CHAPTER 44: THE REVEAL.

The Ranger, who turned out to be a woman, was quite a surprise to the wanderers after everything they went through. She had a strong build to her body, long dreadlock braids, and a very faded scar from a blade about an inch long across her left cheek near the ear. The helmet hanged limply in her hand as she stood at a lost for words. Being used for a mission that turned out to be a lie hit her hard with remorse and anger. For a moment she forgot about the group standing in front of her, the very people she shot at.

Joe finally reached the top of the hill, grunting lightly from the pain. "So what's goin' on? Did you guys get rid of the assholes attacking us?"

"I think one of them ran away." Victoria said to him.

"And this one's still here." Radcliffe drew his Hardballer and pointed it at her. "Don't worry, I'll take care of her. How much do you guys think that armor will bring in?"

The Ranger quickly drew her Redhawk in return and cocked the hammer. "Just try it!"

"Stop! Both of you!" Victoria quickly stepped in between them. "I saw her fighting with those people as I ran up the hill."

"Who cares?" Radcliffe responded indifferently. "Doesn't change the fact she tried to blast our asses off!"

"I didn't know!" the Ranger said. "I didn't know what their real plan was!"

Louis joined Victoria's side, even placed his hand on Radcliffe's gun to make him lower it. "Guys, I know it's been a rough day. But if Victoria has a reason to defend her, than we should at least hear her side of the story. Go ahead, we'll listen."

The Ranger slowly lowered her revolver and placed it back in its holster. After that she told them everything, how Nelson told her that they were a band of murderers and at some point abducted Victoria from her group. And that he hired her to help with the rescue operation. And how she began to suspect Nelson and his group when they started acting strange and panic when the job grew more difficult. Once she was done the wanderers stood at a lost for words, hearing such an insane tale about them was hard to believe and almost a bit comical.

"Wow." Louis finally said. "I'm...speechless. I mean...that's quite a story. They really said those things about us?"

"And you actually believed those fuckers?" Doug asked, fully not convinced.

"At first I didn't." the Ranger responded. "But then again I've heard stranger things in the Wasteland, even seen some of them myself. So a group of crazy killers really wasn't too far of a stretch. I take bounty jobs in this town nearby. If we hurry, we can get back before nightfall."

"Thanks, we'll check it out." Radcliffe raised his Hardballer again. "Now, time to die..."

The Ranger quickly drew her Radhawk again. The entire group started clamoring for them to calm down, Joe and Inez made Radcliffe lower his gun while Louis and Victoria got in close to the Ranger and waited until everyone calmed down again.

"Okay, now that we're sure no one is gonna kill anyone, I think our first order of business is to get to that town she told us about before it's dark. From there we'll work this out." Louis said to them.

"It sounds like you're seriously gonna give this woman a pass!" Radcliffe gestured towards her. "After what they did to us?"

"Were you not listening to her story? She was used by them." Victoria pointed out to him.

"And let's not forget you tried to steal from Louis in that slummy Raider pit." Joe pointed out next. "So you're the last person here to be givin' anyone shit on something like this."

During that time, Inez was checking over the mortar launcher, the radar gun was damaged but everything else was still intact. "I gotta say, I've never seen a weapon like this before. Muy guay."

"It looks military." Asimov said, standing near her. "Could be an unknown weapon."

"But how did these people get their hands on it is the question." Ezrah spoke. "Such weapons aren't just lying around."

"Perhaps we can scrap it for caps." Chloe said as she slowly walked around it. "We sure can't use it. Too big to lug around and grenade ammo isn't easy to come by. Which probably explains that Brahmin grazing over there."

The Brahmin was munching on some dry grass nearby. It lifted one of its heads and lowly mooed before starting to eat again.

"Oh! Let's kill and eat it." Radcliffe clapped his hands together and rubbed them with hunger in his eyes. "Can't remember the last time I had Brahmin steaks."

"Do you have any idea how long it would take to slaughter this thing?" Doug asked as he came up to it. "Not to mention we'll only end up wasting a lot of the meat because we don't have a means to carry and store it. Better to just take it to that town and try to sell if off." he grabbed the reins and gently tugged to lead it.

"Yeah, we better get moving." Joe adjusted the sling. "And get this looked at by a doctor. That town has one, right?"

