Part 22: The House Always Wins
Down in the basement, I emerged to see a rusty, metal storage room, in obvious need of repair. A large forcefield in front of me separated me from the rest of the room, on my side were a few
chairs and ammunition in a box, on the other were two robots standing opposite each
other. I took a seat and watched the lights flash on. A monitor descended from
the ceiling with Mr. House on it.
"As you can see, the mark one operating system provides the robots access to the X-25 Gatling lasers, and the nine millimetre submachine gun." To which the robots demonstrated their normal weapons. "However,
with the mark two operating system, they are now able to access their M-235
Missile Launcher, rapid fire G-28 Grenade launching system, and interior repair
and rerouting system. " To which the robots faces changed from the usual image
of a police officer, to an army man, smoking a cigar.
The robots both turned, and utterly destroyed each other with their new weapons. Rockets flew, metal
scraps exploded, and the area they were in became a wreck of twisted, smoking
metal. It was quite a sight, and I could feel the heat from the explosions,
with the force field saving me from taking a mountain of shrapnel to the face.
"This upgrade increases each unit's combat effectiveness by two hundred and thirty
five percent." House said, to which I could understand easily. I returned to
the elevator and wondered just how much I had changed Vegas. Now the
securitrons were basically unstoppable soldiers that didn't feel pain, hunger or thirst.
Back upstairs in the penthouse, I returned back to the monitor, where Mr. House flashed onscreen again.
"Interesting display, wouldn't you agree?" he asked me.
"Well, it sure was!" I said. "But I'm a little concerted they are too powerful."
"You seem to be missing the point. With this upgrade, Vegas finally has robots worthy of defending it. No longer do we face the threat of the Legion taking the city" he said.
"Well, how are people going to react?" I asked
"Funny you should ask. They seem to be causing quite a stir down on the strip, just because of the new face they show. Can't imagine how they'll react to seeing the new weapons in action."
"Well, I guess I'm done here." I said, and walked away.
"Slow down, what's the rush?" came from the speakers.
"What now?" I said, slightly annoyed.
"I can see you are quite a capable person, so I have another job for you."
"Alright, go on..." I replied, intrigued by what he might have for me.
"Very well. There is hardware in only two places on earth, capable of reading the data
contained on the platinum chip. One located here, and unfortunately one is in
the Legion's camp by Hoover Dam."
"Woah, hold it right there. I haven't been planning to visit those murderers anytime soon." I reminded him of my stance towards them.
"I expected as much from a suggestion like that. Therefore, I will throw in three thousand caps, upon completion. I will also provide you access to this casino's luxury suite, as long as you continue
to work for Me." giving me an offer I couldn't refuse.
"As soon as I get there, they'll tear me apart!" I told him.
"You'd indeed be right that they are savages, if you were any other person. However they too have noticed your skills. I guarantee they'll provide safe passage for you to Caesar, if you don't cause
trouble for them."
"But what about Arcane? He despises them." I asked.
"Is it not obvious enough? Don't take him with you. There's no doubt he'll start a fight and you'll end up dead."
"Alright..." I grudgingly agreed, but what do I do there?
"I prefer to leave surprises." He joked. "Certainly what you find there will be shocking, but I'll provide you with the basic information. At the fort, you'll likely be instructed by Caesar to gain access to the hidden bunker underneath it. It bears the mark of the lucky 38 on its steel door. Inside, you'll have to place the chip into a large panel in a control room, again, it'll become obvious when you arrive there.
"Alright, it'll take a few days, but I'll go there." I said, and moseyed out to achieve my job.
"Hold up." He signalled he still had something to say. "It's likely that they'll confiscate the Chip and your weaponry when you arrive. Don't panic, it'll get back to you." He said, as the monitor
flickered off. I went up the staircase and stared off into the horizon, as the
tower provided an excellent view of at least five miles. The sun glimmered and
reflected off my glasses, and filled the building with light. I pulled out my
Snowglobe and pondered what it was doing in pristine condition in that murky
graveyard. I heard a noise, like a shriek from behind me, and I turned to see
another robot, with the image of a stereotypical sixties girl on the monitor.
"Oooohh." She called out. "You've got a snow globe?"
"Well. Obviously." I remarked, unsure as to what she was so excited about.
"Mr. House pays one thousand caps for those! It's so rare to find them in pristine condition." She was in awe of it, and scanned every inch of it with here robotic glaze. "Are you selling it?"
"For a thousand caps, I can't refuse." And with my agreement, she escorted me back to collect the pay for it. We went back to the terminal, and the screen flickered on yet again.
"Have you already achieved your goal? Might I ask, what matter of sorcery you used to do it without even leaving the building?" he said sarcastically.
"Of course I haven't Captain Obvious, but one of your robots suggested you pay well for these things. And pulled out the Snowglobe.
"Good Heavens! Another one for my collection. Might I ask where you purchased it?"
"Purchased it?" I queried "I found it in the middle of a graveyard, just besides Goodsprings."
"That's very surprising. In a post apocalyptic environment, a fragile glass object is one of the few things you'd expect to see survive. I imagined for fifty years nobody would find another one. If you are willing
to hand it in, I guarantee I'll stick by my original cap offer." He said
in surprise and enthusiasm.
"Certainly" I said, and placed it down on a bench in a room to the side, where other snow
globes stood and glistened in the sunlight. I could truly tell the man
was passionate about his collection, and I wondered to myself just where
he had such a huge resource of cash from. I was flooded in caps from everything
he had given me so far.
Finally, I departed, and left a few thousand caps in the new
suite he had given me for working for him, which was a welcome sight. Just like
Benny's suite, it had all the luxuries one could imagine; even with the
remnants of nuclear war surrounding me, it was clear the people of Vegas lived
in luxury and safety. Maybe I would retire here after I'd finished my job; I
certainly had enough cash to get along here. I could also leave my gear here,
rather than have to haul it off to a merchant like I used to. However, I had a
job to fulfil, so after admiring my new room, I left the building and met up
with Arcane outside, and we walked slowly down the shiny neon lighted flooring
before us.
