Chapter 90: Bastard

It was the last screaming match they'd ever have. Her two flunkies arrived to carry out the last of her things from the tower, the woman herself shrieking at him about losing "a couple months of her life" while he was furious about all the trouble her gang had been causing without his knowledge. He was angry she'd almost started a war, and she was mad about a little weight gain. In the end, he ended up parting with a sack of caps while she stormed out of his tower, to be escorted by her flunkies and several rookie marshals to rejoin her gang at the end of Hoover Dam, where she would march across and leave his life, their life, forever.

As Ariel left, Lars ran a hand over his face as he turned back to the elevator. Pressing the button with his fist, he climbed back to his penthouse. Already, he was going to have to talk to the Followers about formulas and the like, and he hoped the Boones wouldn't mind some extra duty in the near future. Hell, what he really needed to do was start dating again, as soon as possible, honestly. This was going to be a two-person job, he just knew it.

The doors opened to the noise of an insipid lullaby and the wails of its sole audience member. Yes-Man was playing some dumb little song about hands or something while the swaddled infant in her cradle was having absolutely none of it. The screaming was drowning out the music, and Lars couldn't help but marvel at how strong her lungs already were as he approached to relieve Yes-Man.

"Beat it."

"Okay, sir!" the machine happily chirped as he wheeled himself away. Lars took a seat beside his daughter. While the wailing had stopped, she had begun to sniffle as the tears and snot dripped down her face. As much as he knew not to expect it, Ariel not even saying goodbye to her daughter stung him a little bit. Hardly a surprise considering her first action after giving birth to the child was to hand her off to a Follower nurse and wheel herself outside so she could smoke. For all she lacked in maternity, Ariel was nothing but honest about how she was glad that the little swaddled creature was "his problem now."

Lars fished out a tissue and wiped her face under her nose and cheeks. She seemed to calm down a little, whimpering a bit while looking to the bearded man looming over her. Her wet eyes did all the talking he needed. Where's Mama?

"…Gone, kid." Lars told his daughter. "I don't know what else to tell you."

The babe sniffled. "I got Arcade cooking up some formula for you, and I'm going to put out some flyers for a nanny or something. And maybe hire the Lonesome Drifter to play some good fucking music. I mean, shit, freaking music," he hurriedly amended. The babe continued to stare at him. "…I'm looking for a new Mommy! It's going to be tough finding someone we both like, but it's a big city, but I know I can do it! Someone who'll put us both to bed! Sound good?" he smiled, hopefully. The baby just stared blankly at him.

"…No, no one ever taught me how to talk to babies. Is it really that obvious?" Lars asked his daughter.

Two tiny arms crept out from beneath the swaddling cloth and reached for the Governor of the Mojave, Two tiny hands tried to grasp at the man who could calm her down and stop her crying. Lars, almost absentmindedly, stuck his arm towards her, extending his pinky so she could have something to grasp onto. As the hands took him by the finger, Lars chuckled warmly as she pulled on him. "…You're gonna be a feisty one, aren't you?" he asked as she began to laugh as she started "winning" the game of tug-of-war. As her eyes fell upon the golden Pip-boy on his wrist, Lars mused on who would be the perfect partner for him. "…I could really use your help, Cass," he said aloud. "…The Rose of Sharon Cassidy," he said. The girl below began to giggle. "…You like that? My little rose?" Lars smiled. The baby took his pinky and shoved it in her mouth and began to suckle. "…Rosa," Lars finally decided. "I'm going to call you Rosa."

Lars felt numb as he looked into the Pip-boy that was handed back to him. All around him, the HQ was nearly in a riot. Natalie was screaming for her Marshals to get a sighting, demanding the Legion riders to establish a perimeter. Wallace was screaming for security to get any kind of sighting of the old man and his hostage. Larain was trying to organize some kind of posse, his face clearly conflicted over having to hunt down the man who raised him. Milligan, Tandi, and Rathmore were preparing an aggressive reconnaissance mission of their own, practically embracing the chance to engage the Legion standing across from them. In the middle of all this, though, stood the marshal, tear streaking down her face as she tried to explain what had happened.

Lars couldn't decide whether or not to hug her or strangle her. His whole body had gone numb as he looked down at the last gift he had given his daughter. At some point, though, he found his legs and just… walked away, leaving Carla to sob and apologize while Tobey and Kim took her aside as she tried in vain to make sense of what had happened.