"That and more. It's quite a town." the Ranger responded. "If we're going, we better start."

"Right, let's load up and go." Louis agreed.

Once the weapon was loaded back on the Brahmin, the wanderers followed the Ranger to the town. Some time after they left, the tracks to the bulldozer snapped and the vehicle went sliding down to the bottom of the hill.

It took over an hour to reach the town entrance. Dusk was setting as they made their way down the town's main street to the bounty hunter hall. As they walked, many of the other hunters stopped in their place and stood surprised after finally seeing the Ranger's face. She sighed deeply and regretted not putting it back on before reaching the town.

"Dammit, guess my secret's out. Everyone is gonna know what I look like before the night is over." she sighed as the bounty hunter hall came into view.

"You mean no one here has seen your face?" Louis asked her. "Why would you do that?"

"I travel alone. And traveling alone is dangerous enough as it is. Now imagine a woman traveling alone. That's just asking for trouble in this fucked up world." she answered with a slightly cold tone.

"Hmm, that's true." Chloe nodded. "I'm a mercenary by trade and I was always on guard. And sometimes when I teamed up with others, there was always some pathetic asshole trying to put the moves on me. Had to break a hand or two..."

"I see your point on keeping yourself hidden while traveling alone." Louis nodded in agreement. "There's a lot of disgusting and horrible people out there."

"And kicked in some balls, too." Chloe suddenly said.

Once they reached the Bounty House, Doug and Wayland volunteered to take the Brahmin to the pens to sell it off while Chloe and Inez took the mortar launcher that Asimov carried. The Ranger told them the weapons storage buys and sells weapons, the best shop in the entire town. They walked inside the former hotel and everyone inside stopped in their places and looked at the Ranger and the people behind her. After a few seconds the entire room came alive with surprised exclamations and disappointed groans. A number of the bounty hunters exchanged various amounts of caps to others all around.

"What the hell's going on here?" Joe said over the clamor of the crowd.

"Right, I forgot. A number of the bounty hunters here had personal bets on who I was under this mask." the Ranger answered with a heavy sigh. "I better tell the head of the bounty boards what happened. In case that Nelson bastard slinks back here. And I kinda hope he does."

"And while she's doing that, I'm hitting up the bar!" Radcliffe eyed the place and started walking towards it. "Come get me whenever."

After several minutes of informing the bounty clerk, the Ranger returned to the group. "So here's what's happening. They're gonna search their rooms and give us anything of value as compensation for the troubles you've been through."

"Neat, that's very generous of them." Louis commented.

"The bounty guild has a reputation to uphold. And having a false request, even if it wasn't made official, could still look bad. But rest assured they will keep an eye out for him." the Ranger explained to the group. "But I have to ask, why were they after her? And who were they?" she asked, looking to the redhead.

Victoria glanced away, struggling to think of an answer. "They were...were..."

"They were slavers." Louis spoke, knowing it was difficult for her to talk about. "And let's just leave it at that."

"I understand." the Ranger replied. "If you guys wish, you can all bunk here for as long as you need. This place offers many services to people looking for work and rest."

"Then in that case, once Joe's done getting checked out and the others return, we'll get something to eat here." Ezrah said to the group. "I can put my Power Armor away in our room."

"Yeah, you're attracting a lot of attention." Louis said as he noticed the people looking at them.

"I get the feeling you guys attract attention no matter where you go..." the Ranger commented. "I'll take your friend to the clinic. Let me pay for treatment. It's the least I can do after...shooting him."

"Don't beat yourself up over it. I've had way worse than what you did." Joe said and followed her out to the clinic across the street that was once a hardware store.

Some time after, Doug and Wayland returned with about eight hundred caps in a sack from selling the Brahmin. Inez, Asimov, and Chloe returned with over three hundred caps. It was the best they could haggle for since the weapon was damaged and most likely unable to replace the radar screen. Not long after Joe and the Ranger returned, they patched him up and gave him a better sling for his arm. Once they were regrouped and dropped off their stuff in their rooms, the wanderers went to the dining area at other end of the bounty hall and had a long table to themselves. The Ranger was about to take her leave until to her surprise and everyone else, Louis invited her to join them.

