New Vegas: Sheason's Story - Chapter 136: Bye Bye Love

This courtyard inside Gomorrah certainly kept with the theme of the rest of the casino. It was like the place had been pulled straight out of Arabian Nights, or the Adventures of Sinbad or something. A rocky pool was in the center, like a desert oasis, with a dozen palm trees and greenery all over the place. The palms were obviously fake, same as the ferns. Several women in various states of undress were lounging in the pool; if the steam rising off the surface was any sign, the whole thing was just a huge, decorative hot tub.

All around the courtyard, hidden among the fake foliage, I could see a ring of large tents, made out of a deep blood-red fabric. Banners of the same cloth were draped over the top of the courtyard, stretching from balcony to balcony. The darkened, cloud filled sky above was barely visible through the cracks in the awnings, and if not for the fire pits, braziers, and torches mounted on the pillars, this place would’ve been pitch black. Even so, there were plenty of darkened corners… and in almost every one, I saw an Omerta thug, watching.

I carefully made my way through the courtyard, hoping that nobody would ask questions about the duffel bag on my back. So far, nobody had said anything or tried to stop me; I think they must’ve assumed I was staying in the hotel. But I knew someone was going to get suspicious, the longer I kept it with me. And my state of mind wasn’t helped by how exposed I felt: to keep me from being recognized, I’d ditched my armor and weapons back at the 38, and was instead only wearing my old leather jacket, a shirt, some jeans, my sunglasses, and that cowboy hat I got from Shelby. I didn’t even have Roscoe on me, and that along made me feel all manner of naked.

And speaking of naked…

“Hey there, handsome,” said a nearby blonde. She walked up to me with half-lidded eyes and was wearing a dopey smile on her face. In fact, that was about all she was wearing. Let’s not beat around the bush – the dog collar around her neck was the most substantial piece of clothing on her. She looked high as a kite; I don’t know what she was on, but she was off her face with it. “You in the mood for some fun?”

“Maybe later,” I lied. “I’m lookin’ for somebody.”

“Night like tonight, everybody’s looking for somebody…” She smiled again, licking her lips, leaning against me and running a finger along the edge of my neck. “And it looks to me like you’ve already found a body.”

“Cute,” I said. “Sorry to disappoint, but I’m looking for a specific somebody. Joana.” She backed up, her eyes went wide (well… her eyes opened slightly) and she gasped in mock surprise.

“Oh! My, my! Someone certainly has expensive taste…” She giggled coyly, turning around slowly and gave me a ‘come hither’ look over her shoulder. “Right this way, sugar.”

She led me into one of the larger tents near the back, and when we passed through the cloth flaps masquerading as a door, it was like I’d stepped into a scene from Caligula. The air was thick and hazy with smoke, and I immediately started to get lightheaded. Indistinct silhouettes comprised of people of all shapes, sizes, and various skin tones writhed around one another in the darkened corners of this massive tent. Some of them were lounging around on a floor that seemed to have been made entirely out of cushions and people who had passed out. Some of them were drunkenly feeling each other up. Still others were smoking from the half-dozen hookah pipes, adding to the miasma, or snorting lines of cocaine off glass-topped end tables. Every so often, one of the shapes came into focus, and I realized that all the women here had one thing in common: they were all wearing collars.

As I tried to get my bearings, a thought occurred to me: didn’t I already do this? I distinctly remembered the Zoara Club below my feet being strikingly similar. The only difference was there hadn’t been as many Omerta thugs watching everything down there. How many of these places does Gomorrah have? Fuck, how many do they need? Do I dare determine the depths of depravity in these dens of decadence and debauchery?

“Well, what do we have here?” A voice cut through my thoughts and brought me back to my purpose.

The voice belonged to a woman with wavy brunette hair startlingly bright blue eyes in front of me. Her outfit was certainly more… substantial than what some of the other girls here were wearing, but was no less revealing. She was wearing a black teddy that looked to be made out of lace and mesh, with voluminous, practically see-through silk flowing off her arms, legs, and waist that made it look like she was almost wearing clothes. Several strips of black leather were tied around her arms and waist to keep the silk from being too wild, and they matched the criss-crossing straps on her high heels that wrapped their way up her thighs… and the dog collar fastened around her neck.

