Chapter 26: A Little More Action

Chapter 26: A Little More Action

You're listening to Radio New Vegas, your little jukebox in the Mojave Wasteland. I'm your host, Mr. New Vegas, fanning the flames of your passion. Got some Nat King Cole coming up later on in the program, but right now it's time for some news. A large group of Fiends made an attempt to force their way into the front gate of Camp McCarran earlier this week. Even though they were successfully driven off by NCR troops defending the base, one Major Dhatri spoke to one of our representatives, saying that, quote, "This is the last fucking straw!" The NCR is now looking to hire mercenaries to help deal with the mounting Fiend threat. The news this hour has been brought to you by the Ultra-Luxe Hotel and Casino: Live life in the lap of luxury. More classics coming right up for you, so stay tuned.

I do not like backtracking. Retracing my steps has always felt like paying for the same real estate twice, for some reason. Not that I've ever had to pay for real estate... On the other hand, talking to Julie Farkas seemed the most sensible option, since it was already getting close to five. I'm sure that given enough time and caps, I could probably get something useful out of the squatters and junkies. But, quite frankly, I wasn't interested in spending that much time and money when Julie probably knew what was going on anyway.

That's what I kept telling myself at least as I, yet again, walked into the Old Mormon Fort. However, this time, Julie wasn't there to greet me. In fact, I couldn't find her anywhere.

"How hard is it to find one woman in a lab coat and a Mohawk?" I finally said aloud after ten minutes of searching every single tent in the Mormon Fort, and coming up empty handed.

"You lookin' for Julie?" I heard a voice behind me speak up. I turned around and was face to face with one of the armed guards I'd seen walking around the Fort. "Yeah, she's in her office, talking with Arcade." He took a hand off the rifle slung across his chest, and pointed to the two story tower in the southwest corner of the Fort.

"... oh." I said lamely. "Uh... thanks." Cass just looked smug. ED-E let off a few beeps that could almost be mistaken for chuckles.

"Guess it's not all that hard at all," Veronica chimed in unhelpfully.

"That's what she said?" Cass couldn't even finish before she started cracking up.

"Oh, don't start!"

"Julie?" I asked, knocking on the door. No answer, so I tried the handle and found it was unlocked. Inside was a very small room made even smaller by the sheer amount of clutter filling it: blackboards filled with chalk scribbles, chemistry sets, several filing cabinets overflowing with papers and notes, diagrams, x-rays, and at least two head-high bookcases full of books.

"Someone's a pack rat," I heard Veronica say from behind me.

"You should talk," Cass nudged Veronica in the ribs, and looked around. "Guess nobody's home."

"Or we could just see if she and Arcade belong to the voices coming from upstairs," I said, pointing to the staircase in the corner.

"Huh. How'd I miss that?" Cass asked aloud.

"Probably the same way I missed that this building even existed in the first place," I shrugged. As the three of us made our way up the stairs (ED-E was busy hovering about outside, chasing a giant rat alongside a couple of local kids) the muffled voices coming from upstairs became much more distinct.

"So, you're saying it is possible then?" I heard Julie ask.

"In a sense, yes," Arcade replied. "We were just wrong about using barrel cacti. I've done some calculations and I believe it's entirely possible to create new stimpacks if we were to use Broc Flower extract as a catalyst, combined with liquefied Xander Root."

"This is very good work, Arcade. I can't believe the answer was staring us in the face this whole time." She made a soft 'hmm'-ing sound. "And you said this research was pointless."

"I'm not completely done yet, Julie. I mean, I am going to have to run some actual tests to be sure, I just haven't gotten the chance yet..." Before the two of them could continue, I reached the top of the stairs and knocked on the nearby wall to grab their attention. They both turned towards me at the noise.

"Hey Julie, Arcade. The front door was open," I said quickly. "Sorry to interrupt, but I just had a quick question for you Julie."

"Certainly," Julie said, taking a sip from the tea cup in her hand. "What do you need?"

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about NCR soldiers here in Freeside, would you?" Julie's face, which had been smiling, suddenly grew serious. She furrowed her brow and set the tea cup down on the table between herself and Arcade.

"A little, yes. I know a friend of mine, Major Elizabeth Kieran, has been handing out supplies to the poor a little west of here. What of it?"

"Wayne told me that one of the people who attacked him and Roy was a Lieutenant. The King thinks the NCR troops have been the ones attacking locals." Julie merely sighed.

"I know something has them riled up, but I've been too busy with other matters to really look into it."

"Like making new stimpacks? I couldn't help but overhear you two on the way up." Arcade nodded.

"That was just one of the projects Julie had me working on. Of course, if this actually works, then we're going to have the problem of finding enough ethanol to keep the equipment sanitized and sterile..." Arcade started mumbling to himself and stroking his chin, obviously lost in thought once again. Julie shook her head and smiled at Arcade as she turned back to me.

