."

"So… they think you're gonna help them hold the dam," Arcade figured.

"I am gonna help them hold the dam," Sandra replied. "I'm just gonna sweep it out from under them right after the Legion is gone. I didn't tell them that part, though."

"Aaah… I see." Arcade smirked and leaned back in his seat. "Very clever. They're gonna be our allies right up until we win the war. Then we spring independent Vegas on them at the last second."

"Yup. They have no idea how many MKII securitrons I've got on standby underground," Sandra said slyly. "We've got everything we need to snatch Hoover Dam away when the time's right."

"Don't you think we're gonna end up at war with the NCR, then?" Niner asked.

"Nah… I'm gonna propose a mutual alliance," Sandra determined. "I don't mind the NCR being in the Mojave… I just don't want them to completely take over everything. If I know anything about governments like them… then I know how power can go to their heads. I don't want them to become the new Enclave."

"Agreed," Arcade said with a firm nod.

"But… that means something else, too," Sandra added. "We're gonna have to help the NCR however we can before the battle comes. That means stopping by their outposts and lending a hand now and then. We need them in tip-top shape so they can help us take the dam."

"Uuughk…" Niner groaned dramatically and flopped onto his back across the floor of the bus.

Sandra glimpsed at him and laughed. "Oh… get over it. You'll live."

"I suppose I'll have to stop at Gomorrah, too," Vulpes murmured.

Sandra and Arcade both glimpsed back at him questioningly.

Vulpes blinked and sighed, crossing his arms. "My informant… she needs to be dealt with."

"What informant?" Sandra asked.

"And what do you mean, dealt with?" Arcade wondered.

"Martina Groesbeck," Vulpes said. "The woman is a frequent customer at Gomorrah… and a Legion informant. But, with the Legion being on the opposite side of things now… she'll need to be silenced."

"I don't get it… is she with the Legion?" Sandra questioned.

"Not… entirely," Vulpes mumbled slowly, stroking his chin and glancing away. "She's actually an informant for the NCR… but a Legion mole in McCarran relays her information to the frumentarii."

"Christ," Arcade hissed, scowling and shaking his head. "Is there anywhere that hasn't been infected by you people?"

"Oh… the numerous graveyards across the Mojave are all fairly Legion-free," Vulpes replied snidely, shooting Arcade a threatening glare. "Would you like to visit one?"

"No—hey—shut up," Sandra snapped, swatting between both of them. "We were actually making headway, here. Don't start fighting now. Focus. How are we gonna stop this Martina girl from sending information to the Legion?"

"Well… there are two ways," Vulpes answered, raising his brows and stroking his chin again. "We could either do away with the Legion mole, or… Martina will need to be… persuaded again."

There was a brief silence—Sandra surveying Vulpes closely in the rearview mirror.

"What do you mean… persuaded?" she barked at him.

Vulpes met her reflective gaze, his expression instantly guarded and unreadable.

Though Sandra—somehow—was able to read his face like a book.

"You slept with her."

Vulpes showed no reaction—but Niner and Arcade both whipped around, ogling Vulpes closely as Niner flashed a childish grin.

"Ooooh… scandalous!" Niner laughed, slapping Vulpes on the back. "Thatta boy!"

Arcade cracked a slight smile, scoffing and turning away. "Oh, wow… un-fucking-believable. And after your little jealousy episode earlier… just… wow."

"I had Martina convinced that I was a soldier of the republic," Vulpes said tonelessly, ignoring their reactions. "And, after some… convincing… she agreed to relay information to a specific man in Camp McCarran. It was simply a job. Nothing more."

"Foxxy," Sandra said vacantly, shooting him another glare through the mirror. "That literally makes you the Legion's whore."

Niner and Arcade exploded with laughter, Sandra smirking and snickering as she drove up the road past Goodsprings. Vulpes said nothing, slowly closing his eyes and sighing with agitation.