“Let me guess…” The woman shimmied up to me, practically oozing sex with every motion. “You’ve heard about the mistress who makes all your fantasies come true. You’ve followed the call of your desires… all the way to the arms of Joana.” She delicately placed a hand against her ample bosom, and gave a soft, falsetto giggle before giving me her best bedroom eyes. “Moi. Now that you’ve found me, I wonder…” She was close enough now to place her hand against my chest. Her next words were whispered huskily, as if she didn’t want anyone to hear: “Do you have what it takes?”

“I always have what it takes,” I whispered back, giving her a faint smile. I knew how this game was played. And all I had to do was get her in private, away from all these prying eyes…

“Oh… Confident. I like that.” She smiled, softly nibbling on one of her fingers as she looked me up and down. “So, tell me, tall, dark, and handsome…” She reached up and softly brushed her fingers against my neck. “What do want to do with what you’ve got?”

“The better question…” I leaned in, and whispered in her ear: “What are you going to do with it?”

“Oh my!” She bit her lower lip and let loose a soft moan she tried and failed to hide. “You are… you’re truly something else, aren’t you?” She looked me up and down once more, and grabbed my hand, leading me through the crowd to the back of the tent. “I guess you’ll have to see for yourself what I can do… Follow me, hun.”

“Lead the way.”

Before I knew it, we were passing through a darkened hallway, and I heard the muffled thumps and moans of people fucking behind every door we passed (except for one, where I kept hearing the crack of a whip). I followed her to a door at the end of the hall, marked with a heart that had an arrow through it. The room inside was filled with banners of red cloth entirely covering the walls and ceiling, and the only piece of furniture was a bed shaped like a heart. Subtle.

“Are you ready to get started?” Joana whispered, running a hand along the back of my shoulders. I reached behind me and shoved the door closed with a click.

“I’m not here for that,” I said, dropping all pretenses. Joana blinked at me and backed up, not sure what was going on. “I’ve got a message for you. From Carlitos.”

It was like my words had flipped a switch. Her eyes went wide (genuinely, this time), and she dropped the sultry seductress act in an instant, changing her entire demeanor. She staggered backward, wobbling unsteadily on her heels.

“What?!” Her voice was ragged and breathless, matching the rest of her dropped façade. “You… Carlitos is… he’s alive?” She bumped into the bed, losing her balance and falling down to sit on the edge. “Oh… oh God… please… have you seen him? Have you talked to him?” I knelt down, setting the duffel bag on the floor at her feet, and nodded.

“Yeah. He wants to get you out of here. And between us, we’ve come up with a plan to make it happen.” Joana seemed to shrink into herself, clutching at her head, like she couldn’t quite believe what she was hearing.

“He… he does? You do? Wait, this… this changes everything!” She scooted away from me, shaking her head. “But… wait, no. No, I can’t… I can’t leave my girls here… and where would we even go if we escape?” She drew her legs into herself, almost sitting in a fetal position, and started shaking her head. “No… no, it’s too risky. We’ll all end up dead!”

“Carlitos thought you’d say something like that,” I grabbed the duffel bag and plonked it on the end of the bed, opening it up to show her the clothes inside. “Our best shot at escape is going to be around midnight. Gomorrah should be packed, and the bouncers won’t notice a few ‘patrons’ leaving the casino. That’s where these come in: disguises for you and however many girls you think we can sneak out safely in one go. Nondescript clothing, a few hats, some sunglasses… It should be enough.” She leaned forward, shakily grabbing at the edge of the bag and looking inside.

“It might…” She stared at the clothes, rifling through them. “It might work. But the girls and I… they’ll notice us leaving before we even get to the lobby.”

“That’s why I brought you some of these as well.” I reached into the bottom of the bag, and pulled out metal disk covered in buttons. Her eyes went wide. “There should be enough stealth boys in here to help out. They won’t last long, but if you’re quick you can use them to reach the lobby without being noticed.”

“Stealth boys?” She let out a single confused laugh. “Where did you even get these?” I just smiled, shaking my head as I remembered the cache of stealth boys Doc Henry gave me when he was still living in Jacobstown.

“Long story, it’s not important. Look, the point is you have a way out now.” Joana started to look hopeful, but shook her head again.

“But the Omertas will want us dead, no matter where we go!” She said with a shiver. “How… how will we-”

“Leave them to me,” I cut her off before she got too far. “You’ll never see them again. You have my word. Once I help you get to Freeside, you and Carlitos can escape.”

