Fistful of Caps (Oregon Trails) [FULL/FAST]

Earl shrugged at first at Bullseye's comment about the knife. "Woulda been better than throwing fists at them-" and then caught the offered revolver, deftly sliding it back into place in his holster. "Not going to give me the second one?" He asked, curiously but not exactly surprised. His voice was kept to a whisper until the sound of boots had retreated.

After the Enclave troopers had left with Daniel, Earl wiped his brow, wincing. "So. Looks like I've been had alright. And by people Daniel considers his buddies....same people who came in and murdered my friends in Tull." His face took on a stormy look as he spoke, leaning against the wall. "Fuck the NCR, we've got bigger things to worry about now. If those fellas are willing to kill innocent people who were just trying to live their lives..." He almost appeared to be talking to himself as he went along, hand twitching along. "I wanna kill every single one of those sons of bitches. Daniel included if he doesn't move out of the way."

Earl growled this last bit, eyes narrowing. "Some fucking friend indeed. I followed orders, killed who they told us to kill, raided where they told us to raided, and they come into my fucking town and kill my friends and family? To what? Get me more riled up at the god damn NCR? These fuckers are worse than Brahmin Barons..." He spat in the retreating troopers direction.

He then turned to Bullseye, "I'll take your oath. If you still intend on taking on these fellers to put down the rebellion that is." Earl stuck out his hand, the stormy look on his face being replaced by the cold calmness Cat had seen when she first arrived, and had held him at gunpoint.

---

This part applies to Sal only.

The Enclave troopers had indeed lowered their weapons upon seeing the revered Power Armor, recognizing him as one of their own. "Your welcomes are gladly accepted. We'll take you back to Tull where you can meet the Lieutenant. He's working on cleaning up the mess down there. What were you doing in that hole?" The lead trooper asked as his comrade hooked the plasma grenade back on his belt.

The troopers formed a loose formation around Daniel, rifles held lazily in their arms as they marched back to Tull. The left side of the dirt path cut through Tull was blocked off completely by corpses, arranged in some sort of order. Scorch marks were on one building that had been nearly destroyed in the shoot out, and Daniel would notice an elderly pair of townies lying down in the dirt nearby, not dragged into position by hte Enclave as of yet. Owen and Beru, perhaps their names would come to him.

As they walked, some of the Enclave troopers had shed their NCR uniforms and were receiving Enclave ones at the saloon, an Enclave flag flying proudly above the saloon in the breeze. This was where the troopers took Daniel, should he follow. Past the corpses of many a townie on the way there. Once inside, the saloon doors swung shut behind them. Sheb was dead at his piano, a plasma scorch mark on his chest, and a revolver clasped in his cold hands.

The troopers gestured at a man behind the counter, leaning over the map with a black service cap on his head. An officer. The officer glanced up at Daniel, and asked in a clipped and cold voice, "Where did you find this man and why is he in Enclave power armor?"

The troopers saluted their Lieutenant with clear anxiousness, "Outside Tull sir. He's a local. Gave us a proper Enclave greeting, and is wearing the armor. Figure he's one of ours, probably descended from a few escapees from the oil rig."

The Lieutenant nodded, walking over to Daniel and sticking out his hand, he spoke again. "I am Lieutenant Chase of the Presidents Militia. I understand you are one of us, if not a long lost son. I wish I could take you in with open arms, but you need to prove your loyalty to us first." He drew his laser pistol, swinging it around to hand it to Daniel. "Go inside the backroom. We have a captive. A wife and her husband, locals. They tried resisting us when we came to their ranch. I want you to execute one or the other."

Cat and Earl might be beginning to relax, but Bullseye still felt like a molerat in a trap. Daniel might have led the Enclave here to start with, and there was no guarantee there wasn't an ambush being set up above the hatch. He'd learned the hard way not to trust people he didn't know too much about. At the very least, Earl wasn't likely to shoot them in the back after this. At least, assuming the man wasn't somehow a part of this scheme.

Bullseye pulled out Earl's other revolver, putting it in Earl's outstretched hand. He nodded, a simple look of understanding. He wasn't willing to shake the rebels hand yet, not without more information. He couldn't truly trust someone that worked with anyone from the Legion. The man claimed innocence from the crucifixions, but if he had been involved, a plot to murder his townfolk would not seem so farfetched.

He kept his gun out and pointed at the ladder, a bit annoyed that Cat thought it was a good time to smoke. "I don't know 'bout you two, but I think we should still get on get tin' about findin' 'nother way out o' here. Ain't too keen on pokin' my 'ead out to get blown off by some fancy Enclave guns. And if we stick around too long and they did set a trap, they might just decide come in after us." Not to mention if there was another entrance, the Enclave bastards might be searching for it, and the last thing they needed was to be stuck between a bunch of power armored freaks with Gatling Lasers.

