"A heist? That's what you're calling it?" Chloe said, and the old man, Elijah, nodded. "I've already turned on the power at the Switching Station and I was about to figure out this electric diagram behind me. If I've already done two of the steps by myself, then why do I need your help?"

"Getting into the casino won't be the hard part. The Ghost People are bad enough, but the casino has holographic security. Laser turrets. Dealing with those will be substantially more difficult, believe me" Elijah said.

"OK... Is it just the three of us, then?" she asked, deciding to keep Dean's existence a secret for now. If the two men ended up turning on her then she wanted to have Dean as hidden backup, an ace up her sleeve.

The bounty hunter, Jackson, nodded. "For now."

"Alright. So, what happens next? We've got to get these switches pulled" Chloe said, and jerked a thumb over her shoulder. Elijah slung his Gauss Rifle and walked past her.

"Let me worry about that. I have something that will help us. For now, the two of you must return to the Villa and finish up the last of what we need done. With the Villa's main power on and the districts powered there are a few loose ends that must be...tied up. One of you will have to go to Salida del Sol North, to the Bell Tower... The switch in the tower needs to be pulled once the last step has been completed. The other must return to Puesta del Sol and make sure the holographic system has power. As unfortunate as it may be, the casino's holographic security system has to have power before the Gala Event can be triggered" Elijah said.

"I'll take care of that. You can head to the Bell Tower" Jackson said, looking at Chloe. "What exactly am I looking for in Puesta del Sol?"

Elijah turned around from the electrical diagram. "There are terminals in Puesta del Sol. They control security holograms in the area. If you can get them powered on, then the system should send a signal to the casino to activate its security systems. Once that's done, all that's left is triggering the Gala Event at the Bell Tower, if everything else is done as you have claimed."

"Once those switches behind you are pulled, then yeah" Chloe said, and Elijah nodded.

"Good. Get to it, then" Elijah said, and turned back to face the diagram. Chloe and Jackson shared a look and then Jackson took off, briskly walking back down the tunnel adjacent to the courtyard. Chloe waited a few minutes before she got moving, taking the same path the bounty hunter had taken.

She wasn't sure if he or Elijah could be trusted yet, but the old man was right. If they wanted to get into the Madre then they needed to stick together. She decided that instead of heading to Salida del Sol North she'd head back to the Residential district and talk to Dean.

Not exactly how I thought this was going to go she thought. When she'd climbed down into the valley, she'd had no idea that she had found the fabled Sierra Madre. All she could focus on was staying ahead of the bounty hunter and finding water. Instead she'd stumbled upon one of the Mojave's most infamous legends, and now here she was, about to work together with her bounty hunter. If they pulled this off then that'd be the end of it, she was sure of it. Jackson would go back to California, she'd go further East, and Dean and Elijah would do whatever it is they wanted with the treasure.

Chloe had just reached the intersection with the two gates when Jackson stepped out from the shadows of the nearby arches and stopped by the fountain. Chloe stopped and put a hand on her hip. "We have unfinished business" Jackson said.

"What are you gonna do, shoot me?" Chloe asked, and Jackson crossed his arms.

"Imagine those being your last words. But no. That is what I was going to be paid to do, but if this treasure's real and we pull this off, then we'll never see each other again. Rip me off, or the treasure isn't there, then one of us won't be leaving this place alive" Jackson said.

"Agreed."

"I really don't know what you were thinking. The war with the Legion's been going on for years, thousands have died. You thought you could just walk away from it all, leave it all behind like it wasn't your responsibility, and then steal from the NCR on the way out? That they'd let you on your way without tracking you down and punishing you?"

"I thought maybe they had more important issues than tracking down deserters, and paying bounty hunters to do it" Chloe said.

"Maybe they would have, if you hadn't killed that guard in New Reno. Guess that's the difference between the conscripts and the officers. You could've had it all in the NCR. Instead you gave it all up and went on the run. Maybe you could explain that one to me" Jackson said.

Chloe scoffed. "Yeah, I could've had it all in the NCR. If I was willing to risk my life fighting for that fucking idiot Oliver and his braindead strategies. Survive scores of Legionaries, avoid getting stabbed or crucified or raped, and then what? The war's bankrupting the NCR, and even if they take the dam, Mister House and the Chairmen aren't going to let them keep it. He'll send in his face-bots to finish off the NCR and establish the 'Autocracy of House Enterprises' nation or some shit. I want no part of it, and I suggest you wise up and go East too once we're done. Whatever's out east, beyond the reach of the NCR or the Legion, has to be better."

Jackson unfolded his arms. "I just go where the work is, and whether NCR or House takes the Mojave doesn't matter. Mercs are always in demand." With that Jackson turned, walked down the street, and left Salida del Sol. Chloe scoffed, waited a few minutes, then followed. She took the street around to the doors of the Residential district and pushed them open.

