The three misfits were outside of the Atomic Wrangler now. Troy kept his arms crossed while leaning against the casino wall, pouting at his most recent experience.
Harley stood in front of him. Her arms also crossed with her head tilted as she kept a cigarette in her mouth.
In the middle of the road, Griffon keeps his hands on his knees as he laughs his ass off at the story Troy just told him and Harley.
"So, did you assume the position?" Harley asked while forming a smirk on her face. Griffon ended up laughing harder at the question. The two were really poking the bear.
"Fuck you guys!" Troy snapped. "I'm going to look for more work!" he stormed off away from the Wrangler. Unfortunately he didn't really know where to go. The pay from the Atomic Wrangler wasn't enough for the three. A few more jobs should do before they can enter the New Vegas Strip.
"Oi, Six! Come on now mate!" Griffon tried to call Troy back. The rifleman was still laughing, but he managed to loosen up.
Harley was having trouble keeping her own composure. "Troy, come on. We've all seen some weird things" she tries to calm him down while chasing after him. Griffon soon followed after.
Troy managed to calm down after walking around Freeside for a while. Thankfully Griffon managed to lead the angered courier towards the needed destination. Both Griffon and Harley have been talking to people while waiting for Troy to finish his tasks. The NCR was nearby and needed some work done by mercenaries. This type of work was definitely something Troy needed right now. The courier really needed to cooldown. This time, it's by taking out some raiders that need to die. Harley preferred Troy kill something than him doing all these drugs he's been managing to get his hands on. Griffon was also willing to agree with this preference.
The three entered through a gate which led into an airport. Camp McCarran was the name of this NCR held territory. They were greeted by a few soldiers. These men were not like the ones at Primm. These troopers were clearly experienced. It was obvious by the tone of their voice, their weathered uniforms, and the way they held their own postures. These men and women have seen things in the wasteland that others have yet to see.
The soldiers, although being assholes, relocated the three to the major of the camp. The officer was patrolling around the camp, so it took a while to find him. Eventually he was indeed found by Troy and the others.
The major was an older looking man. An officer like him of course would be experienced and age. The NCR officer was an African-American with large bushy beard. One thing that has him stand out compared to all the other soldiers was his green beret. The hat might be what designates him as an officer.
"I'm Major Dhatri of the NCR" he officer introduced himself. "You three must be the mercenaries I've been told about" he asked.
"Yeah, that's right" Troy spoke up. Harley agreed that he'd do the talking this time. It'll help get shit off of Troy's mind.
"If it's bad news, you cant take it up with the Colonel. If it's good news, it better involve some dead fiends. Seeing how you guys are a part of mercenaries, I'm assuming some bounties might interest you?" the Major would assume. He was correct.
"That's right" Troy confirmed.
"Good. That's damn good" the Major's eyes brightened up in excitement. His composure was contained though. "I figured it's about time we got lucky out here, so maybe you can snuff one of these maniacs" Dhatri hoped.
"First one calls herself Violet. God knows why - the name is the prettiest thing about her. Spends most of her time with a pack of vicious dogs" Dhatri gives out the first target. The major then proceeded to the second. "Then there's Driver Nephi. He's fast and he's brutal. Killed about a dozen of my men with a goddamn driver iron. Hence his name" he finished up. Major Dhatri sounded more bitter about Nephi compared to Violet. His voice was more angered when mentioning the third one though. "And finally... Cook-cook. Rapist. Pyromaniac. And damn good chef, if you believe the Fiends we've captured. Probably the craziest of the lot." Cook-cook was obviously the biggest problem out of the three fiends.
"I'm not going to feed you any bullshit. These aren't your common Vegas trash. They've all killed good NCR men, and plenty of mercs, too." That last bit was unsettling. "You go after them - any of them - you're in for a hell of a fight. So... which one is it going to be?"
Troy looked back at his two traveling companions before looking back at Major Dhatri. Harley and Griffon had an idea of what Troy was thinking. They didn't seem to mind too much though. "We'll take all three out individually" the courier offered.
Dhatri blinked a few times in astonishment. "You people have some guts, I'll give you that" Dhatri compliment this. "This will be a huge favor to the NCR. My advice is to talk to Lieutenant Gorobets. He's in charge of Alpha Team, 1st Recon. Snipers. He and his squad has had some run ins with these fiends. Especially one of his lads" Major Dhatri informed. There was a bit of sadness in his voice. That should help motivate the group.
