Networking and It's Benefits

I was escorted through the gates to Shady Sands itself, but not the way I initially expected. Even though I was perplexed by the sudden charges brought upon me by the rangers, I took my escort as a brief chance to take in the new city. Sophia was actually allowed to hobble along and was even assisted by the ranger woman who helped her as they took me into custody. I was fairly calm during the ordeal, taking the whole thing better than Sophia who cussed up a storm and hurled insults at the ranger team (Including the one who was helping her along).

Shady Sands was certainly something else. As Ranger Lucas pushed me along, I saw the gazes of hundreds of people, but most simply went about their business. Adobe or "Sandcrete" structures lined the paved roads, all of which had electricity and colorful signs detailing shops and what-not. There were green palm trees on street corners, and green plants along windowsills; I couldn't even tell if the plants or trees were real or not. I passed a "Tradesman Association", cantina, houses, a small adobe hospital, a nice-looking religious institution, and a road that led to some place called, "Westin Ranch."

Still marveling at the surroundings, I was then pushed through a wooden door. I was inside the "Police Station" with wooden plank floors, a waiting area, security desk, and several men in light blue uniforms with bright gold badges. The door slammed shut behind us with a lock, and Sofia was left outside. I heard my wife banging on the door through muffled cuss words, still not taking the situation as calmly as I was.

Not entirely sure what was happening, I was placed on a bench in the waiting area and the rangers called out for the sheriff. I sat there fumbling with the restraints behind my back when a large potbellied man in one of those police uniforms came out to greet the rangers. They talked softly amongst themselves for a few minutes, but I couldn't hear anything due to Sophia's incessant pounding on the police station doors. Then, the rangers began to walk past me out of the building and brought Sophia in. Sophia huffed and puffed as she collected herself through more cursing. The sheriff and a pair of nameless deputies approached.

The sheriff said, "Alright drug pusher, comin from up north were ya?"

The deputies lifted me up and marched me past the desk while one of the others did something to Sophia. I couldn't tell what was happening to her through the yelling, but before I could turn around, my restraints were detached, and I was shoved into a little room. I flipped around towards the hallway, and the doorway immediately generated a clear yellow force field. The thing was soundproofed, and I was locked in an adobe walled interior cell with a barred window, cot, and toilet.

"NCR will take you in."

That is what Detective Paul told me before cracking my skull. I suppose they did "take me in", just not the way I thought they would. I then wondered if this was what Detective Paul expected, after all, he did tend to think further in advance than I did. Regardless, I didn't have any options anymore; I was stuck.

How was I supposed to know NCR's rules on drugs? I didn't even think the rangers could do that based on what the veteran guard said about their jurisdiction. I took a seat on the cot and suddenly realized I still had all of my things! Just as I slung the pack off my shoulders and placed a hand on my holster, I found my gun was gone. Though disarming me seemed obvious when getting arrested, the damned rangers must've swiped it when they restrained me. But, when I opened my pack, the forcefield powered down and two deputies charged over to me nightsticks drawn.

The guys told me to stand up, and I complied. The duo took my pack, turned my pockets inside out, unhooked all the metal armor pieces from my body, and stormed out of the cell again before I could ask what happened to Sophia. Alone with all my belongings stripped away, I sat on the cot and waited. My mind was surprisingly blank considering all that happened recently. With the Jet high from the night before gone, I slowly faded into sleep against the wall.

I wasn't sure how long I was out, but the sun still peeked through the large and barred window. However, standing in front of me was the sheriff and another nameless deputy. The large sheriff said in a gruff tone, "Get up. We're gonna ask you a few questions."

I stirred myself awake, stood up, and the deputy fixed a new set of restraints behind my back. I followed the sheriff out of the little cell and further down the hallway. I peered into the other cells but didn't see Sophia anywhere. Again, before I could ask about my wife, I was pushed into another little room and strapped to a chair across from the sheriff. The door shut and I looked at the old policeman sitting there with a clipboard and pen at the ready. I suddenly got flashbacks to my interview with Tuco and even that slaver boss in Klamath, Fat Jimbo. I have been in too many uncomfortable interviews in my life (Some more life threatening than others).

The sheriff lowered the clipboard, his eyes met mine, and he asked, "So, what brings you to Shady Sands, Mr.?…"

I shrugged, "Mr. Combs, Sean Combs. And didn't you hear? Chem pushing, right?"

He leaned back, "I thought so. Glad you're honest at least. So, the rangers said you came from the north with a caravan, got beat up in a deathclaw attack, and sold a bunch of Jet to the caravan hands in NCR jurisdiction… Not too smart a move in the presence of rangers. You from New Reno?"