Lars walked, past the trenches that the 32nd had dug, past the encampment of the Amazons, past the Liberty Clans as they cursed out the old man and swore to scalp him for selling out a girl they all considered a hero. Daphne noticed him and tried to approach him, but Lars, in his sheer indifference, ignored her. Concerned, Daphne ran off to find her.

On the westernmost point of the camp, Lars collapsed to his knees as the indecision threatened to crush him. He wanted to lead the entire army and finish off Scorpio personally in one climactic battle. He wanted to rush in and personally rescue his daughter. He wanted to be twenty years younger, well in his prime, and with nothing to lose. He wanted Rosa back, and to not be too old and useless to help her.

He glanced down at the Pip-boy. The thing that was supposed to guide his daughter keep her out of harm's way and help her with her problems and offer solutions was currently not doing any of those things. What was he supposed to do with this? Did Dalton force her to give it up? And what good was a Pip-boy in this situation anyway? How was it going to help someone stare down the barrels of an army and come out unscathed?

Suddenly, Lars for some reason remembered his time in the Divide. Cut off from his allies, the only torch he had to light his way and make a single, solitary connection. That eyebot, that copy of ED-E, the machine that he would consider a friend and tether to the outside world. As far as he knew, his ED-E was somewhere with Rex and Roxie, having gone down south for some reason he could only begin to imagine. And since then, he hadn't seen an eyebot since…

All at once, Lars finally began to understand where his thought process was taking him. He needed someone close to his daughter. He needed someone who could stare down an army and not flinch. He needed a way to contact that someone. It was a long shot, but it was the only one he was going to get. Snapping the Pip-boy back around his wrist, he fiddled with some frequencies until he found it, looking up at the Moon. "…Dr. 0, Dr. 8, I know you two can receive this message. I want you two to pinpoint my geolocation. Next, I want you to pull up ED-E's make and model, I know you guys have it on file, and scan for any similar models in a ten-mile radius from my position. Don't ask why, just do it! When you find it, I want you to patch a communications line between my device and the other machine. Please and thank you."

Lars sat and waited, counting down the agonizing seconds. A minute passed, then two. As it crawled to five, Lars almost kicked himself for clinging to such a desperate, stupid hope. It wouldn't have been any better if he had just prayed to the God those Mormons loved so damn much and asked that guy for…

"WHAT?!" the voice came through the line.

"Listen, I have an offer for you, whatever you go by now," Lars immediately began.

"You remember me?

…Where's my daughter? Is she OK? Is she hurt or… Listen here, damn it. I'm giving you a job. You, get her out, as soon as humanly possible. I don't care how you do it, but you get her back alive! … … …Fine, then. Fuck money! What do you want?" Lars felt the precious seconds tick by, and then…

"…Absolution…"

"…You have a deal."

Rosa looked up to the finger pointing down at her. She could feel Scorpio climbing off her back as he approached the gunner. "…Are you serious?" the warlord snarled.

"Any woman I want. That's what you said. Do I have to track down some witnesses or can I just collect her now?" Cade asked.

"You've chosen a real bad time to interrupt," Scorpio hissed.

"Wasn't aware I had to work around your schedule," Cade replied, nonplussed. Scorpio reached for his gladius.

"You insolent little…" he snarled as he looked down at the bitch he was about to mount. He paused as she saw the expression on her face. She looked upon the gunman with both rage and disgust with a severity he had rarely ever seen before. Looking to the gunman, he released his grip on his gladius. "…Of what business is she to you?" he asked.

"What concern is it to you?" Cade asked.

"Just curiosity," Scorpio replied.

"…Sentimental reasons," Cade answered. "Our paths have crossed quite a few times as of late, and we've never been better off for it. She hates me, and I have no love for her either. She even dropkicked me in the stomach upon her "arrival" to your camp, and I'm of a mind to even that particular score," Cade explained.

Scorpio looked at the gunman and then back down to the girl. "…You fucking asshole! After what you did to Amy?! You sick, twisted fuck! I hope you…" was all Rosa managed to get out before Scorpio kicked her in the ribs. As she wheezed, she glared back up at the gunman while Scorpio picked up the rag and re-bound her mouth. Scorpio then grabbed her by the bound arm and dragged her up to her feet. "…This one is all yours," Scorpio smiled as he handed her over to Cade. "Just keep her alive and pretty. Other than that, make her suffer." Rosa tried to struggle out of his grasp, but Cade dragged her out of the tent while Scorpio laughed and wondered what he was supposed to do with his now resolute loins.

