Hey, Wanta Buy Some Cookies?

Jean-Pierre looked nothing like his mother. While he was tall,dark skinned and lean, she was pale and short and plump. He had to bend over tolet her kiss his cheek and properly hug him. “Pilar!” she cried and turned onher. Mrs. Jones gave one of those strange little hugs that wasn’t truly any sort ofembrace, just pressing her hands on Pilar’s shoulders and kissed both hercheeks. Pilar tried to return the hug in a similar fashion, but wasn’t sure ifshe was supposed to kiss Molly’s cheeks as well.

Pilar and Mrs. Jones had met before in brief snatches – usuallywhen Jean-Pierre was taking her around town on their dates. Pilar couldn’tthink of a time they’d had a full conversation. And this was the first time Mollyhad seen her since Jean-Pierre had announced their engagement.

There were polite forms of conversation – Mollycongratulated them both on their engagement, inspected and approved of Pilar’sengagement ring, asked how their lodgings in Freeside were, that sort of thing.Pilar answered quietly and respectfully, and thankfully soon Jean-Pierre andMolly soon fell back into their favorite mode of conversation: business.Jean-Pierre was in charge of both the family’s business’s ventures in Primm aswell as running the hotel Mrs. Jones had bought months prior. That was how they hadmet -  Pilar had gotten a job in theVikki and Vance’s casino as a cocktail waitress. Jean-Pierre often came in atthe end of the day to unwind.

Pilar was able to understand most of what Molly andJean-Pierre were saying – her future mother in law was more concerned about themerchants contracts than the hotel itself as the town’s traveler situationfluctuated on the safety of the roads. There was discussion of Jean-Pierre’ssister Regina who was currently in California negotiating some sort of dealabout camera equipment. Regina’s husband Benjamin was still in the Mojavelooking into tying up real estate for the family. Jean-Pierre’s step-father wastoo busy with work at the moment to attend – his family owned one of the onlytwo fresh clothing manufactures in the region. To avoid awkwardness, Pilar andJean-Pierre would meet his father Syvian the next evening at Top’s restaurant. Inbetween were discussions of brahmin caravans, taxes and fees, profit marginsand sales.

And then suddenly Jean-Pierre excused himself to head to thegentlemen’s room and Pilar was alone for the first time with Molly Jones.

“Well!” Mrs. Jones said cheerily, “just us girls!”

“Yes,” Pilar said, trying desperately to strum up some topicto discuss. “Jean-Pierre tells me your mother has lived in the New Vegas sincebefore the great war.”

“Mom? Oh yes. We finally got her to retire for now. Shemostly stays home in our apartment taking care of the kids and grandkids. Don’tyou know she treats the bodyguard I got for her as another son? Battle-hardenedex-soldier and he’s putty in her hands.” She paused and looked down into herdrink. “There’s something I couldn’t say with Jean-Pierre here, so I hope youdon’t think this too out of order.” Pilar felt the pit in her stomach turncold.

Mrs. Jones straightened and looked younger woman in the eye.“Pilar, I hope you understand this, but this family – we’ve worked very hard toget where we are. Our sort of success begins to attract unsavory charactersI’ve had to dispel from time to time. So as a precaution I’ve begun makingdiscreet background searches on people who become close to our family. I wasn’tsurprised to learn you weren’t originally from Primm, but it shocked me greatlyto learn that after arriving in the Mojave you worked in Westside.”

Pilar felt like someone had plunged the entirety of theColorado river in her face. Oh God – she knew. Of course she knew. It wasstupid to think it wouldn’t come out sooner or later. She was terrified enoughabout someone blackmailing her with that,how silly. That would prevent herfrom even getting to that point. Jean-Pierre knew, of course, she wouldn’t lieto him. He said he’d deal with it, he must not have breached the topic with hisfamily yet if he’d ever intended.

Mrs. Jones continued. “I went to Casa de Marco myself when Ifound out you’d work there. I’m ashamed to say I had no idea Pretty Sarah wasstill working. I sold her cookies when I was little girl did you know? Isuppose she can’t deal with violent clients herself anymore, she has thosestrapping young body guards but I believe she’s still capable of being a lovelymadam. And a damn fine woman, one of the pillars of Westside.”

Pilar nodded barely. “Yes mam.” Pretty Sarah was hard, butfair. Hadn’t given her the slightest bit of trouble when Pilar had asked toleave. She’d even given her some extra money as a good bye and good luckpresent.

“So when Pretty Sarah gives somebody an outstanding attestmentof character, I take it veryseriously.”