"Come on, let's find another way out," he said, still keeping his gun on the ladder. He still insisted on keeping the rear. If he was going to get shot in the back, he'd rather it not be by the man he was trying to trust. "We need to find the rest o' your devils, 'fore the Enclave uses Daniel to get 'em all. No tellin' what they'd do if they found 'em." He didn't want to bring it up, but if the Enclave was involved, they might need to end this rebellion quickly, and at all costs.

Daniel grabbed the laser pistol, and walked into the back room. He crouched down, and looked at them. Daniel took off the masks. He knew these people, Earl's sister and her husband. Earl would never forget what he would be about to do. He stood up, put the mask back on Earl's sister, and aimed the laser pistol upon the man's head, and fired. Killing Earl's brother-in-law. Daniel walked back out.

Earls sister began wailing from the next room after the shot, struggling against her binds to get to her now dead husband. The Enclave lieutenant nodded at Daniel. "Excellent work. You've proven your willingness to kill for the cause. Now, you have a quite different task-" The Lieutenant paused, walking back over to the map.

"The flying columns have done their work. They've weakened the NCR sufficiently enough in the area that we believe we're ready for a strike to take some territory for our own. The Colonel himself has given the orders. This was to be the first step. The Flying Columns will blame the NCR for this, and will flock to join us. The Tull one however, may prove problematic."

The Lieutenant nodded to himself in thought, and looked briefly annoyed at Earls sisters wailing. "Corporal, go deal with her." Another trooper saluted, boots thumping on the floor as he ran into the room. Earls sisters wailing turned into sniffling for a few moments, and then was ended with a single laser rifles crack. The Corporal walked back in and saluted. "Ah, excellent work Corporal. Now where were we?" The Lieutenant turned back to Daniel, raising an eyebrow.

"Ah, yes. Your next assignment is to bring the Tull Flying column back here. As many as possible. Those who won't join are to be terminated or sent packing at your discretion. We need guides. See to it."

The Lieutenant turned away, taking Daniels obedience as a matter of fact, and the Enclave troopers began dragging Earls family out of the saloon.

-----------

Earl had expected something like this to happen. Him being put in front because neither of them trusted him, and he just grunted an affirmative, taking his revolver back and sliding it into its holster. He walked over to the door at the back of the station, pushing it open after a few struggling attempts. The door was worn and old, and didn't move smoothly after all. It kicked up a cloud of dust when it finally opened with a creeeee. "And open sesame-"

He peeked out the door, revealing that there was another room, with more old world equipment like radios, and wires. Earl whistled again, and moved to step in. His boot froze mid step however as his eyes caught a thin gleam on the floor. "....Shit. Everyone take a few steps back, would ya?" He murmured over his shoulder, boot sloooowly sliding back away from the trip wire.

"Reckon no ones been through -this- part in a while, huh. Maybe Daniel left this as a little homecoming present to whoever stopped by." He crouched next to the wire, eyes following it to the source.

"Ah, there it is. Shotgun. Woulda certainly made my day a lot worse, and yours a damn bit easier. Uh-huh..." Earl murmured again over his shoulder, drawing his knife and motioning them back away from the shotguns blast. "Better safe than sorry-" His knife then cut the wire, and he darted back to the left side of the entrance, pressing himself against the wall there as the shotgun let out a single roar, and was then silent.

Earl stood up, sliding the knife back into place and walking through the doorway, looking even more alert than previously. "So. New room. Either of you see another ladder? Could be another manhole hidden up in the bushes somewhere."

Bullseye looked over the room, searching for a ladder in the darkness. He kept his eyes peeled for any further traps. Earl might think he and Cat's lives would be easier without him, but the rebel was dead wrong. It was important that Earl - a trusted leader of the rebels - knew the truth about the Enclave attack on Tull, otherwise it would be impossible to convince anyone that the Enclave had dressed up as NCR to kill off the town. Something that Bullseye still could understand. The slaughter was unnecessary, so far as he could see.

The ladder was located far in at the back of the wall, and Bullseye waved at the other two, with his gun still in hand. "Over here. Found one."

Carefully, he climbed over some old rubble, noting a skeleton broken behind a bed frame. Perhaps the owner of the shotgun. He holstered his second pistol and climbed the ladder carefully, reaching the top in quick order and pushing on the manhole cover. The plate seemed stuck in place, and he frowned as he tried to push it open again.