"Quit struggling!" Cade growled as Rosa kept ramming into him and stomping on his feet. As Cade dragged her down the hill, he caught some legionaries giving his new girl some leering looks. While at first considering that most of these degenerates hadn't seen a woman in weeks, as he looked back he noticed that the girl's shirt had been torn off, exposing her chest to the entire camp. Groaning, Cade shoved Rosa on her back as he got on top of her. Rosa screamed and protested against her gag, wishing that Dalton hadn't taken her machete from her, only for Cade to grab her leather jacket at the bottom and zip it up, covering her.

"…You're welcome," Cade muttered as he climbed off and stood her back up.

As he dragged her down the path to his tent amongst the Ministerio, Cheslie caught sight of the two as she ran back to Dalton by the hound stables. Inside, May Lin was drawing a rough map of the camp on the dirt while Dalton mulled it over. "…Ok, so the path for the hound cavalry is usually open, and combined with the ammo storage over here, we could…" he stopped as he saw Cheslie approach. "Well?" he asked.

"The gunman Cade has her," Cheslie reported. "He's taking her to his tent as we speak."

"How's Rosa? What's her condition?" Dalton asked.

"Some of her clothes were torn, but Scorpio did not take her," Cheslie continued.

"You're sure?" Dalton asked.

"Trust me. When Scorpio takes a woman, everyone knows," Cheslie gulped. May Lin began to shiver, prompting Dalton to rest a hand on her shoulder to calm her. "Well, I think this disaster of a plan has been mitigated as much as we could have expected," he breathed.

"Plan?" Cheslie asked. "What kind of plan?"

"Not a good one, but I need you two to answer me a question first." Dalton leaned forward. "…How bad do you two want to get out of here?"

As Rosa was thrown into the tent, Cade took a moment to shake out his increasingly swollen feet. Rosa had been relentless in taking every cheap shot she could muster. He had considered knocking her out for the trip down, but he figured as futile as the concept was he could at least ask some questions while he had some semblance of privacy. Like why in the hell did she think this sad excuse for a "plan" was a good idea? If she wanted to throw herself into a meat grinder, he could have just hooked her up with a woodchipper! He snorted at his little joke before realizing that he was running a little short on funds. His account where he had hoarded most of his pay was somewhere in the Central Market, and so long as the bounty was on his head, out of his reach. His mood darkening, he prepared to enter the tent before his day could be further ruined.

"Brother Cade, buenos dias!" Nemesio announced as he and Vulpes made their approach. Cade bristled as he removed his hand from the tent. "…What do you two want?"

"I saw that you have in your possession another soul to be ministered," Nemesio began.

"Scorpio did a terrible job interrogating her. I could get some real information out of her," Vulpes followed, somehow seeming to counter and emphasize Nemesio's point at the same time.

"She's mine," Cade snarled as he turned away.

"Feeling a little… protective?" Vulpes asked. Cade had his hand out to open his tent before stopping and turning to Vulpes.

"…You accusing me of something, Inculta?" Cade growled.

"Merely acknowledging that your loyalties are rather thin at the moment," Vulpes smiled. "Nonetheless, you are one of our finest assets."

"Our?" Cade asked.

"…Our northern friends in the mountains," Vulpes explained. "Should I be so bold, perhaps we can make this partnership official. For the price of one Mojave brat, well, I think we together are quite the formidable team."

"…You want me to join your cult?" Cade asked. "I already told you, I'll pass."

"I assure you, my brother," Nemesio smiled through his mask. "You are not in any need of ministry."

"I'm not?" Cade asked, genuinely surprised.

"You already are a fine disciple of death," Nemesio laughed as he took a hit from whatever it was that kept him as he was. Cade's eyes narrowed as two senior centurions stormed through the camp. "WHERE IS IT?! WHERE?!"

"Mi amigos! How might I assist you fine gentlemen this day?" Nemesio gregariously greeted the centurions.

"YOUR DAMN LIZARD KILLED ONE OF OUR SOLDIERS!" Valerius screamed at the priest. Nemesio was about to protest before turning and seeing Sawney a few dozen yards away grumpily picking through the armor of a legionary with the remains of his tongue.

"…ah," Nemesio managed to reply. "The Revelacion is… I'm sure there's… perhaps if we… Revelacion, would you mind explaining to these men your actions?"

