Lucky glanced at the moonless sky and let out a contented sigh. Boone took the lead this time, darting behind the tents in the direction she had pointed him in. Chatter from the young recruits echoed off the wooden walls. The setting couldn't have been anymore convenient for him. To him, all he had to do is slit their throats and none would have been the wiser and they would have been long gone before they were discovered. The idea was bittersweet, though, it was better than they had deserved. Even though he'd always stayed steadfast to the First Recon motto, this time he wanted them to see him. At the very least give them the knowledge of who was hunting them and who was going to end them.
They scurried within the shadows, treating the orange cast light as their bane. It's only relevance being that they could see the Legionaries doing their midnight patrols. Boone glimpsed a pair of recruits standing around a smoldering barrel. Their voices carried heavily as if careless of the slumbering soldiers all around them. They spoke of a new wave of slaves – mostly children this time – coming in from Cottonwood within the next couple of days. A cool breeze blowing over his damp clothes couldn't temper the infuriated heat that emanated from him. His hands shook and his throat ran dry. He could feel the blood haze coming, but couldn't allow it no matter how it whetted its teeth on his emotions. He'd get his chance. It was an inevitability.
They questioned each other about when they were going on their next raid or if some of the officers had made any hint as to their impending advancements. He dashed to the next row of tents to their left, the young men voices faded. He could see them better though. They couldn't have been any older than seventeen, eighteen at the most. He turned to Lucky now, her eyes were diverted to the ground in front of her. She seemed like she was trying to ignore the conversation, but was failing. He could feel her frustration heavily as she drew in a sharp breath and began fiddling with her Pip-Boy.
Boone, his thighs burning from being crouched for so long, slowly advanced to a small fork past the last row of tents. He felt a gentle amount of pressure lay on his back. For the briefest of moments, it felt good. He hadn't realized how sore his muscles had become from all the work he'd done in the last twenty-four hours.
"Turn left," Lucky whispered.
Boone nodded that he heard and the three of them rounded the final corner. He could see from his position a concrete structure. Towers jutted from the roof like fingers pointing to the sky. He waved Lucky to approach and she crawled up behind him. He snatched up her wrist hard and glanced down at her Pip-Boy. Even from where he was, he could tell there was a lot of ground to cover and a lot of spaces that would have left them out in the open. His finger ran down one side of the screen. He knew that just for Arcade to get to where Lucky wanted him, they were going to have to fight to get there. There would be no heading them off. The second gunfire was heard the fight would be on and it would be nothing more than fool's last stand. And he liked it.
He felt Lucky's uncomfortable glare upon him. He didn't look at her. The sensation was enough to get her point across. He released her and spun away from her. Boone knew he was going to get his ass chewed out, but it didn't matter. He knew what he was doing. "When's the cavalry supposed to show up?"
He got a deafening silence from her. He heard her breathing and then the curt growl of: "when they get here."
Boone waved for them to continue. Lucky and Arcade hung back. He could sense their hesitation. They all knew that they were now in the lion's den. They may have made it past a good majority of the troops, but these were the elites that were in their way. People that had seen combat and survived the numerous skirmishes that Caesar had sent them on. They're lucky if they see their mid-twenties, he thought to himself.
He knew that he couldn't give them reassurance. It just wasn't the way he did things anymore. He was here, now, playing with some morbid wish fulfillment. Maybe Lucky had changed her mind and realized she had gotten herself in too deep. She could only shake her head and nod in the direction of the large tent at the apex of the hill. Boone's eyes caught several guards entering through the crimson flaps.
"Fifty feet before we're dead in the water," Arcade murmured. He rubbed his eyes in frustration and glared at the woman in front of him. "Or just dead. Either way the operative word is dead. Now what do we do?"
"Follow him. I told you we'd get you there and distract them long enough for you to get the slaves handled," Lucky hissed as she waddled over to Boone.
The dirt path was for the most part vacant. The fires that would have been ablaze in the oil drums had gone out and only a couple of people were meandering around the training area. A couple of campfires dotted the ground as the older men either slept or spoke of their latest exploits in the NCR's latest potential land grab. Even with the jovial tones of sexual conquests with slaves their was a dense feeling of apprehension. One man mentioned Lanius' arrival was quickly approaching.
It stopped Lucky dead in her tracks. She was now distracted with their conversation far more than she should have been. She gave Boone a look one of fear and solace. It was so contradictory to him that he could smacked her for the confusing signal.
"I was glad to know that all of this was coming to an end," Lucky stated. She was calm; a sense of serenity in her tone made Boone almost smile. It was dreamy, understated. Yes, all things come to an end. He agreed. Yet, here was the way they ended and the thought didn't bode well for him. It shouldn't have had to end this way.
All she had to do...
The group was nearly there. The dull buzz of what felt like electricity filled the air as they drew closer to their target. With each step the hair on the back of Boone's neck stood more and more at attention. This was more exhilarating than he thought it would be. Lucky's endeavors were becoming more like a drug than a mission to him.
When they got to the end of their course, the sniper stuck his head out and with bated breath watched as one of the last soldiers continued up the hill in the opposite direction. Again he waved Lucky to the front. He wasn't going to make an attempt to snatch at her this time. "How much do you want to bet that that door is locked?"
