Chapter Five

I awoke at eleven o'clock, feeling fully rested and refreshed. ED-E was still floating near the door, and chirped as I rose from the bed and began gathering my things. I made my way back downstairs, and checked out of the hotel. I made my way through Primm and across the bridge to my truck. I stepped into the driver's seat, started her up, and made my way back north towards the Correctional Facility. After about two minutes, I turned off the road and began driving across the desert with ED-E floating next to the truck, able to keep pace with me somehow. I crested a hill and saw another large hill in front of me, and behind that was the prison. Crossing the old railroad tracks, I parked out of sight, and after asking ED-E to guard the truck I made my way to the prison. At the front gate a man in a Kevlar vest, holding a .357 revolver, greeted me. Hopefully, I would be able to get in without a firefight.

"What do you want?" the man asked.

"I'm here to speak to a man named Meyers. I need his help with a job I'm working." I replied, deliberately vague.

"That old man? All he does is lounge around." The man paused for a moment, before continuing, "Alright, I guess you can go and talk to him. But keep your hands away from your weapons. Let me just unlock the door and you can go in."

"Thanks,'' I nodded, following the man through the gate and up to the door. I stepped inside and saw five people in the same room. Most looked like mean sons of bitches, but one man sat in a chair, wearing a large cowboy hat, similar to mine, and was eating something. The man took little notice of me when I walked over and sat down.

"Meyers?" I asked the man.

"Yeah, whatcha need youngster?" the man replied, looking up from his meal.

"Well I have a proposition for you, something that'll get you out of this shit hole."

"I'm listening..."

After driving Meyers back to Primm, I informed Hayes that I was heading to the Outpost, mainly to secure Meyers' pardon, and asked if he needed me to pass on a message. He simply asked for more supplies and reinforcements. I nodded and left, heading back to my truck. I had a 40-minute drive ahead of me, so I tuned my PipBoy to Radio New Vegas, and enjoyed the ride. I arrived at the Mojave Outpost at about 1430, and parked near the Brahmin pens, careful not to startle the creatures with the engine.

I walked towards the main building of the Outpost, looking for Major Knight. Seems I didn't have to search long. As I opened the doors, I met a solemn looking man, behind a counter filling out paper.

"Caravan, citizen, pilgrim, or...'' man greeted me.

"Uh, courier I guess," I responded.

"Just need something for the log books. Now what can I help you with?" the man finally looked up at me, going wide-eyed when he saw my armor.

"I need to get a pardon for a prisoner at the NCR Correctional Facility. The man had nothing to do with the uprising, and was almost done with his sentence anyway." I continued. The Major looked doubtful. I sighed and once again pulled my dog tags out. Despite being a high-ranking officer, he still looked at me in awe.

"Well I guess I can get you the pardon, but the processing fee is 100 caps." The man answered, still slightly surprised to see a Ranger working as a courier.

"Fine," I replied before counting out the caps. Knight pulled a piece of paper from a drawer and quickly filled it out before handing it to me.

"There's a full pardon, I hope the man changes whatever got him thrown in prison in the first place."

"Thanks. Oh and by the way, Lieutenant Hayes' comms gear is nonfunctional and he's requesting reinforcements and supplies," I added before moving deeper into the building. As I walked into a hallway I saw another Ranger, one whose glorious mustache I could recognize anywhere.

"Jackson!" I hollered, before walking to him and gripping him a bear hug. "You old bastard, how are ya?"

"Jesus, James, it's damn good to see you alive and kicking." He responded, a smile on his face.

"Well I've been working as a courier since I left, and it pays well so I don't mind."

The man nodded, his face lit up. "Look James, there's something I need your help with..."

I returned to the Outpost an hour later, having removed the ants that were attacking caravans. Jackson rewarded me with a couple caravan rations and some ammo, and suggested I speak to Ghost up above the barracks. I shook his hand and headed outside. I made my way across the outpost to the other building and made my way up a ramp leading to the roof. Ghost was sitting in a chair under an umbrella, and was peering east through binoculars. She turned as I approached and nodded at me.

"How've you been James?"

"Well I've been better, but it's the wasteland. I'm a courier now. Jackson said you might need help with something?"

Ghost nodded before continuing, "Yeah, there's a big column of smoke rising from Nipton, but I can't tell what hit it. I need someone who can get there fast and scout the area. It's pretty lucky you showed up." She grinned.

"Alright, give me," I paused, looking at the distance from here to Nipton on the PipBoy, "two hours. I'll find out what's going on."

The Ranger nodded her thanks and turned to look back east, and I made my way back toward my truck. As I approached, ED-E floated towards me.

*Where are we traveling to now?*

"We're gonna check out Nipton, looks like it might have gotten hit. We're gonna figure out what happened and see if anyone survived." I responded as I stepped into the pickup. "Follow behind me and alert me for any threats." The robot bleeped in acknowledgment, and I started up the engine and made my way to Nipton. It was a forty-minute drive, and I didn't think it would be eventful. I was completely wrong.