The flickering campfire would soon die out as Troy watched it. He sat on a rock and watched while moving around the ashes with a stick. Soon, he'd let out a long yawn. He stood up and looked at the sky. His yellow flannel shirt and brown pants lit up due to the sun's lighting. He then looked back at his poorly made tent and leather backpack that layed against it.
"I better head out soon. I can't have another package go late" Troy muttered to himself. "Goodsprings should be the closest settlement" he'd remind himself while packing everything up.
Once he had everything from the campfire repossessed, he'd take off. Wildlife will probably find some of Troy's leftovers near the now dead campfire. While walking, Troy unholstered his .357 revolver. He'd examine it's quality and cleanliness before checking to see if it's fully loaded.
The courier was nearing Goodsprings now. He'd keep walking until he was interrupted by a man in a checkered suit.
"Slow down baby. I just want to talk" the stranger said. His voice wasn't very pleasing to hear at all. It was like the guy thought of himself as someone entitled with their nose up in the air all the time.
Troy uttered a groan. "Look man, I got shit to do." The courier wasn't happy at all that his job is being delayed.
The checkered suited man had a devilish grin on his face. Troy had urges to punch the guy, but managed to hold the temptations in for now. "Baby, baby" the guy repeated. "Let me just tell ya that you won't need to be doing that anymore."
Troy raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry? I'm assuming that was a threat" he snapped. Before the stranger knew it, Troy had his revolver in his hand and pointed at him. "You won't have long to step aside" the courier threatened.
The stranger would lightly laugh. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Troy tilted his head and stared with a puzzled look. Suddenly, he collapsed which revealed a man with a mohawk, bandana tied around his forehead, and a leather sleeveless coat holding a shovel. "Benny why didn't we just do that before?" the goon asked.
Troy managed to get up onto his knees. There he saw his revolver on the ground ahead of him.
"Jessup don't worry about it. Let's deal with the mailman first" the man in the checkered suit ordered.
The goon took out a sack and placed it over Troy's head before he had a chance to grab his weapon. Now all Troy could see was black.
Troy slowly opened his eyes. The look of the running ceiling fan and blinding light bulb gave him a nostalgic feeling.
"How about that. Awake again" a familiar elderly voice said. Troy continued to stare at the ceiling. "Welcome back" the voice would greet.
Troy looked over to see Doc Mitchell sitting on a chair in front of the bed. It's just like the first time they met. Without thinking, Troy tried to get up.
"Easy, easy" Doc repeated. "You're acting too rash just like last time."
Troy rubbed his eyes. Unlike last time, he remembered a lot of what happened. "My head was in a lot of a pain when I blacked out" Troy said under his breath. It was loud enough for Doc to hear.
"Well after all, you did get shot in the head. How reckless have you been ever since you've left Goodsprings?" Doc asked.
It dumbfounded Troy now that Doc mentioned it. The courier went through more than he should have. He was still recovering, but decided to push himself way too much. From fighting off convicts in Goodsprings and Primm, to fighting radscorpions, to the Legion in Nipton, then running away from the deathclaw.
"Wow. I feel really stupid" Troy blurted out.
Doc lightly chuckled. "You're lady friend brought you here. She's sleeping on my couch right now. You should thank her" Doc suggested.
The doctor stood up and would head towards his kitchen. Not long after, Troy got up from his bed. He felt wobbly at first just like last time. He soon managed to regain his balance and walked towards the living room. Upon entering, he saw Harley laying down on the green couch. Her looks didn't change at all. She must have only focused on bringing Troy back to safety.
Under normal circumstances, Troy would have left Harley to peacefully sleep. The thing is, she doesn't know that he's safe yet. He decided to walk over to her and shake her shoulder. She'd lightly open up her eyes and smile upon seeing him.
"So that's what's under all that leather" she'd flirt.
It was then that Troy noticed he was only wearing his boxers. He rolled his eyes thinking her comment was needless.
"It looks like Doc is superior when it comes to patching you up" she noted. Troy's wounds slash wound were a lot more cleaner and stitched up before being wrapped in bandages. He also had bandages wrapped around his head.
Harley soon sat up. Troy felt it was time to thank her. "Hey Harley. I appreciate not leaving me there to die. Thank you for bringing me back."
The girl shrugged. "I mean you didn't seem like a bad guy" she'd compliment while rubbing her eyes.
As Troy examined her, he felt his heart beating a bit faster. The girl was a lot more attractive now then when they first met. Maybe it was just the situation that kept him from noticing. He then suddenly shook his head, but then winced after that decision. Fuck me he thought to himself. He looked at Harley and was relieved that she didn't notice his dumbass decision.
