Wednesday upload! I really hope I can keep with this schedule.

So I checked to see just how much of the story I need to finish, and it's a lot less than I thought! I might upload twice a week, just to get this out of the way.

Anywho, enjoy!

Chapter 5

But I Didn't Shoot The Deputy

It was a quick journey to Primm, considering it really wasn't that far away from Goodsprings. The road there was also pretty clear of any hostilities, making travel time go much faster. I hadn't been to Primm for a little while, and to be honest I didn't miss it. As I walked in I was surprised by just how empty it was. The only thing on the street was a dead body, propped up against a wall of a building. What a nice welcome. I made my way towards the body, and immediately recognised him as a fellow courier. His toke was still around his neck, but it had been emptied. Great. I sighed, and turned away from him. What in the hell happened out here? Just then I heard footsteps behind me, and I turned quickly to come face to face with a convict, eyes wide and fierce.

He swung a large machete at me ruthlessly. I ducked just in time, and jabbed my elbow into his spine. He went flying forwards, and I took that opportunity to shoot him in the back of the head. His lifeless body collapsed, revealing yet another convict, looking viciously towards me. I narrowed my eyebrows at him, debating what to do next. He growled loudly, and began charging towards me. He stopped when I sent a bullet through his skull. I stared at the two men in front of me, both bleeding out into the pavement, expecting guilt to set in. Or something. Anything. But I felt nothing as I continued to stare at the absence of life. After taking a deep breath, I stepped over them, and headed to the middle of the town. I looked around, half expecting more convict, but saw nothing.

Damn. I forgot which building to go in… I decided to go into the building to my left, which I soon found out was a mistake. Right ahead of me was a Powder Ganger with his back turned to me, walking the opposite direction. I ducked instinctively, forcing myself to be as quiet as I possibly could. Maybe it was just this one guy. I could take him. I took on two. Not at once, mind you, but I did it. I took a glance at my arm as I noticed the hairs on them began to stand. Then in that moment the Powder Ganger turned around, and caught sight of me. He made a sort of yelp before pulling his pistol at me. I shot him in the head before he could make another move. There was a few seconds of silence, and then a handful of Convict came running through the hall. My eyes widened, and I ducked behind a large desk.

"Get her!" I heard somebody yell. Something hit the wall next to me, and landed beside me. I looked down to see a lit stick of dynamite.

"Fuck!" I yelled. I moved away from it at first, then thought of a better idea. I picked it up quickly, and threw it towards the men in the hall. I heard yelling from them, a boom, and then silence for a another few seconds. Then I heard screaming. Blood curdling screaming. I straightened myself up to look over the desk, and what I saw made my stomach twist. A man sprinted towards the door, his arm completely blown off. What remained were a few pieces of dangling flesh, and a hell of a lot of blood. I stumbled backwards, hitting my head on the wall behind me. The world span around me as I watched the man panic, running into walls, turning this way and that violently. Then he collapsed on the ground, dead. I stayed like that for a few more seconds.

"Get up." I whispered to myself. I forced myself to my feet, running past the mans dead body, only to find three more equally as gory as his. Limbs had been blown off, blood splattered everywhere… the rustic smell hit me hard. I covered my nose tightly, and kept running down the hall. I didn't know where I was going. I didn't care. Anywhere away from the bloody scene. But I was soon disappointed as I entered a large room with what seemed like one hundred more convicts. They all noticed me right away, making me freeze. Then the shooting started. I ducked into a small room, cursing myself. I looked around drastically for anything, anything at all to fight back with. All I found were some empty soda bottles, some paper weights and a teddy bear. Before I could think of what to do, another stick of dynamite was thrown into the small room.

"Are you fucking kidding me right now?!" I yelled, picking it up, and threw it back into the clearing. This explosion was larger than the last one, and I could hear bodies slamming onto the floor. More screaming followed. I took a deep breath, my rifle in hand, and ran into the large room. There were only four more convicts that I could see. I held my breath as I shot the first one, not giving myself anytime to watch him fall to the ground before I had shot the next one. Then the last two. There was another silence afterwards, making me breath out. Just as I was about to relax, the doors on the other side of the room swung open, revealing a man welding a large metal thing over his shoulder. In a instant it was confirmed that it was a flame thrower as flames came shooting towards me. I felt the heat of it lick my face, making me stumble backwards.

