Heartache by the Number

Heartache by the Number is a companion quest in Fallout: New Vegas.

Quick walkthrough

 * 1) Acquire a job at the Crimson Caravan Company and continue until you are given the task of convincing Cass to part with Cassidy Caravans.
 * 2) Convince her to part with her caravan by doing the following:
 * 3) * (Barter 50) Pay her an extra 750 caps.
 * 4) * (Barter 75) Challenge her to a drinking contest and obtain 12 whiskeys.
 * 5) * (Speech 50) Either clear the roads so Jackson will let her leave by getting and completing the quest Can You Find it in Your Heart? or kill Jackson quietly with no one seeing.
 * 6) * (Speech 75) Convince her to just sell her caravan.
 * 7) Recruit Cass as a companion.
 * 8) Talk to her about what she wants to do next. (You must have neutral or good Karma to do this)
 * 9) Pay your respects with Cass at her caravan's grave.
 * 10) Investigate the wreckage of the Griffin Wares Caravan with Cass.
 * 11) Track down Durable Dunn's missing caravan with Cass.
 * 12) Cass will want to kill Alice McLafferty and the Van Graffs, the culprits responsible for the caravans' destruction. You can assist her in two ways:
 * 13) Option A (Peaceful): Investigate the Crimson Caravan Company and Silver Rush
 * 14) Crimson Caravan: Locate the evidence for the caravan's reason to attack. It is located in a safe (50 Lockpick to unlock) inside McLafferty's office. McLafferty also holds the key for the safe.
 * 15) Silver Rush: Locate the evidence for the Van Graffs' reasons to attack. It is inside a safe (75 Lockpick to unlock) behind a locked door (75 Lockpick to unlock). The safe can be unlocked via the terminal that requires 75 Science to hack. The door can be unlocked with a key, held by Gloria Van Graff.
 * 16) Take the evidence of the Caravan attacks to Ranger Jackson at the Mojave Outpost.
 * 17) Cass will receive the Calm Heart perk (+50 HP).
 * 18) Option B (Violent): Assassinate Alice McLafferty and Gloria Van Graff.
 * 19) Cass will receive the Hand of Vengeance perk (+15% damage with guns).

Getting started
The player always gets this quest from Cass, even though they may be led to her via other quests (You Can Depend on Me or Birds of a Feather). If the player meets Cass before starting You Can Depend on Me and talks to her about work, the quest begins with her sending the player to the Crimson Caravan for employment. If the player has not already completed You Can Depend on Me up to the point where Alice McLafferty gives them the Cassidy Caravans buyout offer, the first order of business is completing that quest up to that point. Then the player can go to Mojave Outpost and start trying to get Cass to sell her caravan.

Recruit Cass as a companion
Cass won't join the player because she can't see leaving the life of a caravaneer, even if in reality she's nearly broke and her "caravan" is destroyed. To get her to join, the player needs to get her to sell her caravan's name to the Crimson Caravan company.

The player can convince her to sell the caravan via several methods, all of which involve either a Barter or Speech challenge: Obviously Skill magazines can be very helpful in getting the skills to the required levels. If the player doesn't have adequate Barter or Speech even with a magazine the quest cannot be completed until the player levels up and gets one of those skills high enough to continue.
 * With 50 Barter the player can choose to sweeten the deal by throwing in an extra 750 caps.
 * With 75 Barter the player can challenge her to a drinking contest. The player will need to acquire 12 whiskeys and return to Cass. (The dialogue will vary depending on the player's Endurance and alcohol addiction status, but the outcome is always the same: she will agree to sell.)
 * With 50 Speech the player can suggest that the Outpost is a pretty terrible place to be trapped.
 * Cass will agree, but will point out that Ranger Jackson won't let her leave.
 * The player can solve this problem by talking to Jackson and completing Can You Find it in Your Heart?, which involves clearing out the giant ants from the road down the hill, or by killing Jackson in a sneaky fashion (losing Karma in the process).
 * With 75 Speech the player can just challenge her by telling her she's responsible for the destruction of her caravan, and she'll reluctantly agree.

Once Cass agrees to sell, the player needs to ask her what she's going to do next, and eventually the option to ask her to join can be selected. The next step is to talk to her (via the Companion wheel) and she'll eventually say that she wants to go visit the wreckage of her caravan.

The mystery of the caravans
When the player finds Cass's caravan, there's nothing left but a dead brahmin and some miscellaneous loot (which Cass doesn't mind if the player takes). However, Cass notices something suspicious and suggests visiting the Griffin Wares Sacked Caravan, where a similar attack took place.