Sandra sped up when she drove past the cazador nests, hoping to breeze through before any of them could spot the vehicle. A short while later, she pulled the massive vehicle to a stop just a short ways south of Gun Runners, turning the engine off and hopping out of the bus. The others waited patiently while she did some shopping at the front counter, her thee companions watching her through the windshield as she purchased numerous goods with her latest bounty earnings.

"Wonder what she's doin' over there," Niner muttered.

"Well… she did say she had a plan for how to deal with the Jackals," Arcade commented. "Maybe she needs a little extra weaponry for that. We don't exactly have a pile of explosives on hand."

"By Mars," Vulpes exhaled, eyeing the outside as he watched Sandra closely. "Look at that."

Niner and Arcade followed his trail of vision, seeing that Sandra was now sauntering back to the bus, holding a gigantic metal weapon on her shoulder and a huge duffle bag of mini-nukes dangling from her grasp.

When she pulled the driver door open, she managed to negotiate the massive weapon into the vehicle with some difficulty, sliding it behind her seat before plopping down and pulling her door shut. The others all stared at her strangely, Niner surveying the giant weapon behind her.

"Oooh… I know what this is!" Niner beamed. "A freakin' fat man!"

"That's not just a fat man—that's a specialized one called Esther," Sandra smirked, staring the engine and driving away. "I've had my eye on it forever—but I haven't been able to afford it until now. Oh, I've got Mick and Ralph working on a couple more special weapons for us, too. And I got plenty of nukes for that baby, right there. Just don't light a cigarette near 'em."

"Sandra… are you really planning to obliterate that entire cave?" Arcade asked uncertainly. "We have to collect the finger from the corpse. We can't do that if he's buried in rubble."

"I have a plan, Arcade," Sandra said confidently. "Just trust me. And listen—Westside gets a lot of trouble from fiends and other raider gangs, which means their traders probably have a lot of raider armor in their shops. While I'm taking Sellers's delivery to Bradley, I need you guys to go buy me some of that armor. Make sure you get something that would fit me."

Arcade, Niner, and Vulpes all exchanged strange glances.

Near the five in the afternoon, Sandra parked the bus outside of Westside, and all of them climbed out of the vehicle, pushing the gates open and strolling into the run-down community. Scar trailed along at Sandra's feet as they all stopped in the center of the road.

"Are you gonna tell us this plan, or what?" Niner asked Sandra.

"Just go get me some armor—I'll tell you after I find Bradley," Sandra assured. "Come find me after you find something good. And make sure the armor looks really, really fucked-up. Like… make sure it looks like something a total psychopath would wear. Okay?"

Without waiting for a response, Sandra nodded at them and waved them off, strolling away with Scar scuttling at her heels.

While her three companions browsed the shops of Westside, Sandra marched toward the end of town, spotting a barricade along the edge of the community. Directly ahead of her was a snort guard tower, perched atop the barricade and accessible via a single metal walkway. So, she strolled up the walkway, finding a single man inside; the man wore gray combat armor, a baseball cap with goggles fixed onto them, and he had short black hair, a pensive expression as he kept a vigilant eye on the dangerous area beyond Westside, a huge rifle hanging from around his torso and clenched tightly in his grasp.

"Um… hey, excuse me," Sandra said, tapping him on the shoulder. "You know where I can find a guy named Bradley?"

The man slowly turned, his shiny blue eyes narrowing at her.

"That's me," the guard named Bradley replied, his voice low and somewhat apathetic. "Look, I'm on duty… whatever you want, make it fast."

Sandra stared at him, feeling a pinch of irritation at his attitude. Still, she chose not to comment on it, sliding the letter and the key from her duster and holding it out to him.

"I'm a courier, and I have a delivery for you," she explained.

Bradley blinked, eyeing the envelope strangely. "You sure it's for me…?"

"Yeah… the guy specified you by name," Sandra assured. "Here."

Seeming confused and hesitant, Bradley slowly took the delivery, giving the key an odd look before tearing the envelope open.