“To be free, and with Carlitos again…” She sighed, pulling her legs in closer to herself and wrapping her arms around them. “I… I don’t know if… If I don’t… Tell him that I… I still…” I placed my hand on her shoulder, in what I honestly hoped was a comforting gesture.

“Tell him yourself,” I said with a smirk. “This is gonna be a cakewalk.” She peered up at me with a hopeful look in her eye for a few seconds… and then she gazed down at my hand, confused.

“What’s wrong with your… is that metal?” I pulled my hand away and coughed nervously, flexing my cybernetic fingers. She scooted away from me again, appearing more than a little unnerved. “Who are you?” I shrugged.

“Just a courier,” I smiled. “I’m the guy they call to make sure the package gets delivered. And right now, that package is you.”

Electricity hung in the air after I teleported from The Sink back to the Lucky 38, and when I stepped off the platform, I realized that Cass was waiting for me.

“Where th’ hell have you been?” She asked. “I thought we were gonna go save Joana an’ shit?”

“We are,” I said, reaching into my duster. “But we have some time before midnight, and I needed to prepare the ground and get a few supplies first. Speaking of, here you go,” I said, pulling out a small curved metal device (about an inch long and half an inch wide) and handed it to Cass. “Put this in your ear.” She was halfway through grabbing it when I said that, and paused to gaze up at me through narrow, suspicious eyes.

“What?” She asked. “What is it?”

“You remember that sat phone I wore the other day when I showed you guys how the teleporter worked?” I asked. “The thing with the gigantic backpack and the huge headphones with the microphone scavenged from an old pilot’s headset?” Cass nodded, and I held up the device between my thumb and finger. “Well, this is that, only built correctly, with Big Empty tech.”

A heavy silence hung in the air.

“Shut up!” Cass finally said when she managed to pick her jaw up off the floor.

“It’s true. There is some crazy shit in that crater… just a shame most of it is insane and trying to kill everyone.” I shrugged. “Ah well. I even brought enough for everyone. This way we can all keep in contact, even if we’re not wearing combat helmets. And over longer distances, too. I think those UHF radios are only good for a couple of blocks. I could be halfway around the world with one of these, and we could still talk.”

“This could’ve come in handy when you got trapped down in Mexico,” Cass smirked as the two of us walked to the elevator.

“Yeah, don’t I know it,” I said with a chuckle. “Now, c’mon, let’s go find Boone. I think he’s gonna like this one.”

True to form, Gomorrah was just as busy as all the other casinos on the Strip when it got close to midnight. It was so busy, that absolutely nobody noticed when a barely visible shimmer squeezed through the front door behind a small crowd, past a confused looking Omerta who wondered aloud what caused that sudden breeze, and into the casino. When I was certain nobody could see me, I clicked the button on my belt; I returned to visibility in the shadow of a pillar.

“So far, so undetected!” Sue squeaked. I almost didn’t hear her, beyond the dull roar of the crowds and the blinking, noisy cacophony of all the slot machines. I slid through the crowds, looking for Joana. I scanned the area, picking out the locations of all the Omertas watching the floor, and made a beeline for the back. With any luck, I’d catch her on her way to the lobby…

A small cluster of women in nondescript clothing were making their way from the bar that separated the main casino floor from the courtyard. Result.

“Nice to see you made it,” I said, catching her attention. Joana looked up at me from under the brim of the hat she was wearing, and the three girls behind her came to a halt.

“It’s you!” She practically breathed. She looked around nervously. “We need to go. I don’t think we were spotted, but I…” I held up a hand, nodding at her.

“Calm down, we’re getting you out of here.” I looked over the small crowd. It looked like it was just Joana and only three others. “Is this everyone?” She nodded.

“Everyone… I could convince to escape. Most of the girls are…” She grimaced. “…too far gone.” I nodded, swearing under my breath, and tapped my earpiece.

“Cass? You reading me?”

“Loud an’ clear,” Cass voice buzzed in my ear like she was standing next to me. “We ready to rock an’ roll?”

“Yeah. Bring my Corvega around, and keep the motor running.”

“Wait, not the deuce?” She sounded confused.

“No,” I grunted. “There’s… fewer than we thought.”

“Damn,” she said with a sigh. “I’ll bring the car around, waitin’ on ya.” I nodded, and looked around. Were people starting to stare at us, or was I just being paranoid?

