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 [size=4]Chapter 3: High Times[/size]
 
 [i]One day later....[/i]
 
 [i]Freeside[/i]
 
 After Cetea had been forced by Arcade Ganon to rest for at least one day, she was eager to get back to the mission. Walking alongside Azumi down the the street that led to the New Vegas strip gate. Along the way, she decided to talk to Azumi about Gomorrah, and more importantly, the Omertas.
 
 "I should tell you how Gomorrah works. The casino earns it's name, I must assure you. Criminal vice, chemical drugs, and... Er... The 'services' of their women all fuel Gomorrah's lifestyle. Another thing you should know, the owners, two men by the names of Big Sal and Nero. They are not fond of the Followers, so I would suggest keeping our true negotiations... Secret. We must find a way to get them into a deal they cannot refuse." Explained Cetea, and she paused for a moment, "So, any questions?"
 
 "Any muscle we have to deal with? Any... forced vices, as it were?" Azumi walked calmly, helmet on, polarized. She would only take it off to talk in the last one. Benny seemed more likely to listen if he saw a face. ...or just her face. Either way, she didn't care. "Anything in particular to deal with out of the ordinary aside from...every Wasteland vice under the sun save...?"  She didn't want to say "cannibalism." She had standards.
 
 "We won't have to worry too much about getting shot, if that is what you mean. Although Nero and Big Sal are infamous for killing those who displease them. Do not worry though, I have a rough idea of how to do things. Your armor is enough to intimidate even those two, or at least make then cautious. I will be the one to negotiate," Cetea left out the fact that she still felt partially weak from her brush with death, which was part of the reason why she wore her casual attire, she did not want to get into a fight if she could help it, "I know that if we work together as well as we usually do, this will go smoothly." Said Cetea, before activating her human disguise.
 
 Azumi nodded. She assumed that part of why she was playing essentially the dumb muscle here (or at least the strong, silent type) was because she tended toward Bad Cop methods. Couldn't be helped, she supposed. Still, she walked up to the door. "After you."
 
 Cetea nodded, and as she approached the giant gates to the strip, she held up her and Azumi's passes for a securitron robot to scan. After staring at the two, the normal police man face on the securitron's screen changed into a thumbs up, and the giant gates slowly slid open, revealing the New Vegas strip.
 
 As the two passed into the strip, the giant neon sign of two women sitting seductively marked the Gomorrah casino, a large, dark red building that cast an imposing shadow compared to every other building in New Vegas. As the two approached the front doors, Cetea faced Azumi and took a breath, "I promise that I will not be a hindrance." She said, her tone calm, but serious. The vague memories of Azumi rescuing her still lingered in her mind, and she felt guilty for having to even be rescued in the first place.
 
 Azumi put a hand on her shoulder, depolarizing her visor momentarily. "Listen to me, PFC. You are [i]not[/i] a hindrance. You help keep me grounded. I need your help a lot of the time. Alright? You're not a hindrance, you're on my squad." She clapped her on the shoulder, polarizing again. "Just try to... look like anyone else here."
 
 Hesitantly nodding, Cetea activated her omni-tool. A few seconds of setting modification led her spiked hair to go flat and change from black to brown, and her green eyes to change blue. She then opened the front door for the two of them and entered.
 
 The inside of Gomorrah was spacious, with only a few torches along the walls to illuminate the rooms. Past the reception area was the large, heavily occupied gambling area, where men and women in expensive looking clothing rolled the slots, tried their hand at blackjack and poker, or rolled the dice at the craps tables, all in the hopes that their luck would make them rich.
 
 As the two approached the reception counter, a man in a gray striped suit, fedora, and sunglasses pointed to a storage container beside him. "Weapons in the case lady.... And other." He said in a bored tone as he examined Azumi's armor, which was built in a way that would disguise her gender. Shrugging, he didn't bother to look up as Cetea complied by drawing her two weapons, a Shuriken sub-machine gun and Predator heavy pistol into the case. She didn't worry about being defenseless, having confidence that her biotic abilities would be enough to defend herself should the need arise.
 
 Azumi was completely silent as she drew her gun from her hip holster, putting it in the container. She then drew her knife from the chest sheath, the nasty-looking shortsword of a Brute knife from her hip sheath, and put them in as well. Willing to play the "Cetea's muscle" role, she said nothing, letting her go ahead.
 
 As the two made their way past the casino area, they came into a room that held a stage, where women garbed in a various sets of revealing attire performed before a gleefully shouting crowd, Cetea turned away from the scene, making note of the bar across from the room as she walked down a hallway that led to a lone door guarded by another man in a grey suit.
 
 The man stared at Cetea as she approached him, his sunglasses hiding all emotion from his face. "We are requesting an audience with Nero and Big Sal, it is a matter of business." Said Cetea, staring at the man to make it clear that any attempt he might make to intimidate her would be futile.
 
 Staring at Cetea for a moment, the man drew a cigar from his coat and lit it, "They ain't expectin' anyone." He said, and he drew from his cigar and slowly blew the smoke into her face. Coughing, Cetea swiped the smoke away and glared at the man.
 
 "You are unwise to prohibit me entry, do you think your employer would discuss his planned meetings to someone such as you? Our arrival, information well above your pay grade, had a set date, today, to be precise. I am quite sure that if I leave and inform those of whom I work for of Gomorrah's offensive hired hands, your two employers would find a suitable way to [i]punish[/i] you." Said Cetea, her voice deathly quiet.
 
 The man was quiet for a few moments, he then stepped aside, opening the door. "They're in the lounge. You better not be lying to me." He said, trying to act as if Cetea's words had not affected him, when he she had in fact reminded him why he feared those he worked for.
 