Lucky lifted her eyebrows, bemused by the question and nearly at a full sprint ran to the building. She placed her hand to the doorknob. Boone's heart began to race as he watched her slowly try and turn the knob. It resisted quite quickly. Her head fell forward almost as if she was surprised by the bad luck she was having. She crouched down in front of the door and started to jimmy the lock.
Boone kept an eye out for any person patrolling. If someone came down through the southern bend, she'd be completely exposed. Then what could he do? Maybe he'd be able to hold their fire for a little more than a few moments, but they were definitely out manned and had limited ammo.
"Fuck," he muttered under his breath. He heard a creak and saw Lucky standing with the door ajar. She was waving for Arcade now. "Get in there and get this done."
"Hopefully her plan will work," Arcade responded regretfully.
The Follower ran to the door and she shut it behind him. Boone hurried to Lucky and sat for the briefest of moments. He had no idea what to do now. Lucky began clutching at her breast pocket now a small look of satisfaction spread across her face. He shook his head, knowing that she was going to light up for a job well done. He thumbed in the direction that the Centurion had went and she squinted her eyes at him.
"You do have a plan for getting up to Caesar's tent, right?" his eyes became narrow as he watched Lucky shift uncomfortably at the question. She brought up her Pip-Boy, her mouth twisting into an awkward shape as she turned a dial. "Christ, Lucky."
She just ignored his terse tone and began to hurry in the direction he had previously pointed. "In five." She began to run. Past the sleeping men on the ground and their slaves tied to posts. Without saying a word, she came to a full stop. It was so sudden that Boone nearly took her out when he came up to her. "Keep going. It circles to a path. Okay?" Boone nodded, but she didn't look to him for a response. "Wait for me at the top. Please?" Her tone was chilling. There was a frailty and vulnerability that seeped into him, softening his tense demeanor to one of a protective friend. She finally looked at him, her large blue eyes glistened in the Pip-Boy's light. This wasn't fun for her. This wasn't a game. This was something else. He could tell she wanted to say something, but the words wouldn't come out. What could there be left to say? And just as quickly as the sadness and weakness came on, they dispersed. Again, she looked at her screen. "Four."
Boone hurried around the corner, making quick glances behind him to see what had caught Lucky's attention. Thoughts of him turning back egged him on, but he wanted to be in position for the climax of their assault. They'd worked it without sleep or anything to eat. It was worth it. The resolution would be the hunger pangs and achy muscles – for Lucky at least.
He passed a large pile of tires and heard a blood curdling scream from behind him. It ceased just as quickly as it had hit his ear drums. He had to go back, see what Lucky had gotten herself into this time. He did an about face and dashed to where he'd last seen her. She hadn't gone far from where they split up. Her back was to him now. He could barely hear her whispering as he loomed closer, his stomach tying its self in knots. His flesh grew hot as her hand dropped to her side. It was far from empty, the silvery sheen of her knife's blade stuck forward dripping of red to the ground.
He drew closer and extended his hand to touch her. It was a foolish thing to do, especially if she had snapped and harmed an innocent.
"Hide," Lucky was saying. She knelt down and the a small child-like figure emerged in front of him. "Don't make a sound." She wiped the blade clean on her pants and sheathed it back in her boot.
"Lucky," Boone harshly whispered. She only glanced over her shoulder at him without a word. She looked lost now and maybe a little perturbed that he had doubled back. "What's going on?"
Lucky stood up and kicked at something to the right of her. It was all the information that he needed. "He was going to..." her voice trailed off, deep in thought and nearly catatonic. She let out a sigh, her shoulders slipping lower into her. "It doesn't matter. He's dead. I killed him."
"How much time do we have left?" Boone questioned his eyes never leaving the body beside her.
He waited in hellish silence for her to respond to his query. She hadn't moved from her spot. It was like she wasn't there anymore. She was straddling a line between a past not wanting to die and the present where it would only die if she did.
He heard her shudder out a sigh as if she was trying to catch her breath, stop her crying, or wave away her emotions.
"Let's go," Lucky said weakly. Her hand slipped into her flack jacket as they ran. She looked at her Pip-Boy as they neared the pile of tires. Boone saw her pace slow and then stop. She gave her signature feigned smile and was completely overridden by worry's desire. Her eyes couldn't have been any more alight than they were. "Time's up."
The first explosion let loose near the docks. Boone grabbed Lucky by the waist and tossed her into the thicket of tires. With a few seconds to spare, he dove on top of her as a rocket hit near the first row of tents they'd passed. Both let out a gasp as a cloud of dust and smoke shot into the air. Several sets of foot steps hurried away from them, probably to take part in the defense, but for the two of them, it didn't matter. Their target was just up ahead.
Boone got up and grabbed Lucky by the hand to pull her up to him. She was a mess. Her hair fell sloppily over her shoulders and she had a small split in her lip that was now dribbling blood down her chin.
"You ready," he asked.
The question felt like it was more for him than for her, but when she nodded that she was, they continued to the tent out of breath and filled to the brim with endorphines. Lucky reached into her pocket and pulled her revolver out. He went to the other side of the door and readied himself. This was a lot to take in. They were going to actually do it: take on Caesar.
"Sic semper Tyrannis," Lucky said as she held up her gun and placed the other to the flap.
Boone placed his hand to the opposite flap and looked over at Lucky. "I'm sorry, I'm not coming back."