Over an hour later the wanderers finished their big dinner. Cavall laid under the table chewing on a bone for the marrow. The Ranger sat at the end of the table, she kept her head down most of the time and only made small talk when someone spoke to her. She couldn't figure out why they were being so welcoming to her, especially the Vault dweller.

"Ah, that was all fuckin' good!" Radcliffe said with the last big chunk of his Brahmin steak in his mouth.

"Yeah, it's always good to get some food in you after how much you drank at the bar." Joe snidely commented.

"Indeed." Ezrah nodded. "How could someone drink so much in such a short amount of time? I thought all those bottles belonged to the others around you."

"How many did he have?" Inez asked.

"From what we saw it was fourteen beer bottles and he was just finishing up a bottle of vodka." Doug answered.

"Seriously, how are you not dead from alcohol poisoning yet?" Chloe asked as she picked at what was left of her meal.

The Ranger smiled a little when an old memory from her past came to mind. She watched as the wanderers talked to each other, Cavall stood up to search for a new bone from them. Wayland finished his last plate and stacked all eight of them up. She still felt horribly guilty for what she did to them despite being fooled from the beginning. Her mind raced with thoughts on what to do to make it all right with them all. She suddenly felt someone tapping on her thick sleeve and turned to Louis.

"Did you hear me? I asked where you're from if that's okay with you." he asked again.

The Ranger hesitated for a moment and looked to the waiting group. "I'm...originally from California. Born and raised there. I was in the military."

"Like the NCR?" Joe asked with a raised brow.

"Uh, yes. I'm surprised you know about the NCR all the way out here." the Ranger replied.

"When you've lived as long as I have, you hear a lot of things. I'm from before the war." Joe replied with a small grunt.

"Either way, I haven't been there in quite some years." the Ranger put her fork down on her plate and placed her arms up on the table. "Can't even remember the last time I thought about California."

Louis finished his drink and looked to the Ranger. "Hey, I realized something, we didn't get your name. Mind if we hear it?"

The Ranger hadn't gone by her name for a long time and needed a moment to remember before answering. "Well, my name, it's Fayola Singleton. After my great-grandmother."

"That's a very nice name." Wayland said, smiling to her.

"Uh, thank you..." Fayola felt a tad uncomfortable from having a Super Mutant grinning at her.

"Indeed, nice to fully know you." Louis said to her.

"I...don't understand." Fayola said with an exasperated sigh. "Why are you being so kind to me after everything I've done to you guys? Why do you not hate me or want to kill me?"

The group went silent and looked to her. Radcliffe took another big swig from his bottle of rum and belched loudly. "She's gotta point. Why are we bein' nice ta her and shit?" he asked, slurring heavily and belched even louder.

"Radcliffe! Stop it!" Inez snapped and kicked him in the shin under the table.

Louis shifted in his seat and looked to her. "I'm sorry if we've made you feel uncomfortable. I guess it's not often for people to sit down with those they just attacked. But it's as you said, you were being used and they lied to you about everything."

"But how do you know I wasn't lying?" Fayola asked with an indifferent smirk. "Maybe I made all that up on the spot?"

"But if you did, why would you confess that to us?" Ezrah pointed out.

"True, it would be foolish of me to confess at this point." she curiously eyed the former BOS soldier.

"Okay, I see your point in all this." Louis said. "But even so I believe in giving people another chance."

"In other words stop beating yourself up." Doug said next. "He's not going to hold a grudge against you."

"So now that we all got a place for the night, what do you guys think we should do tomorrow?" Joe asked after lighting a smoke.

"I think we should see what this town has to offer." Chloe suggested. "Stock up on supplies as usual. We brought in quite a lot of pretty caps so we don't have to worry about funds for a bit."

"She's right. Let's stock up on some more food and medical supplies." Louis said while beginning to stack the plates near him. "Next time we'll be more prepared."

"Let's hope next time won't be anytime soon..." Doug said while passing his plate.

They left their plates on the table to be taken and retired to their rooms. The rooms sat side by side, each big enough for several people with at least three bunk beds. The guys in one room and the women in the other. Radcliffe barely managed to stagger to his bottom bed and flop face down and passed out in a matter of moments with his left arm hanging off to the side and still fully clothed. Once settled they took turns with the showers and other tasks to prepare for the next day.

