Chapter Summary: Beth confronts Benny at The Tops. Two unexpected encounters raise the stakes further.
Chapter 7: Baby, I'm a Fool
"What in the goddamn...?" The Chairman took a step back as the color drained from his face. "Let's keep it cool, hey?" His hands were open in front of him and he gestured them up and down slightly, trying to keep the situation calm. Suddenly, his eyes widened in realization. "Wait. That brunette broad everyone saw go in the Lucky 38, that was you? Shit."
"Seems you need to work on your marksmanship," Beth replied bitterly. She glared at him with cold eyes, resisting the urge to pull out her hidden gun and empty it into his skull. The only thing that stopped her were the four henchmen that stood around him. Her own backup, the sniper, watched from a nearby roulette table, pretending to be interested in the game.
"I hit what I was aiming for. You gotta be the luckiest chick in the Mojave. Remind me to have my boys keep you away from the tables. You'd clean the place out." The dark haired man let out a small nervous chuckle. "Anyway, baby, this is good news. Now I can sleep tight, knowing you're still kickin'."
"Right." She scoffed at the feigned sentiment. "You'll be resting quite peacefully when I'm done with you," she thought. Studying the sleazebag in front of her, it occurred to her that she might be able to seduce him. It would be truly priceless to see him standing in front of her with his pants around his ankles while she pointed her gun at his forehead. Thinking about the shock and fear on his face in such a vulnerable state made her smile internally. Ultimately though, the idea of flirting with him made her stomach churn. She glanced over at Boone, his eyes meeting hers briefly over the top of his aviators as he set a chip down on red. Looking back to Benny, she sneered. "Give me one good reason not to kill you."
"You want a reason, how about four?" he replied in a slightly hushed voice, gesturing with his thumbs to the men standing around him. "Bodyguards, and every one of them is packing. Me, too—so baby makes five." His lips stretched into a smug smile. "Besides, Doll Face, it'd be a shame for you to waste the platinum opportunity I can offer you. Let me clue you in."
"I'm listening." This was the opening she was looking for. Lure him in and make him think he could talk her down.
"To start, I'll comp you the Presidential - best suite in the house. Just the beginning of the VIP lifestyle you're soon to become accustomed. I'll hang down here for a bit, make everything look business-as-usual, then I'll be right up."
She paused with uncertainty. Maybe he was being sincere. After all, if he wanted to kill her, why not just have his goons do it right here? "Fine, but don't keep me waiting."
"Don't worry, Kitty Cat. I want to talk to you as much as you want to talk to me. Can't wait to hear all about your visit to the 38." He stepped toward her. "And you dig this is just first base, right? You and me have a future together, and it's big league and open all night." Giving her a wink to match his grin, he pressed the key into her palm with his surprisingly soft hands. "Here's the key to the Prez. Pour yourself something top-shelf and I'll be there in two shakes."
Without taking her eyes off Benny, she put the key into her pocket. "Ten minutes."
"I'll be counting the seconds, Baby Doll."
Beth walked back through the casino floor towards the elevator to the Presidential Suite. Boone didn't acknowledge her as she passed by. Instead, he waited until the Chairman wasn't looking, then followed after her into the elevator.
"So what's the plan?" he asked.
"He says he wants to talk."
"Talk? About what?"
"Doesn't matter. I just needed to get him alone. I'm not going to give him the chance to say much of anything."
"Fuck that snake!" Beth shouted, picking up a bottle from the bar and flinging it against the wall. It shattered into a spray of whiskey and glass. "He fucking played me!" She quickly reloaded the small revolver she had smuggled into the casino. "He's not getting away. Not again." Blood soaked into the fabric of her pants where a bullet had grazed her thigh, but with a fresh shot of med-ex, she didn't even notice it.
Boone picked up a gun from one of Benny's fallen goons, checking to see that it was still loaded. "Where are we going?"
"Thirteenth Floor!" she growled, charging into the elevator and down to where House told her Benny's suite was, kicking herself for not going directly there in the first place. She let House and the NCR get in her head, which made her second-guess herself. That had been a mistake.
The sniper had to break out in a jog to keep up with her as she marched down the hall. The suite's door was locked. Beth pulled out her lock picks and went to work on it, but had more difficulty than she usually did. Her hands were shaking and it was harder to focus on close objects. Whereas normally it would have taken her seconds to pick a lock like this, it instead took several minutes. Once the door was open, they found that the chairman wasn't there.
She started searching, opening drawers and rifling through papers she couldn't read, trying to put the increasing pain in her head out of her mind so she could focus. The med-x didn't seem to be helping much now. In the earlier struggle, one of the goons had knocked her down and the back of her head hit the side of one of the pool tables. She could feel the damage the blow had done to her already fragile state. A sense of dread set down low in her stomach as she reminded herself that if she didn't find Benny soon, it would probably be too late.
"What are we looking for?" her companion asked.
Vision blurring, she grimaced. "Anything that could tell us more about where he went." From her pocket, she put two more mentats into her mouth and chewed them as she continued searching. As the chems too effect, the blur started to subside and she felt more steady on her feet.
Boone started looking around, too. Picking something up off the coffee table, he commented, "Huh. Never seen a gun like this before." He pulled a pistol out of its holster and examined the strange snakeskin grip.