"You like that?!" Came a hoarse voice. Ugh. What an asshole. I aimed my rifle at him, immediately feeling foolish when he sent another wave of flames at me, making me duck out of the way. Fuck! What in the hell am I supposed to do? I looked around, and saw a dead Convicts body right next to me. As quickly as I could, I searched him, hoping for anything, anything at all. To my shame all I found were some bottle caps, and some ammo. I cursed loudly, sprinting over to another body, just barely dodging another wave of flames.

"Would you cut it the fuck out?!" I yelled, sliding across the floor towards the Convicts body. After some quick searching, I found a stick of dynamite. Ugh, these assholes and their explosives. Flames shot up my back, making me sprint again away. Wait a second… I looked down at the dynamite, an idea forming in my mind. As the man with the flame thrower came towards me, I turned to him, a wicked grin coming across my face. He looked tired, and impatient. Time to put him out of his misery. As he clicked on the machine again, I threw the dynamite in the flames, making it explode straight away. The impact of the explosion sent me flying backwards, and I slid a good ways against the floor. As for the man, there was almost nothing left of him.

Only bit's of limb scattered here and there. My breathing was fierce and shallow as I stared what was left of his body. My stomach twisted brutally. I set one hand beneath me, forcing myself to my feet. The second I did, bile rose into my throat, and I vomited to the side. I held my stomach, coughing, practically begging for tears to come. Still, my eyes were completely dry. I just killed… I didn't even want to count how many men. All I've ever killed were Gecko's, Big Horners and the occasional Brahmin. Never men. Right ahead of me was another room, and from the angle I was at I could see some fridge's. I could use a drink right about now. I stumbled towards it, when a voice made me nearly jump out of my pants.

"I don't suppose you came here to rescue me. I'd cross my fingers, but my hands are kinda numb." A man with leather armour, and pulled back white hair said. I clutched my rifle in my hands, keeping myself from aiming it at him. He was on his knees, his hands tied in front of him.

"Who the fuck are you?" I asked, my voice cold and stern. The man only seemed to pout.

"Huh. So you didn't. I'm Deputy Beagle. Listen, uh, I'm in a bit of a predicament here, I'd appreciate it if you help me out." He explained.

"Why can't you just stand?" I asked.

"Well, I couldn't, what with all of those convicts around…"

"I don't see any."

Beagle stared at me for a few seconds, then groggily got up to his feet.

"There we go… now, mind cutting these off?" He asked, pulling his hands towards me. I glared at him before pulling my skinning blade from my belt, flicking it open, and slashed the restraints in one easy gesture. The ropes fell to the floor as Beagle rubbed his wrists.

"Thank you… uh…"

"Jay. Call me Jay."

"Alright, Jay. Thanks for saving me."

I looked over the man quickly before remembering just who he was.

"Have you seen a man in a checkered suit come by here?" I asked.

"I have… er, mind if we discuss this outside? The air's a little tight here." He explained. I set my rifle on my back, walking right past Beagle and towards the coolers.

"What are yah doing?" He asked. I opened the fridge, scanning for the best drink. Whiskey sounded nice right now, but I felt like I needed something a little stronger. I pulled out a bottle of scotch, ripping off the lid, and taking one huge gulp from it. When I turned back to Beagle, he was just staring at him with his eyes wide. I held the bottle out to him.

"Want some?"

He shook his head, almost urgently, and motioned to the door. I lifted my head in acknowledgment, and headed towards the exit.

The outside air was nice after the whole fiasco inside. Once we were out, Beagle stretched his arms over his head, yawning loudly. I took another large gulp of my scotch, enjoying the warmth that spread down my throat. When I looked over at Beagle, he was staring at me again. He was looking at me as if I were crazy.

"What?" I asked.

"How in the hell are you doing that?" He asked in astonishment. I shrugged. I looked into the distance, seeing the building just in front of us.

"We should head in." I said. Beagle nodded his head. Just as I was about to step forward, he stopped me.

"Don't you want to know about your friend?" He asked. I turned to him. I had forgotten already.

"Right. So, where is he?" I asked.

"Um… well I was sku-… er, preforming recon, looking for any Convicts when some Great Kahns arrived with your friend in the suit. They were talking about some delivery they shot a courier in the head for. They said they'd be headed through Nipton and Novac to meet a contact there." He explained.

