Chapter 7: Good Guys?

Authors Note: Hello everyone I am so glad you enjoyed my last chapter. This one is a bit of filler, little longer than I intended. Next one will be more explosive.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fallout.

After that mess with the vault and those plant monsters everyone decided to take it easy. Not because they were scared, but because they burned through a good portion of their grenades, ammo, special ammo and the cost of a perfectly good flamethrower.

So the misfits decided to do some work for the good people of Freeside. Drake was helping James Garret out at the Atomic Wrangler by rounding up some 'Special workers' for the Wrangler. Not the typical hookers but a ghoul, a man and a…cowgirl ghoul.

He was in for a busy day.

Zachary was also giving them a hand by collecting their debts from the deadbeats of Freeside. He would probably be home before anyone. Hell anyone who got one look at him would know it would be stupid to go up against him.

The rest were improving their relations with the Kings by doing some odd jobs for them. With their relations improved they wouldn't have to worry about their headquarters being in jeopardy or being harassed by their thugs every day.

Skye was helping out by investigating a 'guard for hire' by the main gate. The guard's name was Orris and Skye could already tell that he was full of himself. He claimed he was not a man to be fucked with but he was too…clean and too well mannered.

He acted more like those old cartoon heroes she saw on the television than an actual merc with his heroic pose and his low expectations of Skye's abilities to protect herself. She was suspicious, but for now she would play along.

She hired him with money The King gave her and she followed him into Freeside. He gave her the detour and info on the Kings and the Wrangler and a lot of shit she already knew.

Orris abruptly stuck his hand out and hit Skye a little hard in her stomach. She let out a sharp gasp when he struck her.

"Hey, slow down." He cautioned her as if she were a child. She wanted to slap that damn goatee off his damn face for nearly punching her. "I don't like the look of those men ahead. Let's take a different way around."

Skye looked ahead to see four lowlifes playing around with pipes and bats. They weren't even wearing clothes they were wearing Brahmin skin and rags. She could take these punks with one hand tied behind her back.

She was so busy studying the punks she didn't notice her would be savior running down the side of the street and around an old abandoned building. This whole path was pointless since the only way the thugs would let them go unnoticed is if they just stared straight ahead and avoided turning around.

This plan turned out to be flawed as well since the thugs were already waiting for them around the corner. Orris didn't even hesitate to put them down with his revolver and popped off three rounds. When she regrouped with him she saw all four thugs lying on the ground dead.

She looked to Orris who was smiling and striking a heroic pose.

"Nothing to worry about." He assured. "If you had hired one of those other hacks, you'd be up to your ass in lowlife right about now."

"Funny, I heard three shots and yet all four are dead." She said unimpressed. "Thoughts on the matter?"

"Oh, I uh…I keenly aimed one of the shots through the soft tissue of one of them to hit the man behind him." He explained sheepishly.

"Funny how there is also a lack of blood and scared tissue." She smirked. "I would think a big gun like that would leave some pretty big holes."

"Best to keep that to yourself."

Skye pulled out her suppressed 10mm and fired four shots into the skulls of the thugs. She quickly pointed the gun to Orris's head whose face fell to a horrific state.

"Sweet Jesus what have you done?" He exclaimed.

"I want my money back." She said calmly, looking down the barrel of her gun.

"What make you think I won't," He was silenced when she pulled back the hammer of her gun. "Okay here!"

He quickly dug in his pockets and pulled out the bag of caps she had given him earlier. She snatched it out of his hand and pocketed it before popping a round into his leg. She wouldn't kill him she would just leave him for the King. She turned around and strutted down to the Kings hangout loving the way that show girl from the wrangler was looking at her.

All that remained was Noah and Mike who were currently sitting with The King himself. They were all sipping beers the waitress had brought them and discussed business of some new faces in town.

"So, my buddy Drake has been seeing me for years about some odd jobs." The King said. "You're lucky because if he wasn't such a trust worthy fellow we would not be talking."

"Yes, we're honored to be in your presence." Noah muttered sarcastically. He winced when Mike stomped on his foot.

"You said this had something to do with the NCR?" Mike asked.

"In a manner of speaking." The King explained. "Some people around here don't take to kind to NCR's way of life."

"You mean bringing law to the lawless and order to the disorganized?" Noah grunted.

"Noah, enough." Mike sneered.

