Chapter Summary: Mr. House contemplates the situation with his new protege. Another nightmare makes Boone second-guess their mission. Beth invites Arcade along for the journey.

Chapter 22: One Line

Robert House stood up from his desk and looked out the window, staring down onto the glittering Strip as it had looked more than 200 years ago. In time, the real thing would look that way again or perhaps even better. The possibilities were endless and his plans were finally falling into place after waiting for so long. He reached into his pocket and grasped the Platinum Chip. It felt solid and grounding, even though it was as much a facsimile as the rest of the scene that surrounded him.

He was anxious to move on to the next phase of his plan, but there was one problem: his new protege was being difficult. Of course, he had considered that Ms. Evans would have a strong reaction to him accessing the data on her Pip-Boy, but he had thought his reasoning would have been sufficient to dampen her emotional response. After all, she was a reasonable, practical person. Would she not have done the same in his position? From her files, he could see that accessing encrypted computer systems was somewhat of a hobby of hers. She rarely passed up an opportunity to gather information. He was the same way.

The surveillance he had in Freeside showed him that she had gone into the Atomic Wrangler and had been inside for several hours. It was reassuring that she hadn't gone far. It was likely that she would soon realize that he had only been acting out of prudence and she would return. Then they could continue their work.

Yet, there were still many unknown variables. House was used to being able to calculate probabilities within a narrow margin of error, but with her, too much was unknown, despite the available data. Her presence in the Mojave was a complete anomaly. It was by sheer chance that she was the one carrying the Platinum Chip and he did not like to leave things to chance. Combing through past surveillance, he saw that while she had been around off and on for the last three years, she had done very little to draw any particular attention to herself. She mostly kept to Freeside, frequenting the Old Mormon Fort, the Atomic Wrangler, and, up until a little over a year ago, the King's School of Impersonation. Occasionally, she had been in the company of the Follower, Doctor Gannon, or the King's cybernetic dog, but she was usually alone.

It was frustrating that someone with her capabilities could be right under his proverbial nose without him knowing about it. If he had known, he could have recruited her instead of trying to shape Benny and his ambitions into something useful. So much time and potential had gone to waste.

Unlike Benny, she wasn't motivated by money, luxury, or power. She valued loyalty, security, benevolence; she thrived on challenge. He could offer her all of those things. Yes, she would come back. From everything he could tell from her files, she was not an impulsive person who acted out of pure emotion. He was confident that she would consider his position and come around. He just had to be patient, which he could somewhat afford to be now that he had the Platinum Chip and the system upgrades it provided.

She would come back.

That is, unless the sniper's influence persuaded her to fully side with the NCR. It was useful that she was on good terms with them, since that would make things easier going forward, but he needed her to work for his interests first and foremost, not theirs.

Though perhaps the sniper was not as fiercely pro-NCR as one might think. Despite the Legion threat, he was no longer serving in the army. He had also only lightly encouraged Ms. Evans to take Ambassador Crocker's invitation to the NCR Embassy and didn't seem to press the matter when she decided to go to the Tops instead. Surveillance on the Strip showed that neither of them had gone near the Embassy since.

The man seemed to be quite loyal to and protective of Ms. Evans. He had confronted an armed securitron on her behalf. Then, not only had he stayed at her bedside as she recovered in the suite, he also readily agreed to accompany her to Cottonwood Cove to retrieve the Platinum Chip. Though some of his eagerness seemed to be due to his personal hatred for the Legion based on their conversations on the Strip and in the Lucky 38 casino.

Additionally, from what House could tell from her files, Ms. Evans functioned best when working with others. Alone, she hardly did anything of consequence. Perhaps the sniper could be useful, though it was a shame her ghoul bodyguard had not survived. His unfailing loyalty to his "employer" could have proved to be quite an asset. The sniper would have to be an imperfect substitute. At least as a soldier, he should be used to following orders rather than thinking for himself.

While House could not access the sniper's NCR personnel files, or not yet, anyway, he was not wholly in the dark concerning him. The man had visited the Strip on a few occasions in the past and it didn't take much effort to compile the video and audio surveillance of those visits. Craig Boone had been with NCR First Recon—that was already obvious based on what House knew of the NCR's uniforms. He had met and married a waitress on the Strip named Carla Flores after a fairly brief engagement. On his last visit, he and another man, someone named Vargas, had spoken about moving to Novac and about Carla being pregnant. That was well over a year before he returned again with Ms. Evans.

