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31.17% Steel Waste / Chapter 221: An explosive finish...

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...


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Niggross Niggross

Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!

next chapter

Chapter 222: Valiant Return

Afton pulls out the small handful of NCR Dogtags that he seemed to have acquired somewhere? Though he seems to have forgotten what he originally intended to do with them. Whatever the case, he uses VATS to freeze time and looks around the area for any suspicious-looking people, eventually finding one ragged-looking man who seemed to be addicted to something judging by how he twitches and scratches himself.

Not wasting any more time, he deftly tosses the Dogtags at the man before pointing at the man and shouting, "OH MY GOD! IT'S THE TERRORIST!" before ducking back into the crowd.

Fortunately, this got the exact reaction Afton was looking for, the Kings and NCR upon spotting the Dogtags immediately jumped into action, pointing all of their weapons at the unfortunate chem addicted and forcing him to the floor.

Afton uses this opportunity to slip out of the gate while everyone is preoccupied with the 'Terrorist', once out quickly starting to sprint towards Camp McCarren to hopefully return to his bed before his companions noticed his absence... He should be back at around 3-4 AM if he went at a good pace, so hopefully, no one would notice him not being there.

Soon enough, Afton found his way back into the airport terminal. It took longer than he'd hoped climbing back over the wall undetected, but he should-... His inner monologue was interrupted when he locked eyes with a Karl who was sitting on his bed with a disappointed look.

Afton glances down at his still ragged Recon armour that was slowly being repaired and coughs into his fist, "Er, hey Karl, what a coincidence to see you here..."

...

...

"You sure are funny kid, funny to think I'd believe that shit you're spewing." he states, not raising his voice enough to catch the attention of the nearby NCR guards.

"What do you mean? I was just stretching my legs."

...

Karl points at his Recon armour, "Did you also happen to run into a Deathclaw on your 'walk?'"

"Yes."

...

...

Karl just lets out an exasperated sigh, "Youknow, I don't really care that you left after we told you to stay put... But, the least you could've done is tell one of us that you were headed out. We thought you'd gotten kidnapped or something!"

Afton gives him a weird look, "I left a note though."

"You mean this?" he holds up the piece of paper, "What the fuck does BRB mean!? Is it some sort of military code I'm unaware of? Something your old group taught you? The only reason we hadn't started interrogating the guards here is because of that stupid stick figure you'd drawn... No kidnapper would leave something that shit on pride alone."

Afton sheepishly looks away, "Well, I'm back now aren't I?"

Karl shakes his head, "Do you think we haven't heard? Every NCR radio is reporting a terrorist attack on an NCR civilian building, quite the coincidence that it happened during your 'walk', right?"

"Alright, fine. That was me, but I have a damn good reason for it." Afton says, Karl not saying anything and presumably waiting for his excuse.

Afton pulls out the Fallen Ranger Sequoia and tosses it to Karl, "I found the bastard who killed my mother, and the explosion wasn't me either, the bastard had some kind of dead-man switch on him and blew the building to shit."

Karl's brows almost reach his hairline as he looks down at the weapon, "Damn. Who was it?"

"A man named Emory Emmerich, I didn't recognise him at first as he had a hidden cybernetic arm... But our... 'Friends' pointed him out for me."

Karl sends him a pointed look, "Them?"

Afton nods, "Yeah, it wasn't for free though... We've got a year to kill Lowell Thompson Jr. Better known as Major Thompson. If we don't they'll release 'all' of my information to any faction that might be interested in it."

Karl's lips thin, as the reality of such a situation hits him, if that did happen then it wouldn't just be Afton that'd be hunted down, but also Boone and Karl for their affiliation with him. "Shit."

"Yeah, shit's the word for it. But I think we can make this work, I don't know where Major Thompson is but I think he'll be a relatively easy target..."

Karl nods, "I know the man, he's a bloated piece of shit who apparently spends most of his time in the strip. I'd be careful though kid, the strip isn't a place to mess around in, its a cutthroat place that'll leave you broke, crippled, and capless in a matter of hours. Not to mention Mr House's presence, assassinating high-up NCR personnel will be tougher than your recent venture."

"I doubt it, I almost got blown to hell earlier." Afton says while gesturing to his damaged Recon armour.

...

"What's the plan now?... I mean after you've spent a couple days recovering." Karl asks before correcting himself.

"I think collecting the bounty on Cook-Cook would be good, suddenly changing our plans might lead to suspicion, so let's get that done before doing anything else." Afton says, getting a nod from his companion.

"Hm, alright. But we aren't taking chances this time. We deal with our target first and deal with side objectives after... Can't have you losing another arm, can we?" Karl says.

Afton nods, "We'll see how it goes... You should get back to Boone before the guards around here start making rumours about us."

Karl's face sours as he stands and tosses back the Fallen Ranger Sequoia, "I'll beat whoever suggests somethin' like that. And you better make sure no one sees that gun, the NCR'll fuck us quicker than we can realise." he warns before leaving.


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.

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