Fallout: New Vegas – The Lost Courier

After about half a day of following the road, Arthur finally spotted a giant dinosaur in the distance. That was all the confirmation he needed—he had arrived near Novac. Judging by the remaining daylight, he estimated it would be nighttime by the time he entered the town. True to his estimation, he reached Novac as night fell.

The first thing he did was head straight for the Dino Dee-lite Motel. As he stepped inside, he noticed an old lady sitting at the counter. She looked up at him and said, "Is everything all right? Awful late to be dropping in unexpected."

Arthur met her gaze and replied, "We haven't met yet."

The woman suddenly smiled, as if realizing something, and chuckled. "Oh, what am I doing? I got to thinking about making a good impression and plain forgot to tell you my name." She straightened up slightly before continuing, "I'm Jeannie May. I take care of folks here at the motel—as long as they aren't troublemakers."

Arthur wasted no time and got straight to the point. "I'm looking for a man in a checkered coat. Have you seen anyone like that?"

Jeannie May scoffed. "Well, he might've been wearing a fancy outfit, but he wasn't any kind of gentleman to me. Had his nose stuck so high in the air, you couldn't see it above the clouds. City folk—they always think they deserve better than what they got. Those hoodlums he was with seemed to know Manny for some reason."

She gestured toward the giant dinosaur. "He's our daytime sniper, up in the dinosaur's mouth."

Arthur gave a nod. "I'll go check it out."

Before he could turn to leave, Jeannie May asked, "Anything else?"

Arthur paused for a moment before replying, "I'd like to rent a room."

Jeannie May smiled. "Well, I think that's a fine idea. I'll give you a good flat rate, and you can stay as long as you like—at least until the busy season comes. Sound good?"

Arthur reached into his bag and placed 100 caps on the counter. "Here's 100 caps."

Jeannie May nodded, scooping up the caps. "I'm glad you can stay with us."

Without another word, he left the motel and made his way toward the dinosaur.

After arriving, Arthur entered the dinosaur and was immediately greeted by the sight of a small shop inside. His eyes flicked toward the counter, knowing that behind the door lay a unique weapon—That Gun.

Like any seasoned wanderer, he did what every player would have done. Moving carefully, he lockpicked the door, slipping inside unnoticed. He retrieved That Gun, its sleek frame fitting perfectly in his grip. In its place, he left his weathered 10mm pistol as a decoy. Before stepping back out, he carefully locked the door again, making it seem as if nothing had happened.

Holstering That Gun on his right side, he turned his attention to the stairs and began his ascent.

At the top, standing within the dinosaur's mouth, was a man staring out over the wasteland. His posture was tense, eyes scanning the horizon.

Arthur called out, "Hey."

The man flinched before snapping back, "Goddamn it! Don't sneak up on me like that. What do you want?"

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Expecting visitors?"

The man sighed, his expression shifting slightly. "Yeah, I guess maybe I am. But not like you." He studied Kai for a moment, eyes narrowing. "Huh… maybe it should've been you I was expecting all along."

A pause hung between them before he spoke again. "Why are you here?"

Arthur shrugged. "Just wanted to check out the view."

The man's expression hardened. "I think you'd better leave."

Arthur remained unfazed. "Just making friendly conversation."

"I don't have friends here," the man muttered.

Arthur smirked. "Well, I'm not from here."

That made the man hesitate. "No. No, you're not, are you?" He seemed to weigh something in his mind before finally nodding. "Maybe you shouldn't go. Not just yet."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Why's that?"

"I need someone I can trust," the man said. "You're a stranger. That's a start."

Arthur crossed his arms. "Alright. What do you need?"

The man took a slow breath, his voice lowering. "I need you to find something out for me. I don't know if there's anything to find, but I need someone to try." His gaze darkened. "My wife was taken from our home by Legion slavers one night while I was on watch. They knew when to come. What route to take. And they only took Carla. Someone set it up. I don't know who."

