Nipton Burning

I liked her immediately. And we proceeded to get drunk together.

Waking up with a stinking hangover the next morning, I was a little relieved to wake up alone, as that last couple of hours, or maybe it was that last bottle, certainly passed in a haze. I learned rather quickly that Cass, as that was what she preferred, was already sitting up, looking fresh as a daisy. "Ugh," I murmured.

"Lightweight," she retorted, "Come on, we barely drank two bottles."

"I'm not used to drinking that much," I groaned into the pillow.

"Well, you were keeping pace with me, at least. Not many are capable of doing that, even men. Swear I have a cast iron liver, or I'm looking at an early grave. Either way, I'm going out the way I want. Your offer still stand?"

"What offer?"

"About me getting out of this dump. I've had enough NCR bureaucracy to last a lifetime. If you're after company, I can obviously do a hell of a lot worse. Plus, a story like yours is well worth following. And if you can return the favour…"

"Guess I offered?" I mumbled.

"You did, but I think it was because you wanted in my pants too." I groaned, which made her laugh. "I like to fuck, but you were so drunk, even I have morals. Plus, I doubt you were doing anything last night except passing out in bed. Could have sucked your dick for an hour and I doubt you were getting hard."

Managing to sit myself up on the bunk, I ran a hand over my head and groaned again before standing up. No surprise I felt myself sway, hearing Cass laugh at me. Figuring I just needed food and a lot of water, I managed to dress myself before staggering out to the bar, thankful someone was at the counter, immediately placing some caps own and asking for anything that was greasy along with a lot of water. Cass sat next to me, laughing away though the food and drink certainly made me feel better about life.

Once I was done, and feeling a little more human, I asked the whereabouts of Major Knight, pointed down a corridor that led towards the NCR barracks, a sign next to another door stating the major was inside. Knocking on the door, I was asked inside, meeting the CO for the first time. He'd never met me, but figured out rather quickly who I was. The offer of a whole lot of caps before anything wasn't something I expected, earning a grin t my surprise. "You've earned it, stranger. Did us a pair of favours. Taking back NCRCF with nothing more than a few civilians is one thing, but then helping my men take back Primm was above and beyond."

"It was the right thing to do, but thank you for the caps."

"You're welcome. Now, I've heard rumour as to why you've been heading this way. You wish to go to Nipton next, correct?" I nodded. "One of my Rangers on the roof, name of Ghost…" I couldn't help smirk at the name, but he moved on quickly. "She's been concerned the past couple of days about what she can see through her scope. Any chance you could head up and speak to her? She might ask for help and, if you could possibly help us out considering you're heading that way, I'll make sure I send word further north in regards to you assisting the NCR."

"As I'm already heading that way, sure, I'll go speak to him."

"Her."

"I'll go speak to her. Up on the roof?"

"Yes. She spends most of her time on duty up there. She's… a little abrasive, but her heart is in the right place. Being a Ranger, she'd rather be out in the field, but we simply don't have the numbers to send out too many patrols. The only reason I sent a team to Primm was the fact it seemed to be an in and out sort of job. Rangers can disappear for days and weeks at a time, and I need as many people here as I can afford."

"Legion?"

"They're a problem, yes, but mostly it's to do with all the traffic. It's back up at the moment, as despite Primm now being stable, and the NCRCF no longer an issue, we know north of that is still closed. Deathclaws."

"I've heard about that. Not sure I can help with that matter."

"Speak to Ghost, see what she has to say about Nipton. Maybe that will open up a route north. Longer than the Long 15 but as long as we can start sending caravans north again, I'll consider that a win."

Heading outside, it was another warm day, immediately covering my head with a hat as I headed up to the roof. I noticed a lone figure lying on the roof, a sniper rifle in front of her, eye to the scope, looking over the horizon, watching the barrel move in a slow moving arc. Clearing my throat, I heard her chuckle.

"Heard you coming up the stairs," she said, "So you haven't startled me like most of the others. What do you want?"

"Your CO sent me up here. Something about Nipton."

She stood up and turned towards me. I'd never seen someone as pale as her in the short time I'd been awake. Sunglasses covered what seemed to be half her face, a hat of her own covering her hair. But that white skin was something else entirely. She obviously noticed my reaction. "Yeah, I'm pale. Trust me, I've heard all the stories, but it's not why they call me Ghost. Any other choice names people have me, don't rightly fucking care." I felt my eyebrows raise so she added, "Well, you mustn't have been told, so we'll leave it at that."

