Fox took a drag from the cigarette in his hand, and walked slowly over to the NCR Sergeant tied to a chair in front of him. The man had been stripped of his armour and beaten; blood stained the front of his fatigues. He didn't know it, but the man's suffering had barely begun as long as Fox had anything to do with it. He lowered himself to one knee, so that he could look the soldier in the eye. He blew smoke in the man's face to keep him awake; his eyes had started to droop. "Do you know why I hate the NCR, son?" The soldier, raised his head slowly, his nose and mouth hidden behind a bloody mask. He was breathing heavily; Dozer's onslaught must have broken a few of his ribs. "Fuck…you…" The man managed, blood dripping off his lips onto his shirt. Fox chuckled, and looked up to one of the men standing behind the captured soldier.
"Y'hear that Dozer? I told you this guy weren't gonna break. You owe me a beer." Dozer grinned stupidly at Fox, probably not understanding a word Fox just said. "Dozer and his brother Junker are excellent fighters, and great at what they do, but a life o' hard drugs and constant knocks to their noggins has left 'em both dumber than a Brahmin's behind." This time the soldier didn't even lift his head. "F-fuck…you…" Fox's expression suddenly turned sour, and he ground his cigarette into a bullet wound in the man's shoulder, causing him to cry out in shock and pain. "You already said that."
Fox stood back up, and started pacing slowly in front of the soldier, gesturing with his hands as he spoke. "I hate the NCR, cuz they are always takin' things that don't belong to them. Yer fancy-pants president thinks that because we don't have a corrupt, bureaucratic shit storm of a government tellin' us what to do, we ain't 'civilised'. I don't want a fucker in a suit takin' all of my caps to pay for his fancy houses and whores, s'what they call taxes. I know, I've been to Shady Sands, The Hub, Boneyard. I've seen yer precious 'civilisation'. I weren't impressed. The Mojave don't need it. I told the boys that signing a piece of paper was a stupid idea, but they did it anyway. The Treaty fucked the Desert Rangers, My Rangers. We lost our identity. But I served my time. I gave the NCR eleven years of my life." Fox leant in towards the soldier, lifting his chin to look him in the eyes. "You know what they gave me? A pair of pretty dog tags and a dead brother. I didn't want neither. So I decided to finally leave, and I started fighting for something I thought was right. Y'know, back at Golf, I had a real nice room, cushy bed and delicious food. And now I'm here" He spread his arms wide, and turned slowly, taking the large, gloomy open space of the cave. "An I'm happier than I've ever been."
"What…bout me?" The NCR soldier managed. Fox leant down and dramatically put his hand to his ear. "Wassat? Sorry son, what was yer name, Vincent? Vincent, you gotta speak up" Vincent coughed, and looked into Fox's eyes, seething with hate and rage. "What…happens to me?" Fox stood up again, and rubbed a hand through his thick beard. "Well, I'm gonna hand you over to the Doc, and he's gonna look after ya, let ya rest up some, so's that my friends Dozer and Junker can continue torturin' ya. They need the practice." He turned to Dozer, speaking loudly and clearly.
"Take him to the Doc, boys" The brothers grinned again, and with a grunt picked up the chair and soldier, and lumbered off down a tunnel, deeper into the cave system. Fox was about to follow when he heard footsteps coming from the tunnel that lead to the surface. Moving with a swift efficiency gained from years as a ranger, Fox darted across the cave and grabbed an assault rifle from a table, and disappeared into the shadows along the edge of the cave. He watched the entrance as the sounds of footsteps got louder, eventually revealing Ruby and Ricky entering the cave. They walked straight over to the fire pit in the centre of the space, whilst Fox circled silently around them.
As they set down and started to relax, Fox stepped up smartly behind them and aimed his rifle at the back of first Ricky's head, then Ruby's. "Bang, bang. Yer both dead. Don't you listen to anything I teach ya?" The two younger Pirates span around, automatically reaching for their weapons until they realised that it was Fox. Ricky threw his shotgun down in annoyance and stood up, pulling his goggles down. "For fuck's sake, Fox. I keep telling you that no-one knows where we are, no NCR fucktard is gonna find this place or set an ambush, so no, we don't need to be careful whenever we come in!"