Seeing the gun in his hand, she stiffened her jaw in outrage. "That's mine! Prick stole it off me!" She picked up a blue keycard from the same table—her passport to the Strip. "This, too." Throwing it down, she kicked the table. "Mother fucker!" Taking the holster from Boone, she buckled it back in place and checked the gun over. She handled it with careful reverence. It was more than just a gun to her.
Marching into the bedroom, she began rifling through drawers, then opened the closet door. Inside and through the broken back wall, there stood a lone securitron with a smiling face. "What the hell?" she breathed, looking at it through narrowed eyes.
"Well, hi there!" the robot greeted in an exaggeratedly pleasant tone.
"Boone, could you grab our stuff from the guard, please?" she asked as they walked toward the front desk. "I need to step outside and get some air." He nodded silently to her and the Courier pushed open the heavy double doors into the blazingly bright New Vegas sun.
Beth needed to think, but the renewed concussion from the fight with the goons wasn't helping. Luckily, the wound in her leg had stopped bleeding, although she still barely noticed it due to the med-x and the competing pain in her head. Momentarily, she thought about going to Old Mormon Fort to have her leg treated, but dismissed it quickly. That wound wasn't going to kill her. As for the one that would, she didn't think there was anything to be done about it now. More than anything, she just wanted this all to be over.
Meeting Yes Man had been unexpected and quite unnerving. Benny had apparently stolen the Chip with plans to take House's place and rule over Vegas. Now the robot seemed to think that she would be the one to take over Benny's plan.
From past experiences, she really didn't trust artificial intelligence and any AI affiliated with Benny was certainly not to be trusted. How did she know it was telling the truth? How could she be sure that it wasn't still being controlled somehow? Who would be stupid enough to program a robot that responded to anyone's commands, no password or anything, when it was so central to his plans? It didn't make sense.
Sighing deeply, she walked forward, intending to sit for a minute to gather herself, but she was stopped by a man in a dark suit. He wore a pre-war hat that shaded his strangely pale face.
"The eyes of the mighty Caesar are upon you, Courier," he addressed her. Standing uncomfortably close, he kept his voice low and firm, pronouncing the leader's name with a hard k sound. The words made her freeze in place as his steel blue eyes stared into her. "Your accomplishments have earned his admiration and he bestows upon you the rare and exceptional gift of his Mark." He took her hand and pressed something cold and metallic into it, closing her fingers around the object. "Your crimes against the Legion are hereby forgiven. Know that Caesar's mercy will not be offered a second time."
She didn't respond. Her mind was racing, but none of the thoughts were terribly coherent except, "The Legion is watching."
"My Lord requires your presence at his camp, at Fortification Hill. His Mark will guarantee your safe-conduct through our lands," he said, still holding onto her hand with both of his. "Should you need additional incentive to accept his invitation, the man you seek is making haste for Caesar's camp as we speak." She felt his breath on her face as he leaned in slightly more. Brushing his lower lip against her cheek, he added with a whisper, "Caesar awaits."
As requested, the sniper collected their confiscated belongings, making sure they were all accounted for, then followed after his companion.
After his eyes adjusted to the light, he found her standing close by. Even from the back, he could see she was tense and trembling. "Beth?" he said to her, but she didn't seem to hear him. Reaching out, he touched her shoulder lightly, causing her to whirl around. Her fist was about to make contact with his jaw, but he caught her arm.
"Shit, Boone! I'm sorry!" she exclaimed.
Releasing her, he asked with concern, "Are you alright?" She shook her head and held out her trembling left hand which held something metallic. At first, he thought it might be the Chip she had been looking for. It wasn't platinum, though: it was gold. Looking closer, he could see the image of a bull on the facing side. "What the fuck?! Where did you get that?!" he demanded in a hushed tone.
"A disguised legionary gave it to me," she said.
His eyes widened and he scanned the crowd, his breath quickening. "A legionary, here, on the Strip?!"
"He's gone now." She looked up at him blankly. "He confirmed Benny is headed toward Legion territory like Yes Man said he was."
Pointing to the large coin, he asked urgently, "What is this for?" Without a word, she turned and started walking. Following her, he asked her again, but she didn't answer him until they were securely inside the Lucky 38. "Beth, what the hell is going on?"
She seemed to be trying to catch her breath and steady herself. Finally, she responded, "It's an invitation. Caesar wants to see me. Apparently all my 'crimes' against the Legion are forgiven."
His eyes widened in alarm. "No! You are not seriously considering-"
She looked at him with a bit more clarity in her eyes. "Oh, hell no! I'm not insane."
Boone sighed and dropped his shoulders in relief. "Good." He could never have been convinced that it would be safe for her to go into a Legion camp for an audience with Caesar, pardon or no. Having seen with his own eyes what they do to women, he wasn't about to let that happen to her, too. She had attacked the Legion because of him. If not for that, she might not have been on their radar in the first place. He felt responsible for her safety.
"But what am I going to do?" Her voice faltered.
He put his hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eye with all seriousness. "What are we going to do? I've got your back."
Her shoulders relaxed. "I guess I'm going to be keeping my promise about us going after the Legion after all," she remarked with an uneasy smile.