I looked out of the dusty window at the mansion that sat in front of me. It looked severely out of place in the wasteland with nothing nearby, not even ruins of the neighborhood that once likely was here. The outside of the mansion was worn, just like everything else out here, but somehow it looked out of another time, a time before all of it, an old-world remnant. I looked over at the rusted gates as I drove past them. I couldn’t help but to wonder what this place was like once upon a time. Lush green grass, I could only imagine. I drove up in front of the house before turning the engine off. “You going to be okay in here, Wes?” I petted his head, getting a tail wag and a lick in response. “I won't be too long. Hopefully.” I leaned over to roll down his window fully, before rolling mine down as well. 

 

I looked around once more, before opening the car’s door. I placed my hand on my hip unnecessarily checking if I still had my pistol on me, before looking up to see the mansion’s front door open. 

 

“Miss Crockett?” A man in a suit stood in the doorway. I couldn’t help but to raise an eye at his attire. It seemed almost as if he was playing dress-up. 

 

“Just Nev.” I shook my head, walking up the front steps. Two statues of an animal I didn’t know sat on either side of the door. “I was requested here. I got a letter.”

 

He bowed his head slightly. “Right this way. He is waiting for you.” He motioned for me to follow him inside the house. I slowly walked inside of the door, as the man closed it behind us. 

 

In the entrance, electric lamps lit up the old building. An ornate rug lined the floor, while tacky wallpaper covered the walls along with paintings. A few couches were placed along the walls. After walking a few more yards we made it into the main room. Aged marble steps led up to the second floor and a large chandler basked in the sunlight flooding in from the large windows. A tall, lean man walked down one of the sets of stairs, wearing a tailored suit. Unnecessary and pointlessly flashy, just like the rest of the house. His hand slid along the railing as he walked down towards us. 

 

“Miss Crockett, nice to see you made it.” He bowed his head slightly, stepping off the final step. 

 

“I prefer Nev. Or Nevada. Or even just Crockett. But no ‘miss’.”

 

“My apologies.” He smiled calmly, an almost dreamy look on his face. “I'm glad that you made it here in one piece, Nevada.” He added emphasis to my name. “Your reputation precedes you, Miss Crockett.” He immediately changed back to addressing me formally. 

 

“And yours fails to.” I crossed my arms. “Considering I don’t know who you are. I often like to know the name of my employer before I accept a job.”

 

“You may call me Sidonis.” 

 

“Sidonis?” I raised an eyebrow. “Odd name.”

 

He chuckled. “Says the girl named after one of the states that fell long ago.”

 

“What can I say? My mom was a romantic.” I shrugged. “In any case, I would like to skip the formalities and go straight to business.”

 

Sidonis smiled again, a strange peacefulness all too present. “Then let us go to my study. We'll discuss the job there. Woodrow.” He looked over at the older man. “Get Miss Cockett something to drink.”

 

“Of course, sir.” He bowed slightly. “What may I get you?” He turned to face me. 

 

“You seem like a girl who'd like whiskey.” Sidonis smirked at me. 

 

“If you have whiskey, I would happily take some.”

 

“Actually, get her the good stuff.” Sidonis smiled.

 

“As you wish.” Woodrow bowed once more before walking off. 

 

“Come.” Sidonis turned around and began walking. We walked down a hallway, past a handful of doors, before making our way into an office. The walls were lined with bookshelves and books. On the far side of the room, under a large window that exposed the already aging books to sunlight, was a wooden desk. 

 

Sidonis walked around the desk before sitting down in the plush leather chair. “You can sit.” He motioned towards the two chairs in front of his desk. 

 

I sat down in one of the chairs. “Tell me about the job.”

 

Sidonis laughed. “Are you a busy woman, Nevada? Too busy for a bit of conversation?”

 

“I have a dog out in my car. If we talk for too long he’ll bake. Not to mention I'm not really one for conversation.”

 

He smiled and leaned forward. “I need you to do something for me.”

 

“That's why you brought me here. What do you need me to do?”

 

“Let me show you something.” He leaned down and opened one of the drawers, before pulling something out and setting it on the desk. It was a glass case with a metal object floating in it. The metal object was slowly turning. 

 

“What...is that?” I leaned forward slightly. 

 

He smiled, placing his hand on the top of the glass. “This is the future. This little shard here is just as powerful as a power plant. And the thing is, this is only a fraction of its full potential. I have been able to track down twenty-five of these shards in the country. I hypothesize that together, all of these shards would make a whole. Together, they would be more powerful than all the nuclear power plants combined.”

 

“So,” I leaned back, trying to keep my fascination contained, “you know where they all and all you need me to do is get them? Is that correct?”

 

He nodded. “I just needed someone skilled to retrieve them all for me.”

 

“Then let’s talk payment. As well as everything else.”

 

“Let’s.” He leaned back in his chair. 

 

“I-”

 

“Ma’am.” Woodrow cut me off, walking into the study. He held a silver platter, which on top sat a glass bottle filled with the amber liquid. 

 

“That’s Louis XIII right there. Worth more than the best car out there and even worth more than a truck full of fuel.” 

 

“I think you overestimate how much people need fancy liquor.” I took the glass from Woodrow, who held it out towards me.

 

“Take a drink and tell me differently. I assure you that you’ll be able to tell the difference between that and the dishwater they serve at bars.”

 

I took a sip of the cognac. My eyes widened slightly. I pulled the glass away from my lips. “Alright. You were right.” 