It was doubtful Carla was still alive. The man had seemed far too smitten with her for things to have ended otherwise so quickly. Childbirth was the most likely cause of death, statistically speaking. Not that it particularly mattered to House regardless. At least he didn't have to worry about that nonsense from Ms. Evans after her surgery in Rivet City years ago.

As much as he could tell about the sniper just from observation, he knew far more about Ms. Evans herself. He had poured over her Pip-Boy files in exhaustive detail. Had the information not come from one of his own devices, he would have thought much of it was a fabrication.

One of the most intriguing entries was from her infiltration of Vault 112. Before the war, he had met Stanislaus Braun on a few occasions through Vault-Tec. The doctor was difficult to forget: arrogant, brilliant, and completely insufferable. His work been particularly useful to House's endeavors, however. It was fascinating that they had both independently incorporated virtual reality into their systems, although House had not imprisoned any unsuspecting innocents into his own simulation. Additionally, focus on his work and being able to control his securitrons had kept him sane over the years, whereas Braun instead had grown bored and increasingly sadistic. House had grand plans for humanity and had made many great sacrifices to those ends; Braun's concerns were only for himself.

It brought a satisfied smile to House's face to think that the man had been outsmarted and defeated by Ms. Evans when she had been merely twenty years old. His ego must have been absolutely crushed.

With nearly a decade of additional experience, there was no telling what she was capable of now, given the proper incentives and resources. She was special. In some ways, she reminded him of himself: intelligent, resourceful, a born leader. A survivor.

Yes, she would return and they would do great things together.

Boone woke up gasping, drenched in a cold sweat. The room was dark and for a moment, he couldn't remember where he was. "Beth!?" he called out, the lingering panic from his dream choking him. Reaching out to the other side of the bed, he patted the blankets frantically.

"Boone? What is it?" her concerned voice came from the other side of the room. She clicked a light on and he shielded his eyes against the sudden brightness. Sitting down next to him on his side of the bed, she put her hand to his face. "Are you alright? You're completely soaked."

He pulled her to him in a tight embrace, relieved to see that she was alive and unhurt. Usually, the details of his nightmares faded soon after he woke up, but this time, he could recall vivid details. They were back in Nipton. The burning smell of the bodies and rubble filled his nostrils. Vulpes Inculta held Beth by the throat with a gun to her head. She was begging him to let her go, her bright blue eyes pleading as she held a small baby protectively against her chest. Helpless, Boone could only watch from the cross he was lashed to. In desperation, he tried to call out to her, but his voice caught in his throat. The next moment, the legionary ripped the crying baby from Beth's arms as another legionary grabbed her and drug her away. It had all seemed so real. He could almost hear her screams still echoing in his ears.

"Boone, it's okay." Beth rubbed his back reassuringly.

"Where were you? Why weren't you in bed?" he asked at a near whisper, still feeling choked and disoriented.

"I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep."

She'd probably had a nightmare of her own. The conversation the evening before had brought up a lot of heavy things for both of them. He had given in to his sudden, primal instincts, thinking that it would push the all the horrible feelings and memories away, but it didn't. It just fused things together in his mind in a more confusing and painful way.

"It's okay," she said, pulling back from him. "Lie down and I'll come back to bed. You want the light off?"

Looking at her, he couldn't help but see the images from the dream. "Turn it off."

When Beth got up and crossed the room, he saw that all she was wearing was panties and his t-shirt. Running his hands over his face, he collapsed back down onto the bed. A second later, the light turned off, then he felt a dip in the mattress next to him. "You okay?" she asked as she put her head on his shoulder and draped her arm over his bare chest, holding him close.

He wasn't. "Yeah, I'll be fine." Running his fingers through her soft hair, he could smell its sweet floral scent. "Try to get some sleep."

"You, too. Okay?"

"Yeah."

Although his breathing calmed, his mind didn't.

Boone wasn't sure how strongly he felt about Beth in real life, but in the dream, he had loved her more than anything. He had also loved their child-a child that didn't exist and never would. His mind was tormenting him with a version of his own personal hell: watching as those he loved were taken by the Legion while he was completely powerless to do anything about it.

