There was an old man in the Villa.

After heading back to the fountain Dean had split off, saying he needed to go back to the Residential district to get some supplies and ammo(including ammo for her.) Chloe had stayed in the apartment, taking a moment to eat and rest. She had gone over to the kitchenette to grab a can of potato crisps when she noticed the old man standing outside by the fountain, dressed in blue robes and carrying a Gauss Rifle. Serious firepower, even if he was dressed light. Whatever he was here for he'd have no trouble staying alive, if he'd managed to live to the point he was old and gray.

Chloe carefully watched him as he walked around the fountain, taking in the Villa, before he set off to the East and soon disappeared from sight. There was nothing Chloe could do but hope he'd stay out of their way and that they could stay out of his. She stood by the window while she ate, keeping watch.

Something told her that things were about to change, though.


Puesta del Sol South had been a complete waste of Jackon's time. In addition to being absolutely infested with shamblers, the various rooms, offices, and apartments of Puesta del Sol South had been devoid of any loot and, worst of all, no sign of the target. There had been signs of her, however. Gunfire in the distance, fresh corpses in places that Jackson had just passed through, and the fact that Salida del Sol's doors were no longer locked.

Salida del Sol was where he now stood, Desert Eagle in hand. He'd spent the last of the M1 Garand's ammo in Puesta del Sol South, killing shamblers. He'd actually stopped into the Police Station on his way back from Puesta del Sol, upset that when he closed the door to the armory it had locked behind him. The .308 ammo and the Browning Automatic Rifle in there would've come in handy, but now they were lost to him. He sure hoped whoever ended up using them appreciated it.

The gate across from the doors to Salida del Sol was open, and Jackson passed through it. The streets on the other side were trashed and littered with shambler corpses, more signs of the target's presence. He followed the streets to a staircase that took him up into an apartment, a staircase at the other end taking him down to a room with a pool table and a hole in the wall. The street beyond took him around a corner and up a staircase to a courtyard with a massive dead tree in it, bear traps spread around the planter.

So far, there were no living shamblers in Salida del Sol. At least, if one could actually call them alive. The fact they could take .308 slugs to the chest and just stand back up told Jackson they were far from being alive in the traditional sense of the word.

He walked past the giant dead tree and into a tunnel that took him to a fork in the path. Straight ahead was a courtyard, a stairwell to the right. He followed the stairs up, through a hallway, to a balcony that ran halfway around the courtyard. There was a shambler walking around in the courtyard that hadn't seen him yet. He raised the Desert Eagle, took aim, and fired. The heavy .44 slug ripped through the shambler's head, blowing it apart.

Jackson dropped down and ascended the staircase. The apartment at the top would've been nice, if it weren't for the hole in the wall leading to a store. There was a vending machine in the corner, and Jackson used the code for the stimpaks to buy a few. When he was done he stepped out of the shop and onto the street beyond. The street led him around to a wooden ramp leading up to the awnings, a hole in the wall of a nearby apartment.

The more Jackson explored Salida del Sol, the more he felt like he was wasting his time. If the target had come through here, then she definitely hadn't stuck around. He proceeded down a staircase, through another shop, and emerged in a courtyard patrolled by two shamblers.

Jackson frowned. Sneaking past these things, as he'd discovered, was completely impossible. He ejected the magazine in the Desert Eagle and counted. Five rounds left, plus on in the chamber. With two fully loaded magazines remaining he wasn't in danger yet, but would be soon.

He crouched by a support pillar and took aim. The magnum recoiled hard in his hands, the round hitting the first shambler in the thigh. The creature fell to the ground, the limb splitting off. The second turned and rushed him, bear trap in hand. The round hit the creature right in the stomach, and it barely reacted. The creature was upon him then, swinging its arm. The bear trap hit the pillar and snapped, locking the shambler in place. Jackson fired and the shambler's arm was blown off at the elbow, the forearm still gripping the bear trap and suspended in place.

Jackson blew out a breath, stood, and jogged across the courtyard to a tunnel that took him into a bedroom, a terminal on a table. Now that he had his chemical suit he doubted he'd find any more useful info on the terminals, but he had to admit he was a little curious.

'Personal Log

Mr. Yesterday says they can get the incident hushed up, after all, no one really saw what happened when the patio collapsed, and the balcony along with it... We can also see about getting the medical reports at the clinic deleted, too, it's all good. Still, I'm getting nervous - whole thing's a big gamble, won't be long before people see the Villa for what it is, sand barely held together with spit and glue. We're protected legal-wise, even so, this is criminal. It's like he doesn't want this place to last.'

For what it was worth Jackson had to disagree. Between the shamblers chucking gas bombs and all the running about he was doing the Villa was holding up pretty well, especially considering its age. He stood from the terminal and headed down the stairs to a storeroom, a couple large wood crates spread about. The room was empty of anything useful and he pressed on, through a large room and around a corner. He found himself at the base of a wide staircase, shrouded in the Cloud, a glowing hand print on the wall. Curious, Jackson walked over and popped open a suitcase below the handprint.

It was something of a survival stash, as far as Jackson could tell. A magnum revolver, some ammo, food, water, casino chips. Nothing he needed. He closed the suitcase and decided he'd come back later if he needed it. He had no desire to go rushing through the Cloud, so he decided to head back the way he'd come. He rounded the corner and had just entered the large room when he saw an old man standing by one of the arches, Gauss Rifle in hand.

