Chapter VI

But Its Better If You Do

Silver-speckled ash fell from the tip of the cigarette Scarlet held loosely in her fingers and dissolved into the breeze. She had never been a smoker before; in fact she wasn't the type to indulge in any kind of real vices. Drinking was a rare treat for her, drugs were out of the question, and sex, well sex wasn't even part of the equation. So she surprised herself when she'd grabbed one of the packs she had found left over in her suite and settled herself outside on the steps of the Lucky 38 to watch the crowd pass by. There was a strange disquiet creeping into her heart as the people, gamblers and NCR soldiers alike, went on about their day as if nothing was happening. They didn't know that House had been killed, just yards from where they now wandered drunkenly, unaware that the balance of power was shifting.

It made her uneasy that the death of someone that had been that important to the progression of something as influential as the Strip could be so easily overlooked, but it was not a surprise. He had never been one to be social, at least not to any living person, and when he needed something passed along he had his robots. Toward the end he had begun shutting himself off from even those he had sent messages to, disappearing further into recluse behavior, which would allow his death to go completely unnoticed for a long stretch of time. Life went on none the wiser and probably would continue to do so because no one had seemed to really like the presence of the mysterious Strip overlord. You lived that long, House, over 200 years, and what do you have to show for it? She thought, taking another drag and exhaling slowly. The smoke rose and she watched the Gomorrah through the thinning grey veil.

Absolutely nothing.

Earlier that day she'd gone over to the Vault 21 Hotel where she'd talked to the woman who ran the place, named Sarah, and had been informed that Martina would be in later that night and she could come back if she liked. So Scarlet had rolled back over to the Lucky 38 to wait. First she'd read a book on pre-war medicine, and when it had failed to calm her mind she had resorted to the cigarettes, remembering how her father used to say they settled his nerves. She didn't know anything about that, but the tactile feeling of holding something in her hand, taking a drag every once in a while, and just breathing, made her feel like she was at least doing something instead of sitting on her ass spying on the Omertas' casino and wondering what the fuck she was supposed to do about it all.

She was also supposed to be thinking about her answer for Caesar, but it was turning into the hardest decision she had ever made. Deciding to track down Benny had been difficult enough, and then letting him go after she found him had been another feat, but she had felt her soul splitting apart when she'd been forced to make the final choice to actually kill him in Caesar's tent. After that she didn't think anything could be that wearing, not even when she'd agreed to kill House, which was a slam-dunk decision if she ever saw one. Scarlet realized that what Caesar said was true, even if she had never considered it before in her life, when she did set her mind to something it got done and it got done well. If she did help the Legion then God help the people of the Mojave.

And why should I care? She asked herself. What have they ever done for me but give me dirty looks or plot some way to fuck me over? The wasteland was in need for some heavy justice, a spring cleaning, if you would, and she wasn't sure yet if the Legion was right for the job, but the NCR was only making matters worse and if people weren't intelligent enough to know to get the fuck out of the way then let their pride damn them to a life of slavery under a cruel regime.

Oh, but she didn't mean that, did she? She'd met some good people out there, good people that still wouldn't leave their homes, not out of stupidity, but the principle of things. Doc Mitchell and the people of Goodsprings had done everything they could to get her – a stranger!– back on her feet after Benny downed her. Yeah, but you've already repaid their kindness by getting rid of those power gangers for them…

And that makes it all right for you to just sign them over to someone like Caesar – even worse, someone like Vulpes? Another voice rose in her mind. Ah, this was her voice of reason and she had missed it so the last few days. You know he'll crucify some of them for fighting back, nail up people that you hugged goodbye or kissed on the cheek before you left for Primm. How do you feel about that? Sunny on a cross, what a martyr she'd make and –

STOP IT! She gripped the sides of her head, trying to quiet the voice now. She didn't want to hear any more of that. Maybe I could make a deal for them to be ignored?

If you really think that's possible, then you're naïve.

Maybe she was naïve, but she couldn't just not do anything. She had three days to make a decision and when that was up she'd have to return with it. If it was yes she was most likely signing away her soul, and if it was no she was probably signing her death warrant. It would be easier to just say yes she supposed and run errands for him while she took care of her own business. She did have the basis for a contingency plan running through her mind. That way she wouldn't piss off the Legion, but she would have to be really careful because of the NCR. If they caught wind of her even batting an eyelash at the Legion they would brand her a terrorist so fast her head would spin before they completely knocked it off her shoulders and used it for a soccer ball.

