Jewel of the Mojave
Hey there everyone, welcome to this little piece I wrote featuring my Courier Delilah St Valentina! Its a piece I've had on the backburner for a while and recently managed to finish. I hope you all enjoy it!
I do not own Fallout: New Vegas, that belongs to Obsidian and Bethesda
Swank let out a tired sigh, as he rubbed at the bridge of his nose. He's read and re-read these expense reports like fifty times now and he still couldn't get a grasp on them; numbers were never his strong suit, always gave him a fucking headache. But ever since Benny took that dirt nap, Swank found himself having to suck it up and deal with a lot of shit pretty quickly. He had to, otherwise this whole casino would go to shit and he didn't wanna explain to House why one of his money-makers had stopped raking in caps…
The sound of soft laughter broke the silence in the room, causing Swank to lift his head up. Sitting on the other side of his desk, twirling her empty cigarette holder in her left hand, was Swank's partner in crime and partner in life; the Jewel of the Mojave herself, Delilah St Valentina. A small smile was evident on her face, slightly showing off her perfectly white teeth, as she slowly leaned forward.
"For a man who has everything he's ever wanted, you look positively exhausted." Delilah stated, a smile evident on her face. "You're not already having second thoughts now, are you?"
Swank could only shake his head, trying to hide the smile on his face. To the outside world, it wasn't exactly clear what had happened to old Benny; everyone knew he had gone and died, but the exact details were pretty fuzzy. The most common theory was House had finally had enough of the Chairmen boss and had him whacked. Only three people knew the exact truth of the matter, and one of them was currently buried under six feet of dirt outside Freeside; that the legendary Courier Six, who seemed more myth than reality, had snuck into the Tops Casino and slit Benny's throat in his sleep, as revenge for shooting the Courier in the head.
"Hey, I ain't complaining about the promotion. Definitely not." Swank explained, running a hand through his hair. "But some of these new responsibilities sure are a kick in the head, ya know? And I ain't exactly a fan of having to report to the big man upstairs; that's a bit too close for comfort for me."
"Oh my dear Swank, you worry too much. It will cause you to go gray, and we cannot have that." Delilah chuckled, shaking her head. "Mr House is a perfect gentleman and a good business partner to have as well. And anyway, if the need arises, we can always have a change in management."
Swank paused at that one, shooting Delilah a look. Change in management? She couldn't mean what he thought she was saying...could she?
"You saying…?" Swank started cautiously, as if he was walking across a minefield blindfolded.
"All I am saying darling, is that we need to look out for ourselves first, and everyone else second." Delilah explained simply, a gleam in her eyes. "That's not such a crazy statement to make now, is it darling?"
"Let's just say I'm on the level with what you're saying," Swank stated slowly. "What's your plan, doll? You, of all people, should know that the House always wins."
Delilah didn't say anything at first to Swank's question, instead leaning back in her chair slowly with that cagey smile on her face. She lifted one of her gloved hands to her face, brushing away a stray strand of hair back into place, while at the same time drawing attention to the deep scars left on her temple by Benny's gun. Swank couldn't help but stare at those scars for longer than was considered polite, wondering just how on earth someone could survive something like that. The woman before him must really have nine lives, like one of those cats from the pre-War world.
"Let's just say I have an ace up my sleeve and leave it at that." Delilah replied, her voice dripping with sweetness. "All you have to do is trust me, my darling Swank. You can trust me, can't you?"
'Boy, talk about a loaded question', was all Swank could think of as he stared into the gleaming eyes of Delilah St Valentina. Luckily for Swank he didn't need to offer up an answer, the door to his office swung open, as a nervous looking Chairman stepped in. All the attention went to this guy, as he rubbed his hand on the back of his neck.
"Hey boss, we got a bit of a problem at the blackjack table." The Chairman explained, offering a weak smile.
"What kinda problem are we talking about?" Swank inquired.
"Some high roller got into a patch of bad luck, and he started losing it." The Chairman responded. "Saying we were screwing him over and all that; wanted to talk to whoever's in charge."
"Goddamn it, it never ends." Swank muttered, as he got up from his chair. "Alright, lead the way."
"Need some help?" Delilah inquired.
"No, just stay here. I should be back in a few minutes." Swank answered, fixing up his tie. "Then we can continue with that conversation."
It didn't take long for Swank to find the trouble maker, not really. All he had to do was follow the sound of drunken shouting to one of the roulette tables, to find the trouble maker, currently in the face of one of the workers. His brown jacket was currently on the floor of the casino and his tie had come loose.
"Hey, we have a problem here?" Swank inquired, eyebrow raised.
The guy turned and faced Swank, his face sweaty and red and his breath reeking of alcohol. It took a lot of will for Swank to not gag a bit, when that smell hit him. He knew who this was; he was a regular at the Casino, liked to have one too many drinks and get pissed off when he lost. Jackie something or other, Swank wasn't too sure on that last name. He was definitely called Jackie, though.
"Finally, someone to talk to." The guy called Jackie started, puffing out his chest. "Been askin' for someone for ages."
"Listen, how about we go outside and talk about this alright?" Swank asked, putting a hand on the guy's shoulder. "No need to cause a scene."
Jackie scrunched up his nose, as if someone had just shoved a pile of Brahmin shit in front of him, as he quickly shrugged off Swank's hand. The leader of the Chairmen just sighed, knowing that things weren't about to end well.
