"The day I decided to confront Benny, you were bed-ridden. Hungover or migraine, it didn't matter, you weren't moving. So I took Veronica and ED-E with me. While they looked out of place on the Strip and I was more inconspicuous we slipped into the Tops.

We were met by the greeter who pointed me to Swank. I was as pleasant as I could be laying on a thick layer of sex appeal that even had my stomach churning with disgust. I told him about Benny, what he did, what he was probably going to do and I was granted access. He figured I was working on House's authority and let it slide.

He was even willing to give us a pass to carry, but I wouldn't have it. I hoped there was a way I could convince him to turn himself in and/or just give me the chip. Veronica was hesitant about what I should do, so she took her power fist with her.

I could see Benny by the blackjack tables, surrounded by his personal guard and I felt ill. I walked past him to the cage and got some chips. I just needed to calm my nervous, it wasn't every day you came face to face with the guy that tried to off you.

After five failed hands of blackjack, I stood. I had to get this over with and the longer I waited the worse the anxiety was going to get. A waitress walking around stopped and gave me a complimentary shot of vodka, which I almost knocked over because my hands were shaking so bad. I'm sure I looked the sight. Long black hair, make up, a dress? - Hell, I hate dresses. I had to of been making the floor manager nervous with how stiff and antsy I was.

So, I sucked it up and told Veronica my very unorthodox plan. The best way to part a man with something he has is to get it off of him. She wasn't very happy about it; I didn't care if she agreed, I just wanted her to play along. So, I took the Pip-Boy off and made my way to him.

To say that Benny was shocked to see me there is a bit of an understatement. He was completely dumbfounded. I, on the other hand, played it cool. Used the big eyes and gentle purrs of seduction that I figured would work. He was apprehensive about it and at one point I thought he was going to nail me again just to make me go away. But he didn't. It was uncomfortable for him to accept that I wanted to fuck him in a 'let bygones be bygones' sorta way, but he agreed and I knew that my chase was coming to and end after this last hurdle.

We went up to his private room and I told Veronica to stay out in the hall. I honestly didn't know how long it was going to take or if I was just going to freak out because of some person touching me, but I found myself falling into my role easily. It was like reliving my youth all over again. You just weren't there in those moments. You followed your instructions to the letter. Whatever they wanted you did without protest," Lucky stopped and finally took a breath. She lit a cigarette and for almost five minutes there was silence. "It was not how I wanted to get back into the game. I doubt I'd ever get to experience the other side of that field. The lovey dovey side of it. Intimacy, if you will. No, it was just a device; a game that I was going to play."

Boone shook his head. He'd heard her say that before and he empathized with her mindset. She was so cold about her description as if the former justified the latter. He knew that she was capable of it, if she would allow it, but she always denied herself the possibility.

ED-E chirped several times and let out low sneaky beeps. Boone looked at the bot in the doorway and then to the Pip-Boy which was streaming with letters across the screen. It was a bunch of sensor data.

Lucky: internal temperature: .41% increase. Respiration: 15% increase. Humidity: 1% increase. Heart rate: 110. Oxygen Saturation: increasing.

Unknown: internal temperature: .39% increase. Respiration: 20% Humidity: 1% increase. Heart rate: 130. Oxygen Saturation: increasing.

Does the transfer of biological information help to facilitate the completion of our mission?

Boone lifted an eyebrow. He let out a loud laugh. He felt his cheeks getting hot as he read and reread the text. That's why Veronica was laughing hysterically when she came back.

"You were watching?" Boone finally asked.

ED-E let out more low sneaky beeps and then a familiar sound came from him. It was soft at first and then built in intensity. Moans, sighs and groans by two parties in the heat of ecstasy. And then he heard her. Soft cries of pain and pleasure, her panting. The squeak of the bedsprings. It was setting up the whole scene for him.

Boone felt his gut tighten. His breathing increased. His hands became fists. He was angry and he didn't know why. He cared about her, yes, but to let such a powerful emotion overtake him, it was maddening. Listening to her in the throes of passion with another man nearly had him on the floor. His chest became tight and in a spark of clarity, he knew it was jealousy.