Sawney let out a belch as he tossed the armored pads towards the centurions. "…We demand retribution!" Valerius snarled.

"We shall all get what's coming to us," Nemesio explained. "For now, shall we discuss like equals the nature of the Revelacions conduct? I'm sure I can explain that our lord acts on a higher purpose."

"You worship that thing?" Tyrus asked incredulously as Sawney puffed out his chest in pride.

"That is our prophet," Nemesio explained, proudly.

"Well, too bad, we're killing it!" Valerius snarled as he drew his axes. In fewer strides than anyone could have possibly expected, Sawney was then looming over the rash and headstrong centurion. Valerius looked up as Sawney, femur bone sticking out of the undamaged half of his lips like a cigar. Chomping down, the bone splintered as half of it fell directly at Valerius's feet.

"…Demon," Valerius snarled.

"…Phood," Sawney growled back.

"Enough of this!" Vulpes finally exclaimed. "You, back off!" he pointed at Sawney. "You, with me," he pointed to Nemesio. "And you two, we'll have a talk about what to do," he growled as he led the three humans away. Cade sighed in relief before realizing that Sawney was still staring over him. "…Try to behave yourself," Cade scoffed.

"Whassindere?" Sawney asked.

"Something that's mine and not yours," Cade growled as he finally turned towards his tent. "Stick your nose in and I'll shoot out your other eye," he said as he finally entered his tent.

Upon entering, the first thing he did was leap over the kick Rosa had been readily aiming for him since she was dropped off inside. Continuing his walk unbothered, he approached the eyebot and took a phone off the receiver. Rosa glared at him before hearing the sound of heavy breathing right behind her. Glancing behind, she saw a large black reptilian head poking its way into the tent. Cade motioned for his revolver and the lizard backed out. The gunslinger then began pressing down on a lever on top of the receiver a few times. "…Redial, c'mon, redial…" he muttered. Finally finding a tone, he turned to look at Rosa.

"…Listen and listen good. You will not compromise me in any way, shape or form. If you do, I will tell Scorpio that the old man who brought you here is working with you."

Rosa's eyes widened before narrowing again in their hatred of the man standing across from her.

"…Your plan sucks, by the way. There's too much coverage and you won't make it too far dragging his old ass behind you. Whatever hope you had that this was going to end your way, forget it. Fortunately for you, I've been studying this camp for a bit longer, and I have a much better idea."

Rosa just stared at him as Cade approached, taking the phone and most of the cable with him. "…Now, I'm about to undo your gag and you are not going to make me regret it. No screaming, no spitting, and curse me out under your breath if you are so inclined. Understand?"

Rosa nodded, not breaking eye contact nor dropping her glare. Cade untied her gag and let it drop into her lap. "…Keep it quiet," Cade muttered as he brought the phone to her ear.

"Rosa? Rosa! Are you there?!"

"…Dad?" Rosa whispered.

On the other side of the line, Lars did something for the first time he could remember. He bawled like a baby. Tears running down his cheeks, he used his free hand to prop up his face as he sat on the ground and cried. Waves of bitter relief washed over him as he tried and failed to collect himself.

"I'm ok, I'm ok," Rosa tried to placate her father, herself getting a little teary. "…I'm sorry. It's my fault."

"Why?!" Lars begged over the line.

"…I wasn't going to go home if it meant everyone dragged this far east to protect me is going to get killed," Rosa explained. "You have to understand, why should they die for me?"

"Kid," Lars whimpered.

"…Scorpio said he's pulling back his cohorts. Are they pulling back?" Rosa asked.

"F-First Recon and the Scouts say something is making them regroup to Scorpio's camp. That was- that's you?" Lars asked.

"Just wanted to make sure you guys could get to a more defensible position," Rosa smiled, sadly. "Wallace said he had an idea for one about twenty miles back, right?"

"That's not important right now," Lars hissed.

"It is important!" Rosa hissed back. "It's the whole damn reason I pulled this! Save everyone else, I'll worry about me!"

"I'm your father. It's my job to worry about you," Lars shot back, holding back a laugh despite everything. "…You said you're ok?"

"Not for any lack of trying on Scorpio's part, but Asshat here is the hero of the hour," Rosa replied snidely as she looked at Cade. "…Wait, how did you get in contact with him?"

Cade pulled the phone away and brought it to his own ear. "She's safe. There."

"You get her out or you get nothing," Lars snarled.

"I'm working on it. Not tonight, though, things are too hot," Cade replied.

