Sick with apprehension, Layla entered Caesar's tent, taking a deep breath and trying to at least give the appearance that she was calm.

There were a handful of men in the tent, and when Layla stepped in, they all turned to her, growing quiet as the tension suddenly became palpable. The girl noticed Vulpes Inculta among them, his piercing eyes boring into hers. In defiance, she squared her shoulders and marched toward the man sitting on the elaborate throne in the center of the tent. Caesar looked her over as she approached, his face hard to read. His expression then hardened into a sneer, and he spoke.

"So, this is the one who destroyed my troops at Nelson and ruined my plans with the Omertas. The one who has caused me so much trouble." Layla fought to keep the neutral look on her face, even as she could feel sweat start to bead on her neck.

"And here you are, bold as can be, in front of the mighty Caesar. Why?" The Courier frowned at his question, as she was unable to come up with a definite answer. She hadn't let herself really think about it until now. She realized the truth, as stupid as it was: she came her because she was curious. There was the Platinum Chip sure, but the opportunity to see how the Legion worked from the inside was too much to pass up. She couldn't say that, so she reached for another answer.

"You guaranteed my safety." The Courier tried not to think about how lame that had sounded. Caesar raised an eyebrow, but the grimace held on his face.

"And you trusted that? Really? Because I'm going to have you killed now." The tension in the room rose to a crescendo. Layla eyes widened, glancing up at the guards, at Inculta, who returned her look with a feral smile. Then Caesar grinned.

"I'm just fucking with you."

Layla stared dumbly at him, his words didn't process for a moment. A few of the guards chuckled. She was barely able to keep a laugh down as suddenly the tension was gone from the room. It was at that moment The Courier suddenly realized the real game had begun.

This wasn't a friendly meeting, this wasn't idle curiosity on his part, this was a test. The man who sat across the room from her had made an empire by talking his way out of imprisonment, turning his enemies into his servants. She was at a disadvantage, several actually. She had walked in scared and unsure, disturbed by the slaves and slavers alike. Caesar must have realized this, and had tested her. He had the first win of this battle of wills.

Layla considered herself a modest girl, but she knew she had a gift with words. At least, that was what she was told. In reality, it was empathy that she used. If she could put herself in another's place, she could coax out what they knew, or wanted, or what she wanted. She had walked into this camp hoping not to have to get into a fight she couldn't win, with fists or guns or knives. She certainly hadn't expected to walk into the only fight she possibly could win alone.

Caesar was appraising her while she did the same to him, and she wondered just how much he knew about her. If he knew what he was dealing with.

"Why did you want me to come here?"

The aging man smiled coldly, "Because when you want something, you get it. Wherever you go, things get done. Hostages go free, rockets fill the night sky, and casino bosses flee."

"You seem to know an awful lot about me." Layla let her eyes pointedly wander to Vulpes Inculta, who was still watching her like a predator watching prey. Caesar noted her focus.

"It behooves me to know the land I'm to conquer. That includes the people who change things in it."

Information was another advantage in his vast repertoire, and Layla knew it. She mostly had rumors about Caesar, and most of them from scared NCR soldiers or the frenzied screams of Legionaries. She grasped at the question that burned in her mind beyond these thoughts.

"What do you want me to do?"

The aging man leaned back in his chair, face still neutral even as he smiled. "I plan to take back my dam and make New Vegas my Rome. I can't do that with House playing king. I need him out of the picture, and you are going to do it."

"And why do you think I'm going to do that?" She was gambling now, the tone she used seemed to rankle a few of the Praetorians, but the one who seemed to be their leader gave them threatening looks. That was heartening, Caesar clearly wanted her to talk. She looked back at the man, who's eyes were still searching hers.

"You wouldn't be here if your employer had your blind loyalty." His smile became more natural. "I'm sure he may have told you to come here, to find this," he held up the Platinum Chip. "But you didn't come before me just for this. You're an open book, who's ending hasn't been decided. And you don't trust House." He held out the chip to the girl, who stepped to him and took it. She looked at it for a moment, the remains of her scar itching slightly. Layla's eyes snapped back to Caesar's with a challenging look.

"What makes you think I won't just take it all for myself? Or hand it over to the NCR?" She had forced his move now. Either he thought for sure she'd work for him or he was going to reveal his treachery. The tension that had left the room was back, even thicker now. She could feel every eye in the tent boring into her, though she kept her gaze steady on his.

"You're a clever woman. You see Mojave before you." Caesar seemed calm, this question didn't seem to be a surprise to him. "You see the lies and weakness of the NCR. The poor planning of their army, the mistreatment of resources.

"The NCR will fall, and we will take them. It is inevitable. We will win. You can make this victory far less traumatic to the Mojave, and you know it's the only conclusion to this war."

She had him, and it took everything she had not to smile. Hubris blinded Caesar, and it shouldn't have surprised her. A legion where he stood as God-King for years, held together by his will. It had gone to his head and blinded him. He didn't consider that the girl before him could come to any other conclusion than to submit to him.

Layla kept her face neutral, she had to play this right. She could walk away from this encounter without injury, having gained the platinum chip and its secrets. She just had to convince him she was on board.

"So what do you want me to do with the chip?"

"Go down to the weather station. There's a panel that bears the insignia of the Lucky 38. It also happens to have a slot the size of the chip. I want you to go find what's in that bunker, and destroy it."

A slightly confused look came to Layla's face. "Why don't you have your men do it?"

Caesar smiled at her. "Because if my men see it, I'll have to kill them. Whatever it is in there, a gigantic robot or a super weapon, it represents battle without sacrifice. My men fight for blood. How can victory be obtained with no sacrifice?"