Inez sat at a nearby worktable in the guys' room with the helmet and Ezrah standing nearby. He had his Power Armor standing against the corner. He waited anxiously as Inez undid the first layer of armor to get into the circuits of the helmet. Ezrah told her that his system display had been acting strange ever since he got back in it earlier. Inez slowly took out a slender circuit board and began to look it over with a magnifying glass.

"So how has your display been acting up? Give me all the details." she asked while taking out her soldering kit.

"Well, at first I didn't notice during the heat of the battle. But when it was all over I began to notice the display acting fuzzy with static. And as we came to this town the static got worse and my display would almost fade completely away. And to top it off, I don't think my voice command is operational either." Ezrah explained to her.

"Hmm, I don't like the sound of that." Inez said while placing the circuit board down, not liking the look of some of the microchips. "If I had to guess, that grenade explosion damaged your suit after it toppled over. And without the proper parts and I'm assuming a terminal to program the Power Armor system, the best I can do is a patch job to keep it running. I'm sorry, but it's all I can do..."

"Please, don't be so hard on yourself. It's my fault for not making sure my Power Armor was fully functional before heading out." Ezrah said to her and looked back at the rest of his frame. "I took a lot of beatings in that suit. And that fight against that Super Mutant probably made it worse. I was careless."

"I'll do what I can for the circuitry, is there anymore parts like this in the Power Armor?" Inez asked as she started digging in her tool bag for the soldering kit.

"All the main circuits are in the helmet and they maintain the entire system. The rest are various sensors for movement acceleration, damage readout, and several other system checks." Ezrah explained, wishing he knew more about the intricate workings of his Power Armor.

"I see. At least those sound like they're fine from what you've said. But circuits are a different story, it's hard enough as it is to find a well preserved one. And I doubt any circuits from a personal terminal will be of any use to fixing this."

"Do what you can to fix it. As long as it's operational, than that will do for now." Ezrah sighed to himself and pulled up a seat next to her and watched as she did her best to fix the circuit board.

Not long after, Louis and Doug returned from the showers, wearing only their spare boxers and sleeveless shirts. "Can't believe our rooms don't have their own showers!" Doug said as he dried his hair with a towel. "Didn't this place used to be a hotel or something?"

"They probably gutted the showers for parts and to prevent people from wasting water." Louis said just as they entered their rooms. "It's been quite a time since we had a real shower."

Joe heard their conversation from his bed and just finished changing the bandage and pad on his shoulder. "Tell me something, Louis, you miss bathing regularly back in your Vault?" he asked with a small grin.

Louis placed his towel on a nearby rack and headed towards his bed. "I admit it's a comfort I miss a lot. But I can't complain. Not when there's so many people out there that barely have access to clean water just to drink."

"Fair enough." Joe stood up with a little effort. "I miss showering regularly. That and morning coffee."

"Well if you ever come by my Vault, we got our own planets that grow coffee beans in the hydroponics lab." he said while grabbing his jumpsuit.

They heard a knock at the door and Doug went over to open it. Chloe stood there with only a black sleeveless top and short black boxers, surprising Doug that she would stand out in the open like that.

"Uh, what's up, Chloe?" Doug asked as he stepped back to let her in.

"Nothing much, just getting kinda lonely in our room." Chloe answered. "Wayland and Asimov are still out walking Cavall before coming back."

Louis suddenly grew concerned. "Wait, Victoria's not there?"

"I haven't seen her since after the showers. She kinda just disappeared on us." Chloe said shrugging.

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen her for awhile either." Inez said while looking up from her work.

Louis only grew more worried. "You guys don't think..."

"Calm down, Louis." Doug knew right away what he was beginning to think. "You heard Fayola. The town guards are on the look out and even he wouldn't be stupid enough to abduct her after everything that happened today."

Louis had both his legs in the jumpsuit and started pulling the rest up. "Even so, I'm gonna go check on her. She shouldn't be alone after a day like this." he slipped his arms through the sleeves and zipped it up and headed for the door. Doug quickly tossed him his boots and he slipped them on while closing the door behind him.

