Chapter Seven: Strangers in the Night
With one hand on her holster, Cass hurried back to the gates of Freeside. Once she arrived, she showed her passport to the Securitron.
"Rose of Sharon Cassidy, also known as Cass, Leader of the Happy Trails Caravan Company," said the giant robot. "You may enter."
Cass slid her passport back into its usual pouch as the gates creaked open. With her heart pounding in her chest, she sped through the gates. One of the local homeless men gazed up at her as she passed.
The neon lights of New Vegas shone brightly, almost blinding if Cass hadn't been there a million times. The air was significantly cooler now and most in Freeside were settling down for the night.
Just as Cass approached The Atomic Wrangler, the door opened, and out stepped a man swirling on his feet. She could smell the liquor on his breath as he turned and smiled at her. Cass gave him a wide berth as he drunkenly stumbled down the street. Shifting her attention back to the flophouse, she entered The Atomic Wrangler.
There were numerous security guards scattered around the main room. Standing on the large stage in front was a woman wearing a purple dress with a low neckline. She sang about lost love and the audience listened intently. Cass walked up to the bar where Rob was nursing a beer. The young brunet turned to her.
"Hey boss," said Rob. "Jeremy and Tommy are in the back."
Cass moved her gaze to the small, connected room in the back. "Probably losing all those caps they just earned too." She shifted her attention back to Rob. "I have to head out and I probably won't be back in time to return to headquarters. Do you remember the way?"
Happy Trails Caravan Headquarters was located in Sac-Town, a settlement in the northern region of NCR territory.
"Of course, I do," Rob said with a nod. "Where are you going?"
Cas shook her head. "Sorry, that's need to know only. But if anyone asks, I'm helping out an old friend," she then clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Thanks, Rob. Make sure those two idiots don't get too sloshed before you leave."
"Yes Ma'am," he said, giving a mock salute.
"Good. Hopefully, I'll see you soon," said Cass, removing her hand from Rob's shoulder.
With that, she turned and walked back out the door. Scanning the empty streets, Cass walked back to the nearest gate. As she approached the Secruitron, she once again held up her passport. The robot quickly scanned the tiny piece of paper.
"Travel safely," said the Securitron as the gates squeaked open.
Cass's gaze flickered across the collapsed homes and buildings, taking note of the number of homeless. While most appeared asleep, she kept one hand on her holster the entire way back to the New Vegas Medical Clinic.
By the time she got there, Dr. Usanagi was sitting at her desk. The two security guards flanked the Followers doctor, who looked up at Cass as she reentered the building.
"We're all set. Physically, how is she?" Cass asked.
"Physically, she's fully recovered from the bullet. I've deemed her safe to travel, but we don't know how much of her previous memories remain intact," Dr. Usanagi replied.
Not enough to remember me, thought Cass with a twinge of sadness.
"Where is she now?" she inquired.
"She's in her room, getting changed," the doctor answered.
"All set," said Ruby from the hallway entrance.
Cass felt her throat constrict when she saw Ruby wearing the armored Vault 13 jumpsuit. It was the same jumpsuit she'd been wearing when the two had met. Pushing her feelings aside, Cass cleared her throat.
Dr. Usanagi stood up from her desk. "Ruby, this is the friend I was telling you about, Cass. Cass, this is Ruby."
"Ready to go?" Cass asked.
"More than ready," Ruby replied, before looking at the Followers doctor. "Thanks again for your help, doc."
Now that sounds like the old Ruby, Cass thought.
"My pleasure," said Dr. Usanagi. "Good luck out there, you two."
"One more thing before we go," said Cass, shifting her focus to Ruby. "Do you know how to shoot?"
"Well, usually you aim the barrel of the gun at whatever you want to kill and pull the trigger," Ruby replied.
She always was a smartass, thought Cass.
"Good enough, let's hit the road," she said, opening the door.
In some ways, this is just like old times, she thought.
Ruby followed Cass into the cool, dessert evening. The fresh air felt nice against her skin, compared to the stuffy, stale air of the clinic. The moon and stars shone brightly in the sky above. Ruby scanned the nearby collapsed buildings and slumbering homeless people.
"So, where are we headed?" Ruby asked.
She turned to look at Cass, whose gaze was focused on the road ahead. For some reason, Ruby felt like she knew Cass. But she wasn't sure why.
"We're going to Goodsprings," Cass answered.
"Goodsprings?" Ruby asked with a raised brow. "Where's that?"
"It's a town a few miles southwest of here," said Cass.
"In that case, wouldn't it be faster to travel through New Vegas?" Ruby inquired.
"It would, but that's not safe," Cass said.
"Why not?" Ruby inquired.
Cass sighed. "Because it's not."
But why, Ruby thought. She didn't bother asking again, since she didn't expect a real answer. She watched Cass's brows furrow together and a slight frown mar her face.
"So, Goodsprings, huh? Sounds like a Podunk town in the ass end of nowhere," Ruby remarked.
That earned a slight smile from Cass. "One year ago, you would've been right."
