Almost didn't get this up in time! It's literally almost midnight... sigh. But here it is! Chapter 6. Hope you enjoy (whoever you are who's reading this).

Chapter 6

Back to Novac

I hadn't taken into account that I might not be ready for this until I was half-way to the town. Who knows… Maybe Boone will remember me, and maybe he'll try to kill me. I swallowed deep as I saw the eerie sight of the large dinosaur ahead. It was daytime, so Boone shouldn't be up there. Still, the sight of the place was unsettling for me. Hopefully I can just get in, and then get out. As I approached, I caught sight of a familiar looking robot. Once I got closer to it, it wheeled over to me, making me freeze.

"Well, howdy there!" It seemed to chime with a stereotypical voice of cowboy.

"Um… hi…." I stuttered, lifting my hat and wiping off sweat from my forehead.

"It seems we never properly met before. I'm Victor, from Goodsprings. And might I say you're looking fit as a fiddle?" He said, bobbing up and down. It was rather distracting. His screen showed a picture of an old cowboy, wearing a leather hat and a cigar hanging out of his grinning mouth. My eyebrows lifted as I remembered.

"Oh, right, Victor. Mitchell told me to find you before I left… guess I forgot." I explained, sounding as carefree as I could.

"I don't blame yah, getting shot in the head can throw you a little off balance. I'm sure you'll be fine in no time." He explained.

"Right… well, I'm looking for Benny. Have you seen him?"

"Fancy pants?"

"No, Benny."

"Not since that night. But he was with a load of Great Kahns, if that helps yah."

"It doesn't."

"Then I'm afraid I've got nothin' for you in the means of him. Sorry."

I was about to walk off when I remembered why he was here.

"Right, well, Victor, it's been nice and all, but I gotta go find Benny. Thank you for digging me outta my grave back there. Really appreciate it." I tried to sound sincere, but for some reason it came out a little more sarcastic than I was intending to be.

"It's really no problem at all. I'll see yah around." He did a sort of swooping motion, and then turned away, and wheeled off. I stared at him for a few seconds, then turned into the building where the front desk was. I opened the door slowly, and cautiously pocked my head in. Jeanie May sat at her counter, happily flipping through some pre-war magazine. Once she heard me, she looked up and smiled.

"Howdy, there. How can I help you?" She asked. She sounded more cheery than when I had met her two years ago. Overly cheery. It was kind of creeping me out.

"Um… I just have a few questions." I said, walking closer towards her. I silently hoped she didn't recognise me, but was soon let down as her small eyes widened.

"Oh, it's you! Ha, I hardly recognised yah with all that missing hair. How have you been?" She asked.

"Good… been better, but yah know." I explained.

"So many things have changed 'round here since you've left. For starters, we've got a bunch of souvenirs now." She pointed at a toy dino on her desk happily. "We've got them dinosaurs, and some rockets with real rocket fuel in 'em to give them that green glow." Her eyes lit up as she spoke. She must have really hated Carla. She looked as though she was going to go on about the 'new souvenirs', so I decided to change the subject.

"Hey, um, have you seen a guy in a checkered suit around here in the past three weeks?" I asked, leaning forward on the counter. Jeanie was silent for a moment, then forced a smile.

"Yup, sure was. He had his nose up in the clouds, and was treating our residents like dirt. So I asked him to leave." She explained.

"Do you know where he was headed?" I asked quickly.

"No too sure… I think Manny might know." She said. "You know, that man is such a breath of fresh air. He's such a good spotter, staying up in that dinosaur head all day. Hardly comes down for food or drink, no matter how much I…"

"Looks like I need to find him, then. I'll see yah later, Jeanie." I intruded, not wanting to hear more of from her.

"So soon? Why don't you stay for a while?" She asked, looking sincerely disappointed.

"Goodbye Jeanie." I said simply, and turned away from her.

"Stop by, soon!" She called back. I rolled my eyes. I liked her better when she was miserable.

As I walked out I caught sight of a darker skinned man, wearing the same beret Boone had on, walking over to the dinosaur. When he saw me, he nodded my way, smiling welcomingly.

"Hey, what's up?" He asked, walking towards me.