After visiting the remains of that caravan and poking around a bit, Cass will get even more suspicious and suggest looking over yet another caravan's remains: Durable Dunn's Sacked Caravan.

At Durable Dunn's Sacked Caravan, the bodies of a Van Graff thug and a Crimson Caravan guard suggest to Cass that something is fishy in the state of Nevada, and she comes to the conclusion that Alice McLafferty and Gloria Van Graff have been colluding to attack caravans and remove competition for the Crimson Caravan trading company. She wants to immediately go exact some justice, wasteland-style, by killing both women. The player can agree, or suggest a peaceful solution. If the player does not suggest the peaceful solution at this point, it is not possible to switch to it later, as the evidence notes will not be added to the safes and thus cannot be gathered.

Violent Solution
The path here is straightforward: kill Alice McLafferty and Gloria Van Graff by any means necessary.

Alice McLafferty is relatively easy to kill, though the trick is to do so in a way that doesn't turn the rest of the Crimson Caravan hostile. A sneak attack critical headshot while hidden is a good choice, or planting C4 on her and setting it off remotely. Alternatively, go to the guard barracks building around 10pm, sneak up and murder her in her sleep. In any case, it's a good idea to finish You Can Depend on Me and Pressing Matters first, since they won't be available once McLafferty's dead.

Killing the Van Graffs is a more difficult task, though there are innumerable ways of going about it. Just to touch on a few that may not be obvious:
 * Simon, the door guard, will turn hostile if attacked. This will attract most of the guards outside, where an ambush can be set. The other guards won't come out if he is killed in an instant or sneaky manner.
 * Note that when you first appear after turning in the evidence, Simon will immediately begin firing at you. If your companions kill him, other guards will not come outside, making dealing with them inside an extremely difficult combat. If you are the one that kills him, about half of the guards inside will come pouring out, breaking the whole group in half (some inside and some outside), creating two separate fights that are much easier. Allowing your companions to deal with Simon (preferably just one companion so that Simon lives longer) gives you time to place mines around the entrance as well, to greet the guards that pop out. Remember to get the killing shot on Simon after placing the mines, or the guards won't emerge.
 * Weapons can be stolen inside, either boldly and obviously or via stealth.
 * If the player finishes the "guard the door" section of Birds of a Feather, they will be allowed into the Silver Rush with their weapons, making it much easier to kill the Van Graffs.
 * If the player starts Birds of a Feather, during the "guard the door" sequence the fourth patron has a bomb. If the player lets him inside, he sets it off, killing everyone inside.
 * It is possible to kill Gloria Van Graff silently without causing the guards to become hostile. Finding an unseen vantage point from which to do this is difficult without use of a Stealth Boy, however.

Once both targets are dead, the player just needs to speak to Cass to finish the quest.

The reward is 500xp and the Hand of Vengeance perk, which provides Cass with +15% damage with guns.

Peaceful Solution
To complete the quest this way, the player needs to gather two pieces of evidence and take them to Ranger Jackson at the Mojave Outpost.

The evidence the player needs is in two safes: one in Alice McLafferty's office at the Crimson Caravan Camp and one in the office at the Silver Rush. They can be searched in either order. The evidence notes are not added to the safes until the player and Cass decide to start the investigation. It's not a problem if the player has already looted one or both safes earlier in the game; the player can return to them at the appropriate time and find the notes.

The one at the Crimson Caravan is right next to McLafferty's desk. It has an average lock. The office is empty at night, so the player can lockpick undisturbed. Alternatively, the key to the safe can be pickpocketed from McLafferty. Once the incriminating note has been obtained, the player should talk to Cass and show her the evidence.

At the Silver Rush, it's a good idea to have Cass wait outside, as she or Jean-Baptiste Cutting may turn hostile after a period of time, even if they seem fine just after entering. The safe is in the office, right off the main room. The door has a hard lock, or the key can be picked or looted from any of the Van Graffs, including Simon and the other guards (but not the crier). The door can generally be picked openly without turning the guards hostile, though they may say something vaguely threatening. ( The door cannot be picked openly without causing all of the Van Graffs to turn hostile. The door must be picked while hidden if you don't want to fight. The easiest way to accomplish this is to use a Stealth Boy and pick the lock while hidden.) Alternatively, you can pickpocket Simon to gain the Van Graff key, eliminating the need to pick the lock altogether. The safe lock is also hard, and does not have a key, but there is a terminal attached to it with a hard lock. Again, once the evidence has been obtained, the player should talk to Cass, note that opening both safes deals negative karma. She'll suggest taking the evidence to her old pal Ranger Jackson. (Note: be sure you talk to Cass before turning in the evidence to Ranger Jackson, or it will break the quest. See the bugs section for more details.)

