Within the dimly lit casino, Charles entered the Lucky 38, devoid of patrons save for some Securitrons guarding it.
Pressing the elevator button, he waited and entered the elevator to ascend to his room in the presidential suite.
After reaching the presidential suite, he removed his jacket and cowboy hat, leaving them on a hangar with the dust. Placing his laser rifle and single action revolver on a gun stand filled with various weapons, he then removed his armor plate and laid it on the table.
Reaching into his jacket pocket, he retrieved the platinum chip and walked back to the elevator.
Pressing the button, he ascended to the penthouse, the highest floor.
Entering the penthouse, he approached the computer mainframe where House usually communicated. Seeing Charles, House spoke in a resolute voice, "Hey son, do you have the platinum chip?"
"Yup, here it is," replied Charles, handing it over to the Securitron as instructed by House.
After the transaction, House continued, "Finally, son. After 200 years, we finally have it. The power of our Securitrons will be unmatched, and that bastard Benny thought he could stop us. Now he's dead."
"IONV got to him, I suspect," said Charles.
"Yup, killing him was almost a relief. And seeing you after 100 years... everything went to hell back then, the systems weren't working, and I was in a coma. But when you had to go for that damn business trip, I thought you were going to die because I predicted the nukes 1 day late. But when you came back to Vegas, it was a relief," reminisced House.
"Yeah, I was lucky. Anyways, Iris, has she asked about Benny's plans?" inquired Charles.
"Yeah, the worm was going to dig into the Lucky 38, but he dug wrong. Once here, he would have used that Yes Man Securitron to hack into our systems," House explained.
"Do you still have that Yes Man Securitron's data?" asked Charles.
"It was too risky to use; I ordered it destroyed," replied House.
"Probably for the best," conceded Charles.
"And also, regarding the actions you took, son, they were overall smart. Good job on Benny's assassination. And this Emily Ortal person... I would have preferred that you eliminate everybody in the camp because Emily made a deal with Benny to help with Yes Man in exchange for our data. But you still did well," commended House.
"Emily Ortal made a deal for our data? Didn't know that. But killing everybody there would have caused too much animosity and could have risked my life," reasoned Charles.
"Yeah, I'm not objecting, son. I still think you did well," affirmed House.
"Do you need anything else, Dad?" asked Charles.
"Yes, it is time for our plan to take action. We need to assert our control over outer Freeside. With the upgraded Securitrons from the platinum chip, we should have more firepower with the grenades, rockets, and the self-repair module," declared House.
"How do we frame this in a way that is honorable, in a certain term? Because we don't want to make ourselves be the aggressors," pondered Charles.
"Yeah, so there have been significant raids and attacks on NCR people searching for wealth in Vegas, and who haven't used the Freeside Security Agency. These people also established their community in outer Vegas. So, with all these raids and attacks in mind, we just frame it as us trying to restore order to Freeside," suggested House.
"And you feel this is all worth it, Dad?" inquired Charles.
"For sure, because if we don't do this, then potentially if the Legion invades New Vegas, they could build a solid base of people willing to overthrow us in Outer Vegas. And this could also get us more people willing to travel to Vegas to gamble, especially NCR capitalists who can't go to New Reno anymore.'' explained House.
"Well, Dad, you know the NCR has a lot of enemies now, like the Shi, Vault City, the Portmasters, which you know are basically puppets to the Enclave mercenaries and the Mordinos who are now fighting to take New Reno with help from the anti-NCR league causing more chaos for the NCR and plus they've been declining ever since the brotherhood destroyed their gold reserves so the question I pose is what if the NCR falls?" questioned Charles.
"If it falls, then we still have firm control over New Vegas, which would attract other customers besides the NCR. So, it would be acceptable," concluded House.
"So with all that said, here's what I want you to do. The NCR people who established their community are effectively controlled by The Iron Gang. I know you've heard of them, son, but I will give you a refresher. They're vicious people; they extort and raid the NCR community and many other communities in outer freeside. Right now, they make it so you have to pay a tax to enter, exit, and they even tax the goods there. Basically, they tax everything and control the area as a prison where NCR civilians can't even go to the strip to gamble anymore."