“C’mon,” I patted Joana on the shoulder and tried to urge her forward. “Let’s go, we don’t have much time.”

“Are you sure this is going to work?” One of the girls in the back said with a wavering voice. I nodded.

“Don’t worry,” I clicked the button in my belt and faded into invisibility. “I’ll make sure you get out of here safe…” Two of them gasped, but they started moving for the door all the same. And speaking of moving…

There were three Omerta’s that I’d picked out as the most likely ones to notice them escape. Yeah, the disguises would work from a distance, but the girls were nervous, and they needed any extra edge I could give them. So I kept myself hidden behind the therm-optic camouflage, slid soundlessly as I could, and reached for the rag in my duster.

“Wait a minute…” I heard one of the nearby Omertas say aloud. His gaze was fixed on the quartet of women moving for the door. “That’s – mmf!” I covered his mouth with the chloroform-soaked rag, and I pulled him into the shadows. He struggled briefly before slipping into unconsciousness; I shoved the limp body into a corner, behind a decorative fake fern, and moved on.

None of the guards watching the floor saw what hit them. I couldn’t laugh at the irony, though. I just had to keep pace with the girls, and keep any interested parties from following. They were almost at the door, and I wondered if I was going to have to knock out the door guards as well… but just as they reached the door, a fortuitous crowd tried to force their way in. It was maybe 20 people or so. The guards had their hands full, trying to check all the new patrons for weapons, so the four girls and I slipped out of the door without any problem.

“Don’t stop,” I whispered behind them as they crossed the threshold. “We’re not safe yet.” My Corvega was just ahead, Cass behind the wheel and engine happily purring away. She leaned over and opened the passenger door.

“Well? Th’ fuck ya waitin’ fer? Get in!” Cass said with a smile and a nod. “Let’s go, c’mon!” The girls piled into the car one by one, and my invisible form clambered on top. I rapped my knuckles against the roof twice to let Cass know I was in place, and the car immediately revved and pulled a U-turn. I looked over my shoulder as the car sped off down Vegas Boulevard, and it didn’t look like anyone was following us.

Cass kept it slow for a while, though I think that was more because of how crowded the road was with pedestrians. We left Gomorrah and The Riv in the dust, passed the Urbane, sailed straight past the 38, and through the Strip’s gate into Freeside. It looked like we were home free, clear to head to Carlitos’ safehouse… but a subtle tugging in my gut made me think we weren’t quite out of it yet. Even so, I clicked the button do deactivate the camo just as we came to a stop in front of Carlitos’ place.

“Is this the place?” Joana asked as all the girls stepped out of my car. “Where is –” Before I could answer, the front door of the building swung open, and Carlitos stepped out, his mouth open wide.

“Joana!” He practically shouted. “Oh my God! You made it!” The two of them ran at each other, meeting in a tearful embrace.

“I thought I’d never see you again…” Joana said, before her hat was caught by the wind, and flew away. The two of them kissed passionately, and the whole thing looked like something out of an old world romance flick.

“Aw, that’s sweet,” Cass said, her elbows perched on the roof.

“You better take the car back to the 38,” I said, sliding off the roof, trying not to gawp at Carlitos’ and Joana’s moment. “I think I can handle it the rest of the way.”

“You sure?” Cass raised an eyebrow. “This’ll get ’em to the walls a lot quicker.”

“We needed the speed to get away from Gomorrah, but this’ll draw way too much attention. Stealth is what they need now.” Cass nodded in agreement, and within seconds, she’d peeled away, heading back to the 38. When I turned back to the two lovebirds, they’d stopped making out. They hadn’t let go of one another, though.

“Thank you so much for your help!” Carlitos said, unable to keep himself from smiling like an idiot. “I think we’re finally home free!”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that…” A gruff voice spoke up from a nearby alleyway, accompanied by the unmistakable click of weapons being cocked. The girls tried their best to hide, but there wasn’t any cover; Carlitos’ faced the sound, and placed himself between the voices and Joana. I calmly walked up, to put myself between Carlitos’ and whoever was coming.

At least I knew why my gut was warning me of imminent violence, now.

“Well, well, well…” A quartet of Omertas in dark grey suits walked into view, all of them carrying Tommy Guns. “What do we have here? A pack of wayward whores, and a greasy snake, thought he could skip town after stealin’ from the family.”

