Chapter Seven

I pulled up to the outpost at dusk and had Jenny stay put. Retrieving the bloody jumble of cloth from the back, I made my way to Ghost. She turned again as I walked up.

"So what happened with Nipton?" She inquired.

I said nothing, just pulled Vulpes' head from the sack and showed it to her. She cursed before speaking again.

"Damn Legion, they've never been this far east before. Were there any survivors?"

"One, a little girl. She's actually the one who killed Vulpes," I said sadly. Ghost looked surprised.

"Well thanks for making the trip. I need to tell Jackson about this." She handed me a bag of caps and excused herself. I stared east for a moment, before making my way down to Jenny.

"Jenny, we're going to sleep here tonight, and tomorrow we're heading to Novac."

Jenny nodded and climbed out. As we walked to the bar and barracks, she grabbed hold of my hand. I looked down and she looked up, smiling.

"Thanks for protecting me."

"It's my job. And maybe it'll be yours one day too, if you want."

She nodded and I spoke again, "Okay, then when we get to Novac, I'll teach you how to shoot."

We stepped into the bar, and saw most of the garrison here milling around the bar, huddled together in small groups. I picked up Jenny and pushed my way to the bartender, bumping into one of the troopers. He turned to scold me but when he saw my face, his jaw dropped.

"Jesus Christ, it's James Pendleton."

I glared at him, but he shouted at the top of his lungs, "IT'S THE HERO OF THE DAM!" pointing at me. Every person in the building turned to look at Jenny and me for a moment, before cheering. Jenny looked at me surprised before I spoke up bluntly, "ENOUGH!" The cheering stopped quickly.

"I'm not a hero, I got good men killed. I'm just here to sleep. Don't bother me. I mean it."

I turned to the bartender and asked for two beds.

"I wanna sleep with you," Jenny said quietly.

"Make it one bed then," I said, reaching for some caps.

The bartender shook her head, "It's on the house."

"Fine."

I pushed through the crowd of troopers and made my way to the bunk. I set Jenny down and she grabbed my hand again. We picked a bed and I removed my duster to use as a blanket. Lying on the bed, Jenny climbed in next to me and cuddled up against me, half asleep.

"Good night Jenny," I said quietly, putting my arm around her.

"Good night James," she said before she fell asleep. I settled into a restful sleep once again, after setting my PipBoy to wake me up at 9.

Jenny jolted awake, waking me up as well. I glanced at my PipBoy and saw it was about 0830, so I disabled the alarm as Jenny sat up. She looked around frantically for a moment, before she remembered where she was looking at me.

"Ready to get going?" I asked. Jenny nodded and crawled out of bed. I pulled myself up, back popping like an old man. Damn implants. Before I could pull my duster on, Jenny pointed to my left arm. I had completely forgotten about the knife that had hit me there. The "flesh" was still sliced open.

"Why aren't you bleeding?" Jenny asked.

"I'll tell you when we get outside," I said and began walking to the exit. Jenny caught up and held my hand again. The troopers stared at me, shocked at the sight of the "Hero of the Dam" and combat veteran holding hands with a little girl. I paid them little attention and walked out with Jenny. We walked to the truck and I opened the tailgate, setting her down on it. I pulled off my duster and showed her the wound.

"This isn't my real arm," I explained, showing her the metal underneath the flesh.

"What happened?"

"I lost it protecting someone."

I took off the left chest plates of my armor and showed her the scars under the armor. "My ribs and back were also damaged. I have metal plates there now, so I'm part robot," I grinned and Jenny laughed, but got serious again a moment later.

"Why did those soldiers cheer for you?"

"Jenny, I'll tell you when you're older. Right now I can tell you it was during my time as an NCR Ranger, and it's why I'm not a Ranger anymore." I said looking down.

"Ok," Jenny said simply, as she hopped off the bumper.

"Anxious to get going, huh?" I smiled as I helped her scramble into the passenger seat.

She nodded as I closed the door, and I made my way around to the driver's side door.

"Ready to go ED-E?"

The bot beeped again and hovered above the truck. Starting the engine, I turned around head east, avoiding Nipton for Jenny's sake. She didn't seem to notice, enjoying how fast we were going.

"Wanna see something cool?" I asked, looking at her.

She nodded so I pulled off the road; the tires bounced around like crazy, but the pillowy suspension kept the ride relatively smooth. I sped up a little bit, aiming for a small hill.

"Hold on," I said, just as we reached the hill. With the speed we were going we launched into the air with Jenny laughing the whole time, landing a few seconds later before bouncing and continuing on our way.

"That was so fun," Jenny said smiling. I grinned and headed further off road, climbing a steep hill, avoiding the road in the canyon next to us, almost surely a trap.

Climbing through the hills, we made our way past the canyon and pulled back onto the road. As we approached an overpass, I saw a group of caravans engaging a small group of legionaries. I pulled to a stop and grabbed my rifle.