He hopped on one foot for a moment to slip on the other boot and began his search. He checked downstairs in the dining hall and then checked the area near the entrance. After those places turned up nothing, Louis proceeded to the back area near the weapons storage and asked the clerk on staff if he had seen her. The man shook his head and said he didn't and Louis moved on. After getting back on their floor he started checking around the recreational rooms and found a lot of people playing games and talking to each other, but not her. Louis sighed deeply and started heading back to their rooms, he turned the corner and almost bumped right into Fayola. She was still in her Ranger gear but without the coat and helmet.

"Out for a walk?" Fayola asked him.

"I'm looking for Victoria, she hasn't been seen in awhile and we're getting worried." Louis answered her. "I see you're not in full Ranger gear."

"What would be the point? I'm sure by now the entire town has heard about who I am." she shrugged. "Why are you looking for Victoria?"

"I guess for a moment I feared the worst thinking that man came back here."

Fayola gritted her teeth. "Nelson. The bastard's name is Nelson. And there's no way he can sneak back into this town. The entrances are guarded and they do regular sweeps on the borders. She'll be fine."

"Then in that case, care to join me in finding her?" Louis asked as he continued on.

"Got nothin' better to do right now. Follow me, I think I might have some ideas on where she could be." Fayola said and started leading him.

Several minutes later she lead him to the roof of the hotel, a place that had tables with parasols closed up for the night. Old Christmas lights with big lightbulbs dimly lit the area with a few other lights lining the walls. The two stepped out and started looking around.

"This is the deck. People come up here sometimes but it dies off around night." Fayola said to him. "It's the last place I can think of where she could be. No one comes out here this late."

Louis peered into the dim floor of the roof. Luckily he didn't have to search for very long as he spotted Victoria's distinctively bright red hair sticking out against the darkness. She sat on a bench, her lower back against the armrest and head hanging low near her curled up legs.

"Hey, there she is!" Louis pointed with relief. "Thanks for your help, Fayola. I don't think I would have found her this fast."

"Don't mention it. I owe you guys a lot." Fayola said halfheartedly.

She turned away and went back in before Louis could say anything in response. For now he just let her be and focused on Victoria. Fayola steadily made her way back to her room lost in a small haze of thought. But she came to a stop after seeing another of her informants standing outside her room door. The man turned to her, surprised that the talk of the town was true but reported the newest information he had gathered.

During that time, Louis gently moved towards Victoria. She had not seen him or even moved as he inched closer. He was only two feet from her and softly cleared his throat. Victoria's head shot up and looked at him, and he could tell from her puffy cheeks that she had been crying some time ago.

"Mind if I sit down?" it was the only thing Louis could think to say at the moment.

Her face was expressionless as Victoria threw her legs off and gave him space to sit. Once Louis sat down, the two just stayed quiet for what felt like a very long time. Both of them kept trading awkward glances every now and then, trying to think of something to say.

"So...nice night." Louis finally said. He mentally cursed himself after blurting out such a blunt statement. "I mean, not too cool or hot. Just normal."

Victoria's face still stayed plain. "Yeah. Nice night."

They fell silent again for a few minutes before Louis gathered his courage and started talking again. "Chloe was worried. She didn't see you for a while before comin' to us." he could see her tense up but continued. "I'm glad you're okay. You shouldn't be alone after a day like this."

"Why? Am I not safe here like everywhere else?" she asked, turning her face away from him.

"Victoria..."

"I'm a damn fool. I was careless to think I was safe for a moment." she looked down at the floor.

"But wait..."

"Jeremiah's people caught up to us again! Everyone could have been killed. Because of me!" panic welled up in her voice and her breathing grew rapid. "I bring nothing but trouble! He'll never stop until he gets me back! He'll send more people after us, we'll never be safe!"

"Stop!" Louis' hands grabbed her shoulders and shook a few times to snap her out of it. "Please, stop! None of this is your fault. You've done nothing to deserve any of this! And what will being captured solve? You can't just let them take you back."

"What else is there? I either run for the rest of my life or get taken back!" Victoria pulled away from his hold. "You guys shouldn't have gotten involved back then. I don't want my freedom to come at the cost of others."

Louis quietly sighed while thinking of the right thing to say. "Vic, we helped back then because it was the right thing to do. And I don't regret it, no matter what kind of person Jeremiah is."

"That's just it! You don't know him!" Victoria tensed up again. "The things he's done to people. The towns and villages his family has enslaved. His reach is far across this country!"

