Heartache by the Number Heartache by the Number is a in " " . Detailed walkthrough . Persuading Cass . Upon first interaction with Cass , she will direct you to the Crimson Caravan Company for work . Once there , Alice McLafferty , the company ' s manager , will assign you a series of jobs . One of these jobs will involve you buying off Cass ' s dying caravan , Cassidy Caravans . There are several methods of convincing her to give up her caravan : Notes : The Mystery of the Caravans . After Cass is persuaded , she can be recruited as a companion . If you have Evil Karma , she will not initiate the quest and will instead yell at you or even leave your party . Once you talk to her ( via the companion wheel ) with sufficient Karma for her not to be annoyed , she will want to visit her caravan ' s wreckage site to pay her respects . Cass ' s caravan wreckage will have nothing left but a dead pack and some miscellaneous loot that Cass will let you have . Upon further examination , Cass will notice something suspicious and suggests visiting Griffin Wares ' caravan . The second caravan , which is found nearby a billboard south - west of the Horowitz Farmstead , has suffered the same fate as her caravan . Aside from the three dead pack brahmins and various scattered loot , there are three ash piles . Cass will become even more suspicious , and will want to examine Durable Dunn ' s caravan . Durable Dunn ' s caravan , aside from the similar damage the earlier caravans sustained , has the corpses of a Van Graff thug and a . The picture will be clear to Cass ; the Crimson Caravan Company and Silver Rush are colluding to eliminate competition for the caravan business . She wishes to kill Alice McLafferty , the Crimson Caravan manager , and Gloria Van Graff , the head merchant of the Silver Rush , for all of the damage they caused . You can intervene in Cass ' s rash decisions and offer a more peaceful solution , or agree and aid her in killing both of them . Attention : If this is done after the player has started Birds of a Feather with the Silver Rush faction , be aware there is a Silver Rush member near by . Killing him will cause the Silver Rush faction to be hostile towards the player upon returning to Freeside . When Simon begins to attack the player , the Birds of a Feather quest is failed . Peaceful solution . To come up with a more peaceful solution , you must gather evidence of the two caravans ' true motives . These pieces of evidence are located in the two following locations : a safe in the Crimson Caravan main office and a safe behind a locked room in the Silver Rush . Crimson Caravan main office . The evidence required to prove Crimson Caravan ' s reasons for attacking is located in a safe in the main office , next to Alice McLafferty ' s desk . It can be unlocked in two possible ways , with a loss of karma : Once the incriminating note has been obtained , talk to Cass and show her the evidence . Silver Rush . The evidence required to prove the Van Graffs ' true motives is located in a safe behind a locked door inside the store . There are two ways to open the door : The safe can also be opened in two ways : Again , once the evidence has been obtained , talk to Cass and show her the evidence . Cass ' s Calm Heart . Once the two pieces of evidence have been obtained , Cass will suggest taking it to Ranger Jackson . The evidence will be passed on to NCR higher - ups , determining the fate of the two companies . The quest will end once you talk to Cass . Cass will receive the Calm Heart perk , which grants her an additional 50 HP . You will also receive 500 Experience Points . Violent solution . You can aid Cass ' s initial plan by helping her kill Alice McLafferty and Gloria Van Graff , by any means necessary . So long as both of the managers are dead , Cass will have fulfilled her vengeance . Cass ' s Hand of Vengeance . Once both targets are dead , speak to Cass to conclude the quest . Cass will earn the Hand of Vengeance perk , which gives her an additional 15 % damage with guns . You will also receive 500 experience points . Behind the scenes . This is one of many quests that are named after songs that can be heard on the radio , in this case the Guy Mitchell song " Heartaches by the Number " , which is broadcasted in - game on Radio New Vegas and also Mojave Music Radio .