Chapter 12
Friends of New & Old
Mr. Burke slowly lowered the newspaper, sipping his coffee and grimacing.
He sore his favorite grayish suit, pinstriped and cleaner than most, his fedora tenting over his sunglasses and his pensive eyes behind them. For years now, he lived in the lone wanderer's abandoned Megaton home, watching over the town as the wanderer had requested before her departure. After securing Project Purity and distributing Aqua Pura in mass, the Capital Wasteland underwent a short era of peace and prosperity—but now, it seemed that time of serenity was coming to a quick and violent downfall.
Ever since the Lyon's Pride lost their most recent election among the Brotherhood of Steel, and young and ambitious initiate—a man named Maxson—had been leading the Brotherhood. Unlike Sarah and her followers, Maxson and his new Brotherhood were far less tolerant and considerably more ruthless. In the past year alone, most functioning territories—like Rivet City and Tenpenny Tower—had been taken over by Maxson's Brotherhood, and now, according to the newspaper, the Brotherhood was finally moving toward Megaton.
Mr. Burke frowned in silence, stroking his chin and glaring at the paper. Wadsworth the robot gently floated toward him, placing a new mug of coffee on the table just after Burke finished his first cup. Mr. Burke thanked him with a distant utterance, still troubled and distracted by the falling prosperity of the Capital Wasteland. His mind wandered back to Bryan Wilks—the young boy who was rescued by the lone wanderer years ago. The wanderer adopted him after saving him from a town filled with mutant ants, and nowadays, Bryan was a young initiate in the Brotherhood of Steel. He initiated under Sarah's discretion, and Mr. Burke hadn't heard from either of them in a few months. Sarah was busy unwittingly following Maxson's harsh orders, and Bryan was her subordinate, tasked with many of the same jobs. Mr. Burke couldn't help but wonder what their lives must've been like now, after Sarah lost the election to Maxson, and now, she and Bryan were forced to do things that neither of them were morally comfortable with doing, marching into independent towns, forcing people out of their homes at gunpoint…
There was a time when Mr. Burke was a prolific expert at operating in the areas colored morally gray, but now, strangely, he felt a tinge of disdain thinking of the harsh changes in the capital. He never cared in the past, but the wanderer left him with a new sense of empathy before she departed the Capital Wasteland. So damn annoying, that feeling was. Things were so much easier before he ever gave a damn…
He let out a heavy sigh. The lone wanderer entrusted he, Gob, and Fawkes with the town before she left—but now, Gob and Fawkes had evacuated along with many of the townspeople, hoping to escape the danger before the Brotherhood arrived on their doorstep. They all knew they couldn't win such a fight, and Mr. Burke was left with a mostly-empty town, with no way to preserve it and no people left to assist him with the task. It was all a lost cause, everything the wanderer fought for. Such a damn waste.
"Damn it all," Mr. Burke exhaled, shoving the paper away and massaging his temples stressfully. "Left with nothing… after all we accomplished. Damn it all to hell."
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
Mr. Burke perked up, eyeing the door suspiciously. Many of the townspeople were gone—but even when the town was full, he rarely got visitors. He swiftly slid his pistol from its holster, approaching the door and cautiously pulling it open.
When he saw two familiar faces staring back at him, he released a sigh of relief and stuffed his gun away.
Sarah and Bryan stood before him now, Sarah now wearing a set of sleek new recon armor, which complimented her figure far more than her old clunky power armor had. Bryan was fourteen now, and he was dressed in average clothing, as the Brotherhood had no armor in his size. He still had his old backpack given to him by the wanderer years ago, hanging lazily off his shoulder by a single strap, his sandy hair scraggly and slicked back, Sarah's hair a shiny blonde, tied back in a smooth ponytail.
Sarah offered him a smile and stepped inside, Bryan following her and closing the door behind them. Mr. Burke surveyed them both strangely, thinking it odd that they'd arrive unannounced, especially with the recent events developing in the capital.
"What're you… oh," Mr. Burke muttered. "Oh, don't tell me they're at the gates already. Did they send you in to try and talk me down?"
"No… we took a vertibird here," Sarah replied. "The Maxson squad is coming, but there're too many of them to fit in the vertibirds. Most are coming on foot. Maxson hasn't gotten authorization to use the Prydwen yet, so… he's winging it. He really wants to make a full takeover happen regardless of who it hurts, or how much he strains his followers. Bastard's a tyrant."
