Chapter Four

I stepped back into the cool dusk of the Mojave, and made my way towards the truck. As I walked, I pulled up the map menu on my PipBoy, checking the distance and route to Primm, my next stop. I'd been to Primm before, working for the Mojave express, though never via Goodsprings.

"Alright," I said to myself. "20 miles to Primm, should get there before nine." I walked around to the driver's side door and hopped inside. I set my M4 down on the passenger seat, and started the engine. The 6.2-liter V8 engine roared to life, the truck rumbling with power. My father had spent years finding the parts to make this truck as fast as possible and considering the terrain he and I took it on, it was damn fast. I had taken it along the I-15 a few weeks back, on my way back into the Mojave, and got it going about 125mph through the desert.

I threw the truck into reverse, pulling onto the main road out of Goodsprings. Shifting again, I waved as I cruised by the saloon, Sunny and Trudy waving back, before I accelerated out of town, making my way to the Long 15. As I made the turn onto I-15, I noticed a shack to the side of the road, and two red lines on the compass projected on my vision. I decided to pull over and check the place for salvage but before I could, a shot ricocheted of the driver's door, and I floored the gas, spinning the tires and leaping forward, before I yanked the emergency brake back, throwing the truck in a spin and put the rest of the armored truck between me and the threat.

As I leapt out of the truck with my M4 to grab cover, I noticed two Powder Gangers coming over a slight hill. Switching my rifle to kill, I took aim on the left man, and fired three rounds into his chest, dropping him to the ground. I switched targets and saw the second man charging me with a knife. Reacting instinctively, I whipped the rifle's stock up and hammered it into his jaw, knocking him back and giving me an opportunity to pull my Sig while the rifle hung from its sling. As the man recovered, I took aim and waited for him to look up. When he did, he paused, and I spoke up.

"I have no fight with you and your gang. Leave me alone and I won't have to kill you. You don't want me as an enemy. Leave now and tell whoever is in charge of you that I have no quarrel with you." I lowered my pistol, but didn't holster it.

The man seemed to consider what I said, before nodding and turning back to his dead friend, presumably to loot the man. I backed up towards my truck, never turning my back on the man, and holstered my pistol before stepping into the truck. I started the engine, turned around and continued on my way to Primm. About 15 minutes later, I pulled off of the highway to make my way into Primm. I was surprised to see an NCR checkpoint blocking the way. Pulling up to the guard, I shut the truck off and hopped out to speak to the trooper.

"Primm's off limits to civilians." The man said nothing more. I grunted and pulled my dog tags out from under my armor, and showed him the Ranger pin attached to them. The soldier immediately stood at full attention, like I was an officer. I sighed and patted him on the shoulder.

"At ease. I'm discharged anyways. What's going on in Primm?" I asked the man as he relaxed.

"There was a riot at the Correctional facility. A group of convicts raided the town and took over. The Mojave Outpost sent us to keep them contained. I think you'd better speak with Lieutenant Hayes, sir. He can give you more details. You can park over by that building," he said pointing to a crumbled structure just past the gate. "Let me get the gate for you." As he moved to lift the gate, he spoke into a radio and informed Hayes that I was coming.

I hopped back in and pulled through the gate, nodding to the trooper as I passed, and parked on the side of the road where the guard had directed me. Shutting off the engine, I stepped out and slipped the strap of my M4 over my shoulders, the rifle settling across my back. I locked the door and made my way to the command tent. As I approached, a soldier stepped forward and looked at me sourly, before noticing my dog tags, and saluted. Annoyed, I saluted the man, a Sergeant, and spoke up, "I'm here to speak with Lieutenant Hayes about Primm." The man nodded, gave me a "Yes, sir," and led me to the tent on the left. Holding the flap open for me, the man nodded and I stepped inside. A man in a beret glanced up as I stepped in, and gestured for me to come forward.

"I'm Lieutenant Hayes, 5th Battalion, 1st Company." The man saluted, and I returned the gesture. "I'm surprised to see a former Ranger out here. What's your business in Primm?"

"I'm a courier now, with the Mojave Express, but looks like the town has been overrun. Why haven't you taken action against the convicts?"

"We don't have the men or resources to take the town. On top of that, our comms gear was damaged during our firefight with the convicts when we first arrived, so I can't radio for reinforcements." I nodded as the man spoke, considering my options. I need to get into town, but with the town overrun, it would be difficult to get the information I needed.