Jealous of Benny for being with her. For using her. And he was angry at her for letting him do it. She wanted to be close to someone and when she could have had that intimate moment she always desired with someone she cared about, she'd stopped him. Why? She trusted him. She'd put herself in danger for him and...

He slammed his fist on the desk. No, he couldn't think of her that way. He wouldn't allow himself the idea. His heart belonged to Carla and only her. But listening to that had made him doubt it for an instant. Could he possibly...? No. Lucky was too good for that. She needed someone who wasn't going to be torn between two women. She deserved better than that and he couldn't give it to her. He shook his head again and grabbed the bottle of whiskey off the desk and downed the rest of it without a breath.

"You recorded that, too?" he scoffed, wiping the dribbling amber from his chin.

ED-E let out an excited tune of accomplishment.

"Does she know?"

Another string of sneaky beeps, and he wavered back through the door.

"You better hope she never finds out or she'll take me up on my offer to drop you off at the scrapyard when she gets back," Boone called. ED-E returned to the doorway and sank. "Is there more?"

He heard her lighter and then her sniffling like she had been crying. Soft snoring was coming from Benny. He heard her sigh and then the click of a gun's slide falling into place. The bed springs squeaked gently and he heard a grunt.

"Benny baby?" Lucky purred.

"Huh?" Benny asked, half asleep.

"You were right. The game was rigged from the start," she murmured almost lovingly.

There was struggling and thrashing. Benny's muffled screams bled onto the recording and then a gunshot went off. Followed by a second and then nothing.

"It was poetic justice. He fucked me and shot me. It was only fair I returned the favor. Only this time, I made sure he was dead before I left."

Lucky was so nonchalant about it. Even her words sounded like lies. There was more to it than that. Yes, it was personal. It was a vendetta, but it was so much more to her than that. Otherwise...

"I left, told Veronica and ED-E to go back to the 38. I explained to Swank what happened and left the Strip. I walked for hours, head clouded, body aching. I just wanted the day to be over. I wanted to bathe. I could still smell him. On his jacket, in my hair. It was like he'd seeped into my every pore and I hadn't felt like that since... um... my first."

Boone woke up in the darkened spare room. His headache had cleared just enough for him to be coherent. He wasn't nauseous anymore. He heard Veronica laughing and ED-E was warbling as if telling her a story. He got up from the bed and let out an angry groan. A bottle of whiskey fell off the side of the bed and landed on the floor.

The laughing and cheeps came to a stop as he made his way to the door. He saw Veronica coming from the dining area, the Pip-Boy in her hand and he knew something was off.

"Where's Lucky?" Boone asked folding his arms in front of him.

Veronica's smile faded when she saw him.

"Not here," she abruptly replied.

"I can see that," he remarked, pointing at the Pip-Boy. "Where is she?"

"I don't know. She just said to come back here," Veronica said with a frown.

"You let her walk around Vegas by herself?!" Boone yelled. He snatched the Pip-Boy from the Scribe's hand and rang the elevator. "I have to find her."

"I'm sure she's fine. I mean she did diddle Benny, but she got what she was after," Veronica prodded.

"She did what?" he growled, glancing over his shoulder.

"Check the Pip-Boy. It's got everything on there. And I mean everything," she stated with a small smirk. She could barely contain the giggle that she was holding back.

The elevator opened and he stepped on. He didn't know where he was going to find her. All he knew was this small woman was walking around Vegas with a platinum chip that the most powerful person in Vegas wanted returned. If anyone knew she had it, she was a target. He had to get her back to the 38, maybe take it to the NCR. He didn't know. He just knew that the girl was going to get herself killed by herself.

He wandered around the streets of Freeside well into the night. Children ran around looking for their next meal. He checked the shops and found himself outside the Atomic Wrangler. Lucky knew the Garrett twins, she'd done work for them a couple of times. It was the last place he had to look; he was running out of ideas and this was as good a place as anyway.

The bar smelled of vomit and piss. He scanned the theater area and then saw her sitting at the bar. The Garretts were laughing as Lucky slammed back another shot. She tapped the counter and James Garrett happily oblidged her order.