I replied, "Sorta. But in all honesty; I didn't even know the laws in NCR territory."

He lectured, "Ignorance of the law is no excuse. We uphold the law in the city, but the rangers bring NCR justice to the surrounding territory…"

Somewhat angry at everything that recently happened to me, and angry the veteran guard lied to me, I shouted, "I didn't know your fucking laws! I also wasn't trying to Deal chems! Oh, and good job 'Upholding the law' I saw a fucking slaver compound just outside the gates!..."

The man tried to get a word in, "Mr. Combs…"

But I kept up, "I got hooked on Jet several months back and came here fleeing New Reno, but I aint no chem pusher! Get me!?"

I calmed myself down, and the sheriff stared at me silently for a moment. He broke the silence by asking, "You were fleeing from New Reno?..."

I nodded and he continued, "So, I'll ask again; what exactly brings you to Shady Sands? Do be honest, your situation isn't a particularly good one, and if you're truly innocent I can work with you."

I felt the tight restraints behind my back, and a question hit me. "I'll tell you everything. But first, where is Sophia?... That shouting woman who came in behind me."

He simply said, "Okay, Sophia is in the lobby. We got her leg fixed up from our doc on call, but she had to be… Restrained to the bench and fixed with tape over her mouth. The rangers told us she was innocent and injured in the attack. However, I could have her brought up on charges for her wild conduct. So, I need you to tell me exactly why you are here."

I felt more compliant knowing my wife wasn't in custody, minus being tied to a bench with her mouth taped shut (but that seemed reasonable). I said, "Alright, I got enslaved and forced to work in a mine up in Redding several months ago. I got hooked on Jet in the process, but was rescued by a friend and headed to New Reno for a fresh start…"

The man's face remained stern as he listened on. "So, there's only one way to make it in that town; by joining one of the Families. The Bishops took me in for a while, and about two months ago I had a run-in with my friend who told me to skip town as things were… Heating up… Couple weeks back, I joined a crew outta New Reno headed south to get away from the Bishops. Caravan got attacked by deathclaws, we got saved by the rangers, and short on cash; I decided to sell some spare Jet so I wouldn't be broke when we got here…"

He took notes the entire time I spoke. When I was done, he looked up and caught my eyes. He asked me two questions that took me a little off guard, "Who helped rescue you from Redding? And who was your buddy you ran into in New Reno?"

I had to think for a moment. After weeks on the road, it was early November, and I'd gone the better part of a year without disclosing the detective's identity or mission details. However, this was different. I was in the capital of NCR; Detective Paul's hometown, and decided to see if my relation to the man could help. I said, "Ok, this has gotta stay a secret, okay?"

The sheriff said, "We'll see. Now who's this 'secret' friend of yours?"

I gave a sigh and said, "The man who saved me from Redding was, 'Detective Paul Letinski' of the 'NCR Covert Operations somethin or other'…"

The man squinted, and I added, "After he saved me from the mine, I been helping out whenever I come in contact with him… He told me to come to NCR territory if I needed to... Turned out I needed to."

The sheriff wrote across his clipboard for several seconds and then lowered it. The guy looked up at me again and said, "Ok, either you're telling the truth, or you're a pretty decent liar. I'm gonna go see how your story checks out, interview your wife, talk to a few specialists, and we'll proceed from there." He stood up and knocked on the metal door.

The same deputy came in, unhooked me from the chair, and led me back to my cell while the sheriff went into a different side room. The forcefield activated again and I took my place on the cot once more awaiting whatever was next. I took that time to catch up on some much-needed sleep. I slept for a while on that cot, and when I awoke, a dim light was flickering above me. The sky outside that window was dark, and standing on the other side of the forcefield was the sheriff and another nameless deputy.

The forcefield clicked off and the deputy said, "Get up, you're free to go."

I rubbed my eyes, stood up, and exited the cell walking towards the waiting area. When I reached the lobby, I saw Sophia sitting on the bench with arms crossed and talking to a man in a clean black suit facing away from me. The man heard my footsteps and turned around to show it was of course; Detective Paul. Paul stood up with a grin and held out his hand.

I couldn't help but grin myself and shook the man's hand while he said, "You get yourself into trouble every time I see you. Haha! How you been? I was just meeting the 'Mrs.' you spoke so much about! Haha!"

I don't think I even mentioned my wife's name to Paul, but I said, "I'm just glad we made it to Shady Sands in one piece, despite all the bullshit" as I gave Sophia a hug.

He said, "Glad you made it, and glad you took my advice… Since you're new in town, you looking for work?"

With that, I gave another grin and replied, "Sure, Paul."

*I have taken some creative liberties with the layouts of some of the locations... If you hadn't noticed so far. Thanks for reading!*