Snowflake on the Sand

Chapter 5

Six woke up first, cracking his neck he gave a sideways glance to Winter and smiled, she looked peaceful.

"Best to not disturb her" he muttered to himself and saw that the moon was still high up in the air, Six figured it would be best to have a chat with Manny so that tomorrow morning the could leave Novac and get on with his mission.

The dinosaur was deserted, but the soothing voice of Mr. New Vegas gave it a calming aura, slamming the door open he started his practiced spiel "Look Manny I cleared…"

Six stared down at the barrel of a sniper riffle "Don't sneak up on me like that if you want to live long, got it?"

Six gulped this was not Manny, he nervously gave him a thumbs up "G-got it, I was just… you know, here to check the view" he lied

"I think you should leave"

"Aw come on I just want to be friends, I think we started on the wrong foot Mr. Sniper"

"Boone and I don't have friends here, you should go" Boone said as he glared at Six who simply smirked "But I am not from around here am i?"

Boone raised an eyebrow and lowered his sniper "No, no you're not are you? Maybe you shouldn't go, not just yet"

Winter woke up and let out a satisfied sigh, her body felt well rested looking to the side she noticed how Six no longer was there. With a shrug she went to the bathroom to clean off and get ready, who knew when she would have the luxury of a bathroom.

When she finished, Winter stared at herself in the mirror, it was still her thank Oum no matter how crazy things got at least she would always remain the same or at the very least she hoped that was the case.

"My hair is a mess" she muttered to herself as she exited the hotel room, key in hand. It was time to hand I over she guessed now that they were not going to use it, but to her surprise Six was sitting on the counter now happily munching on some canned beans.

"Oh goo morning Winter" he said as he reached behind the counter a pulled another can of beans "This one is for you"

"Where is the old lady Six?"

Six looked away for a moment "Dead" he replied as he placed a piece of paper in front of her, Winter gave it a quick read and placed a hand on her mouth "Oh my…"

"Yeah real piece of work that lady, don't worry the husband got his revenge said he was going to hunt some legionaries, said if he wanted to tag along but he declined, said something along the lines of snipers work alone or in pairs and then left, hope to see him again he was cool"

Winter opened the can and gave him a look "You're oddly happy today aren't you?"

"What can I say, served some justice, gave a man some peace and best of all I know where the bastards that shot me are now" his grin said as he pointed at his PipBoy "Boulder City is our next stop"

Winter nodded, she was pleasantly surprised by how tasty the food was, Six dusted himself off and handed her some water "Is not that far away from here thankfully, but who knows when we will get the luxury of having a quiet moment"

When both finished the meal Six gathered his equipment from the room and then locked it, apparently the rooms was "theirs" now, a gift from the people of Novac Six said as they ventured into the Mojave once again. Winter stared at a giant building in the distance that for some reason seamed to shine brighter than anything else on the wasteland.

"Six, what is that place?"

"Hmm oh you mean Helios One? Apparently is a power plant or something that uses the power of the Sun, NCR is on full control of it but it's not a bad idea to mark it on our map, maybe we will need its energy to get you back home"

Winter nodded as Six put a marker on his PipBoy for later, Winter gazed back a Helios as hope and plans started to form on her head "Do you think the NCR would just let us walk in" she asked Six, who gave her a smile.

"Sure, I mean maybe not right now, but if we keep unintentionally or intentionally helping them I am sure they are going to start to like us" he replied as he showed her his PipBoy, Good Springs and Novac had him as Idolized, while Primm and NCR remained neutral bordering on accepted, the Powder Gangers on the other hand had vilified on all caps.

