We escorted Lonny back to the Tops, and I got a nice little payday for finally helping Tommy get all of his slots filled. A bit of good for an otherwise shitty day. We decided to stay the night at the 38, then headed back to Steve's the next morning. We figured it probably would be better not to try and cross the entire Mojave in the span of a single night. Especially considering my as of yet unseen stalker.

We made the trip back the next morning, and got there sometime mid-afternoon. Raul took a spot outside while I got our pay, and told Steve how the job went.

"What the shit are you doing?" He asked, bewildered "I told you, you're gettin' paid to kill people. Not try an' play peacekeeper."

He didn't exactly take it well.

"I told you Steve, I don't have a problem killing people." I answered sharply "But COME ON, he was a kid, what was I supposed to do, ignore that fact and fucking butcher him?"

"Yes."

I felt my eyes harden into a glare. "I told you when I started, I'm not someone's hitman."

"An' you're not. But the assholes I send you after are on the list for a reason. They're wanted deadfor a reason."

"He was a kid!"

"He was a deranged fuckin' psychopath." Steve answered, venom in his voice "It doesn't matter how old he was. I don't need to have seen what he did to figure that out. The fact you're standin' there arguin' this with me, has got me wonderin' just what the hell you're thinkin'."

"He. Was. A. Kid!"

"No, he wasn't!" Steve said, finally losing his temper as he slammed his desk "He stopped bein' a kid the moment he 'Violated the corpse of some poor transient.'. It'd be bad enough if he was just assaultin' and murderin' these folks, but to go that far he had to have stopped being human a long ways back."

"…I know." I admitted

"…" Steve sighed "I'm startin' to wonder if you're cut out for this sorta work."

"It's not killing I've got a problem with." I told him "It's everything else that goes with it. It was easier hunting the Fiends for Dhatri. I knew they were monsters. All of them. But hunting these bounties for you it's… I don't know."

"… Let me settle somethin' for you." Steve said "It's something Cooper taught me, back when I was startin' out."

I nodded, willing to take whatever advice he was giving.

"That print on the posters and holotapes, it's not advice, it's an order. You don't ignore it. We're not the ones makin' the calls on if these assholes are supposed to live or die. We're just the ones collectin' them. It's someone else's job to decide if they're too dangerous to be brought in or not."

"What about Doc Friday?" I asked.

"Doc Friday was diff'rent" Steve said, dismissive "His reputation as both a gunslinger and a gentleman were well known, and aside from the bounty on him many touted him as a hero. His bounty had the option to bring him in Alive, so I knew it was at least worth a chance to talk to him. The animals I send you after though, They're not." A growl began to slip into his voice. "They're the type who've earned themselves the honor of being shot dead an' dragged back like a sack of meat. The kind of animals that'd shoot you without even half the pause you give them. The kind that'd torture someone to death before violating and eating their corpse. The kind of fuckin' monster that'd cut your fuckin' face off while they…"

Steve trailed off, lookin' down at his desk. A grimace visible behind his bandana and goggles.

It hadn't occurred to me until then why he always wore them. I wore my helmet because I considered it a security measure. But I never asked why he wore his.

"Is that what happened?" I asked.

"… That an' more." Steve answered, angry and bitter.

"What happened?"

"… His name was Marko." Steve said shaking his head "I ain't in much a mood to talk about him, or his crimes. Frankly, I got a list of guys like him I ain't in the mood to talk about. Especially not now." He shuffled some papers on his desk, then looked at me. "You're a good guy, Six, but I'm sincerely doubtin' you've got what it takes to stay in this kinda work. I don't think I can let you keep workin' for me if that's the case. I don't need you on my mind or conscience should somethin' happen."

"... Whatever happens is on me and the people I'm huntin' with. We can take care of ourselves."

Steve shook his head "… I'm gonna give you one more job. No matter what happens, get it done and bring it back. I don't want any more of that mercy crap, alright?" He looked me in the eye from behind his goggles "You can't do it, I'm cuttin' you loose. I'm not gonna be the one payin' the undertaker."

