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24.4% Steel Waste / Chapter 173: Doubtful

บท 173: Doubtful

Elsewhere :

Karl and Boone had been looking around Freeside for a while now, they'd encountered many different kinds of people during their search... Some regular poverty-stricken folk, scammers, drug dealers, drug addicts, and gangs, the latter of which the duo tried to keep some distance from. It wouldn't do for them to start butchering people as soon as they entered Freeside, even if the people deserved it.

Most people didn't really have any information on their quarry, Karl just assumed Tamia was in a rush to get into the strip and murder the guy who'd capped her. Though, if something like that did happen they would've heard about it by now. One doesn't just murder someone of presumably high-standing within the strip without causing a ruckus.

From what Karl understood, New Vegas was a politically tumultuous as the NCR hierarchy is... Bribes, corruptions, backstabbing, and every other crime you could think of all being committed by the leaders with little to no accountability.

Of course, there was one thing the casino bosses weren't willing to do, or more accurately, weren't able to do. Mr House ran a tight operation, and if anyone would dare try to evade the tax he'd set upon the strip, they'd likely have an army of Securitrons knocking on their doors.

Boone looks to Karl as they walk through one of the many hidden back alleys of Freeside, both had already needed to scare off a couple desperate folk looking for caps, but they were still ready to retaliate if anyone dared to try to rob them. "Hey... You think we'll really be able to do damage to the Legion?" he quietly asks, as if he wasn't expecting a positive answer.

Karl glances to him, "I'll tell you my thoughts, but first I wanna know why you're askin'."

Boone nods slightly, "I don't know... It just feels a bit farfetched to think that us three would be able to do any meaningful damage to something as big as the Legion. The NCR has put most of their resources in the Mojave forth to try and eradicate the Legion, and yet they're still struggling."

"I think you're looking at this all wrong kid, we don't need to single-handedly destroy you Legion ourselves you know? All we need to do is break the stalemate between the NCR and them, it could be as big as killing a commander during a vital siege, or capturing some valuable intel. I can already think of thousands of methods to slowly pry the parasite that is the Legion away from the Mojave." Karl states confidently.

Boone seems to be convinced by his reasoning, he'd been so focussed on dealing with the problem himself that he'd forgotten that the Legion isn't that well-liked among other factions. His tunnel vision had caused him to miss the wider situation. "In that case, let me ask something else... Do you think we'll make it out of this alive?"

"We will. We have to. I'll drag my daughter out of their grasp with my teeth if I have to, and I'll kill any who get in my way. I believe that Afton will lead us in the right direction for our goals, the kid seems to have a knack for getting into beneficial trouble."

"How can trouble be beneficial?" Boone asks sarcastically.

"Well, as the saying goes, 'Every cloud has its silver lining', though, I think 'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger' is the most accurate verse in our situation... With every conflict we become more efficient, better geared, feared. Eventually we'll be too big a target for either faction to ignore, it's at that moment that we'll become big enough players to affect the board." Karl doesn't mention the fact that he's seen Afton grow exponentially stronger the most time he was around the kid, whether it was really happening or just a trick of the eyes was another matter entirely.

Boone nods, "Afton's already repurposed a motorcycle, I wonder what else he's capa-" he stops midsentence as the duo notice something in the distance, far along the relatively dark alleyway there seemed to be a small gathering of people... This wouldn't usually be all that strange, if it weren't for the few people wearing Fiend clothing being present...

The duo hide behind a ruined building as soon as they spot them, fortunately the opposition didn't seem to have noticed them.

"The fuck are Fiends doing inside of Freeside?" Karl quickly whispers, many plans of action forming in his mind and being picked off due to the lack of information.

Boone sticks out his hunting rifle and peeks through the scope to get a better look at the situation, there were a few homeless-looking folk talking animatedly with the Fiends. They didn't seem uncomfortable either which meant this probably wasn't the first time they'd met. "Don't know, but whatever it is can't be good for Freeside."

Karl nods, "Let's hold off looking for Tamia for now, we need to figure out what they're up to before something drastic can happen... Cover me, I'm going to take a closer look." he says before slowly sneaking through the rubble.

Boone looks around for a better vantage point and finds a ruined building with a collapsed second story, the floor having formed a steep ramp leading to it. Boone quickly scrambles up it as quietly as possible before propping his hunting rifle on one of the windows.

He watches from the second floor as Karl sneaks towards the conversing group, scanning the area to make sure no-one could notice him. The situation was one who didn't usually like to find himself, covering someone without a spotter beside him... He was very vulnerable to being snuck up on, though, with the only entrance to the second story of the building being the ramp, he knew he'd likely hear someone if they tried to climb it.


ความคิดของผู้สร้าง
Niggross Niggross

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

บท 174: Something Stinks...

