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.