"Thanks, Deputy. That's where I'll be headed, then." I said simply. I turned to walk off, when Beagle stopped me again.

"Why don't yah stay? We've got more drinks in the Casino." He explained. I glanced at the doors to the Casino, weighing my options. I could use more than just this one bottle. I shrugged again.

"Why the hell not?"

As we began walking towards the building, Beagle chimed up with another question.

"So who are you?" he asked.

"I'm the courier they shot in the head."

I'm not much of a drinker. I never really have been. After my first bottle of scotch, I was already piss drunk. My arm was loosely around Beagles shoulder as I watched a game of poker he was playing. It must've been a pretty boring game, since everybody didn't get excited about it. But I thought it was the best thing ever.

"Don't you fold again, Beagle!" I yelled drunkly. "Be a man!"

Beagle didn't give in. He gently set his cards down, face down, and nodded his head. I sighed, over dramatically moving away from him now.

"Come on, you're no fun."

Luckily I wasn't the only one drunk. There was a group of people stumbling from the bar, and towards the poker tables. Some even tried to dance. Turns out Beagle was kidnapped by those convicts, just after they had killed the Sherif. The whole town was hiding in the casino in fear of the convicts, and now that they were all gone, it was time to party. And after all of what I went through… I was more then willing to drink my cares away. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a girl in a tight fitting dress walking down the steps and into the gathering of people. Her brown hair cascaded down her shoulders, her skin slightly paler than everyone else's. She looked beautiful. Within a second I ditched Beagle, and shot right towards the woman. Her eyes lit up as she saw me.

"Hello there, Jay." She hummed. Here eyes were bright green, shinning in the dim lights of the casino.

"Hey there, gorgeous." I slurred, moving towards her with my hips jolted forward. God I was an idiot when I was drunk. Be she didn't seem to mind. She giggled, placing the back of her hand towards her mouth. God she was cute. She moved closer to me, touching my shoulder playfully.

"Thank you for saving the town. You're quiet the hero." She sang. I smiled drunkly at her. What I didn't tell the people of Primm was how I actually threw up after killing all those men… and how they were the first people I've ever killed. Hence the reason I was completely hammered now. I waved my hand in the air dismissively.

"Oh, it was nothin' I couldn't handle. Just glad y'all can go outside now." I said. The girl smiled, showing just a little bit of her white teeth. How she got them that white was beyond me… Before I could say anything more, she grabbed my hand in hers, and led me to the door.

"Lets go see the stars, then." She said in admiration, and soon we were out the door, and into the coolness of the night. But she didn't want to see the stars. The second we were out of sight, her lips hit mine fiercely. I've never kissed a girl before… but this felt so damn right, I didn't refuse. Her hands hugged my back tightly, holding me tight to her. Her need for love and affection mirrored my own, and my hands reached up and gripped the back of her head, pulling her closer to me. She leaned against the wall, making me follow, our lips never parting. Her leg lifted up, hugging my waist as if to hold me in place. But the whole time I was kissing her, all I thought about was Brad, wondering where he was. I kissed her as if I were kissing him. Deep inside something twisted. And this something I soon figured out was guilt.

After the whole thing with kissing the girl (never even got to learn her name), I moved to the dance floor to show off my stellar moves. And by stellar moves, I mean making a complete ass of myself. Then, after eating almost all of the food that was readily available, I passed out in the back room. I woke up to Jonathon Mash hanging over me, a cigarette in his veiny hand.

"Look who's waking up." He said. I cringed at the light, and lifted myself up with just my elbow. That's when I noticed I was only in my tank top and underwear. "Looks like you had a good night." His eyebrows lifted as he took a puff. I blushed, quickly looking around for my pants. When I found them, I pulled them on in such a hurry I was almost afraid of breaking them.

"Jonathon, I'm so sorry…" I started, already scrounging for my things.

"It's no worry. I'd say you deserved it, after killing all those men."

This made me stop. I stared at him for a few seconds, unknowing of what to say. Jonathon's eyes fell, and he looked at me with a worried expression.

"You have killed before, right?" He asked sternly. I looked down at my hands, twisting my thumbs nervously.