“Aw, fuck,” Carlitos’ muttered under his breath. “This don’t concern you, Vinnie.” The thug in the lead just snorted derisively.

“Y’know, Carlitos, I thought you’d be smart. We all thought you’se woulda skipped town with the bread you stole weeks ago. But instead, we find you here… with the naughty whores we had clocked from the start. You really think you can waltz up, steal our property… an’ just walk away?” The thug shook his head. “Nah… The Omertas don’t forget. So I think it’s about time we cashed you out.”

I started clapping slowly, in as patronizing a manner as I could manage. All the thugs turned to look at me like a bunch of confused geckos.

“Great speech. Real intimidating. Or, it would be, if you were in the least bit… you know.” I tried (and intentionally failed) to stifle a laugh. “Intimidating.”

“Th’ fuck is this asshole?” The lead thug asked. One of the Omertas behind him shook his head and shrugged.

“I’m the Courier…” The three in the back tensed up, but the lead one still looked confused. “And I’m going to give you a simple choice.” I lifted up my cybernetic hand, and pointed two fingers at his head. “Live… or die. You got three seconds to decide. One.”

“You fuckin’ serious?” The one in front scoffed, looking at me like I’d gone nuts. “What’re you gonna do, poke me to death?”

“Last chance. Two.” I said.

“Go fuck your mother, fanook,” he said, cocking his Tommy Gun and pointing it at me. “You can’t take us.” I shrugged.

“Have it your way. Three.”

I mimed shooting him with my fingers.

The back of his head exploded.

The dead thug collapsed, and three others behind him stood there in stunned silence, covered in blood and bits of brain. I pointed my fingers at one of the others.

“Anyone else want to try their luck?” I said with a smirk. In a flash, the three of them turned on their heels and ran away as fast as they could, practically tripping over each other to try and get away. I just smiled, looked over my shoulder, and tapped my earpiece. “Nice shot.”

“Thanks,” Boone said. As I looked, I caught a glint of a scope from one of the Lucky 38’s balconies. “Need any more covering fire?”

“I think we should be good for now, man. Thanks.” I turned to look back at Carlitos and the rest of the girls; most of them were still hiding, but Carlitos and Joana were standing there, staring at me in shock. “You guys gonna be okay?”

“Holy… fuck me, man. For a minute there, I thought we weren’t going to make it. But you just… how did… fuck!” He clutched the side of his head, laughing nervously at the dead Omerta behind me.

“Don’t worry about it. Now, c’mon. You guys gotta get out of here.”

“Hey, look,” Carlitos seemed to compose himself, finally. “I take care of my debts. Is there any way I can repay you? I don’t have much, but I do have a few caps saved up…” I shook my head.

“Keep it. Helping you guys out was enough.” Carlitos looked like he was on the verge of tears, and then rushed forward to hug me without warning.

“You are truly something else, man.” He pulled away with a goofy smile, patting me on the shoulder. “I’m so glad I found you. I hope to see you again, far away from here.”

“Thank you,” Joana said with a smile. “You are one of kind. But, really: is there any way we can repay you?”

“There is something you can do,” I said, seriously. “Stop by the Old Mormon Fort before you get out of town. Have the followers check you out. They might be able to help you with that Med-X problem of yours.” Joana froze in shock, her mouth falling open. “It wasn’t hard to figure out. Your pupils look like pie plates, and your arms have been twitching since I met up with you in the lobby.” She seemed to shrink into herself, and hung her head.

“It’s that obvious, huh? I didn’t… I didn’t think I was that far gone…” She turned, and buried her face in Carlitos’ chest. He held onto her tightly.

“It’s not your fault,” I tried to reassure her. “And you’ve still got time. The Followers can help.”

“Thank you again,” Carlitos said, still holding onto Joana. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m gonna make sure nobody else comes after you,” I said, as calmly and level as I could manage. “So Cachino and I are gonna have a few words…”

I pushed the front doors open, and stormed into Gomorrah. Even though it was still mostly crowded, the noise of the slamming door was enough to grab the attention of a nearby guard. He stepped forward with an outstretched hand, in an attempt to stop me.

“Hey, ain’t nobody allowed to carry a piece in here exce- HURK!” I kept going, grabbing him by the throat with my cybernetic hand. I held him a few feet off the ground before slamming him into a nearby pillar and shifting my grip to his collar. By the time I heard the other guns around the room get drawn, the barrel of That Gun was already pressed against his chin.

