Chapter Six Deathclaws and Number Six
"Take this you piece of shit!" Cass yelled as she pumped her shotgun at the nearest Powder Ganger. As he went down, Cass saw her companion, Penny toe to toe with his teammate. Penny dodged all his punches until she gave him one of her uppercuts and that ganger fell.
"Well, I thought we took all of them out back at Goodsprings," Cass dusted off her hands and walked over to Penny, who was bent down and rummaging through the man's belongings. Taking some money and ammo and stashing it in her various pockets, Penny smiled. "I hope so. If not, well, I can always use more ammo."
Cass laughed as the women went to the wagon and continued on. The sun was still high in the sky. Penny predicted if they manage to get to Cass' caravan, hopefully not running into anything else, they would get there with enough time to reach a safehouse Penny knew about.
About a few miles down the road, they were stopped by an old miner. He stepped in the middle of the road, waving his arms. As they approached him, Penny quickly scanned the area. Seeing no immediate danger, she walked to the old man and waved her hand.
"Finally they send someone… well one person is better than nothing that's for sure," he expressed with a sigh. Cass crossed her arms and stared at Penny, who smirked and shrugged at her.
"Listen, we are just passing through. We have to make it to the Strip within the day. I would love to help, but I am kind of in a bind."
The old man bowed his head, "So, you are not NCR. Your armor misled me. I am sorry. Be on your way."
Guilty thoughts penetrated her mind and she gave Cass the look. Once Cass saw it, she shrugged and threw her arms in the air.
"We are never going to get to New Vegas, are we?" Cass exasperated.
Penny looked at the old man and held out her hand, "Name's Penny. Ex-NCR."
"Penny. Name's Chomp Lewis. So, you ladies heading up the Strip huh? Well, we are kind of in a pickle. Our generator isn't working and our old girl is injured. Might seem minor, but that is nothing compared to the deathclaws that are roaming in the quarry."
"Wait. Deathclaws? I though they avoided the road leading up to New Vegas?" Cass asked.
Chomp shook his head. "Nope. Ever since the Powder Gangers took the dynamite from the quarry, they made their home in the area up north. So I would exercise extreme caution. Heck, I'd even tell you to just turn back around.
Cass shook her head, "No. We already made it this far… ugh. But deathclaws?"
Chomp nodded, "Well if you girls are packing some heat, I beat you can take care of some of them."
Penny smiled, "I've handled them before. Not sure if I'd tango with one."
The old man smiled, "So that's the story. We've been waiting for the NCR to come by and help out by giving us some dynamite for the quarry, but the creatures made it their home."
Penny looked thoughtfully at the two people standing behind Chomp. She thought about what kind of weapons she brought, the cargo she was guarding, and what she would encounter if she headed up north. She then looked at Chomp, "Is there a pack? How many are we talking?"
"Yes. Probably about 15 of them. Some of them roam away from the quarry and wander. There is an Alpha and Mother deathclaw." The last comment received a low, "oh shit," from Cass and a whistle from Penny. "Oh, well that complicates everything. I was thinking just a group of five… but 15 with those two… Cass."
Cass shook her head, "Man, nope. People are easy, but deathclaws? I may be good but not that good. "
Penny smiled, "Aw, all we need to do is take out those two and the rest will scatter! I have seen it before; this might take a lot of stealth…" She walked over and pulled out her bag from the wagon. Rummaging through it, she found her beloved sniper rifle.
"Now, I might not be the best sniper in the whole damn Mojave but I think I can take them down… give me a few shots." Smiling, she walked next to Chomp, "Sign me up sir. I will take care of that. Shouldn't take me too long."
Chomp gave her a concerned stare, "Are you sure you want to go alone? Maybe take some of our supplies…" "No! I can do it. Cass, stay here. See what you can do about the other things. I will hopefully make it back by sundown."
Cass was about to spat back a remark when Penny turned around and winked at her. "We have to go New Vegas soon. I promised. "
With her mouth left hanging, Cass watched as Penny strolled away, whistling as she held her sniper rifle in her arms.