"Okay… let's see." Bradley sank down into his chair, unfolding the letter inside and mumbling as he read it aloud to himself. "Mmm… Okay. 'Dear Bradley, my name is Joe Sellers. I'm almost certain you've never heard of me.' No shit. 'When I wrote this letter, I was unsure if I'd summon the nerve to send it. I made choices long ago that may have impacted you more than you know. I often question my decisions and the way things turned out. I will get to the point—I am your father. I separated from your mother not long after you were born. The reasons for this decision were complicated. It was not for lack of feeling or to shirk responsibility.' Pfft, bull-fucking-shit. 'On the contrary, I became an exile to ensure your safety. Not long after I met your mother, there was a war, and I was on the losing side. Mere association with me could be mistaken for complicity. As a result, I cut all ties with your mother. She went to Reno, and I wandered. I've no doubt you harbor resentment for my actions.' Fuck you. 'If you hate me or only with to ignore me, I only beg you accept my parting gift. Consider it my feeble attempt to reckon for your abandonment. I know you have subsisted as a soldier of fortune for some time. I never wanted that life for you.' Tch. Better than your life, cocksucker. 'There is a vault in the Mojave that contains enough wealth to let you start anew. You could leave the hazards of the frontier behind you. There is nothing I can offer to make up for the pain I inflicted on you and your mother, but I still owe you this birthright. It is all that I have left. Make no mistake—this is not a simple salvage. You must walk a dangerous path to obtain access to the vault. However, I believe your profession has given you the skills necessary to see this through. With this letter is a key, the first of three required to open the vault. The second is in Linus Caverns, in the Mesquite Mountains. It's been so long since these measures were put in place, I have no idea what you'll find in these locations aside from the keys. I understand if you wish to dispose of this note and erase any notion of connection to me. You would me more than justified. Consider this my last will and testament. Your father –Joe Sellers.'"

After reading the long letter, Bradley was silent for several long seconds, merely glaring down at the papers expressionlessly.

Sandra suddenly felt uncomfortable, staring at Bradley and feeling a jolt of empathy for him. She didn't have the faintest clue that Sellers was Bradley's father—and it seemed that Bradley didn't either. Not until now.

Finally, Bradley's eyes wandered back up to Sandra, his visage considerably angrier than before. He slowly stood, leveling his eyes with hers and giving her a deep, burning glare.

"No bullshit," Bradley snarled, his voice lowering to a dangerous octave as he jabbed an accusing finger at her. "Is this some kind of fucking con? You better come clean now—or I'll butt-stroke your fucking skull."

"Hey—back off, asshole," Sandra snapped in response, instantly furious. "I'm just a fucking courier—I didn't know what was in the damn envelope."

The two of them shared a heated blue glare. Then, to Sandra's surprise, he seemed to lose interest in arguing, instead sighing and merely glancing at the letter in his hands again.

"Excuse my skepticism… but what the fuck am I supposed to make of this?" Bradley asked, jerking the paper around. "Some old coot writes me, says I inherited his stash? Even if it's a con, it's shit. He expects me to go crawling around in fuck-all shit holes for some keys? Fuck that noise."

"Hey… Sellers told me to help you with all that," Sandra informed. "He told me I'd get a slice of the pie if I helped you out. But, hey… if you don't want your inheritance, I'll be happy to do it all by myself."

"No-no-no—not so fast," Bradley smirked, cocking his head and holding the letter and key further from her grasp. "I'm a skeptic, yeah—but I'm not stupid. There might be something to this."

"He really didn't strike me as a liar," Sandra replied truthfully. "The guy seemed freaking heartbroken when I talked to him. I think it's the real deal."

Bradley paused, examining the letter again before sliding it into his pocket alongside the key.

"Well… if he's what I think he is," he muttered. "That really could be worth my time."

"Yeah?" Sandra asked.

Bradley nodded. "Sounds like he's ex-Enclave… and that would definitely be worth a look. Those old bastards still have munitions scattered all over the goddamn place. Tch… fucking Van Graff's gouge the shit out of everybody with their prices, too. It'd be fun to undercut them."

"Heh… now you're speaking my language," Sandra smirked.

