Chapter 27

"We fell in love?" she repeated. She did not intend for her question to sound so scathing, but it even made Vulpes wince.

"Yes, you could say that. We fell in love, the Profligate way. Visceral and intense. I don't think we could do it again, especially not now."

Something in those words stung, and she turned her face away to not betray her moment of weakness.

He continued as if he was unaware of her pain. "Our meeting was not planned. You had medical experience. You entered the town with the proud agenda of helping the unfortunate, much like your Follower friends. You would not be dissuaded. You caused ripples. Local factions, little better than gangs, did not like what you were doing. A doctor independent of any faction. You were dangerous to their structure of control. First they bribed you, and when that didn't work, the threats came.

"I knew about you from various town hearsay and gossip. I never met you until they sent the first thugs to rough you up. It was complete accident that I walked by. You were afraid, but you wouldn't back down. They weren't sure how to handle an unarmed woman, so they pushed you around a bit. I decided to intervene, winning myself a bloodied nose. Eventually they grew bored with the pathetic pair of us and left. The bloody nose was enough to be invited into your clinic. I was instantly enamored. It took some time for you to be convinced of your own feelings. You were guarded, defensive, afraid to be so vulnerable. I tried convincing you to get a gun to protect yourself and the clinic. You wouldn't hear of it." Vulpes allowed himself a chuckle.

"What happened?"

"I gave you a hunting revolver anyway. But eventually you were so beloved by the people, the thugs and mercenaries left you alone. But something worse came along."

"What?" she asked, leaning forward.

"The Legion began moving west. They attacked nearby towns so much that we had enough of a warning to evacuate most of the people out of ours. Most of the faction thugs remained to test their battle prowess against the Legion. They lost. That's actually where Dead Sea and Alerio came from.

"You led the evacuation of course, sacrificing yourself for the greater good, and I, so besotted, followed along with your every desire. Ultimately, we were too slow. The Legion discovered our convoy fleeing from them. As a last ditch effort, you decided to take them here to the Mojave, hoping to lose them with your eyes set on New Vegas, the Dam, and the expansive reach of the New California Republic. I can only assume it worked."

"What do you mean?" she asked, puzzled.

"You were here, and I never joined you. The night in the cave was our last together. We stayed behind in that cave to make sure everyone made it across the river."

"And you left?"

"For the fucking children," he whispered, his tone trite and annoyed. Then louder, "There was a boy. Eight years old. And a six year old girl. Luke and Stella. They were cousins, and they got separated from the group. Their grandmother was distraught. But the Legion were too close. You wanted to go back and find them. But I wouldn't let you. I went instead. I told you that if I didn't return by sunrise, it would be too late for us."

"And you never came back," she pieced together solemnly.

"And thus my life in the Legion began. I know Caesar has already told you of my rise through his ranks. The rest you already know."

"And the Legion changed you?" she asked skeptically.

He was having none of her scrutiny. "The Legion changes everyone. It has even changed you. Benny's Bullet certainly did its own work, but you cannot deny the Legion's impact upon you. And here we are. You are not the soft girl afraid of violence and guns. Your compassion for people remains, but it does not rule you as it did before. And I—" He paused. "I am not the hopelessly bewitched boy. I am not soft and reckless as I once was. I am forged by steel and cruelty. I am guilty of horrors unimaginable, just as you have adopted a new sense of ruthlessness that would have shamed you before."

"I am not ruthless—" she began hotly.

He silenced her with an irrefutable list. "Mr. House. Benny. Martina Groesbeck. Silus—yes I've heard about Camp McCarran."

She said nothing, pressing her lips into a thin, pale line. Martina Groesbeck was not her brightest moment, and although she could afford some pity for the girl, she could not bring herself to fully regret Martina's death.

Her silence was telling enough of her own guilty conscience. He quirked a rueful smile. "And so here we are."

"What was your name before Vulpes?"

He looked back down at the scarf. "It doesn't matter."

"It matters to me," she persisted severely.

He sighed, but it was not a sound of defeat. "Michael. You called me Mica."

For her next question, she could not bear to look at him. "Are you still in love with me?"

He took too long to answer. She knew he didn't. "The boy who used to love you no longer exists. However, I find that I am still quite fond of you. But us? We will never return to what we were. You don't even remember the past or your feelings from it. It's all alien to you."

"Maybe I don't have to remember," she said softly.

Vulpes didn't respond, either ignoring the remark or unable to respond it. She wasn't sure which.

"Do you know what happened to the villagers I had evacuated?"

He shook his head slowly, methodically. "I don't know what happened after we were separated. Through all of my exploits of the Mojave Wasteland, I have not encountered any of them."

She nodded at this piece of information impassively. She did not remember these people; their fates would have little bearing on her now.

"So what now?" Vulpes asked, leaning back in his seat, breaking her brief reverie. "I suspect you are not here to follow Caesar's commands."

She continued to look at her hands and decided upon revealing the dangerous truth. "I didn't destroy Mr. House's bunker."

"I know."

She continued, undaunted. "There's a Securitron army waiting for my command. The Boomers have sworn their allegiance to me, not Lord Caesar."

She heard Vulpes readjusting himself on the seat. "I'm not particularly surprised. Am I to assume that your journey here now will not end in the annihilation of the Brotherhood? I would even wager you have plans to rescue your Follower doctor."

Her eyes flickered to look at him. "Are you going to stop me?"

Vulpes managed a smile that actually seemed amused. "Benny's bullet couldn't even do that."