We worked for Scoville for a few years. Sure enough, he treated us right. He put us through our paces, demanded a lot, but nothing we couldn’t do. Deliveries, drops, intimidation, assassination, kidnapping, we became a staple in his operation. We were good at odd jobs. Throw us into any new situation, we’d get it done, and get out.

  That’s not to say we never got in trouble, of course. This old thing, my rifle, had an awful habit of getting shot, or bent from blocking a club, or being crushed. Really anything that could break it did. Mara’s sentimentality started to get the best of her. The first guy who broke her rifle? He didn’t deserve what happened to him.

  I took up manufacturing, got the thing working again. And again. And again, and again, and again. I’d be surprised if any part of it is original.

  After every mission we’d party. Me to forget what we’d done, to get lost in something. Her to celebrate. We made friends, we lost them, and we ended them when they betrayed Scoville. Vegas was a mess, far too many people vying for far too little power. Betrayal was common, and Scoville made sure we had everything we could want.

  “I’m bored.” After the novelty of the first few years wore off, that was a common problem from Mara. When she got bored, bad things happened. How long would it be before she decided she wanted to take Scoville’s job? She didn’t want to run anything, that’s why we left the mine to the slaves. But there was always the risk of her wanting to give it a try.

  We became mercenaries. Whenever Vegas had a quiet period, we’d get sent out into the wastes. We went everywhere. Houston, LA, made it all the way to Vancouver once. I don’t think most of those adventures are worth remembering though. We made a name for ourselves at least.

  One mission that turned out for the best was when we were out near LA, doing a delivery for Scoville. A broadcast went out on all channels, told us about raiders attacking a little town nestled in a crevice of the Sierra Nevada. The payment was good, we were nearby, and were the only ones willing to risk getting stuck in a storm to get that payment. Storm was late, and could hit any hour.

  We changed directions, knowing we had to be quick. Ran the tires harder than we should have, but we had a few spares.

  Our every mission started with two questions: How much were we getting paid, and how much gear were we willing to use? The answers for this one were a lot and a lot. It was a good payday, and we were in a hurry.

  We heard the crevice before we saw it. Distant gunfire, just occasional shots. Pot shots, methodical covering fire, not a desperate fight for survival. We had time, at least in a sense. We found our way to a hill towering over them, parked the car out of sight, and got prepared.

  We had two sets of heavy armor, and portable barricades. We got in position, rushed to the top of the hill, and bunkered down.

  We each tossed down a grenade, and followed that up with gunfire. It took them a moment to respond, to realize where the gunfire was coming from. We capitalized on that chaos. A few of them bunkered down together, and Mara put another explosive at their feet.

  Rusty stayed in the car. As much as he wanted to help, that no man’s land would only lead to his death.

  The fighting barely lasted a few minutes. We took some fire of course, but nothing that could pierce through our barricades.

  The world went quiet, still. A few people stepped out of the town. We couldn’t stay, didn’t do it for any kind of recognition anyway. It was a job, and we still had a job to do. We packed up and left before anyone could reach us. Even then we were late, storm hit just as we got to the city, barely made it back to the parking garage.

  I’m sure you can guess, but apparently Lance and Robin were in that town. Or at least that’s what they told me.

  The years took their toll on Rusty, far more than it took on us. Injures stacked up on us all of course, but he just grew up so fast. Old wounds bothered him daily, early arthritis set in. I did everything I could to keep him comfortable, but he just would not stop trying to help.

  We worked with a man on the gulf coast a few times. He had a little compound with a few families. Good defenses, a desalination setup, farming, and fishing boats. The best place you could ask for an old dog to spend the rest of his days.

  I think I’d rather not go into the details of our goodbye, if that’s alright. Not that anything bad happened, it's just a tough memory to remember, and not exactly important to my story.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  “It’s ok.” I reassure him. “I understand not wanting to relive certain memories.”

  “Thanks, Little Blue.”

  Anyway, after almost a decade, I lost my biggest anchor. When I did something awful, I no longer had someone there for me no matter what. I fell further into her. Hid everything beneath anger. Put on her mask, and it clung to my soul. I lost myself more in the year without Rusty than I did since the apocalypse started.

  Every time we came home, Vegas had changed. The tunnels under the sand, connecting the buildings? That was all human. They started out as just maintenance tunnels, but there was a big need for people to be able to move from building to building even while storms were happening. Of course, they were nothing compared to what Zero would eventually create, but great nonetheless.