Boone and Veronica looked around, trying to look for any clues that might've have some lead for the scene that lay before them. Veronica checked the body and Boone looked around, checking footprints, any sort of residue, and anything unusual. So far, they found nothing and all they had was a person dead with bullet hole in their head.
"Shit, this is the fourth courier. Ugh. Four dead. And again we are a few steps behind. At least they can clear their tracks. Whoever it is don't like to leave anything behind. Just like the others… Impressive," remarked Veronica as she stepped away from the body and looked at Boone. He still circled around, thinking about what had happened to the dead courier.
After a few moments of silence, Boone stopped, bent down and picked up something. Surprised, Veronica ran to him and watched him inspect the item.
"A cigarette butt… it's unique. It's not the type that is usually smoked by soldiers… or raiders. Legion soldiers don't smoke. So it has to be anyone from the Strip. " Boone observed. He handed over the butt to Veronica who took a quick glance.
"Marked on the side, distinct smell… I agree. This has to be someone's favorite brand of cigarette."
Boone took out one of his cigarettes and lit it up. "That is are only lead; Three dead people and only one clue to help us find out who killed them."
Veronica pocketed the butt and looked at Boone, "Do you think that House is purposefully killing of these people?" He stared out in the distance and took a couple of drags from his cigarette.
"Perhaps. We don't have a lot of information that points to House. I think so far, the people who are being killed weren't carrying the item we are seeking. Exactly what the item is, that in itself is a mystery. However, this means we have to get to the next few couriers or we will never obtain it."
"Alright. Let's get to the next one. The intel suggests he is coming up from south on I-15. We can contact one of our agents in the Outpost to stall him," Veronica suggested as she stood next to Boone. He nodded and threw out his cigarette, "Then there's no time to lose. We can make it there within the night. Let's go."
As he opened the door of the old bar, the man sat down and nodded at the barkeep. The bartender brought him a beer and a pack of cigarettes. After a few sips of his beer, he looked around the bar. Once he saw him, he stood up and walked over. Sitting down, he took a sip of his beer and stared.
"Money first," he said. The man across from him smiled, placed his gun on the table, and went into his coat pocket. He fished out a bag of filled with caps and slid it across the table.
"I am assumin' you sent that one six feet under. Good. Were you followed?" he asked.
The hitman took the bag and opened it, "Nope. No one on my tail. All she had was the package and the note for the delivery. Is this all of it?"
"Baby, you think I would cheat you out of a few caps? I am a man of my word, dig? As long as I know she's dead, what's yours is yours. Do you have what she was carrying?"
He watched as the hitman pulled out the item and kept his disappointment down when he saw it wasn't what he was looking for, "Here you go. That's what she carried, along with the note."
He picked up the key and pocketed it, "Thank you boy-o. Not what I was hopin' for. As we discussed, there are a couple more cats to whack and the clock is a-tickin'. Looks like the big boss man may be onto me. So make like a spook and find the fifth one. Meet then at Nipton for payment."
The hitman nodded and raised his beer to the man across from him, "'Course, won't take me long. Same payment?"
The man smiled, "Yes. Same as before."
The hitman drank the rest of the beer and placed it on the table, "Good, I will see you around. Thanks for the beer."
As he turned away, the man grabbed his gun and pointed it directly at him. "Sorry for this, but I can handle the rest from here."
One shot and the hitman went down. The man stood up and went to the body. He pulled out the bag of caps and pocketed them back in his pocket. He stood up and straightens his coat. The bartender came over to observe the scene. She looked at the man's body and gave him a sneer, "Benny, stop bringing people in here. It seems like every time, there's a body for me to clean up."
Benny lit up his cigarette and smiled at her, "I am sorry honey-baby. Ben-man wants to keep most of his affairs off record. Here's this for all the trouble." He placed the bag of caps and walked away. The bartender rolled her eyes, but hastily took the bag away.
Opening the door, Benny breathed deeply and stared at the Lucky 38 off the in the distance.
"Time to call them in. Ugh, Bingo would skin me for askin' them for help. Them, of all people. No time to dwell on that now. It's time to swing, baby." Benny smiled and headed out of the town, determined to get to those who would help him finish the job.