Karl crept closer to the group while hiding his presence behind the nearby rubble. His goal wasn't to make an ambush or even to lay traps. No, it was to listen in on their conversation to get an idea on what they were planning.

The leader of the Fiends was currently speaking to one of the homeless-looking men, she wore a combat helmet that had a large goat-skull attached to the top of it. "-Are the supplies? I asked for them days ago and you still haven't gotten them!" Karl hears the woman say as he listens into the conversation.

The man holds up his hands and shows his palms pacifyingly, "We are trying, but the food shortages are making it difficult for us to feed ourselves, let alone get enough for you." he explains.

The woman scowls at the man, "If that's the case, then hand over your own supplies and I won't kill you." she spits, raising what looked like a Laser RCW toward the man.

"N-no come on Nutter, I'll get you your supplies, just, give me a day and I'll have it done. I promise!" he begs, not willing to put his pride over his life.

The woman growls at him, "You better, or I'm going to flay your skin and nail you to some ruins for the dogs and mosquitoes to eat. Oh, and before you leave." she points her weapon at one of the other homeless men, blasting him with a spray of lasers that causing his entire body to disintegrate. "You'll get the same if you try to run, got that Jamie?"

The man now called Jamie rapidly nods and briskly walks away, trying to get as far from that psychopath as possible.

Karl chews on his inner cheek while thinking over what he'd just heard. Obviously the Fiends were operating inside Freeside, but apparently they needed supplies? There'd only be a few reasons for this, one was the Fiends just weren't able to feed their own faction, which was unlikely. Second was that they were inside Freeside without a way out, requiring assistance from the residents...

He glances at the Fiends again and notices that they were on the move, he turns and tries to spot Boone but can't find the sniper... Instead, he just gestures towards himself with the usual NCR hand sign, if he didn't show up without a couple minutes then it was likely he was in trouble.

Fortunately Boone arrived not soon after he gave the hand sign, "Learn anything?"

Karl nods, "yeah but that can wait, we need to follow them and see where they're goin'." he states before following after the group as they walk through the alleyways.

Boone follows a good distance away from Karl, making sure to watch his back and give enough room for the more experienced man to sneak without having to drag him along. Boone was a sniper, not a dedicated scout-like Karl had been.

The Fiends were faster than the duo was, being forced to find hiding spots and avoiding any chance of discovery made them lose the group soon enough. Though, the duo was sure they'd be able to catch up.

Karl deftly snuck up to a corner and peeked into another alleyway to look for the Fiends... But, it was a dead-end... He'd watched the group walk into this place, so either they had a bunch of stealth-boys on them, were able to teleport, were planning a counter-ambush on Karl, or had slipped into a secret entrance somewhere... He was leaning towards the latter option due to how primitive the Fiends really were, using only what they managed to scavenge from the unfortunate travellers they'd come across.

Boone walks up beside him and glances into the alleyway, frowning as he does so. "Where'd they go?"

Karl shrugs, "No idea... I'm hesitant to take a look to be honest, never known what kinda shit the enemy might pull, 'specially if they knew we were tailing 'em... You sure they didn't notice us?"

Boone nods, "Yeah, their strides would've changed, and their heads would've turned at least a bit if they knew we were following them. They don't look like the trained sort either."

Karl hums to himself and continues staring at the alleyway... It was just a large clearing between buildings, there was a small pile of rotten cardboard boxes sitting on the floor in the middle of it, but otherwise, it was relatively clean... Shaking his head he decides to just take a look to see what was going on.

He creeps closer, making sure to check any and everything for traps... There were none. He reached the cardboard boxes and spotted where the Fiends may have went. A manhole leading to the sewers sat suspiciously on the floor.

Karl motions for Boone to come, once there both stare down at the sewer drain as if it were a puzzle to solve...

"I thought New Vegas and Freeside sewers had been disconnected from the outside?" Boone asks, having learned this back when he was working for the NCR... The sewers were a breeding place for crime and smuggling, so Mr. House just decided to disconnect all of it to prevent the annoyance from continuing.

"Well, we'll never know unless we take a look..." Karl mutters, "If the Fiends have managed to gain access through the sewer system then they could invade New Vegas with relative ease... I don't know their numbers but many people would die if that happened."

Karl leans down and glances around, fortunately the alleyway was dark due to the building either side of it, preventing light from reaching the floor... It'd be very difficult to sneak inside without being noticed if the underground was illuminated every time they opened the manhole. "Hmm... I'll go first I guess, I'm tempted to just drop a grenade down there and be done with it..."

He hands his Light Machine Gun to Boone as he lifts the cover as quietly as possible before climbing down the ladder.


ความคิดของผู้สร้าง
Niggross Niggross

Hope you bois 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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