"Wait, his family?" Louis asked.

"He's not the only one running his empire. He has two uncles and an aunt, and his father runs the empire from their home. They travel the country building their slavery network, and thanks to Jeremiah their empire has only grown over the years ever since he took over his father's work. You have no idea how powerful they are and what resources they have at their disposal."

"Is it really that bad now?" Louis asked in disbelief. "I've heard about slavers all my life but never on a scale like you said. My god, it's so disgusting to think how far we've gone back..."

"I guess most people don't know because no one ever escapes to tell others. Just like with my village. And my parents." she wiped away a tear with the back of her hand.

Louis struggled to find the right words. Without thinking he gently reached his hand over and took hers and held it. That surprised Victoria, but she didn't pull away. "I can't imagine what you've been through. Losing your home, your parents, and it makes me mad how sick this world has become. But I won't abandon you to him just to save my life. None of us will. We're all in this together, a team. And teams always look out for each other."

Victoria laced her fingers through his and held his hand back in return. "But if any of you got killed, than that will be on me. I can't face Jeremiah again, I'd rather die than let him take me again."

Louis glanced away. "Then, if you want...we can...find a place where you'll be safe." he struggled to speak those words.

Victoria. "Would you...really do that for me? Let me leave to find somewhere safe?"

"Of course, no one has to stay if they don't want to. Even Doug can go home if he wants. This mission is mine to face. Even if I have to do it alone. But I'm fine with that as long as everyone is safe. That's all that matters." he turned to face her and smiled.

Victoria returned the smile and clenched his hand gently. "I appreciate that. But...I want to stay with you. With everyone. And I want to see this to the end."

"Are you sure? Because I mean what I said. If you want to find a place of your own, then I'll happily help you find one."

"I am. Not because I feel indebted to you, but because I...like all of you very much. You're the only real friends I've ever had. At first it was just the four of us. Our group has grown so much since I came along." Victoria's mood finally began to brighten.

"And don't forget it was just Doug and me at first." Louis said as he looked up to the sky. "You know, I love lookin' at the stars. Things might seem grim down here, but when I look up, I get a feeling of, I don't know, peacefulness. Like everything will work out somehow. I know it sounds like an odd thing to say, but even so I like being out here despite the dangers. Just to see this."

Victoria looked up at the dots of lights throughout the night sky. "Hmm, I've never really thought about the stars before. They're really beautiful."

Louis then pointed up. "If you want, I can tell you about the constellations and such. I've studied all about them back home. And ever since Doug and me left I've been seeing more and more of them each night."

"What are...constellations?"

"You know, patterns in the stars that form images." he said while looking for one.

"There's patterns in all these stars?" Victoria said bewildered. "They just look random dots of light."

"Well, you kinda have to us your imagination. People have been using the stars for thousands upon thousands of years for directions and other things too." Louis leaned back in his seat, the two still had their hands held together. "And here's something else that's interesting. Those stars are also suns that are much, much farther away than the sun our planet orbits..."

Some time later the two finally decided to turn in. They reached their rooms and stood at the doors for a minute, wondering if everyone else had waited up for them.

"I hope they didn't stay up worrying about me." Victoria said as she hesitated to go in. "I did disappear on them after all."

"I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure they will understand you needed some time alone." Louis reassured her. "Have a good night's sleep. We'll head out after getting some supplies in the morning."

"Same to you. Thanks again for everything tonight." Victoria began reaching for the doorknob.

Louis reached out his hand and placed it on her's just as she grabbed the handle. "Hey, if you...ever want to talk about it. I mean about the years you were held captive by Jeremiah, I'll listen. I would never judge you, no matter what."

Victoria looked away for a moment in thought. "Thank you. Maybe...someday. For now, let's find the end of the signal. One task at a time, right?" she looked back to him and faintly smiled.

"Right. Good night then. You're safe here with us." Louis drew his hand back from hers.

Victoria opened the door slowly and looked back to him and waved before entering. After that Louis yawned deeply and turned to his door and entered the room to find most of the guys still up and waiting. He explained to them where Victoria was but left out some of the more personal details. He stripped off his Vault jumpsuit and flopped down on his bed and quickly fell asleep.

