The White Wash

 is a side quest in Fallout: New Vegas.

Quick walkthrough
Find Corporal White by talking to various people in New Vegas.

Detailed walkthrough
First talk to Lt. Carrie Boyd about missing people. After talking about Bryce Anders, you have the option of asking who else is missing. She will tell you that Cpl. White has gone missing and will direct you to Dazzle, a prostitute at Gomorrah. Make sure to check Corporal White's things and get Corporal White's Journal entry. When you're done with that, go to the strip and meet Dazzle. She's in the Gomorrah courtyard. She will tell you how White used to always talk about the water treatment plant and mention a man Trent Bascom (the same info can be found on her body, if she's dead). Bascom is located on the east side of the Sharecropper Farms.

After talking to Trent, you'll discover that White talked to Lieutenant Romanowski but got nowhere. Make sure to pickpocket the note Note from Corporal White from Trent. Talk to Romanowski and you can pass an Intelligence check, but it really doesn't yield anything. White went to talk to Tom Anderson, a Follower of the Apocalypse in Westside. Make sure to pickpocket the note Reprimand Recommendation before you leave from Romanowski.

Travel to Westside and head to Casa Madrid Apartments. Anderson's apartment is on the north side on the first floor. Talk to him and pass an Intelligence check to discover the truth behind White's disappearance. Alternatively, if you're on good terms with the Followers of the Apocalypse, you can convince him to tell you the truth.

If you fail the Intelligence check or cannot convince him otherwise, then Anderson will tell you to ask around Westside to find out what happened to Corporal White. You will find Hector, a young boy working on the farms, and after questioning him about White, it becomes clear that the water he is supplying is from a strange source. A new objective appears, to follow Hector during the day to find out where he is getting water from. After following him for a while Hector is found walking into the Northern Cistern and caught stealing water from the NCR. Dialogue occurs where Hector blames it on Anderson, and a new objective to interrogate Anderson appears. Find Anderson and confront him to finish the quest by doing one of the following:


 * Keep Westside's secret by taking part of the co-op. 10% (or 20% with a 50 Barter skill). You will have to visit Etienne in the store to receive your first payment. There will be 250-400 caps every day (you can "wait" for 24 hours, but do not complete the quest if you want to continuously collect caps from Etienne). Trent still complains about the water shortage and talks about leaving.


 * Turn Anderson in (this will turn him hostile towards you), kill him, and take the note Anderson's Confession (this might give you a negative reputation towards the Followers; if you get negative rep load up a previous save and try again). If Arcade Gannon is in your group he will comment on how it was unnecessary to kill him; an Intelligence of 7 can justify how it was for the better. Return to Boyd and tell her the truth. She will send troops to stop water from being stolen. You can then go to the Sharecropper farm and talk to Trent, who will comment on a sudden increase in water and reward you with 10 Maize, 10 Banana yucca fruit and 10 Coyote Tobacco Chew.


 * Keep Anderson's secret by telling NCR that White was killed by the Scorpions gang. This increases your reputation with the Followers of the Apocalypse. If Arcade Gannon is in your group he will also comment on the issue. Return to Boyd and you can either do as you promised Anderson, or tell Boyd the truth (if you told Boyd the truth, she will react the same as if you killed Anderson. When you go to Sharecroppers farm and talk to Trent he will still comment on the rationing of water by the NCR and he and the other farmers are heading back west).


 * Convince Anderson to turn himself by lying to Boyd about a fall out with White over Dazzle (there is no option to tell the truth about the missing water) in exchange for keeping Westside's secret and receive good karma. Trent still complains about the water shortage and talks about leaving.

No matter which option you choose, Boyd will reward you with the key to the MP confiscated goods trunk. It's found on the same floor of the airfield as Boyd's office but on the opposite side, just against the entrance to the Legion centurion's cell area. In the trunk you'll find some magazines, a super stimpak, and possibly doctor bags and mentats.

Bugs

 * Boyd won't let you talk about the missing people if you complete the unmarked quest Silus Treatment. For PC users, the quest can be started with the console command.
 * It may still be possible to receive and complete this quest after completing Silus Treatment if you have not also completed I Put a Spell on You as speaking with Boyd about this quest will open up multiple dialogue options with her in spite of the initial, "Haven't you done enough," greeting.
 * If you helped the Followers of the Apocalypse you can tell it to Anderson, instead passing the Intelligence check, and you'll discover the truth behind White's disappearance. However, if you chose to do so instead following Hector and tell Anderson what you found about him, you cannot be able to finish the mission because Boyd wont react anymore!
 * For some reason, if you choose to turn Anderson in (or let him turn himself in) he can be seen walking around Camp McCarran some days later, and can be talked to, but is also found in the cells relentlessly pacing.
 * If you acquire Corporal White's Journal entry before speaking to Boyd, the optional task "search Corporal White's personal locker" cannot be completed. This might lead to a savegame issue where the loading screen dialog tells you that the memory device is no longer present due to inaccessible DLC objects. The game will then restart upon loading dialog confirmation. This repeats with the next loading attempt, rendering the savegame useless.
 * Tom Anderson can disappear into the wall though he still shows up on your radar. Without talking to him, you cannot complete the quest. This MAY however be resolved by normal reloading procedures or even exiting and re-entering the building.

Behind the scenes
This quest contains a few references from the 1974 film Chinatown. Like the movie, the mystery involves water, which is also referenced in the quest's title. A character present in the quest named Romanowski is a portmanteau of the name Roman Polanski, the director of Chinatown.