"I'm not opposed to looking into this, and I'd be willing to share the goods if you help out… but there's a problem," Bradley mumbled, turning and surveying the vast open field beyond Westside, as well as the mountainside in the distance. "I'm under contract to Westside, and there's a big raider problem here. Those psycho fucks are gathering motherfuckers up from all over… and they're apparently on some drug-fueled holy war against Westside now. Really, I couldn't make this shit up."

Sandra nodded, thinking of her bounty and eyeing the mountain on the horizon.

"Well… if somebody took out that raider camp, would you be free to leave?" she wondered.

"That camp?" Bradley asked, nodding at the mountain. "That big-ass cesspool of strung-out jagoffs? Yeah, that's the biggest concentration of them near here—but I don't see how anybody could just take 'em all out at once."

Sandra's smile grew, thinking of her new weapon. "I'll figure that part out. I have a bounty to collect out there, anyway."

Bradley scanned her up and down. "Yeah, I was gonna say… you're not really dressed like a courier. You look more like you came here to bring back somebody's head."

"I'm only a courier part-time now," Sandra shrugged. "So, if I take out that camp… you'd be able to leave Westside for a while?"

Bradley nodded, glancing down and spotting Scar further down the metal walkway. He stared at the creature for several long seconds, then slowly turned back to Sandra, giving her a long, strange stare.

"Don't tell me," he uttered tonelessly. "Don't tell me that's your fucking pet."

Sandra laughed. "Yeah… his name's Scar. Get used to him."

"Sandra," Arcade's voice called.

Sandra and Bradley spun around, seeing Arcade, Niner, and Vulpes approaching the tower from the edge of town—Arcade carrying an armful of new and bizarre clothing.

"Hey!" Sandra grinned, leaping off the platform and landing just in front of them. "Sweet! Lemme see!"

"You gonna tell us the plan now?" Niner griped.

"Yeah, yeah—wait a sec. Oooo," Sandra beamed, holding up the raider clothing and nodding approvingly. "Psycho attire. It's beautimus."

"I fail to see how this correlates to the matter at hand," Vulpes remarked snidely.

"It's a spy plan, Foxxy," Sandra replied curtly, giving him a smug smirk. "Of all people—you should know what I'm doing."

As Sandra spoke with her companions, Bradley slowly approached from the metal walkway just behind them, listening and giving them all an interested stare.

"Okay—now here's what I need," Sandra began. "I need you guys to go get Esther, the mini-nukes, the Ferguson Rifle, the binoculars, and Niner—I'm gonna need to take something from your stash."

"What? Who said I had a stash? Who talked?" Niner replied quickly, backing away and hugging his satchel.

"Gimme that," Sandra griped, yanking the bag from him and flipping it open. "I need jet for this. You have jet?"

"Plenty," Niner smiled. "We partyin' tonight?"

"Maybe later—I gotta become a raider first," Sandra replied, smirking as her hand pulled back a jet inhaler from the bag. "Theeere we go."

"Sandra," Arcade mumbled, eyeing the jet inhaler. "You really don't need to do that…"

"Yes, I do—I gotta be in the perfect mindset for this," Sandra determined. "Go grab that stuff from the bus, please? I need it."

Arcade sighed and walked off. After he left, Sandra took the clothes and scurried away, concealing herself behind a giant metal slab along the outer wall of Westside. She hid out of everyone's sight while she changed her clothes—and when she emerged moments later, she looked like an entirely different person.

Niner, Vulpes, and Bradley all stared at her.

Sandra swaggered forward with a snide smirk, the sloppy raider armor fixed onto her perfectly; a gun belt hugged her hips, a pair of small cut-off shorts tightly-fitted onto her, revealing her thighs and calves, smooth pale skin that her comrades rarely saw. Her torso had a black half-shirt fitted tightly onto her, her breasts somehow far more noticeable than before, the shirt ripped halfway and revealing her stomach, a single sleeve torn off and leaving her right arm entirely exposed. The left arm had a short sleeve and a strap around the shoulder, fixing a single chunk of protective metal over her shoulder and half of her collar, and her new leather boots rode high on her legs, both of them black, mud-spotted, and worn. The belt was decorated with a long line of finger bones that had been fixed onto the leather by the raider who'd previously owned it before.