"Nah, it's all right." King assured. "You are right, a lot of people here are resentful to the amount of NCR troops coming into town, especially when they up and demand taxes from the penniless."

"It's not their fault they demand taxes from deadbeat gamblers." Noah grunted.

"Noah we just watched two kids' chase a giant rat for food while listening to another kid advertising guns. Trust me, gambling isn't the only reason these people are poor."

"Look, despite your views on NCR and Freeside, it doesn't change the fact that one of my friends got banged up pretty bad by someone." He said getting their attention. "If word gets out that NCR did this all hell will break loose in Freeside." Mike looked over at Noah and stopped him from speaking before he could make another scene.

"Hey, I know." He said. "But it doesn't matter. Innocent or not we can't let word that NCR are looking to enforce their law here."

"C'mon Mike," Noah chuckled. "Even if it was an NCR troop they were probably gambling and drinking down at the Wrangler and had a bit too much and roughed up the guy a bit. It happens all the time down here."

"Yes, in the strip not in Freeside." The King said with a solemn expression. "Look if you want the job, go down to the Old Mormon Fort and find out what had happened to them."

"Thank you King, we will gladly take the job." Mike said standing up. The robotic dog next to them let out a bark and Mike patted his head. "Good boy."

The two stepped out, after retrieving their weapons and made their way to the north side of Freeside. Mormon Fort was the compound of the Followers of the Apocalypse, people who cared for the little guy and tried to correct the mistakes of the old world.

They were the most respected faction in all of Freeside next to The Kings. Michael and Noah had made their way down the street and to the fort. Mike could feel the tension radiating off of Noah and he knew he had to talk to him.

"Okay, if we are going to work together on this we need to clear the air right now." He said to his friend.

"Well let's start with all that crap back there." Noah snapped. "Why the hell did you bad mouth NCR back there."

"I didn't I just told the truth." Mike said sternly. "Or did you forget what they did, no what we did, at Bitter Springs?"

"I know what we did!" He snapped. "But I didn't forget how they took me and my sister in and gave us a place to call home."

"Yes I know that gave us hope, but that doesn't change the fact that the NCR are looking to take over." Michael pulled out a silver coin. "One coin, two sides, they are both different but have the same thing in common. The NCR and Legion have different intentions but the same goals. They want to take over."

"But with the NCR-"

"Noah, I know." Mike said. Noah saw the sincerity in his eye. "But the money these guys owe too is bar tabs, loan sharks and gambling debts. If the NCR just expect everyone to pay force taxes and bills with smiles they will be in for a rude awakening."

Noah let out a heavy sigh and just walked into Mormon Fort. He was done arguing, he knew the NCR weren't perfect but they were a hell of a lot better than Legion and that's all that mattered. They were the good guys after all.

They walked into the old fort and found The King's friends recovering in a tent near the main entrance. The doctor identified him as Roy. She had asked what the two were doing but all was answered when the King's name was mentioned. The doctor quickly apologized for being an in convince and rushed right out of the tent. It didn't matter now they could question Roy.

"Is it true," He asked. "Did the king send you?"

"Yes, he asked us to investigate your attack." Mike explained. Roy let out a sigh and grinned from ear to ear.

"Good, I'll tell you whatever I can to help you get the bastards." He had the look of determination in his eyes. Mike smiled at that he knew this job would be cake.

"Good, let's start off with what you were doing." Mike started off slowly.

"Well, it happened at night." He said staring at the ground. "Around eleven. We had recently made some caps off some scrap we found, and wanted to invest it wisely."

"The Wrangler?" Mike chuckled. This got a good laugh out of everyone even Noah.

"Yes and as we were leaving we must have taken a wrong turn and ended up in the Squatter side of town. From out of nowhere, these big guys show up and start barking questions at us. Wanted to know if we were locals."

Noah didn't like the sound of this. Why would anyone from Freeside care if they were locals usually they ask for their valuables. He thought. He listened more carefully to what Roy was saying after that.

"The kid there's about as proud as a local around here gets, and started yelling back at them. That's when all hell breaks loose. Kid got the worst of it, sad to say." He said with a solemn expression.

"Sorry to hear that," Noah finally said. Life was hard enough around here without nearly getting your head busted open by some newcomer. "Do you remember about these guys?"