"Not much…" I set my hand on my hips. "By the way, have you seen a man with dark hair, tanned skin, and probably armed to the teeth?" I asked. Maybe this guys has seen Brad.

"Who?"

"Okay, so you haven't."

The man chuckled, and stuck his hand out to me.

"I'm Manny Vargas. I guard up in that Dinosaurs head in the day. Nice to meet you." He said. Manny…

"I'm Jay. Good to meet yah, too." I said, shaking his hand. "Have you seen a man in a checkered suit around here?" I asked.

"Yeah, I've seen him. What do you want with him?"

"I have a… bit of a score to settle with him."

"Doesn't surprise me. The man seemed like he'd do anything to get what he wanted. Probably makes a lot of enemies." Manny explained. I never actually thought about that… "Well, listen, I can definitely help you find him. But I've got problems of my own. Maybe we could do a trade off." Aw fuck. I am not down for whatever this ass wanted me to do.

"No offence, Manny, but I uh…" I stuttered. "Yah know, it seems to me that you have some needs that have been…" I held in a cough. "Rejected." I never tried to manipulate somebody before, and I doubted that this would work.

"I… well… Yeah. I mean, everyone depends on you. But they don't ask you how you feel, what you're worried about." He explained. Oh thank God.

"And what do you worry about?" I asked.

"Well… do you know Boone?" He asked. I frowned.

"Somewhat…"

"We were really good friends… before something happened."

"What happened?"

"His wife was taken by the Legion. He blamed all of us for it… it didn't help that Carla and I weren't really on the best of terms. Now… now he won't even look at me. It's as if he thinks I did it….He spends all of his time either locked away in his room, or up in the Dinosaur head at night."

I just stared at him for a few seconds, letting it all sink in. Boone… what the hell happened to him?

"He's miserable here, we can all see it. But he just won't leave. He won't move on." Manny looked at the ground sadly. "It's kinda hard to watch."

"How 'bout I convince him to move on?" I asked. Manny looked up at me, hope in his eyes. Hope that I dreaded.

"Would you?"

Would I? Could I? Instead of voicing my concerns, I shrugged.

"Sure. Why not?"

Manny looked hesitantly at me, shifting his weight to one leg.

"Do you really want to meet him?"

"I do." I said sternly. "Yeah, I do." What I didn't tell him was that I felt responsible for the accident… I could've stopped it if I wasn't so… so stupid. I needed to tell him that I was sorry. I needed to tell him I tried. That must count for something, at least.

I fell asleep waiting for Boone. I sat near the dinosaur, my back up against it's tail, and before I knew it, it was night. I bolted upright once I woke up, cursing myself for letting my guard down. Brad's flask fell to the ground, spilling the vodka I poured in it.

"Shit…" I mumbled, picking it up quickly, and tightening the lid.

I opened the door to the inside of the dinosaur, trying my hardest to keep quiet. In front of me was a different kind of desk, but this time it was surrounded by those tiny dino souvenirs. Random supplies were scattered everywhere, and if I didn't know any better I would snatch a few of them up. Instead, I slowly made my way up the stairs, careful to not make a single noise. I was surprised the door to the dino head didn't creak as I opened it. And then there he was, looking exactly like he had when I first saw him two years ago. Boone. Did he even change his clothes? I closed the door behind me, trying to find the words to say. The sound of the door made Boone jump, and he turned towards me in a flash. He was wearing his aviators even at night…

"God-damnit… don't sneak up on me like that. What do you want?" He asked roughly.

"Expecting visitors?" I asked, raising one eyebrow at him.

"Yeah. I guess I am. But not like you." He stopped for a second before continuing. "Huh. Maybe it was you I was expecting all along."

My heart leapt into my throat. I tried to swallow it down again.

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you here?"

Answering a question with a question. Great.

"Well… um…" I rubbed my neck awkwardly. "I was talking to your friend…"

"I don't have friends here." He responded sharply.

"Well, I'm not from here."

"No… no you're not, are you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I need someone I can trust. You're a stranger, that's a start."

"What do you need?"

"I want you to find something out for me. I'm not sure if there's anything to find, but I need someone to try. My wife was taken my Legion slavers one night while I was on watch. They knew when to come, and what route to take. And they only took Carla." He was trying to keep calm through it, but I could tell he was choking down his emotions. "Someone set it up. I don't know who."