Arthur frowned. "You're trying to track down your wife?"

The man's face hardened. "My wife's dead." His grip on the rifle tightened. "I want the son of a bitch who sold her."

Arthur nodded slightly. "What do you want me to do if I find them?"

The man exhaled sharply, like he had already rehearsed this in his head a hundred times. "Bring them out in front of the nest here while I'm on duty. I work nights. I'll give you my NCR beret—put it on, that'll be the signal. I see you standing with them…" His voice grew cold. "And I'll take care of the rest. This is something I have to do myself."

He pulled off his beret and handed it to Arthur.

Arthur took it, giving a small nod. "I'll see what I can do."

The man gave him a firm look. "Good. I'll make it worth your while." He hesitated for a moment before continuing. "One more thing—we shouldn't talk again. Not until it's done. No one in town knows I'm looking into this. Best they never do. If they find out, the Legion will come for me next."

Arthur turned to leave but then paused. "You never told me your name."

The man met his gaze. "Boone. Craig Boone."

Arthur gave a final nod before stepping out of the dinosaur's mouth. As he walked into the cool night air, he suddenly realized—he'd completely forgotten to ask Boone about what he originally came for.

He sighed, shaking his head. "I'll ask him later."

After exiting the dinosaur, Arthur began asking the locals about Boone's wife, but he didn't find anything worth mentioning. That was when an old man approached him, saying,

"You've seen them too, haven't you? I can see it in your eyes. I knew I wasn't the only one."

Arthur recognized the man as No-Bark Noonan and greeted him with a simple "Hello."

No-Bark leaned in cautiously. "Careful. They got spies all over."

Arthur, intrigued, asked, "What do you know about the abduction of Boone's wife?"

The old man nodded knowingly. "Seen it all. Seen shadowy folk come to his room and leave again in the middle of the night. Thought one might've gone into the lobby, too, for a spell. I thought it was cannibals, come to eat us all for sure, so I kept out of sight. But now I know better. Could be that person went in to get something. Or use the john maybe. Mighty interesting either way, you ask me."

Arthur considered his words carefully and replied, "It is." He then turned to leave.

No-Bark called after him. "If anyone asks, we never spoke."

Arthur walked toward the motel, glancing back at No-Bark. He wondered—was it true that this strange old man was the Chosen One from Fallout 2, as some speculated? Shaking off the thought, he focused on the task ahead.

Upon entering the motel, Arthur found it empty—Jeannie May Crawford was nowhere in sight. Seeing the perfect opportunity, he began searching the place. Behind the counter, he discovered a safe and quickly picked the lock. Inside, he found a Bill of Sale. Reading it, his eyes narrowed. Jeannie May had sold Boone's pregnant wife to Caesar's Legion.

His search didn't stop there. He hacked the terminal on the counter and uncovered something even worse—another supply of women was set to be sold to the Legion tonight, around midnight.

Without wasting time, Arthur left the motel and headed straight for the dinosaur. Boone stood in his usual position, watching the wasteland through his scope. When he noticed Kai approaching, he asked, "Why are you here? Did you find the person?"

"Yes."

Boone frowned. "Then why didn't you follow the plan?"

Arthur explained, "I would have, but the plan changed. There's another group of women being sold to the Legion tonight at midnight. I figured we could rescue them while you get your revenge."

Boone didn't hesitate. "Let's go." He took a step forward but then stopped, giving Kai a sharp look. "You didn't tell me the name."

Arthur simply said, "Jeannie."

Boone's expression darkened. "Fucking bitch." Without another word, he started moving, his grip on his rifle tightening.

As Arthur followed Boone out of the dinosaur building, a notification flashed on the screen:

"Boone has joined your party! You have gained the Spotter perk."

🔹 Spotter (Companion Perk)Effect: While Boone is your companion, enemies you target in V.A.T.S. are highlighted in red, making them easier to see, even in low-visibility conditions.