"Yeah, can't believe this. The Iron Gang stood clear of us, and now they do this," remarked Charles.
"Yeah, they've steered clear of NCR civilians before, but I guess they got greedy recently. One of the safest places for NCR civilians, now controlled by these savages. This can't happen; our reputation would be stained," agreed House.
"True, so where's the part that I come in?" inquired Charles.
"Go to the Freeside Security Agency; Ash has info there. Bring some Security agents and Securitrons with you to assert our control," instructed House.
"What about Joseph and Karl?" inquired Charles.
"They'll be there, don't worry," assured House.
Afterward, Charles left Mr. House's penthouse and pressed the elevator button to retrieve his gear from his suite before heading to the lowest floor.
Exiting the Lucky 38 casino, he was greeted by the sweet smell of reality.
Leaving the Strip, he entered the Freeside Security Agency.
The lobby was dilapidated, and inside, he saw Joseph and Karl. Charles addressed them, "I assume House called you."
"Yup, we were just waiting for you," confirmed Joseph playfully.
"Okay, let's go," directed Charles.
Walking behind the counter of the lobby, the receptionist nodded, recognizing them as EONV.
They proceeded downstairs to the floor below.
Opening the door, the room was even more dilapidated than the lobby.
Freeside security agents were scattered around, some training with their weapons and others engaged in conversation.
In the second room to the right, Charles knocked on the door.
In response, a voice asked, "Who is it?"
"It's us, Ash," replied Charles.
Opening the door, Ashley greeted them, "Come on in."
Once inside, Charles took off his hat and placed it on the table. Ashley then began, "So I heard you guys need info on this Iron Gang. Well, what I have is this: They have a large garrison in the NCR community, numbering around 20, and they've got energy weapons, the best of the best, most likely from the bought Van Graffs."
"So, an elite unit. Still, should be no problem for the Securitrons," remarked Charles.
"Yeah, true. Plus, they're just a gang. They'll run at the first sight of trouble; all they care about is the money," added Karl.
"Doesn't mean we shouldn't butcher them to send a message," chimed in Joseph playfully.
"We will work on that part later. Anyways, can you organize 3 Securitrons and 5 Freeside security agents to accompany us?" requested Charles.
"Got it, Charles," confirmed Ashley.
Putting on his hat, Charles, Joseph, and Karl left the room.
Exiting the building, they waited briefly for the agents and Securitrons to arrive, with Karl passing the time by smoking a cigarette. Once assembled, they set off toward the NCR community, Karl continuing to smoke as they walked.
Walking through outer Freeside, the locals seemed to be more on edge than usual.
None of the buildings in outer Freeside boasted the glamor of the Strip, but they exuded a certain authenticity that Charles felt.
Once Charles realized they were in the NCR community territory, he continued walking and led the way.
At the front of the community were two Iron Gang members guarding it. They screened each person and allowed them to pass if they paid the fee or not. The Iron Gang was easily identifiable by their leather armor and helmets, which had a skull spray-painted on them.
As they approached, the Iron Gang members were radioing something inaudible that Charles couldn't hear. Once they reached the checkpoint, the guard with his laser rifle challenged them.
"You can't carry weapons here, you Strip folk got any business here?" he demanded.
"Well, we do have this business," Charles replied, quickly unholstering his pistol and shooting the guard who had spoken. The other guard raised his laser rifle, but then the Securitron took him out with his laser rifle.
After dealing with the guards, Charles stood at the open gate leading to the community and shouted to the people, "We stand as the guardians of New Vegas. Some may know us as the EONV and others may know our agents as the Freeside Security Agency, but right now, we are here to free you from the prison that this Iron Gang has created. They have no integrity, only seeking to confine you. This isn't what New Vegas is about. It's a place for you to indulge in your every desire. If your desire right now is to deal with these men, then I will gladly oblige you. Stay away from the city and with the Securitrons. Things at New Vegas come at a price, but this butchery I grant you, citizens, is for free."
Most of the citizens expressed happiness, but then one of the NCR citizens, who looked to be in his 60s and was the only one armed and with a bolt-action rifle at that,, spoke up.