"Fuck that, let's talk here." Jackie fired back. "I want my money back, all of it. You cheated me, I know it!"
"Cheating? At the Tops Casino?" A new voice inquired. "My my, what an accusation."
Out of the corner of Swank's eye, Delilah sauntered into the picture, wedging herself between Swank and the drunk Jackie. Swank tried to fight back an annoyed sigh, as he saw Jackie's attention focus entirely on the new person in this conversation.
"Didn't I tell ya to wait back in my office, doll?" Swank inquired, shaking his head.
"You did, but I chose to ignore it." Delilah said, before turning around to face Jackie. "Now what's this about cheating at the Tops?"
"Get the fuck out of here." Jackie growled. "I'm talking here."
"Now, is that any way to speak to a lady?" Delilah asked. "Manners are important, after all."
"I said, fuck off." Jackie repeated, this time putting his hand on Delilah.
Biggest fucking mistake this guy had made tonight, Swank thought as he reached for his pistol. The time for being nice was long gone. The next few seconds went by like a blur, happening so fast that Swank didn't realize what exactly was happening until it had already happened. Jackie was suddenly sprawled on the roulette table, with chips flying everywhere. Delilah laid on top of him, one hand gripping his hair tightly and the other hand holding a knife right to his throat.
"The fuck is this, you b-" Jackie growled, before quickly clamming up as the knife was pushed harder against his throat and a dribble of blood appeared.
"Don't say another word, or else I'll have to get my knife all dirty. And we wouldn't want that now, would we, darling?" Delilah stated simply. "Now, you're going to leave this casino, and never come back. And if you even think of stepping back in here? Well...I'm sure you can guess what would happen, can't you darling?"
Delilah quickly got up from Jackie, and quickly dusted herself off before putting her knife away. Swank just stood there silent, staring straight at the woman next to him. She knew she could be ruthless but she hadn't seen her do something like that in a long time, back when they were still out scavenging the wastes and she had gone by a different name.
"Holy shit." Swank muttered, as Jackie quietly stood up.
"Language, darling." Delilah stated sweetly. "You have to set an example for the boys."
Delilah looked over at Swank and offered a quick smile, before turning to the security guards nearby.
"Would you kindly take this man outside?" Delilah inquired. "I believe he needs some...fresh air."
With that, Delilah just turned and headed back to Swank's office, not even bothering to offer a look behind. Swank stood there for a bit, watching her walk away, before giving the security guards a look.
"You heard the lady; toss this bum outta here." Swank stated, fixing his tie. "And don't let him back in, you hear?"
Silence seemed to stretch on for hours, as Delilah and Swank sat across from each other, as if daring the other one to speak.
"People can be so rude, can't they?" Delilah stated, leaning back in her chair. "Just because we live in a wasteland doesn't mean we have to act like savages now."
"The fuck was that out there?" Swank asked.
"Language, darling." Delilah said. "You sound so low when you swear."
Swank just let out a tired sigh, as he rubbed at the bridge of his nose. He could feel a headache coming on, and it was only gonna get worse from here. He reached for a bottle of whiskey and poured himself a glass, before looking over at Delilah.
"Listen, I ain't got a problem with how you handled that Jackie fella. Personally, I wouldn't piss on him if he was on fire." Swank explained, cradling his glass gently. "But there are ways to handle situations like that and that ain't one of them, doll. Putting a knife to a guy's throat like that, in front of everyone? That's bad for business, makes people nervous about spending caps here."
"You worry too much, my dear Swank." Delilah responded.
Swank took a sip of the whiskey, sighing as he felt that familiar warmth in his stomach, before continuing. "That's my job now, worrying. The big man upstairs, he gives us casinos a fairly long leash. He lets us hire whoever we want, feature whatever attractions we want...I mean hell, look at what the Omertas get up to. The only thing that matters to the big man? Making sure that flow of caps don't stop, and that he gets his cut. And I ain't gonna be the fall guy, when he asks why his cut from the Tops is light for the month. So yeah, I have to worry about anything that might hurt business."
Another silence fell, as Swank took another sip of his whiskey. He hated having to talk to Delilah like this, made his insides knot up. But he knew he couldn't let it slide; it'd eat at him too much to not say anything.
"I'm sorry you feel that way, darling." Delilah finally said. "But he put his hands on me, and I wasn't going to ignore it. You, of all people, should know I'm no shrinking violet."
"I know, and he deserved it. Trust me, I was ready to fill him full of lead and toss the body to those cannibal fucks at the Ultra Luxe." Swank admitted. "Just...if, god forbid, something like that happens again? We handle it in the back, where paying customers can't see. That reasonable enough of a compromise, doll?"
Delilah sat there, her face practically unreadable. Its why the boys hated playing against her; girl had one hell of a poker face, Swank had to admit. A small smile soon broke out, as she extended her arm for a handshake, one Swank was more than happy to accept.
"I have to say though, you impressed me with how you took that mook down." Swank stated with a smile. "Guess this kitty still has some claws on her, huh?"
"This kitty has more surprises than you think, darling." Delilah said simply.
And Jewel of the Mojave is done and dusted. I had a lot of fun writing this, mostly cause I just really love my Courier Delilah. She's quite special to me and she's just fun to write dialogue for. Anyway, I hope to see all of you wonderful readers soon!
Cheers,
The Desert Dancer