A middle-aged obese man in a blue suit is scratching his face with one finger, and Mayor Dodger sitting in a neat and clean office is still reviewing documents that are almost impossible to read, since the official truce with the Brotherhood of Steel, NcR has finally been able to completely free himself from the prison of Hoover Dam City, and trade has developed by leaps and bounds, but along with the change there is also a problem of law and order, and more and more marauder gangs from Phoenix and other places are coming to loot nearby, They gathered like piranhas smelling of blood, and the already precarious arsenal would not be replenished anytime soon after the Crimson Caravan was shut down.

As a result, the answer to the question grew legs and walked in front of me.

After Andy's introduction, the guy in front of him wearing a gas mask named Measles was from the former military supply supplier of the Crimson Caravan, the reservation, and he brought more than one good news.

"We urgently need new partners right now, I mean the kind with strong market throughput, like the Hoover Dam, and if we can work together directly, then the cost of weapons and ammunition can be greatly reduced by bypassing the middlemen... We also have a solution for the most important part of the freight cost, and I heard Andy say that you have been working on rebuilding the old world rail network. It just so happens that there is a hidden military railroad on the reservation that connects to the main railway network of the Great Southwestern Union, but few people know that we have basically repaired it before, and if you want, we can use our own trains to transport goods for free and quickly to the Hoover Dam. ”

Hearing Measles's words, the Dodge mayor's eyebrows fluttered, this is not just someone who wants to send a pillow when he is sleepy, it is simply a key to the presidential suite and a car to be delivered...

"Is it really that good? Actually, we can pay a part of the shipping cost to you... But if you are so generous, we can now delineate the exact amount of our first order..."

Andy stood aside and watched calmly, Mayor Dodge and Measles had a very speculative conversation, and after a while Measles mentioned his needs.

"One more thing, we need a part to fix one of our devices now, if it can be successful, our shipment efficiency will be greatly improved, but this part can't be found on our side, so I'm here to trouble Mayor Dodge for your help..."

Measles described in detail the cable he needed, and Mayor Dodge made a note of it with a serious expression, repeatedly promising that he would immediately send someone to find it according to Measles' description, and if the garbage market in Hoover Dam City could not be found, he would even have his men take a train to distant Dog City the next day to order the salvage men there to find the trace, and then give it to the reservation as a gift for the cooperation.

With this commitment, it is believed that measles will soon get what he wants.

After the two had finished talking, Mayor Dodge looked at Andy with a smile.

"Our hero, every time you bring new surprises to the city of Hoover Dam, you really do it so that I don't know how to give you the reward you deserve, the ones you have given in the past still don't seem to be enough... I mean, if you want to, I want you to put your heart and soul into my command, you're more than qualified to be the Minister of Foreign Affairs or Commerce of Hoover Dam, and if you don't want to do that, you can go to Fleming's side and help him clear out the Marauders, and I promise you'll rise in rank very quickly. ”

Andy waved his hand and refused.

"You know Mayor Dodge, I have something to do, I can't stay in Hoover Dam City forever... However, you mentioned the Marauders earlier, and now there are more Marauders around Hoover Dam City? ”

Mayor Dodge immediately looked worried.

"Yes, those bandits in Phoenix City have seen that our strength is empty, and there are quite a few gangs running around, and there is no way to prevent it... They raided our barracks, set up ambushes at the crossroads of the trade routes, looted the caravans' goods and bottle caps, and then kidnapped the caravan members for more bottle caps or as hostages, and some built suggested bandit dens that were easy to defend and difficult to attack, and we didn't even have many bullets to use. ”

"Recently, the people of the Three Brothers Caravan Company reported that the Rusty Hooks Gang, who had attacked their caravan a long time ago and killed the captain of the guard, had recently become more and more active, and this group of marauders entrenched somewhere south of the city of Hoover Dam had suddenly become very disciplined, and they no longer attacked or exposed in advance as they used to, and they began to use all kinds of intrigues and tricks, and even began to use some sophisticated tactics... I think that if this so-called Rusty Hook Gang is allowed to continue to develop, they will most likely become a big problem. ”

As he spoke, anger welled up in the Dodge Mayor's eyes.

"These lawless, bloody and brutal bandits! They are really vampires and parasites of society! We're only getting better, they're flying like flies in droves and disgusting, and if my army can get enough supplies, I'll immediately command them to clear the dregs! Ahem... Sorry, I was a bit out of shape. ”

Andy's eyes involuntarily began to drift to Gillian's side as he listened, and Gillian was so embarrassed that she almost shoved her head into the crack in the floor. First, she is a well-educated Vault dweller; Secondly, she was indeed a member of the Rusty Hooks, at least once was; In the end, Andy was standing nearby, so in summary, Mayor Dodge's heated narrative of the Rusty Hooks now seemed like a public execution to her.

Andy had learned a few things before with people with complex backgrounds.