"Gorobets is out in the yard. I'm certain he's will to lend a hand" Major Dhatri added. He wasn't quite finished just yet though. "One more thing. If you want the full reward, you need to bring me a recognizable head. My superiors need proof they're gone. That means no headshots. No decapitations 'til after they're dead. And no damage to the face. If you want to be safe, aim for the chest. You bring me a head that looks like a rotten tomato, people will be doubting, and I won't be authorized to pay the entire bounty" Dhatri finished up. The extra information would make the job harder, but understandable after what the camp has been through. Troy and the others can surely manage. "Good luck to you. And don't get careless" were Dhatri's final words before taking his leave.
Before actually hunting these targets, the three needed information. The plan was to get all the info they could before the three decide who'd kill who. Griffon went off elsewhere to ask several different soldiers. In the meantime, Troy and Harley sought out the First Recon Snipers. They were very easy to find all thanks to the red berets. Harley quickly would split up from Troy to talk with the different squad members. Troy was left with the leader, Lieutenant Gorobets. Gorobets looked young for an officer, but his maturity proved how capable he was as a leader. The sniper leader was in one of the tents, sitting at a couch in front of a coffee table. Troy pulled up a chair to sit across from him.
"I'm Lieutenant Gorobets, First Recon" he introduced himself while extending his hand. Troy respectively returned the offered handshake.
"My group and I are taking Major Dhatri's bounties. How good is your squad?" Troy asked.
Lieutenant Gorobets was very professional with his answer. He wasn't cocky as he answered with his perspective. "I've been sniping since I was old enough to walk. Lot of us sharpshooters get recruited off the farms and ranches out west. Comes natural to us. As for my squad, they're the best we have. My word on that. They're all hand-picked, and I won't work with anybody who isn't up to snuff." He went on to explain each of his squad members individually.
Troy and the Lieutenant would continue their negotiations. The young officer would agree to help out with Driver Nephi or Violet. Unfortunately the run in one of his soldiers had with Cook-cook was too traumatic for the squad to handle. Troy decided that he preferred Gorobets' help with Nephi. Violet honestly did not seem that dangerous of an opponent compared to the other two fiend leaders.
Overall, negotiations were a success. Troy managed to gain information on where there leaders were hiding alongside a bit of details about the psychopaths. The courier met up with his companions after everyone finished their conversations with the soldiers. Now it was time for the three to decide who's going after which target.
The three mercs were able to figure out their individual tasks. Griffon offered to take down Violet and her dogs. His automatic assault rifle would prove to be very sufficient against multiple melee based targets. Of course, Violet's going to be a problem due to her owning a firearm. Other than that, the hounds are no match for Griffon. Not even Violet's ace, Violetta.
Harley was wanting to take on Cook-cook due to one of the sniper's incident with him. Apparently it was personal to the female survivor. Both Troy and Griffon were very hesitant though. Harley however claimed that she had a plan. Apparently the flame wielding psychopath had a single brahmin that was very special to him. Killing the cow would cause the man to go on a bloody rampage. If his raider pals don't take him out, then Harley will. The only risk of this plan is the fact that there could be a possible headshot from the other raiders. According to Harley, she's willing to risk it. Even though Troy was highly against this, Griffon reassured the courier. All three of them were fully capable and confident when it came to surviving the Mojave. Troy eventually gave in and said that he would trust Harley.
This all led to Troy being left with Nephi. He didn't sound too hard to deal with though. Like Violet's dogs, he was a melee type opponent. Sure, maybe that golf club would deal a whole lot of damage. However, Troy doubts the mission's failure with the 1st Recon Snipers that has his back. He really hated the plan the NCR soldiers came up with though.
The snipers were to hole themselves up at Samson rock crushing plant. A disintegrated quarry that was abandoned by prospectors due to all the fiends in the area. At first, the plan seemed easy. Troy would join them in picking off the fiends from long range. However, there was more to it than that. Driver Nephi needs to expose himself. The junkie leader would only do that if there was a target in range. The NCR snipers would only scare him away into cover. The only solution was for Troy to stand out in between the quarry and the fiend camp located in the South Vegas ruins. Troy already hated the plan. It didn't help that where he stood held absolutely nothing to hide behind.
"Fuck me. I've been unlucky with my jobs lately" the courier complained while rolling his eyes. He pulled his trusty revolver and aimed it up at the sky. A single shot both alerted the drug addicted fiends and signaled the snipers to take aim. Most of the fiends would gather around to confront the lone courier. Troy gulped as he watched the fiends take aim with their combination of their guns and energy weapons. However, a single fiend ordered them to all lower their weapons. As they followed orders, that same fiend revealed himself. He held a golf club, so it was obvious that he was the target. Apparently Nephi wanted Troy all for himself. That made the plan easier.
