บท 389: Morning Horn
*Knock, Knock, Knock*
Afton grumbles as he raises his head out of bed to look at the door, "Five more minutes!"
*Knock, Knock, Knock*
...
*Knock, Knock-*
"Alright! Alright! Fine!" he exclaims, rubbing her eyes as he rolls out of bed, putting on the Stealthsuit before heading to the door. It wouldn't do for any random person to see his mutated body after all.
He opens it and comes back to face with James Garret, the man standing there with a nervous look on his face, "Er, hey Afton... You... You have a guest down at the bar, I try to keep my head above things but... I didn't think you were affiliated with... 'them'" he quickly mutters, and Afton could hear the fear in his voice.
Afton raises a brow, "Who?"
James tries to say but the words get caught in his throat as he looks around the hallway, instead, he just puts his index fingers on either side of his head facing upwards, as if mimicking horns...
Ah... So the Legion have come to talk with me? Shit.
Afton rests a hand on James' shoulder, "Don't worry, I'll handle this." he says, going back into his room and gathering his weaponry before stomping down to the ground floor.
Obviously, the first floor was basically empty, no one wanted to gamble, whore, or drink first thing in the morning, especially since most had already been doing it all night. There was one person, however, sitting at the bar sipping a glass of wine. They were exactly as Afton remembered, wearing the primly black suit with a bowler hat... Not very inconspicuous, but it apparently worked to keep their true allegiances hidden... Somehow.
Fortunately, none of his companions were awake to hear the conversation he was about to have with the man, he really didn't want to explain this to those not in the know.
As he reaches the bottom of the stairs, the spy's eyes glance to him, but he still makes no indication that he'd seen him. He just continues demurely sipping his wine, with no cares in the world.
Afton sits next to the man and leans forwards, catching his eyes, "Whaddya want?"
The man places the wine on the bar and turns to him with a dull expression, "It has come to our attention that Major Lowell Thompson Jr, is dead. But I'm sure you already know of this, correct?"
Afton slowly nods, not giving any indication on his involvement, or lack there of, of the Major's death.
"Then, are you also aware that you failed the task given to you?"
"How?"
"Simple... The time limit was meaningless, we wished to see your work ethic, and found you wanting. Did you really think the Major would 'accidentally' wander into a cannibal's arms, Mr Parker?"
"That was you?" Afton asks in surprise, having not expected that.
"In time, you'll find that we are responsible for most things, Mr Parker. You are lucky it is not up to me what happens to you, but Vulpes Inculta. He had decided to give you one last chance before he reveals your identity and crimes to everyone in the Mojave, and out of the Mojave."
Huh... Had the Legion not found out who was responsible for their string of failures on the west side of the colorado? Probably not judging by the fact they were still willing to give him a mission... Still, if this bought him some extra time, then he'd accept it, whether or not he actually wished to kill the target.
"Fine. Hit me."
The spy shakes their head at his language, "And they call us barbarians, very well. Your target is Ranger Chief Hanlon, they have been a pain in the Legion's side for far too long. Eliminate him, and the Legion will see your debts cleared... Understood?"
Afton just nods, deciding to not vocalize a response.
"Good." the Legionary says, finishing their wine before getting up and leaving, not saying another word to him.
"Wait... How long do I have?" he asks as they reach the door.
"One month." the spy states, before finally exiting the building.
...
Afton leans back against the bar and lets out a long breath, "Fuck."
Well, he only had a month to kill Chief Hanlon, otherwise, the Legion would fuck him, his identity, his crimes against the NCR, and fuck everyone affiliated with him... Seems like he'd need to speed up his timetable...
Not long after the Legion spy had left, James comes back in and stands behind the bar, taking in Afton's tired look, "You alright there, buddy?"
Afton just waves him off, "Yeeeaahhh..." he drawls, "Give me a shot of Vodka, something to liven up this shit morning."
James pours him the drink and slides it in front of him and Afton downs it just as Karl reaches the stairs leading to the first floor, "A bit early for drinking isn't it? 'Specially with what we got 'ta do later."
Afton just shakes his head, "I'll be fine, it's just a pick-me-up. Where are the others?"
Karl shrugs, "Still getting up I'd bet... Better get some water ready for Josie though, don't think that girl has ever drunk so much before..."
Soon enough, the rest of the group start leaving their rooms and coming down to the bar... Last of which is Josie who looks absolutely awful. Messed up hair, bags under her eyes, pallid skin, and a tired but mean look plastered on her face.
She sits down at the bar with a thump and Karl immediately slides a glass of water in front of her, she downs it and James pours another, passing her a couple headache tablets as he does so, "On me, I've been down that road enough times to know how shit it feels."
She gives him a weak smile, "Thanks..."
After everyone is gathered, Afton calps his hands, causing Josie to wince but catching their attention nonetheless, "Alright, what's the plan for dealing with You-Know-Who?"
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บท 390: Top of the mornin' to ya'!
