Chapter 166: Notice, Taken
There were three men all wearing the same exact outfit... Old fashioned black suits with bowler hats, Afton wasn't sure what to make of them, but was instantly on alert when he spotted Karl and Boone getting ready for combat in his Peripheral.
The man notices the tense atmosphere and stops a good distance away from the group, all making sure not to make any sudden movements.
"Do we know you?" Afton asks suspiciously, not wishing to leave anything to chance. He knew he could draw his pistols and begin firing faster than the three men could think.
A man with pale, almost sickly skin steps forwards. Any features that he could be identified by were covered by his outfit, all Afton could tell was the colour of his skin and hair. "We know you, but you do not know us. We've been sent to acquire your services. You are mercenaries after all."
...
The group glance to each other after hearing this, "Who's services?" Afton asks for them to clarify.
The man gives a small smile and takes a single step closer before whispering, "The Legion's of course."
Boone's finger twitches as he's about to pull out his rifle and start firing, but Karl manages to stop him with a look. The sniper seemed reluctant but Karl knew they could take advantage of this situation.
Afton decides to take charge, his Speech skill would be most useful here, plus he needed Boone to control himself if they were going to make use of this. "The Legion? I thought you guys would hate us after what we did to Nelson?"
The spy shakes their head, "Some of us do want your heads, but our leader has decided you would be more helpful alive than dead. Of course, this only matter if your apparent loyalties to the NCR are superficial... Otherwise, we may have problems." he states maliciously.
Afton crosses his arms and begins contemplating, he uses VATS just so he has time to think without the spies getting suspicious... Clearly the spies hadn't been in Westside when he declared that 'all slavers would be punished', otherwise they might've been a little more hesitant to approach them.
There were a number of things Afton could potentially do with this... The first and most obvious would be to just execute the three spies here and now. Then again, he doubted that'd do anything other than aggravate the Legion, they'd definitely send assassins if he did that.
The other obvious answer would be to accept the group's offer and start making use of the Legions resources... He doubted they'd allow him to continue working for the NCR at the same time though, not in the same way the group had been doing it thus far. They'd probably want them to act as spies using the reputation they'd gathered.
Thinking on it further, they might actually be able to use this opening to secure Karl's daughter without having to kill every Legionary in the Mojave. Actually, wouldn't now be the best time to make use of his new perk [Living Anatomy]?
He focuses on the men while using VATS, instantly receiving information he hadn't expected.
[Legion spy]
Health : 99%
Stamina : 70%
DT : 8
Strength : 4
Perception : 7
Endurance : 4
Charisma : 7
Intelligence : 6
Agility : 5
Luck : 3
Ailments :
[Athletes foot] : Rash caused by fungus, decreases chance of foot rubs by 80%, increases risk of infection by 50%.
[Tinnitus] : Irritated by silence, less likely to notice high pitched sounds.
[Gonorrhea} : Sex life in peril, bad decision making. Gross penis.
...
Afton shakes his head after reading the last one, yeah, he didn't need to know that... Though, he might be able to use this sort of information as blackmail in the future? He'd need to make it subtle though, revealing that he could see someone's ailments just by looking at them would probably cause him trouble.
Back to the topic at hand, Afton needed to come to a decision on how to act towards the Legionaries. A few more minutes of thinking eventually allow Afton to find an answer that'd allow them to continue working as they had, while having the Legion's resources at hand.
Stopping VATS he slowly nods his head, "Our loyalties are to ourselves, so ditching the NCR would be easy. They're just the highest paying customers in the Mojave, I do have a couple problems though." Afton states with an air of confidence.
"And what might that be?" the spy asks.
"I'm looking for a man, a former-NCR ranger who's missing their right arm. I cannot stop working with the NCR until I've located him, I'm not all that particular to money, so find him for me and I'd be willing to work with you." he states.
The spy slowly nods, "An interesting proposal, you should know that the Legion's database on NCR rangers might be larger than the NCR's own." he sends a glance towards Boone and Karl before returning it to Afton, "Is there perhaps a way for us to gain your services immediately without having to find this person first?"
Afton shakes his head, "No. I'll continue looking for them myself, I won't count on you to do it, but once I've found them my loyalties will be more... Pliable."
"I see. We will return to our leader to discuss this proposal. For now take this, it will shield you from the Legion's wrath should you find yourselves in such a situation... Though, I do warn you, any action taken against the Legion from here onwards will not be forgiven. Do you understand?"
Afton nods, "I thought that was a given, but whatever." he says as he's handed a coin, unlike the usual Legion Denarius though instead of a face on each side it contains a jagged cross. If it were painted onto a wall he wouldn't think much of it, each line seemed deliberate as if the symbol was important.
"We bid thee farewell then, until next time." the spy says before leaving with his underlings.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Niggross
Niggross Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know.
