Six's eyes narrowed.
"Who gave the orders?"
McCormick took a step back, his jaw tight. He was clearly holding something back, but Six could see the cracks in his armor. The trooper was on edge, and that was exactly the kind of vulnerability Six needed.
"I don't have time for this."
McCormick muttered, his gaze shifting uneasily.
"You want to get to the bottom of it? Go talk to Colonel Moore. She's the one pulling the strings. You won't find anything here."
With that, McCormick waved his hand dismissively, turning back to the map on his table, effectively ending the conversation.
Six exchanged a look with his group, knowing that this was only the beginning.
"Colonel Moore."
Six murmured.
"That's the key. We need to find her."
Boone nodded, his face grim.
"If she's calling the shots, it might explain why McCormick's been acting out of line."
Raul chuckled darkly.
"You really think she'll be any more helpful than he was?"
Six gave a small, tight smile.
"I'll find a way. Let's go."
The group left the tent, the weight of the investigation pressing heavier on their minds. If Colonel Moore was involved in all this, it meant they were dealing with something much bigger than a simple case of a rogue trooper. It was time to dig deeper. The hunt was far from over.
The crackling radio in Six's hand buzzed with the familiar static, before Colonel Moore's voice came through loud and clear, carrying an unmistakable edge of frustration.
"Six."
She began, her tone curt.
"I'm glad you reached out. Let me make something clear— the NCR is officially hostile to the Kings now. We sent an ambassador to negotiate a peaceful resolution, and the moment he set foot in their territory, they tried to kill him."
Six sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"And you're sure the Kings were the ones who attacked him?"
Colonel Moore's voice crackled through the radio, firm and unwavering.
"The ambassador barely made it out alive. He was shot at and beaten within an inch of his life. The Kings are nothing more than a gang playing dress-up, and we're done tolerating their antics."
Six's brow furrowed as he processed the information. Hostility between the Kings and the NCR had been brewing, but this was different. An assassination attempt on an NCR ambassador? That was a serious escalation.
Rebecca folded her arms, shaking her head.
"Doesn't add up. The Kings rough people up, sure, but outright murdering an NCR ambassador? That's asking for war, and the King isn't that stupid."
Boone, standing slightly apart, spoke up.
"We've seen how the NCR works. Sometimes things go south, and the wrong people get blamed. If McCormick was the one leading the patrol, there's a good chance he had a hand in this."
Six exhaled sharply.
"Moore, I need to talk to that ambassador myself. If the Kings really did this, I'll handle it. But if this was a setup, you don't want to be sending your troops into a fight they didn't need to start."
There was a pause on the other end of the radio. Then Moore responded, her tone slightly less rigid.
"Fine. You want to play detective, go ahead. His names Ambassador Wesley Stone. He was one of our top diplomats in the region. The Kings saw him as a threat to their turf and acted on it."
"We've had enough of their games. They've been nothing but a thorn in our side, and after what happened, we won't stand by while they continue to destabilize the region."
Six's mind was already racing. If the Kings had really tried to kill an NCR ambassador, that would certainly explain McCormick's sudden hostility and the tension building in Freeside. But there was still something that didn't sit right.
The Kings weren't exactly known for being suicidal; it didn't sound like the kind of move they would make without a bigger reason behind it.
"I don't buy it, Colonel."
Six said slowly.
"The Kings don't just go around trying to kill diplomats, especially without some kind of provocation. Something's off about this."
Moore let out a sharp breath.
"I don't have time to sugarcoat it, Six. I've given you the facts. We sent our man to negotiate, and the Kings tried to kill him. That's all I care about right now."
But Six wasn't done. His instincts were telling him there was more to the story, that someone or something had pushed the Kings into making such a drastic move.
"If you're willing to stand by that, then fine," Six said, his tone more resolute. "But I'm going to look deeper into this. I'll talk to the Kings, see if there's more to this than a simple act of aggression."
"You've got 24 hours before I send in backup."
Moore snapped.
"If you can't get something useful out of them by then, the NCR will take matters into our own hands."
The radio cut out, leaving a tense silence between them.
Roger scoffed.
"She's got a stick up her ass, huh?"
Six smirked.
"That's putting it mildly."
Six turned to Rebecca, his face hard.
"24 hours. We need to find out exactly what's going on with the Kings. Someone's pulling their strings, and I need to know who."
Roger, standing by with his arms crossed, added.
"We'll need more than just the Kings' side of the story. Whoever's behind this must have been feeding them something, whether it's promises or threats."
Raul snorted, clearly intrigued.
"Sounds like a setup to me. The NCR's never been above pulling strings to make things go their way. Maybe the Kings are just the pawn in all this."
Six nodded, his mind already piecing together the puzzle.
"That's what I'm thinking. We're going to find out who benefits from all this chaos. The Kings may have tried to kill the ambassador, but it's the people behind the curtain I'm after."
He turned to Boone.
"We need to find that ambassador. If he's still alive, he might have the real story."
Boone nodded.
"I'll ask around. Someone in Freeside must've seen what really happened."
Six's eyes darkened.
"Then let's move."
The clock was ticking, and Six could feel the weight of time pressing on him. Every minute wasted meant more bloodshed, and he wasn't about to let that happen. He motioned for the group to follow as they moved toward the Kings' territory. There were answers to find, and the only way to uncover them was to get the truth straight from the source.