"Whatever it takes, Duncan," Lars continued, sternly.

"What about the old man?" Cade asked.

"I don't give a shit! Your priority is Rosa, pure and simple," Lars shot back.

"Understood," Cade nodded as he went to hang up the phone.

"Wait a minute! Duncan, before you hang up, I need to ask you something," Lars hurriedly added.

Rosa watched as Cade put the phone back up to his ear. "What now? …What's this about? …Montana, why? … 2264, give or take, I don't keep track of that kind of… Miriam. Yes, Miriam Schmitt, now will you please tell me what this is about?!"

As Cade paced, Rosa kept watching the gunslinger, her previous hatred of him suspended as she watched him process whatever her father over the line was telling her. Cade shot the briefest of glances over to Rosa. "…Huh…" Cade replied. "And?" Something about this really seemed to set off her father from his end of the receiver. "…I'm not exactly getting teary-eyed. For what it's worth, I believe you, I just don't care," Cade said, bluntly. "…Fine, I'll put her back on."

Once again, the phone was beside Rosa's ear. "Rosa, I know I'm asking a lot, but I need you to do whatever Duncan tells you to do."

"What was that you were talking about earlier?" Rosa asked.

"Apparently not something particularly important," Lars growled, agitated. "Anyway, I'm glad you're safe, now just stay safe and stick with your… stick with Duncan. You don't have to like him, just trust him. He's going to help you for his sake, mine, and yours. I love you."

"…I love you too, Dad," Rosa nodded. Cade snapped the phone back on the receiver. "…You should eat something," Cade said as he reached into his satchel pouch and pulled out an oatcake.

"What was he talking about back there?" Rosa asked.

Duncan looked down at his half-sister. "…You don't want to know."

Before too long, Lars came back to the AEG HQ tent as the staff continued to scream and bicker at one another. Flanked by Daphne and Cass, Lars looked at what currently passed for the leadership of the Allied Expeditionary Group. The officers, Clan chiefs, riders, and Amazon commanders all squabbled against each other over the next course of action. Lars found his voice before long.

"EVERYONE, LISTEN UP!"

The arguments came to a halt as Lars strolled forward. "…Where's Carla?"

The young marshal approached from the crowd, her eye still red from sobbing. "…Sir, I just want you to know that I-"

"Shut up," Lars said as he approached her. Fearing whatever punishment Lars was about to give, both Natalie and Tobey moved to intervene when suddenly Lars put his arms around Carla's shoulders and pulled her close, kissing her forehead. "…It wasn't your fault," he gently told her as she patted her on the back.

As he pulled away, he looked over the AEG. "…The cohorts flanking us are pulling back. We should use this opportunity to withdraw to a more defensive position. I believe Major Wallace has just such a location in mind."

"Sir, about your daughter-" Wallace began.

"She made that play to buy us all some time. If we throw it away, it'll all be for nothing!" Lars shot back. "War Chief Tandi, your guys took some of the heaviest hits, so you should withdraw first, followed by the Amazons. We'll do this incrementally so we don't play our hand too soon," the Governor told the staff. "Drago, go tell Kyra to get Barabbas back on his dog, his safety is our priority while he's with us. Larain, you're going to help me supervise the evacuation. The clans are going to help Rathmore with the rearguard. Jimmy, Carla, Tobey, Gael, you're with me and Cass. We're going to troubleshoot for the rest of the night."

Despite not being a part of the official chain of command, Lars' orders were followed to the letter. During the early morning, several large campfires were lit to mask the evacuation from any prying eyes. As Rathmore watched the Amazons off, a woman riding a hound crossed his path. Kyra, with Pariah sitting before her and a massive slab of muscle mounted across the flank, gave a brief nod to the ghoul captain as she trotted off to ride between Hypatia and Dan. Kim went to work rigging the trenches with what few explosives they could spare. And Frost, alone in his tent, wrote out his will and final testament, the realization that he could very well perish in the coming days finally dawning upon him after weeks and months of observation.

As all this went on, Cass stood by with the Governor as she finally brought herself to ask, "…You found a way to talk to Rosa, didn't you?"

"…Yeah," Lars nodded.

"…How?" Cass asked.

Lars looked at Cass and remembered what she had told him. "…You'd probably never forgive me if I said."

Cass bit her lip. "…You trusting faith to carry the day?"

Lars breathed out a laugh. "When us old folks are out of luck, all we can do is put our trust in our children."