"We should probably head out then" Troy proposed.
Harley looked at the courier with a dissatisfied look. "Are you dumb? You just woke up." She stood up. "You're gonna show me around first. We'll resupply right afterwards, rest up for a night, and then we go" the girl declared.
Troy didn't like the idea. He still was desperate to chase the man who shot him. The courier opened his mouth to argue, but by then Harley already turned and walked away. Troy groaned not knowing how to dispute with her. She then came back and tossed a leather bag at Troy. The courier opened it to see all his belongings.
"Well get dressed. You're not going into the town looking like that" she teased.
Doc rubbed his chin while he inspected the damaged Pipboy. He then let out a sigh while rubbing the back of his bald head.
"It looks to me that it won't be running unless you get it checked at the Vault" Doc proposed.
"Man I'm sorry Doc" Troy apologized. "I really didn't mean for this to happen. Some thugs attacked Griffon and I on the road."
"It's fine" Doc assured. "It's a pretty old device after all. By the way, what ever happened to Griffon?" he'd ask.
"Oh um, we've decided to part ways" Troy answered guiltily. He wonders how Griffon is doing with Primm. It won't be too long till a reunion.
Doc uttered another sigh. "Well that's a shame. You two did get along fairly well. You should hurry up and give your friend of yours a tour. Last I saw her she was looking pretty impatient."
Troy chuckled. "I guess I'll go do that then" he'd reply before putting the Pipboy in the bag Harley gave him. The courier and doctor would bid their farewell before parting ways once again.
"So which first? The saloon or general store?" Harley asked
Just like last time there wasn't much to do in Goodsprings. "Lets head to the saloon. There are a couple people there you might like to meet." The shop would have been Troy's first pick, but he's still holding a grudge against Chet. The greedy clerk wasn't willing to share supplies with everyone even though there were thugs trying to take over the town. Apparently his store is more important than everybody else here which really bugs Troy. What made it worse was that Troy was willing to buy his own supplies, but based on Chet's prices, Troy could only afford low quality items.
"Well look who it is. Back already huh?" Sunny greeted. Her hound walked up to Troy with a gleeful look on her face.
"Nice to see you Sunny" Troy responded before crouching down to greet her companion. "You too Cheyenne."
"So who's your friend?" Sunny asked while looking at Harley.
"I'm Harley. Nice to meet you."
"Sunny Smiles. I know the town is small, but hopefully you can enjoy what's here."
Just like Troy promised, he continued to greet Harley with everybody else. First Trudy, then he looked for Ringo. Apparently he left a while ago, so they went outside for Harley to say hi to Easy Pete. It turns out the old man was sleeping. That's why he didn't say anything before the two entered the building. After trying to stay in the saloon as long as they possibly could, it was time to go Chet's General Store. Troy uttered a groan at the thought of it.
"Are you gonna be alright?" Harley would check on her partner.
"I don't even know" Troy replied.
"Just let me do the talking then" Harley offered.
Chet was ready to greet his customers the moment the door swung open. "Welcome to Chet's Gener- Oh" the look on his face after seeing Troy says it all about their relationship. "Didn't realize you were back in town."
"Nice to see you too" Troy replied. "Fucking bitch" he muttered under his breath.
Troy immediately tried to buy supplies, but Chet wouldn't give any good deals. Eventually an argument broke out. It was a good thing that Harley was there to stop the two. She decided to do the bartering. That was the time Troy learned about the girl's bartering skills.
Since the two resupplied, they decided that it was time to relax in the saloon. They both sat at a table across from each other as they organized what they bought. Trudy eventually walked up to the two with a couple bottles of beer.
"Here you two go. Don't worry Troy. It's on the house" she'd guarantee.
Troy smiled at the saloon owner's act of kindness. "You really don't have to Trudy."
"No I insist. Morale in Goodprings has been up ever since Cobb and his gang were killed." Trudy looked at the table to examine all the supplies the two bought. "I'm surprised that you managed to get that much from Chet with your current relations with him." She'd crack a smile before crossing her arms.
"Oh, I had to barter with the guy" Harley chimed in. "I was always good with words. Either that or my body is a good enough distraction" the girl joked.
Trudy laughed. "So what's your story Harley."
"Well," Harley began. She looked at Troy nervously which confused him. Trudy noticed the look as well.
"If it's personal you do-"
"No it's not that I don't mind sharing" Harley interrupted. "It's just embarrassing" she'd admit before uttering a sigh. "I was a stripper in in New Vegas you see."
Troy and Trudy remained silent. It wasn't really something they expected at first. Troy would get ready to say something to comfort his companion, but she decided to continue her story.
