by M. P. Pubs
Before Clover could respond, they were greeted by a balding, over weight man wearing silk pajamas. "Welcome to Dukov's Place!" he said with a rather loud french accent. "I am Dukov. Anything you want I have: gambling, women, booze, women."
Marcus gave him a sideways glance. "You said women twice."
"I know, that's my favorite thing, ha ha!" Dukov pointed to the ceiling, and neither of them were prepared for what they saw. Suspended from the ceiling was a 12 foot long shandaleer in the shape of a man lying between a woman's legs.
"Now that's what I call lighting." Clover said.
"Ha ha, now that's the spirit." Dukov said. "I like you girl, you seem to know how to have a good time."
Marcus had known this man for only a minute and already he'd made his skin crawl. Still, if he wanted to find Cherry had had to play to the man's good side. "Say ah, could I have some of that hooch?" Marcus pointed at the bottle Dukov was holding.
"Of course! I don't trust a man who doesn't have a drink in his hand. Of course...I don't trust one with one either."
Marcus took a swig from the bottle (and silently prayed he didn't get a disease). "So Dukov, what are you doing all the way out here?"
"Eating, drinking, farting and screwing, ha ha!"
Marcus forced a smile. Moriarty was right: this guy was a pig. "Well, we're here for much the same reason."
"Ha ha, that's what I like to hear. You go enjoy yourself, clown shoes."
As Dukov walked away, Marcus stared down at his feet and back at Clover. "Clown shoes?"
Clover smiled. "It's okay suga, I like a guy with big feet." She playfully slapped his rear end. "So how should we play this?"
"Let's split up and mingle." Marcus said. "When we find her we'll regroup and go from there."
Clover smiled. "Alright lover, I'll make my way over to the kraps table." She kissed him on the cheek and took off.
"What should I do?" Charon asked.
"Well, mingle at the bar. And Charon," he stepped infront of the ghoul, "try to pretend to have fun, okay." Marcus turned and headed for the poker table. He had read about poker in the Vault, but since gambling was illegal he had never actually played. 'How hard could it be, he thought?'
Charon made his way over to the bar and ordered a drink. As he stood there he realized that all those years working in Ahzrukhal's place, he had never had a drink. He was about to take another sip of whiskey when someone bumped into his right side. Charon turned and saw a very drunk human barely standing next to him. "Why don't...you watch...where ya goin' zombie!"
Charon placed his drink down, grabbed the drunkered by the back of his shirt and slammed his head onto the bar. The man fell backwards onto the floor and blacked out. No one seemed to notice and Charon picked up his drink and chuckled. 'This was fun' he thought.
Marcus had lost 200 caps before he realized that poker was harder then it looked. He couldn't believe that so many people thought this was fun. He looked over at the kraps table and spotted Clover standing next to a high roller. She blew on the man's dice for luck and he tossed them down the table. It must've been a good throw because everyone at the table cheered, and Clover kissed him.
"You are good luck, baby!" the highroller said.
"You know it!" Clover said as she secretly slipped a pouch full of caps out of his jacket. She winked at Marcus, and he let out a small laugh. A couple of hands later he looked over at Clover who was signaling him. He followed her gaze to the staircase on the opposite side of the casino, and spotted a petite redhead dressed in lingerie walking down them. Marcus nodded at Clover and stood up. "Thank you gentlemen, but I'm going to leave while I still have my shirt."
The dealer thanked him and Marcus made his way over to Cherry. "Hi Cherry my name is..."
Cherry cut him off. "I'm off limits pal! Go bother one of the other whores." She walked past him.
"Jessica!" Marcus called out.
That made Cherry stop in her tracks and turn. "How do you know my name?"
Marcus took a quick look around and lowered his voice. "Your father sent me. He wants you to come home."
Jessica rolled her eyes and sighed. "Good old dad." She looked him up and down. "You're that Wanderer kid everyone's talking about. Let me guess: you owe my father a favor so he sent you."
Marcus couldn't help but feel embarrassed about the situation. "You're a pretty smart girl. Yes, I do owe your father, but if you don't want to go back I won't make you."
"Are you kidding, I'm DYING to get away from that pig!"