"It's like this: sex is a tool. It creates and destroys so much. It's good and evil, expresses love and hate. It's dirty and pure," she explained with an obvious slur. All Boone could do was watch her. The booze was like a truth serum to her waxing philosophic. "Pain and pleasure, both given and taken. It's mutual and single-minded." She looked at Beatrix – the ghoul nodded in agreement. "You understand, right?"

"Completely," she said with a smile.

"Then you have those that just use it to break you down. It warps your mind, the very concept of its use becomes nothing but a weapon. There is no joy in it. It just is. The picture it creates in you stays," She continued. Francine, this time, set a shot in front of her and without thinking the drunken girl downed it. "Ben?"

The older man to her left looked at her and patted her back gently.

"What is it, hon?" he cooed playfully.

"Do you think a person could be capable of love if they only know that its been used against them? I mean, if your ability to love is tied to an undying hatred. Would that make them one and the same?" she asked.

"I don't know. Why would someone use you like that?" he queried. He waved to James and motioned for him to cut her off.

The bartender nodded and saw Boone standing to the side. He waved him over and pointed at Lucky.

"Because I was a slave to him. He could do wahtever he wanted with little to no recourse. He was a vindictive son-of-a-bitch. Always told me that the last thing I would see my father die before he executed me," Lucky replied. Her head fell to her chest. James cupped her chin in his hand and frowned. She let out a loose laugh. "I think he was using me in want of my dad."

"That's unfortunate, kiddo," James said.

"Yeah. And after what I did today. Sitting with the prostitutes seems to be fitting. No offense." She let out another sigh and tried to stand. She swayed back and forth and nearly fell over, but Boone was close enough to catch her. "Hey! You're here!"

"You're drunk," Boone replied.

Lucky blew a raspberry and shook her head.

"Yes. Yes, I am. Thanks for pointing out the un-obvious," she giggled. "You have no idea the shit day I had."

"I know it wasn't great." he said.

"That's fucking spec- shpec- spectab? - good," she grumbled. She leaned forward and rested her head on his chest. "You are a good guy, ya know. When you aren't an asshole. You wouldn't use me, would you?"

"No," he answered.

"You would have been a good manner to me," she murmured. "Carla was lucky to have you." She threw her arm around his neck. He felt her get heavy and then silence.

He picked her up in his arms and turned to the Garretts.

"How much does she owe?"

The twins looked at each other and then nodded.

"For what she did for Vegas, it's on the house," Francine replied.

Boone was shocked. The Garrett twins didn't give anything away.

"Take care of her, okay?" Old Ben asked with a sullen look.

The sniper nodded and looked at the sleeping woman. She was curled up into him. He could barely see her face beneath the black and white checked jacket. A guard held the door open for him and he headed back to the Strip.

When he got back to the Presidential Suite of the 38, he was greeted to darkness. He could hear Veronica snoring in their shared room. The Victor bot greeted him and turned on the light. He laid her on the bed and spied her pack by the dresser. He opened it up and saw a strange fuzzy object hugging a box. He pulled it out and let out an amused snort. It was a teddy bear. He glanced at Lucky, her long black hair veiling her face. Still she wore the black leather gloves. Whatever her fascination with them seemed relevant.

He sat at the foot of the bed and watched her. Her hands were balling into fists. He let out a sigh and pulled her shoes off. He tossed them to the side. He placed the bear next to her arms and the second she felt it, she pulled it close and curled around it.

Brushing away her hair she saw the slow pout of her lips and pooling tears in the corner of her eye. He removed her glasses and set it on the nightstand. He didn't realize how tired he was. She was small and yet her dead weight had wore him out. He wasn't even hungry, he just wanted to sleep. He walked around to the other side of the bed and fell asleep. His mind wandered to what Francine Garrett had said. "What she did for Vegas..."

It must have been a pretty big thing that she had done. He stared at the ceiling, letting time pass to the sound of her breathing. It almost seemed normal. Normal was forbidden without Carla though. Normal was taken away and in his final moments of consciousness, he felt himself get warm.

"You were good to me. More than I thought was possible. And how did I repay you? I let the Legion feed the slave in me."