"And… you want me to find your wife?"

"My wife is dead. I want the son-of-a-bitch who sold her."

That was a whole knew blow to me. I forced myself to stay on my two feet, but wavered slightly. I wanted to ask how he knew his wife was dead, but I didn't even know how to ask my next question without my voice wavering.

"What do I do when I find this person?"

"Bring him out to the front of the nest here while I'm on duty." His voice dipped an octave. "Then I'll take care of the rest. I need to do this myself."

There was something in his voice… something that shot warnings to me left right and centre. He had killed men before, and he was going to kill again. The guilt that hung on me from killing those Convicts at Primm was almost lifted, but now I'll be helping out with another death. I couldn't help but picture Manny, looking sadly at me, just wishing his friend to be better. Would revenge really help him? I didn't really see any other way out of this….

"I'll see what I can do." I said finally. Boone nodded.

"Good. I'll make it worth your while. And one more thing." He slipped his beret off, and handed it to me. "This will be our signal. You take the guy in front, and put this hat on. I'll know what to do." I took the beret in my sweaty hands, nodding my head towards him. "We shouldn't speak again, until this is all over."

"Okay… bye." I said awkwardly.

"Yeah." And with that, Boone turned away. I tripped down the last few stairs on my way down, slamming myself into the desk in front of me. Instead of getting up, I stayed down for a few seconds, willing tears to come. But they never did.

I knew who had sold his wife. It was clear to me now. But something about this guy told me I needed cold, hard proof. And I knew just where to find it. The lights to Jeanie May's office were still on when I walked out of the dinosaur. What in the hell was she even up to late at night? I waited for what seemed like forever until finally the lights switched off, and she waddled away and into the dark. Once she was completely gone, I opened the door as slowly as I could, pulling a flashlight from my belt. The office seemed one hundred times creepier with just the flashlight. I almost anticipated Silus jumping out from behind the counter and scream 'Boo!' at me. This sent me into a slight panic, but I was somehow push through.

Now, if I had proof of selling Boone's wife to the Legion, where would I put it? I opened the cash register half expecting nothing to be in there. And nothing was exactly what I got. Next to the cash register was a pile of pan-flips. I opened one up to find it to be a map of the Wasteland, a large picture if a dinosaur where Novac was. This could come in handy, even though it was cheesy at all hell. I stuffed it into my pocket as I moved behind the desk. Underneath a bunch of scattered papers was a safe. That's where it would be. I knelt down in front of it, debating how to get in. I had two maybe three bobby pins… and I didn't even need them anymore.

Brad had once told me that I could unlock a safe with a bobby pin and a screwdriver. After digging in my bag I was able to find one, and even my bobby pins. I set them both in the lock the way Brad told me, and took a deep breath. To my advantage, it unlocked right away. It took me a few seconds to register what had happened. Excitement rose in my like a flood. I took the bobby pin and screwdriver out slowly, as if the safe would re-lock itself if I went fast. Inside were a few bottle caps, some pre-war money, and an old looking piece of paper tucked away in the corner. That must be it… I plucked it out of the safe, and unfolded it.

We, the representatives of the Consul Officiorum, have this day bargained and purchased from Jeanie May Crawford of the township of Novac the exclusive rights to ownership and sale of the slave Carla Boone for the sum of one thousand bottle caps, and those of her unborn child for the sum of five hundred bottle caps….

I didn't need to keep reading. Or I didn't want to. It was bad enough I had the guilt of Carla being captured over my shoulders, now I had the guilt of his child. His unborn child. I stuffed the paper into my pocket, closing the safe lid shut. Now for the hard part…

Jeanie May was in the nicer part of town. Her house was near the main office, but yet it still felt like a trek to get there. How in the hell was I suppose to drag her out of bed, and bring her to the front of the Dinosaur? I shook my head, opening the door and stomping into the room.

"Jeanie!" I called, putting on my best panic façade. I found her curled up in her bed, slowly raising her tired head to me.

"What is it?" She asked, her words slurred.

