Unfortunately, after investigating for a day and a half Afton still hadn't found any leads. He currently had Daisy working on the motorbike so progress on it wouldn't be completely stopped, but he would eventually be needed back to treat patients for Ada...
He was about to go and ask Karl if he'd found anything when a couple NCR soldiers entered town, all wielding service rifles and looking covered in dust. As Afton was the closest person to the entrance of Novac they went over and started asking him questions.
"Excuse me citizen, could you help us for a moment?" one of the squad ask.
Afton gives them the stink-eye for a moment before shrugging, "Depends on what it is."
"We're down from the Nelson blockade, send by Ranger Milo to look for someone."
Afton holds up his hand, "Wait a moment, Nelson blockade?" he asks, having no idea where or what that is.
The soldier he was talking to give him a weird look before pointing East, a town called Nelson down by the Colorado. It's been captured by the Legion and so we've created a blockade to prevent people getting in, and out. As to why we're here? Our commander has gotten word that some former 1st Recon were holed up down here."
Afton raises a brow, "Manny and Boone?" he wonders what they could actually want them for, Boone is likely to attend to anything involving the Legion, but why do the NCR need them? Is the situation truly so bad that they need former-soldiers to reinforce their army? If so, the NCR is fucked.
"If Manny and Boone are the former-1st Recon then yes, could you bring me to see them? We need their help."
Afton doesn't really have a valid objection and just nods, walking over to the Dinosaur and asking the soldiers to wait outside. He heads inside and finds Boone already waiting for him. "Don't be surprised, I could see the squad from a mile away, I'm guessing they want something from me if you're here."
"Yeah, they want to speak to you and Manny for some reason, word's gotten around that two former-1st Recon are staying here... Probably because you won't take that Beret off." Afton says while pointing at Boone's red hat.
"Fine. Let's get this over with."
The duo head downstairs and the soldiers look Boone over, nodding to themselves when they see the insignia on his beret. "Are you Boone?"
"Yeah."
The soldier looks to Afton, "Sir, could you also grab the other one called Manny?"
Afton and Boone shake their heads simultaneously, "That guy's a piece of shit, so no."
"I wouldn't do any job Manny is involved in anyway. So, what do you want?" Boone adds.
"There's a situation down in Nelson we need someone of your... Expertise to deal with. There'll be caps in it since you are no longer actively serving, it might require the other one though... Sniper teams travel in two after all."
...
This was the first Afton had heard of that... His thoughts went back to the NCR sniper who'd killed his mother. He hadn't seen another sniper anywhere near them, but maybe the stress of the battle had made his sight unreliable?...
Boone shakes his head, "I'll do it alone, I refuse to work with Manny." he states.
The soldiers look at one another and shrug, "I'm not sure Ranger Milo will like that. Whatever, all he asked was to bring you to him. Will you accept the job?"
"Anything that lets me shoot at the Legion is good with me." he says.
Afton watches as they tell Boone what he might need to bring while he thinks whether or not he wants to involve himself in this... Caps are involved, and he might get some EXP from it, as well as more positive relations with the NCR.
"Boone, this probably has something to do with sniping right?"
The man turns and gives a small nod, "Yeah."
"Well, since snipers apparently work in teams of two, I'd be able to spot for you. I'd need a split of the reward though so its up to you."
Boone sniffs and rubs his nose, "You know how to spot?"
Afton nods, his Guns skill had included that knowledge thankfully.
"Grab your stuff and get ready then, we're headed for Nelson in thirty minutes. No idea how long we'll be there."
Afton nods and leaves, immediately going to his hotel room where Karl-GHUK! "Karl what the fuck!" he exclaims as he sees the old man in bed with Jeannie.
Karl just blinks at him owlishly and shrugs, "Man's gotta do what a man's gotta do."
...
"In our shared room? Are you serious?" he shakes his head, "I'll be gone on a job with Boone in Nelson for a couple days. You keep working on the other job until I get back."
Karl nods before sending a perverted grin at him, "Yeah, yeah... Can you leave? I feel the Shot-Karl cocking again, and its got plenty ammo to spare."
Afton stifles the gag he gets at hearing that and leaves while ignoring Jeannie's blushing face. "Sorry about this dear." she says as he exits the door.
Hmm, he hadn't managed to actually get any supplies... He's got enough weaponry and ammo on him, but he'd need food and water for the journey... Whatever, he'd just buy some from the traders, there was no way he was walking back into that room.
He met Boone and the other soldiers not long after grabbing the supplies. Lucky, That Gun, and his other weapons were strapped on him as if he were planning to fight against an army alone. Who knows, depending on the mission goes that might just be the case.
"Ready to go?" Boone quietly asks.
Afton nods, "Yeah, my partner left me with something that I want to try and forget... Hopefully the long walk will allow me to clear my head..." he mutters.
Karl's a dirty old man... Works faster than Afton does though, you can say that at least...