"I ended up quitting and wandering around on my own maybe around six months ago" she'd assume. "I ended up getting captured by Legion, but" she stopped to giggle. "They act tough but I guess me talking and showing off my body soften them up."
"That kinda explains why you were so calm at Bonnie Springs" Troy murmured.
"Well those guys were amateurs compared to Caesar's guys. Then again, the Legion are probably amateurs compared to you" she'd compliment Troy.
"Erm, what do you mean?" Trudy asked.
Harley looked at the bartender with a confused look. She then realized that word probably hasn't gotten around yet. "Troy managed to kill a Legion leader along with a few of his troops."
Trudy's expression suddenly got dark. "Troy! You killed a leader?" she'd blurt out in disbelief. "You could have been Marked!" she'd warn.
Troy backed up against his seat. "Trudy calm down" he urged. "And what do you mean by Marked?"
"Troy if Caesar wants you dead, he marks you which means he sends people after you" Trudy explained. "If you killed somebody important, that gives Caesar a reason to mark you." It was obvious that Trudy was scared for Troy's life. The courier looked at his companion and saw a similar look on her face.
"I can't believe I didn't think of it like that" Harley said in a quieter voice than usual. "Troy I'm so sorry" she suddenly apologized. "Lets go and get you somewhere safe" she'd urge.
"Whoa Harley don't get so hasty. We'll be fine" Troy tried to comfort her.
"No Troy listen! Trudy is right. Those assassin's they're meant to finish there job well" Harley informed.
The two girls continued with their attempts to persuade Troy to take more cautious actions. Unfortunately for them, their friend wasn't having any of it. Troy's priority right now is Novac. He might be farther away from it now, but he's getting more and more clues. It would be absurd for him to stop now.
The courier looked at the gear on the table. He didn't buy much for himself other than stimpaks, a combat knife, and some special 9mm ammunition. Harley was nice enough to give back the scoped rifle since she decided to get herself a caravan shotgun, a .45 pistol with little ammo, and her own knife as well. The girl also managed to get a pair of clothes for herself and Troy.
The long silence broke after a gunshot sounded outside. The three, startled, looked towards the front door. Troy and Harley quickly packed up to head outside hoping the commotion isn't as bad as they think. Trudy headed over behind her bar counter to grab her revolver before meeting them outside.
After they met outside, their faces had a completely different look upon seeing what's going on. All three had shocked looks as they saw a dead settler along with a Legion member with feathers on his helmet placing a foot on Sunny. The guy had a 9mm pointed at the town guard's head. A combination of barks and growls then caught Troy's attention. He saw Cheyenne trying to escape the clenches of a teenage settler. It's only expected of a hound to try help out her master.
The Legionnaires attention had switched from Sunny to Troy. He pointed at the courier which led to the three other legionnaires noticing Troy's presence.
"You!" the leader with a foot on Sunny called out. "The Caesar has marked you for death!" the legionnaire threatened.
"Shit!" Troy blurted out as he quickly hid behind a pile of boxes as cover. He heard the bullets and noticed wooden chunks falling on the ground near him. He looked at Harley who reached for her shotgun and Trudy who raised her revolver. If Troy's friends were willing to fight, he was as well. Troy unholstered his 9mm and popped out of of his cover. Three of the other legionnaires ran towards him with machetes. For now, Troy didn't see them as much of a problem since the one with the gun was attempting to mow him down. Troy emptied a clip of +P ammo into the gunned legionnaire.
Troy didn't even watch the legionnaire fall. There was no time since three others were running towards him. In fact, Troy didn't have the time to reload. He dropped his pistol and pulled out his knife to parry the slash of one of his assailants. Another one came in to try finish Troy off. Unfortunately for him, Trudy was there to cover the courier while Harley shot the other one. Troy faced the legionnaire he parried who still wasn't backing down. The courier's foe came at him recklessly. All it took was another parry and a stab to the neck.
"Sloppy" Troy whispered into the legionnaires ear before dropping the body onto the ground before walking to Sunny to help her up. "You alright?" he'd ask.
Sunny patted the dust off of her. "Yea. They came out of nowhere threatening us to tell us where you were. Charles over there stood up to them" she'd point at the dead settler. "As you can see, it didn't end well" she'd finish with a grim look on her face. Cheyenne eventually came up to lick her master's hand. The action managed to cheer Sunny up a bit.
Troy shook his head in disbelief. "These fucking bastards" he muttered under his breath. He looked back at Harley and Trudy. There he noticed that other settlers watched the scenes that unfolded as well. "Harley. I think we should go."