The more he thought about it, the more he knew that as much as he had wanted to be a father, it was not a good idea. Even if this were a better world, after everything, the fear and worry would eat him from the inside out. Tears leaked from his eyes and ran down his temples, but he stayed silent and kept his breathing steady, not wanting Beth to notice. She felt relaxed and still against him.

He knew he wouldn't be falling back to sleep tonight.

There was a slight chill to the air when they set out from the Atomic Wrangler.

Even though she had decided to keep working with Mr. House, Beth felt no need to rush back to the Lucky 38 for her next assignment, regardless of what he said. After the blow she and Boone had struck them, she was confident that the Legion would need time to regroup before they made their assault on the Dam. Besides, she wanted House to sweat a little.

In the meantime, there were still a couple of Ranger Stations that needed the upgraded radio security codes from Tech Sergeant Reyes at Camp Forlorn Hope. It would be a welcome break after everything they had gone through. Heading further west, they would be much less likely to run into Legion raiding parties. As much as Boone wanted to eliminate as many legionaries as possible, she was surprised that he actually agreed that a few days off would be good for both of them.

As they proceeded into the northern part of Freeside, Beth spoke up, "Before we leave, I want to stop by the Old Mormon Fort and check on Bill. Make sure he's still sober."

"Okay," Boone said. "I'm gonna head to Mick and Ralph's for some ammo. You need anything?"

"Yeah, some .45s, if they have them. I'll meet you there out front after I'm done."

"Got it."

Boone headed east down the street and Beth went north toward the Old Mormon Fort. Despite her efforts to enter quietly, the creak of the old wooden gate cut through the hush of the early morning. The guards were alert at inside and nodded to her as she came in. A couple of the Fort's guests were milling around, either up early or still awake from the previous night.

"Morning, Beth," a voice greeted behind her.

She turned and saw Dr. Farkas, the head of the Followers of the Apocalypse in Freeside. "Hey, Julie. I wanted to check on Bill Ronte."

The woman's already warm smile broadened. "He's doing great. He's been staying sober and keeping busy repairing things around here. I don't know how we managed without him for as long as we did."

"That's really good to hear. I'm glad."

"Um...would you mind doing me a personal favor?" she asked in a quieter voice.

"Sure. Anything for you, Julie."

"Would you get Arcade out of here for a few days? He's been due to take some time off for months now and he's been irritable for the last few weeks. Well, extra irritable. Maybe if you got him out on one of your deliveries, he'd recharge a bit."

Beth laughed. "And I'm guessing you want it to be my idea?"

"If you wouldn't mind."

"Not at all."

Beth approached Arcade's tent and heard some frustrated mumbling coming from inside. "Knock, knock," she said, not wanting to come in unannounced. "Arcade? You in there?"

"Come in," he answered.

Pulling back the canvas that covered the doorway, she found the doctor sitting at his desk with its usual covering of notebooks, science texts, and papers. He was blotting up some spilled liquid with a cloth. "Morning."

"Beth," he greeted, turning in his chair. "How are you?"

"I'm good. I was actually wondering if you were up for a little adventure."

"I suppose." His brow furrowed as he glanced behind her. "Where to?"

"I need to deliver some new radio security codes to the ranger stations. The next ones are for Foxtrot up in the hills."

"You're doing work for the NCR now?"

"A little. If you haven't noticed, they need all the help they can get. Anyway, you want to tag along? I'm sure there are some interesting plants up in the hills you can collect to study for their medicinal value."

"Um...okay." He looked almost sad at the idea, which was strange. From what Julie had said, Beth assumed he would have jumped at the chance to get out of the Fort for a few days. "Let me just grab my pack and I'll be ready."

Within two minutes Arcade was ready to go. He was always ready at nearly a moment's notice, she had observed. She supposed it was in case he was called away on a medical emergency.

Arcade followed her out of the Fort and down the street toward the east Freeside entrance.

"Beth, are you okay?" he asked, sounding concerned.

"Yes, I'm fine. No headaches, no dizziness, no nothing." Knowing that he meant well, she tried not to sound exasperated at his questioning.

"That's good to hear, but that's not what I meant. Personally...are you okay?"

Puzzled, she nodded. "Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I just thought that..." He shook his head. "Never mind."

When they reached Mick and Ralph's, Beth stopped, set down her pack, and leaned against the building.

"Why are we stopping?" Arcade asked.

"We're waiting for Boone," she answered.

His eyes widened slightly. "Oh. So he's still with you?"

