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54.3% Steel Waste / Chapter 385: Crock-Pot

Chapter 385: Crock-Pot

Boone, Tamia, and Veronica are led through the embassy until they eventually reach a relatively well-kept office. The floor was decorated with a red carpet, and the walls seemed to have been painted over, despite their bad condition. On the wall was a large painting of what could only be President Kimball, and on the far side of the room sat a black man wearing a fine suit behind a terminal.

"Ambassador." the receptionist states as she stands by the entrance to the room dutifully with her hands behind her back.

He gestures at her, "You can go, thank you." he says before focussing on the group, "Hello. I'm not sure if you know me, but I certainly know of you..." he points to Boone, "Member of one of the most impactful mercenary groups the Mojave, and the wasteland, has ever seen." he then gestures at Tami and Veronica, "And you two, blazing a trail through the Mojave with seemingly no goal... Still, you have my gratitude for what you did in Boulder City... Come, take a seat." he says, nodding his head at the chairs set in front of his desk.

They do as told, Boone depositing the jar containing Lowell's head on the desk as well, though, by the slight grimace the Ambassador gives, he already knows what it is.

"You seem to know a lot about us..." Veronica quietly says, wondering just how far their network extends.

Crocker smiles and nods, "I know enough. That said, I believe we have more pressing matters to discuss. Particularly what occurred in the Ultra-Lux... I don't want to hastily come to conclusions, but, your actions were dangerous, and reckless..."

Tamia scoffs at this, crossing her arms while slouching in her chair, "Oh? How so?"

"The situation with House right now is... Tenuous, negotiations between the NCR and him haven't made any progress since the last treaty, you might ask 'why does this matter', and I'd tell you that using NCR authority that wasn't given to arrest a prominent casino member on their own property was incredibly damaging, not just to the casino and its reputation, but to the NCR's relations with Mr House and the rest of the strip.

I know that you most likely had a very, very compelling reason to do so, but you acted for the NCR, without NCR approval... If we let this go unpunished, it may set a president of vigilantism, especially in Freeside which is on the brink of complete anarchy."

Boone shrugs, "Better to apologise for acting than get permission five months later. Mortimer needed to be stopped, he was attempting to convince the rest of the White Glove Society to become cannibals again. Left to his own devices, I think he may have succeeded..."

Crocker just shakes his head with a sigh, "Be that as it may, I cannot let this stand as it is. Despite the actions taken against Major Thompson, you still have no evidence that Mortimer was the one responsible... Is the man even alive to testify? Or did you take those matters into your own hands as well?" he asks, already knowing full well that Mortimer wouldn't have survived.

Tamia shakes her head, "I pummeled his skull until it became bone-fragment soup. I can drag his corpse back if you like?"

"Er, no... Let's not do that." Crocker says, turning his attention to the jar. "May I?" he asks as he glances at Boone.

Boone just nods, it wasn't like he owned the jar anyway...

Crocker raises the cloth and looks into the jar, inadvertently locking eyes with the severed head. "Well, well... I told you this would happen, didn't I, Jr?..." he releases a long sigh and looks at the others, "Not much we can do about it now I suppose... I've sent someone to the Lucky 38 to see if House is willing to discuss recent events, usually he'd send out a robot to discuss it for him, but it's always a bit random, shall we say?... Once I've spoken with House, I will determine just how much damage you have done to the relations of the NCR and New Vegas and punish you accordingly."

"You're going to punish us for doing your job for you?" Tamia scoffs, clearly unsatisfied by this turn of events, she gets to her feet and glances at Veronic and Boone, "Whatever, we'll see what you decide, and afterwards I'll see if I care to listen." she states as she begins to exit.

Veronica quickly follows and Boone slowly gets to his feet as well, "You can keep the jar." he says noncommittally before leaving.

Once Boone exits the embassy he's greeted with an angry, ranting Tamia. "Who does he think he is? We do his job for him and he says he'll punish us? Hah! Fat chance in hell!"

Boone glances at ED-E who's silently floating at his side and sighs, "Atleast you weren't programmed female, right?" he quietly jokes, making sure he's not heard by the duo.

"Let's just forget about it Tamia... We have other things to do, like meeting Afton and dealing with Benny." Veronica chides, though is certainly looking forward to being reunited with her 'brother'.

Tamia looks over to Boone after a few moments recomposing herself, "Well? What's the plan then?"

"We said we'd meet up at the strip gate at a certain time. It wouldn't be good to barge in while someone's doing something important. We'll wait there, for now, hopefully everyone'll come at the right time."

The two women shrug, "Sounds like a plan, I guess..." Tamia mutters.

A smirk makes its way not Veronica's face however, "Are we still gonna surprise Afton?"

"Do whatever you want." Boone quietly says, not really caring what they do, as long as it isn't incredibly stupid or dangerous.


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Niggross Niggross

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

next chapter

Chapter 386: Back together

Afton had been spending a couple hours gambling on the first floor of Gomorrah. There wasn't much else to do after getting rid of Cachino, so he decided to find out as much as possible about the strip, Mr House, the other families, and the NCR presence in it.

