After some time Six and crew left the War Bus parked at the subway entrance of New Vegas, he surveyed the makeshift barricades with a critical eye. The haphazard construction gave the impression of desperation, yet there was a method to the madness—whoever had built these defenses knew exactly what they were doing.
"Looks like Freeside's trying to hold its own."
Boone muttered, adjusting his grip on his rifle.
"But this? This won't stop anything serious."
Rebecca crossed her arms, scanning the crowd of ragged civilians beyond the gate.
"Guess the boom in New Vegas didn't trickle down to the rest of the Mojave."
Six exhaled, already feeling the weight of the scene before him. He hadn't been to Freeside in years, trusting his company's upper management to handle business here. Yet, from the look of things, little had improved. If anything, it seemed worse.
Trash littered the cracked asphalt, and makeshift shanties had been crammed into every available corner of the ruins. The people moving through the streets were gaunt, sickly, and exhausted. A few beggars sat near the entrance, holding out empty tin cans, their eyes dull with hunger.
Six's gaze was drawn to a group of children chasing something through the street. At first, he thought it was a game—until he saw the rat they were after. Mangy and barely alive, the creature hissed as the kids cornered it.
Then, in a fluid motion, Six drew his Desert Eagle and fired.
The sharp crack of the gunshot echoed down the street, silencing the murmuring crowd. The rat twitched once, then stilled.
Six expected the kids to recoil, maybe complain that he'd ruined their fun. Instead, they rushed forward, tearing into the carcass with bare hands, stuffing raw, disease-ridden meat into their mouths.
Even Raul, who had seen his fair share of horrors, looked disgusted.
"Dios mío... This place always like this?"
Rebecca paled.
"It wasn't this bad a couple years ago."
Boone's jaw tightened.
"Freeside's population exploded after New Vegas opened back up. NCR can't commit resources here without stretching itself thin against the Legion. The only real authority is the Kings, who our company's upper management been using to distribute the supplies we send, but even they can't keep up with this kind of desperation."
Six didn't reply immediately. Instead, he started walking, motioning for the others to follow. They navigated through the squalor, past destitute citizens, raider-wary scavengers, and chem-addled drifters.
Their destination was the so-called 'business district'—a small cluster of establishments that had managed to survive in the ruins. The Atomic Wrangler, Silver Rush, and a few other businesses lined the cracked road, stubbornly standing despite the chaos around them.
As they neared the Old Mormon Fort, Six's attention was caught by a pair of children playing nearby. A little girl darted around as a boy gave chase, brandishing a toy ray gun.
"Put your hands to the sky, mister!"
The boy shouted, aiming the gun at Six.
Rebecca snickered, elbowing him.
"Looks like you're being held up."
Six played along, raising his hands.
"Alright, alright, have mercy."
The boy extended a hand.
"Now give me all your caps."
Six's self-esteem took a minor hit at being robbed by a child, but he rolled with it. Shaking his head, he reached into his pocket, making a show of searching. The moment the kid's attention was on his left hand, Six's right darted forward, snatching the toy from the child's grip.
"Now you put your hands up."
Six said, smirking.
The boy gasped.
"Hey! That's not fair! I'm the one robbing you!"
Six glanced down at the toy, his amusement fading the moment he saw the large, glowing Poseidon Energy logo on the side. His mind immediately connected the dots—this wasn't just a toy.
This was the Euclid's C-Finder.
His grip tightened as he recalled exactly what it was. A handheld rangefinder linked to ARCHIMEDES II, a pre-war orbital laser system. With the right setup, this thing could call down a beam of destruction capable of vaporizing anything in its path.
He barely heard the kid whining.
"Can I have my gun back?"
Six rubbed his face, thinking. He needed to keep this, but the kid wasn't just going to let it go. Then, an idea struck him.
"Tell you what..."
Six said, crouching to the boy's level.
"Let's make a trade—your fake ray gun for this real one."
The kid's eyes went wide as Six tossed him a 9mm pistol. Of course, he had removed the magazine and ammo, but the boy didn't need to know that.
"Wow!"
The child beamed, turning the pistol over in his hands.
"I've seen people shoot these at each other! They're so cool! Thanks, mister!"
The kid ran off, waving his new 'toy' around as he chased the girl again.
Roger shot Six a look.
"Was that really necessary? Giving a kid a real gun without training might be a little irresponsible."
Six grinned, holding up the C-Finder.
"Trust me, Roger. I would've given the kid a Varis rifle if he asked for it. This 'toy'? It's worth more than an entire NCR armory."
Rebecca eyed the C-Finder in Six's hands, crossing her arms.
"Okay, big guy, care to explain why you're grinning like you just won the jackpot?"
Six turned the device over in his hands, the Poseidon Energy logo glowing faintly.
"Oh, just holding the key to an orbital death laser, that's all."
Raul whistled, shaking his head.
"And you got it off some kid in Freeside. That's gotta be the weirdest heist I've ever seen."
Boone frowned.
"Wait. That thing works?"
Six nodded, still looking over the C-Finder.
"It's tied to ARCHIMEDES II, a pre-war orbital weapon system. One shot, and everything in a large radius gets turned into a crater."
Rebecca raised an eyebrow.
"So why hasn't anyone used it before?"
"Because the facility that controls the solar output, Helios One, is under a few feet of snow, and before the projects ARCHIMEDES II system wasn't properly programed."
Six explained.
"The NCR never knew what they had before they gave me the station to make it into a power plant, just that it's some kind of power station. Once my scientists are finished retrofitting the station."
He grinned.
"Well, let's just say I'd have a very big red button to press whenever I felt like it."
Roger shook his head in disbelief.
"So let me get this straight. Some random kid was just carrying this around?"
Six chuckled.
"Yeah. In another timeline, Veronica would've sent me here to get this as part of a Brotherhood mission."
He tucked the C-Finder into his coat.
"Guess I beat them to it."
Rebecca sighed, shaking her head.
"Only you, babe. Only you."