Pilar wasn’t sure what was happening, but Mrs. Jones hadjust winked and took another sip of wine. “Most of my family will understand,I’ll whip in line anyone who tries to give you trouble for it. And if Sylvianhas any guff over it – well he can go fuck himself.” Molly said that lastphrase very quietly, so only Pilar could hear.

Jean-Pierre returned at that point. “I’m back, what did Imiss? No clawmarks?”

“Darling!” Molly returned to her sing-song voice asJean-Pierre sat down. “I hope you aren’t angry, but I did a little diggingbeforehand and wouldn’t you know it? Pilar used to work for a woman I knew inWestside.”

Jean-Pierre’sface froze. “Oh.”

Molly slightly tapped him on the arm. “Oh, you know I don’tcare about that. For years Casa de Marco and the Thorn were the only businessesbringing money into Westside, you know. Then there was the co-op and after thewar local businesses really started to bloom.”

Pilar was still unsure what had just happened. While most ofher was still trying to swim to air under the Colorado, some part of her hadjust turned her brain onto autopilot and kept going. “Pretty Sarah keeps tryingto get people to call it the Casa de Madrid now that she owns the building. Buteveryone still keeps calling it Casa de Marco.”

Still, when she woke a few hours later, she was boththankfully and miserably acute. Molly remembered Sylvian fainting a couplehours in. Josie began to panic at the sight (of Sylvian’s fainting, althoughMolly didn’t think that was particularly important at the moment). Mary-Bethcalmly bent down and gently smacked her son-in-law’s face a few times beforeasking Johnny and Josie’s girlfriend Harriet to carry him into the next room.Mary-Beth had never had any biological children herself, but had been enougharound the block a few times to preserve a calming expression. Honestly she wasless stressed about the whole affair than the damn doctor.

Mary-Beth sat by the bed, making cute noises at the blanketwrapped bundle in her arms that had caused a small amount of havoc in the pasttwenty four hours. Molly slowly and – very cautiously – tried to sit up alittle, bracing for the acute pain in her lower half. “Sylvian still knocked out?”she asked holding her arms out and giving the ‘handed it over’ motion.

“No, he came to after it was all over. He just ran out togive the news to his brother, should be back eventually.” Mary-Beth said, then gaveher the bundle.

It wasn’t as if Molly hadn’t seen a baby before; it wasn’teven the first time she’d held a newborn. She’d been expecting the rush ofattachment, and she’d expecting it to be intense; etc etc. The joy aspect was new; though. She grinnedbrighter than she thought any woman who’d just had her torso destroyed (andstill felt it) had right to be.

“Hello Jean-Pierre.”

The funny thing was that during her pregnancy, Molly had worried. She worried about what she ate,she worried about carcinogens in the exposed building materials, she wasworried about inhaling dust. That was just with the pregnancy. She foundherself a lot more concerned about political events then she had before;whether raider gangs or nearing tribes would become threats to her belovedhometown. What would happen if events beyond even her control would cause aneconomy collapse and how it would all effect her family. A hundred thingsbuzzed in her mind while her son grew and slept inside her.

But now that she held her first-born in her arms where shecould see him, the world was suddenly a lot more dangerous.

The leader signaled to the accomplice at the victim’s sidewho leaned over to pull off the sack. Molly stepped forward and looked him inthe eye. Morton Tain – he’d worked for her a couple years now. He’d been closeto family – in a couple ways more than one. He mouth was gagged and jawbruised, but he could see her just fine. She gave him a second to readjust andlook her back in the eye and recognize her – and recognize why they were bothhere.

Then she pulled the 9mm pistol from her holster and emptiedthree rounds into his head.

“Jesus Christ!” the merc to their side shouted as he jumpedback several feet. Molly emptied another round into his heart for good measureand the last into his crotch as a special touch.

Holstering her gun, she walked up to the leader and pulledout a couple bags of caps. “Do you have a plan of what to do with the body?”

“We were just going to throw it near the gecko fields. We’vedone it before- they’re never found.” He weighed the bags carefully in hishand, then looked satisfied. She would’ve paid in chips, they were easier tocount, but mercenaries couldn’t always make it onto the Strip for legal reasonsand most still preferred caps anyway.

“Then it’s a pleasure doing business to you.” Molly saidpleasantly if detachedly.

“Likewise, Ms Jones, likewise.” The mercenary leader bowedhis head.

“That was cold,” Yvonne said as two of the mercs went topick up the corpse.