"He's a jackoff," Bryan grumbled, folding his arms and gazing up at the wall, where the wanderer's armored vault 101 suit was pinned upright on display. "He's barely any older than me, and he's acting like he knows everything. Last week, we had to evict a family out of New Paradise Falls, and it was fucking evil. They were all crying and screaming… and I told Maxson it was a fucked up thing to do. Maxson threatened to put me in front of a public firing squad if I spoke out of turn again. He's a fucking dictator."
Mr. Burke frowned intently, his eyes shifting thoughtfully between the two of them. "I understand. But that doesn't explain your sudden arrival. Why're you here?"
Sarah and Bryan exchanged intense visages.
Mr. Burke eyed them. "What?"
"Well, we…" Sarah paused and cleared her throat. "We decided to seek greener pastures, so to speak. We're gonna try to integrate with another wing of the Brotherhood, if we can. But we have to get out of Maxson's reach first."
Bryan nodded in agreement, wearing a mischievous smirk.
Mr. Burke narrowed his eyes at the devilish expression on Bryan's face. Then, his eyes shot over to Sarah again.
"You stole a vertibird," Mr. Burke deducted.
Sarah chuckled. "You've still got a knack for reading people."
"Yeah—we stole it and we do it again!" Bryan cackled. "We've been researching in secret for weeks. We've been looking for new wings of the Brotherhood, far away from the capital. Far from Maxson's tyrannical bullshit."
"Unfortunately, we haven't found very many that are willing to defy Maxson," Sarah informed. "Trust me, I've contacted plenty of them. Most of them don't agree with Maxson, but none of them have the balls to stand against him, either."
"But then I found this really secret place marked on Elder Lyons's map," Bryan stated, his grin growing. "It's a Brotherhood wing on lockdown, waaay across the country. They're recovering from a battle with the NCR."
"NCR…?" Mr. Burke mumbled.
"New California Republic," Sarah clarified. "It's a faction out west. The Brotherhood doesn't have much of an influence out there—but the western Brotherhood is on lockdown, recovering from a fight and lacking in numbers. I asked the elder, and he told me all this. He also told me that the western Brotherhoods are a lot less structured, broken up and scattered across the region. But there's one stronghold left out there. One that we know of, anyway."
"Oh?" Mr. Burke said, cocking an eyebrow. "Where is it?"
"Nevada," Sarah and Bryan both answered.
"Nevada?" Mr. Burke took back. "That far?"
"Yes. It's our best shot at starting over in the Brotherhood," Sarah told him. "We're about to make a really long flight."
"And… we wanted to ask," Bryan added, tilting his head at Mr. Burke. "Since Megaton is empty, and it's about to be overrun… we wanted to ask if you wanna to join us."
Mr. Burke took a moment to think, staring at them silently as his mind began to race. His gaze wandered over to the wall, where the vault suit had been hanging for years. Mr. Burke released a sigh, sauntering to the wall and softly stroking the sleeve of the suit, contemplating on their offer, among other things.
Sarah observed him from behind, her beautiful face now harboring an empathetic frown.
"It's the best course of action," she said somberly. "I know it feels wrong to bail on everything we fought for… but Maxson's already taken that away from us. If you stay here, the Brotherhood is gonna force you out, just like they have everyone else. And if you refuse… well… they're authorized to use lethal force. You'd end up either homeless or dead."
"Yeah… and we can't stay here," Bryan said bluntly, a tinge of anger in his tone. "I'm not gonna keep doing that evil shit for Maxson. That's not what I joined the Brotherhood for. Leaving is better for us—and for you."
Mr. Burke was only halfway listening, his expression dark as he fidgeted with the vault suit.
Sarah stepped toward him, glancing between Mr. Burke and the wanderer's hanging armor.
"I know… what you thought," Sarah murmured softly. "I know what you thought… for the past few years. I thought the same thing."
Mr. Burke turned his head and met her eyes.
Sarah sighed. "I thought she'd eventually come back. But she never did… and she's not going to. I think it's time we put that little hope out of our minds."
Mr. Burke said nothing, looking away and staring into the vault suit again.
