Elizabeth barely had enough caps to let everyone on the Strip. She had to lay down the law: no gambling unless you're certain you'll win.
Arcade was rather unimpressed, "The Strip's not a bad place if you love terrible things and people. I'll never understand the allure of giving away your money to the rich."
"Lighten up Arcade, this is the only paradise on earth," Veronica playfully punched him on the shoulder.
Elizabeth walked forward a few steps and turned around to face the others.
"All right, I'll let you guys soak in the sights, I'm going to see if Vault 21's got any rooms."
Even after a casino heist of the century, they were still poor. Elizabeth counted 136 caps left in her pocket, and sighed and slipped them back into her bag.
"You all right?" Cass asked.
She nodded, "Yeah, yeah, fine. We don't have a lot of money..."
She grabbed her hand and pulled her toward Gomorrah, "We can gamble a little bit," She offered, and Elizabeth called out to the others to meet later on at Vault 21.
"Are you sure we'll make some money?" Elizabeth sounded unsure. She has probably never gambled before, and was a little unsure.
"Sure. You're a pretty lucky person," Cass smiled and opened the doors.
As she earned 300 more caps, and Elizabeth called it a night. Cass couldn't complain, since this was the most money they've had in a while.
Elizabeth ran her hand through her hair and sighed, "I need a haircut," She mumbled to herself. It was growing past her shoulders and was looking like a red, wavy tangled mess on top of her head.
Cass nudged the other's arm, and pointed to the stray securitron in front of the Lucky 38, "It's that cowboy robot that you mentioned before."
Elizabeth blinked, then looked up at the casino across the way, then back to Cass, "I guess we could check it out tomorrow," She mumbled and made her way to Vault 21.
The two took their time getting to Vault 21, enjoying the Strip and avoiding drunk NCR soldiers. They stopped in front of the Tops, and Elizabeth looked nervous again.
"Are you ready for this?" Cass asked.
"Ready for what?"
"To get revenge on Benny? Isn't that why you're here?" She asked.
"Oh, right. To be honest... I'm scared. What if he kills me again or something. I can't come back to life twice."
"We'll be there to protect you," Cass gave her a one-armed hug.
"That's another thing. I think I need to do this alone. It's not that I appreciate you and the others being there for me, I just... I just need to do it alone."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah... Yeah, I am."
"When are you thinking of confronting Benny, then?"
"Ah, geez, I don't know. I think when the time comes I'll know," Elizabeth sighed, and walked over to Vault 21.
Cass opened the door to for the other and closed it behind her.
The others were in the lobby, patiently waiting for them.
Elizabeth bought two hotel rooms for the night, and they were shown to their rooms.
"Classy," Veronica commented when the girls walked into their own room. Elizabeth rolled her eyes and set her backpack down, and rubbing her sore shoulders.
Cass threw off her hat and untied her hair and shook her head to loosen it.
"A haircut will be nice for all of us," She said while examining the ends of her hair.
"I can do that!" Veronica said, smiling and looking pretty excited for some reason. Elizabeth and Cass looked at each other, then back at the other. "All right, sure," Cass said, sitting down on Veronica's bed in front of her.
Since no one had scissors, Veronica had to improvise using a really sharp knife. She did both Cass' and Elizabeth's hair in no time, and the two looked at themselves in the bathroom mirror.
Nothing really changed, and Elizabeth was a little disappointed.
Still, she appreciated it, and gave Veronica a few caps. The scribe thanked her and put it in her "savings" bag.
The next day, Elizabeth sent everyone off to do whatever, but Raul stayed behind.
"You can go out onto the Strip with the others. I'm going to stay here so I can... prepare."
"For what?" Raul asked as he sat down in front of her.
"I have to see an old friend," She unloaded her 9mm and began to clean it. Raul leaned back and stretched. She heard a few joints pop and he sighed in relief.
"I think I'll stay here."
"That's fine. Hey, I was wondering, why does your jumpsuit say 'Miguel'?"
"Probably because it used to be Miguel's. Whoever he was."
"Do you know anything about a guy named Benny? Wears a checkered coat, carries a big pistol?" She was kind of in a hurry to ask all the questions she could.
"Benny huh? Sorry boss, doesn't ring a bell. Then again, my brain isn't as sharp as it used to be."
He leaned against the wall behind him, and Elizabeth checked her gun for anything that needed repair. "Tell me about yourself."
"Sure, boss. What do you want to know?"
"Who are you?"
"You forget about me already, boss? You sure you didn't take a blow to the head or something?"
Elizabeth chuckled, "Something like that. Anything else you want to share?"
"Boss, usually when somebody gives you a name and nothing else, it's because that's all they want to give you."
"All right. What are your skills?"
"I'm not much use besides being a portable encyclopedia, really. I guess you could use me as a pack Brahmin, but my knees aren't so good anymore."
"I don't believe that. You must have some skills."
"That's nice of you to say, boss, but I'm an old man. Not much use to anybody any more. Time was, I was a pretty good shot with a pistol. I guess I'm still half-decent. These old bones aren't much use in hand-to-hand fighting, though. I can also do maintenance work on your stuff. I don't have the supplies for a real repair job, but I can keep your gear working longer."
