A search for Vicky

Part Three

He continued heading east at pace, willing himself to catch up before nightfall. He followed a road that forked to the north, there was a medical facility there that may have received a delivery before the hospitals was due. It was a small facility and was just shy of a 30 minute walk from the highway. The location was a blood clinic, he had not been here before but he knew what blood could mean. He ducked behind a shrub a ways back from the entrance and checked the area for threats, with drawing his 44 and putting the 10mm in his pack. Areas of bloodshed and even old blood banks are known to attract blood bugs. Giant mosquitos with a foot long needle for a face. They would only take one shout to kill but due to their unpredictable flight path, could prover difficult to hit. He stayed low and moved fast towards the entrance, listening for the loud hum of the insect's flight.

Silence!

He approached the door; it was flanked by the corpses of a pair of blood bugs. Vic is here. She was very much acclimatised to the wastes, he knew this, as did the profile Nick had made in case others took the job. This would mean traps. He pushed gently on the door and heard a familiar twang, grenade bouquet. He swung back to one side and crouched clear of the door and close to the wall, 3...2...1... the door swung violently back, almost clear off its hinges. One down, he stepped into the first room; the ceiling was missing so the light of the sun was still illuminating the area. From his position just inside the door he could see a mine at the corner of a table, also a suspicious looking terminal with loose looking keys. He disarmed the mine and moved the back panel of the terminal and took out the grenade, he had too much experience in this. A further trap was by the door to the basement, he found the wire and upon cutting it, realised it was rigged to a shot gun aimed at the head of anyone not paying attention. He took the weapon and began headed down, a faint humming could be heard further into the facility. This blood bug sounded much larger than the ones found out in the wastes. He glanced around the corner; this one was three feet tall and was facing a locker on its side against the far wall. The bug was bleeding and had a missing part of a wing, just staying aloft. Quickly scanning the floor for anything he may kick and alert it, he began moving forward. Three steps and the double barrel of the trap shotgun was just inches from the thorax. The buckshot scattered the bugs' parts up the wall as the abdomen dropped with a meaty crunch, it settled against the door of the fallen locker.

'Can you move that fucking thing so I can get out? It's a damn sweat box'. He shifted the carcass and Vic straightened herself up. 'Hi Asra, had a feeling Valentine would send your ass, could have been quicker, was stuck an hour', the words were agitated.

'How did a bug get the better of you and Le Fusil Terribles?' Vic's full customised shotgun was a gift from an ex; she had learned French for no distinguishable reason and gifted it.

'It came in behind me as I was setting up a ground level trap, flew down through the roof'.

'Forgot to account for flyers, in this place? Not like you Vic'. Asra was surprised.

'Look you helped, take this note back to Nick and get paid, I got shit to do'.

'Woah, I took this job for free, wanted to check on you, been a while and I missed your company.'

'Yeah, weird how we started working together, after, I fucked your fiancé.'

'Hilarious, think you saved me all kinds of shit there though.' Asra laughed.

They took pleasure in their reminiscing. The pair secured the building by resetting all the traps and set a small fire in a waste bin, they settled opposite each other on their packs.

'I'm guessing this isn't a normal prospecting gig?' Asra asked. 'You wouldn't have Valentine send someone so fast, or be this distracted'. He had made the decision to help but would require the details and the caps involved. Must be a big payday to have Vic this distracted, he mused.

'You're right this aint a normal job, a trader came into Valentine DA with a note from Jax, remember the one who was with me on the railroad job?'

The note read:

Hey Vic,

Got a line on a flower bomb, it was headed to a vault near you.

The guise was fournitures de premiers soins. I'm taking care of some

business in Toronto so will be a couple weeks. This could be it our

chance at our own nirvana, like we saw in the capital wastes.

To our future

Jax

'Jax is cool, so what is a flower bomb and why would it be transported as medical equipment?'

'Look don't worry about that...' She stopped and stared into the fire and remembers the green trees and creatures drinking fresh water. She thinks of her and Jax, sat in long grass in a meadow, a puppy sat at their feet waiting for one to throw the stick it had placed at their side. The puppy was what she hoped for in the future.

'I want your help to find it and will give you all my savings if we do!' she sounded desperate.

'Last I...'

'5,000 caps!'

'Shit, this means a lot to you. I will help but will require the usual information.'

'Thanks, let's crash and I will tell you as we head for the highway in the morning'. Relief filled her voice.