Penny saw the first one roaming around an abandoned machine. Crouching, she slowly trekked closer and closer towards the creature. "Ohgod, ohgod, ohgod…" was her mantra as she kneeled and took her postion. "Ah, damnit. Right about now is when I need you Boone. Alright, slow and easy Penn, you got this. Down the sight…"
Penny took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger. The deathclaw let out a loud screech before it fell forward onto the ground. Penny let out a sigh and stood up. "Damn, I hope that there aren't a lot of them in there. Or I am screwed. "
She stood up, put the rifle behind her and walked towards the entrance of the quarry.
Looking through her binoculars, she found two more up the ridge and then some roaming within the quarry itself. She couldn't spot the Alpha or Mother deathclaw. Penny tried to control her breathing, but she felt her panic rise through her chest. "Deathclaws. Cmon Penny, easy as pie. You have dealt with worse before. Oh wait, what's worse than a deathclaw… ok. Just take the two down. Plan… climb to the ridge. Take those two out. Camp and find the other ones… Shit I should go up higher… hike all the way to the top and just snipe them down. Yeah. Better. Oooooh. I can do this. I can… aut viam inveniam aut faciam."
She pulled out her first aid kit and took out a syringe. Taking a deep breath, she stabbed the syringe into her neck. Seething, Penny slowly pressed the plunger and felt the warm liquid flow throughout her entire body.
Closing her eyes, Penny sat there for a moment and allowed for the drug to take effect. The familiar feeling settled in and she opened her eyes. Standing up, Penny promptly checked her gun and swung it over her shoulder. This time Penny seemed more… focused. Her perception intensified and she felt her body was ready to take whatever it was to come her way.
As she made her way inside, she climbed onto the ridge. Moving quickly and staying low, she stopped and saw two deathclaws in front of her. Grabbing into one of the grenades on her belt, Penny pulled the pin and hurled the grenade over to them. Covering her eyes, she heard the grenade go off and giving her a couple of seconds, she slowly uncovered her eyes and reached over to her knife. While the deathclaws were stunned by the flash grenade, Penny swiftly lunged towards the first one.
She held her knife and in one quick motion, she plunged the knife into the skull. After it felt, Penny grabbed her lucky .45 and pointed it squarely on the head of the deathclaw. However she didn't anticipate the deathclaw swinging one of its arms blindly towards her. She felt the sheer force of the animal as she was smacked away like a fly. Going over 20 feet away, Penny was slammed into a boulder. She laid there for a few moments, the drug not giving her sense of how hurt she was. Getting to her knees, she took some breaths and saw her gun was a few feet away from the deathclaw. Watching it slowly recover, she sprinted towards her gun and slid. Grasping it, she whipped around and shot several times.
Penny stared at the two animals before her and went over to the first one. Pulling out her knife, she placed it back into the sheath and turned towards the ridge. Checking for loose rocks and soil, she started climbing towards the top. Once there, Penny saw a better view of the complex. Scanning the area for any other creatures, she grabbed her rifle. Seeing no damage was done, Penny began to set up her sniper spot. Looking through the scope of her rifle, she screened the entire quarry until she caught two things within her scope. She could see the Mother deathclaw roaming around with its young along the northeast side of the quarry. Penny took a few more seconds to see if the Alpha was around.
Soon she saw him, standing there in the middle of it all, howling to all the other deathclaws in the area. Penny saw all of them stand straight and responded to their leader's cry. He was bigger than the average deathclaw and its dark skin was covered with many scars. She let out a sigh of appreciation at the creature. Never before had she seen an animal quite it. Shame that she had to take the creature down… she knew that where this pack would go, there would be another one just like him.
She decided to go take down the Mother first. Aiming for her, Penny took a deep breath and took her shot. She missed. The deathclaw noticed the shot and looked around for it, quickly moving its young to a safer location. Penny knew she would lose her shot if she didn't get the Mother.
Her mind drifted to one of the lessons that Boone gave her. She could hear his voice in her mind: "Penny, take a deep breath. Don't aim straight to what you're going for. With this distance, you have to account for everything. Something may change its course. Slow and steady, okay?"
"Ugh… I hate fighting from far away. I love going close and personal. This is just not what I am good at."