Tamia just gives him a blank look at his question, "The plan?" she scoffs, "Walk in, find him, kill him. Good enough?"
Afton snorts and shakes his head, "Yeah, if you were trying to kill a civilian or mentally infirm bandit... This guy is the owner of the Tops, you think people haven't tried to get rid of him before?"
"Those people aren't me." she states, confidence and anger oozing off of her like an aura.
"I hate to say it Tamia, but... I agree with Afton here, we can't just go in guns blazing and expect to get out fine and dandy. All casino's, apart from this one, take your guns before entering. Meaning we'd have to either fight bare-handed or shoot our way through the front door... I doubt the Securitrons would be very receptive to that either." Veronica says, getting nods from Boone and Karl.
Tamia groans and her posture slouches, "Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww, I'm starting to regret meeting you guys... Veronica used to be so much fun, now she'd a stick in the mud."
Afton smirks, "Let me guess, all your previous battles included charging with an axe, retreating with an axe, and throwing an axe...?"
Tamia crosses her arms and shakes her head, "You're wrong... I've never retreated before in my life."
"And how you're still alive to this day remains a mystery." Veronica quietly mutters but has everyone chuckling at her words.
"Fine! What would you have me do then?" Tamia asks, finally giving in to reason.
Afton shrugs, "I could probably sneak in a couple weapons without much trouble. Karl, Josie, you two were in the Tops, notice anything we can use?"
Josie just blushes and turns her head away, not wanting to think about her actions the previous night.
"Spent most of the time on the first floor... But, I did notice that they used elevators for almost everything. I'd bet you could reach the VIP quarters through 'em without much trouble. "
"Yeah, that doesn't help much..." Afton mutters, thinking over what they could do to guarantee success... "You said the guy shot you, why?"
Tamia raises a brow, "Why did I say he shot me? Or why did he shoot me?" he asks, not understanding his question.
"The second one." he states.
Tamia shrugs, "Apparently he wanted the package I was carrying. Stole it from me before he shot me and buried me in a shallow grave."
Afton rubs his face, "So it wasn't you, he was targeting, but the object you carried... I wonder if you could just request a meeting with him to discuss it, not only that, you are pretty cute, you could probably seduce him into his room and... You know." Afton mimicks wrapping a garrote around someone's neck and pulling it tight.
She smirks, "I think I like that idea."
"Are you any good at seduction though?" Afton asks.
Tamia just shrugs at him, "I don't know, never tried... I think?... If that doesn't work though, we can just go back to my original plan, deal?"
Afton sighs, "Yeah, sure... Whatever we do, people'll eventually find out that we are responsible for it. Maybe we could ally with the less loyal members of the Tops? No... Too risky... Whatever, let's just try seduce him, if that don't work then go crazy." he says, finally getting up from the bar.
The group follow as he drives Dirt-Hog back to the North Strip Gate, before the head inside, however, he takes off almost all of his weaponry aside from his Proton axes and pistols. Everything else would most likely be too conspicuous or too large to sneak inside. Plus, if shit really does hit the fan, they could retreat back to the vehicle to get their weapons.
Everyone else does the same, realising there was a good chance they wouldn't be getting their guns back if shit went down. Of course, Anja would be left behind again to watch Dirt-Hog, perhaps one day ghouls would be allowed into the strip... You know, without having to become prostitutes at Gomorrah's.
Afton uses the various pouches on the Stealthsuit to hide everyone's pistols, fortunately, he wasn't required to hide his Proton axes as most people had no idea what they even were... It worked in Gomorrah's, so it'd probably work in the Tops.
Tamia was back in her blue Vaultsuit while Veronica was still wearing the dress she'd acquired from the Ultra-Lux... To be honest, he didn't think she'd ever take it off if given a choice. Hopefully he'd not have to strip her naked and lock her in a room with some armour to fix that.
The group enter the strip and immediately head to the Tops, the casino itself isn't as grand as Gomorrah's or the Ultra-Lux, but it definitely has that distinct 'Vegas' feel. With big shining rainbow lights and a stream of gamblers entering and exiting the place, it wasn't unpopular in the least.
Upon entering the building Afton is greeted by a colourful room decorated by many lights, with a few being shaped like musical notes. Not to mention the large group of men in grey suits, standing by the entrance with guns clearly displayed on their hips.
"Hey, hey, hey, fella! Welcome to the tops hotel and casino. You're with them I'm guessin'?" the man asks, gesturing at the rest of his group that's entered behind him.
Afton nods, "Will that be a problem?"
"No, no, not at all! In fact, we welcome guys like you, can never have enough friends if you catch my drift. Anyway, I hope you understand but you'll need to hand over any weapons you may have, you know, for our safety and your own. Cool?"
Afton shrugs and nods, letting himself be searched... Of course, he employs his Sneak Skill to the max, subtly moving his body so the guns he'd stashed on his person are missed in the search. His Proton axes do raise a few brows, but he gave the same explanation he had in Gomorrah's... It was slightly harder to convince these guys, but he managed nonetheless.
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