"I'll sneak into town and take care of the convicts." I said, pulling my rifle around so it hung across my chest and patted it. "Give me fifteen minutes before you follow with your men. By then you should be able to handle the remaining convicts." The man didn't look convinced.

"I know you're a Ranger, but the second you open fire, the convicts will rush you." I grinned at the man then, and reached into the inside of the satchel that hung at my side, pulling out a suppressor for my rifle. As I screwed it to the front of the barrel, the Lieutenant nodded.

"Alright, fifteen minutes and we'll come in. Good luck..." the man reached his hand forward to shake. I shook his hand and said, "James."

"Good luck then, James." I nodded and stepped out of the tent, the Lieutenant following me to speak with his Sergeant. I made my way back towards the bridge leading into town, nodding to the troopers as I passed by. When I reached the bridge, I noticed it was mined. Skirting around the mines, I made my way into Primm proper. Dropping into a crouch, I darted to the closest building, a rundown gas station. Moving forward, I pulled my rifle up and switched off the safety. Peering around the corner, I saw a convict come into view. He seemed to be patrolling the building I was hiding behind. I took aim through my optic and fired a single shot. The man dropped like a sack, and I heard a yell. "Fuck," I said under my breath as I moved around the corner in a crouch, moving to the front of the building with my rifle aimed at the far side. Another man came running up to the body, and I fired again, dropping the man next to his friend. When no other voices called out, I stood and made my way to the front of the building.

I opened the door with one hand, rifle held in the other, and stepped inside. Instead of convicts, I found the inhabitants of Primm, several of them aiming weapons at me. I lowered my rifle, recognizing Johnson Nash as one of the people pointing a weapon at me. He recognized me too, and stepped forward to speak with me. The rest of the townsfolk dispersed, wandering back into what appeared to be a casino.

"James, you picked a bad time to come to Primm. Damn gangers have overrun the place, killed the sheriff and his wife and took the deputy hostage," Johnson said as he approached me. "What are you doing back here anyway, I thought you was on a delivery to New Vegas?"

"I was robbed and left for dead in Goodsprings. I just woke up this morning. Now, what can I do to help Primm? I need to know how many convicts there are, and what kind of weapons they have." I glanced at my PipBoy. "The NCR will be sending backup in 12 minutes. I need to take care of as many of them as possible."

"Well there are maybe twenty of them and they have rifles and pistols. They're holed up across the way in the Bison Steve Hotel. Though a man with your skills should be able to get in there without getting in too much trouble," Johnson grinned. He knew a little of my background. I nodded and turned toward the door.

"Wait here for me to get back, it'll be safe then. And I'll need some information when all this is done." I turned and stepped into the night. Pulling my rifle up again, I sprinted across the street and stopped at the side of the doors, pausing to ready myself, before I opened the door and swung into the building. There was a ganger with his back to me on the other side of a large desk. I put a round through his spine and ran to cover behind the desk as I heard footsteps come running. I popped up over the desk and fired two more suppressed shots, dropping the man looking down at the guard. Two down, eighteen to go. I made my way through the first floor, killed several more convicts as quickly as possible. Thirteen to go.

I saw a side door leading somewhere into the back of the hotel. Crossing to the door, I quietly picked the lock and snuck down the hallway. Turning the corner, I saw an open door leading to a kitchen. The hallway was dark, and the convict leaning on the wall didn't seem to see me. I sighted up on the man and sent a round through his skull. As I moved towards the room I heard whimpering, and moving into the room, saw a man on his knees with his hands tied. Another doorway leading into a different room was closed, so I moved over to the man, noticing a badge attached to his leather armor

"You must be the deputy," I said quietly, pulling out my knife to cut the rope on the man's hands. The man whimpered when I pulled out the knife. His cowardice was annoying me and I figured he would be more than useless in the coming fight.