Marcus took another look around. "Any chance we can slip away?"
Jessica shook her head. "He's always watching me. You'll have to distract him somehow. And don't draw your weapon around him. He'll kill you on the spot, and no one can shoot faster then him."
Marcus glanced down at his PIPBOY. "Yeah well, he's never met me."
As if on cue, Dukov suddenly appeared and grabbed Jessica's arm. "Hey what are you doing? You'd better not be trying to steal my girl, clown shoes."
Marcus fought the urge to hit the gangster and raised both hands. "Absolutly not - just making conversation."
"Well go make it some place else!"
Marcus backed away and returned to the casino floor. After rounding up Clover and Charon they made their way underneath one of the staircases away from the other patrons. "Well she's ready to leave but Dukov watches her like a hawk."
"Shooting our way out is not an option." Charon said. "There are two guards on the casino floor and one on the balconey in front of his suite."
Marcus agreed. Without their main weapons they wouldn't last long against those odds. "We'd have to distract Dukov just long enough to slip Cherry out of here."
"Well," Clover began, "there seems to be only one thing that will distract him."
It didn't take Marcus long to figure out what that one thing was. "No!"
"Come on, you saw how he looked at me. It would be a piece of cake."
Marcus shook his head. "No! We'll find another way."
Clover couldn't help but smile at Marcus' concern for her. "No reason to be jealous, suga. I'm not doing it because I like that pig." She placed her hand on his cheek. "This is the only way and you know it."
Marcus looked over at Charon who nodded in agreement. He stared into Clover's eyes and he could see the sincerity in them. The idea of Dukov's hands on her made him sick, and what made it worst was that he was asking her to do it. Marcus felt like he was using Clover, just as Eulogy Jones had for all those years. Still, it didn't change the reality of their situation: there was no other option. "Alright. You be careful."
Clover smiled with confidence. "He'll be like puddy in my hands, suga."
As he watched her walk away Marcus felt sick to his stomach.
"She'll be alright, Marcus." Charon said with his gravely voice. "We all do what we have to out here to survive."
The ghoul's words were true, but they didn't make him feel better. He watched Clover approach Dukov and she immediatly began flirting with him. It didn't take long for the sex-crazed Dukov to escort her upstairs, leaving Jessica on the casino floor.
"Now's our chance." Marcus said. He and Charon made their way over to the red head. "If you want to leave we have to go now." Marcus whispered. "Do you have anything less...comfortable to wear?"
"I may have something." She took a quick look around. "Meet me under the staircase in five minutes."
* * *
Clover was giving it her all in the kissing department dispite Dukov's rancid breath. He lifted her up by the underarms and tossed her onto the queen sized bed.
"Oh baby! You are a stronge one, aren't ya?"
Dukov began to unbotton his shirt. "You haven't known love till you've been loved by Dukov, ha ha." He removed his shirt, and Clover did her best to keep the smile on her face.
* * *
Marcus stood with Charon at the bottom of the staircase, doing his best to act natural. He kept shifting his attention between the casino guards a
nd the doors to Dukov's suite - trying not to think about what was happening on the other side of them.
"I'm ready."
Marcus and Charon turned around and Jessia was standing before them wearing a long trench coat and a hat from the 1940's. It was a simple disguse, but it would do.
"Alright, we're going to walk out the front doors nice and slow."
Jessica nodded. "Lead the way."
Marcus took a deep breath and started walking. None of the guards or employees noticed them as they crossed the casino floor and approached the doors. Marcus pushed them open but then froze. He turned and stared at the doors leading to Dukov's suite.
"What is it?" Jessica asked. "What's the matter?"
Marcus grabbed Charon's arm and whispered next to his ear. "Take her out of here and wait for us near the metro tunnel."
Charon could see the look in Marcus' eyes and it worried him. "What are you going to do?"
"Just keep her safe no matter what, you understand?"
"But Marcus..."
"Do as I say!"
Charon knew there was no way he was going to convince him, so he nodded in defeat. "Yes, Marcus." The ghoul escorted Jessica out of the building and closed the doors behind him. Marcus headed back to the staircase which led up to Dukov's suite.