"Where are you from?"
"I was born just outside Mexico City. My family had a little ranch there."
"That would explain your accent. How old are you?"
"Old enough to know better, boss. Old enough to know better."
"What's Perto-Chico?" She motioned to his jumpsuit again.
"You never heard of Petro-Chico, un Amigo de Poseidon Energy? Ah, of course not. They were an oil company in Mexico, back before the War."
"Uh-huh. How'd you end up at Black Mountain?"
"Well boss, when a giant, insane Super Mutant asks you to stay put, you do what you're told. Well, maybe you don't, but I'm just a broke down old man."
"But how did Tabitha find you in the first place?"
"Ah, it's stupid, boss. I used to listen to the radio broadcasts just to pass the time. Well one day, the signal stops, so I figured I'd try to find the transmitter. I'm a pretty good repairman, or I was before the eyes started to go. Anyway, I found Black Mountain and offered my services, but Tabitha decided I was useful enough to keep around. Permanently."
"Well, I'm glad I was able to hear your distress call. That's all I wanted to know."
"Anything you say, boss."
She finished checking over her gun, then put a full magazine in and put the safety on.
"You seem to be quite the repairman yourself." Raul said. She glanced up at him, then back to her gun.
"Yeah, I guess so. I also have some medical training, so I would think I had an interesting childhood."
"Tell me about yourself, then." He said, turned to face her. She sighed and put her gun back into its holster.
"I don't remember anything except that I used to be a courier until I was shot in the head by a man named Benny. He stole something from me."
"Is that why you asked me about him?"
"Yeah. I'm kinda... going to kill him tomorrow."
"Well don't expect me to come save you if you get in trouble."
She chuckled. "Nah, I'll be fine. Just... please don't tell the others."
"Don't worry boss, your secret is safe with me. And I have one more question."
"Shoot," Elizabeth said.
"What's with the flower on your gun?"
Elizabeth turned her 9mm over and ran her fingers over the flower scratched onto the grip. It was crudely scratched on, probably something she did herself. She shrugged and said, "I guess I like flowers."
She was careful not to wake Veronica and Cass as she got out of bed. She hadn't slept well that night, and she needed to get this over with.
It was a little difficult putting clothes on when her hands wouldn't stop shaking. She checked her gun once more and holstered it and sheathed her machete.
She took a few deep breaths and kissed Cass on the forehead gently so she wouldn't wake up.
It was early morning, around 4 AM, when she walked down the street. She felt really uncomfortable being alone, and very unprotected.
She nervously chewed on her lip before walking into the Tops.
She was immediately stopped by a greeter before she could rush in and finish everything.
"Hey, hey, baby doll, welcome to the Tops Hotel and Casino! I'm going to have to ask you to hand over any weapons you might be carrying."
The pet names were making her sick, so she silently handed him her machete, but made sure to keep her gun hidden.
The receptionist (or she thinks he was the receptionist) was currently writing something down, so she walked up to him and cleared her throat.
"Um, excuse me?" She said quietly. He looked up and smiled brightly.
"Hello baby! Welcome to the Tops! What can I do for you?"
"I think you should know something about Benny." She started off bluntly to catch him off-guard.
He gaped at her, before stuttering out, "Really? You got something to say about the big boss, huh? Well, why don't you say it to his face instead of yapping at me?"
"Benny tried to kill me and stole a platinum chip I was hired to deliver."
He was quiet for a few moments, then scratched his head, "That doesn't... why would he pull a stunt like that? Got anything else to offer?"
"He tried to make it look like an accident- just a traveler killed and robbed in the Wasteland."
"He's trying to pull a fast one on the big man? Crazy bastard. You got any more?"
"I've got more evidence that proves Benny tried to kill me."
"Yeah? What else you got?"
"Look, I found these cigarette butts by the grave he buried me in." She held out one, and Swank took it and studied it, then dropped it back into her hand, "Huh. Well, yeah, okay, these are Benny's brand, and they ain't too common. You got anything else?"
"I found his lighter in Boulder City. He dropped it when he killed his partners." He took it from her and studied it, then sighed and rubbed his eyes, "What do you think?"
"Jesus kid, I think we got a real problem on our hands. Can't believe Benny's a no- good stinkin' punk. Trying to play House like that... Tell you what- I'll call Benny, keep him away from his suite. You go search the place. Here's the key, it's on the 13th floor," he handed me the key. "It's the room with the double doors, can't miss it. Maybe you'll find something we can show to Mr. House and get him arrested."
"We don't have time for that. We need to take him out right now."
He looked at me surprised, "Take him out? Jesus... okay, well, if you think that's the best way to deal with this. I'll send him up to his room, you can ambush him there. And don't worry about the rest of the Chairmen- I'll keep them from getting involved. You'll still have to watch out for Benny's guards, though."
"Thank you. I really appreciate it."
"You're welcome, baby," The name made her gag, but she kept her vomit down as he picked up the phone and told Benny to go to his room. She peeked behind a plant and watched a blur of black and white quickly walk to the elevators and disappear.
