Chapter 8 - A wandering sheriff

Almost a week has passed since I woke up in the clinic. Not many things happened, other than some caravans and NCR units passing by, especially after the legionnaires were driven back to their part of the wasteland. As for the tunnels, well the loyal soldiers of the republic took it upon themselves to tax in the name of freedom the illegal goods that go in or out of the Mojave through those tunnels. God, you have to love the NCR definition of freedom, then again the economy needs a boost somehow right?

"Dante what are you doing? Those bastards are almost here, get ready."

I completely forgot that we were on a mission. Well, after that incident in the tunnels, the mayor of Frontier, the settlement that was before Mojave Outpost, who coincidently was also the sheriff of the town, officially employed Vito and me as a mercenary group for a few clean-up missions. We mostly took care of mole rats and a few raiders, but nothing as dangerous as trying to get rid of a deathclaw, or worst an intelligent deathclaw like the one we met a week ago.

Thankfully, no one was dumb enough to even request something like that, knowing that no sane person would fight a deathclaw willingly, however strangely enough there were a few requests for some rather strange things such as gecko eggs, lower parts of a Brahmin, etc.

Suddenly, gunfire echoed in the distance bringing me back to reality. At the same time, James and Vito readied their guns and aimed at the huge boulder that acted as cover for the raiders. Whatever happened there might just have earned us 50 caps each and that without even wasting a bullet.

"Well, would you look at that, howdy partners?"

A voice made me jump out of my skin, while Vito and James reacted a little bit less scared, albeit not completely. As soon as I turned to face the person who just spoke, I blinked in surprise when a huge, bulky robot with long arms and one wheel stood behind us looking at us, seemly without a purpose. On his little screen were a male cowboy with a hat, bandana, and a cigarette sticking out of his crooked grin, most likely that was the "face" of the robot or at least the face his creator designated him to have.

"Might I say you three were a great distraction for those low lives!"

"Sorry for asking, but have you perhaps the reason those gunshots were heard earlier?"

"Of course, sir. Those low lives were a danger to the well-being of the people living here so as a good wandering sheriff I had to take care of them, albeit with your help. Help that I greatly appreciate. If it wasn't for you three forcing the low lives to hide, I wouldn't have such a great chance of using my gun to take them out before they could even comprehend who they did."

Just as I was about to inquire more about what he had done, James interrupted me with his own question.

"Wait a damn second, you aren't from around here right, mate? Are you one of those police robots used pre-war?"

"Well, I am considered a robot, sir, but I am actually called a Securitron, RobCo security model 2060-B. It was a few days ago when I just came strolling by those parts of the wasteland hoping to find some unfortunate souls ready to find their end, and by some strike of luck today was my lucky day, once again thank you for being a distraction."

For some reason, I doubt this was his initial designation, after all, who in their right mind would want such a robot as a sheriff? Then again, all of those years being locked in that place made me realize that a lot of crazy people are free to do whatever they want as long as they prove their worth to the right "master".

"No matter if you used it as bait or not, we still have to thank you for making our job easier, sir."

"Don't fret now partner. Name's Victor, by the way, the best wandering sheriff the world has ever seen."

"So what now? Victor here just killed the raiders, doesn't that make him the owner of all of the loot? As well as the bounty?"

"About that, Green Sir. I don't have any need for caps or bullets since I can make them myself, so you three are free to get whatever you want from them as payment for helping me. If you don't need me anymore I will be on my way, as there are many places around the Mojave where those low lives tend to camp."

We watch the robot leave until his figure was no longer visible before slowly making our way down to where the raiders were hiding, only to find that Victor hadn't lied to us, not even once, at least about the raiders and their state. Still, I find it strange that he hadn't touched their bodies at all, leaving everything they had on them for whoever was lucky enough to stumble across this free present.

"We do own that robot a bottle of oil for completing this job for us. I count eleven raiders dead and for me, that means at least eleven bullets were saved. So what do you two say? You are after all the ones in charge of this group."

"Kiddo, can you gather the guns and ammo and check the bodies? James and I would check the crates to see why these raiders were so stubborn to wait for us to leave rather than abandoning their stuff."

"Sure thing, Vito. Still, be careful, Victor might have killed those guys, but no one can tell if there might be some raiders hidden or if Victor won't come back to kill us too."

"Fair point, kiddo, fair point. Thought that robot, shouldn't be that bad, after all, I know only one place in the whole Mojave that has those kinds of robots, and whatever people say about him, Mr. House is a man of his word. "

"Mr. House, who's that?"

"You don't know the man who made Vegas alive?"

For a second Vito's face morphed in confusion before he remembered where the two of us met, making him shake his head as he explained to me who that man was.

"Well, Mr. House is the mysterious overlord of the Strip. He controls his small empire from the confines of the Lucky 38 casino, where no other living person has set foot for over two hundred years. He entered the world stage once again in 2274 when Securitrons under his command emerged from the Lucky 38. This action was prompted by the arrival of New California Republic scouts at Hoover Dam. In order to establish his rule, he enlisted the help of tribes living in New Vegas, later known as the Three Families, and rebuilt the city just in time to welcome the arrival of the New California Republic Army's advance forces. In exchange for help with Hoover Dam and permission to use McCarran International Airport as its headquarters, House signed the New Vegas Treaty, ensuring cooperation from NCR and, for a time, protecting the Strip from annexation. To be fair, not many things are known about him, other than that he rules New Vegas together with the three families and that he and the NCR are trying to find a middle ground for some kind of mutual benefit alliance of some sort."

I for one was shocked hearing that man could achieve such a grand thing almost alone, if you don't count the people and robots working for him, however, that still requires some level of skill to bring together those tribes as well as keep the robots in working condition after almost two hundred years since the world ended.

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