The player should then talk to Ranger Jackson at the Mojave Outpost. After the player gives him the news of the conspiracy, they can speak to Cass to end the quest.

Patch 1.2 added a new wrinkle to the peaceful ending. Turning in the evidence turns the Van Graffs permanently hostile. Apparently word gets around that the player turned them in to the NCR. This makes it impossible to complete both this quest and Birds of a Feather in the same playthrough(unless it is completed before you turn them in).

The reward is 650 XP and the Calm Heart perk, which gives Cass +50 HP.

Related quests

 * Birds of a Feather
 * You Can Depend on Me
 * Can You Find it in Your Heart?

Bugs

 * Sometimes the quest can stall after you get Cass to sell her caravan and the next step will not be viewable. There will also be no quest arrow on your map; recruiting Cass will fix the problem.
 * If the player completes Can You Find it in Your Heart? and starts You Can Depend on Me before talking to Cass, when the player does talk to Cass this quest will begin abruptly with the "Clear the roads for Jackson..." and "(Optional) "Remove" Jackson as an obstacle..." completed, and no suggested next step.
 * Solution: Continue the quest; get her to sell her caravan and recruit her as a follower.
 * After taking Cass to any caravan wreckage or other location that triggers a conversation she may stop following the player and become passive.
 * When attempting to get the evidence at Silver Rush the terminal attached to the safe might not activate.
 * When traveling from the east gate of Crimson Caravan Camp to Durable Dunn's Sacked Caravan, the quest marker may lead the player through Isaac's House.
 * Despite being dismissed, Cass may appear in the Crimson Caravan office when the player enters and kill McLafferty.
 * After getting the evidence at the Silver Rush (Note To Gloria), it may not say that you have completed the objective. However, you can still give the evidence to Ranger Jackson in Mojave outpost and complete the quest that way.
 * The quest may halt after turning the evidence into Jackson. The quest doesn't get completed, and Cass doesn't get the perk.
 * This is likely due to receiving both pieces of evidence and turning it straight in to Ranger Jackson without talking to Cass first. Since talking to Cass adds the objective of turning in the evidence, it cannot be done after you turn it in; likewise, after the evidence is turned in, Cass has no scripted reason to talk to you about it. This problem persists even with patch 1.02.
 * Telling Cass to wait outside and then collecting the evidence from the Silver Rush causes Cass to disappear from her spot. She will still be shown on the World Map, but not on the Local Map.
 * Cass was knocked unconscious fighting the Van Graffs inside their building and after killing them, Cass did not activate the conversation complaining the player has changed their mind and the player can steal everything in the store without karma loss.
 * The quest can be stuck if you finish There Stands the Grass first and sides with Keely about deleting the data. There will be only one dialogue option and it's only saying goodbye.
 * The quest can be stuck if you finish There Stands the Grass first and sides with Keely about deleting the data. There will only be the first set of dialogue options when you talk to Cass, leaving you unable to convince her to sell her caravan or join you etc...
 * If the player kills Alice McLafferty, and the Van Graffs before ever meeting Cassidy, Cassidy will initiate conversation as if you have talked to her before, and you will gain both the hand of vengeance perk and the calm heart perk, Cassidy will be recruited, yet she will be unable to physically follow the player. Cassidy wil be listed as a follower, but upon speaking to her again, she will speak to the player as if they have never met. The ranger Ranger Jackson quest is initiated, but with this completed she still is not able to follow the player.
 * After completing Oh My Papa by convincing Khans to leave the Mojave, on entering the Crimson Caravan office and waiting for nightfall to pick the safe Khans attack the office, killing everyone, but are not hostile to the player. Cassidy then thinks the player killed McLafferty.
 * completing Heartache by the Number by killing the Van Graffs seems to cause energy weapons not to show up in vendortron's inventory if you have Gun Runners' Arsenal installed. Removing the add-on, killing her, then re-installing should fix this issue.
 * Sometimes, if you kill the Van Graffs before getting Cass to sell Cassidy Caravans, and then go talk to her, she will give the dialogue that she gives after you kill the Van Graffs as part of the quest. ((Needs testing.))

Behind the scenes
This is one of many quests that are named after songs that can be heard on the radio, in this case the Guy Mitchell song Heartaches by the Number, which is broadcast in-game on Radio New Vegas and also on Mojave Music Radio.

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