Good Night, Vegas Lights

Chapter 15

  He'd been in jail before, of course. Yet this time was unbelievably nerve wracking. His hands refused to cease shaking and he couldn't hold a thought in his head. A headache started to settle in.
  "Vincent, you okay?"
The light hurt his eyes, so he continued to face the corner just as he had been before.
  "Its all sunshine and lollipops over here"
  "Well I'll leave you be then"
She laughed a bit, though it did nothing for him.
  "Look, Vincent. I can't say I know what your going through, because I really don't. But what I can say is that you need to stop tearing yourself apart. I mean damn, we all meet our end eventually but you don't need to make yours come faster."
  "...What're you implying?"
  "Just... Don't do anything to hurt yourself"
  "I've asked for death so many times. Stood in front of a wall of bullets, walked into the desert without a drop of water, even hopped off a cliff once. Yet every time I come out just fine. Makes me wonder why I'm still here."
  "Maybe you don't get to leave 'till you fulfill your purpose"
  "Purpose?"
  "Avenging your family"
  "Oh. You believe that superstitious nonsense?"
  "Don't see why not"
  "Humph...."
  "Tell me more about yourself"
  "More? What for?"
  "Cuz I wanna help you"
  "You'd probably be biting off more than you can chew..."
 "Well with the given situation, I'm pretty sure we'll have plenty of time to try and tame your inner demons."
  "I'd rather just sleep right now..."
  "Fine. But I'll get it outta ya eventually."
Suddenly an NCR officer knocked on the bars of their cell.
  "You two are lucky. Your bail's been posted."
That confused Vincent, since there wasn't another living soul in favor of him besides Shannon and Sam that'd be around the Mojave, and that was stretching it. A man Vince had never seen before walked through the door.
  "A little birdie gave me these"
He held up a few papers. It took Vincent a moment to realize what they were. The strange paper's that Sam had before. Neither him nor Shannon spoke, so the strange man carried on.
  "Sharecropper wages, from before she met you. Sam gave me these before she left the Mojave. They weren't intended to bail you out of jail, but at the moment that seems more important."
  "Sam's gone?"
  "By now, probably"
  "Who are you...?"
The cell was opened and Vince stepped forward with Shannon following behind.
  "The name's Noah"
  "How did you know Sam?"
  "Im her brother, no less"
He studied Noah closely and could see that his hair was indeed the same shade as Sam's and his eyes were nearly the same shape. Sam had never said anything about a brother, but Vincent couldn't deny the man that stood in front of him, so he let his suspicions disperse. After all, this man did just give him a second chance. When they were clear from Camp McCarran, Noah spoke once again.
  "That money was meant to pay off your debt to the Omerta's, but ain't no use in doing that if your locked up in jail"
  "But you coulda run off with that money if you wanted to?"
  "No. Sam told me to help you in any way I can, since you saved her and what not. I would never go against her wishes."
  "Well thats mighty nice of ya, I suppose"
Noah stopped walking and reached into his jacket.
  "Now, Vince, isn't it? Here are your things. I do believe you'll want them."
He handed Vincent a backpack. Inside was what Vince previously had with him, which only included a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, but something else was stuffed in the bag. He pulled it into the light. Vincent's eyes traveled to the corner, where he noticed the 'Porter Investigation' tag. He had the folder open in seconds, ready to absorb the information. On top was a copy of the photograph that he had cherished, and under it was a list of names. All of them his family. The next page was an analyzation of the scene.
  "Vince whats it say?"
It was the first Shannon had spoke in a few hours. He found no reason to not read it aloud.
 "...Suspect entered through front door. Victim 1, Elizabeth, sought safety in bedroom with two children. Suspect entered bedroom. Victim 1 put up severe struggle, before-"
Vincent found it hard to read the next words.
 "...Before being subdued and stabbed four times in the chest and stomach. The two children were then...."
He stopped reading. Shannon took the paper, saying she'd read it instead. Vincent continued to the next page, which was a list of suspects. There was only one name on the list. Vincent Porter. For a moment anger filled his mind, but he noticed a large paragraph written next to the name saying there was no chance Vince had done it. That eased his nerves a bit. He flipped through the papers looking for a lead, anything to give him a hint, but it seemed there were none. Whomever had murdered his family had done it carefully. This brought a question to the base of Vince's mind. Who the hell had he wronged so badly?