Chasing Babylon (A Fallout New Vegas Fanfic)

Well I got nothing better to do... So lets get to it...  Enjoy.

Chapter 1

The heat radiated off the horizon like the warm glow of a freshly shot mini nuke.  A rough wind jerked at my clothes within random intervals.  Accompanied by the itching burn of sunburnt skin, the short walk from Gun Runners to Freeside felt more like a pilgrimage.  Using a hand to sheild my eyes as I cast a sour look at the three figures appearing to my left, I sigh in aggravation. 

"Fuckin' pains in the ass..."  The skull-formed helmets stuck out like beacons of irritance...toting laser weapons and such.  "They never learn..." The wood of the hunting rifle is sturdy and my aim twice as strong, the 'fight' is over before it even started...and three headless bodies lay in the distance.

The disgust I feel causes my face to scrunch distastefully.  I sling the rifle back around myself and walk back toward Freeside's gate.  Frustration echoing my every step.  "Just what I needed to kill my Wednesday night..." Throwing a lax wave to the Kings hanging around the Brahmin pen, I enter Freeside with a look of fury and an obvious intention to burn some anger off with a night of solitude.

However, anger decimates one's patience...and patience is what one needs to walk all the way back to the 38...and with my current lack of patience, the only obvious decision was to crash at the Atomic Wrangler for the night.  Giving the Wrangler's crier a nod I turn down the trashed street toward the den of sin.

A grimace broke across his face.  Though slight, his indignation was evident.  Or was it disappointment he was showing? Regardless, he couldn't grasp his leader's interest in such a tainted individual.  He pushed off the alleyway wall he had been using to prop himself up;  it wasn't that he didn't agree with his great leader's motives...she was unwavering, strong-willed, and a prominent presence in the barren land of the Mojave... 

It was that he didn't agree with the previous amount of diplomatic leniency being shown to the aggravated figure.  Watching said figure enter the trash heap of profligacy in Freeside he continued his approach.  Tucking his chin, the fedora upon his head casting a shadow across his hard cut features...the fox in sheep's clothing gracefully strode after the courier. 

The smell of sex and booze was thick in the air.  A few absent chuckles come from the dotting audience near the stage on the left.  Drinking glass in hand and cleaning cloth in the other, James Garrett brandished a smile of welcome on the courier.  "Well well, long time no see Red."  His voice was smooth and inviting, and my impatience quelled at the sound of it.  "What can I get ya'?" He inclined his head at the array of bottles behind himself.  I took a stool and let out an exasperated sigh.  "To be honest James, a bit of Whiskey would only get me throwin' punches...and I've never been one for vodka or wine soo..."  "Alright, alright; I read ya' loud and clear ~ one Nuka Cola coming right up" He shook his head in amusement.

The bottle was cold and the drink colder.  Carbonation sizzled the back of my throat with a pleasant burn, and James's raised eyebrow left me with a silent laugh and an eased fury.  Starting up to my room, I held the bottle in his direction acknowledging his incredulity.  "You keep givin' me that look and I'll wipe it off your face."  The male Garett busted into a full and hard chorus of laughter.  

Halfway up the stairs, his laugh ended as he immediately shifted back into a businessman-like aura, "welcome to the Atomic Wrangler."  Ignoring the groans from down a few rooms I enter my earned solace.  Shutting the door behind myself with relief at being rid of human presences, I stripped the tattered jacket off my exhausted form.  Wiggling out of the leather pants that had formerly been clutching to my tired legs I settled for falling back onto my bed clad in a rung out tank top and boy shorts.

All was semi-silent...peaceful almost, until...  A brisk knock rung out from my rooms door.  Eyes shooting open, a snarl broke across my face with unrelenting force.  "The fuck?"  Shooting off my bed, grabbing a 10mm pistol I wrenched the door open with murder on my mind.  Only to be frozen in place by that icy gaze; the thin and devilish line of his mouth, the pristine nose, the smooth brow...the fucking mesmerizing jaw line...  "Well...fuck."

Moving aside I granted him access to my forgotten solitude and putting aside the weapon of my near homicide I spoke.  "You're not exactly a welcomed sight for sore eyes, so why the hell are you here?"  He shed his fedora and cast a condescending look in my direction.  "furthermore, you give me that look again and your eyeballs will be shipped back to Caesar in a cardboard box..." 

The slightest of grins graced the corner of his lips, and that cultivated voice struck at my ears like the sharp sting of a bark scorpion.  "As entertaining as that sounds, let's save the courting for later...my being here is for business purposes only profligate."

My arms crossed across my chest, and my face contorted in obvious annoyance at the man before me.  He ignored the rage flowing from me and proceeded to speak, "my lord grows tired of your arrogance and wishes to hold a meeting with you."  He takes a step forward for emphasis, "your currently chosen path isn't exactly a wise one Red..."  He leans over me, casting a shadow on my scantily clad form; "...and on top of that, your lack of loyalty is...unsettling."

Unable to stop the chill that gripped my body at his next words, I clenched my jaw in frustration.  "If you insist on avoiding us, I have been given free reign to use whatever force or motivation I see fit."  Fear didn't cover my emotions, no definitely not fear, more like...excitement...  Yeah.  No.  Sighing, I reluctantly respond, "alright La Piccolo Vulpe* I'll stop by in three days, but understand I have other responsibilities beforehand."

He nods backing away from my furious and slightly aroused form.  Returning his hat to his head he begins his exit.  A hand grazes my cheek, and suddenly there's a vice-like grip on my chin forcing my eyes to him.  "As much as you like to feign dominance in my presence, we both know how you need...how much you love to be dominated...it's in your nature after all, woman."  And as smoothly as he entered, he left.  An unsettling feeling roused my gut and I flipped the light off after locking the door.  A restless night's sleep awaiting me.