Layla kept a neutral look on her face, despite being mildly horrified at the man's words. He sounded insane. She instead plastered a grin on her face. "I guess I have work to do then."

Caesar's grin almost convinced her she had fooled him, but there was an edge to it, dangerous and subtle.

"I'm sure you noticed our guest. I've let him know you'll decide his fate once you've finished with the bunker. You should go remind him of it on the way out."

Blinking, Layla looked in the direction of the man's gaze and felt her heart drop into her stomach. Benny was kneeling in one of the side tents, hands bound and face bloodied. She hadn't even seen him when she had walked in, focused as she was on Caesar.

Her eyes flew back to the old man, who smiled at her like the devil. "Your first reward for service is choosing his death. You can kill him yourself, bound as he is now or in a fight to the death, or order him crucified. You will choose."

She was wrong. She didn't have Caesar fooled. He didn't trust her yet, and her real test was looking at her from the side tent. If he had his spies watching her as much as it seemed, he had to know her nature, and this was to make sure she had the nerve and bloodlust to be among the Legion.

His face was neutral, and she backed away from where he stood without a word, going to Benny instead. The Chairman didn't look like he had been treated very well by his hosts. Bruises painted his face and blood spattered his checkered coat. He still managed a toothy grin at her when she approached.

"Hey baby, go ahead and laugh. I can appreciate the irony here." He sounded calm, but he looked incredibly happy to see the girl. Oddly, she found herself just as relieved to see him. She chalked it up to the fact he was the first non-legionnaire she'd seen in hours. They stared at each other for a moment, then The Courier spoke.

"I'll laugh later. Right now I need some answers. What's the deal with this chip?" she asked, holding it up for him to see.

"It's the key to the city, some kind of upgrade to the securitrons. The bunker here is where it gets uploaded."

"Caesar wants it destroyed," Layla said. Benny kept smiling.

"And both of us know you're not working for that square. I hadn't planned on telling them anything about it, but let's just say they can be persuasive." His grin faltered a little, especially at the sick face the girl made at him.

"Cheer up, Doll, you've got my legacy now. Go take Vegas for yourself."

"We'll see." Layla said, and looked around casually. Caesar seemed to be ignoring her. She looked back at the Chairman, moving closer and whispering, "But first I'm getting you out of here."

"That's sweet of you to offer, but if you cut these ropes, the whole tent will be on top of you. Get me a stealth boy and a bobby pin though…" He winked at her, and she frowned.

"I'll see what I can do."

"Well, you're a real sport, you know that? I'll be right here, waiting," he gave her another grin. She stepped away from him, carefully pulling her casual face back together as she turned.

The girl knew she was in trouble. If Caesar was going to believe she was on his side, she would have to put Benny to death. She may have considered it in her darker moments, but the weasel didn't deserve to die on a Legion cross, even after what he'd done to her.

She had lost after all. She wasn't going to murder her would-be murderer, and Caesar would know she wasn't subscribing to his ideal. He wouldn't, couldn't let her live, at least not freely, and her mind wrapped around what the dark realities of the alternatives to death could be.

Layla wasn't going to play his game, but she didn't plan on surrendering. She'd find out what the bunker had to offer, then come back and make her decision. Only it wouldn't be the one he expected. "Then again," she though, looking at Caesar, "maybe it is."

Nearing the tent flap, Layla nearly ran into Vulpes Inculta as he stepped into her path.

"Where's your pet sniper?" he hissed predatorily, taking a step closer. The girl balked at first, but refused to back up as he invaded her personal space. The Legionary came close enough to skim the surface of her armor with his, "You barely go anywhere without him. I'd say lover's quarrel, but then again, you're not lovers…"

"We had a falling out," Layla lied, breath hitching in her chest. His eyes bore into her, as if trying to see the truth in her mind. Almost everyone suspected there was something between the sniper and herself, but not many knew the details. Just how closely had Inculta been watching them?

His statement alone served to tell her his mind worked just as hers did. Empathy. Could he sense her fear now? Was he able to see her lies and where her loyalty was? How much she desperately wished Boone was at her side now? If any of this was apparent, he didn't make any obvious sign of it.

The Legionary was her opposite in many ways. He used intimidation to instill fear just as she used her charm to soothe and disarm. Only at this moment, her charm was faltering under his intimidation, and he knew it. She suddenly felt more trapped and alone than she had in the entirety of the time she had spent in the camp.

The Frumentarii suddenly smiled at her, and The Courier couldn't tell if he believed her lies or not. "You will prove very useful to Caesar, if your loyalties stand where you say." Without another word, he stepped aside and let her pass.

Layla hurried out of the tent and down to the weather station, ignoring any of the Legionaries who looked her way. Mentally, she wrestled with how she was going to get Benny out. She had to get to her gear and her last stealth boy. She considered for a moment just using the thing herself and sneaking out, but she had to upload the platinum chip's information into the securiton's computers.

Beyond that, no matter how much of an ass Benny had been to her, she couldn't leave him here to a torturous death. She knew this would spell her own doom, but she could sneak at least one gun into her armor. She'd take as many of them with her as she could. It all just depended on her getting to her gear.

When Layla reached the battered weather station, she found a soldier guarding the door. The man pushed a small crate toward her with his foot. "While you are carrying out Caesar's wishes, you may have your equipment back."

The girl smiled genuinely for the first time in what felt like years.

Hope you're enjoying it so far. Leave a review if you're so inclined :D