It was only pure luck that the hologram's first shot missed, the bright beam boring into the wall behind Jackson and leaving a thick odor of ozone in the air. He practically fell down the stairs to dodge the hologram's laser, and quickly scrambled down and back into the lobby. The hologram didn't follow him, which left him free to plan his next move. If the holograms couldn't be harmed then dealing with them was going to be a problem. He looked around the lobby and spotted the security terminal he'd ignored earlier. With luck it'd have a setting to shut the hologram down.

The terminal had some very boring entries on hologram protocols and the way they behaved, along with some instructions on their use, but thankfully there was a setting that allowed him to choose where the hologram would be posted. He set the hologram behavior to 'First Floor Patrol' and soon enough the hologram was walking down the stairs to the lobby.

Not one to stick around and get blasted by laser-shooting ghosts Jackson took off into the North wing of the clinic, past the examination room with the terminal talking about the chemical suits. There was a hallway that led to a suite of Auto-Docs, along with a stairwell leading down to a basement at the end of the hall. Opposite that, however, was another stairwell leading up to the second floor.

With the security hologram in the lobby the second floor was clear. The hallway was lined with offices, most of the doors opened. Jackson poked his head into each, though with how trashed they were he doubted he'd find anything of importance even if he spent the time to look. Halfway down the hall, in the office on the left, was a functioning terminal, which was locked. Jackson frowned and pulled open the drawers, hoping to find a password, to no avail. He did, however, find a holotape labelled 'Vending Machine Code - Stimpak', which he happily pocketed.

As he exited the office he noticed a glowing blue light on the wall, likely the emitter for the hologram. There was no switch of any kind on the outside, and he wasn't exactly a mechanical genius, so he left it alone. The only other thing of note on the second floor was the locked door labelled 'Chief Physician's Office, and Jackson was no locksmith. He found himself at the top of the other stairwell, the air still thick with that ozone smell, and headed down the adjacent hall. There was a door at the end of the hall that had an exit sign above it, a security terminal directly across from it. He opened it up and set the hologram behavior to 'Second Floor Patrol.' If he needed to come back to the Clinic later then he didn't want to run straight into the hologram. Satisfied, he opened up the door and stepped back out into the haze of the Sierra Madre Villa.


The ghoul lowered his gun and gestured at Chloe's. She lowered her hands, crouched, and picked the .45 Auto back up. "So, what brings you to the Sierra Madre, hmm? The lovely weather, the hospitality of the locals, its fine dining, or... The treasure?" the ghoul asked as he entered the room.

"Uh, I'm actually on the run. From a bounty hunter. It's a long story" she said.

"Mmm, they always are" the ghoul said, and stepped past Chloe. He set the briefcase he was carrying on the top shelf of the unit behind the counter and pressed his hand to the wall. After a few moments he pulled it back, his handprint on the wall faintly glowing. "The Ghost People's blood glows. Makes for helpful markers when trying to see through The Cloud."

"Ghost People?" Chloe asked. "You mean those shamblers in the black suits?"

"Sure, if that's what you want to call them. Not big on talking, the locals. Suits me fine, I just stay out of their way. Dean Domino, entertainer and singer" the ghoul said.

"Chloe... Haven't I heard your name before?" she asked, and the ghoul grinned.

"On posters, I bet. Used to tour the world and pack theaters" Dean said, and his grin died. "Now this." He jammed his 9mm into his waistband. "Take my advice and leave. Madre's no place for tourists."

"No dice. Coming here was my best bet for staying ahead of that bounty hunter and staying alive. You haven't seen him around, have you? Leather armor, smooth skin, never smiles?" she asked, and Dean shook his head.

"No... Tell you what, beautiful, let's make a deal. If you won't leave, then maybe we can help each other. You want to live, I want what's in the Madre. You see, I've been here a very long time, but it's been even longer since I've had the pleasure of the peace and quiet the Casino offers its patrons. Help me get inside, and we'll split the treasure" Dean said.

"What's in the Sierra Madre? Isn't it all just a legend?"