"I know." I nodded "… Hit me."

...

Steve had us head to Novac. Unlike the last few jobs, He couldn't quite tell me what it was we were going after. Only that someone had been abducting people, children, from the area at night. Sneaking into people's homes and stealing them away without anyone the wiser.

Well, almost anyway.

Whoever was responsible for the kidnappings, they got spotted by someone on their most recent outing. Had that not happened, our search would've been dead in the water. Though I'll admit it almost was anyway, since the guy who spotted him was a Jet head by the name of Ricky. His brain was fried, even if it wasn't he was clearly spooked by whatever he saw. I was half tempted to threaten him into giving me an answer, but that wouldn't have helped. If he recalled the wrong info, we'd run the risk of going on a wild goose chase. That wasn't something I could chance. Besides, he was already terrified by what he saw, not sure how much worse I could make it.

He told us he saw a man with knives for fingers snatch some of the kids up and ran off to the west of town, into the hills near the RepConn test site. Once we were far enough from Novac I managed to pick up a trail, and we worked our way deeper into the hills. The tracks were winding, and had been swept enough by the wind to almost erase them.

Almost.

They stopped at the mouth of a cave, some distance from town.

We found the body of a young boy outside it. What was left of him matched the description of one of the children, Tomas. What was left of him…

What was left of him I wouldn't even be able to show to his mother.

He'd been ripped in half, intestines dragged out like coiled ropes. Arms broken at the elbows, gnawed off and having the meat stripped from them. His torso a road map of scratches and bites. Blood had long since poured from his mouth, staying and clotting there. Drying a rusted crimson.

His face was frozen. Stuck permanently into a mask of horror, silently screaming into the night sky.

A chill ran down my spine as I looked at the boy, half eaten and mutilated. I knew right then we weren't hunting just another raider or killer. We were dealing with a monster.

Raul looked down at the boy, and I saw something harden in his old eyes.

"There are others." I said, keeping my voice low "We have to find them, save them. Killing the bastard that did this comes second."

Raul didn't say anything, he just scowled and nodded.

We'd been sent here to collect a bounty, we would. But not while the children were in danger.

I turned on my Pip-boy's light and we started into the cave. It was always a risky proposition walking into the dark with it on - it gave light, but anyone or thing hiding in the shade would see me long before I saw them. But I didn't have a way to see in the dark without it. If I had some Cateye or a Nuka Cola quartz I could do without, but that wouldn't have helped Raul either. It was just easier to keep the light on than it was to stress over being spotted.

The cave stretched down into the bowels of the Mojave. The air growing damp and cool the further down we went. I could hear water drip distantly from stalactites, wind whistle past the mouth of the cave as we stalked its shadows. The ground soft and loamy, boots sinking in with each step.

The path wound down, deep into the belly of the earth. It probably wasn't as deep as it felt. But having to creep all that distance, with so little light, we might as well have walked the length of the Mojave. The path opened to a cavern proper. A small, close ended one. Its walls were lined with cages. Small ones, the kind the Legion would use to kennel their dogs.

As I we walked deeper into the room, I began to hear a tell-tale clicking from my Pip-boy. My Geiger counter. The further into the room we went, the higher the number shot. I could just barely see barrels peaking out of the dirt, sitting near the cages, radioactive waste.

Why they were there began to clear in my mind.

We found a child in one of the cages, locked in. A young girl, her clothes dirtied, ragged and torn. Body practically glowing with rads. She was just lying there, hardly moving.

"Dios mio." Raul gasped

I hefted the fireaxe off my back and swung it at the lock. It broke free of the kennel, dragging the door open. I dropped the axe and crawled halfway into the cage, gently and gingerly picking the girl up from the cage's dirty floor.

My Geiger counter almost skyrocketed.

I didn't know much about medicine, but I knew what radiation sickness looked like. Hair loss, fever, mottling of the skin, crusted bits of bile around her mouth. It helped that Raul was there for reference. She had long since lost consciousness, and her body gave only the occasional tremor. She needed a doctor, fast.