If you like my content or want to read ahead please go to https://www.p.atreon.com/Nagross, I'd appreciate it.
Chapter 167: Planted
Once the Legion spies leave Boone gives Afton a scathing look, "Why did you let them leave alive?" he growls out, clearly displeased at the conversation.
Afton just shrugs, "Did you not listen? We now have an in to get into the Legion, if we play our cards right we may be able to get Karl's daughter out of the Legion's hands without having to fight against a literal army."
Karl nods, "I think it's worth trying, ain't like we can't just put a bullet in them later on if we feel like it."
Boone sighs with a look of apprehension, "I don't like this."
"You don't have to like it, currently it is the best way for us to achieve our goals without a huge potential of death." Afton states, causing Boone to reluctantly let the matter go for now.
"Alright, let's get moving, I wanna check out the New Vegas Medical Clinic before nightfall." Afton claps his hands and slides onto Dirt-Bird. The other's following and seating themselves.
It doesn't take long for the group to reach their destination, the clinic itself was on the outskirts of what one might consider civilization. Opposite it was just straight desert and wasteland fields, the only thing that seemed to contain life was a distant barn, but upon looking closer it was just filled to the brim with Molerats, pests that no one would willingly keep around.
"You two wanna wait out here while I get this done?" Afton asks, waiting in a hospital would always be one of the most monotonous things around...
Karl shrugs, "I kinda wanna see you cry like a baby while under the scalpal."
"I'll stay here and keep watch." Boone says as he kicks his legs up in a relaxed posture on Dirt-Bird.
"Alright." Afton states as he pushes inside the clinic, Karl following closely behind him.
Immediately after they enter they are greeted by someone, "Welcome to the New Vegas Medical Clinic, I am Doctor Usanagi, one of the only licensed medical practitioners around the Mojave. If you have any problems I'd be more than willing to assist you." A woman of what looks like Japanese descent says. She has black hair, tanned skin, and a relatively clean white doctors coat.
The few guards that're stationed within the clinic seem wary of the duo, probably because of the powerful armaments currently strapped to their persons...
"Good to meet you, I'm Afton Parker. I was told you also sell Implants here?"
Doctor Usanagi nods, "We do, from ones that'll increase your Strength or Luck, to other's that'll give you a limited healing factor. They are all quite costly I'll remind you." she explains.
"How much?"
"4000 Caps for the regular enhancements, Sub-Dermal Armor is 8000, and the PHOENIX Monocyte Breeder is 12000 caps."
Both Karl and Afton's expressions widen for a moment, 12000 caps for that? How did Ranger Morales afford that!?
Afton shakes his head and quickly composes himself, "I'd like to purchase the Agility Enhancement."
Doctor Usanagi nods, "Ok, I can do that for you, first I'll need to check if your body is suitable to take one. Please enter here and take your clothes off." she states.
...
Afton just does as he's told, handing Karl his weapons before entering the room with the doctor. He alleviates himself of all his clothing excepts his underwear... Fortunately the [Mechanicus] Perk had constantly been 'repairing' his clothing, causing most of it to be incredibly clean for the wasteland.
After removing everything he stood upright with his hands at his sides, his 8 Strength clearly had an effect as his body was ripped. His muscles were toned and their outline was clearly visible under his skin, due to the [Solar Powered] Perk his skin had almost no blemishes, even the few bullet wounds he'd acquired had almost entirely faded.
Doctor Usanagi seemed lost in thought as she looked him over, a faint blush coming to her face as she realised that she'd been staring. She quickly shifts her gaze and begins, "For this I'll need to physically examine your body... Let me know if I do anything uncomfortable."
She goes onto poke, prod, and massage different parts of Afton's body, writing notes in a clipboard for what she finds. By the end of it Afton was standing upright in the other sense of the word, though both tried to remain professional about it...
Afton didn't know if she really needed to prod so near to his 'mini-me', perhaps this'd end like one of those sexy doctor porno's?... Doubt it."
Eventually, she tells him to put his underwear back on, "Your body is in peak condition, more so than I'd originally considered possible, it's as if you've never been sick in your life... Not even a single skin condition to mention... You are very luck Mr Parker."
"Er, can we start on the Implant?" he asks, wanting to get the awkward situation over with.
She nods, "You have the caps?"
Afton hands it to her and she leaves to go deposit the large sack in a safe somewhere. Once she returns she asks him to lie on his back on the operating table. He was dressed only in his underwear... Though, for some reason she wasn't able to take notice of the large Pipboy still attached to his arm...
"I will put you to sleep while I operate on you... It'll save us both some trouble, unless you'd like to do this with just anaesthetic?"
Afton just shakes his head, "Nah, just inject me and get this over with."
"If you say so." she mutters as she injects the fluids that quickly knock him unconscious.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Niggross
Niggross
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know.
Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
3 Power
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