A/N: Okay, I'm not completely happy with this chapter. Personally, I think I could've done better, but, after thinking it over for a few days, this is what I got. Enjoy and, please, tell me what you think of it! Thanks for reading!
It was late afternoon and the sun was just on the crest of the horizon. The sky was covered in a spectacular orange and peach color mixed with dazzling crimson and with white wisps of clouds that spread across the open sky. The setting sun cast long shadows of everything its deep golden rays touched. The Wasteland truly was beautiful… at least when it wasn't trying to kill you or destroy your life.
Colt didn't get to take in this beauty as he thought of what to do next in his search for Cass and her kidnappers. Of course, he and Boone already had a location; New Vegas. They were heading to the bright lights and glamour of the city because of a clue etched into the back of Cass' rose pendant. The clue? Two letters that seemed to be etched in with a rock or some other type of mineral. The two letters were NV. Colt took it as a sign from Cass and managed to convince Boone to trek along with him so that they could find the kidnapped woman and the gang.
The two walked up the ramp to the overpass pit stop known as the 188 Trading Post. The 188 was a patched up rest stop where traders, travelers, NCR citizens and troopers stopped in on their way to and from Vegas. The main two buildings were made of pieces of buses; one piece was used as a storeroom and the other was tipped on its side and had a wooden makeshift bar around it. Colt and Boone headed for the bar, all the while passing the storeroom, which was occupied with boxes and a bed with a man sleeping on it, a group of NCR troopers who were having a small discussion while sitting at a decaying picnic table, two men, draped in leather armor, who were pitching an old tent, and a man and woman eating at another picnic table.
Boone and Colt also passed a woman who was looking towards the west. She was wearing old, green, shaggy robes and had, what looked like, a pneumatic gauntlet on her hand. Colt ignored her, thinking she was just another traveler, and took a seat next to Boone at the bar. As soon as he sat down, Colt removed his hat and placed it on the bar counter. He brushed his hand through his chestnut hair, letting his scalp breathe for the first time since he left Novac.
A woman behind the bar addressed the two men, "What would you two gentlemen like this evening?"
"We're fine," Boone answered as he waved her off, "You sure we can follow this mysterious etching? It seems kind of shady to me," Boone asked, turning to Colt. As soon as Boone said something, Colt felt eyes turn on him; as if someone was watching him and Boone. He just shook off the feeling.
"I'm sure we can follow it," Colt leaned in on the counter, "Do you think it's an ambush?"
"That's exactly what I think."
"Sorry to disappoint you, but those idiotic gang members thought I was dead. They wouldn't set up an ambush for a dead man. The question is," Colt continued as he scratched his chin and beard, "Why are they going to Vegas and how can we find them once we get there?"
"We could always go to the Courier. I'm sure he would know; those damned Securitrons keep track of everyone that comes in and out of the Vegas Strip. He took over the whole system, once House was killed, so that he could keep a look out for any enemies he made."
"Alright, we'll got to him and ask… if you're so sure about him."
"I don't like him, but he'll be our best shot at finding out where this gang went to."
At that instance, the woman that Colt and Boone passed on their way to the bar sat in the stool on Colt's right. She rested her elbow on the counter and her head in her hand and looked at the two men.
"Hi," the woman said nonchalantly.
Colt turned his head slowly to her, "Uh… hi," he responded, not sure why this woman would just walk up and talk to him.
"My name's Veronica," she said, turning the barstool to Colt and extending her hand. As she swung the barstool around, her knee made contact with Colt's right calf armor plating, pressing it against his wound. Searing pain rolled up from the wound and into his mind. It jolted and shocked his nervous system once more.
Colt held his hand to the wound and slammed his head on the counter, "Fuck me!" he yelled as the pain speared his leg.
"What? Excuse me, but I'm not that easy," Veronica scoffed as she rolled her eyes, "Men…"
"Its not that Veronica," Boone explained, turning to face her, "You hit a bullet wound he has on his right leg."
"Oh… hi Boone. It's nice to see you again."
"Hello!" Colt yelled as he lifted his head, "I'm in pain and you two are having a friendly conversation?"
"Ugh, some people are so rude."
"What? You're the one who interjected into our conversation! Then you hit my bullet wound and didn't even say sorry!"