"If you're looking into the matter, I suggest you talk to Elizabeth. She's in charge of the operations here in Freeside. She's... well, I'll be honest, she's not exactly the warmest person, but she has a very strong sense of loyalty. She probably won't open up to you right away. If you mention that I sent you her way, she'll probably be more cooperative."

"I will. Thanks for the help," I said with a nod.

It didn't take long to find the place where the NCR had set up shop in Freeside. Julie had said they were operating out of a small, red brick building with no windows in the far western part of Freeside, close to Cerulean Robotics and the abandoned train station near the broken I-15 overpass.

Of course, the two big guys leaning on the wall on either side of the building's front door, keeping an obvious watch, probably helped it stand out as well. I finally understood what Wayne meant when he said they were dressed better than most Freesiders when I finally got a look at the two guards. They weren't wearing rags, but instead were in outfits that wouldn't have looked out of place on mercenaries: leather jackets and vests, forearm armor, ammo pouches all over, that sort of thing. ED-E hovered by the car as the three of us made our way to the door. One of the big guys stood up off the wall, and held out a hand to try and stop us.

"Hold up," he said in a gruff voice. "What's the password?" Now that I got an up-close look at them, there was something that caught my eye: they had subdued military style patches sewn onto their outfits. They were small, and made out of dark fabrics that sort of blended into their clothes, and it easily identified them as NCR... but only up close. The one still leaning against the wall had Captain's bars, and the one talking to me had Sergeant's chevrons.

"I'm here to see Major Kieran on urgent business. It's important that I talk to her right away." The Sergeant took a step back, seemingly surprised that I mentioned her by name. He looked back to the Captain, who just nodded as he continued to lean against the wall.

"I... uh, I suppose it's all right if you're here to see the Major. Head on through."

The inside of the building was surprisingly small, and appeared even smaller because it was jam-packed to the brim, wall-to-wall, with people. A few were crowded around tables, eating food and drinking water out of brown plastic bottles, but most were standing around in a big crowd near a counter at the back. There were a few construction lights providing a yellowish-orange sort of illumination hooked up to the ceiling, connected to wires that looked like they'd been stapled to the peeling plaster, all of which led back to a small electric generator, loudly and steadily chugging away.

"Here you are," I heard a soft (and yet somehow, surprisingly loud) voice over the general murmur of the crowd. "Food and water here for any citizen of the NCR. Please, have some." I tried to shove my way through the crowd to get a better look, and saw that the owner of the voice was a woman with closely cropped brown hair, and a face that looked dry and stressed from entirely too much work. She was wearing a dirty black leather jacket, kept snug and secure like a military uniform with the aid of several leather straps, and two ammo bandoliers strung across her chest. On the collar of her jacket, I saw a patch with a subdued dark orange oak leaf.

"Oy!" A voice yelled in my ear, and I got elbowed in the ribs. "Fuckin' wait yer turn man! I'm starvin' here!" The man was wearing a dirty denim jacket, a ballcap with a pair of goggles perched on the brim, and he had bags under his eyes the size of my car's tires.

"Hey, calm down, I'm not here for the food. I'm here to see the Major," and with that, I finally squeezed my way to the counter. "Excuse me, are you Major Kieran?"

"Yes..." She just sort of looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "I'm a Major in the NCR supply corps. Can I help you?"

"I just wanted to ask you a few questions, do you have a minute?" She looked me up and down, before she finally nodded.

"Alright, come on back here and we can talk. Corporal, take over." She motioned to one of the soldiers in the back, who set down a burlap sack and took over her spot handing out food at the counter. She and I both moved towards the wall - though, it must be said, she had an easier go of it than me, because she didn't have to contend with half a dozen people all crowding towards the counter. When I finally got to the wall, she lifted up a hatch and opened up a door to let me in the back.

"So," she said after she closed the counter's hatch behind me. "What can I do for you, Mr..."

"Fisher. Sheason Fisher. I just wanted to ask a few questions about, er, all of this," I tried to vaguely gesture to the crowd of people in the tiny building. "All these people here - are they all just NCR citizens?"

"Yes they are," she nodded. "The food and water comes from the NCR supply corps, after all."

"Do you serve food to locals as well?" She visibly stiffened, and crossed her arms across her chest.

"No, I'm afraid we don't," she said curtly. "Do you have a friend you wanted to bring in?"

"Not really, I'm just a little curious. I'd heard you were handing out food to the poor. Why don't you serve food to everyone?"

"That's not really a pleasant topic of conversion," she pursed her lips and started to scowl, before finally adding "Let's just say we have our reasons." Well, Julie was right. She really isn't opening up. Time to play my joker.

"Julie Farkas told me to ask. She said it was important." On hearing that name, the Major's eyes lit up, and her expression softened.