"What's the problem with Nipton?" I asked, hopefully moving the conversation on.

"I think there's trouble in Nipton. No traffic from there on the roads, and while I can explain that away, the smoke from the town I can't. I'm sure it's been hit. What I need to know is if they survived it. Might be Powder Gangers with all that smoke in the air."

I shook my head. "Powder Gangers are surely no more. Took out those at NCRCF…"

The smirk on her face amused me. "Ah, so you're this courier I've heard about. Heard you did some mighty fine work. Left none of the fuckers alive."

"I left one alive, to spread the story. As for Primm, don't think we took any prisoners there."

"Shit, no wonder Knight was so keen to meet you. Talked about this courier all last night. Knew to expect you sometime today."

"So not Powder Gangers, as I don't think it's them, might be something else?"

"Look, I'll level with you. Nipton is a shithole. Nobody has friends in Nipton. Place has a bad fuckin' reputation as far as I'm concered. I know the mayor of the town was running some sort of racket, but as I've never been there, I don't know. But I've heard enough rumours to know that some sort of bullshit was going on there. But I've got a bad feeling that, if there are fires burning out of control, something else totally fucked up is going on there."

"Okay, how long is the walk there?"

"Leave now, you'll be there by late afternoon. If you can come back this way as soon as you can…"

"Don't like the idea of turning back on myself, but…"

"Look, I don't exactly have a lot of caps on me to dish out rewards, but one thing I do have is my word. I give that to Knight, he spread it through the chain of command, trust me on this, you will have plenty of friends and doors opened within the NCR." She paused and added, "Listen, I don't want you getting killed for this, so if you head there and run into trouble, I'm asking for eyes and ears, not your life. All right?"

"Sounds fair. Let me grab a couple of things and I'll head out. Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow, though with what news…"

"If it's what I suspect, things are going wrong…" she muttered.

Heading downstairs, I grabbed my rifle and holstered revolver. Cass was already at the bar, looking a little concerned by my hasty departure. Assuring her I was only heading to Nipton before returning, she spent a few seconds judging my sincerity before nodding, though told me not to be stupid by doing something like getting myself shot or killed. My last order was for the little robot that continued to follow me around, that people seemed to just ignore, ordering it to stay behind for the time being. It beeped a few times before it returned to the barracks to simply wait for me.

Walking back down the hill, ensuring I had rifle in hand, aware that critters and creatures prowled the roads as patrols were few and far between, I found an old sign pointing the way to Primm, turning right off the Long 15, heading east. In addition to the smoke I could now clearly see, I could also almost taste the acrid stench, and I had a feeling it wasn't a simple wood fire. There was a smell I could recognise but not name.

Approaching the outskirts of the town itself, the first thing I saw sent a chill down my spine. I recognised the Powder Gangers immediately, as they all wore the same clothing. That wasn't what chilled me. It was the fact they'd been hauled up onto crosses, large nails through the palms of their hands, though their legs were bound by rope. Most of them were bleeding from other wounds, having clearly been beaten and more than likely tortured. It was hard to find sympathy for them but even they didn't deserve such treatment.

What surprised me was the man running in my direction. Immediately worried he was coming to attack, I readied my rifle to fire. If necessary, I'd put a bullet in his chest and deal with the consequences. But I noticed he wasn't armed, so lowered my rifle as he approached.

"I won! I won!" he was shouting, before he stopped before me, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me. "I won the fuckin' lottery!"

He was definitely a Powder Ganger, so I brushed him off. "What are you talking about?"

"The lottery? You don't know what the lottery is?" He inhaled deeply. "Ah, smell that air. Doesn't it smell wonderful? Well, I think so, because this man won the motherfuckin' lottery!"

I looked him up and down. "And you're a Powder Ganger. Want to know how I deal with them?" I glanced around, gesturing to those on the cross. "Maybe not quite like that but…"

"They're losers, man. Not winners like me! Lottery! Yeah!"

He was clearly nuts, so I stood aside and just let him run off. I could hear him continue to shout to himself as he slowly disappeared, turning to approach the large building ahead, which I assumed was the town hall. Out the front was a group of people and it took all of five seconds to figure out that this was the Legion that everyone seemed to fear. Little wonder as it was obvious this group was responsible for what was happening to the town.