"I'm sorry, okay? I didn't know you were shot," Veronica apologized. He saw it in her eyes; she didn't mean any harm. She was just trying to be funny and brighten everyone's day. She was just being nice... Colt felt like a bastard for acting the way he did.
"I-It's alright. I know you didn't mean to be rude or anything," Colt said, his cheeks turning a rosey red for his embarrassing overreaction, "It's just been a long couple days, is all."
"I just saw Boone over here," Veronica continued to explain, "So I decided to say 'hi'."
Colt lifted his head up further and remembered to earlier when Veronica first sat down; her and Boone were talking like old friends.
"Wait," Colt turned to Boone, "You know her?"
Boone looked at Veronica and then at Colt, "Yeah, but it's a long story."
"Then give me the short version."
Boone sighed, "Well, it began when the Courier recruited me in Novac. We traveled for a bit in the southern parts of the Mojave and, one day, we decided to head north and to New Vegas; he had to go there anyway. That's when we stopped here and he met," Boone gestured to the woman next to Colt, "Veronica. After that, he got drunk and we had a… disagreement. He told me to scram, so I left. I didn't really care."
"A 'disagreement'?" Veronica asked, almost laughing at the word, "You punched him in the face."
"The bastard insulted my wife. He deserved it."
"Okay," Colt exclaimed, interfering before the situation could escalate, "Clam down. Now, Veronica, you know this 'Courier'?"
"Yeah," she nodded, "Well, I knew him before I decided to leave."
"Did you part on good terms?"
"Good enough. At least I didn't punch him," Veronica remarked, smiling and looking at Boone. Colt waved off Boone, who was getting ready to stand, and continued the conversation with Veronica. "What does it matter?" she asked, her head tilted slightly.
"Because," Colt dug into one of his pouches, pulled out Cass' pendant, thinking of her, and began to twirl it around in his fingers, "I need help finding a kidnapped friend of mine. It would've been a waste to go there and expect the Courier to do something for Boone. I need someone who can persuade him. You think you can help?"
"Yeah, sure, I can help. But, I have just one question; who was your friend?"
"A woman. A woman I care deeply about," a tear came to Colt's eye as he thought about Cass.
Veronica's eyes widened as she caught a glimpse of the pendant, "That's Cass' pendant!"
Colt looked up, surprised she even knew whom Cass was, "How do you know Cass?"
"The Courier picked her up from the Mojave Outpost. She didn't like him very much, though, you could tell just by how she looked at him when he was around. She spent a lot of time around the Lucky 38, not wanting to go with him. One day, they got into an argument and Cass knocked a tooth out of his mouth. She left after that. Anyway, how did you get a hold of her pendant?" Colt just let his head fall and looked down, his eyes closed. Veronica gasped, "Was she the one who was kidnapped?" Colt nodded solemnly. Veronica clapped her hand to her mouth, out of shock of how such a tough woman could get kidnapped. "How did it happen?"
Colt heaved a heavy sigh. He felt a cold tear come to his eye, but he held it back before it could trickle down his cheek, "It happened last night. Two men broke into our motel room, shot me, knocked her out with some kind of drug and kidnapped her."
"Oh my god. Who were the men?"
"One was named 'Ivan'. Don't know who his friend was. They were members of this gang I have a long history with. They're called the 'Stallions'," fire caught up in Colt's chest at the mention of the gang. But, he managed to extinguish it before continuing, "Boone and I went to that dry lakebed to the south because I had a lead the gang was supposed to be there, but, we didn't find anything. Well, we found this," Colt lifted up the pendant, "With two letters etched into the back; NV. I took it as sign from Cass and being the initials for 'New Vegas', so that's where we're heading and I plan on enlisting the Courier's help… that is, if you help us."
"Of course I will," Veronica said, reassuring Colt, "He owes me after I helped him with a little job the NCR needed done… and, I kinda like Cass. A little rough around the edges, but she was alright."
"Great," Colt felt a shimmer of hope generate in his mind. He might just be able to find Cass after all. His chances were getting better and better each and every day. "My name is Colt Spiritson, by the way," Colt said, extending his hand to Veronica.
She smiled and shook Colt's hand, "Veronica Santangelo."
The three talked for a while after that. Colt learned a lot during their conversation.
