Author's Note: So I've made some edits to the previous chapters so if you don't understand why things are happening in this chapter just reread the beginning or any previous chapters that you missed.
"Get up, Charles," said a soft voice.
Feeling hungover, Charles groaned as he sat up on his bed in the Lucky 38 and saw Iris. "Damn, I feel like shit. Give me a few seconds; I'll get up."
"Probably because you drank like you were about to die last fucking night," Iris replied.
"I don't remember drinking that much last night. Me and the boys just discussed things, had a few drinks, and I went back here to sleep."
"Sure, sure, Charles. Just get yourself ready. I already called Joseph and Karl, so hopefully they're ready and aren't as fucked up as you. But that's highly unlikely," said Iris sarcastically.
Ignoring Iris, Charles stood up and walked to his bathroom to clean himself up.
Once done with that, he went into his closet, got his clothes and hat, and then put on his coat from the coat hanger. From his gun stand on the wall, he took his usual weapons: a laser rifle and a single-action revolver. He also grabbed a combat knife due to his previous encounters and holstered the knife on his left and the revolver on his right.
Feeling sick and tired, he still pushed on. Remembering what Karl said yesterday, Charles knew the meeting would be at around 9 AM, and it was already 8:15 AM. He rushed to the Atomic Wrangler because Karl had told him they would stay there until Charles arrived.
The New Vegas Strip and Freeside were relatively quiet, which Charles found surprising even for the early hour. Typically, both areas were bustling regardless of the time.
Upon entering the Atomic Wrangler, Charles saw a few people eating and drinking as usual. Francine, James's sister, was at the counter, as she usually worked in the mornings. Seeing her, Charles said, "Hey Francine, you got the key for room 21 and 22?"
"You won't need that. Joseph and Karl are in your regular room. Here's the key."
Francine tossed the key to Charles, who caught it and thanked her. He then opened the door to the room where Karl and Joseph were talking. As soon as Charles entered, they stopped their conversation, and Karl said, "Well, since you're here now, we're all ready. Let's go."
Once they left the room, a random drunk guy stumbled up to them and said, "Can't wait till Jack gets his hands on you."
"Who are you?" asked Charles, confused.
"That's not important. What's important is justice is coming for you," the drunk man slurred.
Then something unexpected happened: Joseph threw up. Though most of it landed on the ground, some splattered onto the drunk guy's shoes. Charles quickly stepped back to avoid getting his own shoes dirty, and Karl, standing right behind him, also managed to stay clean.
Once Joseph was done, Karl said, "Alright, enough with the fun, Joseph." He then walked up to the drunk guy, cigarette in mouth, and punched him, knocking him out cold.
Of course, eyes were on them after the scene, but Francine saw what had happened and walked up to them. "I'll deal with this bastard," she said.
"Alright, thanks, Francine. I'll make sure to clean myself up. I promise I didn't do that on purpose—must have been really messed up from yesterday," said Joseph, smiling.
Once Francine and Joseph took care of their tasks, Charles said, "Besides the need to excrete my vomit like Joseph, do you think that guy was telling the truth, Karl?" His tone was sarcastic.
"We should always be on the lookout. We definitely don't only have friends, but from the way that guy looked, I wouldn't be too scared of him or his friends," replied Karl.
Once Joseph returned, he said, "Well, fucking hell, I must have drunk a lot yesterday. Anyways, besides that guy's ominous threats, we still have a job to do, so let's get to it."
After that, they left the Atomic Wrangler, with eyes peering at them as they went.
On the way to the NCR embassy, Karl and Joseph noticed the Vault 21 hotel and Michael Angelo's workshop, which had helped design some of the new billboards around the Strip. A smile came across Joseph's face, but Charles didn't mention it.
When they entered the embassy, it was quite busy. Karl led the way and walked up to the counter where the receptionist was. "Do you have any idea where Colonel Moore's office is? We have a meeting with her. We're part of the Enforcers of New Vegas."
"Do you have your badges?" the receptionist asked.
Everyone showed their badges, and after checking the terminal, the receptionist said, "That's in the main command room, room number 22."
Thanking the receptionist and taking their badges back, they followed the signs leading them to room number 22.
The halls were busy, but once they reached the room, an NCR soldier was guarding it. Karl said, "We're EONV, we're supposed to meet here."
They showed their badges, and the guard allowed them to enter.
Inside the room, there were a few high-ranking NCR officials. One of them was Colonel Cassandra Moore, a highly decorated soldier who had enlisted at a young age and fought in the NCR-Brotherhood War; she was promoted to Colonel after an injury that gave her a limp so she now had to use a cane to walk which was next to her from the table but no pain was evident on her face. Charles knew her reputation for being very aggressive diplomatically and a war hawk.
There were a few other soldiers that Charles didn't recognize, but he did recognize Ambassador Crocker. Wearing a suit, Crocker had previously talked with Charles about maintaining NCR and New Vegas relations, which was his job.
Colonel Moore, standing next to the table and limping, cane next to her and with the map of New Vegas and its plans, said, "Well, you're finally here and early. Guess that's your EONV guys' style. Anyways, might as well get to it since everybody else here is accounted for. If House didn't tell you why you're here, it's because your attack on Benver, while bold, will lead to other people in outer Freeside retaliating. So we strike off one head fast: the leader of the Iron Gang. I'm proposing we attack their base at Holventein. Since their leader is usually there, it's the perfect opportunity to kill him and seize their resources. I'm sure all of you guys have heard the rumors of the leader of the Iron Gang—left side of his face burnt, left eye gone. If the rumors are true, that's who we are aiming for."
Charles nodded. "I've seen him, and that's pretty much true. Anyways, I have a few questions. Firstly, what's our plan of attack, and secondly, what is the plan of action after we take Holventein?"
"Well, first of all, there's only one entrance through their main gate at Holventien. However, we looked at the maps of the pre-war area of Outer Freeside and found there is a sewer in Benver that leads to the approximate area at Holventien. Now, we don't know exactly where it will come out, but it will be inside the gates of Holventien. After we take it, you will occupy it with your Securitrons or Freeside agency people. We simply don't have enough manpower to spare. Regarding the resources there, we get 90 percent. Trust me, I wanted to get more from you, but Ambassador Crocker and the officials compromised at that," said Colonel Moore.
"I'll discuss the details with House, but for now, we'll help. Do you need us to provide any men?" said Charles.
"That would be necessary right now. We are going to send every NCR soldier in this room on this mission, and you can bring your Securitrons to distract the people at the main gate while we go through the sewers. So, after this meeting, Captain Brown here will be leading the operation." said Colonel Moore
"I'll call in the securitrons and also call some Freeside agents for backup. Just give me a few minutes." said Charles.
Then, on his Pip-Boy, Charles called Ashley and said, "Hey Ash, I'm gonna need you to send some agents and Securitrons to my location in the NCR embassy's main command room."
"How many, Charles? I'll get any of our available agents or Securitrons ready."
"How many do you think is right, Colonel?" Charles asked.
"Well, we won't need that many Securitrons since I heard about their upgrades. You can pick that amount. As for agents, we don't need many either since we have four NCR troops and you guys, so that's up to your discretion."
Thinking about it, Charles then said to Ashley, "Give me two Securitrons and one Freeside agent."