Sandra stopped in front of the boys, tossing her bangs aside and planting a hand on her hip.

"Do I look like a Jackal, or what?"

Niner and Bradley traded faces, Vulpes merely raising his brows and saying nothing.

"Ah… I c… I can't tell you what I'm thinkin' right now," Niner grinned, shaking his head.

"I can," Bradley smirked, folding his arms and licking his lips. "I can't wait to travel with your ass now."

"Your ass," Niner cackled, tossing his head back and running hands down his face. "Aaah… your sweet sweet ass…"

"Yeah, okay… thanks," Sandra chuckled. "Now I just need to act crazy."

"Ah, yes… a true challenge, indeed," Vulpes grumbled caustically.

Sandra shot him a sarcastic smile, shoving her bag and her duster beneath the metal walkway before adjusting the shotgun hanging from her back. Just then, Arcade returned, carrying a ridiculous amount of things that were spilling from his grasp. Niner quickly relieved him of Esther, and Vulpes took the Ferguson rifle.

"Oh… good Lord," Arcade sighed, looking Sandra up and down. "What're you doing…?"

"Listen, you guys." Sandra straightened up before them all. "Bradley can't leave until we take out that camp over there—but we can't bury Cullen in that mess. So, here's what we're gonna do. I'm gonna go over there and draw Cullen out. Once he's outside, you guys can use Esther to blast that cave all to hell. Then we take out Cullen while he's outside and take his finger. All right?"

"Hold… hold on." Arcade made a face and held up a hand. "You want us to shoot a mini-nuke at the cave while you're standing in front of it?"

Sandra blinked. "I'm not gonna be that close."

"You've lost your goddamned mind," Vulpes snarled. "Are you insane—?"

"Hold on, hold on." Bradley moved over to Niner, surveying the unique fat man closely. "This thing is a lot more precise than your average fat man. I think we could make it work… if we're careful. We could shoot the mini-nuke right over her head and land it right in that cave. If she's standing far enough away, she'll only feel some tremors from the blast—but she's gonna have to take some rad-x beforehand, because these big bastards pump out rads like a motherfucker."

"There—see? We're good to go," Sandra smirked. "Foxxy can hunker down behind one of those big rocks out there with the Ferguson Rifle, and he can take the shot on Cullen while I'm distracting him. Niner and Arcade can shoot Esther from Bradley's lookout tower, too. We got this."

"Yeah… and we're gonna have to shoot the mini-nuke right after Cullen dies," Bradley added. "Otherwise, the rest of the raiders are gonna be spilling out of that cave in a heartbeat. We gotta time it all perfectly, and we'll bury all those fucks in one fell swoop."

"That only gives Sandra a split second to get away from the cave," Arcade argued.

"Arcade—it's gonna be fine," Sandra assured. "This is the only way we can pull this off."

"Ehh… I don't like it, but I'll play along," Niner shrugged. "Operation Distract & Destroy. Here we go."

Bradley and Niner began up the metal walkway, Arcade giving Sandra a concerned stare before he followed them up to the tower. Sandra smiled and waved at them, taking a pill of rad-x before turning on her heel and preparing to march out to the open field—but Vulpes yanked her back almost violently, whipping her around and giving her a searing glare.

Sandra inhaled a sharp gasp, staring at him with surprise. "Jesus… what?"

"What do you mean, what?" Vulpes hissed through gritted teeth, cocking his head and grimacing deeply. "Are you stupid? Do you want to die?"

Sandra's expression flattened. "What do you care?"

Vulpes's jaw twitched. "Don't give me that. Your little plan is unfathomably reckless."

"No it's not. It's just like your plan with Tom Quigly."

"Oh, is it? I don't recall atomic bombs being part of that plan."

"Foxxy—just stay hunker down somewhere behind me and stay out of sight," Sandra instructed. "I'll try to open up a shot for you. Okay?"

Vulpes fumed at her. "You are impossible."