"That did you do to the Powder Gangers?" Winter asked genuinely curious as to what Six did to the Powder Gangers to earn that much hate

"Oh they tried to take over Good Springs and kill everyone there, so I gathered a small militia and took them on, what I didn't expect was for them to be so armed to the teeth so I took a grenade launcher and took them on with that and a machete… it was really bloody and I guess I let one escape because now I am just a shoot on sight target for them"

Winter hummed in acknowledgment as they arrived at some ruins, the devastated place made Winter shiver "This place got hit really hard by the bombs didn't it"

"It wasn't the bombs lady" a voice said making both of them turn around, an NCR soldier was standing next to a memorial with the names of the fallen soldiers on it, Six was the first to approach "Would you mind telling us the story of this place then"

The NCR soldier nodded "Gladly, on the first battle for Hoover Damn Caesar's legion looked to be an unstoppable force that our army would not be able to stop; so the rangers and the militia hatched a plan. They evacuated Boulder city and filled it to the brim with explosives, Caesar's first Legate pursued our retreating forces not aware that it was a trap on that day the horns of the bull where shattered and the Legate was sent back to his Master empty handed. Many people lost their lives in order to stop him among them my brother… I'm on leave now but I wanted to come here to pay my respects, didn't know that the Great Khans where here"

Six's eyes widened "Do you know where?"

The soldier shook his head "I would stay out of the situation, you might get shot, the great Khans are known for their brutality"

Six simply shrugged "Their aim is terrible, believe me I know" he said as he pointed to his scars, the soldier gave a understanding nod "Ah I see, they are behind those ruins I would speak to Lieutenant Monroe I think he is charge of this fiasco"

Six gave him a nod and left Winter lingered behind for a bit "Your brother died fighting the Legion"

"No mam, he had the honor to be some of the ones that exploded the mines and bombs… he is the reason I joined the army"

Winter smiled "I am sure he would be proud of you, enjoy your leave soldier" she said as she moved towards where Six had walked off.

"…they have something of mine a platinum chip"

"Well you can't go in, they have kidnapped some of my men, we are in a stalemate, I just don't have enough troops to take them head on and they cannot escape without losing almost everyone" a stern looking man who Winter assumed to be Lieutenant Monroe said to Six.

"Maybe I could try to convince them to reach a peaceful solution, that way we both get what we want" the courier said as he holstered all his weapons, Monroe let out a sigh.

"Normally I would turn you down but sadly I just don't think that reinforcements are going to arrive any time soon and I am worried for the lives of my people, fine you can go in but the moment we hear shooting we go in"

Six gave him thumbs and turned to Winter "Ready when you are"

"Let's begin the operation" she said simply as Monroe opened the door for them and signaled his men to not shoot them. Winter felt the tension in the air as she walked towards the ruins where Six was heading, a great Khan looked at them with mistrust "Step closer and you are dead meat"

"No need to be hostile" Six said as he smiled "Me and my partner are actually here to help"

Winter saw all the weapons lower slightly "And how would you that?"

"Let's just say that I have a way with words, where's your boss? I have a plan" the great Khans looked among each other clearly uncomfortable but with no better option they relented

"Jessup is on the building there, if we hear anything suspicious and I mean anything your ass will be turned to a fine red paste" the older of the khans said, Six merely smiled at them and nodded.

Winter was beyond surprised "When did you become a smooth talker?" she asked him to wich he replied by showing her a magazine, Winter raised an eyebrow but decided it was not a topic she wanted to discuss behind enemy lines. This so called Jessup was not what she was expecting, a red Mohawk and a some rags was not an imposing leader, not helping was the fact that he almost jumped when he saw Six.

"What the hell, you are that courier that Benny wasted back in Good Springs!" he said as all the color drained from his face, Six having way to much fun at seeing his enemy shiver in fear decided to add fuel to the flames.

"I'm a ghost that has come back to haunt you, boo" Jessup looked like he was about to pass out but managed to compose himself "Quit fucking around, so you survived and now you tracked us down, what the fuck happens now"

Six smile disappeared "What happens now is that you give me the platinum chip or I am taking all of you to hell"

Jessup simply snorted "Then you're just as fucked as we are, I don't have it, Benny stole it leaving us here to get trapped, the bastard is probably laughing on his stupid casino back on the strip"

Six looked at him as if trying to see if he was lying but with a defeated sigh, he rubbed the bullet wounds on his head "So his name is Benny, good to know I will be sure to look him up when I get to Vegas"

"Good fucking luck getting into the strip, he is not just some New Vegas stuck up like your friend there" Winter glared but wrote that down mentally, if people really believed she was from New Vegas she would build a back story around it, if she ever needed to blend in.