Sarah's grave visage seemed to grow heavier with perturbation. She let out another sigh, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Over all this time… I kinda pieced it together," Sarah told him. "From the stories she told me, and from the look on your face every time someone mentions her. I know how you felt about her, but she's not coming back. Plus… you are a really rare breed, you know that?"
Mr. Burke faced her once more, this time with a hint of questioning in his eyes.
"You're an evil fuck," Sarah laughed. "Or you used to be, anyway. It is really, really, really rare for someone as twisted as you to become a better person. You originally came here to destroy this town—but for the past few years, you've been this town's protector. Do you have any idea how bizarre that is? Do you have any clue how rare it is for someone like you to change like that? I'd hate to see you throw that away just because you wanna stay here and wait for her. She's not coming back. It's better if we all bail out and start fresh somewhere else."
"It's not just her," Mr. Burke mumbled in a faint, wispy voice, releasing the sleeve of the vault suit. "It's everything we accomplished with her. It all seems like such a damn waste now. This is why I never carried the weight of a moral compass in the past. It's never worth it. Never."
"Really?" Sarah said challengingly, giving him a caustic smirk. "Then lemme ask you something. After you left Tenpenny Tower—when you got jumped by a deathclaw—who saved your ass that day?"
Mr. Burke released another distressed breath, glaring at the vault suit.
"It was worth it to her, and some good came from it," Sarah told him straightly. "It was worth it to all of us. Just because Maxson is snatching everything away doesn't mean it was all pointless. The water shortage was killing everyone before Project Purity was restored. We all had a hand in reviving it—and that saved all our lives. It was definitely worth it."
"But that time is over now," Bryan added on. "Now it's time to start over somewhere else. We did our part here, and now, this place just isn't a good place to be anymore."
Mr. Burke nodded quietly, grimacing at the vault suit as a series of loose memories flooded his mind. The day he met the wanderer, their first meeting anything but friendly, when she somehow threatened him and stole his heart at the same time. Such a weird girl, she was, valuing life more than anyone should and traveling with that tall, reddish ghoul who protected her through thick and thin. Then, Mr. Burke flashed a darker frown, stroking his chin and only just remembering what became of the wanderer's ghoul bodyguard.
"That ghoul… Charon," Mr. Burke uttered. "He died reviving Project Purity."
"I know… I remember," Sarah replied sadly. "He was a legacy."
"His legacy is wasted now," Mr. Burke growled. "God, I'd give anything to go back to the way things were. It's not in my nature to give a damn."
"Burke… like I said, Project Purity saved all of us," Sarah replied flatly. "Regardless of Maxson's bullshit, the fight for Project Purity was still worth it. His sacrifice still did a lot of good. It's not wasted."
"Yeah… Project Purity kept us all alive long enough to reach today," Bryan said profoundly. "And because of that, we have a chance to start over. And we need to start over."
"And no offense, but I never want things to go back to the way they were," Sarah stated. "Because I like you a lot better the way you are now."
"I don't," Mr. Burke grumped. "It's a metric pain in the ass."
Sarah giggled and shook her head. "I know giving a damn is a pain in the ass, but it's better that way. Makes you better than all the assholes like Maxson."
"Are you coming with us or not?" Bryan asked insistently.
"Of course," Mr. Burke said, turning and straightening his tie. "I've got precious little options, as it turns out. When do we depart?"
"Right now," Sarah told him. "Pack up a few necessities and meet us outside. The vertirbird's right outside the gates. We need to get gone before the Brotherhood gets here."
Mr. Burke nodded and marched up the stairs, shoving a few of his belongings into an urban-camo backpack. He took a moment to give the bedroom a final stare, then moved to the kitchen and packed everything he could from the fridge and cabinet. He said his goodbyes to Wadsworth, and just when he approached the front door—preparing to make his final departure of his Megaton home—he halted mid-step, narrowing his eyes at the vault suit and feeling foolish for being entranced by it. Mr. Burke was far from the romantic type, but the lone wanderer once infected his mind in a way no one else ever had. That girl was the only reason he ever learned to give a damn. He wasn't sure if this was a blessing or a curse, but nevertheless, something possessed him to snatch the vault suit off the wall and drape it over his shoulder before marching out of the house forever.
Flashes of memories far gone invaded her mind as she walked.