Hope you bois like the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
It takes a couple hours and the sky was already starting to dim when the group reached the blockade. It wasn't much of an encampment though if Afton were honest. Just a few small sandbag walls that the NCR could use as cover and a few soldiers milling about... If the Legion wanted to take this position then they'd easily be able to do it.
Once they arrived Boone was immediately approached by a man wearing the rather thick-plated ranger armour, he had a massive beard and the stupid-looking hat that'd usually accompany the armour.
"You the ranger I called for?" the man asks, looking him over and taking particular notice of Boone's beret.
"Yeah, I'm Boone, former-1st Recon." he states.
"Hm, the Ranger in charge of this position, call me Milo. Who're you?" he asks after noticing Afton.
Afton shrugs, "Just a merc, currently Boone's spotter."
Milo nods and scratches his chin before his eye's widen in realisation, "You one of the guys that cleaned out the Powder Gangers?"
He nods, "Yeah, I'd rather you just tell us what the job is before we start making small talk though."
"Ah, yeah..." he gestures at the road following the steep hill downwards, "Nelson's down there, its crawling with Legion troops and the NCR can't spare enough troops to take it back. Despite what you may think, I haven't called for you to deal with that particular problem for us... No, instead there's something else that my men don't seem to have the balls to do... They're willing to charge into Nelson with nothing but a damn penknife, but the moment this comes up they're shittin' themselves." Milo scoffs and continues.
"Legion's managed to capture some our troops, put 'em up on crosses in the middle of town to make my men watch as they torture them. Fuckin' pieces of shit."
Afton cuts in, "You want us to sneak into camp and save them? Surely a sniper team isn't suited for something like that."
Boone shakes his head, "No. He wants us to kill the NCR troops being tortured."
Afton raises a brow at that, he hadn't considered that the NCR would be willing to do something like that. This'd also be the reason they'd want someone from outside the army to do it, there might be resentment lingering afterwards which would be counterproductive in a cohesive unit.
Well, he wouldn't say it to the man's face but Boone was something of an expert when it came to mercy killings... He shook that morbid thought from his head as Milo confirms Boone's assumption.
"Yeah, I've seen what the Legion does to captured soldiers. The women that'd been captured are probably already halfway to Cottonwood Cove so there's no way to help them... But we can still do something about the men they've hung on crosses, a mercy killin' is better than being tortured to death." he states.
Well, there might be some truth in that but Afton'd rather deal with the pain and potentially escape... He'd not say anything though as his caps were on the line, plus he didn't really care about killing a couple NCR soldiers.
Boone looks to Milo, "We'll start at sunrise tomorrow."
"Can't you begin tonight? I'd hazard to guess that it'd be easier to do under dark."
Boone shakes his head, "I don't have the equipment for that, you'll just have to wait until tomorrow."
The duo are given a couple sleeping bags to stay for the night, Boone asked about how his search for the person who sold his wife was going but Afton didn't really have all that much to tell him. He went over his conversation with Manny but Boone didn't seem to give a shit, not about Manny's apology or the fact the man was supposedly not involved with the incident.
Afton wasn't sure if he was angry, apathetic, or was simply just trying to hide his true emotions. Boone didn't give any indication on what he was feeling towards him having made no progress... Perhaps he didn't think Afton would actually find anything.
In the morning he and Boone were up just before sunrise. Boone slung his scoped Hunting Rifle onto his back, along with a 9mm Pistol on his side. Milo had given them some info on an outcropping that'd overlook the entire town of Nelson. A perfect spot to do what they needed and get out before the Legion overwhelmed them.
While the two were walking up the mountainous terrain Boone had stated that he wasn't just going to be aiming for their targets. Afton wasn't bothered by this in the least, the only goo Legion soldier was a dead one after all.
Eventually, they reached their destination and Boone made himself comfortable by lying on the floor with his rifle's barrel just going over the edge, pointing directly at Nelson.
The town itself looked barren, not in that there weren't people around, because there must've been around a hundred Legionaries down there. No, it looked dirty and unmaintained. It seemed like it'd been a mining town before the Great war, but had been renovated into a small farming community due to its close proximity to the Colorado river. However, that seems to have changed under the new leadership.
All the areas that previously had crops was empty, trash littered the place and the only reason he could imagine the Legion was staying here was to fortify their position West of the river.
Afton sat down next to Boone as the man shoved some binoculars in his hands. "You'll need these." Boone states.
Afton just shakes his head, "No, I'll do fine without 'em... Let's deal with the NCR soldiers before we start picking off Legionaries, yeah? Let's do as much damage as possible before we have to retreat." he says. His VATS would make him better than any other spotter, not only would it automatically detect enemies, but it only stated the distance the enemy was at. Not to mention it froze time and allowed him to decide what plan of action to take.
Boone shows a rare grin and shoves a .308 round into the chamber before pulling the bolt handle, producing a satisfying *Click*, "Yeah, let's do that."
Yeah, Boone and Afton are going to start a party next chap... It won't be one that you'd want to be invited to though, the cake comes in the form of a .308 bullet and isn't mean to be eaten.
Hope you guys 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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