“Listen up, all of you,” I said in a voice dripping with menace as I looked over my shoulder at the other Omertas. “I’m The Courier. Yes – THAT Courier. You all should know what I am now, and what I can do. If I wanted to, I could kill every person in this room and walk away unscathed.” I paused, and several of the thugs looked uncertain. “But I don’t want to do that now. All I want is for one of you to answer a simple question – and pay attention, because I’m only going to ask this once.” I turned back to the thug I had pinned to the wall; he looked terrified behind the sunglasses sitting crooked on his nose. “Where. Is. Cachino?”

“He…” The thug in my grip coughed and choked. “He’s in his office! Second floor, overlookin’ the strip club!”

“Thanks for your cooperation,” I tossed the thug aside; there was a crash of breaking porcelain as his head hit a plant pot. I calmly strode into the casino, but by the time the rest of the thugs caught up with me, I was already invisible. None of the patrons inside had seemed to notice the scuffle by the doors, but the few guards overlooking the casino sure had – and best of all, those guards I’d taken out before were still nowhere to be found.

With most of the guards having converged at the front near the doors, I clicked the button and shimmered into visibility directly underneath the balcony. There were bound to be more thugs guarding the stairs…

“Well,” I sighed, pulling the grapnel gun out of my duster. “Guess it’s time for the field test.” I aimed it at a spot on the ceiling above the walkway, and pulled the trigger. There was a puff of grey smoke and a PKCHOONT! The metal dart flew up, trailing a length of cable behind, and unfolded into a proper grapnel hook seconds before embedding itself in the ceiling. I flicked the button on the side to spool the cable with my thumb, and was very glad of my cybernetic arm when the pull from the gun yanked me up into the air. I cleared the railing deftly, and hit the other button to recall the dart. It let go of the ceiling (displacing only a small amount of plaster) and both the cable and dart shot back into the gun.

“Wow!” Sue squeaked while I calmly put the grapnel gun away and walked over to Cachino’s office. “That worked great.”

“Yeah, not bad, considering it was completely untested.” I stopped in front of the metal door to the office that used to belong to Nero and Big Sal, and pounded on the door. “Hey, Cachino! Open up!” There was a crackle of static, and the intercom next to the door came to life.

“-amnit, Carol!” Cachnio’s voice came through in a hail of static. “I told you I didn’t want any distractions till we figure out who fuckin’ stole from us!”

I balled my hand up into a fist… but rather than punching the door, I aimed for the intercom. There was a crunch of twisting metal and splintering wood, and my fist passed through the wall.

“JESUS FUCK!” I heard Cachino’s muffled voice through the cracks in the soundproofed wall. I reached around until my hand gripped the handle, and unlocked the door. I pulled my hand free and kicked the door open. He fumbled, dropping the shotgun he was trying to load.

“Knock knock, motherfucker!” I said, just as he fell out of his chair. I walked up to his desk, gripped the edge with my cybernetic hand, and shoved it aside. It slid against the ground with a sickening screech of metal ripping up wood, and crashed into the bookcase lining the wall. Cachino looked about ready to piss himself as I stood over him. “You’ve been a bad boy. I told you to clean this place up, and you haven’t done a fuckin’ thing, have you?”

“Wh- what are you talkin’ about?” He stammered, trying to scoot away from me, apparently forgetting the window behind him. “I’ve been keepin’ the boys on the straight an’ narrow, just like you asked!”

“Oh yeah? Well, you know what I found?” I reached down, picked him up with both hands by the lapels, and shoved him against the window. A pair of cracks appeared in the glass behind him from the impact of his big fat ass. “I found a whole bunch of hookers wearing collars like fuckin’ dogs. Treated like property. Hooked on chems, and absolutely terrified to even set foot outside the courtyard in the back! To say nothing of all the other stories I’ve heard of how the girls in this place are treated!” His eyes went wide and it looked like he suddenly understood something.

“Wait… you… you’re the one who stole from us?” My vision went red, and anger welled up inside me, like lava in a volcano ready to explode. I let go of him with my cybernetic hand and punched the window behind him. It exploded outward in a shower of glass. The music from the club below us stopped instantly, and several screams filled the air. I held him over the fresh drop and couldn’t keep myself from yelling.