After a night of broken memories scattered amidst her dreams, Sandra strolled down the paved road, tinkering absentmindedly with her pipboy as Primm slowly grew more visible in the near distance. She recalled the memory of the red ghoulish face in her dream, as well as flashes of a rickety old saloon hovering above a megaton bomb. The dream ended with the red ghoulish face transforming into a smoother, slyer expression, the face of the checkered-suited man, smirking coldly before pulling the trigger. Sandra suspected the traumatic memory of her near-death experience might haunt her for a while—she was fine with this, though it seemed to be reawakening much farther memories, recollections of a time long gone that she'd never experienced before now.
Sandra blinked as she drew closer to Primm, only just realizing that Niner had been talking for nearly ten minutes straight.
"My pet mantis, Senior Slicey-Hands… he was like a green dog that clicked and scared the fuck outta people," Niner ranted. "Forget what ever happened to him. Wha' about you? You ever had a pet?"
"A yao guai," Sandra murmured without thinking.
Niner turned and gave her a double-take. "A fuckin' bear?"
Sandra fell silent for a moment, wondering what possessed her to say such a thing. Strangely, she felt certain that she had a young yao guai as a pet once, but she couldn't remember when.
"It was a long time ago," Sandra resolved. "Can't remember what happened to him, either…"
"Hey!" someone shouted in the distance.
Sandra and Niner both perked up, spotting an NCR soldier just behind the railing, which separated the entrance of Primm from the main road.
"Primm's off-limits," the soldier yelled at them.
Sandra and Niner traded caustic glances, both scoffing and smirking.
"You ain't gonna keep us from walking into town, mate," Niner snarked at the soldier, straightening the dog tags that hung from around his neck and tilting his head cockily. "Neither of us came here to bow to the New California Fuck-up-lic."
Niner laughed at the expression on the soldier's face, sauntering past him and marching into Primm. Sandra glanced at the soldier before sprinting after her friend.
"Damn, man…" Sandra uttered. "I take it you don't like the NCR?"
"Not 'specially," Niner replied without looking at her, twirling his dog tags. "You? Whaddo you think of 'em?"
Sandra shrugged as the two of them entered the town. "Nothing, really. I don't care for wannabe governments, but they're not the worst ones I've seen."
"What're the worst ones you seen, then?"
Sandra pondered on this, gazing down at her wrist, where a tiny crooked scar was wrapped around her arm, presumably from some sort of laser fire.
"No idea," she uttered.
Niner gave her an odd glance.
They both explored Primm for a while, Sandra alarmed to find that the town was overrun with convicts, who shouted insults and threats at them each time they walked within earshot of the Bison Steve. Niner complained about the run-down state of the casino, and Sandra spent a little time talking to Jonothan Nash, asking about her recent delivery order and the checkered-suited man who had passed through Primm mere days ago. Nash informed her that Deputy Beagle witnessed the checkered-suited man, but the deputy was being held hostage by convicts inside Bison Steve.
So, Sandra and Niner spend the remainder of their day sneaking through the Bison Steve Hotel, their hearts thumping nervously as they stealthily made their way down isolated halls and around darkened corners. Eventually, they found the deputy tied up in the kitchen, and they were quick to release him and sneak him out of the building.
Once they were outside, Sandra and Niner let out a massively relieved breath, shoving Deputy Beagle toward the Vikki & Vance and hurriedly distancing themselves from the building filled with convicts. They stood outside and talked for a while, Deputy Beagle revealing his information on the checkered-suited man—as well as expressing his displeasure that Primm no longer had any law and order.
"Why don't you be the sheriff?" Sandra asked him.
"What? No… I'm just a deputy," Beagle argued, looking almost frightened by the suggestion.
Niner narrowed his eyes at Beagle. "Are you really the deputy? I mean… I ain't saying you look incompetent. I'm just saying you seem… ah… unfortunate. Y'know… just saying."
Sandra choked on a laugh. "Okay… we have to leave town soon, so… I'll keep an eye out for you. If I meet any law enforcers, I'll send 'em your way."
"Good. I'll start thinkin' up questions for the interview," Deputy Beagle decided, giving them a nod and saying his goodbyes.
Sandra and Niner broke off, both of them eager to leave the unstable town. Then, Sandra slowed to a stop, eyeing the Mojave Express building and squinting at it curiously, Jonathan Nash's words still lingering in her mind.