"They were big guys. Young, too. No old geezers like me like me. Hell, none of them looked even half my age." He chuckled bitterly. "I was mostly face down in the dirt, begging for my life when it happened, so I only got a quick look at them."

"Well it's not much, but thanks." Noah said.

"I hope you find the bastards that did this." He encouraged. "If you want, try asking my friend Wayne over there about them." He nodded over to his friend who was sitting at the corner of the tent. "He saw more than I did."

"Thank you we'll do that."

"Already did, thank you boys we'll see that justice is served." Mike said as he rushed out of the tent.

Noah was confused at his sudden absence and quickly followed after him. He saw Mike rolling the coin on his fingers. Noah was starting to feel uneasy when he saw his friend's eye do his nervous twitch.

"What happened?" Noah asked.

"When Wayne was getting his ass kicked, he heard one of the guys being identified as 'Lieutenant.'" Mike said in a low, calming voice. Noah knew where he was going with this.

"You think it might be NCR?" He asked skeptically. "It can't be they got their base stationed on the strip, why would they come over to Freeside?"

"I don't know, why don't we go find out?" Mike suggested.

The two of them quickly left the fort and made their way back to The King where they reported everything they had on the attack. The King himself also looked uneasy at the thought of the NCR making waves in Freeside.

"If they're coming over here now, it's gotta be for a reason." He pondered. "I didn't want to believe the rumors that they're looking to take over Vegas, but now…"

"We'll look into this, we promise." Noah said. "NCR or not they have no right to just start cracking skulls for no reason." Both the King and Mike smiled at his sudden determination to do what is right and the King pointed them in the right direction.

"You could try asking around the Squatter areas where the NCR hang and you may also want to mosey over to the Mormon Fort and chat Julie Farkas up. The Followers tend to be in the know about these things." He then rolled his eyes. "Just don't ask her what to do about it. She'll probably ask you to hug someone or somethin'."

Everyone shared a brief chuckle before parting ways once again. Noah and Mike noticed that it was getting late so they had decided to split up.

"Okay, I'll go to one of the Squatter camps and you'll go see Julie at the Camp. They are close to eachother so it's not like we'll be miles away." Noah suggested.

"Agreed, besides I wouldn't mind getting some alone time with Ms. Farkas." Mike grinned.

"Mike, the only thing that woman cares about is her work." Noah pointed out. "She will not give you the time of day, unless it is for the benefit of Freeside."

"You always gotta be a ball buster don't you?" Mike chuckled.

"Only when I'm around you buddy." Noah laughed as he ran past the two kids who were chasing another big rat. He felt sad, but maybe when the NCR did take over they could set them up with some kind of program.

He rounded the corner and found one of the NCR squatters hanging around the corner of the Fort.

"You look like a person in need of a good meal." The Missionary greeted, he gave Noah an up and down look before continuing. "You wouldn't happen to be an NCR citizen, would you?"

"Hell yeah, I'm a scout." Noah chuckled.

"No kidding, damn that is great." He chuckled. "So you won't mind taking a little quiz to prove yourself?"

"Of course not."

"Okay, let's get started." He cleared his throat. "Who was the most popular president in NCR history?"

"Tandi."

"What was the name of the original NRC capital?"

"Shady Sands?"

"What animal-"

"Two headed bear."

"Damn, you are a true NCR trooper." He chuckled. "Bet you want to know more about that meal?"

"That would be nice." Noah smiled sheepishly.

"We're up by the old train yard, just drop the word 'Hope'. Good luck brother."

Noah quickly rushed out and made his way to the Fort where he saw mike running out of.

"Hey, we need to go to the mission and talk to a girl name Elizabeth." Mike explained.

"Good, we just need to drop the word 'Hope' and we're golden." Noah grinned.

They quickly made their way to the train yard and gave the password to the doorman. They were allowed entry and stepped in. The room was filled wall to wall with starving refugees. Noah just showed off his NCR colors, and his guns, and he was suddenly at the front of the line.

He was greeted by a young blonde haired girl in an old leather coat.

"Welcome." She greeted. "There's food and water for any citizens from the NCR. Please, have some."

"No thank you, but we wanted to know if you are with the NCR military." Noah asked.

"Yes, I'm a major supply corps, which is where all this food comes from." She said. Mike caught that nervous twitch in her eyes.

