章 55: Great Escape!

Afton walked to an isolated room and dropped the box of Microfusion cells onto a desk, it'd be night in a couple hours so he had to prepare everything for when he had to leave.

He left and returned with one of the only things his parents had owned, it was a Deathclaw leather satchel that his father had made for his mother after his near-death encounter. It was heavy, but incredibly sturdy, the bag was tough and rigid but still slightly flexible, making it ideal for the wasteland.

Hopefully, no one would notice what the grey scales were from, otherwise it'd be difficult to answer them. He stuffs all the Microfusion cells into the bag along with a water canteen that he'd filled earlier.

He looked at himself in a nearby grimy mirror and frowns, he was 6.1ft with messy black hair and hazel eyes. He considered himself average to above average? Though, he didn't know if he was being objective about it. His skin was terribly pale due to how long he'd been trapped underground.

There was one problem though, he was currently wearing the brotherhood recon armour, the tough brown leather useful for stealth, and the additional metal plating didn't get in the way of that. It'd provide good protection, but anyone with any sense would immediately be able to tell what faction be belonged to.

Shaking his head, he ignored the issue for now as there wasn't really anything else to wear. So he waited for night to fall, taking a quick look outside for any guards before slipping out with the Gauss Rifle slung on his back and his satchel at his side.

He immediately headed towards the workshop, he couldn't risk them retrieving the information earlier and scrapping it before he could stop them. There were a few guards milling about as you obviously can't leave a base undefended.

Most gave him curious glances but just assumed he was bringing the Gauss Rifle to get repaired or something similar. He slipped inside the workshop and glanced around, no one.

He breathed a sigh of relief, this would make it significantly easier to retrieve the Pipboy, if someone were here he wouldn't have an excuse to give them. He briskly walked up to the Pipboy and glanced at the terminal it was connected to, he wanted to go through it but didn't have time, besides, the Pipboy would have all the information anyway.

Paused the upload and unplugged it before storing the device in his bag.

[Retrieve Pipboy: Success!]

[Escape with Pipboy]

A new quest came in after the first, he was already going to do that so no big deal. He left and quietly made his way to the exit, already fingering a device he'd prepared.

One he got up the stairs he spotted a Paladin sitting behind a desk with his helmet off, next to him was a Gauss Rifle and... The security card needed to access the terminal and open the doors.

Afton hid his weapon behind his back so the Paladin couldn't see it and stood in the doorway, "Hey, one of the Knights wanted to know if you were having trouble with your weapon?" he asks with a 'concerned' expression.

The Paladin raised a brow and looked over to the Gauss Rifle on his desk, picking it up and is about to take out the Microfusion cell.

Just as he touches it Afton presses the switch he'd prepared, causing the Gauss Rifles coils to fire abruptly, damaging the internals and causing black smoke to waft out of it in small amounts. Afton makes a show at jumping away in surprise as the Paladin looks at his weapon in shock. "Is this what you were referring to?" he asks as he quickly stands up to get some distance knowing full well that if it explodes it could be quite dangerous.

Afton slowly nods, "Apparently one of the newer Knight bungled the repair, could you leave it in the workshop and retrieve another from the armoury? I'll keep an eye on your post."

...

[Speech Check: Failed!]

"Why don't you take it for me?" he asks, feeling slightly indignant at being told what to do by someone in a lower position than him.

Afton gestures at the gun with a frown, "Sir, with all due respect, if that explodes while I'm carrying it, I'll lose both of my hands... You'll be fine with Power armour, but as you can see, I'm not wearing any."

The man snorts before slowly nodding, "Fine! You better not do anything stupid though!" they say while getting up, slipping the security card in their pocket at they go to leave.

Afton's eyes bulge at the fact the man had remembered the card, his mind scrambles to find a way to get it off of him but he only knew one way.

The Paladin was holding the Gauss Rifle at his side in one hand with his helmet in the other... It was fortunate he didn't expect any hostility from Afton otherwise his plan would have spectacularly failed.

Afton quickly grabs a paperweight for the desk and jumps at the back, smashing it into the back of his head, immediately rendering them unconscious. They fall onto their front with a large *clang!* and continue to silently lie there.

With that done he tosses the paperweight back onto the table and grabs the keycard, he'd hoped he wouldn't have to do this, but if he knew that he'd end up doing it any way he'd have tried to keep the man's Gauss Rifle undamaged...

Afton quickly uses the card to open the exit before leaving it on the desk, not wishing to endanger everyone by accidentally giving an outsider access inside. Again, he takes the long, long walk up the never ending staircase, eventually reaching the surface bunker.

It was relatively the same from all those years ago, though there was some fresh supplies left in one of the nearby crates... Lucky!