* * *
Dukov had removed Clover's top and was lying on top of her. She was caressing his bald head, her eyes closed the entire time as she tried not to think about what was happening. 'You can do this Clover' she told herself. 'Just like you did with Eulogy'. Suddenly Clover found it difficult to breath, and her heart began pounding in her chest. A great panic filled her soul, and try as she might she could not calm down. Her mind was screaming for her to get out of there - to get this pig off of her. "No." she cried.
Dukov didn't stop. Clover cried louder and louder. "No, no, NO!" She kneed Dukov in the groin, causing him to roll off of her. "You bitch!" He screamed.
Clover pulled out her knife from her pants, but Dukov grabbed her hand and punched her in the face. "You think you're going to kill me! You worthless whore!" He backed handed Clover across the face, and a metallic taste filled her mouth.
* * *
Even with everything going on in the casino, Marcus was able to hear the fight going on in the suite. He rushed up the steps and headed straight for the doors where the guard was waiting.
"Hey hold it..."
Marcus punched the guard in the face, and while he was stunned threw him over the balconey. The guard landed on top of the roulette table, shattering it and startling everyone in the casino. Marcus kicked the suite doors open - and what he saw make his blood boil. A shirtless Dukov jumped off the bed and stood at the foot of it. Clover was cowering against the headboard trying to get her top on. Her mouth and nose were bleeding, and her right eye was swollen.
Dukov was enraged. "What the hell do you want, clown shoes?"
Marcus clinched his fist. "You're fuck'in life!" He noticed that Dukov still had a 10mm pistol strapped to his waist. "Now draw your gun you sonofabitch!"
Dukov raised his chin. "Oh, you think you can out shoot Dukov, hu..."
Dukov was fast, but he was not faster than VATS. He only had his pistol raised halfway when a bullet from Marcus' .44 struck him between the eyes. Marcus ran over to Clover and helped her off the bed. "Are you alright?"
Clover was shaking, but she managed to stand on her own two feet. "Yeah." She rushed over to the foot of the bed and began kicking Dukov's corpes. "YOU! FAT! DISGUISTING! PIG!"
"Marcus wrapped his arms around her from behind and tried to calm her down. "Clover, Clover! It's over, it's over!" Guilt shook Marcus to his bones. 'My God what have I done?' He thought. "We have to go NOW!"
They had taken one step outside the suite when automatic rifle fire forced them back inside. The two mercs armed with 10mm submachine guns charged up the staircase to the left of the suite. Choas erupted inside the casino. Marcus handed his sawed-off shotgun to Clover. "You ready?"
Clover gritted her teeth. "Let's do it."
They both stepped out onto the balconey and openned fire, dropping both mercs. They were about to run for the staircase when more machinegun fire erupted from the casino below, forcing them back inside. Marcus cursed as he realized he'd forgotten about the two guards who greeted them outside. Not wanting to end up like their comrades, the two men opted to take cover in the casino and unleash a barrage with their AK-47's. Marcus and Clover returned fire, but they could not get a clear shot.
"You have a plan to get us out of here?" Clover yelled.
"I'm working on it!"
Suddenly the main doors to the casino burst open, and Charon stepped inside holding the Terrible shotgun that the mercs tragically returned to him minutes before. Two quick burst of fire put an end to the remaining guards. "You're clear!" He yelled up to his friends.
Marcus was relieved and shocked to hear Charon's voice. He and Clover made their way through the bedlum of the casino as patrons and prostitutes grabbed what they could and run. Marcus ran up to Charon. "Where is Jessica?"
"She's safe. I had her hide in an abandoned building next door. I'm sorry I disobeyed you, Marcus."
Marcus slapped him on the shoulder. "I'm glad you did. Now let's get what we can off these guards and get out of here."
* * *
After retrieving their weapons and relieving the dead guards of theirs, the trio met up with Jessica and headed out towards Megaton. Everyone felt safer once they put the Potomac between them and Dukov's Place. It was on the banks of the river that Marcus encountered his first mirlurk; a giant crab-like creature that walked on two legs. With their combined fire power the three travelers managed to take it down, but Marcus couldn't believe how heavily armored it was. Only when he used his VATS to target it's face (the only part of the body not covered by a shell), did they finally kill it. When they were a mile from the city the group decided to make camp and rest for a while. Marcus took the time to treat Clover's injures.