"Hang on," Sandra said, approaching the building and waving for Niner to follow. "I wanna look around here."
"Wha… is this your work?" Niner guessed.
"Sorta," Sandra replied, pulling the door open and stepping inside. "I don't get all my work from this specific building, but this is one branch of the business. Nash said he was in charge of signing on all the couriers on my job. My job had six deliveries, and five other couriers… Nash said the job was really strange to him. I just wanna have a look around. Whatever I was delivering, it was valuable enough for someone to kill me for, so…"
"Right, I getcha," Niner nodded, stepping into the dingy building and glimpsing around. "I'd want some answers, too…"
Both of them surveyed the inside, finding a small dining table, a bed, and a kitchenette, as well as a long countertop and a radio softly playing music. Nothing inside the Mojave Express building seemed out of the ordinary, and Sandra released a sigh, feeling a tinge of disappointment. She began rifling around for documents on the six-man delivery job, but she found none, exhaling another pinch of defeat.
Just when she was ready to leave, something strange caught her eye. At the edge of the front counter, a small, broken robot lay on the countertop, a rounded metal device with a few dents and long antennas protruding from it, as well as a tiny banner on the side. The banner read ED-E.
Sandra stepped toward it, her eyes glazing with a bizarre sense of recognition. Her expression grew distant, almost trancelike as she gazed into the broken bot.
Sandra glanced to the side, grabbing a sensor module from the counter and approaching the robot. Without much forethought, she opened the side hatch on the bot, cautiously placing the sensor module inside and fixing it into the proper spot. Then, she began tinkering with the inner wires, using a roll of found electrical tape to bind the damaged wires together. Niner stared at her until she was finished.
"What're you doing to that thing?" Niner asked. "That's a… a egg-bot, or something. Ain't it?"
"It's called an eyebot," Sandra told him, unsure of how she knew such a thing. "I can't remember when, but… I used to see these things all the time."
She slammed the hatch shut and flicked the bot's metal exterior—then, astonishingly, the bot made several excited beeping noises, perking its antennas and slowly floating above the counter.
"Hey, little dude," Sandra smirked, patting the floating bot on the head. "You wanna come with us, Eddie?"
ED-E gave a happy beeping noise, bobbing in the air as if it enjoyed the idea.
"Aww… you're just a happy little bugger, ain't ya?" Niner laughed, twirling a finger around one of its antennas. "This little guy shows more emotion than most people I seen."
"Yeah… and you see this?" Sandra asked, pointing to the tiny laser hanging off the front of ED-E's small exterior. "This is a laser gun. He's gonna be a nice security measure on the road."
ED-E twittered in agreement. Niner chuckled at the bot, seeming amused by the robot's expressive nature.
"Well… come on," Sandra disclosed, stepping outside. "Let's get outta this hellhole."
With a new eyebot companion, Sandra and Niner finally departed Primm, spending the entire evening walking the road south. The night was chilly and eerie, both of them jumpier than usual, alerted by every faint noise and keeping a vigilant eye out for raiders.
After a long and tiring walk up an incredibly steep hill, they approached the two massive statues outside of the Mojave Outpost, relieved to have reached their final destination of the day.
"Goddamn… lookit that giant dick-wavin' statue," Niner panted, wiping sweat from his brow. "NCR, humble as always…"
Sandra snickered, wanting to ask why Niner had such disdain for the NCR, but she decided against it for now.
After speaking with Ranger Jackson, Sandra and Niner were permitted to sleep in the barracks in exchange for clearing pests from the road tomorrow, as the ant infestation was keeping all the outpost's caravans grounded. Sandra agreed to his terms, and she and Niner slept soundly on a set of bunk beds, ED-E hovering around the spacious room and waiting for them to awaken. When morning arrived, Sandra awoke from another dream of the red-faced ghoul and the checkered-suited man. She shook the dream away and moved to wake up Niner, but Niner was no longer in his bed.
So, Sandra wandered the outpost until eleven in the morning, searching for Niner and finding no sign of him. She eventually wandered up a steep plank, finding a single ranger woman on the roof, watching over the road north. Sandra approached her, hoping to ask if she'd seen Niner, but the ranger—Ghost—spoke before Sandra could.
"You're the courier that just came into the outpost last night," Ghost deducted. "I saw your name on the log book this morning. Today's your lucky day, if you wanna make a little money."
