Chương 76: She sells sea shells by the C4

"What's the catch?"

Lieutenant Hayes smirks, "Catch?"

"I know how this goes, you give us a tough job, we complete it and you stuff us back in prison anyway." Afton states, having seen more than his fair share of action movies. "I wouldn't put it past you to give us a pardon posthumously."

Karl snorts, "Kid, these guys are NCR, they couldn't wipe their asses properly if their bureaucrat overlords didn't tell them to."

Emil just shakes his head at them, "Your thoughts about the NCR don't matter to us, regardless, the kid is free to go whenever he wants."

Afton chokes, "What? Then-"

"But you, Karl Martin, are still guilty of crimes against the NCR. So, this pardon would only be for you. Do what we say, and you'll be free. Reject our offer and we'll find a prison that isn't liable to be taken over, so you can spend the rest of your days in relative 'comfort'" Emil says rather harshly.

Karl huffs at them, "What's the mission?"

Lieutenant Hayes smirks, "The mission, we want you to infiltrate the NCRCF and plant some 'packages' near one of the walls. It'd be best for them to be placed from within, but it doesn't really matter. Our goal is to eliminate the Powder Gangers once and for all, once all traces of them are gone from this side of the Mojave, you'll receive your pardon."

Afton cuts in, "You'll be sending troops in right? Unless you were expecting Karl to do it all himself?" asks warily.

Emil scoffs, "Obviously, not that I don't doubt your skill Mr Martin, but taking on a whole facility without ungodly firepower is beyond even the best of us. Once you've breached the wall, my men will charge through the newly made entrance, we may need help in eliminating the men on the watchtowers, but that's something to plan once you've agreed."

...

"I'll do it." Karl says after a moment. He had made a few friends among the Powder Gangers during his prolonged stay there, but not that he'd seen a chance of saving his daughter he wasn't going to squander it. Those men deserved to die anyway for what they'd be doing, whether it was Karl, or someone else to deliver it to them didn't matter.

Both officers nod at him, "Good. Now, Mr Parker, you'll not be allowed to leave until Mr Martin's mission is completed. Can't have this information getting out now, can we?"

"I'm going with him." Afton states, not willing to miss out on the action and potential exp gain.

Karl gives him a glance, "I can handle this myself kid, just wait here and I'll be back soon."

"Why though? I'm willing to help, and with me there we could lower the risk to the soldiers that'll be charging in."

Hayes and Emil both give Afton a look, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, Karl and I were both sent out by the Powder Ganger leader to deal with Tommy's gang, the guys who raided that civilian caravan. It'd be weird if he returned without me, plus, I reckon we could give them some 'information' on the next NCR supply caravan heading to Sloan... You don't even have to ambush those that go for it, it'd reduce the numbers inside the prison if we choose that route."

...

Hayes nods, "I think that would work, I'm willing to give it a shot... But know this Mr Parker, if you lead my men into a trap, I'll have you hunted down from here to D.C. Do you understand?"

Afton nods and Hayes continues. "Good. Now, you two know the place better than we do, so we'll leave whatever you plan to do to your own discretion. If you can get some Powder Gangers to take the bait and leave the facility then great, if not just ignore it and continue the original objective. I'll have squads positioned nearby, the explosion will be the signal, they'll wait there tomorrow night."

Emil walks up and uncuffs the duo, "Your equipment will be returned when you leave, you'll be provided with food and water, as well as some of the loot recovered from the civilian caravan and Powder Ganger bodies yesterday to make you look more legit. Any questions?"

Karl shrugs, "None here... Just gimme the 'package' and the trigger and we'll be off."

It's only thirty minutes later when the duo leaves the NCR encampment, they'd returned Karl's .44 Magnum, and Afton's pistols, along with some caps, supplies, and uniforms belonging to Tommy's gang. They'd be using those as proof that they'd dealt with Tommy.

"You better be ready for this kid, it won't be like the other fights we've had... It'll be a mini-war. Once it starts I suggest you dump the Powder Ganger jacket, otherwise you might get shot by the soldiers as they storm in."

Afton nods, "I'll be fine... Probably, I think its best you give them the false information while I plant the bombs... They'll trust your word more than mine."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." he mutters, handing Afton a wrapped square and a small trigger that has the safety on. He goes onto explain how to use it, and that he should only take the safety off if he was ready to detonate it... C4 isn't something to be trifled with, even a small amount could bring down a house, the amount he was holding would annihilate both of them instantly should it go off.

"Think the NCR will stay true to their word? I doubt they lied about giving you a pardon but there are more Powder Gangers around the Mojave than just the NCRCF... What if they force us to deal with them too?"

Karl focuses on Afton's use of "us" but doesn't pursue it, they'd decided to help each other out and it was nice to know the kid really meant it. "Then I'll have to do what they say, won't be easy if that's the case though..." he admits, he knew the general areas of where the Powder Gangers were, but most of them were either far apart, heavily fortified or both.