"What about now?" Ruby asked, her curiosity piqued.
"Ever since the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, it's become a major trading hub between here and the New California Republic," Cass replied.
"I've heard people talk about the Second Battle of Hoover Dam. Some with awe, and others with disappointment," said Ruby. "Do you know what really happened there?"
"Yes," Cass said.
"Could you tell me?" Ruby queried.
Cass sighed again. She stopped walking and turned to face Ruby. "Will you stop asking so many questions if I do?"
Ruby shrugged. "Sure."
"Good enough," Cass replied and resumed walking once more.
After her meeting with Julie Farkas, Jaydon used a Stealth Boy and snuck into one of the other towers. While she trusted Julie had told her the truth, she also needed some piece of information to take back to Him.
She opened one door, only to find a desk with several piles of papers strewn about. Swiftly closing the door, she entered the room. Looking to the left, she found a set of stairs leading to several doctors asleep in bunk beds.
Makes sense this is where they'd sleep, I suppose, she thought.
She crept out of the room and opened the door, before stepping out into the cool dessert night.
Hopefully, I can find something in one of the towers, Jaydon thought.
The former Courser opened another door, which also held a desk and a series of test tubes. She closed the door as she stepped inside, and found another set of stairs and more doctors sleeping in bunk beds. As she left the second tower, her gaze snapped to the security guards. Both were in the middle of a game of Caravan as one shifted to look at the second door.
Shit, please don't come over here, thought Jaydon as her heart hammered in her chest.
Luckily, the guard cared more about their game than whoever had opened the door. They quickly shifted their attention back to their hand and Jaydon closed the door as quietly as possible.
She crept toward and opened the final door. There she saw a blue light coming from around the corner and snuck inside. As carefully and quietly as she could, she closed the door and crept further into the room. A blue glow filled the tower and she walked down the short hall to find a set of stairs leading up to three terminals lining all three walls.
This is it, thought Jaydon as she took two stairs at a time. But why do they need three terminals to house their records? Do they really have this many patients?
Beginning with the terminal on the right, she noticed a row of manila folders. Clicking on the first one, she found patients with the last names A through C. When she didn't find what she was looking for, she exited the folder and moved on to the next one. This included patients with the last names D and F.
Found it, she thought.
Jaydon rapidly parsed through the names, stopping only when she reached Alejandra Carmen Ruby Díaz slash The Courier.
Name: Alejandra Carmen Ruby Díaz/ Ruby/The Courier
Gender: Female
Age: 22
Height: 5'2"
Description: The patient has been shot three times in the head.
"Holy shit, she was shot three times?" Jaydon murmured. "And one of those times was by me."
While she had been ordered to shoot The Courier, she hadn't wanted to kill her. Despite this knowledge, guilt settled in her gut. Pushing this feeling aside, she kept reading.
The first bullet entered through the forehead but didn't penetrate the brain. The second entered the brain through the frontal lobe. Both were removed eighteen months ago. The third punctured the temporal lobe, more specifically the hippocampus. Dr. Gannon was able to remove the bullet with minimal difficulty.
Damn, The Courier must have a hell of an endurance if she can survive being shot in the head so many times, Jaydon thought as she kept reading.
The patient has physically recovered however, she's unable to remember anything from the past eighteen months.
Unfortunately, there was nothing else in her file after that. Jaydon exited out of the file, before reentering it to make sure she didn't miss anything.
"Well shit," she murmured as she stared at the medical report. "What now?"
She turned away from the three terminals and put her hands on her hips. The file only stated Ruby's injuries, but not where she'd been taken after her recovery.
Wait a minute, isn't there a Followers Medical Clinic just outside New Vegas, she thought, trying to summon a mental image of a map of the Mojave. If they wanted to protect her from Him, while continuing her treatment, they could've taken her there.
Jaydon exited the file and left the tower, hurrying toward the gates. Fortunately, a drug addict entered just as she reached the entrance. She slid through the gates and stepped onto the empty streets of New Vegas.
Hopefully, I can give Him this report and get some damned sleep, she thought.
She didn't hold out much hope for that, as she knew He would want her to track down and kill The Courier for good this time.
For the next half hour, Cass regaled Ruby with her version of The Second Battle of Hoover Dam. She stuck to the facts as much as possible, and when she was done, Ruby whistled.
"Well, that's quite impressive," she said.
"Yes, it was," Cass said, nodding in agreement.
"But, it sounds like you don't agree with your friend," Ruby said, turning to look at the brunette.
Ahh, hell, thought Cass. Do I tell her the truth, or lie?
"At the end of the day, it wasn't really my decision to make," she replied with a shrug.
As fucked up as the NCR is, I understand why Ruby made the choice she did. Even though I don't agree with it, Cass thought.
"But why did-" Ruby began.
Just then, Cass removed her combat shotgun from its holster as she heard a familiar gurgling sound.
"You might want to take out one of those weapons, now," she said. "There's trouble coming at twelve o'clock."