Dean shook his head. "Not at all. Like any good casino, the Madre has a treasure vault somewhere inside. The key's a little...unorthodox, as you can imagine, but it's not impenetrable. If we can get inside, it'll be a heist for the centuries. Whaddya say, partner?"

Chloe thought about it for a few moments. This treasure, whatever it was and if it was as grand as the ghoul claimed it was, would be enough to set her up for a long time. Maybe even for life, if she lived long enough to enjoy it. With this fabled treasure she'd be able to get away from the west coast, from the NCR and the Legion and all the bullshit of the Mojave. Maybe she'd strike out for the Mid-West or the East Coast, though if the caravanner talk could be trusted the Mid-West and East Coast had something of a Brotherhood problem.

"Alright, I'm in. How exactly do we get inside?" Chloe asked, and Dean walked past her back to the door. Chloe holstered the .45 Auto and followed, glad to see that no new shamblers, Ghost People as Dean called them, had shown up.

"Follow me. We're going to pay a visit to the Residential district, unless you have somewhere you need to be right now" Dean said.

"I have a safehouse in the Town Square, right by the fountain. We can stop by there if that'll be safer, just keep an eye out for that bounty hunter" Chloe said.

Dean grinned. "Why? He's not after me."

Chloe rolled her eyes and followed Dean down the stairs and back through the streets of Salida del Sol, past the corpses of the Ghost People and through the gate. They passed by the little fountain and proceeded to the Villa doors, still held shut by the board Chloe had propped up. She pulled the board down, set it aside, and opened the doors. "You put that up to keep your friend out? Why not tell me that story, I'm dying to know."

"Don't really want to talk about it. Don't worry, I'm not a murderer or rapist. Not that I'd touch you" Chloe said.

"Oh, darling, they all say that. Then ol' Dean puts on the charms and then they just can't help themselves" Dean said, practically whispering the last part. Together they made their way through the Villa and back to the Town Square, heading straight for the building in the Northwest corner of the Square, the door still closed. "This place?" Dean asked. "The door's boarded."

Chloe shook her head. "The boards are across the door in a way that makes it look like the place is boarded up" she said, and pulled the door open with ease. Dean nodded and the two of them entered the first floor cafe.

"Nice trick there. Might try it myself sometime, if the Ghost People ever figure out how to open doors."

"What do you know about them?" Chloe asked as they headed upstairs to the apartment Chloe had found. Dean helped himself to one of the couches, clearly glad to be off his feet for the time being.

"They never eat, they never drink, they never sleep, they never talk and, much like yours truly, they never die. Not unless you chop them up or blast out their brains. There are grenades around here, if you've got the guts to use them. Not one for explosives, myself. Madre's unstable enough without people blowing stuff up" Dean said.

Chloe nodded and sat down on the other couch. "So, the Madre. There's treasure inside? What kind?"

"No idea, but it must be good. You see, the Sierra Madre was built by one Frederick Sinclair. His last and grandest venture. A true paradise, as you can plainly see" Dean said, his expression grim. "Sinclair had money, no doubt, not that any of it's good now. But I have it on good authority that Mr. Sinclair had an eye for precious metals. Silver coins, gold bars, platinum chips, whatever. There's something down in that vault, something so precious to him he buried it deep then built a casino on top of it."

"Couldn't we just walk in? It's a casino, they never lock their doors" Chloe said.

"Mmm. Unfortunately for us, partner, Mr. Sinclair was also a touch...paranoid. With good reason, as you'll learn. That is, if you live long enough to make it inside. The opening of the Madre was supposed to be a grand event, a magnificent festival. Drinking, partying, gambling. The kind of event where one raises their glass to toast the extravagance of the night and whispers 'fortunato'" Dean said. "The Bomb beat us all to the punch. When the curtains fell the party ended, the doors locked, and the Sierra Madre became a killing field."

Chloe shook her head. "Jesus... So how do we get in, then?"

"Don't you see?" Dean asked, and leaned forward. "The Madre's closed, just waiting for its grand opening. All we have to do is start the party. The gala event."

"And how do we do that?"

Dean smiled.