"Oh yeah? Does that make you mad?" Sandra snarked, holding the jet inhaler to her face and inhaling a long, euphoric whiff, her body tingling and her hairs standing on end. "Mmmm… oh yeah. Chems. Sweet sweet chems. Oh, you hate chems, don't you?"

Vulpes glared into her furiously. "What is wrong with you?"

"Ooooh… yes!" Sandra jumped in place, smacking her cheeks and flinging her bangs around wildly. "Fucking hell yes! I'm alive!"

Vulpes gnawed his lip angrily. "You're just trying to test me…"

"Trying? Who's trying?" Sandra yelled at him, shoving him rather abruptly. "What're you gonna do? Huh? What're you gonna do, big bad Fox?"

Vulpes's teeth began to grind almost painfully. "You'd better stop it…"

"Why? Huh? Why?" Sandra rounded on him, smacking him playfully across the face and making him curse under his breath.

"I swear," Vulpes growled, stepping back as she continued to advance. "I swear, you are seriously treading near my last nerve…!"

"Good, you bastard!" Sandra hollered, grabbing him by the suit and yanking him forward, bringing his face an inch away from hers. "Because that's what raiders do!"

She then released him rather suddenly, spinning on her heel and cracking her neck, feeling utterly rushed as the drug awoke every store of adrenaline inside. She grinned madly and sauntered off into the open field, Vulpes grumbling several curses as he followed suit.

Niner, Arcade, and Bradley watched them from above, all of them hunched inside Bradley's watchtower now.

"Ahhh… I see what she was doing," Niner nodded and smirked. "She was gettin' into character. Heh. I kinda thought Foxxy was about to snap, there…"

"She really likes to flirt with disaster," Arcade sighed worriedly, gazing across the vast open space as Sandra and Vulpes marched across it in the distance.

"Hey… let me take care of that," Bradley requested, motioning for Niner to hand over Esther. "Wild shot in the dark here, but… I'm guessing I'm the most experienced merc out of us three."

"You'd be right," Arcade said. "But please… please make sure she won't take the brunt of the blast. Be careful. As careful as possible."

"I'll do what I can," Bradley promised, propping the enormous weapon onto his shoulder. "Oh hell yeah… lock n' load."

When they were about halfway across the open field, Vulpes secured himself behind the largest boulder in the area, double-checking the Ferguson Rifle before positioning himself in a perfect spot to shoot. He placed the rifle atop the boulder, watching Sandra march off toward the cave through the rifle's scope.

Sandra swung her arms about, humming a song gleefully as she meandered toward the darkened cave without a care. The moment she drew within a rock's throw of the cave, she took a deep breath and jolted forward—screaming at the top of her lungs.

"HEEEEEEEY JACKALS!" Sandra bellowed, her voice bounding and echoing off the cave's inner walls. "I WANNA JOIN YOU! LEMME TALK TO YOUR LEADER! HEEEEEEY!"

She continued screaming and hollering madly until a hint of movement caught her eye.

Two raider women emerged, both of them brandishing plasma rifles and aiming at Sandra, giving her baffled stares.

"What the fuck?" the nearest raider yelled. "Who are you?! You're so goddamn loud!"

"I wanna join the Jackals!" Sandra proclaimed, spreading her arms and beaming insanely. "Can I join? I wanna join!"

The two Jackal women traded glances.

"Come on! Let me in!" Sandra pleaded childishly, moving toward them. "I wanna join…!"

"Whoa—hey!" both of the women flattened their stances and held their guns higher, aligning them with Sandra's skull. "Stop right there! We ain't letting strangers in here!"

"Uuuugh—why not?!" Sandra whined. "How am I gonna talk to Cullen? Oh, wait—can you send him out here?"

The Jackals swapped glimpses again.

"Okay," the farther woman agreed. "Stay right here."

Both of the woman marched into the darkness of the cave and vanished from sight. Sandra waited patiently outside, surveying the cave and gently backing away from it, hoping to gain as much distance as possible.

A couple minutes passed as she waited—Vulpes watching through the scope of his rifle behind the large boulder—Niner, Arcade, and Bradley observing from a far distance in the watchtower.

