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A small town south of the Mojave came alive as the sun settled over the desert. Although the town housed few citizens, it never lacked visitors nor did they lack of diversity in return. After all, who would not seek the few pleasures left in this lost world. The common man, some powder gangers and even the occasional Legionnaires were common sight in the street. Each had visited the town for a similar reason, and each would share a similar fate for it. Lost souls unaware of the blade inching closer to their neck with each passing minutes. But there was no need for haste, for their fate was unavoidable.
Vulpes watched, standing in the office above as the city and its visitors met and mingled, strangers still arriving. Whatever rant the mayor had been on rendered to a mere buzz in the back of his mind. He felt dirty merely being there, the sweat of the mayor’s hands sticking to his palm, the stench of alcohol clinging to his skin. The air itself was foul and heavy as it carried the sins of thousands. There were no souls to be saved in this town, none worth the trouble of trying.
Vulpes barely understood how the profligates gave into sin with such ease, slipping into it like mere cloth. They were blind, eyes shrouded from the truth of Mars, living without purpose or manners. But unlike others, those here would be withheld from its light and would serve as a message. A lesson that would spread across the desert, the first of many. Their blindness was their only proof of innocence against their sin, a proof that none of the Legionnaires present carried. Spineless mongrel, spitting in the hand that had graciously fed them. A stain against the flag their bore. They would be thankful to be punished along the rest and not by their own laws.
The situation boiled in the pit of his stomach, acid crawling up his throat. As unpleasant as he found it, the effect it would have on the desert and its habitants would prove worthwhile. Vulpes merely needed patience, and fresh air. Excusing himself, Vulpes swiftly exited the office before making his ways downstairs. The building, in a similar scene as he had seen outside, reeked of alcohol and smoke. The smell festered inside, trapped inside the walls it clung to.
Sharp and cold air snapped against his cheek when he finally left the building, heavy doors closing behind him. Vulpes pondered for a moment if a walk would be beneficial but decided against, slow steps beginning their path to the hotel. He enjoyed for a few moment the fresh air filling his lungs while it glided against his skin, the sky clear on this particular evening. Vulpes always found such sight soothing, The brightness of the moon and its orderly stars hovering around it. He remembered some of their patterns from his youth, the only matter he did not shed from himself. Unfortunately, the sight was ruined as the noise reached him again, stench heavy on his heels.
The small hotel stood beside the town hall, cast into its shadows, the main lobby surrounded by small dilapidated shacks. The traffic around it was slower than around the road, renters preferring to spend their time indoors. Vulpes alone resided at the hotel, the rest of his Legionnaires settled higher in the mountain behind. They watched, day after day, waiting for the faintest signal from Vulpes. He, in return, patiently waited for the opportunity.
An opportunity would rise that night, not the one he had anticipated, but one that would find his interest nonetheless.
Vulpes found her in the hotel lobby, back turned to him as she spoke to the clerk. Neither had seemed to take notice of him when he entered, nor when he reached to retrieve his room key. Their conversation held little interest, a stranger searching for a room they wouldn’t find and the clerk unwilling to miss on a possible deal. Vulpes lingered, feet dragging around the lobby as his hands reached for the handle, eyes remaining on the lone stranger. Bags stacked on bags were strapped across her back, the latter bending slightly from their weight. Jet black hair wrangled together sat at the top of her head, strands evading wherever they could. Her outfit and weapons were not too dissimilar to those found across the waste. Her height was, to note, rather towering for a human, let alone a woman. He wondered if she could rival Aurelius.
Vulpes pondered for a moment, on the nature of the stranger. She did not seemed interested in the local services, nor was she willing to stay longer than a night from what he gathered. The tear and wear of her boots spoke of longs travels across the wastes. She did not seem to be hoarding resources or valuables and her clothing spoke of little wealth. The quick glance he had stolen of her face spoke of little fatigue. A Courier, perhaps.
Courier were welcomed sight by anyone, Legion included. Very few roads were closed to them and most settlement foolishly welcomed them with open arms. Each of their path different yet each wove connection across the land they walked. The legion viewed them favourably, seeking their services now and again while assuring safe passage throughout their region. Although he had long lost count of the numbers of men and women of the Legion walking that same path.
A lone Courier, headed for an unknown location, seemingly uninterested in the sins of the city.
An opportunity indeed.
Words left his mouth before he could think them through.
“We could share mine if necessary”, six little words spoken a tone too quickly and a thought too little. They had been spoken without an afterthought but they had managed to stop their conversations in its track. Silence followed as the stranger shifted, casting a glance behind her shoulder. Dark pupils held his for a moment before focusing on a spot on the wall, the tip of their ears slowly reddening.
“I...I’m not looking for services tonight, thank you”
Services? Oh.
“Nor was I offering”, corrected Vulpes.
“You were offering your room”, eyes flickered back to his, holding his gaze “one might be led astray”.