Phoenix, an ancient place name inherited from the Old World, sounds great, but now this place is terrifying.

Since the NcR began its eastward movement, attracted by a large number of new and lucrative plundering opportunities, all kinds of idle people, hooligans, butcher villains, and gangsters from the NcR border and the Mojave Desert and all over the north and south have followed the flow of immigrants to the Great Southwest Federation. They even continued to export their gang ideology to the outside world, disintegrating NcR's control over the various settlements in the settlement network, indirectly contributing to the destruction of Burnham Springs and single-handedly creating the Bull Head City Massacre.

Interestingly, Phoenix and the NcR seem to have a complementary relationship, with the Phoenix's marauders relying on the looting opportunities created by the NcR's thriving trade network, and the long-term threat of these marauders that has led many people to unconditionally support the NcR, as only the NcR's army has the ability to deter and eliminate these anti-human groups, helping the NcR to promote internal unity.

This stalemate should have continued for a long time, as has happened for a long time in many states of the NcR, such as the Boneyard State, but the brutal intervention of a group of outsiders upset the balance in advance, and the sudden and devastating blow of the Caesar Legion to Fort Arrashid caught everyone off guard, and although they eventually retreated, the exhausted NcR became a reservoir dog chased and beaten by the Brotherhood of Steel. With the NcR completely retreating into the Hoover Dam and completely abandoning the operation of the outer settlement network, the marauders first cheered and did whatever they wanted, enjoying their last revelry, and then they began to face a new dilemma.

Trade was sluggish, caravans were sluggish, and the NcR settlers hid with the army in the heavily fortified city of Hoover Dam for many years.

The marauders found out after carving up the last of their food.... They can't grab anything.

A great chaos erupted in Phoenix, and the chaotic and brutal slave gang social order that the marauders had established naturally collapsed as their business shrank, and every day seven or eight new guys claimed to be the new Phoenix bosses, and then before the sun went down, more than half of them died, and the next day the cycle continued.

In the midst of this pointless infighting, many of the gang members eventually chose to leave Phoenix to find another way out, some left to the north and west, and some tried to break into the eastern tribe areas, but most of these people were killed or captured as slaves by the Hekate tribal alliance in the north and the fierce tribes led by the Blackfoot tribe in the south.

Many of the 215 gangsters who had launched a large-scale attack on Jericho had left Phoenix and joined the gang that had been formed by NcR-hired railroad engineers, and according to Gillian, Kyle, the leader of the Rusty Hooks, was also a bandit in Phoenix, and he left Phoenix and traveled south with his gang to the vicinity of Hoover Dam.

"Would you like to do me a favor?"

Mayor Dodge asked sincerely, and Andy didn't have to guess to know what he meant.

"I'll go south and see the marauders."

Hearing this promise, Mayor Dodge immediately happily stretched out his hand to shake Andy's hand.

"Thanks to you all along, I will definitely give you a great reward when you come back!"

Andy was talking to him politely, but Mayor Dodge suddenly mentioned another thing.

"Recently I've been asking Ralph to check a new kind of cigarette, which seems to have a green powder in it, and those who have been exposed to it once are basically addicted, and they just lie in bed all day giggling or talking nonsense, and when they get older, they try their best to get another one, and then repeat the previous steps, this thing is too dangerous, it really worries me, if I can't find a source in time to control it, I'm afraid.."

Andy frowned, why does this thing sound so familiar?

After thinking about it for a while, Andy had to promise Mayor Dodge that he would meet Sheriff Ralph and talk to him about it.

Measles said he wanted to continue to discuss more about long-term trade with Mayor Dodger, and Andy let him go.

However, before leaving, he dragged Mayor Dodge to his side and whispered an explanation.

"Mayor Dodge, I have something to tell you."

"What's the matter?"

"Measles is definitely not the kind of frail, harmless or even polite guy he seems, he... Not for the fact that he could indeed play a decisive role in the trade between the reservation and the Hoover Dam, I wouldn't be comfortable with him, and remember to call the Rangers for your own safety. ”

"Okay, thanks for the reminder, there are actually two Rangers right next door, and I'm sure they're good enough to protect me."

"That's good.... Also, what the hell is going on with that receptionist and secretary of yours? How is she always..."

"Doris, you say? She, alas... Her mouth is really unbearable, and I'll talk about her later. ”

"Just talking?"

“...........”

The two stared at each other in silence for a moment.

"Is she your relative?"

"It's not... My relatives are in New California, and I didn't ask any of them to come with me, and judging by what happened next, I was right. ”

"Then she's yours.... What kind of relationship do you have? ”

Mayor Dodge swallowed, his face slightly embarrassed.

"If that's what you mean... Be. ”

"You know what she's like, and you know what the consequences are, right?"

"Alas... Andy, please don't say it, you're a man too, I... I haven't seen my wife in years, don't you understand..."

Andy shook his head, there was nothing more to say, he said goodbye and left Dodger Mayor's office with Gillian.