"You know Julie?" She uncrossed her arms, and her stance relaxed slightly. "Not everyone in the NCR sees eye-to-eye with the Followers anymore, but they're okay in my book... mostly because of her." She cleared her throat, and paused, like she was trying to give herself time to think of what she was going to say next. "If you really want to know, my superiors at McCarran originally sent us here on a relief mission to help the people living in Freeside - both citizens of the NCR and the locals. It was slated to be a massive operation, if I'm honest. We sent an envoy to the King, offering to coordinate the relief effort." She tried to hide a grimace, and inhaled sharply through her nostrils.

"What, did the King refuse or something?" I asked. That didn't really sound like him. Helping people out seemed like his M.O.

"In a manner of speaking, yes," she said bitterly. "The man we sent, Sergeant Black, was brutally beaten within an inch of his life, and barely survived."

"Wait, what?" I practically shouted. That didn't sound like The King. She just nodded her head grimly.

"I don't joke about the men under my command. He has to drink all his meals through a straw for the next eight months. Because of that, the relief mission was scrapped. I eventually managed to get clearance to carry out the mission anyway, but with greatly reduced support. Now?" She let out a half-sigh, half-laugh. "Now, there aren't enough supplies to go around, even if I wanted to serve the rest of Freeside. Which I don't." She lifted up the panel on the counter, making it obvious she wanted me to get out. "But, that's all in the past now. I should get back to work. Say hi to Julie for me."

I had a lot to think about while I made my way through the throng of people and towards the front door. Cass and Veronica had both stayed close to the front, and quickly joined me as I walked out the front door and back towards the car. The air outside certainly didn't feel as close as it had in there.

"So?" Cass asked. "What's up? What'd she say?"

"I surely do, thanks to Mr. Fisher here. And I am sorry about your Sergeant. If I'd known about what happened to him before, I'd have dealt with this a lot sooner," The King nodded, somberly. "As it is, you have my word that I'm gonna lay down the law with my boys - and make sure this sort of thing never happens again."

"Alright," Kieran nodded, and slung her rifle over her shoulder. "I suppose if you're willing to deal with us, perhaps we can work something out." The next thing I knew, The King, Major Kieran, and the NCR troopers made their way over to where Pacer and the other Kings were; the Major had agreed to provide first aid to the wounded Kings, while The King tried to, hopefully, knock some sense into Pacer. Luckily, at least from where I was standing, it didn't look like any of the Kings had been seriously injured. Either the NCR troops were horrible shots, or they were merely aiming to wound.

Without warning, I felt a hand whack me rather hard upside the head.

"The hell, man!" Cass yelled at me. I rubbed the back of my head. "Y'could've gotten us all killed. Th'fuck were y'thinkin?"

"What are you worried about? We're fine." I said with a shrug. I rapped my knuckles against the metal 'windows' on my car. "That's what these were for." Cass just half-nodded, half shook her head.

"Okay, I'll admit. Wasn't expecting these. Seriously though, how'd you know y'weren't gonna get shot th' minute y'opened th' door?" She asked. I paused, and thought for a moment.

"Do you want the real answer, or the badassed answer?" I asked with a smirk. Cass just opened and closed her mouth a couple times, and gave me an exasperated look.

"Give me th' badass answer first, it'll probably be more interestin'."

"I didn't. It was a gamble, I rolled the dice, and I won. Fitting, for Vegas, don't you think?" I asked. Cass just shook her head again.

"And th' real answer?" Cass asked. I peered over my shoulder, and made sure there weren't any NCR troops nearby. Luckily, they were off a ways off, and all of them were out of earshot.

"NCR troopers are crap when it comes to using their own initiative. Confuse them with a situation they're unfamiliar with, and nine times out of ten they'll just stop and give you an opening, is what I've found."

"Yeah, th' badass answer's more interestin'," Cass opened the rear door and looked inside the car. "V, what'd you think?" Veronica poked her head out of the car, and folded her arms on the door.

"Yeah," Veronica said with a nod and a smirk. "Definitely go with the first one.

The next hour or so was a bit of a blur. After he made sure everyone who needed it got medical attention, The King wanted to make sure the spirit of newfound cooperation between The Kings and the NCR troopers under the Major was solidified. And, apparently, that meant holding a party at The Kings place.

I still don't know exactly what it was The King said to Pacer, but the man responsible for setting this whole mess in motion seemed a bit more sedate when everyone arrived for the party. I'm just glad he got cleaned up; when I went to check on everyone before leaving the train station, he was bleeding rather badly down the left side of his face. By the time of the party, he looked fine.

"Hello Sheason," Arcade said to me as he and Julie walked in. "So, I hear you sorted out this whole mess practically singlehanded. The Indestructible Courier now has a knack for diplomacy, too."