She, of course, waited a little while before following after Benny. She was certainly feeling nervous now, and her fingers were twitching as they brushed her gun.
She took a few breaths to calm herself, and (tried to) calmly walk to the elevators. She glanced back to check if anyone she knew was around (there weren't, why would anyone follow her?), and pressed the button to Benny's suite.
Security wasn't a problem. A man in a suit and a gun in his hand didn't pay any mind to her as she walked by.
As he turned the corner, Elizabeth checked around, and jogged up to the double doors to Benny's suite. She tried both handles, and, of course, they were locked.
She really didn't have any time, so she checked around once more, and kicked them in.
It clearly startled him, as the drink in his hand flew one way and he fell out of his seat.
He was about to pull out his gun before Elizabeth fired a warning shot and he dropped it.
She heard footsteps approaching fast, so she turned around and punched the security guard from before in the stomach, then hit him in the head with her gun, knocking him unconscious.
Benny looked completely surprised, scared even. She walked inside the suite and pointed her gun right at his head, "Get back on the chair."
He scrambled up and sat down, "H- how could you be...? You're... you're supposed to be dead..."
"One move and you're dead. But for now, talk."
"You got a crazy drop on me, baby," He smiled, even though he was clearly terrified, "But you don't want to kill me. We should be working together."
"Hand over the Platinum Chip and maybe you live."
"Can't do that, baby. The Chip, it's... special. But savor this, baby-"
"Don't call me that!" She shot another time, dangerously close to his head.
"Look, look hey, cool it, b- I mean, miss. Listen, I can comp you the Presidential- best suite in the house. After what you been through, you deserve a taste of the VIP lifestyle. Give me a moment or two to catch my breath and knock back a few cocktails, and I'll swing by for a meet and greet. I'll clue you in, guaranteed- every question answered. This can be the start of a beautiful friendship."
"Why should I trust you?" She pressed the gun to his forehead.
"I know, I made a bad first impression. You got every reason to think I'm a creep. But baby, this is an 18 karat opportunity. I've got the Chip, but to see this shin- dig through to the end? I'm gonna need help. And hello! Who shows up but you? It can't be a coincidence. You and me were meant to work together."
As stated before, Elizabeth wasn't the smartest person in the world. She was reckless and daring, and overly-curious. She, as expected, agreed to see him at the Presidential Suite.
"Wow-ee wow wow! You and me are gonna swing!" He pulled something out of his pocket set it on the table.
"Here's the key. I'll be by in a few... just as soon as my legs stop shaking."
She holstered her gun and picked up the key, and glanced at him, then quickly ran to the elevator and went to the casino floor.
It was a trap, obviously. Elizabeth should've seen it coming. But, she was fooled yet again.
Wiping the blood of her attackers off on their coat sleeves, she sheathed her machete and went back up to Benny's suite.
The securitron he had in his room certainly wasn't something she expected. It was in another room that originally wasn't connected to Benny's room. It had all sorts of tech stuff that she really didn't know (or care) about, and a lone securitron. It looked almost... happy—or at least the face in the screen looked happy. Still, it scared her when it turned to face her
"Hey! Hi there, good to meet you! What can I do for you today?" It said more cheerfully than she was comfortable with.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, not knowing what else to say.
"Good question! My function is to monitor Mr. House's data network and decode his encrypted transmissions! Allow me to introduce myself! I'm a PDQ-88b Securitron, but you can call me Yes Man!"
"Yes Man? What kind of name is that?" She mumbled.
"It's what Benny always called me. Probably because I'm programmed to be so helpful!"
"I'm just going to be blunt with you, Benny stole a Platinum Chip from me. Do you know what it's for?"
"Sure! Benny had me look at it a bunch of times! It's a data storage device, kind of like a holotape, but a lot more advanced! As for what's on it, well... Some of Mr. House's data transmissions made it sound like the Chip could upgrade his defenses somehow! That's just a guess, though! The Chip's a proprietary format! You'd need special hardware to read the data on it! There are two locations with non- standard hardware on the network- the Lucky 38 and an underground facility at Fortification Hill. I'd look there!"
"And have you seen Benny?"
"Sure! He came through here in a big hurry- didn't even stop to say hello! I think he went down his secret escape elevator out there in the hall!"
"What's Benny planning to do with the Chip?"
"Oh! He want to kill Mr. House and use the Platinum Chip to copy my neuro-computational matrix onto the Lucky 38's mainframe. That should give me control over all of Mr. House's defenses, most prominently his securitrons. And then I just do what Benny tell me- easy peasy!"
"You're very... forthcoming with information."
"I was programmed to be helpful and answer any questions I was asked. I guess nobody bothered to restrict who I answer questions for. That was probably pretty dumb, huh?"
Elizabeth made a note on her Pip-Boy while she walked to the front of the casino.
Before she walked out the door, Swank stopped her. "Is Benny taken care of?"
"He bolted. But I'll find him."
"I hope so kid. Last thing we need is that punk running around out here."
She nervously chewed on her lip once more, "Yeah, me too."
A/N: benny/courier physically repulses me and it makes me want to kill myself every time I see it