The first thing she noticed was the landmines on the ground, by a staircase, and she remembered why she hadn't checked out the Residential district yet. Her skill with explosives was nil, so she gave the mines a wide berth. There was a gate underneath an arch, locked, and she had to circle around the mines again and head down the street.

Besides the mines, the first thing Chloe noticed about the Residential district was that it was covered in the Cloud. Already she was presented with a massive bank of it, and now she was faced with a choice. Brave the Cloud, or try her luck with the mines.

Here we go again she thought. There was nothing she could do about her skin, but at least she could hold her breath. She pinched her nose with her free hand, braced herself, and ran forward. The Cloud set her skin on fire and made her eyes water, the feeling intense and sharp. Her muscles tightened and, before she knew it, it was over. She emerged on the other side of the Cloud and took a deep breath, her nose tingling and burning a little, but for the most part she was alright.

She ducked behind an arch and bent over, her hands on her knees. Coming here had been a mistake, no doubt about it, and she wondered if she should just leave. There was nothing holding her here. It wasn't as if someone had strapped a bomb collar on her and told her they'd kill her if she didn't stay. Still, she wanted that treasure. She needed it. It was her only way out.

She just had to hope the Sierra Madre didn't kill her first.

Chloe looked up, a vending machine just to her right. She dumped the last of her chips into it, collected some water, and gulped it all down. The street had a dead tree in it, some benches across the way. There was a trash can next to the benches, a copy of 'Meeting People' inside of all things. She looked around, the realization that she'd taken a dead end slowly dawning on her.

I have to go back through the Cloud... she thought, and took a deep breath. As she ran through the Cloud her head began to swim, her vision blurring, and when she came out the other side she hit the wall, breathing hard.

Chloe sluggishly pulled away from the wall and walked over to the locked gate, a small fountain set in the wall across from it. She looked up and realized she could climb up to the top of the stairs and avoid the mines if she just stood on top of the fountain. She holstered her gun and lifted herself up onto the top of the fountain, reaching up to grab the edge of the stairs. With a grunt she pulled herself up and rolled over onto the landing, an apartment beyond the door. Behind her was a makeshift bridge leading to a hole in the wall, which she ignored.

There was a pressure plate on the floor right in front of the door, which she stepped over. A pair of Single Shotguns lied on a table, hooked up to a mechanism connected to the pressure plate. Clever. Chloe walked over to one and, after a few minutes, disarmed it. She lifted up the Single Shotgun, a box of shells on the table. A much better weapon than her .45 Auto, that was for sure.

She left the apartment through the other door, a bank of Cloud in the distance. Across a yard, at the top of another staircase, was Dean, his back to her as he walked into an apartment.

"Dean!"

The ghoul turned back and hurriedly gestured for her to join him. She quickly jogged down the stairs, across the yard, and up to the doorway Dean was standing in. "Don't go around yelling so much. The Ghost People may not be good at talking, but they are good at listening."

"Sorry. Listen, where are we at with the heist?" she asked.

"You flipped the switches in Salida del Sol?"

Chloe nodded.

"Then all that's left is to enable security at the casino and flip the switch in the Bell Tower. I know, I know. Why enable security at all if we're breaking in? Well, remember when I told you that Mr. Sinclair was a touch paranoid? This is part of that. The old bat made sure that activating the Gala Event would power the casino's security. Holograms, mostly. Plus turrets in the vault, I imagine. When the Gala was supposed to be triggered, the holograms would have power but the systems put on standby by the actual security folks. Trouble is, without anyone around to actually do that, the security holograms will be on and waiting for us. And they're not the type to just fall over when you shoot them" Dean explained.

"OK... I'll take care of the security thing, and you can head to the Bell Tower" Chloe said.

"Alright... If that's how you want to play it, then alright. You've already done most of the legwork for this job, so I can do this one thing. Make sure you hold that door for me though, partner. I don't want to be locked out once the real work begins" Dean said. "The terminals you're looking for are in Puesta del Sol, but they don't actually control casino security. They control only local holograms, but if they're on then we'll know that we're in business. I'll head to Salida del Sol North right away, to the Bell Tower."

Chloe nodded. "Got it. Thanks, Dean."

"Sure, sure, partner. Just remember what I said about holding the door."

With that Chloe took off down the stairs and retraced her steps back through the Residential district, careful to lower herself down the stairs to avoid the landmines near the entrance. Dean followed her back and, with a final nod, turned East towards Salida del Sol.