Jackson stopped, wary. The man looked right at him and didn't move, so he wasn't hostile. Yet, at least. "Who are you?" Jackson asked.

"I could ask you the same. I am Elijah, a...guest, of the Sierra Madre. I have very good reason to believe the treasure of the Sierra Madre is real, but I imagine that getting to it will be rather difficult. I need to perform a...heist, if you will. Heists need a team. I've been following you for some time, watching you... I think you'd make an excellent member of that team, assuming you're here for the treasure" the old man said.

"I'm actually here on a mission. There's a woman in this villa, a fugitive. It's my job to bring her in, alive or dead" Jackson said, and Elijah waved his hand.

"Petty bounties. What's in the Sierra Madre is worth a thousand times what meager sum the NCR will pay you. Let us find this woman, recruit her. As a mercenary, I think you can appreciate the value of raiding a pre-War casino" Elijah said.

"Even if I could find her, she'd shoot me on sight. Can't pull off a heist if I'm dead."

"Let me worry about that. Come with me, we're going back to Salida del Sol South. There's work that needs to be done before we can get inside the casino" Elijah said.

Jackson hesitated a moment. As far as he was concerned the treasure of the Sierra Madre was bunk, complete lies. Still, an old man with a Gauss Rifle was nothing to scoff at. If he was convinced of the treasure's existence then Jackson definitely wanted in on it. Worst case scenario the treasure didn't exist, but in the mean time he'd have a heavily armed companion, and having the target around meant he'd be able to keep tabs on her.

"Alright... If you can get her to sign on, then I'm in."


Dean had come through with the ammo. Enough .45 Auto ammo to completely refill all of Chloe's magazines, plus some. That was the good news, according to him. The bad news was that he'd given her all of the .45 ammunition he'd found in the entirety of the Villa. There was a chance that the casino had ammo in it, if she ended up needing it(and if they ended up getting inside), but once she was out that was it.

It was this knowledge, plus a tip from Dean, that made her sneak her way through Salida del Sol South, doing her best to avoid the Ghost People where they congregated. Dean had directed her to the Western side of Salida del Sol South, where a bank of electrical switches on a wall were supposed to be. According to him the switches needed to be pulled in a certain order to send electricity to a bell tower, where the switch to begin the Gala was. Dean, for his part, had headed back to Puesta del Sol to scavenge.

Unfortunately for her, Salida del Sol South was a bit of a maze. She followed the street that had taken her to the two gates, the one on the left still locked. According to Dean, the other gate that she'd gone through had taken her to Salida del Sol North, so she'd taken the street to the right of the small fountain. The followed the street down to where it ended in a T-shape, the street to the left covered in the Cloud. To the right was a staircase, which Chloe took up into a spacious apartment. There was a terminal in the room, the only thing on it an entry about the speaker system. It was powered up, which was good.

The apartment opened up onto a balcony, the railing partially destroyed. She sat on the edge of the balcony and jumped down, the air thick with the smell of natural gas. She headed right, keeping under a covered walkway. She passed by one of the Villa's few functioning street lights and emerged in a courtyard, a Ghost Person wandering around. The Ghost Person threw a spear at her, the blade nicking her in the thigh. She crouched and opened fire, the creature dropping to the ground. She quickly walked over to the prone monster and sawed its arm off, remembering what Dean had told her.

With the coast clear Chloe proceeded ahead, to the North, into a pathway. The graffiti on the wall declared 'watch your step', and she noticed the bear trap on the ground. She stepped around it and walked into a small shop, another bear trap right in front of the entrance. There was a staircase to her left, the top of it covered in boards. She wouldn't be going that way any time soon. She stepped up to the shop's vending machine and bought some food and water and, when she was done, walked back out into the courtyard.

To her right was a gate, a terminal on the wall. She unlatched the gate and pushed it open, a bank of five electrical switches on the wall. There was a diagram next to the switches, the pattern alien to her. According to Dean pressing the switches in the right order was key to powering the bell tower and completing the final part of the puzzle needed to open the casino.

Trouble was, Chloe wasn't sure where to start. Part of the diagram discussed the Villa's sound system and the speakers that would play the music of the Gala Event, whereas another mentioned a tower in Salida del Sol North. The Bell Tower, undoubtedly. With the main power of the Switching Station on getting the power directed to where it needed to be and in the right amount was important.

Chloe left the switches alone and decided to check the terminal, to see if it could tell her anything about the system. The only thing of importance she found was an option to rest the ventilation system, which didn't work. With a sigh she stepped back to the threshold of the gate and idly stared at the switches on the wall.

After a moment she decided she wasn't going to get anywhere just standing around, and approached the switches. There were five switches and five nodes on the diagram, each clearly labelled. She flipped the first one, which was supposed to power the casino's external fountains. With the state the rest of the Villa's fountains were in Chloe seriously doubted the fountains at the casino would work, but according to Dean and the diagram the switches all had to be flipped.

Chloe studied the diagram and was about to flip the next switch when she heard footsteps behind her. She spun, reached for the .45 Auto, and stopped when she saw it was the old man she'd seen earlier. Chloe relaxed, not trusting the man but at least comfortable in the knowledge that it wasn't the bounty hunter.

Her comfort quickly died when the bounty hunter walked up next to the old man, gun in hand. He had her trapped, no way out. The fact that she was still alive made her feel better, but if they needed her for something then what could it be?

"You must be Chloe, then. We need to have a discussion" the old man said.