"There's been an accident… at the dinosaur. Please, come help!" I cried. In an instant Jeanie was out the door running. It took me a little to catch up to her, and when I did I just kept running. This was the Jeanie that I liked. The Jeanie that would wake up in the middle of the night just to help a lone traveller. As we ran I couldn't help put feel even more guilt towards what would happen to her… I tried to remember what she had done to Carla and Boone. And their child. She sold his wife because she was… I didn't even know what Carla was. I didn't even know if she deserved it. Once we reached the front of the dinosaur, Jeanie turned to me, breathless and worried.

"What… what is it?" She asked, her eyes wide from behind her glasses. I looked apologetically at her, pulling the beret from my belt.

"Jeanie… I'm so sorry." I said

"What do you mean?" She asked, suddenly worried. Before either of us to could say anything else, I slipped on the beret. Her eyes widened in recognition of it, and her mouth opened, as if to say something. But before she did her head blew clean off. Blood splattered across my face, making me flinch.

"Holy fucking shit!" I yelled, then clasped a hand over my mouth in anger to myself. I glanced up at the dinosaur, only to see Boone's stern expression looking down at me. There was some kind of look that he had… a look that I feared. It was the look of a killer.

"That's it then. How did you know?" Boone asked once I got up to him again.

"I found the bill of sale." I said, handing him his beret and taking the paper from my pocket. He took them, looking down at the paper in silent astonishment. After a while, he pipped up.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised. It'd be like them to keep the paperwork." He pulled a small sum of caps from his pocket. "There. This is all I can give you. I think our dealings are done here."

"What will you do now?" I asked after taking the caps. I was actually interested…

"I don't know. I won't be staying, I know that. Don't see much point in anything right now, except hunting Legionaries." He explained. "Maybe I'll wander. Like you."

I looked at Boone, and in that moment I knew what to do. There was no way I could pay back the debt of not helping his wife and kid, but maybe I could help him in a different way.

"You could come with me." I offered. Boone's eyebrows forwarded.

"You don't want to do that."

I shrugged.

"Why not? You hate the Legion, and I have a bit of a debt to pay with them. Plus, we'll kill more with the two of us."

Boone waited a little while to respond, and when he did he responded with a sigh.

"Yeah. That might be true. And that's reason enough for me to take you up on it… Fine. But this isn't gonna end well."

I hid a small grin, and tipped my head up in triumph.

"We leave in the morning. I'll be down at the entrance." I turned to walk away, when he stopped me.

"Wait." He grumbled. I turned back to him, and noticed he was handing me a small rusted key. "Stay in my room. It's number twenty 4, top row. You can't miss it."

The last thing I wanted to do was stay in Boone's room. But an actual bed was so inviting I bit down on my guilt, and walked in. It was just one door down from the room I stayed in two years ago… I could still hear Carla's shrill scream in the night. The room smelt awful. The bed wasn't made, and there was trash scattered everywhere. I dropped my bag on the bed, and walked into the bathroom. Immediately I noticed the mirror was shattered, and dried driblets of blood stained the sink and floor.

The amount of guilt I had chocked me from the inside out now… I tried to sleep, after tidying the bed a bit, but I couldn't shut off my brain. Finally I swung my legs over the bed, and decided to clean up. What was originally just picking up some things here and there turned into a full on sanitation of his room. Minus that bathroom. Once I was done, the sun was already starting to rise. There was no point in trying to sleep anymore. Instead I pulled the red-leather bounded journal from my bag, as well as Brad's flask, and began reading while occasionally taking a drink here and there. All I got from it was that Crystal was growing up in a Vault somewhere… she mentioned a guy named Amato a bunch, and a few about a guy named Butch. But before I could go on, the door opened, making me jump. Boone looked stunned at the room, his eyebrows raising up over his aviators.

"What did you do in here?" He asked, a bit of an edge to his voice.

"I cleaned up a bit. I… hope you don't mind." I said, stuffing the red-leather bound journal into my bag. He just stared at the room for a bit before responding with a simple nod.

"Where are we headed?" He asked.

"I gotta talk to Manny real quick. Then we'll head out. I'll explain to you on the way." I said. Boone nodded and turned to the door.

"Wait, you're not gonna bring anything with you?" I asked quickly. He shrugged, opening the door.

"There's nothing here for me anymore."