As Major Knight dragged himself through the days during the next couple of weeks, heartsick and tired, he tried to make up his mind if he was glad that Leo had indeed come back for him or only upset that he himself hadn’t been there when he had. Not that it would have mattered that much if he had, there was no way they could ever do anything but share a beer and a smoke and talk. But even that... Leo’s company alone would have been enough to keep him going. It was at that point that Knight realised how in love he was with the handsome stranger, a man he hardly knew more of than his name. Still, just being able to share another beer with him and hear that voice again – Knight would have given his right arm and his right eye for that.

Leo didn’t come back during the next weeks and news about the Courier was also sparse, as if the man was lying low, waiting for something to happen or... Knight refused to believe that anything bad had happened to him, he had believed that before and had been proven wrong.
But when, after three weeks, it was his turn again for a free weekend he felt reluctant to leave. The thought of Leo showing up again while he was away caused his stomach to turn, but there was no way he could stay without raising a lot of awkward questions. So he left, his only hope that maybe on the Strip itself he could find out something about Leo’s whereabouts.

With his comrades swarming the place like a pack of coyotes would a piece of road kill, no one gave him much notice any more, so Knight turned around again after lighting up a smoke, walked back towards the gate and almost ran into a woman who had just walked through.
“Hey dickhead, fucking watch where you’re going!”
Knight took a step back, mumbling an apology when he recognised her. “Cassidy?”
“What?” After adjusting her rattan hat, the woman, who indeed was Cassidy, looked him over, then her face lit up. “Well if it isn’t the handsome Major Knight”, she purred. “Fancy running into you here on the Strip!”
Knight flashed her a grin. Despite her foul mouth and her constant attempts at flirting with him he’d always quite liked her. “I could say the same”, he said then. “What are you doing here?”
Cassidy crossed her arms with her grin broadening into honest delight. “I live here now.”
Knight tilted his head.
“With the Courier, you see.” Cass waved her hand at the Lucky 38. “Travelling companion, and all that shite. When he moved in there, we moved in along.”
“We?” he still had trouble keeping up.
“Yeah, you know, me and the Courier and the other dickheads who tagged along like so many stray dogs. You met that guy yet? He’s a fucking lunatic, but his plans have worked out well enough.” Cassidy laughed heartily and offered him a bottle she had pulled out of her pocket.
Knight politely declined, trying to calm his suddenly racing heart. “So the Courier lives here on the Strip?”
“That’s what I said”, Cassidy gave back and took a sip out of her bottle. “He must be around here somewhere, if you fancy meeting him. He’s the blonde guy with the goatee and a brown suit.” Here she waved her hand vaguely in the direction of the people flocking the whores in front of the Gomorrah before she left him standing there, the ash crumbling down from his forgotten cigarette.

Before he’d had time to rally himself however, he heard somebody hail him.
“Knight!”
He turned around very slowly, not sure if he’d recognised the voice or just imagined he had. His heart was racing like a submachine gun.
A man wearing a brown suit with a bow tie came hurrying over and waved. “Hey, Coz!”

Frozen to the spot Knight watched as Leo came running towards him, a manic grin on his face. “It’s good to see you, man!”
Knight couldn’t help but grin back. “Same to you.”
Leo still grinned, bit his lower lip, then laughed and threw his arms around Knight in a rib-cracking bear hug. “Man, it’s good to see you again”, he said again while slapping Knight’s back.