"No… that was a first." I said. I half expected a slap in the face. Maybe even a couple. One for drinking all the booze, two for making out with some random chick, three for eating all the food, four for making people witness my dance moves…. Maybe he should just give me a good beating. But instead all he did was take another drag from his cigarette, then placed a hand on my shoulder gently, and looked me straight in the eye.

"Then you damn right needed it."

I was about ready to leave when a girl approached me. Her hair was pulled back in a messy bun, and all she wore was a loose fitting shirt, and some tight jeans.

"Hey, sweet cheeks. Where you headed?" She asked. Then I remembered her. Her green eyes. Her sweet voice. I didn't even know her name. I shuffled awkwardly, pulling at my straps around my shoulders.

"Um… out." I said. Her green eyes fell slightly. She shifted her weight to one leg.

"Out?" She seemed a little angry. "What do you mean 'out'?"

"Well… I'm not planning on staying." I said simply.

"Why not?"

"I… well I have a few things to settle. Outside of Primm." I tried to sound as soft as I could. But the urgency of the matter shone through, making tears appear in the girls eyes.

"Do you even remember our night?" She asked. I rubbed my neck awkwardly.

"I remember seeing the stars…"

"I mean our night."

"Oh…" My hand fell limp to my side. "I'm sorry…"

"Rose. My name is Rose." She said softly. I nodded my head.

"Rose. I'm really sorry."

Rose sighed, looking at the ground sadly. I could tell she was about to cry. I placed a hand on her shoulder, moving her towards a small table. After a few seconds of sitting in silence, I had to speak.

"What happened?" I asked. Rose swallowed deeply, her hands balling into fists.

"A miracle happened." She explained.

"Are there not many lesbians in Primm?"

Rose shook her head.

"Rose… I'm not gay. I… I don't even know why I did it…"

"You called me Brad."

I stopped, staring at her for a little while.

"I assume he's your boyfriend?"

"We're suppose to be getting married."

"And you cheated on him."

I cringed.

"Don't… don't remind me."

There was a bit of a silence.

"Why did you do it? I mean, I get you weren't in control half of the time, but there must have been some conscious moments where you decided it would be a good idea."

My fingers tapped the table in thought.

"I guess it just felt natural. I saw a pretty lady, and just gravitated towards her." I explained. A soft smile flickered at Rose's lips. I placed a hand over her clenched fist gently. "Rose, I am so, so sorry. But I have to move on. I need to find the men who shot me."

Rose looked up at me, her wet eyes now creased with worry.

"You were shot?"

I nodded, lifting my hat and showing off my small scar. She looked at it deeply, her eyes shifting in realisation.

"I wondered what that was… when I asked you just said somebody threw a lucky gambling chip at you." She giggled.

"Well, they shot me for one. A really important one. And I intend on getting it back." I tapped my hand over hers. "I need to go, Rose."

Rose took a deep breath, almost as if she were steadying herself for a punch in the face. Then she nodded, quickly and compactly. I smiled encouragingly at her, and promised myself to never tell Brad.

The road to Nipton was uneventful. I almost wanted shoot into the distance for some action. The whole Rose thing was messing with my head, and I wondered what else I must've told her. Hopefully I didn't tell her anything that was locked away for Brad's ears only. Then again, I showed her a lot that was for Brad only. What in the hell was I even thinking? I wasn't. How could I do that to Brad, after he disappeared? How am I ever going to pay him back? I shook my head, not even wanting to think about how I'd feel when I see Brad again. Ahead of me were pillars of thick, black smoke, streaming from what I thought was Nipton. As I approached it, I soon realised that the only thing remaining of Nipton were those pillars of smoke, and burning buildings.

"What the shit…" I trailed off as I took in the town. I was in Nipton about a month ago… how could it have gone to hell so quickly? Taking a deep breath, I stepped into the town, and immediately regretted it as I heard a loud yelling. But it didn't sound like a yell of despair… it was… joy. Intense joy. From behind a building came a man wearing torn caravan clothes running full speed towards me. I froze, readying my hand for my rifle. But he stopped right in front of me, staring at me with his crazed features.

"Guess who won the fucking lottery!?" He howled. His eyes were wide and demented, making me feel a little unnerved.

"… You did?" I asked after a few seconds.

