Chapter 8: The past doesn't knock, it rings.
Things weren't looking good for Benny as he got off the phone, he took a while to get adjusted to the technologies around hell. Hellphones? The internet? Social media? He was surprised that the televisions worked, and now. He was working for one, Benny straightened out his tie as he looked in the mirror. "This is the worst thing imaginable."
Benny had no one but himself to blame, he didn't know that stealing the Platinum Chip would unleash the worst thing the Mojave had ever seen. If he could take that bullet back, he would. Courier Six, his own personal devil. Had followed him to hell, and was already making waves. "I'll give him credit, he doesn't do anything small." Benny told himself.
"Benny?" A voice spoke up, Benny looked over at Vox's assistant Papermint, "The boss will see you now."
The sinner demon in the checkered suit entered the meeting room, usually he got his orders via a text or a phone call. Vox never liked talking to the people he considered below him. Benny hated being in this position, he should have been the one in charge. But he was out of his depth and had to adapt, so he swallowed his pride and learned under Vox. What better to learn technology than a man who is literally made from it?
Benny took a deep breath and smiled, "You wanted to see me boss?"
Vox wasn't sitting at the head of the table as he usually was when he needed to have these meetings with the underlings as he'd like to address them. "First off, lemme ask you. How's everything down at MicroChips?"
"Everything is smooth sailing boss." Benny replied, grabbing the lapels of his checkered suit. He grinned as he puffed out his chest. "Plenty of cash and those who can't pay…well…they pay."
Vox had a grin plastered across his screen. "So tell me, if everything is going so well. Why did you make a phone call to address a certain, delivery problem?" Vox asked, his left eye now oscillating.
Benny knew there was no weaseling his way out of this, despite the fact that he was one. "Boss, you know how I told you that I was from someplace that was radically different than this?" Benny looked down to avoid the hypnosis effect.
Vox nodded, his left eye stopped with its oscillations. "So you did, I have to admit though. At first, I didn't believe you."
Benny used his paw-like hand to rub the back of his neck. "Yeah, I can't say that I blame ya. After spending a couple years here, I'd find it hard to believe myself. But then a reminder of your past will come barrelling into the news, doing an interview for a hotel after massacring a bunch of demons."
Vox tweaked his eyebrow as he moved over to the drinks in the corner."You're talking about Six, aren't you?"
Benny looked up at Vox, "He's the reason I'm in hell." The casino pit boss explained.
"No, no, no, no, no. Benny boy. You're here because of all the fucked up things you did in your life. But from what you've told me, it seems like that's the way of life around where you used to live. Six is the one who killed you." Vox clarified after pouring himself a drink, he sipped it slowly. "I mean be honest with yourself Benny. You told me all about your plan to take over New Vegas."
Benny let out an exasperated sigh, the thing that stung the most was that Vox was right. Benny was here of his own accord, I should have shot that motherfucker twice. "So you believe me now?" Benny asked Vox.
Vox finished his drink and placed it on the table, slowly approaching the sinner demon weasel. He put both hands on Benny's shoulders. "Oh trust me, I believe you now. The question is." Vox's hands soon gripped the lapels of Benny's checkered suit and lifted him off the ground. "Why did you try to hide it from me?!"
"Because I know what a threat he is!" Benny shouted back at his boss. "This motherfucker tracked me through the goddamned desert, slaughtering every single motherfucker who even looked at him funny or was involved with his death!" Benny grabbed Vox's hands and pulled them off him. Landing on the ground, regaining his footing quickly, Benny was back to a standing position. "I was showing initiative by taking care of him before he became a problem for both of us."
Vox shook his hands and flexed his fingers, "You've got some balls on you Benny."
"Forgive me for not running it by you but you were the one who told me. And I quote, 'Don't tell me what you're going to do, just fucking do it!'" Benny straightened out his suit and fixed his tie. "I'm taking care of a problem before it becomes one."
Vox squinted as he recalled that exact conversation, he brushed himself off. "You're clever Benny boy, I'll give you that. If this comes back on us? I'll gut you and feed you to my sharks."
Benny scoffed, "You think I'm afraid of what you're gonna do to me? Right now a man who nuked two different independent city-states is walking around in hell without a care in the world. That's the man I fear the most." Benny opened the door to the meeting room and before he closed it, "And if you're a smart man, which I unfortunately know you are. You'd be afraid of him too."
The door closed behind Benny, and left Vox alone in the meeting room. Vox picked up the glass he previously drank from before gripping it and cracking it in his hand. Growling to himself he muttered, "Fuckin' Benny." He threw the glass against the display tank for his sharks. The glass shattered against the tank, leaving a little bit of alcohol against the tank.
It was at that moment when Vox got a call from Velvette, "I'll be right there." Vox said without Velvette even able to form a sentence.
Velvette was not in a good mood, then again she never was. Being a trendsetter is exhausting and suddenly trench coats were back in because of that fucking maniac. Velvette had her fingertips pressed to her temple as she felt an oncoming migraine and it wasn't because of Valentino. The doors behind her opened showing the TV headed prick that was in charge of putting the fucking number asshole on the news. "VOX!" Velvette threw a stiletto at the demon, who teleported out of the way in a spark of electricity.
"Lemme guess, it's about Six." Vox asked Velvette.