April 17/2296

The wanderers spent the morning getting ready. The guys were woken by Radcliffe as he suddenly lifted his head up with a gag and cheeks filling fast and sprang from his bed. Like a bolt, he ran across the room and into the bathroom and hurled right into the toilet. After several minutes, everyone met up at the dining room for one last meal in the town before beginning their day.

The market was already busy with people buying and trading. Every now and then people would eye the wanderers as they shopped around. They bought the usual supplies like food, water, and ammo. Wayland even found two missiles for his launcher and Radcliffe bought four bottles of various booze and tried to haphazardly stash them in his carry sack along with some more ammo for his LMG. Inez stocked up on gun oil and various other gun pieces for maintenance and even two fully charged fusion cells for Asimov. Ezrah, to his surprise, found a few microfusion cells for his laser rifle, along with several offers from shop owners and merchants wanting to buy his Power Armor, even though he left it back in their room. They didn't see Fayola that morning, some of them assumed she took another job.

Unknown to them, Fayola was following at a great distance from their position. The news she got from her informant last night wasn't any good. Any traces of other Legion generals had gone cold, it upset her but it wasn't surprising. Over the years the trails grew more scarce. A fact that worried her because it took almost a year alone to find her last target from the day before. And now Fayola found herself at a dead end with nowhere to go. She never intended to stay in the town forever, bounty hunting was still just a means to get by anyway.

Louis stood in front of a merchant stand checking the magazines to find ones compatible with his guns. He just picked up one for his AN-94 and happen to glance over to the right and saw Fayola standing several yards away. As expected she was in her Ranger armor but had the helmet off and hanging from her waist. Louis thought about going over to her, but she suddenly disappeared into the crowd before he could make up his mind.

Doug walked over and patted his shoulder. He had just bought some new magazines for his Browning. "Hey, what'cha looking at? Someone in the crowd?"

Louis looked to him for a moment before looking back. "Uh, I was. I saw Fayola, she was standing in the crowd for a moment but she left."

"Think she took another hit job on us?" Doug remarked.

"You know that's not funny." Louis started bringing the mags to the stand clerk. "She was set up."

"I know, just tryin' to lighten the mood." Doug said as he placed some mags down next to his. "What do you think she wants?"

"Maybe she wants to talk?" Louis started digging out the caps from his pouch after the clerk told him the total. "She probably still feels confused that we didn't do anything to her after she tried to kill us."

"Than she better hurry. We're planning to leave as soon as we can." Doug said before looking over and saw Joe arguing with Radcliffe on buying too much alcohol instead of necessary supplies. "That is if those two can settle their argument."

"We might need to step in on this one. Before they make a bigger scene." Louis said while he finished paying for the ammo.

Once the wanderers finished their shopping in the market, they gathered back together and returned to their rooms to get their gear and headed out. By the time they reached the other end of the town exit, it was an hour before noon.

Louis checked the direction on his Pip-Boy and pointed with his finger. "Ah, good. Looks like we can follow the road here. The direction of the arrow is pointing straight ahead."

"It's strange we haven't seen Fayola. I thought he, I mean she would have come to see us off." Joe said to group.

"Maybe she's waitin' to pop our heads off with that sniper rifle of hers!" Radcliffe interjected.

"Since when did you become so paranoid?" Inez asked him.

"And besides, she's over there..." Wayland said and pointed.

Their attention turned to the direction he was pointing and spotted Fayola sitting on a large rock with her long case resting against the side and her helmet placed not too far away. She held a half empty magazine in one hand and several bullets in the other and just placed another one into it.

"I was starting to wonder if you guys were coming or not." Fayola said while putting another in.

"Well, we're surprised to see you here, too." Louis said as they approached her.

"You off to another job?" Chloe asked her.

Fayola finished loading the magazine and stored it in her pouch and stood up. "Not exactly. I've stopped taking jobs in this town and decided to move on from here."

"So you're just going our way?" Victoria asked.

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you guys about." Fayola had spent her time on the rock thinking about what to say. "For starters, I want to apologize for what I put you all through. I should've seen it after so many times I've taken down people like them."

"You don't have to keep apologizing. We know you didn't mean it." Doug said to her.

"So, did you wait up for us just to apologize again?" Ezrah asked, thinking there was a lot more to it.