The room stood silent for a moment, neither willing to let their gaze wander away. Vulpes wondered how this split of the tongue had happened, when he weighted each of his words with great caution. Perhaps we was more fatigued than anticipated. Her eyes did not travel, anchored deeply to his. He felt cornered under her gaze, a chill creping at the back of his neck. He was not unaccustomed to the gaze of others, some had been the reaction he intended – others merely an unforeseen development. But this one felt unnerving, pointed eyes seeing right through him, peeking under the carefully crafted mask he wore. There was no way she’d know his path by a mere look, even less his intention. Still, the feeling of unease remained. Vulpes thought of a retort, a short quip to pull her attention elsewhere, but the words never left the tip of his tongue as he expression changed. It was small, a movement easily missed by the untrained eye. Vulpes saw it though, how her lips relaxed while her gaze softened, pupils expanding ever so slightly.
“Lead the way then”, was all she said before facing him, caps clinking against the desk before the clerk could demand them. Happy with a good deal, his attention left the both of them while he collected the money, heading straight to the little office beside. The door handle rotated with little resistance before the both of them returned to the night. The town remained as alive as it had been, the noise only growing as the hours passed. The walk to Vulpes’ lodge was fairly short and silent even as it was the furthest from the lobby
The light flickered on before the curtains were drawn and the door closed, shutting themselves from the rest.
The room was neither small nor grand and modestly decorated. A small bedroom stood to the side, bed and sofa clinging to the wall, and a small bathroom stood at the back. There were no decorations on the walls left for the appliances, the ghosts of painting remaining on it nonetheless. One could have believed the room to be unoccupied as only a bag sat atop the bed, the sheet carefully tucked around it. Vulpes watched as the presumed courier looked around the place, eyebrows slightly furrowed at the sight of the bag.
“...Having second thought?”, Vulpes asked barely feigning innocence “I don’t bite”.
The question brought a small chuckle from the courier, shaking her head before she wandered to the sofa. “You don’t seems to fear strangers much, do you”, she asked before unclasping the belts of her luggage one by one.
Truthfully, Vulpes did not remember a day he had feared a stranger, not since the Legion had saved him at least. Either they were fools unaware of their own fate and sins or degenerate willing to cut any that stood before them. They were different in certain aspects but both could be easily dealt with a word or a blade. To fear someone was to admit weakness, to fail under the eyes of Mars and its servant. Vulpes believed in the Legion, in Caesar, and that alone had cut fear from his soul.
“Should I?”, Vulpes asked, carefully walking out of her eyesight as he neared the bed “Should I fear a courier?”
The courier slowed at the mention of the profession, casting a glance behind her shoulder, muttering a simple “observant”.
The entirety of her luggage finally laying on the floor, she sat on the sofa to undo her laces. Vulpes settled his lone luggage down before mirroring her actions. “What bring you to the Mojave?”, Vulpes carefully asked, stealing a quick glance up to her before resuming. The courier did not answer right away, musing over the question as she worked over the final knot.
“Going up to Vegas”, she answered as she settled her boots next to the luggage, feet wriggling from relief “Contract’s worth a lot”.
“Must be, to walk such a path”, Vulpes nodded, noting the destination in the back of his mind “Your package must be quite interesting to be sought by them”. New Vegas, it was the biggest city of the entire Mojave yet it carried sins like no others. Profligates indulged in any vices within their grasp before losing what little they possessed. The city was not unknown to Vulpes, or others frumentarii. They had infiltrated its shadows months ago, each blending in wait of an opportunity or order. Vulpes had grown accustomed to the dynamics within the city and its actors, the strip and its casinos lording over others. The package was probably destined to one of them, especially if the reward was of such importance.
“Don’t know and don’t need to”, was the only response, closing the matter “It’s back luck to to poke your nose in what your carry”. The courier set her scarf and jacket on the back of the sofa before straightening her back, gaze drifting back to him, “And you? What bring you to town?”
“Merely work”, Vulpes retorted as he settled down himself. It was no lie, perhaps a simplification of his intention yet it remained truth.
Wordlessly nodding, the Courier settled on the sofa, the conversation laying itself to rest. The light flickered off a moment later, shuffle of footsteps followed by the rustle of sheets as Vulpes laid to rest. The conversation had been short, perhaps shorter than anticipated, but it had still brought Vulpes informations. New Vegas had started to stir, who and where remained unknown for the moment but Vulpes was sure, they would reveal themselves soon enough. He would send more of his men to the city before joining them.
He would send word in the morning, fatigue washing over him. The muffled noise of the city seeped through the any cracks if could find, faint light still dancing behind the curtains. They would not settle for until the little hours of the morning as Vulpes found they often did. The steady breath of his guest soon joined the band, the rise and fall of her chest commanding the tempo. His own breath began to mirror hers, fatigue dragging him deeper.
“What is your name?”, a voice whispered in the darkness of the night,
“Fox”, was the only answer. Not a lie, no, yet never the truth.
Content with the answer, the room returned to its silence and steady breath. This time, both gave into the fatigue and sank into a deep slumber. She was already gone when the sun returned, rays dancing across his face as it pulled him from his slumber.
A courier was shot in the head near Goodspring a few days later.