"Yes!" Velvette screamed in her british accent, "That fucka' threw a wrench into all of my plans! First he made trench coats back in for some fuckin' reason that only Satan knows why! Second-"
Valentino strolled in, "That motherfucker offered to buy Angel's contract!" Valentino spotted the stiletto that was embedded in the wall next to the entrance. He looked at the conversation that was already taking place between Velvette and Vox, "I'm guessing we're talking about the same guy."
Vox looked between his on again off again boyfriend and Velvette and sighed, "Both of you shut up and listen. Because I have information on this guy."
Velvette and Valentino looked towards Vox, the moth speaking up first. "What kind of information?"
Vox tilted his television head in Valentino's direction, facing him head on. "Remember Benny?"
"The pit boss of MicroChips? Terrible fuckin' name by the way, I hate puns." Velvette asked Vox, then she proceeded to pull out her phone and start scrolling through social media. "The weasel looking fuck?"
Vox rolled his eyes, "Yes, the weasel. However, it seems like Six and Benny come from the same world. In fact Six was the one who killed Benny."
"Why would Six inconvenience us with that greasy little anal fissure?" Valentino asked Vox.
"Wait, hold on." Velvette interrupted Valentino, "You're saying that we have someone in our employ who knows exactly who this Six guy is?"
"You could say that Benny knows Six quite intimately." Vox eluded.
"What? Did they fuck or something?" Valentino asked with his arms crossed.
"Why in the fuck would Six kill a guy that he fucked Val?" Velvette asked the moth, "Use ya fuckin' 'ead. This isn't like one of your classless pornos!"
"Back to the point!" Vox shouted, getting the attention of the other two vees. He pointed to Valentino. "You said something about him wanting to buy Angel's contract?"
"Yeah, he does." Valentino dug into his pocket and tossed two coins in Vox's direction. "And he has the scratch to back it up."
Vox reached out and caught them, shuffling them in his palm. "Gold and silver? You're telling me he has precious metals?"
"Oi, Val. If he showed you that he has gold and silver on him. Why the fuck didn't you just shoot 'im and rob his ass?" Velvette asked as she plopped down on a couch, crossing her legs as she did.
"Oh trust me, the thought crossed my mind. Before I found out that he was pointing a 40 millimeter grenade launcher at me. Plus, you saw that he has a fucking minigun. I was outgunned, so I listened to the little voice in the back of my mind screaming. DON'T GET BLOWN THE FUCK UP OVER A SLUT!" Valentino shouted, practically foaming at the mouth as he loomed over Velvette. Who could only look up at the moth with a buttoned mouth.
"Val, honey. Breathe." Vox advised as he looked at the coins again.
Valentino inhaled through his nose and exhaled through his mouth. "He's offering me over asking price for Angel's soul. He said I could buy at least 10 Angel's with what he's got on the table." The moth pimp explained.
Vox squeezed the coins, "Why does he want Angel's soul?"
Valentino shrugged, "He's living at that fucking hotel. Who knows why? Maybe the princess wanted him to do it."
Velvette sighed as she scrolled through social media, "Unfortunately he's got no social media presence at all. So there's no telling what his thoughts might be."
"Not like he could form any coherent thoughts to begin with." Vox muttered, "Benny shot those out of his head before he even came to hell."
Velvette perked up at Vox's muttering. "So what do we say we get Benny to fill us in on this Six fucka'?" She suggested, "At least then we know exactly who the fuck we're dealin' with."
Vox dragged his other hand across his screen, "That would've been a good idea before I just exited a meeting with him." He tossed the two coins back at Valentino. Who tried to catch them before they soared past his hand and clinked onto the floor.
"Agh! You culo, you know I can't catch things!" Valentino exclaimed.
"'Cept for a fuckin' STD." Velvette chuckled to herself, Valentino grew agitated.
"Puta! My hearing works just fine y'know!" Valentino shot back at Velvette.
"ENOUGH!" Vox shouted through all of their screens. "I need time to think, unfortunately. It may involve that weasel, and whatever the fuck he's planning."
Velvette peered over in Vox's direction as Valentino went to go pick up the gold and silver coins. "Then you swallow your pride and give Benny a call, he may know some enemies of Six that won't mind getting revenge. At the very least it gives us an opportunity to regroup and rethink our strategy."
Vox sighed as he listened to Velvette's plan, which all in all wasn't the worst idea in hell. "Ugh, that's actually a good idea I just…
"Ya hate the fucka' cause he's just like ya." Velvette pointed out, "Like it or not, he's probably got the most information about Six. So, suck it up."
"Oh, he doesn't do any of the sucking~" Valentino purred from across the room.
"And jus' like that. You two can go fuck yourselves." Velvette got up from the couch and exited the room. Leaving the two lovers to fight or fuck, whichever one is more convenient.
The weasel in question. Benny was standing on a street corner checking his phone. When a car pulled up, the window rolled down showing a sinner demon bull wearing a pair of sunglasses. "You called?" The driver asked Benny.
"Are you still in touch with your cult leader?" Benny asked the bull demon.
"Why do you want to know?" The bull asked.
"Tell the Caesar that he's got the opportunity to take revenge on the motherfucker that nuked the legion to this place." Benny informed the driver. "And if he's smart, he'll get in touch with the Vees."
The bull demon turned his head and pressed a button, rolling up the window. But not before saying, "Ave." The car then began to drive off while Benny took out a cigarette and looked up at a street camera. Knowing full well, that his boss was probably listening in on the conversation.
He lit the cigarette after sticking it in his mouth, "Ring-a-ding-ding baby." Exhaling the smoke before having his mouth split open into a grin.