I could only buy time.

I reached into my stash of chems and withdrew an I.V. of Radaway, and a few tabs of Rad-x. We were still soaking up the heat the longer we stayed in here. The only thing I could do was slow it down. I placed one of the tabs in her mouth, gently coaxing her to swallow it. Then I moved onto the Radaway, stuck the needle of the I.V. tube into the girl's arm, letting her body take in the radiation devouring medicine.

"I see you found Nancy." A voice rasped

I turned away from the girl, whirling around in the darkness, Raul with me. I couldn't see where it came from, it echoed off of the cave walls.

"I'm afraid her death will be a necessity now, Just like Tomas. So unwilling to face the truth."

"Show yourself!" I shouted, calmly scanning the darkness, far calmer than I felt.

"I assume you're a hired gun, here to enact justice." The voice spat "Tailed by a traitor to his own kind."

The light from my Pip-boy washed over the cavern, causing the moisture on the walls to glisten like distant starlight.

"Where are the children?" Raul growled, his voice cool as ice

The voice gave a rasping chuckle. "Ah, little Billy and Kate. They were obstinate at first... But they saw the light. Maybe they can show it to you too."

A small figure charged me in the darkness, an animalistic screech reverberating off the cavern walls. I whirled to it, as the figure leapt and latched onto me. Claws and fangs digging into my coat, scratching at my helmet.

"Fuck!"

I twisted as the figure latched onto me, trying to wrench free of it. The light of my Pip-boy shining starkly on them.

It was a small ghoul, skin mottled and rotten, with its eyes a pale milk white. It still had its clothes, dirtied and tattered. I didn't have time to let it register though. Not when the rotten little bastard was trying to rip my throat out.

I got my arms in between us and shoved it off of me. It tumbled ungracefully to the ground. Colliding with it in a heap before scrambling to get to its feet. Before it could, I took a large step towards it, kicking it in the head. That was a mistake.

There was a second one hiding just out of sight.

The moment I stepped away from Nancy and Raul, it lunged at me from the shadows. Its screeching wail just as piercing as the first. It slammed into my knees like a battering ram, sending me to the ground. The two hellions dove onto me, clawing and biting as I tried to keep them from hitting anything vital.

"Boss!"

"Keep her safe!" I barked.

I grabbed one of the ghouls by the throat as they tried to bite my face off. Using their momentum, I tossed them over my prone form. As they landed in a heap next to me, the second tried to go for my leg. I gave it to them with a heel kick to the stomach, sending them sprawling backwards. Their smaller size might have made them quicker, but they were lighter too. I didn't have to hit them as hard as they did me.

I rolled to the side, pushing off the floor and to my feet. I moved back, keeping the angle on both them and Raul. Letting my light catch off of them, so they wouldn't take us by surprise again.

That's when I saw him, the bounty. A ghoul, wearing a striped button-up and dark pants, a fedora atop his scarred head. At first, I thought he had knives for fingers, but then I saw the dried leather, the dull gleam of bone. A deathclaw's hand turned into a glove. As sharp and sinister as if it were still one with the beast itself.

He was behind Raul.

"Look out!"

I saw Raul's eyes snap to attention, and he fell to the side as the clawed-ghoul swung down at him. They moved out of my Pip-boy's light, and I could hear them struggling in the darkness, but I couldn't turn to help. The smaller ghouls had recovered and were ready to take another pass at me. Loping and scrambling at me on all fours.

I wasn't going to let them knock me down again.

I drew That Gun off my hip, cracking off two shots at the closer ghoul. The First shot winged it, causing it to stumble onto its face. The second catching it in the back, eliciting a pained shriek. The other ghoul got in close, leaping to grab me again. I side stepped it and hammered its back with the butt of my pistol, causing it to fall to the ground. I crashed my foot down on them, feeling bone crunch underfoot, pinning the ghoul in place.