"Yeah." Beth cocked her head to the side. "Ugh, so that's why you've been acting weird and asking me if I'm okay. You thought he and I had parted ways."

He shrugged. "Well, what was I supposed to think? You show up alone asking if I want to come along with you. I thought you wanted company."

"No, he and I are good."

"Good." He smirked. "So, are you and Craig still just traveling together?"

Letting out a groan, she said, "Alright, no, we aren't. I'm not sure what we are, but we are...more than what we were."

She expected him to give her an "I told you so" look, but instead, he smiled genuinely and said, "I'm really happy for you, Beth."

"Thanks."

Pushing up the bridge of his glasses, he looked at her questioningly. "So why did you ask me to come along?"

"I thought you'd like to get out for a bit. I know that some days you hardly leave your tent."

Before the doctor could respond to that, Boone emerged from the store. "Uh...hey, Arcade," he said.

"Morning, Craig."

"Arcade's going to join us for a bit," Beth said.

"Are you sure you really want me to?" he asked. "I don't want to be a third wheel."

"It's fine."

"Yeah, it's fine," Boone replied neutrally.

The three companions left Freeside together. As they walked, Boone stayed several paces behind Beth and Arcade, saying that he was watching their backs in case of trouble. She assumed he just didn't feel like being sociable, so she let him be. Arcade had obviously been cooped up alone in his tent too long, as he was particularly chatty.

He inquired about her and Boone's travels. She told him about how they had helped out the NCR in Bitter Springs and Camp Forlorn Hope, but largely glossed over their encounters with the Legion. When she had returned from Zion and recounted her battle with the wannabe legionary tribals to him, he had been concerned for her safety, more so than usual. Telling him that she and Boone had engaged in an active guerrilla campaign against the Legion might be more information than he could handle. Anyway, it wasn't as though Arcade didn't have his own secrets.

It was mid-afternoon when they came upon an old, abandoned farm near the base of the hills and decided to stop there until morning, since the house was hospitable enough and they likely wouldn't reach Foxtrot before dark. The mountains were a bad place to travel at night, since there were too many hidden places for creatures to attack from without warning.

Inside, Arcade prepared diner from some fresh potatoes and carrots, along with a couple of packages of pre-war Salisbury steak. As they ate, he and Beth recounted stories of their travels together over the years, but Boone was only half listening. As much as he wanted to hear about her life before he met her, he was feeling uneasy and distracted. He ate his meal mindlessly, lost in thought.

Arcade tried to engage him in conversation a couple of times, but he was in even less of a mood to talk than usual. He only uttered the occasional one or two-word response. At one point, the doctor asked how they had met. Fortunately, Beth was able to deftly change the subject, which made Boone immensely grateful she had the social skills he lacked. In his current frame of mind, he probably would have snapped and said something overly harsh.

Instead of pressing him to talk, Beth only looked at him with sweet concern, as though silently asking if he was okay. He attempted a reassuring smile, but based on her expression, it wasn't at all convincing. If they were alone, he could have tried to talk to her about how he was feeling, but they weren't alone.

Despite being tired from lack of sleep the night before, Boone slept fitfully and finally decided to get up and relieve Beth early from her turn at watch. He quietly paced through the house, continuously scanning the surrounding darkness through the windows. As the light of dawn was just starting to illuminate the desert valley, Boone caught a flash of something in the distance. Looking out another window, he saw what looked like the edge of a crimson flag peeking out from behind a boulder. Hurrying to the bedroom on the other side of the house with his rifle in hand and peering outside again, he was certain he saw some movement only a hundred feet or so from the fence.

Turning to the bed, he bent down and shook Beth's shoulder. "Wake up! We're surrounded!" he said, a little louder than he intended to. In retrospect, it probably wasn't the best way to wake her, since a second later, her combat knife was at his throat before she realized who it was.

"Shit, Boone! Don't scare me like that," she hissed, lowering her knife.

"The Legion. They've surrounded the house."

"What?! The Legion, this far west? Could you see how many?" She slipped on her boots and tied them quickly.

Looking back out the window, he shook his head. "I saw at least three, but there's gotta be more."

"I'll go wake Arcade."

"Tell him to stay put or he'll just get in the way."

Beth laughed. "Trust me. He's more capable than he looks." She hurried out of the room and down the hall.