Fox rested his weapon across his shoulders, and gave Ricky an appraising look. Seemingly ignoring what the younger man said, he turned his attention to the still sitting Ruby. "What're ya doin' back? Your route shoulda taken you another two days." Ruby glared into the fire, and spat into it. "Short-fuse, Washington and Jacob met up with us; apparently they were setting an ambush for a big Crimson Caravan convoy that was going past Nipton. Said they'd clear out the rest of our route on their way there. We were out there two weeks already Fox, so's everyone else. If you actually ever let the Inbred Twins outside, we could get some more fucking rest. You and the Doc can look after each other. Besides, you got Moleman."
Before Fox could reply, the sounds of clomping boots and scraping came from deeper in, and Moleman entered the cave. Fox had found the old ghoul in the cave that he now called home when he had hid in it to avoid a particularly bad sandstorm. Moleman never went outside in the daytime, and he never took of the bulky protective mining suit-gasmask combo that hid his weathered appearance from other's view. You could believe he was a normal human if his voice didn't sound like someone had attacked his vocal cords with a piece of sandpaper. He had a bad limp, and walked around with the support of an aluminium baseball bat. Moleman seemed to care not one bit about the Desert Pirates crusade against the NCR, he allowed them to live in his cave because he liked the company, and in exchange he cooked and generally looked after the Pirates when they made their short breaks in the cave after weeks out on the road. He made his way steadily into the main cavern breathing heavily through the mask. He looked at the three Pirates in silence for a few moments, as they looked back at him, waiting for him to react.
Eventually Moleman stumped over to an open scrap metal shelter built in the cave where he prepared food, and started bustling around, taking out a large metal pot and selecting various vegetables and foodstuffs from the shelves. Fox raised an eyebrow. "You okay there, Moleman?" The ghoul didn't look around, just gruffly called over his shoulder as he chopped up some potatoes. "Yup. You guys hungry?" Fox coughed. "Sure, what ya cookin' up?" "Stew. Got some bighorner meat that needs eatin'"
Fox was going to offer to help, when for the third time in as many minutes, the sound of pounding feet coming down the entrance tunnel. A tall thin man in a blue jacket and an old cowboy hat ran into the cavern. He had a pistol in either hand, and blood spattered his trousers. Fox walked over to him, concerned. "Harley? What's going on?" The man called Harley stopped in front of the old ranger, and leant forwards, his hands on his knees as he gasped for breath. He composed himself, and holstered his guns. "Fox, I was interrogating a military police guy that works at the Embassy. Apparently he saw the Courier going in there this morning. The same day that Brigadier General Hsu turned up unannounced." Fox stroked his beard, and walked slowly in a wide circle, the other Pirates watching him, waiting for his verdict on the information.
"So, the Courier is helpin' out the NCR again, huh? I wonder what Hsu has got planned for him." Ricky stood up from where he had been slouched by the fire, and approached Fox, his muscles tensed with nervous energy. "You reckon the NCR brass have finally caught on to what we're doing?" "Very possible son, with Oliver out of the way, the actual smart guys can get on with things. Hsu doesn't mess around, with anything. I have a feeling that the enigmatic 'saviour of the Mojave' has been put on our scent like a goddam bloodhound." Ruby stood too. "What does this mean? Do we hide out for a while?" Fox scoffed. "I don't care how good this guy is, one man is one man. I know more than most what one man can do, but we continue with the plan. I want Hsu's boots filled with piss before I come for him." Harley, a normally quiet man, preferring to talk with his pistols, seemed troubled. "So that's what you think? We're just gonna ignore the Courier?" Fox span around, and slammed the butt of his rifle into Harley's jaw, throwing him to the ground.
Knowing better to try and fight back, the ex-mercenary stayed on the ground where he had fallen, rubbing his chin. Fox stood over him, the normally cheerful look in his eyes replaced with the cruel harness that was always poised to reveal itself. "Yes, we do Harley. We ignore the Courier, because if you've done yer fuckin' job properly, he won't have any fuckin' clue on where to look. Right?" "Right" Harley spat out, standing up slowly. Fox smiled. "Good, I appreciate this information. Yer a good man Harley, but I like ya better when yer quiet."