Throughout the day, money went in, goods came out. It was a cycle that repeated itself many times. A cycle that kept the machine of New Vegas clinging to the last vestiges of the Old World.

At around five a heavy weapons shipment came in under a meager escort of Van Graff guardsmen- they had been partially robbed by a group of wastelanders, and some had died defending the cargo. Anatolius and Simon were offered a bonus to switch out with two of the exhausted guards and track down the thieves. It was a welcome change of pace; one the Legionary took as a chance to let off some much needed steam.

And as one could imagine, it didn't take long…

.

.

.

"Damn!" Simon exclaims through a cloud of cigarette smoke, topping the rise of a massive sand dune. "You're straight cold, Anato! The way you handled that- I'd say you never left the Legion if I didn't know any better."

The man barely listens as he observes the orange-hued sun cutting across the horizon.

"You provided ample cover fire."

"Man, I didn't provide shit. That was all you," crushing the butt into the sand, Simon checks his Pip-Boy. "Well, we should get back. Gloria's gonna love you after this."

Within a half hour they were back at the gates of Freeside. Another ten minutes, and he was standing at his post again- with a hefty bonus he didn't care about and the respect of a woman he wanted to kill with his bare hands.

It had been a long day.. and it was only getting longer.

"So I take it you never found her?" Simon asked some time later, watching a pair of children playing in the street. He watched them almost longingly; as bored as they were free.

"I was close."

"Hah, you know close only counts with fatmans and hand grenades. Doesn't really work when it comes to women."

"No, it doesn't," Anatolius said offhandedly. When Simon didn't press further, he decided to ask a question himself- if only to stop his mind from wandering any more than it already was.

"You said something about a woman before. What happened to her?"

Still watching the kids, Simon's eyes harden beneath his sunglasses. The man could see it plainly on his face. Sadness, then regret.

"Figure it's not all that different from your situation…" he trails off for a moment, staring at a spot on his boot.

"You know, you spend your life waiting for that one thing to come along, and then one day it comes outta nowhere. That was her. She was perfect; long legs, dark hair, eyes that could kill a man from a hundred paces. Ass too. Fell so hard in love with that broad I didn't even wanna eat for a week."

"You just wanted to be with her," the man says, almost gently, as if recollecting something himself.

"That's it, man. I was the happiest guy alive for months, but money was tight, and living in the Core Region on a budget gets real rough real quick. I started working two jobs. My day job was a technician in a bottle cap factory, my night job was a bouncer. It wasn't enough. You can put bread on the table, but then you can't give a woman what she wants. That's when I found out she was sleeping with my boss for money."

"What did you do?"

"I did the only thing a man in that situation should do- I melted his face off with this very tri-beam. Heh... she tried to kill me after that. A few times, actually. Eventually had me ran out of town," he pauses to let a customer in, then continues. "Next thing I know I'm crawling through the Baja, dying of dehydration, when a Van Graff caravan shows up. Thought I was dead then and there… but they were actually decent people. Got me on my feet, let me tag along, then offered me a job; said I 'had an eye for weapons'. When I told them I had a death mark in New Cali, they sent me here. Been getting paid to guard this door ever since."

Despite the fact that he ran from his problems, the story sparked a certain level of respect for Simon. He was a survivor. A fighter, like him.

"So you're not a Van Graff."

"Nope," he said, like it was a good thing. "I'm the only one here who isn't, and I like it that way. Makes me an outsider, yet I belong. I'm kind of like the adopted brother- well liked enough by everyone, but when the family drama comes up, you bet I'm no where to be found!" He finishes with a laugh and a sigh.

"Shit, man. Didn't mean to tell you my whole life story…"

"It's alright," the man said. The sun had finally set, and their shift was almost over. Soon he would have the answers he needed…