บท 205: Rock, meet Lead.

"Think boss will let us have a go next?" one asks as they walk.

The other shake their head, "No. He never shares, the only time he's ever let us have a go is when they're too broken to move. Even then he tells us to give them to Violet for her dogs."

"I know right? Feeding those dogs good meat like that? What a waste!... But, with Violet gone we won't have to worry about that anymore, our chance is now!"

"Yeah... Did anyone actually tell you what happened to Violet? All I heard was that her dog tore her to shreds... Makes me nervous about the mongrels that we still have."

"Hell no! It was obviously an outside job. They found her body without her head, no dog I know can bite through and eat human skulls!"

"An outside job?... Think we're next then?"

The questioned man shrugs, "With the shit show that apparently happened in the sewers, I wouldn't be surprised. It definitely ain't the NCR, those guys wouldn't butcher women and young like that."

"Dude, are you forgetting Bitter Springs?"

...

"I'll never forget Bitter Springs. Let's keep moving, better not get caught idling during our patrol, I don't want Nephi's club buried in my stomach thank you!"

Afton watches as they walk away and glances to Karl to see his reaction to their words, the man looking solemn for a moment before recomposing himself.

"Quickly, let's move before another patrol comes through." he says, quickly sneaking past the rubble and towards the Rock Crushing Plant.

The plant itself contained four large building that'd be used to process rocks, all of which were raised off of the ground by wooden scaffolding. Large conveyor belts led from the ground to the top of the buildings, presumably to transport rocks to their 'last destination'.

That wasn't all though, Driver Nephi had obviously added his own personal touch to the aesthetics of the place. Graffiti covered the buildings, most of which was unintelligible gobbledygook, while others just swore and cursed the NCR. The many heads of pikes surrounding the place also gave an indication about the man they were about to try and kill.

Most of the heads belonged to NCR soldiers, their berets, trooper helmets, and googles still being worn by them. But other disgusted the duo more than they'd admit, belonging to women and what looked like young teenagers.

One look at their faces fixed into a look of horror had Afton almost raging. But he forced himself to stay composed, Nephi would get what's coming to him, no need to fuck up the plan in some furious bout of righteous justice.

"We need to check each building to see where the hostages are being held, once done we can look for Nephi... Maybe torturing it outta one of the patrols would help..." Karl says before pointing at the nearest building.

The duo sneaks over towards it, Karl disarming a few fragments that'd be slyly hidden under a light layer of sand before moving on. They reach some steps that lead to double doors, taking a glance around them to check if there were any patrols coming, they peek inside the building.

...

Afton spots a few beds that're currently being used by the Fiends. The inside of the building itself was just one huge room with the rock crushing machinery at one end, the crushed rocks would be funnelled down beneath the wooden scaffolding where transport would be waiting.

They didn't really see anything concerning the hostages, there was a weapons rack next to where the Fiends were sleeping that was filled to the brim with a random assortment of things. Most of which looked rusty, broken, or both.

The two leave and start making their way to the next building, this one being surrounded by the largest amount of severed heads. They have a couple close calls, scrambling to find a place to hide while a patrol passes, but they do manage to reach the doors.

Afton stops Karl from opening it though when he hears shouting and feminine screaming coming from inside. It's good he did too as something bangs against the door... Afton grabs Karl and takes him underneath the building, through the wooden scaffolding and towards a large metal container.

"The Rock Crushing Plant shouldn't be active, or have any power at all to start suddenly working." Afton states as he looks up through the floor of the building where the rocks would be funnelled. He climbs up silently and looks through one of the cracks.

He instantly regrets taking a look, as many dirt, naked people are huddled against one side of the building as Fiends look them over with lustful looks. Women, young men, and girls were all gathered here.

He spots what'd banged against the door earlier, a woman trying to fight back and escape... She was surrounded by the Fiends and being brutally beaten, blood was beginning to pool beneath her and Afton wasn't sure if she'd live through this encounter.

Afton drops back to Karl, "There're a lot of Fiends inside with the hostages. I don't know about you, but I say just fuck it and shoot our way inside."

Karl sighs and nods, "Whatever, let's just help those people out." he says, checking his LMG to make sure it was fit for another massacre.

The duo quickly get to the double door and Afton waves at Boone's location before glancing back at Karl. They'd need his support once they entered as there as no way the patrols and Driver Nephi wouldn't hear them.

Karl counts down using his hand, and once they reach zero Afton kicks the door open with enough force to send the Fiend standing behind it sprawling to the floor. The other's are slow in their reactions and aren't able to do anything as Karl hefts his LMG up and towards their direction.

"EAT LEAD!"