"Is that what people are saying now?" I sighed, unable to contain my utter exasperation at my apparent reputation.

"Well, that's what I'm saying," Arcade said with a smirk.

"All I did was get the people who needed to talk this out in the same place. That's it. And I suppose I'd be a pretty poor courier if I couldn't ferry people from place to place as well."

"I'm just glad no one else was seriously hurt. I think the worst of the Kings will be back on his feet by the middle of next week," Julie said. "And maybe now, things in Freeside might get less violent."

The two of them left to mingle in the ever growing crowd of people in the theater, and I left to go to the drinks table. Very kindly, The Kings had set up a table with refreshments, and didn't even bother setting out stuff like punch that would've inevitably been spiked; it was just row after row of dozens of bottles of liquor. There were some Kings on the stage setting up some musical instruments like a guitar, a drum set, and a double bass. It distracted me long enough that when I tried to grab the bottle of whiskey I was aiming for, all I grabbed was air.

"Told ya I'd find somethin'!" Cass smirked, putting the bottle to her lips and knocking it back. I shook my head and laughed, grabbing a bottle of beer from a nearby chest of ice instead.

"That you did, cheers," the two of us clinked our bottles together. Unfortunately, we were interrupted by the arrival of Pacer.

"Hey there girl," his voice came from behind me. "This guy botherin' ya? What do you say I show you a real good time, give you a massage in my place upstairs?" I had to hold back laughter. Cass, on the other hand, wasn't so diplomatic.

"Never gonna happen. I got a better idea, if yer lookin' fer somethin' t'do though. How about you stick yer head in a door, an' slam it shut really, really hard?" I didn't bother turning around, but he must have left after that because I didn't hear him again. The two of us just started laughing, and Cass took another drink as she looked up at the stage. "So what th' fuck'r they doin' up there, anyway?"

"What, you haven't heard?" One of the Kings said to Cass, reaching for a drink from the table. "The King has said he's gonna put on a show! You guys are in for a real treat, let me tell you. He hasn't done this in years!"

As if on cue, the lights in the theater dimmed, and a couple of spotlights lit up the stage. All the Kings in the crowd cheered and started clapping. The King strutted on stage, gave a wave, and grabbed the mic.

"Hey everyone! I want y'all to make sure the Major's boys here feel welcome. They're my guests here - treat them wrong, you answer to me, understand?" The crowd gave a little laugh, and The King continued. "I've been doing a lot of thinking about what went down today, and I think it's time for a little more talkin', and a little less fightin'. So I'm gonna kick it off tonight with a song about my hometown. A dream from the old world, from a time when every man had the chance to be a king in his own right. Viva Las Vegas, baby."

In a flash, the theater erupted - cheers from the crowd, music from the band on stage started blasting out of the speakers, and The King started dancing and singing and moving and shaking and... it was oddly hypnotic to watch.

Bright light city gonna set my soul,

Gonna set my soul on fire!

Got a whole lot of money that's ready to burn,

So get those stakes up higher!

There's a thousand pretty women waitin' out there,

And they're all living, devil may care,

And I'm just the devil with love to spare,

Viva Las Vegas! Viva Las Vegas!

I was just starting to relax, and without really thinking I put my hand in my pocket. My hand brushed against a couple of the Legion coins and... some paper? That was odd, I didn't remember leaving any notes for myself. So I grabbed it, and tried to get a look at it in the dim light.

"What's that?" I barely heard Cass over the noise of the music and the crowd. She leaned in closer to get a better look as I started to unfold it.

"I think it's something Orris' had on him when he got blown apart..." I said, trying to get a better look at it in the dim light.

Oh, there's blackjack and poker and the roulette wheel!

A fortune won and lost on ev'ry deal!

All you need's a strong heart and a nerve of steel!

Viva Las Vegas! Viva Las Vegas!

I couldn't really make out many details on the scrap of paper... but I could make out enough. Orris name, several times. The words "payment," "information," "espionage," and "sabotage." A stamp of a red bull in the upper right hand corner. And a name scrawled on the bottom:

Vulpes Inculta.

I folded the paper back up and put it in my pocket.

"What's up? What's wrong?" Cass asked, taking another swig of whiskey. I didn't answer. My mind was still going over what I'd just seen written on that paper that I didn't even realize I'd had. If nothing else, now I knew why someone would've wanted to kill Orris... but even if he was an informant for the Legion, and this heavily implied he was, all it did was just raise more questions than it answered.

So, for the moment, I decided to ignore the gears turning in my head... and just listen to the music.

I'm gonna give it ev'rything I've got!

Lady luck please, let the dice stay hot!

Let me shoot a seven with ev'ry shot!

Viva Las Vegas! Viva Las Vegas!

Viva!

Viva!

Las Vegas!