“I don’t know–” West snorted and shrugged, shaking his head. That bashful kid emerging for a moment. He let go of his beer bottle and placed both hands on the side of his mouth, opening them like mouths, then one from out from the front of his mouth, “Sides, and then, like, a mouth in the mouth? Gross stuff. I just said a number and a body part. Maybe a little less gross than those gooey tentacle blobs that were partly men at some point.” West shook his head again. He couldn’t remember the name. But they were gross and they were sad in a way West didn’t like to think on for too long.
He did remember reading, or being told, somehow he knew, they had been experiments, those creatures. Humans were responsible for a hell of a lot of evil in the world.
West up from the table a little suddenly heading back to the bar, not wanting to think about those creatures again. Or the fact that he was suddenly thinking about aliens destroying Earth and how it was probably deserved if they did. Or more accurately thinking of the strangely lit dull white rounded rooms that he knew to be alien. He’d been taken. That was a memory not his imagination–
“You have that look… Did you come to see me, mi amor?” Santiago spoke low, and concerned, waving James over as West clearly did want something.
West swallowed hard, shaking his head and flashing Santiago an apologetic smile, “No. Not tonight. I’m here with a friend. But–” West didn’t want to get into whatever his and Mairwen relationship was. Even he wasn’t so sure. He barely knew her. She knew enough about him. Or so she claimed. But he trusted her. He was determined to trust her and not doubt himself into paranoia. “Thanks. Maybe next time.”
“Another beer?” James asked, raising an eyebrow, already annoyed West wasn’t hiring anyone tonight from the look of it. But as long as he and his pal kept drinking.
“Yeah. And a bottle of whiskey?” West nodded, pulling caps from his pocket to pay and a few NCR dollars. James delivered the goods and West went back to their table, sliding the beer to Mairwen. He liked the Atomic Wrangler. Santiago was fun and didn’t demand much, the Garretts didn’t get into anyone else’s business and the rooms were cleaner than most places.
“I’ve done bad shit in the past. Probably hurt good people. I regret it. If I remembered all of it, I know I’d regret it. So…” West popped the cork of the whiskey bottle, taking a swig. “If you regret that shit, too, Enclave and not telling me whatever. I say… Water under the bridge. I like you. And I think you’re telling the truth. I can’t… really verify much. You knowing about my dad is kind of all I really have so… Either you’re playing me and I can’t think of any real good reason to do that. Or you’re telling the truth. I want to believe you’re being straight with me.”