With the second ghoul immobilized, I turned back to the first as it struggled lamely back into motion.

I plugged it a third time. Right between the eyes.

The back of their head burst in a shower of gore, and it fell to the ground.

I turned back to the second ghoul as it writhed under my heel, trying to get free.

I emptied the rest of the cylinder into the back of their head. It stopped moving after that.

With a snap, the cylinder shot open, ejecting the brass as my hand moved to place more in. I turned back to where Raul and the ghoul had disappeared, hoping to catch sight of them quickly. It was faster than it otherwise would have been, I could hear the sound of hollow metal striking a softer target.

I cast my light on them and was treated to the sight of the old ghoul beating the crap out of our bounty. The only thing he'd had over Raul, apparently, had been surprise and the shadows. I ruined one of those before the first strike, and now I was actively stopping the second. The playing field was even now.

The bounty slashed at Raul with his gauntlet, the claws slicing at Raul's jumpsuit, tracing red into his skin. But the wounds sealed themselves almost as quickly as they opened. Ghouls healed themselves with radiation, and we were standing in a dumping ground for the stuff.

Raul swung his pipe, catching our bounty on the arm, then back handing him in the face. The bounty stumbled back from the strike, his wounds sealing as they arose. But Raul didn't let up, he stepped towards him, keeping the pressure on. Raul hammered the target with an overhead strike, catching the top of his head. A wet *thump* resounding from the strike. Raul reeled his arm back and hammered him again. Following the second strike with a punch the nose. I heard bone break, and saw blood as the bounty stepped back again, trying to get room. But Raul kept the pressure on, fighting him with a ferocity and, quite frankly, rage I'd never seen in him before. He whipped the Pipe around, striking the bounty in the ribs eliciting another, dry, crack of bone.

The bounty howled, and ceased retreating. He dove at Raul in retaliation. Gauntlet blurring as he swiped furiously at the old Ghoul.

His hits never landed.

I opened VATs, took aim, and planted two rounds into his gauntleted hand. The appendage splitting apart like rotten wood.

The bounty's howling died into a strangled scream, the stumpy wound sealing itself shut in the radiation. He clutched at the stump where his hand had been, and lost focus on what was happening.

The riff of a guitar trickled from my Pip-boy.

Raul drew his Mysterious Magnum, and planted twin .44 magnum slugs into the target's knees. They buckled in directions they were never meant to, and he collapsed to the ground, writhing. Trying and failing to rise.

Raul had a bone deep scowl on his face, keeping his magnum trained on our target.

I walked up to the target, moving around the right side of him. I put my boot down on the ribs Raul broke and pushed. A strangle howl escaped the bounty, and he stopped resisting.

"One chance." I growled "Where are the children?"

The ghoul bared his teeth and snarled wordlessly at me.

I pressed my boot down harder. "Talk."

I glared daggers at me a moment longer, then a wicked sneer crossed his face. "They saw the light."

"… Boss."

I looked at Raul, and found he was staring elsewhere in the cavern. Back in the direction of the two ghouls that'd-

I felt my blood run cold.

I took my foot off of the bounty and walked back over to the two smaller ghouls. Shining my light properly on them for the first time. They were ghouls, small ghouls. There was no mistaking the way the radiation had scarred and twisted them. Leaving them half melted and in apparent agony. Just as there was no mistaking the clothes they were wearing.

Children's clothes.

The other two missing kids. Billy and Kate.

My blood continued to cool; I could feel the ice forming in my veins.

A ragged, horrified gasp escaped my lips.

"They saw the light." The bounty repeated voice manic with glee "They walked into my world and got to stare into the fires of hell itself!"

My breaths grew shallow and my eyes stung. Ears ringing like I'd stood too close to an explosion.

I'd killed them.

I didn't have a choice.

But they were kids.

They were CHILDREN.

"They were in my world!" the ghoul crowed "They were mine, I was their god!"

I felt something inside me break.

The world came back into sharp focus.