Then, a new figure emerged from the darkness—the charismatic Cullen, a dirty Mohawk swiped messily over the side of his head, his face harboring an odd little smirk. He sauntered up to Sandra, scanning her up and down and tilting his head curiously.

"Sooo… you wanna join the Jackals," Cullen said, his voice smooth and sly. "And what makes you think you're good enough to live under me?"

"Pfff—are you kidding?" Sandra scoffed and swayed around madly in her stance, running a hand across her belt of decorative finger bones. "Look! I make freaking accessories out of all the fuckers I kill! I think I'd make a damn good Jackal!"

Cullen slowly nodded, eyeing the belt with interest.

"And I think so, too… if it wasn't for your sick fucking habit of collecting fingers," he said in a dark, sinister voice. "Like a bounty hunter."

Sandra felt her heart plummet into the pit of her stomach—but she showed no reaction, merely giving him a caustic look.

"Duuude… come on," she laughed, opening her arms in a presenting sort of way, wavering around and taking a subtle side-step. "Look at me… do I look like a freaking bounty hunter?"

Her side-step allowed Vulpes to align a shot from afar.

Cullen let out a dry laugh. "Y'know something… I almost, almost wanna believe you. And, if not for my little buddy from the syndicate, I probably would believe you. But see… your rep precedes you. Courier."

His hand whipped from his side in a flash—Cullen fired off a shot and—

BANG.

"Agh!"

Sandra fell to the ground as the bullet struck her.

Everyone watching from afar felt the same spike of adrenaline—Vulpes's breath cut thin, Arcade and Niner watching in shock.

Vulpes's heart jolted angrily—he pulled the trigger—

BANG.

Cullen jerked roughly as the bullet ripped through his skull. He crumbled to the ground feet away from Sandra.

Bradley saw Cullen fall to the dirt—then tightened his grasp on Esther and grazed the trigger. With a deep breath and perfect aiming, he fired—and the mini-nuke launched from its projector, soaring over the scene in a rapid whoooosh.

"Son of a bitch," Vulpes growled—rocketing from behind the boulder and dashing toward the fallen Sandra at top speed.

Sandra lay on her back, wincing, expecting to feel a wicked pain or a hot stream of blood—her head spun as she blinked her vision straight—and before she knew it, Vulpes slid to a stop beside her, hunching over her and yanking her off the ground harshly.

"Get up!" Vulpes grunted breathlessly. "We need to—"

BANG—BOOOOOOOM.

A horrific explosion erupted from the very heart of the cave—rocks and debris flying amok as the ground gave a thunderous quake.

The force of it rippled out rapidly from the raider cave—Vulpes's arms snapped around Sandra the moment the roaring blast caught them, sending both of them off their feet and flying several yards away. The two of them rolled and bounded across the rough terrain, the world spinning around them until they finally came to a full stop.

Vulpes lay overtop of her, arms still locked around her, eyes clasped shut as a dull pain began spiraling up and down his back, his breaths rapid. Once a silence fell, he slowly opened his eyes, riddled with shock and barely leaning upright, surveying Sandra up and down.

"Y… you blasted… moron," he croaked, his eyes scanning all over her in search of the bullet wound, though he couldn't seem to find it. "God… damn you… where is the…?!"

"Fox… Foxxy, I'm fine," Sandra breathed, her hairs totally askew as she flashed a faint smirk up at him. "I'm good… I'm… fine…"

Vulpes glared down at her in disbelief. Then, his eyes landed on the single chunk of metal fixed onto her shoulder and collar—the only piece of her attire that truly contained armor. And, mere inches from her chest, a deep, sharp dent was visible in the metal from where the bullet had struck.

Vulpes released a massive cloud of breath, closing his eyes and resting his head on the armor.

Sandra let out a weak laugh. "Worried…?"

Vulpes paused for a moment, slowly levering upright and meeting her eyes again. It only just occurred to him that he was encompassing her entirely, their bodies pressed warmly together much like they had long ago.

"No," he replied with a sly little half-smile. "Never."