Boone laughed, "And I can't fight hand to hand. But you'll teach me right? As long as you can do this, you made be even a decent sniper."
"Haha. No. Sorry. I'll just be content taking people out with my fists and knife. But, ok. I can do this."
Taking another deep breath, Penny saw the Mother and taking her aim, she took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger. Her second shot had made her target. She saw the deathclaw fall and all the young surround her. They made noise which attracted the deathclaw in the area, including the Alpha. Penny witnessed all of them swarm the body of the Mother and stand on their hind legs and let out a cry.
None of them did see the Alpha completely silenced by Penny's single shot and as soon as he fell, the pack scattered. They tried to run out, but some remained with the bodies of their former leaders. Howling into the sky, they made a startling noise that Penny started to tear up.
As soon as there was no danger, Penny slowly made her way down. She sauntered her way to the road and made her way back to Sloan.
"Ok, that should work. Try it again," Cass asked as she placed the last wire into the generator. Chomp nodded and lifted the switch. All the lights around the area turned on and the generator began to buzz. Everyone cheered at Cass, who stood up and beamed. Chomp came over and took her hand.
"Great job there missy! You did it!" Cass shook his hand, "It took a bit, but we got it! Woooo. I say drinks for everyone!"
The miners cheered and they all started to make their way into the mess hall. Cass and Chomp were the last to enter until Snuffles stood on her hind legs. They both looked and saw the woman walking towards them.
"Penny! My god! You're alive!" Cass yelled as she ran over. Chomp caught up with them in time to catch Penny as she fell forward.
"Penny? Are you ok? My god, Penny?!" Cass pulled her helmet off and saw blood running down one side of Penny's face. Chomp looked over her and saw her skin was flushed. He looked over at Cass.
"We need to get your friend into a bed and looked over now. Ok? Cass, she needs help. Let's get her inside," he urged. Cass nodded and the two of them were careful to lift her and escort her into the workers barracks. Chomp yelled at one of them to get the doctor as he and Cass placed Penny on one of the beds. Moments later, someone came through and quickly checked over Penny. Penny was struggling to keep her eyes open. Her hearing came in and out and she felt like just taking a short nap. She didn't recall the doctor checking her vitals and giving his diagnosis to Chomp and Cass.
"She's hurt badly… concussion, bruised back, broken ribs… its amazing she walked all the way over… I don't have everything I need to treat her…"
"Wait, she kept supplies with her guns. She might have something there…"
"Ok, let's get that and quickly take her out of her armor…"
"…Penny, please. Don't die."
"You are cleared to pass Logan, here's your papers. Anytime you pass through NCR checkpoints, show the men there these. Alright, any questions?"
"How far to Primm? And is there anything I should be aware about the area?" Logan asked.
"Primm is about 13 miles down the road. There are bands of fiends in the area as well as local wildlife. Take great care about traveling. You won't face a lot of Legionnares but just keep a close eye out, ok?"
"Thank you ma'am. You have been a great help." Logan gave her a beam and waved as he walked out. Leaving the building, he saw that the sun was setting. Realizing that he didn't want to trek the journey to Primm, he decided to stay the night at the outpost. Remembering that there was a bar, he made his way over, thirsty for a cold beer.
Opening the door, Logan found a seat at the bar. He placed his belongings beside him as he sat on the stool. Waving at the bartender, he requested several beers and laid several caps on the table. After the beer was placed in front of him, he pulled out the papers from his pocket and looked them over.
"Alright, go to the Mojave express and drop off this to Johnson. Then pick up the delivery for… House. After than… that should be enough money to get home. Good, good."
Little did he realize the danger of carrying a certain package to House would entail.
Sooooo. We finally get to meet the Courier! Yes! He's in this story too! Yay!
And Penny was dealt a heavy blow with the deathclaws… hopefully she's a-ok!
I also wanted to touch a little bit about the fate of the other couriers since we really don't know what happened to them in-game. Benny is quite tenacious, isn't he?
Next chapter: Who is behind the attacks of the caravans? How will Logan deal with his impending fate? Will Boone and Veronica be there in time to save the Courier?
You know, I was planning a short story, but that's not gonna happen. Maybe. Nope.
-C