After Dr Hildern left Afton had tried to leave his bed, only to be glared at by both his companions. Apparently they wanted to him to rest for a day or two to prevent another bout of 'Bleeding' from occurring. Obviously he couldn't just tell them what i actually was so he'd reluctantly agreed, no point in completely ignoring them for something so trivial.
In the meantime, Afton started playing around with his Pipboy, more specifically the map and his new Perk [Explorer]. Before him was everything of note inside and outside the Mojave, every single residence was named under their owners, whether it was meant to be kept secret or not.
Of course, the millions of ruined houses weren't individually named, only those that currently had owners or held significance of some kind had unique names. This helped somewhat to find specific places on the overwhelmingly saturated map.
Unfortunately, the Pipboy map didn't come with a search function, nor did it have any way to assist the user in finding anything. So, he was left with a map chock-full of useless information and places.
...
The only silver lining was the fact unique locations usually had unique icons that he could somewhat make out in the chaos. Vaults for instance, their gear-logo was immediately identifiable which allowed him to quickly locate every Vault in the Mojave, these being Vault 3, 11, 19, 22, and 34.
This would help a lot when he finally decided to track done those ventilation components and return to his family... Of course, only if they'd have him back. He wondered what they currently thought of him, whether or not he had been 'tainted' by the wasteland, or if he was just a straight and simple traitor.
Whatever the case, he'd do his best to alleviate their concerns... Though, if they tried to force him back into the same situation he had been in before he left, he'd leave for good. There was no point hiding in the Bunker when there were so many opportunities to be had on the surface.
Shaking his head at the thoughts of his family, he focussed on the various Vaults on the map. These would not just hold ventilation components, but would likely have intricate parts that could be used for cybernetics. It might take a while to acquire such machinery but it'd return his arm to him, something he wouldn't scoff at.
He continued making and breaking plans until he drifted off to sleep, the comfortable bed beneath him somehow seeming unfamiliar from his time in the wastes...
Suddenly, he was awakened, his eyes darting open as he scanned his surroundings... The airport terminal being almost entirely empty apart from the NCR guards protecting the place.
He tried to sit up but stopped when he felt something crinkle under his remaining hand... Picking it up and looking at it, he discovered a rather badly written note obviously meant for him. It read :
"Meet in Freeside Fiend Sewer. L"
...
"Fiend Sewer?" Afton muttered to himself, wondering where it could mean... The only place he could think of would be the Freeside Sewer that the Fiends had managed to break into and were subsequently trapped. Last he was down there he'd seen an army of Mr Houses robots repairing it...
If they truly were asking him to go to that place then they had to be someone who knew about the involvement he and his companions had with killing the Fiends there... Though, Afton sincerely doubted it was Karl or Boone who'd left the message.
Another thing he was puzzled about was who it was from, he'd not met anyone who could be put with 'L' that would do something like this...
Regardless, he now had a choice... Whether he went to meet with whoever it was or not. He could already imagine the angry faces the Boone and Karl would show him if he just up and left without any notice at all. Plus, Afton himself wasn't exactly in top fighting form, was this just a ploy to capture him?
No. He wouldn't sit around and wait for shit to happen, he'd go and see what this person wanted and decide how to deal with them there and then. Afton quickly sits up and pulls the curtains to conceal him from the rest of the terminal. Walking over to Dr Kemp's vacant desk and tearing a piece off of one of his documents before writing a small message for his companions...
Afton nods to himself as he places it on top of his pillow, it read, "BRB" and had Afton's best attempt at drawing a Vault Boy with a peace sign... Yeah, he wasn't any good at drawing so it just looked like a shoddy stick figure.
He throws off his patient gown and starts putting on his equipment that'd been left beside his bed. Of course, he only grabbed his armour, weapons, drugs, ammo, and other essential equipment. Leaving his bag, Anti-Material rifle, and other heavy or needed things behind.
Afton expected to be back in the morning or tomorrow at least, plus, he'd need to sneak out of here, so carrying an excess of equipment would be counter-intuitive.
Honestly, it was like the NCR guards weren't even paying attention. They didn't bat an eye when he snuck out one of the shattered terminal windows and climbed over one of Camp McCarren's walls... That, or his 100 Sneak Skill had something to do with it.
Not to mention how difficult it actually was to climb a wall with only one arm... At least the guards on the wall didn't hear him grunting and spluttering in an effort to pull himself up with only his left hand.
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know.
It takes longer than expected for Afton to actually reach Freeside... Without Dirt-Bird he may have misjudged the distance between Camp McCarren and his destination. Regardless, after an hour of jogging, he reached the East gate and let himself inside. Though, before he got anywhere close to Freeside he did his best to conceal himself with whatever scraps of clothing he had.
