"I want you to know," said the Courier, "that this is incredibly stupid."
None of the three men assembled before her made any response. She'd made the casino a safe space for the meeting, complete with gun-wielding robots on hand in case of aggression. She'd been tempted to have them just kill Inculta right then and there, but sufficient nagging from House about leaving the Legion alone until Hoover Dam had convinced her. She wouldn't start anything unless he did.
"Seriously," the Courier continued. "This is your last chance to back out and preserve your dignity."
Boone said nothing, only glaring at the other men. Vulpes suppressed a sigh, and the Courier imagined he'd already had this talk with Caesar (or at least a similar speech that contained the phrase "Why the fuck are you wasting time with this bullshit, Inculta?") Deloria chuckled, and she honestly couldn't blame him; the middle-aged Capital Wastelander was concerned about preserving many things, such as his hair, his weight, and his lack of wrinkles, but dignity was not one of them.
"Right. Well. Since you don't respect each others' authority and there's no council that approves who gets the title, you'l have to be satisfied with my judgement. If you disagree with what I decide, fine. Call yourself whatever you want, but don't bother me about it again after this. Got it?"
From the way Boone was staring at Inculta, she was pretty sure he was in the process of growing laser vision. In which case, she might as well hurry up.
"Your first target is me. Not here, because I have securitrons with machine guns. But some point tonight. I'll be in my room, with the windows open, defenseless. Do your best to seduce me, whether by word or by force of arm. I'll judge your performance tomorrow morning."
The slight smile on Inculta's face gave the Courier hope. He'd take the bait, and when he attacked her, that gave the perfect excuse to fight back and kill him! House wouldn't even be able to scold her! Boone was pretty much a non-issue, given how attached to Cass' good graces he'd become, and Deloria...well, she'd figure that out when she came to it.
With any luck, she'd never have to hear the phrase "Mojave Rapelord" again!
The Only Way to Win 3/?
None of the three men assembled before her made any response. She'd made the casino a safe space for the meeting, complete with gun-wielding robots on hand in case of aggression. She'd been tempted to have them just kill Inculta right then and there, but sufficient nagging from House about leaving the Legion alone until Hoover Dam had convinced her. She wouldn't start anything unless he did.
"Seriously," the Courier continued. "This is your last chance to back out and preserve your dignity."
Boone said nothing, only glaring at the other men. Vulpes suppressed a sigh, and the Courier imagined he'd already had this talk with Caesar (or at least a similar speech that contained the phrase "Why the fuck are you wasting time with this bullshit, Inculta?") Deloria chuckled, and she honestly couldn't blame him; the middle-aged Capital Wastelander was concerned about preserving many things, such as his hair, his weight, and his lack of wrinkles, but dignity was not one of them.
"Right. Well. Since you don't respect each others' authority and there's no council that approves who gets the title, you'l have to be satisfied with my judgement. If you disagree with what I decide, fine. Call yourself whatever you want, but don't bother me about it again after this. Got it?"
From the way Boone was staring at Inculta, she was pretty sure he was in the process of growing laser vision. In which case, she might as well hurry up.
"Your first target is me. Not here, because I have securitrons with machine guns. But some point tonight. I'll be in my room, with the windows open, defenseless. Do your best to seduce me, whether by word or by force of arm. I'll judge your performance tomorrow morning."
The slight smile on Inculta's face gave the Courier hope. He'd take the bait, and when he attacked her, that gave the perfect excuse to fight back and kill him! House wouldn't even be able to scold her! Boone was pretty much a non-issue, given how attached to Cass' good graces he'd become, and Deloria...well, she'd figure that out when she came to it.
With any luck, she'd never have to hear the phrase "Mojave Rapelord" again!