Getting to Puesta del Sol had been easy, the streets clear. For whatever reason the shamblers didn't spend a lot of time in the Town Square, and if they did they stayed far away from the fountain. From the door to the Medical District Jackson turned right and followed the road signs West to Puesta del Sol, where he now stood.

Trouble was, Puesta del Sol was crawling with shamblers. As soon as he stepped through the doors Jackson saw a crowd of them in the distance, all congregated around a small fountain. Luckily there was a hole in the wall to the right, which Jackson ducked through. The shop inside was like all the others, barren and ransacked. The only thing of note was a locked safe behind the counter, and again Jackson cursed his inability to pick locks.

At the end of the shop was another hole in the wall, a pipe with a valve on it against the wall. The yard to the right had a massive bank of the red Cloud in it, so Jackson headed straight ahead to the West. There was another hole in a wall leading to a storage room. The first aid kit on the wall held only dirty water, which he ignored. At the end of the room was a staircase, some graffiti next to it.

Not
giving up
MY
share

Apparently the treasure was real, but if other people had come through over the centuries and never found it then that told Jackson two things. One, the treasure was still there, waiting to be found. Two, it was hidden away so well no one could ever hope to reach it.

Jackson followed the stairs up through a few apartments, swiping cigarette packs and looting dressers as he went. The top floor had a hole in the wall, a bridge of wood boards connecting it to the rooftop of a neighboring building. From his vantage point on the rooftop Jackson noticed he could climb down to the second floor awnings and use them as a path to get around. He walked over to the North side and looked down, a pair of bear traps on the awning below. Jackson carefully hopped down and stepped past the traps, the courtyard with the massive Cloud bank to his right.

He followed the awnings around to the left, past a light and across a balcony, to a hole in the wall that led into an apartment or office. There was a terminal on the desk, and various shelves and filing cabinets around the edge of the room. The terminal still functioned, and Jackson turned it on to see if he could find a lead on the chemical suits or the location of the Switching Station.

'Damn Raid

Villa security showed up today and searched the place. Domino must've made the Chief mad, so this was payback. Had all out stashes tucked away when they arrived, didn't find much. Chief tried to be all hard with us about keeping our noses clean, ranted about "casino policy."

That Sinclair's a tight-ass. Sick of these spot-checks and stripped by the casino search programs every time I enter the Villa. What's his issue with chems? He could use some. So could that pretty bride-to-be, though she looked half-doped up with that expression of hers. Med-X from the looks of it.'

No word on the chemical suits, just some loser bitching. Jackson took a look around the room, a first aid kit on the wall opposite the desk. A quick checked revealed only some purified water and a dose of Steady. So much for having the chems stashed away. Jackson took the water and stepped back out onto the awnings. There was a hole in the wall of the building opposite the office, but the awnings didn't go to it. There was, however, a tree next to the hole. If there were no shamblers around he'd probably take the time to climb the tree and investigate. As it was, he had better things to do. He continued to the left, keeping close to the wall as he went. He came upon another balcony and a narrow bridge that connected him to the next awning, which he took.

Jackson glanced down to the street just in time to see a shambler raising his spear. Jackson ducked and nearly fell off the awning as the spear sailed through the air and hit the wall next to him. He steadied himself, took aim, and fired. The Garand kicked hard against his shoulder as he plugged round after round into the shambler, dropping it to the floor. There was no time to chop off one of its limbs, and he wasn't going to drop down to do it anyway, so he reloaded and quickly moved on. He stepped into another room, another terminal on the desk.

'Survey Schedules

Sinclair's coming tomorrow to check on the Villa's "progress," told the boys to look sharp for the suit. Not bringing the big starlet, though, so the boys were grumbling about that.

Better watch himself, might have a nasty fall in the switching station.'

Jackson left the room, a large stairwell opposite the room, shrouded in the Cloud. On the wall above it was some more graffiti, 'Gala is the only way IN', with an arrow pointing toward the stairs. Jackson crouched on the awning and took a look around. There were several large pipes on the buildings, so there was a good chance the Switching Station was through the cloud. He gently dropped down to the street, the coast clear of shamblers.

Jackson took a deep breath, held it, and rushed into the veil of the blood-red Cloud.