Capítulo 342: Retirement
While everyone else was worrying about the state of the way, Afton wasn't all that concerned if he was honest... He hated the NCR almost as much as he hated the Legion, so having them fight each other and wipe themselves out wouldn't be a bad thing.
The only problem was who controlled the Mojave afterwards. If the NCR won it'd simply stay the same, aside from the annoying taxes they'd impose on everyone... But, if the Legion won? They'd roll all of their forward troops through the place, raping and pillaging until they were sent even further forwards, likely to the border of NCR land.
Afton really needed to find a solution to this... He could try and call upon the Brotherhood headquarters to help, but knew there was nothing really of value that'd tempt them. He could reveal the existence of the Think Tank, but shut that thought down immediately. The Think Tank was his, along with everything else in Big Mt.
He shakes his head, all options were shit. You either get corrupt authoritarian bureaucrat ass holes, a bunch of raping roman-knock offs, or a cult that's a few missteps away from calling themselves the 'master race'...
Afton looks at Datri and the others and begins leaving. "You guys sort out your bounties, I'ma look around and see if Hildern is here, bastard owes me money."
"Wait! Hildern you say?" Datri asks and Afton nods, "You won't be finding him, Parker. Not here, not anywhere. He was the traitor who blew up the Monorail, was eventually put down as he tried to escape." Datri explains.
Afton sends a questioning glance to Anja, who should've been keeping an eye on the guy who literally tried to kill them previously, she just shrugs back at him, looking equally confused.
Datri nods at their faces, "Yeah, we had him locked up for misappropriating troops, seemed to scare him as he bombed the Monorail not long after... Still don't know how he managed it under 24/7 supervision though."
Afton just shakes his head and leaves, letting Dog-meat stay with Anja and allowing the group to collect their bounties. With some free time, he decides to visit Josie, if she's still around that is. He walks over to where the NCR trucks are, spotting that quite a few of them were missing... Perhaps they'd been relocated after the attack?
Nearby he could see Josie chewing on some hard bread while looking distinctly annoyed at something. He walks over and sits opposite her, "Yo, sup." he greets, her eyes widening as she sees him.
"Afton!... You look like shi-Oh what? You got a new arm!" she exclaims, standing and prodding at his new limb. "What's its made out of it? It doesn't feel mechanical..." she gasps, and looks around conspiratorially, "Did you steal someone else's?"
...
Afton bursts out into laughter, and Josie's serious face falters as she joins him, "Did I steal someone else's arm!? I'll remember to use that one when somebody else asks about it!"
"Seriously though, what is it... I'm curious."
"Sorry, can't tell you. Trade secret." he states, and she pouts in response.
"Whatever, I didn't want to know anyway..." she says, crossing her arms, "Where have you been? I heard that you died or something."
Afton shrugs, "That isn't too far from the truth to be perfectly honest, but I'd rather not talk about it... What about you? I distinctly remember there being more vehicles here..." he says, eyeing the empty area's where the trucks had been placed.
"Sent back to NCR territory to grab supplies... Apparently, the recent Legion attack did more damage than they'd like to admit, so they're sending for more troops. Plus, don't tell anyone, but I think they're afraid someone will target the trucks like they did the Monorail..." she quietly says after leaning in close.
"Yeah, what are your thoughts on that anyway? Hildern didn't look like someone with the balls to do that. He was a bit creepy, sure, but not driven enough to risk his life on something like that."
Josie sighs, "I don't know, and the higher-ups don't like it when you ask either. As far as they're concerned, the traitor was caught and the threat is over... Until isn't, then they'll have to find another scapegoat..." she shakes her head, deciding to change the topic, "How's the missus?"
...
"What?" Afton questions, not really understanding her.
She scoffs, "I mean Dirt-Bird you fool."
...
"Ah... Well, the Fiends got her, I guess..." he says morosely.
"They didn't!"
Afton just nods, "One of those cunts ran at her with a live grenade..."
...
"I'm sorry for your loss." she says seriously, as if he'd just lost a loved one.
Afton shakes his head, "Well, I already decided. I'm going straight back down to Novac to make another one... BIGGER, AND TOUGHER than Dirt-Bird ever was!" he exclaims, raising his fist in the air.
"Really?"
He nods, "Yeah, I would have had to anyway since Dirt-Bird can only carry so many people... I would've liked to keep her as memorabilia of my first vehicle."
Upon hearing this Josie looks conflicted, she chews on his lip and looks at the ground in contemplation.
"Something up?"
"No... Yes?..." She sighs, "I've been thinking about leaving the NCR for a while now, and now that they don't need me to maintain the trucks, I bet they'll have me making bullets for them or something." she grumbles.
"Can you quit when you like? I thought it'd be more difficult than that." Afton asks.
She shrugs, "I've been serving for long enough that no one would really care, and my position isn't all that important so I wouldn't have to wait for someone else to take over... I was just thinking, would I be able to join up with your group? I don't really care about bounty hunting, but I'll take care of your vehicles for you..."