With no luck, he peered at the cover and felt like an idiot when a lever on one side held a metal latch down. With the squeal of rusted metal, he pulled the lever over with one hand and pushed on the manhole. It slid to the side, and dirt and dust poured over his face with a wash of sunlight. He coughed a bit and shook the dust off his face, sticking his head out of the manhole cover.

Fortunately, the tunnel had led them behind a short concrete wall. Unfortunately, it had taken them right back to Tull. Ensuring no one seemed to be around, he pulled himself out of the hole and moved over to the concrete wall, crouching low and hoping that Earl and Cat wouldn't start talking this time.

Peeking over the wall, he immediately dropped back down as two of the Enclave soldiers walked down the road, carrying a females corpse over their shoulders. He could them talking, though he wouldn't be able to hear them until the two got closer. In hindsight, he wished they had talked over where they were headed next instead of just climbing out of the hole and hoping for the best.

Silently, he drew his gun and held up two fingers, hoping that Earl and Cat had followed him out of the manhole. They'd need to move around carefully and avoid any patrols if they were going to escape Tull for the second time today.

The Lieutenant waved Daniel off without another word.

The two Enclave troopers carried Earls sisters body close enough to where Bullseye and Cat, and Earl, could all hear them. They spoke arrogantly, with the tone of men who believed their current duty was beneath them. "Stupid bitch and her husband drew on a patrol I hear." The troopers boots smashed into the dirt, leaving deep prints as they walked over, the corpse carried inbetween them.

"Her grave huh?"

"Nah, -this- is her grave buddy." One of the troopers laughed, dumping the corpse close enough with a heave-ho for Bullseye to see familiar features on the young woman's face. Before he'd have a chance to place it however, as the troopers began to walk away both him and Cat would hear a strangled gasp from Earl, who had taken up a position between them.


Earl had come up the ladder behind Bullseye while Cat was hesitating, his revolvers kept firmly in place. He had secreted himself in a position against the wall, in the shadows to keep himself hidden from the prying eyes of the Enclave troopers, slowly drawing his own six-gun just incase they came too close. "Fucking savages..." He murmured so lowly, that even Bullseye would be hard pressed to hear it upon seeing the troopers carrying the corpse.

As he watched however, a sinking feeling began to grip his heart. It made the man feel as if he was drowning. His eyes widened as the corpse was dumped right infront of them, and then a choked gasp escaped his throat before he could stop it.

His hands and feet moved by instinct, drawing his other six-gun from the holster and pulling back the hammers on both, prepared to gun down the two troopers and give away their position.

Unless of course, Cat or Bullseye moved quickly enough to stop him.

Cat Fyre held still as the soldiers moved ever closer to the group's hiding spot, one of the men voicing his disregard for the woman's corpse and his duty moving it.

"Stupid bitch and her husband drew on a patrol I hear." one of the soldiers said matter-o-factly. There was an arrogance in his voice that Cat imagined could only belong to the Enclave's vain and superiority-stricken people.

Catherine narrowed here eyes at the words, gripping her pistol tighter. Killing was part of human nature, as Cat had learned well in her own life, but that did not excuse the men. It seemed the Enclave had no qualms about killing anybody, regardless of guilt. The woman's mind had formed a dark image of the Enclave already, and hearing these words only seemed to solidify her idea's foundation in some strange way. She did not question it. Feelings and ideas were not this woman's specialty. Her expertise was is metal and lead.

The woman was shifting her weight to her left boot when she noticed Earl's had moved between herself and Bullseye. He peeked over the wall and instantly let out a quiet gasp. As the man cocked his pistols, Cat could see possibly the most ancient of human emotions fill Earl's eyes. Murder. Catherine attempted to snag Earl's left wrist with her free hand, but came up just short.

Bullseye caught Earl from behind him, snatching the emotional man up in a sort of choke hold while covering his mouth and pressing a knife against his throat. Catherine glared at Earl as Bullseye began whispering to the man.

"Not now," he whispered "Not like this... You can make them suffer, but not right now." He kept trying to pull Earl backwards, further behind the cover. "See her head? She was executed. Someone ordered that. These idiots are just moving her."

Catherine did not know who her companions were talking about, assuming it was the body the Enclave soldiers were carrying. The woman quickly used her boot to shove Earl and Bullseye just far enough behind the wall that the approaching Enclave soldier had not seen them.

Sinking as low as was possible behind her section of the wall, Cat waited and listened, hoping Bullseye could keep Earl under control for a little longer. Cat removed her hat and sat it gently in the dirt beside her, then produced a balanced knife from her left hip. The gunslinger gave Earl and Bullseye a look of disapproval as boot steps could be heard approaching their position.