She flicked the cigarette butt against the closest trashcan and rose to her feet. She still had two days to consider her options but she only had a little while to go find Martina. Her pip boy had beeped a few times, alerting her to the alarm she'd set for the time Sarah had told her to come back. Scarlet switched it off and strapped on her weapons, her fingers grazing slowly over the surface of Maria as she did so; her little reminder that Benny was no longer in this world because of her. I'll take care of her Benny, she promised the dead man, I'll take care of this whole goddamned mess. I don't know how yet, but I will, just wait and see…

-X-

Sarah waved to her as she entered, a bright smile on her face, and told her that Martina had arrived some time ago and was already downstairs somewhere in the vault. Scarlet thanked her and headed down, unsure of what to expect. She'd never been inside of a vault before, and once she began exploring it she hoped she would never have to go down into another one. Vaults were apparently irritating masses of corridors upon corridors that twisted around and confused your brain. More than once she had to double back because she'd lost her way. She supposed those that lived in vaults got around via map. No wonder why they needed pip boys.

Finally she decided to start back from the beginning and go a different direction. This time her search bore fruit. As she was passing one of the closed doors she could hear muffled voices, muffled angry voices. She reached up and pushed the button on the control panel. When the door slid open she was confronted by three men in suits and hats that were most likely the men from the Omertas. "What the fuck do you want, get out of here." One of them told her.

She rolled her eyes at his attempt to be intimidating. She'd waltzed her way through the Legion's fort and witnessed one of their atrocities first hand. There was no way these guys were going to scare her. "Last time I checked you weren't my daddy. I haven't taken orders in years big guy, get the fuck out of my way." She shoved passed them and stepped through into the room. Behind her she could feel the air tensing up as they obviously were growing very angry at her arrogance and disrespect. She felt the change in pressure as one of them moved to go for some type of weapon but she moved backwards, slamming her elbow into his stomach, and then when he doubled over she spun around and kneed him in the face as hard as she could. Meanwhile she had reached to her side and pulled Maria from her holster and was now aiming it at the man who had spoken to her, who seemed to be the ringleader in this particular group.

"Move," she warned, "and I put a hole in your head." Unless this gun always mucks up headshots and then I'm shit out of luck.

"What the hell do you want?"

"For you three little piggies to march on home before I blow your house down. Comprende, motherfucker?"

"This isn't the end of this, bitch." The leader snarled at her, motioning for the other man to pick up he one she'd kicked the crap out of. As soon as they were gone she hit the button again and the door closed, leaving her and Martina alone.

"Oh my god, I'm glad you showed up!" Martina cried. "They were going to kill me."

Scarlet decided to play dumb for a while and dig into the situation herself. "Why would they want to kill you? You must have done something to really piss them off, huh?" She chuckled lightly and waited for the woman to give her an answer. It was not what she had expected.

"Well, I have this habit, you know, people talk, and they talk loud. There's a guy who works for the NCR, his last name's Curtis. I kind of sell him the information I hear about things. The Omertas must have found out. I guess I was stupid." She let her face fall as she sat down on a couch and let her head drop into her hands. "I was spending an awful lot of time in their casino."

"Well, if I were you I'd knock that off, at least for now. I'm not always going to be around to help you out." Scarlet scratched the underside of her chin with her gun thoughtfully and added, "are you sure this Curtis guy is with the NCR?"

Martina looked confused. "Yeah, he wears a uniform and everything, why?"

"No reason, just curious." Scarlet replied. So she doesn't even know that she's really selling secrets to the Legion. I bet that "NCR" guy is really some Legion spy or something. That would have been nice to know before I started this little quest for you, Vulpes. She could have really messed things up if she'd opened her mouth about the Legion before questioning Martina. "Listen, I'm going to try to take care of this for you, but in the meantime you're going to have to lay low, all right?"

Martina looked thankful and nodded. "Why are you doing this?"

"Let's just say I'm a sucker for helping people with their problems, okay?" She smiled. "Now is there an address I can find you at when I'm finished, so I can let you know it's all right to come out of hiding?"

"Oh yeah." Martina grabbed a strip of paper from a table across the room and jotted down a few quick directions to the place she would be staying. "It's a friend's place, but she works with the Crimson Caravan Company and is going to be out of town for a while."

Scarlet read the note a few times to make sure she could understand the handwriting and didn't have any questions and then nodded at the woman in front of her. "I better get going. I have a lot of thinking to do. Go ahead and head over there and I'll see you in a couple days."

She left Martina alone, but waited outside Vault 21 for her to come out. Just in case those Omerta assholes were still around she followed the other woman all the way to her new safe house and waited for her to go inside. When Scarlet was satisfied that neither one of them were tracked and that Martina was safe she headed back over to the Lucky 38 to get some essentials together. She was going to the Gomorrah tonight…

-X-

The receptionist was a rather talkative one, especially when she had a pretty face batting her eyelashes and promising to keep every little secret she was told. Scarlet learned a few things about the Strip and then was given a highly usable piece of intel about a man named Cachino, who was one of the officers within the Omertas. The receptionist believed he was up to something that the other members of the group wouldn't be too happy about and had witnessed him on more than one occasion acting suspicious. Cachino would be Scarlet's first stop on her search for something she could use against the Omertas.

