Chapter 221: An explosive finish...

[Miracle Maker Activated]

[Find Verna Parker's murderer : quest complete!]

[Avenge Verna Parker : quest complete!]

[New quest! : Kill Lowell Thompson Jr.]

Afton suddenly regains consciousness as the notification appears in his peripheral vision. Unfortunately, the knockback of the explosion was still occurring, launching him out of the top floor's window.

He's thrown through the glass and starts plummeting to the distant floor below, he falls for a second or two until he lands on the opposite building's roof. He rolls a couple of times before finally stopping in a heap.

Afton quickly pats himself over as he begins to hyperventilate... He literally had just died right now, the only reason he hadn't permanently kicked the bucket was due to his [Miracle Maker] Perk.

"OH MY GOD! THERE ARE PEOPLE STILL INSIDE! SOMEONE HELP THEM!" a loud shout from the street below brings him from his thoughts, he glances back at the building he'd just been launched out of and releases a sigh. The explosion had destabilised the top floor, causing it to collapse onto the ones below... From the looks of it, this trend would continue until the entire thing was rubble.

He wasn't going to do anything about it though, just his mere presence here could alert people to who was responsible. Plus, he didn't care all that much about the NCR citizens... Shaking his head, he continues to check himself, he still felt phantom pains of shrapnel tearing his body apart...

Apparently, [Miracle Maker] doesn't repair clothing either... His Recon armour was in tatters, and his Deathclaw leather satchel was scorched and scratched to high hell, the only reason it'd survived being the hardy creature it was made from.

The holsters and bandoleer holding his weaponry were still hanging on, though, it was only by a thread... Fortunately his [Mechanicus] Pekr was working overtime and repairing his equipment before his eyes, the ruined leather returning to its proper colour and somehow fusing with where it needed to be.

As for his weapons conditions? They were fine, if about scuffed. Shrapnel had managed to shatter the LED light on That Gun, but other than that they were completely functional... Though, he was checking his Plasma pistol over thrice before he did anything, it wouldn't be the first time an Energy Weapon exploded on him.

*CRASH!*

The NCR building's third floor had crumbled, the screams of people who'd not managed to get out being cut as they were crushed to death. Afton quickly picks himself up and looks over the building he was on for a viable exit, he was tempted to try and look for the remnants of Emory's cybernetic arm, but knew whatever fragments remained would be incredibly hard to find... Especially with the disaster that'll no doubt draw top-tier NCR investigation.

He rubs his face with his remaining hand, "I really fucked this one up, huh." he mutters, using VATS to stop time to think over how he could've done this differently... Though, the more he thinks about it the more this situation becomes unavoidable.

Emory's arm had a grenade that'd be activated when the arm was taken off, and Afton would always, always try to take it.

"Whatever, I achieved what I wanted, I'll be more cautious in future." he affirms as he stands, backing up a little before sprinting at the side of the roof, leaping off with agility uncommon in the wasteland and deftly landing on the next roof with a roll.

Afton was about to jump to the next roof when something caught his eye with a glint... He almost tripped over his feet as he tried to stop his moment to get a better look at it.

His eye's widened as he got a good look at it... Emory's pistol. It'd been accidentally thrown out of the window, but Afton assumed it'd landed in the streets below, not on the roof. He bends down to pick it up and almost starts salivating at it.

It was made with black metal and was covered in intricate golden engravings, similar to that of Lucky but even more delicate, on the barrel it had "For Honorable Service" engraved on it. Its handle was a dark wood with a golden bear inlaid into it which had "20 years" carved into it, and judging by the side of the bullets it's supposed to take, its firing power would be stronger than that of even a .44 Magnum...

He checks it over with his Pipboy just to make sure, even if he held little doubts in his mind.

[Fallen Ranger Sequoia]

Strength Req : 7

Dmg : 70

Crit dmg : 70

Crit mult : 1.5x

AP : 30

Weight : 4

Value : 15000

Wow. This thing is a beast... Though, it did have a few problems. The biggest being the fact that it had obviously belonged to an NCR Ranger. If he was found with it they'd check its serial number and his involvement in Emory's death would be revealed.

Not only that, it took .45-70 Gov't Ammunition, a type that was usually only used and produced by the NCR... It was also quite rare, so Afton would need to find a way to manufacture his own, especially when he would eventually turn against the NCR.

Shaking his head, he tucked the weapon into his Deathclaw leather satchel and start hopping across roofs again. Making sure not to be seen by anything as he did so.

It didn't take long for his to reach the gates of Freeside, there looked to be something wrong though... A large group of NCR troopers and Kings were standing guard, searching everyone and anyone who wanted to enter or leave via the gate.

Damn, they work quick... Afton hadn't expected the NCR to mobilise such a force so quickly. He was started to regret helping the Kings ally with the NCR. He quickly looked through what he currently had in his satchel to see if anything could help him out of this situation... Chems? No. Sunglasses? Nope. A single plasma mine? Hell no!.. Ah, some NCR Dogtags?... Perhaps...