"Hmm." Afton hums, "I don't know, you'd need to be combat-capable if you were to come along..." he thinks for a moment before grinning, "What are your thoughts on manning turrets?"
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Capítulo 343: Flight of Fancy
Afton and Josie returned to Major Datri's tent not long after, the others had already rounded up their business and gotten paid the bounty as well as a bonus for actually making the whole thing possible.
Afton didn't get paid of course, as he technically didn't accept the job, but Datri made sure to pay what he would've gotten extra to the group.
"Parker... Trantow? Do you need something?" the major asks after signing off a couple documents detailing the recent events.
Josie nods, "Yeah... Major, I want to resign." she says, deciding to quickly get it out of the way instead of slowly leading into it.
"Resign? Why?... Because the trucks were taken away?" he asks in confusion.
"That's part of it, but I got a better offer from somewhere else." she says, her eyes flitting in Afton's direction.
Datri easily connects the dots and sighs, "Poaching my soldiers now, Parker? I hope this doesn't become a regular thing..."
Afton shrugs, "Increase their pay and maybe I won't have to." he sarcastically retorts.
"Yeah, yeah... I suppose you want to leave straight away?" he asks, and continues when Josie nods, "Then you know you won't receive anything aside from this month's pay? Though, I'll allow you to keep your clothes and equipment." he says, as if that wouldn't be the case if he were an asshole... Does the NCR take your shit if you leave too early?
Josie nods, "I know..."
Datri hands her some papers and gets her to sign them, afterwards getting someone to retrieve a small sack of caps that he gives her. "So, what're your plans? Doubt you'll be sticking around here for much longer, us too considering the frontlines need reinforcements."
Afton momentarily ponders if telling the NCR his plans is a good idea, before scrapping the thought. They'd find out eventually, so why bother hiding it. "Gonna head down to Novac and do a couple jobs. Why'd you ask? Got something else for us?"
The Major mulls something over before eventually asking, "If you're headed that way, then yeah... You heard of the Deathclaw infested Quarry south of here?"
Afton nods, "Yeah, almost got my ass eaten by one a few months back." he says, remembering his first venture into the Mojave alone. Karl really saved his hide back then.
"Well, if you're up for it, we have a long-standing bounty that no one wants to collect. The job? To clear the Deathclaws on the road and in the quarry." he pauses, "Yeah, no wonder no one wanted to fuckin' do it. Hell, even with an army at my back I'd still try to pawn the job off on someone else." Datri sheepishly admits.
"Hmm..." Afton hums, wondering if his group was strong enough to take such a job yet... Sure, they had the equipment, but Anja is still pretty green. Josie would probably come along too, but he didn't know the extent of her abilities, aside from engineering obviously.
It likely wouldn't be a cakewalk, he had no idea just how many Deathclaws there were, and he didn't like going into a dangerous job like this without proper intel. "What's the rewards like?" he finally asks, wanting to know if it'd be worth his while if they did it.
"Considering the road the Deathclaws are infesting is a crucial trade route, the reward isn't anything to scoff at... If you manage to clear this road our caravans and supplies would be much, much safer... The other route is too near to the front lines and Legion encampments, making them easy targets to ambush... The current reward is 30000 caps, but I may be able to boost the price by talking to the higher-ups. As stingy as those fuckers are, they know when something needs to get done." he says.
Afton crosses his arms, "So, clear the road and quarry, kill all Deathclaws and mash all the nests?" he asks, rounding up the points of contention.
Datri nods, "I know it's a lot to ask, but every NCR trooper would be thanking you first and their gods second for the help."
...
"I'll think about it, I need to talk with the others before agreeing with this..." Afton says after a moment, and Datri nods.
Trantow leaves but before Afton can Datri give a few parting words.
"Look after Trantow for us, despite how the higherups treat her, she's well respected in the camp. I don't doubt you'll have a number of people hounding you if she gets even a scratch."
Afton chuckles "Don't worry about that... I'll be shoving her in the most fortified piece of hardware the Mojave has ever seen. Not that I think she'll complain about it, she's kinda obsessed with those sorta things." he says, giving a brief wave before leaving.
Josie was waiting outside for him with crossed arms, she grins at him as he walks out, "That went better than expected... I thought my resignation would be refused outright..." she frowns slightly, "Huh, maybe I wasn't as needed here as I thought."
Afton just shakes his head, "Don't worry about that. Datri basically threatened me to make sure you stay safe. Not to brag, but I have a pretty scary reputation, not many would dare talk to me like that."
Josie perks up slightly at this, "I need to go gather my stuff, I'll find you guys later... Try not to leave without me, it would be sooo embarrassing to have to ask around for you immediately after resigning."
Afton rubs his chin, "Damn, that sorts like a pretty good idea-Ouch!" he complains as she pinches his cheek.
"Don't. You. Dare!"
He waves his hands placatingly at her, "Alright, alright. I won't prank you, I promise."
She lets go of his cheek and huffs, "Good." before walking away.
Afton watches her leave while 'subtly' checking her tight jeans out. "Women." he mutters and starts looking around for the others.
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