"Stay here, and don't watch." She nodded and covered her eyes. I grabbed my father's rifle and hopped out, leaning up against the concrete barrier of the overpass. I was about 100 meters from the fighting, and opted to stay where I was. Using the optic, I began firing at the legionaries, killing one and wounding another. With my distraction, the caravan guards were able to finish off the enemy. They turned and waved me over. I jumped back in, and slowly drove up to them. Stepping out, one of the traders walked up to me.

"Thanks for the help, friend. We might've been in trouble if you hadn't shown up." He shook my hand before heading back to his group. I got back into the truck, started the engine, and drove past the caravan. They waved again as I passed and when I was clear of them I accelerated; the ripping roar of the engine would have startled the Brahmin, hell it startled people. We still had 60 miles to go before we reached Novac, and I wanted to get some shooting lessons in before night. We passed Ranger Station Charlie on the way, and I waved at the Rangers. Ten minutes later, I pulled into Novac, parking next to another gas station. Jenny and I got out, and I slung my rifle as we walked towards the hotel. It was only ten in the morning, but might as well get a room now. Walking in, I saw an old woman, older than Doc Mitchell, behind a counter.

"Well hi there, what brings you to Novac?" She greeted us cheerfully.

"Just looking for a place to stay a few nights, before we head to New Vegas. How much for a room?"

"Tell you what, I'll give you a flat rate and you can stay as long as you like, at least until the busy season starts. 100 caps a week."

I nodded and pulled out a bag of caps, counting out 100 and handed them to her. She in turn handed me a key. "The room is the first door on the left, second floor,. Enjoy your stay." I nodded and began to leave, before I remembered something.

Turning back to the woman, I asked, "Have you happened to see a gentleman in a tacky checkered suit come through here?" The woman's face contorted in disgust.

"He may have worn a suit, but he was no kind of gentleman to me. Had his nose stuck up so high you couldn't see it through the clouds. Talk to Manny, our daytime sniper, in the mouth of the Dino Dee-lite Gift Shop."

"Thanks, I'll do that," I said as we walked outside. We walked back to the truck to get some supplies if we were staying for a few days. Jenny stood next to me as I opened the tailgate. Before I opened the strongbox, I handed her my rifle. She took it, confused.

"Why are you giving me your rifle?"

I grinned as I retrieved my father's rifle. "I told you I was gonna teach you how to shoot, didn't I?"

Her eyes went wide and she jumped in excitement. Slinging my father's rifle, I grabbed three magazines for the M4 and threw them into their pouches around my waist, then closed the tailgate. We walked back to the motel and headed for our room. I threw my satchel on the bed, and turned to Jenny. "Ready to go?"

She nodded. "Yes yes yes!"

"Alright we let's go talk to this sniper real quick, let him know we're heading out of town for a few hours." I crouched down and adjusted the strap on the rifle, then hung it on Jenny's shoulders. She adjusted it to where it was comfortable, and smiled up at me. We left the room, locking it and made our way to the dinosaur.

Entering the shop, I nodded to the shopkeeper, before heading up the stairs to the mouth. I knocked on the door and waited for the sniper to answer.

"Come on in," he said through the door. We went through and were greeted, surprisingly, by a First Recon sniper, though he wasn't in uniform.

"What's First Recon doing out here?" I questioned.

He chuckled before saying, "I'm retired, man. How'd you recognize the beret? You serve?"

I nodded, pulling out my dog tags. He stiffened when he saw the pin, and almost saluted. Then he relaxed, and looked me up and down.

"Shit what's a Ranger doing out here?"

"I'm retired too, just working as a courier now." I replied.

"And who is this little one?" he asked nodding at Jenny.

"I'm Jenny, James saved me from the Legion," she said, stepping forward and smiling.

Jenny then pulled on my arm and I leaned down. She whispered in my ear and I turned back to Manny.

"You see a man in a checkered suit pass through here?"

The sniper nodded, "Yeah he was traveling with some old friends from a gang I was in. They crashed at my place and left two days ago. The guy owe you something?"

"He stole my package and shot me in the head. Twice. Figured I'd return the favor." I caught Jenny look up at me in surprise.

"Are you talking about the chip? Man I don't think he's letting that go. Tell you what, you do me a favor, and I'll tell you where they went."

I sighed, "Alright what am I doing and where am I going?"

"Straight to the point huh. Well some ghouls have moved into the old rocket testing facility just north of town. Scavenging from there is this town's only source of income. I don't care how you do it, just get them out of there."

I nodded, "I'll have to clear 'em out tomorrow. Today I'm teaching the little one how to shoot. We'll be heading a bit east of town, so don't shoot us."

"Well good luck. Be careful though. I've seen a group of geckos out east a ways, so I'd avoid them if I were you."

"Thanks, but I think you just gave me an idea." I said, turning to leave the sniper nest.

When we exited the building, Jenny spoke up.

"You got shot in the head?"

I turned to her, "Yeah, about four days ago."

She wrapped me in a hug. "I'm glad you didn't die."

"Me too Jenny." I returned the hug. "Now let's go shooting. I figured we could hunt those geckos, and use their skin to make some armor for you. How's that sound?"

"Wow really? That sounds awesome!"

"Alright let's get going," I said, holding Jenny's hand as we left town.