Unbeknownst to him, however, Chloe had no intention of heading to Puesta del Sol. It hurt her to do it, with all the help Dean had provided so far, but she was cutting him out of the heist once he played his part. With Jackson taking care of the security in Puesta and Dean at the Bell Tower she'd be right by the gate once the Gala kicked off. With luck she'd get into the casino before anyone else and then the treasure would be hers.

She walked back through the Villa, past the fountain, and into the safehouse. She headed upstairs to the apartment and set her .45 Auto on the kitchen counter, right by the window. The perfect vantage point to watch traffic coming through the Villa.

She had just stretched her legs for a few moments to give her feet a rest when she saw Elijah approaching the fountain, Gauss Rifle in hand. The real surprise, however, was the Nightkin by his side. The two of them stopped by the fountain, Elijah said something to the mutant, and then it took off towards the gate that led out of the Villa. Elijah stayed for a few moments before he headed for the gate that led to the Sierra Madre.

"Fuck." Chloe picked up the .45 Auto and waited long enough for Elijah to get a head start. She quickly jogged through the hall, down the stairs, and out the front door of the safehouse. The gate to the Madre was partially open, a thick bank of Cloud beyond it. Chloe licked her lips, braced herself, and was about to head through when the lights above the gate dimmed. She looked over her shoulder and saw that every light in the Town Square, including the holographic woman, was dimmed. After a few seconds they call came back to full power, and Chloe took off in a run. She barely noticed the sting of the Cloud as she passed through it, rushing up a sloped street towards the looming cliffs of the Sierra Madre.

At the base of the cliffs was a long staircase, winding up the mountain, a stone railing along its edge. Chloe rushed up the steps, the Villa sprawling out below her. She continued up and up, panting and sweating from the exertion. She was halfway up when a single firework screamed into the sky above the casino, exploding and leaving glowing sparks in the sky. Not much of a Gala Event as far as Chloe could tell, and she hoped it was enough to open the door.

She reached the top of the stairs, a once-magnificent plaza stretching out before her, infested with Ghost People. Elijah was there, running up a staircase, the Ghosts all focused on him. Chloe paid them no mind as she ran after him, passing by two large fountains in a blur. The single staircase led halfway up a large terrace, the wall at the top bearing the vigil of the Sierra Madre. Flanking the staircase were two identical portraits of a man and a woman holding hands beneath some goddess, the phrase 'Begin Again' at the bottom. At the top of the stairs, where the vigil was, were two staircases, leading up to the top of the terrace.

The Ghost People were a blur around her as she ran up the stairs, Single Shotgun in hand. Ahead, underneath a row of arches, was the main entrance to the Sierra Madre casino, one of the double-doors open. Elijah was standing by the door, aiming his Gauss Rifle. The gun thundered in the still air, the slug boring a hole straight through a Ghost Person. Chloe leapt over the body and up the stairs to the entrance, trying the second door. It was still locked. Something had gone wrong with the Gala, leaving only the one door unlocked.

Chloe was about to rush in and shut the door behind her when Elijah retreated into the casino. A Ghost Person's spear hit the wall next to her and Chloe fell back onto her butt. She scrambled back to her feet and fired, the buckshot hitting the Ghost in the shoulder. As she ejected the spent round and reached for another she saw Jackson come running up the stairs, magnum in hand. She retreated back into the casino, the sound of Jackson's gun echoing loudly in the night sky, and a moment later he came bounding up the steps and shut the door behind him.

There was heavy *thump* as a spear hit the doors and then a harsh metallic slam as the doors locked. Chloe turned the handle and tried to push, the doors not budging at all, and she stepped back, satisfied. The plan hadn't been a complete success, but with just the three of them it'd be much easier to wrap everything up.

Chloe turned around and there was a sudden hissing noise, gas spewing from hidden vents in the floors. Jackson and Elijah barely had time to react before the gas took them and they fell to the floor, unconscious or dead. Fresh adrenaline flooded through Chloe and she wondered if it was all for nothing. A sudden thumping to the door made her jump, and she turned around. "Dean?"

"Open the DOOR, partner!"

"I... I can't! It's locked! I'm sorry, Dean!" she said, hoping that if she saw him again he'd believe she hadn't betrayed him.

He didn't. "You self-serving bitch! You've screwed me over, and I hope you die in there! I hope those holograms turn you to ash and you scatter to the heartless wind like the dog you are! You'll never find the treasure, not without MY help, MY knowledge! You'll-"

Dean stopped, and Chloe stepped back from the door. "Dean? Dean!"

There was no response.

Chloe stepped back from the door, ran a hand through her hair, and blew out a breath. Whether Dean was dead or not she didn't know, but it didn't matter now. She turned around and fresh gas spewed out from the floor. She took a deep breath and covered her face but it was too late. Her vision blurred, she collapsed to the floor, and then everything was gone.