"Let me join you. These bastards have locked our community away for weeks now and have stolen all that is valuable to us," he said.
Karl, spitting out his cigarette, then said, "Sure, you can join us, but are you any good at firing that rifle?"
"Yeah, I was a hunter back in the NCR. I may have gotten old, but I still got it. Don't worry," the man replied.
"Well then, what's your name, sir?" asked Karl.
"Call me Walter."
"Ok, Walter, well I have no objections," said Charles.
Karl and Joseph both nodded their heads, showing their agreement, and then they moved into the community.
The community was rather desolate, with few people on the streets, likely because of the news of their arrival. The buildings ranged from one to two stories tall. Securitrons' big weakness was that they couldn't climb stairs, so Charles made sure to avoid the two-story buildings.
They continued walking, but near one of the two-story buildings, they heard the sound of breaking glass. Charles immediately told the group to run. Though most of the group ran into the building they were shooting from, one of the Freeside agents was shot down and killed before he could enter.
Once inside the building, which seemed like the gang's base of operations because of their maps and paper, Charles sternly said, "Ok, this is what we do: Securitron, go outside and fire a missile at where those bastards are shooting from. I will give the signal. And agents, once you hear the missile, go out there and guard our flank with the Securitron."
The agents nodded. "And the rest of us, including you, Hunter, we rush to find the stairs. Once we do, we wait for the missile to launch and then rush."
Then, once the Securitron moved, the group rushed to find the stairs. It was rather easy to find the stairs with just a few turns. Walter had trouble running due to his age, but he managed. Joseph was leading the group, with Charles second, Karl third, and Walter last.
Once at the stairs, Charles used his pip-boy to connect to the Securitron and said, "Now," and they immediately rushed up the stairs.
When they reached the top, they could feel the presence of the gang. Once they heard the missile, the gang came into view of the stairs. The floor they were in led to no other rooms and had no doors. There was a gang member guarding the top of the stairs, though he was caught by surprise by the missile, and Joseph was able to shoot him with his sawed-off shotgun.
Once up the stairs, Joseph immediately went to the left, switched to his .45 SMG, and continued firing. Charles also reached the top of the stairs. The floor had nothing, just a table. The wall from the window the man was shooting from before was destroyed, and the man was dead there on the ground.
He was to the right of the stairs, and Charles saw the two gang members taking cover behind the table. Charles and Joseph tried running to the opposite side of the table, but Joseph was shot in the chest and immediately fell. However, Charles was able to shoot one of the gang members' arms, which allowed him to take cover.
Then, Charles took action and climbed up the table. Once there, he was able to shoot and kill one of the guys taking cover, but the gang was blind-firing with their laser rifles and hit Charles in the leg.
The other gang member peeked his head out of cover to confirm the kill but was immediately shot down by Karl with his lever-action rifle.
The aftermath of the battle smelled like fire throughout, and paper was all over the ground when Charles ran up the table. Walter and Karl grabbed both Joseph and Charles and put them in the corner away from the blasted wall.
Charles, though still conscious, was breathing heavily. "Is Joseph fine?" he asked.
"No, I can't feel his pulse so he needs CPR constantly that's why I have Walter doing it. The damn armor plate should have resisted some of the blast, if he didn't have it he would have likely been confirmed dead." said Karl.
After that, on his pip-boy, Charles got multiple messages. One was from the Freeside security agent about how eight troops were marching to them and one had scrap power armor and how they were on the agents who were on the bottom floor of the building. The other was about how the Securitron at the gates of the community saw more gang members coming.
"Fuck, you heard the message, Karl, get me up," Charles said breathlessly.
"But you're hurt, sir, you can't keep pushing yourself like that," Karl said sympathetically.
"Look, Joseph is about to die without this CPR, and one Freeside agent is dead. Now, get me up," Charles said.
"Fine," Karl said.
Once Charles was up, his leg was in a limp but in pain. "I'll watch the blasted window, and you, Karl, get down there and assist those agents," Charles said sternly.
"You're confident about this, sir," Karl said.
"It's an order, so get moving," Charles said loudly.