"He is the head of one of the Casinos, you will not get him small fry, not even us could get to him inside his mansion" Jessup continued as he finally lowered his weapon and grabbed a cigarette, Six looked troubled but shook his head.

"I will find a way, but that doesn't matter what matters now is solving this fiasco with the NCR and your… people" the courier said, as Jessup frowned.

"There's nothing to talk about, the NCR backs off and we leave simple as that" Jessup said as he folded his arms.

Winter stepped up "You are at a disadvantage, your men are surrounded and even if you managed to escape, it will be at a great loss of people, so why don't you lets us help you"

Jessup raised an eyebrow "And what do you have to offer?"

"A safe passage, release the hostages and you and your men get to leave here not a scratch on you" Winter said making Jessup raise his gun "Do you take me for a fool lady, the moment those NCR troopers are free me and my family will get torn to shit, so back off I am not doing it"

"You got it all wrong pal, the NCR won't do jack and we both know it they are so wrapped on their laws and hierarchy that the moment something does not go to plan they need to phone in the big man and in the middle of that confusion, you get away scot free" Six said.

Jessup groaned and lowered his gun "Fuck I can't believe I'm going to do this, fine the prisoners can go, if I die here in going to haunt you bastard for the rest of your shit lives" he said as he motioned to some of the khans to set the NCR troopers free, Six gave him a nod.

"Sure thing you have my word" the courier said as he turned to leave, but Jessup stopped him with a whistle, Six caught something that was thrown his way "It was Benny's if you really are planning on killing him, please shove that lighter up his ass when you see him"

Six chuckled and exited the building followed by the specialist, a female great Khan looked at them trembling, fear emanating from her "You better not get us killed assholes"

Six gave her a nod as he walked back to NCR who looked at them as if they had grown a second head, General Monroe was kneeling next to his injured soldier only standing back up when Six coughed into his fist.

"I am glad that you got my people free and I am sure that it was not easy to convince the great khans to let them go but sadly no matter what you said I got orders from above, we have to wipe out the great Khans"

Six raised an eyebrow but did not comment, Winter on the other hand gasped "That is outrageous! What general ordered such nonsense? Absolutely disgraceful behavior like that… they bargained for their lives and freedom, they do not deserve to die"

Monroe met her with a steel gaze "Sadly that information is not for civilians to know and even if I disagree with the orders it was a direct command"

Winter looked livid and turned to Six for support but he simply shrugged "Not much I can do here Winter even if I disagree with what he is doing I don't know enough about the military to stop him or his leaders"

Winter made a thin line with her lips but then she cached on the hidden message, he did not know how an army worked but she did.

"If you do this it would do more harm to the NCR than good, what's a few Khans compared to your reputation in Vegas" Winter said making the lieutenant frown.

"Are you threatening to leak information?" he asked not angrily but it was clear from the tone of his voice that he was not a happy man, Winter smiled back at him.

"You need the support of the people here in Vegas imagine if someone where to tell people that the NCR just straight up murdered a tribe of locals"

"I could have you shot, no information would leak out" Monroe said, his tone cold and devoid of emotion, Six knew that he would do it if push came to shove but he hoped that Winter would be able to win her war of words.

"I would advise against that lieutenant, both my partner and I are not exactly natural you could say" Winter then exhaled frost from her lips making Monroe take a step back and turn to look at Six expecting him to do something.

"I'm just good at not dying" the courier replied when nothing happened.

"So Lieutenant, I advise that you reconsider, it would be a better maneuver to let the Khans go and inform the head that they found a way to escape"

Monroe let out a sigh, weighing his options. Six noticed that he as actually doubting himself so he decided to chip in "It would be the moral thing to do"

Monroe closed his eyes but nodded "You're right; the khans are free to go"

Winter let out a sigh and smiled, she was getting better at negotiation. Monroe saluted them as they left towards their next destination, night had fallen on them once more but neither of them stopped, they walked in comfortable silence for some time until Six decided to speak up.