Sandra nodded, glimpsing down at the outpost and wondering where Niner could've gotten off too, feeling distracted and disheartened. Perhaps her new companion had left without her. So much for making new friends…
"Um… yeah," Sandra mumbled, sighing and patting ED-E gingerly. "Yeah, I could use some money. What's the work?"
"I think Nipton's been hit," Ghost informed. "Not sure how, but… there's smoke coming from the town. I need some eyes and ears to go check it out, and report back to me. You game?"
"Absolutely."
"Good. Look at you, all fired up and ready to go. Wish people around here had that attitude."
"Yeah… well… I gotta go. Seeya."
Sandra marched down the plank, ED-E floating along behind her. She stepped through the fence and gazed out at the road north, where she and Niner had arrived the previous night, feeling a spark of hesitation. She wanted to carry on, to head to Nipton and exterminate the critters on the road for Jackson, but Niner's disappearance still hindered her. Had he left her behind? Perhaps he never intended to stick by her…
Sandra groped all her pockets, briefly checking her backpack and the shotgun hanging from her back. None of her belongings had been stolen—Niner hadn't robbed her and fled the scene. So then, where could he have gone?
Then, she spotted movement out of the corner of her eye—just behind the bar building, Niner was standing with an NCR man, stuffing a large brown package into his bag and speaking in hushed tones with the soldier.
Sandra narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him, stepping toward him and studying him closely.
"Okay… seeya," Niner said, waving goodbye to the soldier and marching off. He spotted Sandra, smirking and giving her a two-fingered salute. "Okay, Six… it's all taken care of."
"What…?" Sandra uttered. "What was that about?"
"Just… stuff… and things," Niner mumbled, glancing around warily. "Y'know…"
"Stop fucking with me, what was it?"
"Stuff… and things… n-now ain't the time, Six. C'mon. I gotta head to Nipton next."
Sandra stared at him.
Niner blinked. "What?"
"Nothing," Sandra said, flashing a faint smile. "I thought you just up and left without me."
"Why would I wanna do that? You're my runnin' man now. Or runnin' girl. Whatever."
"Good. Let's head to Nipton… oh, and one of the rangers said Nipton might've been attacked, so you better stay close when we're on the road."
"Okay. Can't promise I won't just stare at your ass, though."
"Shut up, perv."
They both laughed, sauntering off and preparing to leave, Sandra feeling a nice sense of relief after finding that Niner hadn't left without her. Just after passing the gates, Niner yanked her to a stop.
"Hold on a sec… I gotta hit this," Niner said, lifting a red inhaler. "Y'want some?"
"Um… sure," Sandra reluctantly agreed. "I might need it for the long walks and the bug-killing today, so… yeah."
Niner held the inhaler to her face and allowed her to take a puff. Sandra felt a small rush as the drug flushed her system, her skin tingling and her mood elevating. Niner finished off the inhaler himself, grinning and tossing it aside.
"Y'wanna have some fun?" Niner smirked devilishly.
"What kinda fun?" Sandra asked.
"C'mon. With me."
Just then, Niner spun on his heel and broke into a run. Sandra was surprised, chasing after him—Niner led her to the back of the main building, pulling two sets of NCR armor out from behind a few sarsaparilla crates. He quickly stepped into one of the outfits, tossing the other to Sandra.
"Here—I swiped these," Niner snickered. "Put 'em on."
Sandra dressed in a confused hurry, feeling almost suffocated under the thick tan armor. "What're we…?"
"Shh. Follow my lead. C'mon."
Niner began walking more rigidly, marching with purpose around the building and steadily approaching the entrance of the main building. Sandra followed him, gulping nervously and trying not to make eye contact with any of the nearby soldiers.
Niner pushed the doors open and led Sandra inside, past the man behind the counter and a couple other soldiers. Sandra inhaled heavily, thinking this plan—whatever it was—couldn't possibly work. She'd signed into the log book last night, after all. Everyone here knew she wasn't a soldier—and her blatant blood-red hair made her stick out like a sore thumb.
Niner stopped, facing her and delivering a powerful salute. "Ah, Private Klaxingdale! I see you're on time for our important meeting!"
Sandra swallowed. "Oh God… ah… sir, yes, sir!"