Troy felt very comfortable until he noticed how fast Nephi was. "Oh shit" he reacted to the immense speed the fiend leader held. Instincts caused the courier to point his firearm at the approaching raider. Nephi must have expected that, for he dodged and weave even though Troy didn't fire a shot. "This fucker is fast!" he'd indicate. Troy wanted to pull the trigger, but he was going to let Gorobet's squad have this kill. These fiend leaders already did a number to the poor soldiers. Killing one of them could at least provide some closure.
Several gunshots rang out from behind Troy. Blood would then gush out of Nephi from multiple places. The only part of the fiend that remained clean was his head. Troy's heartbeat was rapid. This moment had stunned him alongside the other fiends which witnessed the events unfold with their jaws dropped. Troy then popped back into reality after realizing how vulnerable he is. Thankfully, the Red Devils fired multiple shots at the fiends ahead, killing some or forcing the rest into cover. Troy took this chance to advance further into the camp with his revolver drawn.
The gunslinging courier kept his eyes peeled while running towards some debris to crouch down behind. A fiend revealed himself from behind the damaged wall of a crumbling building. As the poor junkie attempted to avenge her fallen leader, Troy aimed Lucky and fired a shot. The courier meant for it to be a headshot, but the pullet instead hit the girl's neck. Blood spewed out which caused her to make a nasty gurgling sound. She dropped what appeared to be an energy rifle before falling off of the wall.
Troy expected more raiders to attempt the same thing, but either they caught on that that was a poor idea, or that Gorobets' squad is still keeping the bandits pinned. Hell, Troy wouldn't be surprised if it was both. Troy didn't count how many were left, but it was definitely around the single digits. He's already heard many screams from getting shot by the many .308 rounds fired from the hunting rifles the NCR snipers possessed. It was about time Troy increased his kill count for this battle. He rolled away from his cover and aimed the revolver. There were currently two fiends that were surprised by the unexpected action that Troy took. They tried to aim their weapons towards Troy, but were too late. Troy's gunslinging skills were quick enough to take out both fiends. Both were hit in the chest, but unfortunately one's sawed off went off as he fell.
Something must have happened, because Troy's left arm started to heavily sting. Adrenaline however made Troy's reaction to the pain very slow. The courier slowly looked towards his arms to see the damage. His eyes widened as he noticed a chunk of his trench coat's sleeve missing alongside the oozing blood. Troy hide behind a junk wall as he bit into his tongue. It's been a while since Troy received a pretty bad wound. He though back and remembered the last time being his first encounter with the Legion.
"Shit, this really hurts" he whimpers. There was a moment of silence which Troy managed to notice. There was no way that all the fiends were all killed, so Gorobets and the rest must still be taking aiming. Running footsteps broke Troy's train of thought. He looked to his right and pointed his revolver. Once the silhouette of a figure with horns on her head appeared, Troy pulled the trigger. A female fiend was launched away from Troy as the .308 bullet pierced the side of her torso. Troy sighed as he pulled out a stimpak from his backpack and inject it into his bicep. The courier took in deep breaths while trying to calm down. He started to feel a little better, so he switched into a crouched position. "Man, I feel like a bitch" he insulted himself. He has a point though. The shotgun blast might have almost crippled his arm, but a stimpak would ease his suffering a bit. Troy would need some rest later, but for now he needs to finish off the fiends in the area.
"So how's your arm?" Lieutenant Gorobets asked.
Troy was currently wrapping the wound with a white rag he soaked in alcohol. The raiders have a bunch of junk lying around. "I'll live. No need to be a bitch about it" he replies. He thought back to his reaction to the wound. That was so lame and uncool.
"That's good to hear. I want to thank you for letting us take the shot. It may not be a big deal to you, but it felt good to get payback" Gorobets said.
The courier reacted with a snicker. "It's no problem. I understand your feeling" he assures. The thing is, Troy doesn't exactly understand. He gets the part about wanting revenge, but the success of it he has yet to feel.
"Hey, merc!" called out one of the other snipers. The man approached with a bloodied sack. Troy could only guess what it was, or should he say who it was. This man was of Asian decent with a brown goatee and scruffy mustache.
"What do you got there, Sergeant?" Gorobets asked.
"What we promised, Sir" the Asian sergeant replied back. "Remember that the Major wants the heads" he says after turning towards Troy. "Good shooting" as he shoved the sack into Troy's chest. The courier accepted it, but was slightly disgusted. He decided that he wouldn't open up the sack. Surely a lot of people would think the same.
"Well thank you all for your help. I guess I'll be headed back to Camp McCarran" Troy said.
"Likewise" Gorobets replied which was followed by a nod by the sergeant. "Allow us to join you back."