New Endeavors [Ch.2]

[u/kingfish101]

Chapter 1

March 21, 2290.

“I don’t think you’re taking this seriously Alan. Someone is snooping around, and it's going to be a matter of time before somebody puts two and two together, and traces it back to me.”

“Harry, listen to me. To the untrained eye, this is just a barebones motel managed by yours truly. There is nothing to worry about, I have it all under control.”

Harry is a local merchant for the Crimson Caravan who just happens to have an addiction for Jet. He sells at the local market in the Crimson Caravan’s New Vegas branch, and is my sole chem supplier at the moment. One day, after recovering from one of his jet-fueled sessions, I offered him a spot in my little enterprise, in return for supplying me with some of the chems that the Caravans bring into the area. He was hesitant at first, but he eventually caved in. The desperate ones usually do. Early in the morning, Harry barged into my office at the El Rey Motel to tell me that someone has been eyeing out my motel, as if they were looking for something or someone. The fact that he decided to visited me in the morning is highly unusual, seeing as he normally visits the motel at night so he can get all high on Jet.

“Alan. We’re not living in a wild wasteland anymore. This is New Vegas, the Sixth State of the New California Republic. The only thing saving you is those god damn Fiends in Vault 3! And they are long overdue for a purge!”

Harry was right about one thing, this is no longer a free wasteland as it once was prior to the Second Battle Of Hoover Dam. But even after New Vegas was incorporated into the New California Republic, keeping order in the Mojave proved to be more difficult than beating back Caesar’s Legion. The Fiends still have some presence in the Outer Vegas. Even before Hoover Dam, nobody bothered to take up the bounties that the NCR had on three Fiend’s leaders: Violet, Cook-Cook, Driver Nephi, and Motor-Runner, who is able to put a leash on them all to begin with. Not even their prized Courier couldn’t be bothered to do the damn bounties. As a result, the Fiends staged an attack on Camp McCarran while the Legion was assaulting Hoover Dam. The NCR was able to repulse the Fiends but from what I heard it took a lot of dead NCR troopers, setting back the NCR’s manpower to maintain order in the region. The Fiends retained some control of Outer Vegas for a time before they made the decision to withdraw back into the confines of Vault 3, but from time to time you would see some Fiends in the area attacking travelers, caravans, and whoever just happened to be in their way. I take partial credit for these attacks by the way, seeing as my associate Winston makes the trek to Vault 3 to sell some of my chems to those junkies, and I make a huge profit off of those fucking Fiends.

There were also the resources that were spent trying to kick out the Great Khans out of Red Rock Canyon, and then there was this group of Powder Gangers based in Vault 19 who were harassing caravans passing the I-15. Whoever was running the show there knows exactly what the hell they’re doing, otherwise the NCR would have killed them all by now. And that’s not taking into account the problems they have with the Brotherhood Of Steel back home and the latest expansion project that the NCR is currently undertaking in Legion territory. In all those years following Hoover Dam, they were basically forced to take a defensive stance in their precious new state, letting some of those gangs roam around with what little autonomy they had left over. Thanks to them, they allowed me to operate with some capacity.

“I have a friend in the brass who’s stationed at Camp McCarran,” explained Harry, “she said that they’re finally mounting some of the troopers for a frontal assault on Vault 3.”

I leaned back on my chair, uncaring. “Yep, you know it’s the NCR when it involves sending young boys to their deaths. Why not just let them starve to death in the confines of the Vault?”

“I promised her that I wouldn’t mention this, but the public’s faith in the NCR to protect the Mojave is starting to tank, and its having a subsequent effect on the amount of tourists and NCR citizens that travel to New Vegas. This attack is basically one big publicity stunt to boost morale.”

“And only now they decide to do something about the Fiends? When the Monorail blew up the NCR got right to work on fixing it, but a bunch of junkies who go around killing people for shits and giggles? I guess that’s a problem that can wait for another nine years right?”

“The Fiends were battered down after Hoover Dam, you know this.”

“I do know! But the NCR made the mistake of licking their wounds for far too long and remained complacent. That’s why they’re still there in their fucking Vault planning for their next psychotic killing spree! That goes for those Powder Gangers too! But that’s besides the point. Anyways, who did you say was snooping around the motel?”

“Some broad. Never saw her in any day of my life. What I do know is that the Crimson Caravan hired her.”

“The Crimson Caravan hired her?”

“Yeah, they did.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Do you know who she is?”

Harry shrugged. “I don’t recognize her. All I know is that our manager checked the supply logs recently and saw some anomalies with the supplies, well, the chems that I've been bringing here. She deduced that somebody has been stealing from the caravan shipments so she hired some third party investigator to find out who it is. I think it's going to be a matter of time before she finds out it's me!

“Okay, just calm down. So all we need to do is lure this investigator off the trail. Have someone else take the fall to avoid suspicion towards you, and we all live happily ever after.”

“You make it sound so easy.”

“That’s because it is easy. You just need to have faith in yourself, and the drive to do it. So come back tomorrow evening with another caravan employee, someone that’s preferably gullible, and bring them here. Now get the fuck out of my office.”