章 119: Hammer time

Afton stealthily follows the trail leading to whoever stole his bike. Yeah, it was probably a stupid idea to leave it out here, but its not like he could take it inside or something. Maybe he should've carved his name into it? As of now he was considering using the perpetrator's blood as paint for such a task.

The trail wasn't actually all that long, it leads to a shack that was about the size of a regular pre-war home that was situated not too far from the Novac motel itself.

The shack had one regular-sized door on the left side of the building, as well as a large one that resembled a garage door... Though, he didn't think whoever built this scrapheap was good enough to install the necessary motors to make it open.

He snuck close to the door with Lucky in-hand and could hear someone banging on something made of metal with a hammer. Hopefully with this going on they wouldn't notice him sneaking through the door.

He grabbed the doorknob and opened it, sneaking inside the rather brightly lit building. Strangely, there weren't any divider walls separating separate rooms, there was only a single large room that seemed to have a kitchen at the left-most corner, the rest was filled with vehicle scrap and other mechanic tools.

*Tink! Tink! Tink!*

An elderly-looking woman with white hair, adorned in a duster and cowboy hat was hammering a car wreckage's frame. This must be the person who stole his bike.

He stands and pulls the hammer down on Lucky with an audible *Click*. "No sudden movements bike-jacker. Or you might find yourself with a head to wear your at." he states.

She glances over her shoulder and seems amused by him, a smirk gracing her wrinkled lips. "Now, is that really a way to treat an old lady? Also, I've heard more intimidating threats from my grandchildren, and they've only just started talking."

Afton growls at her and fires Lucky at the hammer she was holding, it hits the metal head and throws it straight outta her hand and skidding across the room. "I'm not in the mood for jokes." he seethes.

"Hm, you're a fine shot you know. Coulda used someone like you back in Navarro... As to your bike, I've not touched it at all, only moved it to stop any would-be thieves." she says, for some reason not all that shocked at his accuracy and willingness to discharge a shot.

"Yeah, I believe that." he says sarcastically, "It was fine where it was, the only reason to move it would be if you wanted to crack it open and steal the shit inside."

The woman shakes her head, "Rumours get around in this town, the monster harming the big-horners, crazy doctor who also happens to be a drug dealer, things about Legion spies... The most recent one is that you've been trying to recreate a pre-war vehicle... With some success from what I've seen."

"Bullshit, no one was around while I was working on it." he states with confidence, having checked to make sure of it.

"You sure? I walked past you twice while you were wiring. Seemed pretty enthralled by what you were doin'. Not to mention the fact you were doing this at the back of the motel... That place has windows you know."

...

Afton feels like slapping himself in the face, had he really shown the supernatural [Jury Rigging] to all those people? As well as his efforts in fixing the bike up? "What else does the rumour say?" he asks warily.

She shrugs, "Only that you were fixing a pre-war motorbike up in plain view of everyone. This is why I thought it best to move it to a more secure location, why else did you think I had the boys leave a big trail leader here? I'm not a fool boy, only someone without a brain would steal and leave a trail directly to their location." she states.

This was strange, either she was telling the truth, or she was an incredible liar... "Who are you?"

She crosses her arms and smiles at him, "Daisy Whitman, I recover useful components from scraps people bring me. Not my favourite job but it puts caps in my pocket."

...

"I'm sure you already know but, I'm Afton Parker." he says, deciding to put his weapon away and trust the woman. He could draw Lucky faster than most could blink so it wasn't really putting him at a disadvantage anyway.

Daisy nods and sits down on the wrecked car she was hammering, "I'm like a sponge to gossip, not much else for an old girl like me to do. You and that guy Karl, Mercs that've done the NCR a lotta good, wiped out the Powder Gangers and many other annoying pests. I'll personally thank you for that as Powder Gangers used to occasionally come by and harass the farmers."

"Seems like word about us has gotten around..." he mutters, not sure how to feel about it. He didn't know if they were gaining notoriety too quickly... It'd bring unwanted attention towards them, all he wanted.

"It has, along with word about an axe-wielding Courier searching for a man who'd wronged her."

Afton raises a brow, "You know Tamia?"

Daisy nods, "Lass came by maybe a week ago? Spoke with some robot named Victor, questioned a few people before vanishing. My guess is boulder city, doubt she'd still be around there any longer though, doesn't seem the type to stick around places too long."

He nods and decides to get back to the matter at hand, "Where's my bike?"

Daisy points over at the corner where the motorbike was sitting... Its hull was now shining with a new sheen and seems to have been cleaned of all dust and grime. The metal reinforcements he'd put on to prevent people from trying to access the vital components doesn't seem to have been touched at all, lending credence to Daisy's intentions.