"Great job convincing the lieutenant, didn't think about black mailing him"

Winter smiled and shook her head "I merely stated a possibility, is not like I actually planned on making an enemy of a huge army; from what I see they have quite the hold in this dessert"

"I see it quite differently the only reason we came out of this situation with no blood spilt is because both the NCR and its enemies know that they are weak, spread too thin if they had a more formidable grip Caesar would not be a threat" the courier replied, they walked in silence as they reached some train tracks.

This time Winter was the one that broke the silence "Do you want the NCR to loose then?"

"Oh no don't get me wrong, if the choice I have to make is between slavers and the NCR, I would pick the NCR twice but their hold on everything is not as tight as they make it out to be, raiders and criminals are a big problem in their lands from what my scrambled brain understands… I guess what I would want is a third party to come forth or something like that" the courier replied, making Winter nod in understanding.

"I get what you mean, spreading your troops too thin is never a good idea back home Atlas, my country, used its forces all over the globe to try to secure some assets of value and better or image in the public eye… but we lost a lot doing that in my opinion. Attacks from the White Fang and Grimm became harder to respond with precision and efficiency when you had to mobilize troops from the other side of the kingdom and wouldn't you know it the moment you left that place it felt into disarray creating a never ending loop" Winter said as she remembered all the timed she had to read reports that requested more hands.

"You said Kingdoms as in plural, can't they defend themselves?" Six asked kicking a pebble against the metal of the rail, winter quickly shook her head "No, they are called kingdoms but to me they are more like this: a big central city that can solve its own problems and a myriad of small settlements that constantly require help, whatever kingdom answers first earns the respect of the people and facilitates trade and the formation a bases. Atlas is greatly interested in both, we are the most advanced and fastest growing continent after all"

Six whistled at the explanation, but didn't comment further as he saw a figure move towards them, a bulky and familiar figure.

"Viktor! What are you doing here?" Six asked happily

"I was just rolling along you know? Saw what happened at boulder city and decided to come say hello, but we got to stop meeting like this, is getting a bit embarrassing people are going to start talking" the robot said with a chuckle, Six laughed at the joke, Winter crossed her arms and huffed, annoyed at the robot.

"Guess is just down to you and fancy pants now huh?" the cowboy robot commented, making Six crack his knuckles.

"Sure is Viktor, when I get to Vegas I'm going to make choke on his own blood" the courier said darkly, not that mattered to Viktor who let out a happy laugh.

"That's the spirit Cowboy, look me up in New Vegas I will buy the first round!" and with that Viktor sped up into the now visible New Vegas. Both Winter and Six stopped mesmerized by the view, the city that was not lost to the fires of the bombs. The place where dreams and fortunes where lost and won in the blink of an eye.

Six said nothing as he quickened his pace towards the city, a lone Fiend tried to stop him but Courier Six was on a mission, he snapped his arm and blew his head off continuing like nothing happened.

Winter followed closely her hopes of going home rising when she saw the lights, she knew this; this was civilization and she really missed it.

Freeside was something different, they got jumped twice on their road to the strip and all around them the stench of drugs and alcohol made it clear that this place was not kid to strangers but finally they reached the entrance to the strip.

Robots like Viktor guarded the entrance, unmoving, waiting. Six looked at his PipBoy and realized just how late it was if he wanted to strike in the cover of the night he had to enter now. Stepping towards the gate the guards came to life making a sharp turn and pointing their weapons towards him "Submit to a credit check or present a password, all trespasser will be shot"

"Huh?" Six said aloud and Winter nearly felt her jaw hit the floor when she heard the amount.

"Please come back when you have the necessary credits" the securitron commented as it wheeled back to his post, Six walked back towards Winter and they both let out a long sigh.

"Guess we better find some work" the specialist said sadly, an explosion was heard as a body was torn to shreds by the securitrons, the trespasser reduced to paste.

A/N: Hope you like the chapter, fixed some mistakes on the last one too. Vegas is only for the worthy… and the rich.