Boone continued to scan the area and spotted two more legionaries advancing on the house, both armed with machetes. They had likely seen the movement inside and decided to move in now before their targets had time to prepare. "They're coming!" he shouted to the other room.

"I'll get the living room side," Beth called out. "Arcade, cover the kitchen side."

"Got it!" the doctor shouted back.

The window was stuck shut, so Boone smashed out one of the panes of glass with the butt of his rifle. Crouched down, he took aim and shot both advancing legionaries in a matter of seconds. From the other side of the house, he could hear gunshots. He just had to hope that they were Beth's. He then heard what sounded like an energy weapon being fired, which had to be Arcade, since the Legion didn't use those kinds of weapons.

Another legionary came into view, but ran behind cover before Boone could take aim. He watched the spot where he disappeared, waiting for him to show his head. Before he did, there came a loud banging from the other room that was clearly not gunfire.

"They're trying to kick the door in!" Beth yelled. Then Boone heard gunshots coming from her direction again. He ran to the living room and saw that she was shooting through the closed door. The kicking stopped and she reloaded her gun. "How many of these fuckers are there!?"

A second later and without warning, there was a crash behind them from the vicinity of the back door. Rushing into the hallway, they were met by three legionaries, two with super sledges and one with a rifle. Before the one with the rifle could react, Boone knocked the weapon to the side and punched him in the face, being too close to shoot with his own rifle. He cursed himself for not having his pistol on him.

"Retribution!" one of the other legionaries cried as he lunged at Beth, pinning her against the wall with the handle of his sledgehammer. Boone heard what sounded like the clatter of a gun falling to the floor, but he couldn't help her, as he was grappling with the first legionary, managing to get him on the ground just as he pulled out a knife. The legionary tried to stab Boone's chest, but the sniper caught his wrist and twisted it, causing him to drop the weapon. Another punch dazed the legionary enough to where Boone was able to grab the knife and plunge it deep into the other man's neck.

When he turned, he saw that Beth was still struggling with her attacker. She was attempting to kick him, but he dodged her and pushed the sledge hammer's handle harder against her chest. Jumping to his feet, Boone seized the legionary by the throat from behind with both hands and pulled him away from her. Fury burned through him as he squeezed with all of his considerable strength. Only a choked gurgling sound emanated from the legionary's throat. He heard breaking glass and more energy weapon fire coming from the kitchen, but paid little attention to it. Only when he felt the weight of the man fully collapse into his grip did he release him, allowing him to fall to the floor.

Before he could ask if she was alright, Beth retrieved her gun from the floor and rushed into the kitchen. He followed behind her. Arcade was sitting against the wall with blood coming out of his nose, his lab coat bloodied and torn, his glasses missing from his face. A green puddle of smoldering goo lay on the floor a few feet from him. He was holding his side and taking quick, shallow breaths.

"Boone, check that there aren't more waiting outside," Beth said to him, sounding a bit winded as she knelt next to the doctor.

The sniper nodded and hurried back to the hallway to get his rifle. Outside, it was still and quiet with no more sign of the enemy. He still carefully checked the perimeter before going back inside.

"I think that was the last of them," Boone said as he reentered the kitchen where Beth was tending to Arcade's wounds with her medkit at her side.

"Good," she replied. "Are you okay?"

The legionary had gotten a couple of good punches in, but nothing Boone couldn't deal with. "Yeah, I'm fine. What about you?"

She adjusted her posture with a wince. "Bruised, but otherwise, I'm okay. Arcade has a broken nose and a couple of broken ribs."

The doctor groaned nasally in response.

"I think a super stimpak is in order," she said.

"No," Arcade said. "A couple of regular stimpaks will be fine."

"You are the worst patient, you know that?"

"Look who's talking!" He winced sharply. "Okay, fine. You win."

Beth nodded and helped him out of his lab coat, then rolled up his sleeve. "I'm going to give you some med-x first." Before he could object, she already had the needle ready. "Little pinch," she said as she injected the medicine. Then she attached the super stimpak to his arm. "You're lucky your glasses got knocked off or they probably would have broken against your face." Retrieving them from the floor, she handed the glasses back to him.

"Yes, lucky me," he said sarcastically. As the med-x and super stimpak took effect, he seemed to relax.

Beth took out a regular stimpak and injected it into her arm. Then she looked over at Boone. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, fine. What the hell were those fuckers doing so far west?" Boone asked through clenched teeth, scowling.