There were more people on crosses outside the town hall, those not dressed as Powder Gangers, so I could imagine they'd been inhabitants of the town. Powder Gangers being tortured didn't bother me, but these people… it did a little, though I remember what Ghost had said about the town. But surely no-one deserved such a fate, strung up to die slowly in the heat, without food or water. It would be an agonising death.

A tall man, dressed in what I what I assumed was Legion armour. His head was covered in that of a wolf, his eyes covered by dark glasses. But while he was no doubt trying to intimidate me, he didn't provide a threat. His head moved up and down, no doubt taking in what I was wearing, and the weapon in my hand, which I wisely left at my side.

"Don't worry, I won't have you lashed to a cross like the rest of these degenerates. It's useful that you happened by. I want you to witness the fate of the town of Nipton, to memorize every detail. And then, when you move on? When you move on, head west to the Mojave Outpost and tell the Profligate troops what you found here."

I could have asked questions but I wasn't there to fight. Ghost wanted me to find out what happened and who was responsible. I already had my answer. But, I'll admit, there was part of me that was intrigued by the brutality. I had visions of what I'd do to the man who had shot me. What I could see gave me some ideas. "What did happen here?" I asked, morbidly curious at all the death.

"Nipton was a wicked place, debased and corrupt. It served all comers, so long as they paid."

"So prostitution and drugs?"

He smirked. "Profligate troops, Powder Gangers, men of the Legion such as myself, the people here didn't care. It was a town of whores. For a pittance, the town agreed to lead those it had sheltered into a trap. Only when I sprang it did they realize they were caught inside it, too."

"Isn't it possible that some of these people are innocent?"

I thought it was a sensible enough question. The man simply scoffed at me. "Innocent? Hardly. Cowardly, though. They outnumbered us, yet not once did they try to resist. They stood and watched as their fellows were butchered, crucified, and burned, one by one. They stood and hoped their turn would not come. Each cared only for himself."

"And the lottery?"

"Perhaps to show we're not as inhuman as people believe." He turned towards his men. "Form up, Frumentarii. We return to camp to honour Caesar." Glancing back my way, the smile he returned was almost pure evil. "And you, stranger. Tell the world what you saw here today in Nipton. Tell the world what will happen to it, the whores and sinners who infest it, the profligates whose days of freedom are drawing to a close. This land shall be cleansed like all those conquered in the name of Caesar."

I watch him lead his small band of men away from Nipton, leaving me with the burning fires, a whole lot of people on crosses, and an otherwise empty town. I had no real sympathy for any Powder Gangers, and if he'd been telling the truth, about the townspeople selling them out, I found sympathy hard to find for anyone else.

With no desire to hang around, I turned and marched my way out of town. I heard more than one Powder Ganger cry out, asking for mercy, but I wasn't prepared to give any. I had a feeling the man I'd been speaking to fervently believed in his mission, but he also wasn't a liar. If I had time, I would have investigated the claims, perhaps found evidence of the crimes, but it was late, and I wanted back in the safety of Mojave Outpost.

I returned just as I growing dark, Ghost still up on the roof, though no longer in position. I noticed she had a tent and bedroll positioned at the other end of the building, a little campfire set up. Walking over and sitting nearby, she removed her hat and glasses to reveal incredibly fair hair but a pair of very pretty blue eyes.

"So is it as bad as I thought?" she asked.

"People on crosses…"

"Crucifixions?" She paused and looked away before muttering, "Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck." She looked up and met my eyes. "Legion?" I nodded, leading to another line of cursing.

"It wasn't pretty. But most of the people up on crosses were Powder Gangers. From what I was told, the townsfolk were put to the sword before I arrived."

"Small mercies, I guess. I'd go tell Knight but I think he's going to give less than a shit about what happened to Nipton. He knew what went on in that town." When I explained further what I was told, about the trap the Legion had laid down, which the townsfolk had helped set up, that seemed to make up her mind. "Hard to feel any pity for them now, particularly as our boys were close to being caught up in it. I heard the talk in the barracks about what they got up to whenever they had a weekend pass. Groups would head there, fuck, drink, take drugs, then come back and I'd have to hear all the stories."

"Life is pretty rough out here?"

"It's fucking boring, is what it is. And being kept here instead of being out of the road is beyond chaffing." She sighed before glancing my way again, a slight smile forming. "Thanks, stranger. You did me a solid. The news I expected. Legion are bastards."

"The man I spoke to, he was something else entirely. Intimidating doesn't even begin to describe him."