He learned a little about Boone, but not too much because he kept a lot of secrets. Boone was an ex-NCR First Recon sharpshooter. Colt was pretty damn lucky to have him around; Boone was an excellent shot after all… so long as he had a spotter. He also learned that Boone was married at some point, but became widowed as Legion slavers took his wife. He never went to look for her, like what Colt was doing for Cass. Although, the Courier helped exact revenge on the person who sold his wife. It turned out to be his former friend, Manny Vargas. Even though he knew who sold his wife, Boone thought she was dead.
"Chances are, she's probably dead. Legion slaves don't last long…" he commented while keeping his head low.
Colt changed the subject from the painful conversation and on to their new source of info on finding Cass, the Courier. His name was 'William Hans' and he was of German origin, although not from Germany directly. From what Veronica and Boone said about him, he sounded like a real bastard. William Hans was a suave talker who was more interested in chasing tail than the fate of the Mojave. That probably explains why he didn't keep many followers. Well, he didn't keep the ones that could think for themselves. After the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, William became a lazy good for nothing that drank and drank and drank until he passed out; the drinking even became too much for Cass. Hans resides in the Lucky 38, where he spends most of his time and only ever comes out to get more booze or to get laid.
"So much for the 'Savior of the Mojave'," Veronica commented, "He's all washed up now. But, maybe we can convince him to help us. It may be what he needs to get off his ass and do something other than kill his liver."
After the conversation about Hans, they moved on to Veronica. Hans picked her up at the 188… and tried to pick her up on the way to Vegas. She kept shooting him down until she broke and confessed that she wasn't… interested… in men.
"It didn't stop him none," Veronica said, amused at how desperate he was, "The horny bastard tried even harder after I told him that."
Besides that she was a lesbian and that she thought Hans was a creeper, Colt also learned that Veronica was with the Brotherhood of Steel as a Scribe and "Procurement Specialist".
"Sounds important to me," Colt commented.
"Yeah, it sounds important," Veronica scoffed at the comment, "It basically means 'grocery shopper'."
She didn't seem to like being a Brotherhood member… or the Brotherhood didn't like her being a member. Either way, Colt dropped the conversation and the three sat in silence for a few minutes before Veronica asked about Colt and what brought him so far from the NCR.
Colt braced himself to retell his story. He started with the destruction of his ranch and the death of his family and how he tracked the gang all the way to the Mojave. He held back tears as he told the story of his painful past. Then, he explained the confrontation in Nipton; how a small raiding party of the gang members found Colt and intercepted him and Cass at the small town. He explained the fight and how he got the information leading to the lakebed. Finally, he recollected about the kidnapping and attempted murder; how the gangsters came in during the night, shot Colt, and kidnapped Cass while leaving Colt to slowly die of blood loss.
"That sounds like quite the ordeal," Veronica said after the long story.
"It was," Colt commented, "It was an ordeal and, now, I have only one clue where this gang may or may not be… and I pray to God that they're there."
Colt flipped the pendant back and forth through his fingers throughout the conversation, thinking of Cass.
"Well, it's getting kind of late. I'm going to turn in for the night," Boone said as he stood from the stool.
"It is getting late," Veronica agreed, stretching her arms out.
Colt didn't even notice it, but the sun had set and the Mojave was covered in an inky blackness. A few lights were on around the 188, but that didn't stop the darkness from encasing most of the overpass. With the night came an empty trading post as everyone, travelers and soldiers alike, set up beds and tents for the night. Colt stood with Veronica and Boone and followed them to an old white trailer set up on the right side of the overpass.
They stepped up into the trailer and inside where four mattresses were spaced a foot or two apart. Colt claimed the far left mattress, Veronica took the one to the right of his and Boone took the mattress to the right of hers. Colt set Cass' bag, her shotgun, and his own assault rifle down next to the mattress. He didn't even bother to take off his armor; it was too much of a hassle taking it off and putting it back on, so, he laid down on the stiff mattress, fully dressed in his combat armor.
He constantly rolled over and over, trying to sleep, but couldn't. During the time he was awake, Colt thought about Cass. Whether or not if she was okay and what those crazed bastards were doing to her. At least, he didn't want to think about what they were doing to her.
Don't worry, Colt reassured himself, She can handle herself. He kept saying this over and over again in his mind.
Colt pulled out Cass' pendant once again and looked at it. All doubt was erased from his mind as he twirled the pendant around in his fingers. She was smart, tough, and knew how to fight. She'll be just fine. Colt fell asleep a few minutes later, with the pendant in the middle of his clenched fist.