After helping Arcade clean the blood from his face, she packed up her medkit and helped him to his feet. In the hallway, she started going through the belongings of their attackers. Among the various useful items, she found a note on the one Boone had stabbed with the knife. Based on his armor, he appeared to be the leader of the group.

"It's in Latin," she said, handing the paper to Arcade. "What does it say?"

Boone's eyes narrowed. "You can read their language?" he said, not even attempting to keep the accusatory tone out of his voice.

"I didn't learn it from the Legion, if that's what you're insinuating." The doctor took the paper and looked it over. As he did, his brow furrowed and his jaw set tight. When he was done, he lowered the paper and his eyes moved to look at Beth, staring at her for a long moment before he spoke. "It's an order to track Caesar's assassins, to capture the woman known as 'the Courier' and to either capture or bring back the head of her, quote, 'NCR dog.'"

Boone felt his blood run cold. Even though he knew he and Beth were despised by the Legion, and for good reason, hearing that they were specifically tracking her in order to capture her only intensified his already present dread.

"Grab your pack," he ordered. "We're going back to Vegas." His voice was firm, but filled with obvious worry bordering on panic.

"What?!" she demanded.

"You. Vegas. Now." He grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. All he could think about was getting her someplace safe where the Legion couldn't get to her.

"What are you doing? Let go of me!" She forcefully wrenched her arm away and her eyes stared daggers into his.

"It isn't safe!"

"We've been fighting the Legion practically since the day we met. What's different now?"

"Boone gripped her shoulders for emphasis, turning her to face him. "The difference is that they know who you are and now they're coming after you."

"If they come, we'll handle it like we always do." Her tone sounded too dismissive and casual to him.

"This is serious. We're going back."

"Going back to do what?" She pushed his hands away. "We have a job to do out here. I'm not going to go hide in some tower like a fucking princess and let them win."

Beth looked over at Arcade. His stern expression had intensified, but he just stood there staring silently with his arms crossed, as though waiting for them to finish.

She turned back to Boone. "For the first time in a long time, I actually have a direction. A purpose," she said. "And it feels good. House was right. I should have been doing more. I'm not running and hiding. So do you have my back or not?"

"I always have your back." He was confused and hurt that she would even ask that.

"Good. Now let's get going."

"If I may speak," Arcade said with restrained anger. "Maybe he has a point."

Beth turned and glared at him even more intensely than she had at Boone, causing the doctor to pull his head back slightly and blink. "You think I should run and hide, too?! No, I'm going to Foxtrot. You two are welcome to join me, but I don't want to hear another word about going back to Vegas until I'm damned well good and ready." Her tone was measured, but she was clearly seething under the surface. Without another word, she stormed into the bedroom, presumably to retrieve her pack.

Arcade followed her. "Don't you think you're being kind of selfish?" he said from the doorway.

"Excuse me?!" Boone heard Beth exclaim.

"You heard me."

"Exactly how am I being selfish? I've been doing nothing except helping other people. Mr. House, the NCR, the Followers..."

Boone had to agree with her. She was always doing things for others. All he wanted now was for her to think of herself, of her own safety.

"And what about Craig? Or me?" Arcade asked.

"What do you mean?" Beth replied, her voice a little softer.

"You're not on your own anymore, Beth. Maybe to the rest of the world you're just a selfless do-gooder, but to us? You're my friend. To him, you're more than that. You let people into your life, that comes with responsibilities. If something happened to you, how do you think we would feel?" He paused and leaned against the door frame. "You're also not the only one putting their life on the line out here."

If Beth answered, it wasn't loud enough for Boone to hear. Feeling his face grow hot, he didn't want to listen to any more of their conversation. He needed some air, so he walked outside through the kicked-in door.

Staring out into the desert, the words from the note echoed in his mind: "Capture the woman known as 'the Courier.'" He felt a wrenching in his stomach and his hands clenched into tight fists. The Legion had tracked them here. He should have been more careful. He should have noticed that they were being followed. He should have known the Legion was out there before the house was surrounded.

The bodies of the legionaries he had killed through the bedroom window were lying in the sand, red puddles underneath what was left of their heads. Normally, he would have wanted for there to be more of them here to kill. Now, he just wished for it all to be over so he could take Beth somewhere safe and quiet.

He had brought her into this fight. If something happened to her, it would be his fault.