"Thought I heard something back there." One of the soldiers said quietly, making his way slowly towards the wall with his weapon drawn.

"Townies?" the other asked, giving his partner a bored look in the burning sunlight. He paused, waiting for the first soldier to conclude his little investigation of the noise he had supposedly heard.

"I don't know." the first replied, advancing on the ruined wall. "Sounded like... half-sneeze or a fucking hiccup or something." the man replied.

The other soldier chuckled, producing a half-smoked cigar from the breast pocket of his uniform. "You always get like this when we hit these shit towns. Paranoid." he added before lighting his cigar. "Your imagination gets to you. Let's just get back to the CC. The bodies of these scummy hillbillys were stinkin' even before they died. Soon it will be un-fuckin'-bearable near that hole."

"Hold on." the first Enclave soldier said, dismissing his partner's protest while reaching the wall. His jaw hung slack as he peered over the top of the crumbling wall, and Cat promptly shoved the barrel of her magnum in his mouth as she rose. The soldier froze, as the reality of the situation hit him instantly when he saw the drawn hammer. As Cat stood the balanced blade slung from her left hand, catching the second soldier in the eye socket, a tactic she had previously reserved for killing Legion men.

The second soldier crumpled to the ground beside the body pit, a piece of stainless steel pointing up at the sky from the socket that had once contained his left eye. The soldier's body twitched twice, then was still.

After throwing the knife, Cat's free left hand found the back of the first soldier's neck and she heaved him over the wall with a strained grunt of effort. Within a few short seconds, it was all over. Only a single dead Enclave soldier was evidence to the events, and he would probably not be discovered until there were more bodies to be disposed.



Catherine straddled the startled soldier as she kept the barrel of the magnum firmly in his mouth. "Yah make ah noise or reach fer anything, I blow yer fuckin' head off. Are we clear?" she asked in a quiet, growling voice while tossing his weapon away with her free hand. When he had been disarmed, Cat produced another knife from it's sheathe and held it to the man's throat. If he attempted to scream, she would cut him so that he couldn't. ( Shooting the soldier in the mouth with a .44 would let everyone in town know they were there, but the Soldier did not realize it had been a risky bluff. )

Breathing heavily, Catherine looked down the wall and towards Bullseye and Earl, wondering if Bullseye still had Earl under control. The woman gave Earl another glare, to remind him that gun fire would give them away. Without her hat controlling it, Catherine's burnt blonde hair hung scattered over her face and shoulders. She then nodded her head to the shocked Enclave soldier, as if to say "Well? Yah reckon we should question 'im or kill 'im?"

Bullseye let Earl go as soon as he seemed to calm a bit, falling backwards into the dirt. He pushed himself back to his feet, crouched low, and keeping his knife close at hand if Earl decided to pull his gun again. He wasn't comfortable leaving Cat to deal with the Enclave, but she didn't dissapoint.

He quickly gathered the knife he had dropped to deal with Earl, then jumped over the low wall using one hand as a pivot to slide across. He didn't bother with the other body, there was no point in checking with the knife sticking out of his eye socket. It was a kill shot, plain and simple. What did concern him was whether or not anyone was about to find that dead body. Quickly and quietly, he left the body behind, heading up the nearest building and pressing himself against its corner.

Pulling his hat off for a moment, he slowly stuck his head around the side looking down the road to Tull. His fears were confirmed as two more soldiers were walking towards them, another body draped over their shoulders. They'd be there within minutes, so there was no time to lose. He spun off the wall and put his hat back on, pulling it down and jogging back to Earl, Cat, and their new prisoner.

He stopped by the soldier with a knife sticking out of his eye, pulling out the knife before dragging the body quickly towards the corpse pit. He saw Earl on the side retching near the woman's body which Bullseye assumed was related to him somehow. Most likely a sister by the similarity of their features. He wasted no time in pulling the soldier into the pit, before beginning to roll another body on top of the soldier.

"Sorry Earl, afraid they'll need to serve one more purpose before they can rest in peace." He didn't much care himself, but it was important they hide the body, or they'd have Enclave squads descending on them from all directions searching for whoever had killed him. With the body covered up quickly, he turned to Cat and the prisoner.

"If we're going to question him, get him back down the hole. Another two soldiers coming with another body." Quickly, he moved back to Earl, putting a hand on the man's shoulders. Most of the bodies were likely pointless. A child, an old woman. There was no point he could see to the killing here. Bullseye had never murdered a child or someone who probably couldn't even lift a gun. And the execution was not much better. There was no threat from the woman when they put her down. He felt as much disgust for the Enclave as he had come to find for the Legion.

"She needs to go back in the pit Earl, she wouldn't want you to die just yet. We need to go."