"Go back down the hallway I came from and get out of the hotel. I'll finish clearing out this floor," I said helping the man up. He slunk out of the room, keeping his eyes to the floor, avoiding me. Turning to the doors, I crouched low, and moved forward while bringing my rifle up and slowly opened the door. Before I could move into the room, the four convicts in the room spotted me, and they opened fire. One man even had an Incinerator. Jumping back into the room, I sprinted to the back of the kitchen and cover. Before I could duck behind the counter, I felt a round tear through my shoulder and I yelped in pain. Ducking behind the counter, I reached towards my shoulder and felt for an exit wound. There wasn't one, which meant the round was still in there. Fighting through the pain, I switched my rifle to full auto and blind fired over the table, hearing one man go down in pain. I reloaded and switched back to semi-auto, then peeked out to take aim at the next convict I saw. Firing through the table he was crouched behind, I saw blood spray as the rounds tore through him. Two to go. The man with the Incinerator began aiming at me. Quickly switching my aim to him, I fired as quick as I could. Five rounds impacted his leather armor, ripping through it and killing the man instantly. The last convict saw the man go down and dropped his gun, surrendering. Moving slowly forward I gestured for the man to move towards the exit. By the time we reached the front of the hotel, the NCR had moved in, Lieutenant Hayes in the front.

"Lieutenant, I've cleared the first floor of nine convicts. The remaining eleven cons are upstairs. I'm turning this man over into your custody. Your men should be able to handle the last few." I poked the prisoner forward with my rifle, and a soldier came and handcuffed him.

"Good job, courier. Inform the townsfolk that the threat is gone, and get that shoulder taken care of." The lieutenant saluted me before leading his men further into the hotel to finish off the remaining convicts.

I left the hotel and headed for the casino. I entered the building and made my way to Johnson. He saw me and headed towards me as well, meeting me halfway.

"How'd it go?" he asked.

"I cleared the first floor, but took a round to the shoulder in the last firefight. The NCR is taking care of the rest." I reached up, applying pressure to the wound and fighting through the pain. "Got anyone who can stitch up a wound?"

Johnson nodded, "My wife can. Let's head over to the Mojave Express office. And you said you needed some information?" He gestured to a woman and led me out of the casino. Crossing the street to the office building, I saw a body slumped against the building. Johnson cursed under his breath, and I saw the man was a courier. Rummaging through his pack, I found a delivery order that matched mine, except the item was different. Stepping into the office, I took a seat at a table, and Johnson sat across from me. I gently took off my duster and detached the ceramic plate on my shoulder. The round had slipped right in between two plates, but had been stopped by one on the way out. Johnson's wife Ruby, fussed over my shoulder, cleaning the wound of blood and debris before stitching it up. She reached for a stimpak, but I declined it. So she just stuck a gauze pad on it and wrapped the wound up. I knew the wound would be healed in less than an hour.

With that finished, I got down to business with Nash, discussing the delivery orders, and the nature of the group of couriers, and if he had seen Benny. He told me Deputy Beagle might have information about that. Then he informed me the town still needed a sheriff. He said the NCR could take control of the town, but most of the residents would be bitter about it. He also informed me of a man at the NCR prison who used to be a sheriff, and encouraged me to speak with him. Nodding thanks to Ruby and Johnson, I made my way to the door. Before I could leave, I noticed a robot lying on the front counter.

Turning towards the Nash's, "Is that your robot?"

"No," Johnson replied. "Another courier brought it in, said he found it on the side of the highway. Left it here because he couldn't fix it, and neither can I. Feel free to try your luck. You can keep it if you can fix it."

I nodded and smiled, reaching for my satchel and pulling out some tools. It wasn't long before the robot was up and running. "Hey there little guy, looks like you're feeling better," I addressed the robot. It replied with a series of whistles, and then floated down towards my PipBoy. After a short series of beeps, I saw text appear on my PipBoy, as well as the HUD projected in my vision. The robot identified itself as ED-E and told me he was a Duraframe Eyebot, whatever that was.

"Well ED-E, would you like to join me?" I asked the cheerful sounding robot.

*yes. Where are we going? * ED-E beeped and whistled as the text appeared.

"We're going to see a man about a suit," I replied, holding the door open for ED-E, who followed behind me. Hopefully this robot was good in a fight, though he seemed entertaining. I made my way back to the casino, looking for the deputy. After getting what I could from the coward, I looked for a place to crash for the night. Not finding one in the casino, I made my way back to the hotel. By now, the NCR had cleared the building of bodies, and it was open for business again. I rented a room, and as ED-E floated near the door, guarding me, I laid on the bed, feeling my shoulder knitting back together. After a deep sigh, I recounted what I had accomplished today. Feeling proud of myself, I quickly fell into a restful sleep.

A.N. - If you're at all interested in what James' truck sounds like, here's a link: watch?v=QAjWWRyzQNg

or just hit youtube and search "VelociRaptor V8 Ford Raptor Validation Testing"