Unfortunately, he hadn't found anything different to what he already knew, or had suspicions about... Not that the dealers and other patrons were all that loose-lipped. It seemed like Afton wasn't exactly the first to go snooping around like this, so people had been warned, and knew what to expect...

The only people who really said anything of worth were the incredibly drunk NCR troopers who were spending their life savings of caps. They relayed info about the Mojave and area's that the NCR controlled. Most he already knew, as he was partly responsible for it, Highway 15 being cleared, increased tensions between NCR and Freeside, Novac's succession from the NCR's protections...

But, he did learn a few things while he was there... Murders occurring in Bittersprings, NCR patrols around the Supermutant town known as Jacobstown, Rangers finally being deployed from California to assist in the battle against the Legion... As well as President Kimball making a visit to the Hoover Dam in a couple months.

He was about to raise the bet in his game of Blackjack when a notification causes him to raise a brow...

[Quest failed! : Kill Lowell Thompson Jr.]

...

What?

How is it even possible to fail that quest?... Unless... Someone else killed the man before him? Fuck.

He'd really been looking forwards to confronting the man, you know, before eventually ending his miserable life.

Afton sighs and stands from the table, leaving the caps he'd bet as well as the whisky he'd been sipping, he wasn't in the mood for gambling any more.

"Ah, sir! You-"

"Keep the change." Afton almost growls out as he heads towards the exit, collecting his weaponry once there and walking towards the meeting spot they'd designated beforehand.

Already, he could see Boone waiting there with a bored look on his face. Ed-E easily detects Afton and floats over, beeping happily.

"You two alright? Find anything?" he asks as he approaches.

Boone shrugs, "Define 'anything'..." he says in a vague tone.

Just as Afton's about to retort, he feels someone slip their hand into his pocket... Danger sense hadn't activated, nor had any of his other similar perks, meaning they weren't a danger to him, nor did they mean any harm... Regardless, he locks the arm in place and looks at the person responsible, gaping when he finally sees them.

"Veronica?" he mutters breathlessly, his eyes examining her up and down to make sure he wasn't being tricked.

She smirks and pulls her hand away, grasping a handful of caps, "This'll go towards repaying that Snack-Cake you stole the last time I visited." she jokes, pocketing the caps before jumping at him with a small squeal. "Affton!! You didn't tell me you were coming out here!" she exclaims.

Afton isn't able to do anything as Veronica throws her hands around his neck, hugging him tightly and almost dangling off of the floor due to their height difference. He wasn't really sure what to do, his brain short-circuits as he unconscious wraps his arms around her waist...

To be honest, he hadn't really known what to expect when finally meeting Veronica again... He should have expected her to do something like this... Though, judging by Boone's amused look, the man knew she was already here, meaning Veronica was likely at the Ultra-Lux.

"Er... Hey Veronica, long time no see-"

She lets go of him and jabs him in the chest, "Don't you start with that, Afton... I thought you were supposed to stay-..." She glances at Boone and leans forwards in order to whisper to Afton. "In the bunker."

Afton scratches the back of his head, "I-well..." he drawls, feeling like a scolded child, "I kinda. Youknow... Left?"

...

"You did what?"

"I left..."

...

Veronica brows almost reach her hairline in surprise, she crosses her arms and looks away, seemingly deep in thought, "So... So you just abandoned everyone? Just like that?"

Afton nods, knowing that Veronica probably felt that this situation was 'Christine 2.0', "There wasn't anything left for me to do there, I needed to leave and find my own path. Besides, it's not like your situation is all that different to mine." he says, playing off the severity of his own actions.

She frowns, "There's a difference between having permission to leave, and just straight up leaving!"

Afton shakes his head but holds his tongue for now, "We can talk about this later, in private..." he pauses, "It's good to see you again Veronica, you have no idea how busy I've been this year..."

Veronica gives him another quick hug and nods, "We definitely will... Besides, you've not been the only busy one, ah, I've been travelling with someone, do you remember Tamia, right? She certainly remembers you." she says, glancing backwards at Tamia who was walking towards them.

"Hope your surprise was worth it, we've been leaning against that wall for an hour now.." the courier mutters, rubbing her sore backside. "Hey Afton, good to see you again."

He nods, feeling slightly grateful that Tamia had kept Veronica outta trouble... Or at least safe whenever trouble found her, "Likewise."

"Oh, the gang's back together again, huh?" A voice calls out, and once everyone looks over they spot a clearly exasperated Karl helping a shit-faced Josie walk toward them. "Next time, one of you can partner with her, 'cause I'm not dealin' with this shit again." he says, letting go of the engineer who stumbles and sits on the floor with a stupid look on her face.

"Er, Karl? Where are we?"

"We're where we need to be, now be quiet and let the adults talk." he states, looking over at the group, "Still lookin' fine, miss." he says with a nod at Tamia.

She crosses her arms with a mirthful expression, "Still lookin' old, Karl."

Karl chuckles, "What's it with you and wilful women, kid?"

Afton shoots him a glare, "One word... Jeannie."

Karl's lips form into a pout, but he doesn't say anything else... Yeah, a retort isn't really possible when you fucked a crazy, slaver, piece of shit.


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Niggross Niggross

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

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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