"That's right! I did!" He screamed. "Smell that air! Couldn't you just drink it like booze!" He grabbed me by the waist, pulling me in towards him as he slammed his lips to mine. I jolted backwards, punching him square in the face as hard I could.

"You fucker! What is wrong with you?!" I yelled back. The guy did nothing but laugh hysterically. "What lottery did you even win?"

"What lottery? WHAT LOTTERY! THE LOTTERY, BABY!" He started to come at me again. I pulled my pistol from my belt, pointing it at his face. He only laughed again, but this time he ran right passed me, and away from me. I watched as the man ran away from me, his whole being reckless and terrified at the same time. What in the actual fuck? I turned slowly towards the town, suddenly not wanting to take another step inside. But something told me otherwise. I had to find out who did this. After taking just a few more steps inside, something silver on the ground caught my eye. I knelt down next to it, removing dirt and ash from the object, and soon recognised it as a flask. When I turned it around I noticed the name carved in the back of it.

Bradley Cooper.

Brad… he was here. My heart leaped into my throat as I stared down at it… why would he leave his flask here? And more importantly, where the hell was he? I stuffed the flask into my pocket, suddenly feeling ten times more determined to find the culprits behind all of this. But when I turned the corner to the main building I regretted my abrupt decision. In front of me were rows and rows of crucifixes, fixed on either side of the road. Half dead bodies clung to life as they hung from the wooden crosses. The Legion. My eyes widened, and bile rose in my throat. Swallowing deeply, I trudged on. Because if there was any place Brad would be, it would be here. Trying to fight off the Legion from an unsuspecting town. As I kept walking, keeping an eye out for the people on the crosses, I suddenly heard growling. Dogs. Wild dogs. I kept moving, closer and closer towards the main building. Once I was a stones throw away, two dogs came running out. Before I could even think of shooting them, I was stunned by what followed. A line of Legion soldiers came pouring out, assembling in two neat rows on either side of me. I had never seen so many Legion soldiers in one place before. Each of them glared at me from behind their masks, goggles and bandanas. Burning tires surrounded us, filling the air with the sickening smell of burning rubber. Then, in the middle of the soldiers, came a man in a fox fur hat, walking straight towards me.

"Don't worry. I won't have you lashed to a cross like the rest of these degenerates. It's useful that you happened by." He explained.

"Is that so?" I asked, almost teasingly.

"I want you to witness the fate of Nipton, to memorise every detail. Then when you move on?" The man explained. "I want you to teach everyone you meet the lesson the Caesar's Legion taught here, especially any NCR soldiers you come across."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What lesson's did you teach?" I asked, an edge to my voice.

"Where to begin? That they are weak, and we are strong? This much is known already. But the depths of their moral sickness, their dissolution? Nipton serves as the perfect object lesson."

"Would you just tell me what exactly happened here?" I asked harshly. The man narrowed his eyes at me. "I mean… for a more detailed story."

"Well, first of all, you'll refer to me as Vulpes. Second of all, Nipton was a wicked place, debased and corrupt. It served all comers, so long as they paid. Profligate troops, powder gangers, men of the Legion such as myself, the people here didn't care. It was a town of whores. For pittance, the town agreed to lead those it had sheltered into a trap. Only when I sprang it did they realise they were caught inside it, too. I told them that when Legionaries are disloyal, some are punished, with the others made to watch. And I announced the lottery. Each clutched his ticket, hopping it would set him free. Each did nothing, even when 'loved ones' were dragged away to be killed." He explained.

"So, in short, you slaughtered a town of innocent people?"

"Innocent? Hardly. Cowardly, though. They outnumbered us, yet not once did they try to resist."

"How the hell could you…" I shook my head. "That's… that's…"

"Unforgivable?"

I looked up at him. He knew damn well what I was going to say… he must be well aware of how this people reacted to the Legions actions. I simply nodded my head.

"As are all crimes. If you feel strongly about it, attack us, and soon you won't feel a thing."

I stared at him as he lead his troops away until they were far off in the distance. How could they do this to the town, and just walk off? Then it dawned on me. Brad was here… did he get caught in the cross fire? Vulpes explained everyone as cowardly, which was the opposite of who Brad was. Still, I spent at least three hours searching each and every dead body I could find, none of which were Brad. I breathed a sigh of relief, and determined which direction to go next. North East to Novac.