The woman had been straightening out her clothing and thigh-strap when the sudden thought struck her: Boone had no idea what her plan was. More importantly, he didn't know that she'd be letting Benny go.

"Oh, shit!" she cursed, swinging the door open haphazardly and running down the halls as fast as she could. Heels clicked rapidly against the surface of the curved stairwell, reverberating around the casino for all to hear. Curious faces turned to look at the Courier, but she paid no mind to them. Glancing around, only searching for the familiar red beret, she came up empty, and figured that the chairman and the sniper were elsewhere.

The warm air gently whirled her hair back when she exited the casino. It was prime time—moon out, bright lights, drunk NCR rangers, and the usual hustle and bustle of a good night.

Comments like "Hey, doll" and "What's a pretty lady like you doing by herself?" were somewhere around her from a few men. They were, unfortunately for them, ignored, and she absconded along without giving them more than a blink. Again, it felt strange to be looked at, like an actual lady, but she was back in serious business mode in making sure that Benny didn't find himself at the end of Boone's sniper rifle.

Then she saw them. Her eyes picked out the red beret of her companion trailing Benny at a substantial distance so he wouldn't be accused of following him. The Courier knew what Boone was going to do before it even happened: go after him until he's out of the Strip, whip out his gun, and snipe the poor guy right in the head where Freeside would nearly dismiss it as an everyday thing.

The Courier hurried once again until she was a safe distance away from her sniper, but still close enough so she could get a good look.

Just as they were leaving the gate to the Strip, she saw Boone reach back slowly for his rifle. As he held the scope up to his eye, the next thing he felt was a heavy weight on his back with the Courier's arms around his neck. "Boone, stop!" she whispered fiercely.

"Move along, citizen," the securitron ordered per usual, unaware of the situation.

"What the hell …?" he grunted in return, staggering a little before shoving her off. Her eyes were filled with such a passion that he was undertaken for a moment. Eventually, he noted, "So, you're alive, then."

"Yes, I'm alive!" she returned, aghast, gaze still locked on the blissfully ignorant chairman that was on his way outta here.

Boone stared at her a few moments before his eyebrows furrowed in both confusion and disappointment. "So you slept with him, and then let him walk free? At least you have the Platinum chip." No reply. "Right?"

"No. He didn't have it." She jerked her head back towards the gate, an obvious unspoken order that he actually thought twice about obeying. The woman liked to speak while on the move, otherwise she got antsy or uncomfortable (especially under the gaze of someone as cold as Boone). "Let's go," she pressed.

The woman was polite as hell, wore a kind smile, and was usually pretty lenient. She was definitely upset about this. One thing's for sure, she didn't look as pretty when she was angry.

He followed.

"I didn't sleep with him. I lulled him into a false sense of security, just like I told you I would. I made out with him to relax him a bit, and then he got caught up in the moment. He felt my combat knife pressed up against his jugular and realized what deep shit he was in," she explained a little too bitterly. So she was a bit self-conscious about his opinion; she couldn't help it. He was one of her companions and if he didn't approve, other people didn't, and her actions really didn't seem worth it.

Right now, with her smooth lips, arched eyebrows, outlined and sparkling eyes, and soft-looking complexion, he could barely take her seriously when she stated she had nearly cut his throat open. She didn't look like his strong superior anymore that took names and didn't put up with the bullshit happenings occurring in the Mojave on a daily basis at the moment …

"But you let him free. You let the man that nearly killed you walk free." Boone shook his head. "I don't get you."

"Not asking you to understand. Just let me handle things the way I wish. All I ask from you is to watch my back and stay loyal."

The sniper didn't say anything further, but the Courier knew he had heard her loud and clear.


About an hour had passed since Benny almost got a hole in his head.

The Courier washed the make-up off of her face and changed into a nightgown, still enjoying the leisure of the Lucky 38 presidential suite before they left sometime tomorrow to travel onwards to help the cyberdog in her possession.

Said animal had found a nice place on the floor, enjoying the cleanliness, apparently, and curiously watched the Courier as she moved around the room. She found Rex to be incredibly cute, and wondered how well he'd be in combat. If she took Boone with her, which she wasn't sure about yet, the two would make a good back-up team. Boone was ranged, Rex got up close, and the Courier herself was a little bit of both.

She wasn't feeling particularly satisfied with how their conversation ended earlier. It was too open-ended, too much room for interpretation. She looked back on her tone of voice, posture, look, and realized that she probably was portrayed as a downright bitch.

Knocking softly on the guest bedroom door as to not wake up Raul (if he was asleep, she wasn't sure), she glanced over at the ever-smiling Victor. The door opened to reveal a slightly disheveled Boone.

"Did I wake you?"

Back to her old behavior. Knowing that she had cooled down a bit, he shook his head. "No."

There was a small interval of silence. "I'm sorry for earlier. I know that what I did must have seemed incredibly stupid, but I had a … a feeling. Guess I thought with my heart instead of my brain. Not to say I feel much compassion for him, or anything. But when the time came, I just couldn't kill him."

"It's fine."

She looked like she wanted to add more, mouth slightly agape, but it eventually clamped shut and she averted her eyes. "Well. Tomorrow we're headed to Jacobstown. Up for it?"

"Sure."

With that, the conversation was over. She straightened up and nodded to him, then ventured back to the confines of her room. Tired as she was, she wasn't sure she'd be getting much sleep.