"He wearing some sort of wolf's head?" I nodded. "Vulpes Inculta. Bogeyman of the Legion. Surprised you met and he let you walk away."

"He wanted me to pass on a message about what I saw. I'm obviously not going to spread fear on behalf of them. Telling you is enough. But I will have to head through or by Nipton again when I leave."

I was ready to just head inside when she asked if I wanted to stop with her for dinner. I must have looked surprised as her face did fall slightly, sitting down as she admitted to not having many friends and that I was probably the first friendly face she'd seen in some time. Plus, she had booze, not that it needed to be offered, but she popped the cap on a bottle of vodka, taking a sip before offering it to me.

She cooked some steaks over the small campfire as we sipped at the bottle. I told her what I knew of my life, which wasn't all that much. She found that somewhat amusing, but left her impressed when I explained what I'd been up to since waking up, particularly taking down the convicts at NCRCF and then helping out the troopers in Primm.

We heard noise coming from people below us, no doubt NCR troops, rangers and the caravaners coming in from the NCR itself making merry. We continued to sit by the fire, taking sips from the vodka bottle. "What's your name?" I finally asked.

"April. Wish I knew your name."

"So do I."

Not sure if it was the booze, an attraction, or maybe just an urge for intimacy, but I was amused when we almost leaned in at the same time to kiss. And she moved quickly. By the time her tongue was in my mouth, she had positioned herself on my lap, pulling her tight to my body. She was slim and no doubt athletic. She smelled rather delightful too, left wondering…

We made out for a while before finally breaking apart. I thought she was going to ask a question before she laughed to herself. "I'm not going to bother asking," she said, instead standing and offering her hand.

Once inside her rather large tent, she'd certainly gone out of her way to make herself comfortable. Though she only had a bedroll, she had a thick mattress underneath it, and a few duffel bags around which seemed to be full of all the necessities she needed. Noticing my eyes, she shrugged. "I keep to myself," she admitted, a little sadly, "As I said, most people think I'm a bitch."

"Well, clearly they don't know you very well then."

"Sweet talker."

I'll admit, something about her intrigued and definitely interested me. I think it was her no bullshit manner, and it was clear what she wanted, and at that moment, she wanted me. I wasn't going to complain. Removing our clothing, or removing each other's clothing, was somewhat awkward, but once I had her down to underwear, while I was naked, her lips curling into a smile as she immediately grasped my cock, I pulled her close and kissed her again.

"Don't normally do this," she murmured.

"Don't care if you did. Right now, it's just us here."

That made her smile as I kissed her again, fingers running up and down her back, surprised by her smooth skin, though she was incredibly pale. She broke the kiss and I saw a hint of nerves in her face, a surprise in someone who had, up to that moment, proven themselves nothing but self-confident. "I have albinism," she whispered.

"Okay."

"That doesn't bother you?"

"Why would it? I'm clearly attracted at this very moment. You're pale. So what?"

I wasn't sure why that almost got to her, but the next kiss was full of feeling, my fingers on her back again, undoing the clasp of her bra to free her small breasts, before running them down to her panties, which she was rather eager to get off. Lying her back on the bedroll, she looked up at me with a grin as I leaned down. "Definitely don't normally do this," she murmured, "But, then again, I can't remember the last time I had sex."

"Well, best make a night of it then."

Her body was simply fantastic. Athletic as one would expect from a soldier, but barely a scar or blemish on her either. Her nipples were incredibly pink compared to her pale skin, while glancing down further, I didn't see a hair around her pussy, her legs already spread considering I was resting between them. In fact, apart from the fair hair on her head, barely able to call it blonde, there was barely a hair on her body.

"You approve?" she whispered.

"I think my hard cock would suggest I do, but to reassure you verbally, I can't wait to get my mouth between your legs."

That earned me another kiss, breaking it rather quickly to move down to her neck, earning a gasp as I dug my teeth in, the gasp followed by a rather girlish giggle, something that sounded a little strange coming from her, before I moved down to her breasts. As I started to give them attention with my tongue, my fingers stroked inside her thighs, feeling her spread them even further as I finally moved them to her pussy.

That earned another gasp as I gently brushed them against her folds, just teasing her, though I couldn't help grin at how wet she already felt. Her nipples were hard enough to cut glass within seconds, earning a number of appreciative gasps and moans as I licked and sucked at her breasts. Just the taste of her skin was delightful.