I looked at the ground near the bodies.

My axe was still there.

I grabbed it.

"You were too slow!" The ghoul laughed. Continued to laugh.

I walked back over to him, saw Raul ready to end him. He was waiting for me to say something.

How kind.

I looked at him, locking eyes. My message made itself clear.

Not yet.

I stood next to the bounty as he lay there, laughing.

I drove my boot into his unbroken ribs, feeling them shatter underfoot.

His laughter died into a broken cough. Finding new life as a pained scream as I twisted my foot.

"They were children." I said, my voice calm, colder than It'd ever been

I retracted my foot and took a step further. Re-planting it into his shattered knee. The screams re-doubled.

"One of the few, truly innocent things you'll find in this world. One of the things worth risking your life for… and you tortured them."

I twisted my heel.

"Twisted them."

I hefted my axe.

"Dragged them screaming- INTO THE NIGHT!"

I brought the blade down on his foot, splitting it in twain. If he could scream any louder, I didn't know.

Even with his foot cut in half, I saw the wound heal over. But it stayed split.

"Steve kept telling me I shouldn't be showing you people mercy." I said, gripping the axe hard enough to dig its grain into my skin "That it wasn't my decision whether pieces of shit like you should be brought in alive or not."

I let off of his ruined knee, and turned my attention to the stump he once called a hand. I crushed it under heel.

"I fought him at every turn, wanted to believe I could do it…" I a chuckle escaped my lips "But now, now I understand. People like you, who could drag children screaming into the darkness? You don't deserve mercy."

I planted the handle of the axe into his broken ribs for support.

"You deserve to die. Screaming. Terrified. Agonized… I'm not here to take you in."

I leaned close, right into his face.

"I'm done trying to be the good man."

I saw the fear in his eyes. Finally realizing how bad he'd fucked up.

"And you're going towish you were dead."

I rose back up, hefting the axe again. My mind racing with every possible way I could dismantle him, put him through every amount of pain he had the children. Make him suffer worse.

I was going to start at his feet. Work my way up.

As I reeled the axe back though, I felt something stop me, grabbing my arm.

I cast an eye at it, and found a hand there. Raul had stopped me.

The rage in his eyes had cooled, and he gave me a sad, knowing look.

"Boss, the girl."

The words hung in the air for a moment, as my sense fought its way through the red haze hanging over me. As they settled though, I felt the warmth return to my blood, the ring fade from my hearing.

I turned back to the girl we'd found, Nancy.

She lay on the ground some feet away, curled in on herself. The Radaway drained from the bag. She trembled slightly, not making a sound. Trapped in a silent nightmare.

I'd forgotten about her.

I breathed, and the ease I'd had escaped me. They came ragged, hoarse.

"Neither of you can stay here." Raul said, his gravelly voice soothing "She needs a doctor, you will too if you stay." He looked down at the cavern floor, bending over and grasping a nearby piece of viscera. He pulled a finger from it. "Take her, go, I'll take care of him."

"B-but-" I said, numb

He gestured with a hand "It's ok." He turned to look at the bounty, and I saw the rage return in full to his gaze. "He won't go easy." He took the axe from my hands, and put the finger in its place, closing my hands around it. "Please… go."

"…"

I took a deep breath. Forcing myself to calm down, focus.

The girl, she needed to come first. Nothing else.

"… You can find your way out?" I asked, trying to find something to focus on

He nodded "Think I can."

"… Make him suffer." I said, putting the finger in my pocket. I spared one last look down at the sack of shit masquerading as a ghoul. "Consider yourself lucky."

"He isn't." Raul growled, his voice making it clear the bounty wasn't.

I walked back over to Nancy, scooping her up in my arms. She curled into me as I did. I felt my chest tighten. She was the only one leaving here. Even though we were getting paid, there was no fooling me. We'd failed.

"… Let's get you home." I said softly, following the path back out.

Halfway up, I could hear the thudding echo of metal on flesh and bone.

The death of a monster.