"Why don't you serve the locals around here?" Mike asked. If she wasn't nervous before she was now. She looked as if Mike had just offended her.

"That's not really a pleasant topic of conversation." She said. "Let's just say we have our reasons."

"Julie Farkas told me to ask. She said it was really important." Mike said.

"You know Julie?" She asked surprised. "Not everyone sees eye to eye with the Followers, but they are alright in my book because of her. If you must know, we sent an envoy to the king offering to coordinate the relief effort." Noah rolled his eyes.

"And let me guess the king refused."

"In a manner of speaking." She said with skepticism. "Our envoy was brutally beaten, and only barely survived. My superiors ordered the relief mission scrapped. I managed to get clearance to carry out the mission anyway, but with greatly reduced support."

"And now you don't have enough food to go around and help all of Freeside."

"Not that I would want to anyways." She said curtly. "Now if you'll excuse me I have to get back to work."

Mike stormed out of the mission and Noah ran after him.

"Why the hell would King just crack down on NCR?" Noah asked. "This doesn't make any sense, the last thing he would want is to be on their radar."

"Maybe he didn't," Mike snapped. "Maybe he never got the envoy."

They made their way back to the Kings hangout where they were greeted once again by the little bitch Pacer.

"Hey there, I heard that NCR soldier lady told you some wild story about them sending a messenger to us to work out some deal." He said.

"Yeah, I wonder if the King even got word of the message." Noah said skeptically.

"Hey, that's bullshit." He snapped. "They sent someone to spy on us. It's not our fault they weren't tough enough for Freeside. Anyone could have kicked the crap out of those pansies."

"And does 'anyone' include the kings?" Mike quipped.

"Just keep your mouths shut!" Pacer snapped before storming out.

"Prick."

They made their way to the King and told him everything. The food distribution and how they were only selling to NCR citizens while keeping the locals of Freeside away and even that someone from NCR was sent to the king.

That got his attention.

"Huh, that would explain why they're all riled at us." He said. "Seems like we have a big misunderst-what the hell?"

A member quickly rushed in and told King about a shootout between the kings and the NCR at the train yard and how Pacer was leading the attack. The King was pissed.

"What the hell does that fool think he's doing?" He looked at the two in need. "Listen I will pay two thousand caps to defuse the situation and work of an understanding between the two of us."

"You got it." Noah said as he ran out of the show room and into the streets.

When the two made it to the train yard they were too late to save Pacer, not that it mattered. There were still a few more members cowering in a bus stop as the snipers positioned on the tower across the field took pot shots at them.

Noah quickly handed Mike all of his guns and pulled out a white rag. He waved the rag around and when they didn't shoot at him he made his way over and quickly rushed over to Elizabeth who was now holding a rifle.

"Hey, hell of a day right?" Noah chuckled.

"What the hell is happening, we didn't expect this." Elizabeth snapped.

"King's big hearted small headed friend Pacer was trying to enforce his own law against the NCR." Noah explained. "Your envoy never made it there. He wants to negotiate peace."

"Well your King should watch his back, because we sent that envoy and we know it made it to his hangout." She let out a sigh. "But if he's willing to talk we'll listen and try again."

"Good." Just then the same kids from before still chasing that damn rat. He pulled out one of the nearby NCR guard's handgun and shot the damn things head off. "Seriously, you were going to let these kids starve?" He shouted.

He snagged a few of their rations left lying around and gave them to the kids.

"Seriously, we're supposed to be the good guys!" He snapped.

"We are, it's not our fault we're surrounded by dead beats who don't know their place!" The guard snapped.

"This is all they know, they didn't ask for you guys to come here and no one is forcing you to stay!"

"Noah!"

Mike quickly rushed over and grabbed his friend.

"Let's go, come one we need to cool off." He said leading him away from the fight scene.

"I thought NCR was supposed to be helping people." Noah muttered. "Those kids have been chasing rats all day because the NCR would do handouts!"

"They are helping, but not without enforcing their own rules and laws." Mike shrugged. "Granted they aren't bad ideas, but laws cannot just be forced onto people otherwise they are no different than Legion."

"Is this why one cut out?" Noah asked. Mike just looked ahead with a distant stare.

"Yes…and other reasons."

"Such as?"

"We're the good guys, but the NCR are good soldiers and believe me there is a difference."

"Same coin different sides, right?"

"Right."