"Please move down," she whimpered. I looked up as I still had one of her nipples in my mouth. "Please…"

Slowly kissing down her body, just to draw it out a little longer, her scent drove me wild, feeling my cock practically throb with excitement as I wasted no time dipping my tongue to taste her. I groaned loudly, earning another giggle from her. "Okay, doing this for a while," I exclaimed quietly.

Wrapping an arm around one of her thighs, I slowly started to use my tongue, teasing her relentlessly to start with, running my tongue up and down her slit, admittedly just savouring her taste. Once I felt she was really getting into it, I slid a couple of fingers inside her, earning an even louder gasp, moving them in such a manner that I was fairly sure I could find that special spot women had.

"Oh god," she cried softly, her body started to almost gyrate against my hand, mixing up my fingers and tongue. "Oh god," she cried again, a little louder this time. The only reason no-one would have heard is that the noise coming from downstairs would drown out her cries.

I tried to judge the best time, and once I was sure she was getting close, I switched attention to her clit. That sent her into overdrive, her body gyrating, back arching, as she cried out again, begging me to keep going. Now I wanted nothing more than to make her orgasm, hopefully more than once. When she did orgasm that first time, her cries this time drowning out the noise downstairs, she managed to lift her head, our eyes meeting, her blue eyes shining in the light from the campfire still burning outside.

"Don't stop," she murmured.

"I won't until you tell me."

I lost track of how long I kept going, but it was long enough my jaw was soon sore, and I had to take my fingers away as my arm was getting stiff from being in the same position. She eventually asked me to stop, quite clearly worn out from what I was doing, leaving soft kisses up her body before I rested on my side next to her, trailing fingers between her breasts and pussy.

She turned to look at me and grinned, wrapping a hand around my head to pull me in for a kiss, amusing me when she grabbed my other hand, putting it back between her legs. "Keep touching me," she whispered, "Though I think you might be ready for something else, yeah?"

"Definitely."

"It's been… far too long… Can you be gentle?"

"April, you don't have to ask…"

I took my time sliding my cock inside her, kissing her deeply as I did, feeling her fingers dig into my back as I buried myself. Once I did, she had to break the kiss. "Holy shit, you're thick," she whispered.

"Okay?"

The smile that lit up her face was dazzling. "Wonderful."

I felt her legs move, glancing to see she had pulled them back, resting them against my torso, which just made her gasp as even I could feel myself even deeper inside her. All that did was cause her fingers to really dig into my back, our kiss growing in intensity, even passion, as I gently continued to thrust into her.

It was… fantastic, rarely changing the tempo, savouring the feel of her pussy tight around my cock, eventually breaking the kiss and just gazing at each other. The smile on her face was near constant, her fingers moving from my back to my face or running through my hair. "You feel fantastic," I muttered.

"Like my tight pussy?"

"Oh, it's enough to convince a man to hang around, that's for damned sure."

The smile simply broadened, the next kiss very soft, as her hands moved down to my arse, a signal for me to perhaps got a little faster. "Fuck," I murmured within a couple of minutes.

"Cum in me," she whispered, "I want to feel you finish."

She got her wish within another couple of minutes, barely increasing tempo. It simply felt really good being inside her, and when she moved her legs to wrap around me, I groaned loudly and just unloaded, a few final thrusts before I relaxed on my forearms, just gazing into those blue eyes as she leaned up to kiss my cheek.

"Wow," I whispered.

"Hope you're not done yet, mister," she retorted with humour.

I grinned. "Not by a long shot, April."

She kissed my cheek again. "Only Knight and Kowalski know my real name," she admitted softly, "Would have been weird making love and having you call me Ghost the entire time." Then she chuckled to herself. "Would like to cry out your name while doing this, but… well… Yelling out 'Courier' or 'Stranger'…"

Lying down next to her, she turned onto her side, wrapping an arm around her and pulled her close, continuing to kiss her. Asking where she was from, she was NCR, from somewhere called the Boneyard. The town had a long, bloody history, but had become peaceful and prosperous since the NCR had arrived and established order, and it was why she had chosen to join the NCR. She didn't particularly enjoy patrolling the Mojave, but did agree that the NCR would bring stability to the region, but more important, would prevent New Vegas and the dam falling into the hands of the Legion.

Conversation then ceased as I ended up on my back, April straddling my lap, running her pussy along my shaft. Some of my cum did leak out of her, but neither of us really cared about that, and I certainly didn't once she lifted herself up, grabbed the base of my cock, and ensured I was snugly fit inside her once again.

