Journal of Honcho Biggs - Chapter 8

Chapter 8 of the Journal of Honcho Biggs, titled "No Vac, No Problems".

## No Vac, No Problems

   With our scrap all secured, we left for Novac next morning. Let me tell you, the hours I had on watch last night were nerve wracking. Some of the fires were still burning outside. This is why muscle don't stay muscle for long. Eventually, you see enough shit you want to hire your own.

We passed a "Welcome to Nevada" sign on the 168. Which to me, doesn't make any sense. We've been in Nevada this whole time, who are you welcoming? Just another pre-war mystery, I suppose. The sign did welcome us into a canyon. I wasn't sure why at the time, but I wasn't expecting any trouble.

But there's always trouble. Raiders began raining fire on us. We slid next to a few rocks. The raiders were firing from the tops of the canyon, which was perfect for James' skill. He was simply gifted at longshots. He lined a shot up - bam, boom, a raider falls down into the canyon dead. He did this a few times while me and Niner wiped up the bastards on the road.

Vipers. Most likely armed by retreating Legionaires to cause trouble on trading roads. As we looted the bodies, that's when I realized why I hadn't suspected trouble. Before this, the Courier had been leaving a clear path for us. We got attacked outside of Nipton by Jackals because we went there before the Courier. And now we were attacked by Vipers because we were here before the Courier.

"Should we wait?" James asked, picking bullets off a raider.

I sighed. "We're already halfway there. Might as well meet him in Novac after selling our scrap." So on we went.

The Long 15 is dangerous, but the 168 is just as bad, just more subtly. James spotted Legion scouts eyeing us over ridges before darting off. Vipers patrolled and sometimes attacked us. We passed an NCR Ranger Station that didn't seem to be doing very much. Hell, I spotted 10 Vipers and a few goddamn piles of radioactive waste sitting around the camp, and they didn't even have anyone on watch! Wouldn't be surprised if they got hit soon.

But the rest of the trip was rather quiet as the great green dinosaur of Novac appeared over the horizon. I'd never been happier to see wildlife. The town was quiet, with houses that weren't really as rundown as Primms. We passed by a few tents and spotted a doctor inside. When we noticed the doctor was female, James led the charge.

"How'd a fine lady like yourself end up as a doctor?" James greeted, casually flexing a muscle. The doctor, Ada Strauss, was either eating it up or trying to sucker him out of a few caps. I guessed the latter. While the two talked, one of her bodyguards whispered to me, "Between you and me, I don't think she studied at an accredited institution." I made a note to seek medical help elsewhere.

We managed to pull James out of there. "We need to rent a room," Niner said. Lay low for a couple of hours. Deal is supposed to go down later today." Novac makes it caps from traders and weary travelers looking for a place to stay. We arrived at the front desk and there was an older lady behind. Didn't stop James from leading the charge once more.

"How'd a fine lady like yourself end up as an owner and operation of a motel?" James greeted, casually flexing a muscle. I sighed as the woman laughed and her cheeks turned red.

"Alright, look, you two can talk. Me and Niner need a room so we can put our stuff down." The women handed us a pair of keys.

"First room on the left, second floor. Call for Ms. Crawford is you need anything."

"Miss? Miss Crawford?" James questioned all flirty like.

"I don't got a man, so it's miss. But you can call me Jeannie May..."

Me and Niner rolled our eyes as we exited. Our motel room was easy to find. We dumped the stuff down and exhaled as we took seats. I pulled out a flask of whisky, courtesy of a dead Viper. Niner pulled out Jet, Steady, and Psycho. "They call it the Denver Dog Delight. Jet to get you up, Steady to get you down, and Psycho for the hell of it. You dig?"

"Sure, why the hell not?"

After four or five hours, I woke. My head was pounding, I lurched around the room, trying to get my surroundings. My varmint rifle was left on the bed, a few bullet holes on the wall, broken empty flasks in front of it. James was nowhere to be found. Niner was asleep in a chair, holding a toy dinosaur. "Niner," I said, slapping him a little. He just groaned and grabbed the dino tighter. "Niner, you junkie, wake up, we got...stuff to do."

This woke him up. "Shit! The deal!" He got out of the chair and stumbled to the ground, knocking over a few beer bottles. He put Mr. Killingsworth back in his bag. He quickly grabbed the chems and we stumbled out into the dull light. The sun was setting. "Fuck, man, we're late." We hurried and shuffled to the ground floor.

Niner gave a special knock on the door. The door opened slowly. "Niner, you bastard, you're late! Though I guess you always are..." A voice said sharply.

"Sorry, Buck, sorry man. You know how it is." We entered and the door closed shut behind us. Our heads still pounding and our vision still clouded, we could just barely make out the pistols pulled on us.

"Yes. I do know how it is." A blunt force hit the back of my head and I crumpled.