Further investigation on the man did indeed imply he was up to no good, but it wouldn't take long for a confrontation between the two, because Cachino found her first. He grabbed her by the collar of her suit and pinned her against the wall near the elevators. "I hear you been askin questions about me. Its dangerous business waltzing around in here talking shit and spreading rumors."

"I didn't believe something was a rumor if it was true, Mr. Cachino," she told him, "from what I've heard you've been pulling some pretty shady maneuvers against your own team."

"Its bullshit, lady, and if I hear one more word about you stirring up trouble I'll make sure you never open your mouth again."

"Quite a threat. I think I'll keep it in mind." Scarlet wasn't about to be talked down from her endeavor from a sleazy mobster. There was a lot more riding on her success than just a woman's life, because if she failed to go through with this simple request that had been made of her she would likely lose any positive favor with the Legion. What use was she if she couldn't even get some arrogant jerks on the Strip to back off one person?

"You'd better." The man let her go and shoved her backwards. He stalked off into the main Casino, completely missing the smirk that broke out over her face. She held up the key she'd slipped from his pocket, examining for a few moments before placing it in her own and making her way over to the elevator.

-X-

The Omerta guards didn't pay much attention to her as she wandered their halls. She guessed a petite little blond in a skirt suit didn't look too threatening, which worked out well in her favor. There was no one near Cachino's room and she quickly used the key she'd stolen to slip inside and begin searching through his things. In his desk she found a worn leather bound journal, Cachino's scratch-like handwriting adorning every page. A lot of it was his own personal conquests, Omerta business that she didn't give a shit about because it was all in the past. In the most recent passages he talked about the bosses' plans to do something big, really big, and spoke about two men called Troike and Clanden being a big part of it. Apparently Cachino was trying to stop whatever plans his bosses wanted to set forth. Pocketing the journal she exited his quarters and headed off to find Troike or Clanden.

She found Troike quite easily and with a few choice words got him to admit that he was a weapons smuggler and that the Omertas were getting him and his contacts to steal NCR ordinance for their big plan. He wanted out, but they had his number for a hooker he'd apparently killed in a drug-induced stupor so he would stay. Anything much more than that she couldn't get out of him because of his fear of retaliation from his employers. If it hadn't been for his drug use and appearance as a particularly unpleasant individual she might have tried to help him, but he'd gotten himself into the mess and she wasn't here to help him. She said goodbye, and using the information she had gained from Troike about the "specialist," Clanden, she headed up to his room.

The more dirt she could dig up about the Omerta family the better, and what she found in Clanden's room, hidden behind a large armoire, was gold. Clanden was a sick man, specializing not only in what the Omerta family had hired him for, but also for torturing and killing women. He'd probably been the real person behind that hooker's death in Troike's presence. After watching a few minutes of Clanden's holotape she turned it off with a disgusted sigh.

The safe swung closed and she turned and headed down the stairs into the main room for the door. As she reached the bottom of the stairs the door swung open and whom she assumed was Clanden and one of the Omerta guards walked into the room. She froze.

"You." The guard growled, and she suddenly recognized him as the one she'd beat around back at the Vault 21 Hotel. He had a bandage across his nose, indicating she must have broken it. Her smirk of glee only lasted until he raised a handgun at her face and chuckled, the dark sound causing a chill to go up her back.

"Well, what a coinkidink!" She exclaimed.

"Isn't it just?" The guard replied, malice biting into each word.

"You uh wouldn't consider letting me walk out of here would you?" She inquired, already knowing she was most likely screwed already.

"Oh, no." He grabbed her by the arm and jerked her forward. She didn't fight him on the way to see the big bosses, especially because of the cold gun barrel pressing into the back of her neck. She'd like to keep her head thank you very much. As they passed the table that Cachino was seated he gave her a wry smirk that told her he was happy she'd been caught, happy until she opened the bag at her side just enough to reveal she had his journal, and then his face fell.

That's right asshole, she thought, if I'm going down so are you.

As she was shoved into a chair in the head honchos' office she started to consider all her options in this matter. They were very few, and even fewer would probably work. Once more she'd gotten herself into trouble, and this time she might not be able to get out.

One of the men looked down at her, "so you're the one that's been causing all the trouble tonight?"

"I guess so." She replied, looking straight ahead.

"Now you're going to tell us why you're here, and I mean everything." She handed it to him. He was a down to business kind of guy. That worked. She didn't want to be here any longer than she wanted to be anyway, and if they planned to kill her, then she wanted to go ahead and get that over with, too.

"I really don't have a choice in the matter, do I?" She finally raised her gaze to him.

"Not if you want to live."

That was a complex question for a woman like Scarlet, but for the moment the answer was yes.

Dun dun dun...

Chapter a little late today, but I was trying to figure out the way I wanted to handle this as well as what I wanted to change. R&R.

Next Chapter: Rigged From the Start - Scarlet tries to get herself out of a sticky situation and finally must make some kind of choice regarding Caesar.