He looked like a bundle of torn clothing with fabrics covering his face afterwards... Yep, he looked like most other residents of Freeside now.
Afton crept through the back alleys of Freeside, his remaining hand always at the ready in-case some thug wants to try him. One thing he made absolutely sure to do was to stay out of sight of any Kings. Most might be dopey idiots, but he didn't doubt that a few would recognise him from his body-type alone.
After another half an hour of sneaking around he finally found himself standing above the manhole leading to whoever had wished to speak with him... Though, why it needed to be done here and not somewhere secluded in Camp McCarren beat him.
Once he'd clambered down the shaft and illuminated the place with his Pipboy light he was greeted with... Nothing.
...
"I swear to god, if this is a prank I'm gonna break someone's neck!"
"Oh? Perhaps I should take my business elsewhere then." A voice says from within one of the nearby tunnels.
Afton raises a brow as the figure steps out, decked in a black suit and a silly-looking bowler hat. "Hang on... You look like-"
"Indeed, I believe we've met already, once when you asked me and my colleagues to find information about a certain NCR Ranger."
Afton's eyes widen as he finally recognises the individual, "The Legionary... Wait, how did you get a message to me within Camp McCarren?" he asks, finding it incredibly unlikely for a Legioanire to have snuck in... Ah, must've been a spy then.
The legionary shakes their head and sighs, "Don't ask stupid questions, we believed you to be smarter than that. Anyway, you have made it here so I suppose getting to the point would be preferable, I myself am not too keen on sewage."
"Did you find them?" Afton quickly asks, he wanted nothing more than to wring the bastard's neck and hang them from a tree.
The Legionary nods, "We have. But, before I tell you I must ask, do you remember your part of the deal?"
Afton nods, "I do, I and my underlings will work for you. Whether that be spies from within the NCR or a task force... Of course, we will only accept jobs we think are doable."
"That is what we expected... The man you are looking for is named Emory Emmerich, I believe you've worked with him before?" they say with an almost sadistic grin.
Afton scowls at him, "Nice try, but Emory still has his right arm, if you're going to bullshit me than at least make it believable." he spits.
The Legionary just shakes their head at him, "Our reports state that he had indeed previously had his right arm mutilated beyond recovery, the NCR wished to retire him but he spent his life-savings on a cybernetic implant by a man named Doctor Henry. Surely you must've noticed something strange about the man?"
Afton thinks back to all of his encounters with Emory... The man seemed upstanding and a relatively good person, but, he had noticed a few strange things. Once when the man was tapping on his desk with his right hand it sounded almost metallic, not to mention the fact he'd always shake hands with his left...
Afton's eyes widen, "You're not lying..." he states, having finally put two and two together. "THAT SON OF A BITCH!" he suddenly shouts, having not realised his mother's murderer was right under his nose the ENTIRE time!
The Legionary coughs into their hand to catch his attention, "Now, Now, you can get your revenge after our talk. This information is not intended to be free, our leader already has a job for you to accept that must be completed within a year.
Afton glowers at him, still reeling from the whiplash of discovering Emory's true identity. "It depends what your job is." he states.
"Well, I believe you'll appreciate being paid for something I have no doubt you'll likely do in the future. We need you to assassinate a man named Lowell Thompson Jr. I'm sure you'll be happy to discover that he was the Major responsible for leading the attack on Helios One."
Afton's eyes widen as his hand quickly reaches for his gun, "What do you know?" he quickly says, ready to blow this guy's head off if he tries anything.
"We know that you are likely a member or former member of the Brotherhood of Steel. As for how we know? It's as simple as piecing your story together." he says, but scoffs at Afton's disbelieving face, "Oh, did you really believe we wouldn't discover your identity? The man you hunted for killing your mother losing their arm at Helios One? How else would you have discovered his state outside of such a battle?" They shake their head, "You will accept the job to assassinate Lowell Thompson Jr, and you will complete it within a year, otherwise your identity will be spread to the NCR, and every other faction who even mildly dislikes the Brotherhood... Are we clear?"
Afton forces himself to hold his tongue, oh he was so ready to shoot this guy in his smug face, but knew they likely had contingency plans for just such a situation. Honestly though them finding this out wasn't the worst thing that could've happened... He would have tried to kill the Major anyway, so it wouldn't have changed anything.
As to the Legion spreading his information to the NCR? He wasn't worried. He intended to betray them at some point anyway, not just because of their actions at Helios One, but also because of how corrupt it was.
"I'll take the job, but know that your leverage only works to a point. Push me too far and you'll not live to see the consequences." he threatens before turning away and heading for the exit.
"Be sure to remember that you are ours now, Afton." the Legionary says with sly smile on their face as he leaves.
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
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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