....................

Walk out of the Hoover Dam City Military Department.

Andy's face was shrouded in some dark clouds, and Gillian, who sensed that he was in a bad mood, wanted to say something, but he hesitated repeatedly, but this detail did not escape Andy's perception, and he stopped and asked directly.

"What do you want to tell me?"

Gillian opened her mouth, but still spoke.

"Actually... Actually, I said before I said that my friends were in Bloomfield, and I couldn't be 100% sure. ”

Andy immediately turned to look at her face and slammed her, and the square face came straight to Gillian with a fierce expression.

"What the hell are you doing? Are you kidding me? ”

Gillian's heart was beating wildly with fright, and she leaned against the wall behind her, her hands clutched together and on her chest, her not very clean face turned whiter, her legs clamped, and her tears fell from her eyes in fright.

"No, no, no, no.... It's not, it's not.... You... Listen to me. ”

The stammering of her red eyes made Andy suddenly wake up from her emotions, turn around and pinch the bridge of her nose between her eyes, and take a few deep breaths before barely pressing the hot current back into her stomach.

"Whew—sorry, I'm in a bit of a hurry."

Andy regained his composure and beckoned Gillian to come over from the wall.

"You... Are you alright? ”

Gillian walked over slowly with trepidation, obviously frightened by Andy's loss of emotional control just now.

"Yes . . . I apologize to you again, I'm not angry because of you, it's just... I was a little disappointed with Mayor Dodge, I thought he should be as a beloved politician..."

Halfway through the sentence, Andy himself stops, because he suddenly realizes that he doesn't have the right to demand perfection from someone.

"Forget it, it's nothing... Tell me about the one you just said, do you mean you can't be completely sure that the Rusty Hooks are in Bloomfield right now? ”

Gillian bit her lip and hesitated.

"Yes... But I'm not... I'm not lying to you, you listen to me. About a year ago, I ran into them on the road, and they accepted me because of my skills, and we traveled all the way to the wasteland about the east of the Hoover Dam, and suddenly a lot of robots attacked us, some of them were broken, and some of them died. And there are so many of these robots that I didn't know why we were chased by them at the time, but now it seems... Probably for me. ”

Andy knew that those robots were sent by Odysseus to hunt down the new plague infected people back to Tibbetts Prison, and that the others were all imprisoned in Black Canyon Prison by NcR or were found and attacked by the robots, and when they woke up again, they had already changed places and squatted in a big prison, which was really an unforgettable experience.

"Go on."

Gillian looked down and gathered her thoughts before continuing.

"We had to run all the way south, just as Sid... One of our members stumbled upon a map with the location of the Bloomfield Space Center, and we decided to run there, but I was knocked unconscious by a robot and taken away on the way, and when I woke up, I was already a prisoner in Tibbetts Prison, and now it's been a year... So if nothing else, they've arrived, but I didn't see it with my own eyes after all, so..."

Andy nodded to indicate that he had understood it all.

"Well, you don't need to talk about Gillian... I see, even if they're not in Bloomfield right now, and according to Mayor Dodge, they're all in the south of the Hoover Dam, and it's not hard to find them then. So, let's rest in Hoover Dam City today, and then we'll set off to the south to find your friends, and Mayor Dodge has asked me to find them, so it's better to do the two things together. ”

Gillian breathed a sigh of relief as she spoke.

The two soon arrived at Pablo's shop at the top of the dam, Andy saw that the shop had recovered, presumably the supply of the three brothers' caravan had resumed as before, and finally it was no longer a door, and the boss was alone behind the counter and drank alcohol.

Greeting the new Pablo, he warmly hugged Andy, kept telling how good his store is now, and promised that Andy will come to his store in the future to spend all for free, and a group of customers who drank and had fun in the store were even more excited about Andy's arrival, because he was now a well-known star in Hoover Dam City.

Back in the hut on the north edge of the dam, Andy sat on the old couch and breathed a sigh of relief, but his eyes still froze involuntarily when he noticed some of the items and traces left by Beatrice earlier, and he didn't know where the missing super mutant was, and her whereabouts were still unknown.

"You can go take a shower first, you never had that chance on the reservation, right?"

Andy rested on the couch and pointed to the rudimentary shower in the corner, where the water supply was originally poisonous, but since the water purifier was repaired, it was no longer like this.

Gillian lowered her head and closed the door without saying a word.

Andy, who had fallen on the couch, took off his pitted metal armor and kept thinking about what he was going to do next, but he still couldn't remember why he thought the strange smoke that the Dodge Mayor was talking about sounded familiar, and he didn't know how much time had passed.

Just as he was pondering with his eyes closed, the sound of barefoot footsteps getting closer and closer, and then a wet soft mass directly pasted on, and a warm exhalation was blowing Andy's eyelashes, making them fly up and down.

“.....”

Andy sat up and hugged her.