"C'mon. We need ta' find a more private place to hold our secret meeting," Niner stated, glimpsing around. "Can't tell who's a spy these days. Lookin' at you, soldier boy. Anyway, forward march."
Niner began to lead her down an isolated back hallway.
"Niner—I already talked to Jackson yesterday," Sandra whispered. "If he sees me impersonating a soldier, we're fucked."
Niner didn't seem to hear her. He stepped into the farthest room in the back, a room filled only with storage crates, filing cabinets, and a single desk. This room was occupied by a single NCR soldier, who was gazing absentmindedly out the window.
Niner glanced at the soldier and frowned, then faced Sandra again.
"I think we got away with that," Niner said softly, then quickly caught himself. "I mean, ah—them raider bastards never saw us coming. How many did you slaughter, private? I killed twenty. Don't know where I'm gonna fit all these medals, I tells ya."
Sandra laughed and nodded, stealing a nervous glimpse of the soldier nearby.
Niner leaned forward and hushed his voice. "Get rid of that gormless idiot. He's ruining everything."
Sandra wanted to protest, to ask him what the hell was going on and why they were risking their necks like this—but she swallowed every urge, turning to the NCR soldier and approaching him silently from behind. She scrambled to think of a witty plan on the spot—and once she did, she tapped him on the shoulder.
"Hey—Jackson just instituted a surprise inspection in the barracks, man," Sandra told the soldier. "You good for that?"
The soldier's eyes widened. "Shit… my stash!"
Then, the soldier rushed out of the room with haste.
"Nice work, private," Niner cackled, pulling a cassette device from his pocket and a bottle of blue from his satchel. "Now… just turn this, hold it down… tha's enough glue… there we go."
Niner slapped the device under the desk, and it glued itself in place almost instantly. Just then, the device was blaring music at an alarming volume, blasting a looping lyric on repeat.
"I got spurs, that jingle jangle jingle… I got spurs, that jingle jangle jingle… I got spurs, that jingle jangle jingle…"
The same looping lyric echoed throughout the entire building, making many soldiers whip around and cover their ears in every room—Niner broke into a run, sprinting out of the building at top speed, Sandra rushing to keep up with him.
Their hearts thrashed with excitement as they dashed outside, soaring around the building and avoiding the soldiers best they could. They dove behind the crates out back, lying on the ground and suffocating with laughter, Sandra's head propped on Niner's arm, both of them gasping to catch their breath.
"Ahahaha… maaan, that went perfectly!" Niner sniggered breathlessly.
"Oh my God… I can't believe you!" Sandra giggled madly, swiping her hairs aside and shaking her head. "What the hell even… how the hell did you even…?"
"I had a lotta spare time when I took the road north on my bike," Niner told her, still smirking up at the sky. "Got stuck in a tower surrounded by deathclaws… so I recorded that bit every time it played on a radio, and I stuck it on a holotape. Ahahaah, fuck… I used so much glue, they're gonna need fuckin' dynamite to get that thing out…"
"That's so fucking mean!" Sandra laughed in astonishment.
"And it's fuckin' funny!" Niner chortled in response. "Y'know it is!"
The two of them lay out of sight for a while, laughing ruthlessly and trading snide jokes about Niner's prank. Sandra felt strangely refreshed—it was such a stupid and mundane stunt, but somehow, it made her feel as if all was well in the world. It'd been quite a long time since she had such fun, and she'd almost forgotten what it felt like…
The two of them eventually sauntered out of Primm, Sandra intent on clearing the road of pests so she could receive some kind of payment before leaving the outpost. She and Niner were quick to kill the bugs—as well as ED-E, using his tiny laser to assist them. Sandra was the one who returned to the outpost and spoke to Jackson, graciously taking her reward and trying her damnedest not to laugh at the echoing looping music still blaring all throughout the building.
When it was time to leave for good, Sandra purchased a pair of long-range radios from Lacey the bartender, thinking she might need them in the future. She bought a few waters as well, packing away the two lunchboxes Jackson had given her. As they swaggered out of the outpost, Sandra and Niner took turns kicking large articles of debris down the hill, laughing and seeming to compete to see who could kick farther.
Finally feeling a rush of happiness for the first time in a long while, Sandra headed off toward Nipton, her thoughts far from the dream of the ghoulish face and the memory of the checkered-suited man, unknowing what awaited her in the burned town ahead.