14 Chapter 14

Days passed since their intimacy and their subsequently immediate rift born of Vupes's secrecy. They continued their routines, reuniting at nighttime for sleep. They shared very few words. Vulpes out of some self-appointed mystery, and she out of stung pride. He was not superior to her. She was not undeserving of the truth.

He would try to bridge this new gap by reaching for her in the dead space of night. When her body tensed at his touch, he would rightfully withdraw and leave her be.

Whenever the need arose for her to speak with her husband, her words were always short, terse, and bitter. She didn't think she would ever forgive him for being so clandestine. And as she heard the echoes of Legion reports of the Mojave, her resolve only hardened further against the red clad men surrounding her, her husband included.

And then the miraculous, the forbidden, the terrifying happened. Lord Caesar summoned her.

Two Praetorian guards came to retrieve her, much like they had for her arena fight. Although their grip was hard and her feet dragged, they did not lead her to the arena. Just as their gruff voices promised, they took her to Caesar's tent.

She saw her Lord Husband standing by Caesar's right at the far end. Once the Praetorian guards shoved her through the tent flap, she needed no further prompting to approach Caesar.

She passed the first tent, the entryway. And Caesar's tent came into full view, and she noticed a prisoner bound and kneeling in the dust to Caesar's left, her right.

And then her whole body tensed and she froze where she stood.

The coy smirk, the self-important gaze were unmistakable. Checkered Jacket. Benny, the man who shot her. The man who killed her.

Caesar seemed to anticipate some reaction from her. He said nothing and watched her carefully, waiting for her response.

She felt her muscles clench, and her body strained against the instinct to become violent. And Benny, sensing the threat before him, mustered his lopsided grin and tried appeasing to her on some charismatic level.

"Hey-hey, baby. Sugar doll. You're alive—"

Caesar silenced the Head Chairman with a simple command. She looked back to Caesar and did not sink into the graceful bow that would be expected of her.

"You summoned me?"

"I'm assuming you recognize this man," Caesar began simply.

She nodded once. "He was the man that killed me in Goodsprings."

"He was caught sneaking around the camp last night. Now, I wondered why any profligate would even want to come to a Legion camp, but then this was discovered on him." At this, Caesar held up a small object that reflected even in the dim light of the tent, the number 38 etched into its face.

The Platinum Chip.

She had gathered from her personal investigation that the Platinum Chip was what she had been delivering when Benny had captured her. It was the object she had been killed for. She knew nothing of its significance other than it was pretty damn significant.

Caesar continued. "You might notice the symbol on this chip. It's the same symbol on a door hidden in the weather station. It is the symbol of the Lucky 38. It is the symbol of Mr. House."

Mr. House was an enigmatic individual of godly proportions. It was common knowledge that he owned New Vegas, patrolled by his army of Securitrons. From various discarded rumors, she had gathered that he was also a figure of prewar importance, perhaps discovering some blasphemous secret of longevity or immortality to save himself from the exponential radiation when the bombs first dropped. Enigmatic indeed.

"The door beneath the weather station is locked despite any force I might throw against it. I suspect that this chip is the key to opening that door and the key to whatever Mr. House has hidden in his bunker. What I want you to do, Courier, is to make one last delivery."

"Which means?" she asked curtly, tiring of Caesar's tendency for grandiose language.

"Take the chip to its intended destination. Go to the bunker and destroy whatever Mr. House has hidden there."

It was a simple command, devoid of the specifics of what she might find or encounter in Mr. House's bunker. Devoid of why he wanted her to do this task. "Why me?" she asked.

Caesar smirked. "Because I don't know what's under there. You were already chosen for this journey by some power beyond me, and I am not one to question the preordained."

"Effectively, you're saying that I can handle a potential threat better than any of your legionnaires."

Caesar chuckled at that. "I'm saying that you're more dispensable than my legionnaires." He paused. "Do this, and I will reward you."

"With my freedom?" she asked quickly.

"You are married to Vulpes. You are already free." Caesar laughed at his own words. She might have too if she was in better humor. "Your reward is that you get to choose Benny's fate."

At this, she turned to look at the unfortunate soul who had had the idiocy to kill her. She heard none of Benny's frantic pleas for mercy as Caesar listed off the possibilities before her.

"Simple execution, arena match, crucifixion."

She did not take long to consider Caesar's words. "Am I to go unarmed?"

She was not. Vulpes escorted her to the weather station, keeping his gaze trained away from her and his eyes distant. Her tunic was replaced by leather armor, the very same, she noted, she had been captured in. She was handed a machete and her own personal hunting revolver. She was surprised they even saved it. Vulpes said nothing outside the brief instructions he had for her.

He opened the door to the weather station, and she froze before the threshold. She didn't know how long she had been a slave in the Legion. She didn't know how many had days had passed since her wedding, her salvation as a token or gift from Vulpes. It might have been weeks.

But the scars of Silus's whims felt fresh as she peered into the darkness of the building. The sounds of the scraping whip near to her ears. She easily imagined the ghostly visage of Silus next to her.

Vulpes broke her reverie. "Maria?"

It encouraged her enough to brave the darkness of the building, of her recent past.

The door Caesar spoke of was revealed after Vulpes made a few selections at the nearby control panel, the floor partly sliding away to reveal the bowels of the structure. She saw the door with the Lucky 38 symbol emblazoned proudly on its surface. She would pass through those doors alone. She hovered before them a moment.

Vulpes once again broke the silence. "There is a part of Caesar that hopes you won't return," he admitted at length. "You're far too unpredictable for him."

She didn't meet his gaze, squaring her shoulders. "What does Caesar think is down there?"

"Something powerful. Something dangerous."

Then something occurred to her. Benny hadn't been sneaking around the Legion camp for no reason. If someone as spineless as Benny was brave enough to snoop around Caesar, then there must have been something important down there. Something more than dangerous. Something more than powerful. It was something that could be used. But what? A weapon?

"I do not share Caesar's hopes," Vulpes continued when she said had nothing. "I do hope that you will return to me."

She finally, finally looked back to him. Her gaze was piercing. "Then come with me down to the bunker. Show that you mean what you say. Make sure that I actually do get back." Vulpes was smart. He would have deduced already what was down there. Whether or not he actually cared for her would be proven in his answer.

His eyes glinted, his head turned slightly. Even though he appeared torn, she already saw his answer before he said anything. His smirk was rueful. "Caesar commands you go alone."

She turned away, sighing ruefully, wistfully. "Caesar commands," she repeated before descending to the depths of Fortification Hill.