“Steal? STEAL?!” My hands started shaking – or was it just Cachino shaking so much in my grip? “You can only ‘steal’ property, you FUCK! THINGS! THEY ARE NOT THINGS, YOU LITTLE SHIT! THEY ARE HUMAN FUCKING BEINGS! You can’t own a human being – eventually, someone pushes back! And right now, that someone is ME!” The crowds below went quiet, and I leaned in to snarl in his face. “You should know by now that I hate slavers! I won’t tolerate slavery in my town! You’re no better than those slaver scumbags across the Colorado…” I held him out at arms length, even further away from the edge, and he gripped furiously at my arms to keep from falling. “And you, of all people should know that I HATE Legion!”

“Hey! Whoa! C’mon man, I ain’t – I mean – I’m not –” He kept spluttering, looking down at the drop. I wasn’t going to get anything useful out of him like this. I spun around and tossed him away from the window. He hit the back wall with a thump, and fell neatly into the sofa – the very same sofa I’d sat on when I talked Nero and Big Sal to death.

“One reason,” I said, holding up and finger and advancing on him. “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t just pound your fucking skull into paste right the fuck now!” He held up his hands desperately, and his mostly bald head was glistening with sweat pouring from every pore.

“Hey! No! I’ll do what you want! I’ll clean up the place! We’ll start treating the girls better, I swear, just don’t – don’t kill me! It’ll be easy, I swear! They – I mean, fuck! It’ll be easy! I mean, we don’t even snatch people anymore like we used to do in the old days, even!” He was so terrified that he was babbling like a crazy man, but that last bit sounded important.

“Explain. And make it good,” I did my best to loom over him, and he just sat there with his hands up, scared shitless, like he was trying to merge with the sofa. “TALK!”

“Th-th-th-the boys… m-most of ’em, they…” He gulped hard. “There’s not many of the old Slither Kin left. Most’ve them have forgotten what it was like in the old days. They’re havin’ too much fun just livin’ high without all the hard work, y’know? So we haven’t even snatched people in years. We hire help from outside the family for that kind of shit now!”

“Who?!” I barked, narrowing my eyes at him. He gulped again.

“There’s… there’s a gang, out in Freeside. Los Zorroz. They’re the ones we’ve been dealing with, the last two years. They used to be pretty small, and they stay away from King territory, but they’re good at snatching people. I send out people to meet ’em once a month to collect fresh –” He cut himself off, gulping loudly again. “B-b-but that ends now, man! I promise, we’re not gonna do that shit anymore!”

“When?” I asked, trying to ignore the tightening in my gut.

“Uh… when?” Cachino asked. “W-w-when, what?”

“When were you going to meet with them next?” I asked, keeping my voice level.

“Uh… t-tomorrow night. 11 pm, Wednesday.” It was already Wednesday, technically, but lets gloss over that. “Th-th-they always want to meet on the first Wednesday of the month.” I fiddled with my Pip Boy until I brought up the map feature, and then shoved my arm over to him.

“Show me where.” He took a trembling hand and slowly started messing with the knobs on my Pip Boy to get the map to the right location. “Don’t contact those Los Zorroz or whatever to call off the deal. Just tell your boys not to show up, and I’ll handle the rest.”

“Y-you got it man. There. That’s the place.” I looked at the map, and he’d marked an old warehouse in the southeast part of Freeside, about six blocks away from the perimeter wall.

“I want to make one thing perfectly clear. Are you listening?” He started nodding furiously. “If you want to have hookers here, fine. But things will change. Give them a choice to stay or not. Treat them like human beings. Hell, make them Omertas, if you want. Salary. Benefits. Get them cleaned up and off the chems. And if none of them decide to stay after all the shit they’ve gone through and all the abuse they’ve suffered, then tough shit. Put up a ‘Help Wanted’ sign. But this slavery shit stops. Now. And don’t think I won’t be watching – because I will. If you don’t change, I will make ruining you and turning your life into a living hell my only goal. I’ll rain down fire the likes of which no one has EVER seen before. UNDERSTAND?!”

“F-f-fuck, me, man! I-I-I-I get it! I totally get it! I’ll turn this place around! You don’t have to worry about nothin’, I swear!”

“You said that last time,” I growled, continuing to scowl at him. “You are on thin fuckin’ ice, Cachino. And I shall be under you when it breaks.”