 

A smile grew on Sidonis’ face. “A girl with some class. A rare trait out here.”

 

“Still I don’t think I’d give up my car for a bottle of it. Maybe after a bottle, I would, but not by choice.”

 

He chuckled. “Back to business.” Woodrow exited the room, leaving us alone once more. “This power source, once it is complete, would be the thing that could change this world. It is more valuable than anything else. But, it is also going to be hard for you to retrieve fully. Being in so many pieces in so many different locations, of which I will give you a list of, this is not an easy task. And I fully intend to compensate you for your work. I will give you two options of payment, the choice is yours, and I will not make you choose now, but once you have already finished. Not saying I won’t pay you in advance though. You first option: you bring me all twenty five shards and I will give you as much gas as you would ever need in your lifetime. We both know how important gas is and how important it is to someone like you. Or,” he leaned forwards once more, “I give you a life of stability, by my side.”

 

“Are you proposing marriage?” I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow.

 

He chuckled. “I could be, but I’m not. I am proposing that you be my second in command. Once I get those shards, things are going to change. This whole wasteland is going to change. And I’m going to be the leader of this new world.”

 

“You’re telling me, I get the choice to either give you the shards and walk away or give you the shards and become the prince to the ‘new world’?”

 

He smiled. “That is exactly what I’m telling you, though, we could always come back to that marriage offer down the road.”

 

I rolled my eyes. “And I don’t have to answer you until I’m done?”

 

“Exactly. It’ll take you time to retrieve all the items, so you will have more than enough time to decide which one you want, though we both know which one is the better choice.” He smirked.

 

“You mean the one where I leave?” I cocked an eyebrow.

 

He chuckled. “The other one.”

 

“Do you have a list of all the locations?”

 

He nodded. “Mostly. And for the ones that I don’t, I have men working on finding them. There are only a few I do not know the location of.” He rolled his chair back slightly so he could open the top drawer of his desk, taking out a folder. “In here is everything you need. Locations, maps, how to properly take care of the shards.”

 

“Is there anything else I need?” I stood up from the chair.

 

“Yes. I have a special case for them.” He also stood up from the desk, before walking over to a chest. He opened it and pulled out a large briefcase. “The code is 1023 and we will train it to your fingerprint.” He unlocked the case and opened it. Inside were twenty three slots. “I already have two shards, one of which is powering this house, but you must find the others. The case will make the shards untraceable and...controlled, like a lead-lined case.”

 

“Alright.” I picked the folder up before reaching for the case. 

 

“Sir.” Woodrow walked back into the room. “There is a sandstorm approaching.”

 

A smile crept on Sidonis’ face, as he looked over to me. “Seems that you’ll have to stay the night here. You can’t drive in a sandstorm.” 

 

I sighed, walking over to the window. He wasn’t lying. There was a large sandstorm approaching. “Are you sure you didn’t somehow plan this out?” I glance back at Sidonis.

 

“I wish I had that kind of skill.” He laughed. “We should get your car under cover.” He started to walk out of the study.

---

“So, the mutt.” Sidonis walked into the kitchen. Wesson and I sat at the kitchen island, him by my side watching every bite I took.

 

“I found him out in the wastes a while back. He actually bit me.” I rolled my sleeve up to show the scar. “But sometime after that, I found some raiders hunting him. I killed them and fixed the dog’s wounds best I could. I had to carry him the rest of the way back to get my car. And he's stuck with me since. Not that I didn't try to get him to run off though. I think he stays since I feed him.”

 

“Probably.” He laughed, sitting down next to me. “Did Woodrow show you the room you’ll sleep in?”

 

“He didn’t. He offered me and Wes some food. Figured that took priority.”

 

“I’ll show you when you are done in that case.” He smirked, looking me up and down. “Or I could just show you mine.”

 

“I don’t sleep with my bosses.” I shook my head. “But on that note, I want to know, why hire me rather than a group of mercenaries? A large organization would be able to send a few groups out. They’d be able to get it done a hell of a lot faster than I ever could on my own. Or even the militia, they’ve got more firepower than me.”

 

“The more people working for me, the more people I’d have to pay. Not to mention, I wanted you. I’ve been following your work for sometime and I liked what I saw.”

 

“I’m good at what I do, sure, but I find it hard to believe you just heard of me.”

 

“You are welcome to.” The smile never left his face.

 

“How do you know how many shards you’re missing if you only have two of them?” I set my spoon down on the counter and took the bowl and set it on the floor, allowing the Wes to eat the remainder.

 

“I am a brilliant man, Miss Crockett.” Sidonis smirked at me, very clearly not planning to actually answer my question.

 

I took a deep breath, knowing damn well he wasn’t going to give me any information outside of what I already had. “Show me the way to the bedroom.” I stood up, motioning for him to take me.

 

“With pleasure.” I followed Sidonis up the large staircase and down a few hallways until we ended up in front of a pair of double doors. He pulled the doors open and walked in. The room was giant and the bed, just as huge. I don’t think I had ever stayed somewhere so nice, even when staying at the Duke’s. I stepped inside, watching as Wesson jumped on the bed, marking his place for the night. 

 

“I’m down the hall if you need anything, Miss Crockett.” Sidonis smiled at me, before turning to walk to the door.

 

I smiled back at him until he closed the door behind him, letting out a sigh accompanied by an eye roll. “Men.”