 Cetea nodded, walking through the door and up a flight of stairs. "That went well. I think I am starting to like the entire intimidation through speech process." Said Cetea, smiling slightly.
 
 Azumi was silent, though smirking as she followed. Yes, Cetea was definitely learning. She had also not seemed to have seen where Azumi glanced for a few seconds during their walk through the place. Better for both of them.
 
 As the two walked up the flight of stairs that led to the second floor and into the area that housed the offices of Nero and Big Sal, Cetea could overhear a conversation in an open doorway to the left. Walking into a room filled with green couches and a jukebox, the two saw Nero and Big Sal both sitting on a couch, conversing. They looked up as both Azumi and Cetea sat in a couch across from them, and for a while, the four stared at each other.
 
 "...Who the hell let these two in?" Muttered Nero, a man with short brown hair and a light brown suit.
 
 "Don't know, should I call the guards?" Said Big Sal, a bald man in a black suit and fedora.
 
 Cetea raised her hand, "That will not be needed, and I am sure that violence would be unwise around my companion, it usually prefers to fight it's prey before it eats them." Said Cetea, and she was thankful that Azumi's visor was polarized, she couldn't bring herself to look at her as she said this, mostly because she might have laughed.
 
 "It? What the hell do you mean [i]it[/i]?" Said Nero, his tone slightly panicked, and he tried to make out Azumi's gender, to no avail.
 
 The Mentor of the Interference Assassins had never thought of her armor's ability to make her gender ambiguous to others as anything more than a way to keep them respecting her as they would a man in some worlds, her own universe included. But with Cetea's bluff, it seemed to do a great deal more.
 
 Azumi herself had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. She was definitely going to crack up when they managed to get out of this place, if they did in one piece. Still, she said nothing, letting Cetea do the talking.
 
 "Take off the helmet, big guy." Said Big Sal, who acted much more calm than his friend, he wasn't as easily swayed.
 
 "My friend cannot, it's suit is designed to keep the heavy amounts of radiation contained, if we were to take off the helmet, the radiation would seep out and kill everyone in the building within minutes." Said Cetea, who was slowly getting the hang her improvised talk.
 
 Nero and Big Sal exchanged glances, and Nero cleared his throat before speaking, "Tell us why you're here, now." He said, trying to regain his tough edge.
 
 "I thought you would never ask. My friend and I are here for a simple reason, we wish to form an alliance between the Omertas and a group known as the Order. The deal is simple, you will provide protection to our base of operations, namely by sending your hired guns that are [i]not[/i] addicted to chems over to Freeside. Any questions?" Said Cetea, who leaned back into the couch, her face expressionless.
 
 Nero stared at her for a moment, "Yeah, just one. Who the [i]hell[/i] do you think you are coming in here and demanding we back up some group we don't know sh** about?" Said Nero, scowling deeply.
 
 "Because I know that there will be another casino break in, just like the Ultra-Luxe, and I know that Gomorrah is a very desirable target. Our group could provide you with security to make sure that does not happen." Said Cetea, smirking slightly.
 
 "I say we just take tin can and it's friend and waste 'em both in Freeside, boss." Said Big Sal, who glanced at Cetea, surprised that she remained expressionless.
 
 Nero ignored Big Sal and leaned forward, his face reddening. "Hold on.. Hold on... You know something about the Ultra-Luxe break in? About that weird blue chick people saw? You better tell us what we need to know, now!" Said Nero, who soon began to shout.
 
 Azumi was not in the mood to start talking about how things had gone over there, as it would lead to them having to expose the Followers. Granted, this entire charade was so amusing, she didn't want to do [i]anything[/i] to mess it up. So she went with a silent, yet probably effective method.
 
 "It" gripped one hand in the other, cracking "its" knuckles on one hand, then switching to the other before lowering them to a crossed motion over "its" chest.
 
 Nero and Big Sal noticed Azumi's movements, and they slowly leaned back into their couches. Nero cleared his throat again, "I-I think we can come up with a deal. You... Your group protects us from break ins, and we send our guys over to Freeside... Where at again?" Said Nero, his eyes darting from Cetea to Azumi nervously.
 
 Cetea smiled, "The Old Mormon Fort." She said, flashing a grin.
 
 Big Sal coughed into his hand and looked away as Nero stood up, "You... You want us to help the [i]Followers[/i]!? No way in hell, lady! Them bastards cost us money when our addicts don't want no more chems!" Nero shouted, momentarily forgetting Azumi, and how she had intimidated him.
 
 Cetea glanced at Azumi, "If that is the case, I can always have my friend deal with you for backing out of our agreement. It takes offens-"
 
 "N-No!" Nero stuttered, before clearing his throat again, "I-I mean... No need for that, I... We'll send our guys over." He muttered, and Big Sal gave an exasperated sigh.
 
 Cetea stood up and extended her hand, "A pleasure to do business with you." She said, and Nero reluctantly gripped her hand, shaking it only for a brief second.
 
 "Okay, good. Get out, and have your people in by tomorrow." Said Nero, who spoke quickly, wanting the two to leave as soon as possible.
 
 "We will be watching." Said Cetea, and Nero almost spoke up angrily, but another glance at Azumi reduced his response to a curt nod.
 
 "Come, let us go." Said Cetea, who left the room with Azumi, as the two returned to the reception counter, Cetea quickly took her weapons before leaving the casino with a smile on her face.
 
-Once the two were a reasonable distance from Gomorrah, Cetea nearly exploded with laughter, "That was incredible!" She said gleefully, leaning a street lamp.
+Once the two were a reasonable distance from Gomorrah, Cetea nearly exploded with laughter, "That was incredible!" She said gleefully, leaning against a street lamp. She soon began to clutch her sides after feeling them turn sore from her outburst.