  The rooms slowly got much nicer and much worse, depending on how cheap the room was. Ours got nicer. Like I said, Scoville treated us well.

  No doubt we would have kept that life until we died if it weren’t for the AI. We heard rumors about this place, Arc City. Neither of us trusted it. Too good to be true. It wasn’t long before their influence reached Vegas though. Rumors started to spread around about an upstart in the city, a duo quickly gaining power: Zero and One. Of course, didn’t know he was an AI at the time.

  We stayed in Vegas after they showed up. Scoville wanted us close, just in case Zero tried to make a move on him. To his credit, he was right.

  We were at a party when someone slipped us a note and walked away without a word. It was a location, and the promise of an offer. It was a dumb thing to walk into, but we were on top of the world. Over a decade of walking out of whatever mess we found ourselves in? Yeah, we’d give it a shot, but we wouldn’t be unprepared.

  We went home and got fully armed. Rifles, pistols, full body armor, not a single inch of skin revealed. We weren’t necessarily smart, but we were safe. We set out, dipped through the undersand tunnels, and made it into another casino. They had a room pretty high up. We didn’t even get the chance to knock before the door opened.

  We stepped into a room packed with tech. Computers on every surface, all networked together. Screens scattered around, already displaying hidden rooms. They even had a view of Scoville’s panic room. It was an obvious show of power, but effective.

  Around a table were two men, with a camera on a swivel off to the side. One of them I recognized, Mark, Scoville’s second in command. The other man I didn’t know at the time, but he was One. He was plain, average in almost every sense of the word. He didn’t look rich, or strong, but he carried this weight. I don’t even know how to describe it. Finally, the clever began to rise to the top.

  “I would have appreciated a subtler approach.” The camera grumbled.

  “Then you should have put it in your note.” Mara snapped back, and approached the table. She slung her rifle off her shoulder and leaned it against the edge. I hung back, rifle at ease.

  “You wouldn't have come.”

  “Then you should already know I only work face to face.”

  “You're already face to face.” One said. “This is Zero, an AI. They hold no physical form.”

  Mara glanced between the three of them, daring them to be playing a prank on her. None of them cracked.

  “Fuck it, alright. Entertain me.” She took a seat.

  “Are you familiar with Roko’s Basilisk?” Zero asked.

  “Don’t play games.” Mara hit her hand on the table, the impact echoing through the room. “Get to the point. The fuck do you want?”

  “Very well. Within three years I will rule all of Vegas.” He declared. “I am offering you a chance to be a part of that in one of two ways. The first is ruling your own casino. Your names will be wiped away, replaced with a number. History will not remember you, and your actions become mine. A necessary sacrifice to prevent people from rallying around those under me. In exchange I offer limitless power. A queen and king ruling over your kingdom. Your laws are your decisions, and the fate of those who serve beneath you at your fingertips.”

  “Fuck that. What else?”

  “Helping Mark, soon to be Two, take over for Scoville.” Zero said. “He insisted the two of you would be enough.”

  “Scoville has been good to us.” Mara shrugged. “It’s going to take-”

  “One point two million chips.” Zero interrupted. “And a permanent home. VIP access, the finest room I can give you, the wealth of Vegas at your fingertips. Food, water, alcohol, all flowing for free, and limitless until the day you die.”

  That got both of our attention. Even today that’s a lot of money, not to even mention back then. Enough to never worry about anything ever again. Enough for your kids to never worry again, and their kids if you’re careful with it.

  “Why are we scrappers then?” Lucas asks.

  “Well I gave up my share for Cassie, and Silver’s share bankrolled this place. Plus, I’d rather not be rewarded for what I did. But I’m getting ahead of myself.”

  “What do you need?” Mara asked. “Assasination? Kidnapping? Framing?”

  “I need him to disappear, and for Two to rise to the top.”

  “Assassination then. Plant a bomb in his office, wait for a meeting with a rival, and detonate not long after. Perfect framing.”

  Zero went silent for a moment, and the fans in the room ramped up. I can only imagine what was going through his head.

  “I can fold that plan into another. I’m inviting someone else to this conversation.”

  “Who?” Mara demanded. We had an awful lot of enemies.

  “Silver.”

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