"Partly. There's something else I wanna talk about." Fayola picked up on his suspicion. "I've been thinking, after watching you people fight together...it kinda reminded me of some people I knew some years ago. Back in the NCR."

"Did...something happen to them?" Louis hesitantly asked.

Fayola glanced back at her helmet, she wore it with pride, but sometimes looking at those bright red lenses also reminded her of bad times. "Let's just say I left a lot of things behind to pursue a personal goal."

"Yeah, we kinda have that goin' on as well." Doug said to himself.

"So anyway, what is it you're trying to ask us?" Joe said as he took out a smoke and lighter.

"I want to come along with you guys. I have no reason to stay in this town anymore and I can help you in battle with my sniper skills. Having someone like me will give you all an edge." Fayola slung her rifle and held it up.

Louis stayed silent for a long moment before speaking. "Are you sure? You don't even know what we're doing and to be honest we're kinda aimless on our journey."

"You're starting to make us look like idiots, Louis..." Doug loudly whispered.

"Than that's something we got in common." Fayola said with a small sigh. "I got nowhere else to go either. And you can explain what you're up to as we're going. That is...if you'll have me. I'll understand if you don't want me along."

Louis turned back to the group. "Well, I suppose I'm okay with it. How about you guys?"

"Eh, join the club. Why not?" Joe said as he took a drag. "At this rate we should get some club jackets."

"Sure, what's one more in this big group of ours?" Doug shrugged.

"I'm game. Too many guys in the group anyway." Chloe chimed in with her hand up.

"Same here. And I can fix your voice modulator as well." Inez said next.

"If Inez is fine with it, than I am too." Asimov said after.

"Of course you'd agree with her." Radcliffe scoffed before grinning at Fayola. "But, hey, I wouldn't mind havin' another pretty face around..."

"Now I'm starting to have second thoughts." Fayola deadpanned.

"If she wishes to come, then I'm fine with it." Ezrah solemnly stated.

"She's a strong fighter." Wayland praised her. "Let her come with us."

"I agree. She fought off those slavers and killed a few of them. She's earned my trust." Victoria said, looking to her.

Cavall paced up to Fayola and sniffed her hand. Once he got a good sniff, his tail began wagging and started nuzzling her hand. Fayola gently started petting his head, amazed at how big he was up close.

"Seems that even Cavall has given his approval." Louis chuckled as he walked over to pat his back. "Then if you're all set, we can start heading out."

"Thank you. I promise you guys won't regret this." Fayola went over to the rock and picked up her helmet and slung the large case onto her back. "And for letting me come along, I can teach you all some combat tactics. No offense but you guys were kinda all over the place."

"That would be very helpful." Ezrah complimented. "I should also teach everyone some Brotherhood tactics."

"Hopefully we can at least learn some before someone picks a fight with us again." Doug said, already dreading the inevitable.

"You know, guys, I think our group has become much stronger than ever before." Louis said while turning his attention back on the road. "Now let's get going before we lose more daytime."

The wanderers and their new companion headed out on the open road once more. For Fayola it was a new beginning, something more than just hunting former Legion generals scattered across the Wasteland. To find a sense of comradery that she haven't felt in a very long time since she left California.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Nelson huffed heavily from exhaustion and gazed up to the blazing sun above. He barely survived the night in the open but hours of walking aimlessly and dehydration started to take its toll on him and he finally collapsed to his knees. Nelson breathed heavily, sweat dripped from his face as he looked up to the hot sky and saw a few vultures circling above.

"Goddamn buzzards. Can't even wait, can they?" he said to himself with a heavy sigh.

Suddenly, something was thrown at him and it landed just more than a foot away with an echoing slosh. Nelson jolted his head up and saw a canteen. Without thinking he lunged and picked it up and unscrewed the cap. In moments he quickly gulped down, to his relief, the water inside, being careful to spill as little as possible. Once the canteen was empty, he looked up to the one who tossed it to him.

A man with three guards behind him stood in front of Nelson. He wore sunglasses, this time they were aviator shades. It was the man who lead the group of snipers to capture Victoria when the wanderers were around half the size their group is now.

Nelson let out a heavy huff and got on one knee. "You're...with Jeremiah, aren't you?"

The man took his shades off. "Seems like you and me have some common enemies. And one very elusive redhead. I think we can help each other out..."