"Okay, I can die a happy man now," I joked as I watched ride me, hands at her hips though one eventually moved up to her breast then up to her face, earning a smile as she rode me incredibly slowly, switching positions so she was either upright, and I could watch my cock slowly disappear and reappear inside her, or she'd leaned forward so we could kiss, and I could gently thrust up into her.

She eventually sat up and moved a hand from her hip to her mouth, licking my thumb, before moving down her body to her clit. "I'm going to orgasm, as your cock is fantastic, but playing with me will make it better."

When it occurred, it was… breath-taking to watch. Slowly, ever so slowly, she picked up the tempo as she rode me, but once she started to get quicker, that's when she really wanted focus on her clit. When she started to orgasm, she squeezed my cock so tightly, it felt like a vice, surprised I didn't cum at the same time. She rode her way through it, noticing her body now glistening in the light of the fire, and kept on going, now leaning forward, hand to either side, as she was now putting everything into each grind and bounce on my cock.

"Don't stop," she murmured, "Keep on my clit."

She made so much noise when she came again, I was left thinking someone had to have heard us by now, but I couldn't hold back much longer, grabbing her gently and rolling her onto her back, her legs spreading wide as I well and truly fucked her this time. Fingers digging into my back, she begged me to cum inside her again. I lasted as long as I could before I simply had to cum, and that was me done for the evening, though I felt her legs and arms wrap around me again once I'd cum inside her.

"That was something else," I murmured.

"Best cock ever," she whispered back. That made me lift my eyes to hers, noticing her smile. "Haven't had that many, but that second orgasm… god, I haven't felt that good ever."

She had a small towel that we could clean up as best we could before we slid inside her bedroll, lying on our sides, her curled against me. It was only then that I realised she was smaller than I was, and it was rather intimate how we slept, curled up in my arms. I thought it might be a little… weird, to be honest, but she had no problem snuggling back against me. "Thanks for staying tonight."

"Oh, it was my pleasure, April. Trust me on that one."

Her alarm woke us the next morning, though she admitted to putting it an hour earlier for a very good reason, finding myself between her legs, slowly sliding my cock inside her again, so we could make love. I thought it was a bloody good way to start the day, ensuring I helped bring her to orgasm at roughly the same time. By the time we'd both cum, still inside her, breathing deeply, that last kiss we shared was something else entirely, breaking apart but our faces almost touching, unable to stop grinning at each other.

"Would love you to stay, but I'm realistic. First and foremost, I'm a Ranger. But, my god, I'd love to have sex like this every night and morning."

"Well, helps when the woman I'm with is fucking fit."

That next smile was just dazzling. In fact, her eyes started to glisten, and when she looked away, blinking rapidly, I pulled out and laid down next to her, April turning onto her side and snuggling back against me again. "You have a brother or something?" she joked.

"Well, I have a reason to visit here, at least."

"Maybe you can stop here after visiting your friend in Goodsprings." That made me laugh. "I obviously don't care. Can see why she liked you too."

We couldn't lie there all day, primarily as she had a job to do. We dressed before heading outside, the sun only starting to rise, April admitting she always woke before nearly everyone else, but now that she was comfortable on the roof, she rarely even headed downstairs to the mess. I had one or two questions but figured it was none of my business.

I wasn't exactly sure how we should part as I waited to head downstairs, but she solved any dilemma by giving me one hell of a parting kiss, moulding her body into mine, neither of us wanting to break the kiss before we simply needed to take a deep breath. "Thanks for last night, stranger," she whispered, another giggle escaping her.

"The pleasure was all mine, April. You certainly are memorable for a number of reasons, all of them good."

She turned me around and gave me a gentle push. "Go, otherwise I will want to keep you around. And that won't work."

I tipped my hat in her direction. "See you around, April."

"I hope I do."

Whistling a tune I couldn't remember the name of to myself, I wandered downstairs and into the bar. Cass was already sat at the bar, eating breakfast but amused she was enjoying a whiskey chaser with that, when she turned and met my eyes. "Where have you been?"

"Slept elsewhere last night. Ready to go?"

"Where we headed?"

"Nipton is a bust. Legion was there. So Novac is our next stop. You know where that is?"

"Yep. Head to Nipton but stay on the road east instead of turning north into the town. Eventually end up on an old highway, where we turn north, follow that and we eventually end up in Novac. Haven't been that way in quite a while. Two words describes most of the area.

Bandit country."