"Ow!" she yelled as Marcus placed hydrogen peroxide on her lip.
"I'm sorry but I don't want you to get an infection." As he cleaned her bruises the guilt he felt was almost unbearable. Clover must've seen it in his eyes because she gently placed her hand on his cheek. "Hey. It was my choice, okay lover."
Marcus shook his head as he fought back his tears. "I shouldn't have let you. I should've...I mean, I..."
Clover leaned in and gave him a long kiss dispite the pain on her lips. When she pulled away she flashed that childish smile that he loved. "Just remember: you still owe me one."
Marcus laughed. "I'll remember that."
When he had finished treating Clover, Marcus made his way over to Jessica, who was sitting on a rock staring in the direction of Megaton.
"Yeah, yeah you're my hero." she said as he approached. "Don't let it go to your head."
"You don't seem too excited to be going home."
"Well you know what a bastard my father is. That's why I ran away in the first place. Going to Dukov's seemed so glamorious at the time, and I knew hooking up with one of his rivals would drive my father nuts."
The last part of her explaination sent alarm bells off in Marcus' head. "What do you mean by 'rival'?"
Jessica looked up at him. "Didn't he tell you? That wasn't the only casino Dukov owned. He controls all the gambling in the capital; well he did until you blew his brains out."
Marcus' throat went dry. "So...he was a gangster like your father?"
Jessica nodded. "You got it."
Marcus felt sick to his stomach and slumped down on the rock next to her. "Great. I get one gangster off my back, but kill another one in the process."
A bitter laugh escaped Jessica. "And that's my dad. He uses everyone. Sorry to disappoint you."
Marcus looked into the young woman's eyes. "I'm not happy about the way it all happened, but I'm not sorry I got you out of that place."
For the first time since he'd met her, the head str
ong woman seemed stunned. "Why?"
Marcus stared down at the ground. "Because no one should have to pay for the sins of their father."
Jessica regarded him for a few moments not sure how to respond. Finally she just shook her head. "Boy, I'm surprised you've lasted this long."
Marcus didn't say anything as he wondered the same thing.
* * *
When Marcus returned to Megaton he couldn't believe the reception he got. People ran up to him and shook his hand, patted him on the back - one woman thanked him for everything he had done and handed him two stimpaks. As humble as he tried to be, Marcus couldn't help but smile. 'Maybe this hero thing isn't so bad' he thought. The group made their way into Moriarty's Saloon andn they were recieved much the same way.
"Hey, it's the kid!" Gob said from behind the bar. "Thanks to you Galaxy News Radio's been coming in loud and clear."
Nova leaned against the bar and took a drag on a cigarette. "Everyday we hear about your exploits, hon. Pretty exciting stuff."
Marcus looked at his two companions. "Well, I didn't do it alone." He picked up a shot of whiskey Gob had poured and held it high. "A toast: to Charon and Clover. Without you, I wouldn't be standing here."
Everyone in the bar raised their drinks and let out a cheer. As Marcus downed the shot, Moriarty stepped out of his back room and stood behind the bar. Gob and Nova stepped to the side, and Moriarty stood silent as he stared at his daughter. Jessica was the first to break the silence. "Hello Dad." she said with a condasending tone.
Moriarty took a breath. "Hello Jessica."
Marcus stepped infront of Jessica, blocking Moriarty's view. "My debt with you is now forgiven, yes?"
Moriarty's jaw tightened. "We'll discuss that later."
Marcus stood his ground and talked loud enough so that everyone in the bar could hear him. "We'll discuss it here. I brought you your daughter, you forgive my debt, that was the deal."
Silence filled the saloon as everyone waited to see what Moriarty would do. The gangster clenched his fist as he glared at Marcus. He knew what the kid was doing by putting him on the spot like this. Marcus knew that even a man like Moriarty had to play by the rules, and rule one was never go back on a deal. If Moriarty double crossed Marcus, Megaton's local hero, the people in town would not tolerate it. After relaxing his stance, Moriarty forced a smile and spread out his arms. "Of course it was. I am a man of me word."