章節 73: Wistful Despair

Hayes just shrugs at Karl and continues, "What're your names, I'd suggest you not lie as we'll find out eventually anyway." he adds.

Afton glances to Karl to see what he'd say, he was the former-NCR so he'd know best what they were capable of.

"Karl Martin." he says after a moment of hesitation.

Lieutenant Hayes frowns at this, "Hm, you sound familiar, but that can wait for now... Name?" he asks looking at Afton.

"Afton Parker." he states, hoping they'd not do a full body search and find his Brotherhood of Steel Holotags, that'd definitely put him in the shit.

Hayes nods and glances at a nearby soldier, "Radio in those names and see if anything come up. Also, have someone prepare some holding cells at the outpost..." he looks contemplative for a moment before continuing, "They might take a while to arrive as the situation is fragile."

Afton didn't know what the man meant but fragile, hopefully they wouldn't be raided by Deathclaws while he was imprisoned by these guys.

Hayes looks over at Emil, "Handcuff them to the steel railings nearby, make sure they're out of the sun and have adequate food and water. I'll be back for them in a couple hours." he says before leaving.

The duo doesn't really have any other options, they're lead to some large metal railing and handcuffed, afterwards the NCR soldiers build a primitive tent out of scrap metal to shield them from the suns rays.

Afton sighs and sits on the concrete below, resting his head against the metal bar, "Youknow, I never would have thought I'd find myself on the wrong side of the law. It's stupid to try fight against the government, even if you're correct in doing so." he mutters, not speaking to anyone imparticular.

"I know kid, you just got caught up in a bad crowd... Maybe they'll let you out early for good behaviour, then you'd be able to put your skills to work. Not many Doctors or Mechanics in the Mojave, always could use a couple more." Karl says, looking as equally put out as Afton was at the situation.

"I don't know... I can't really see myself just fixing things or people for the rest of my life, I thought things would be different around here... Thought that might've been the reason I was taken to 'this' place." Afton admits.

"Suit yourself, most would do anything to learn what you know, the life of a Merc is a short one. The rush never stops, but it dulls with time." he explains.

"Any chance you cant use your 'former-NCR' identity to help us out?" Afton asks, causing the man to scowl.

"No, I don't think that would go over well." he says somberly.

"Why?" Afton pushes, having nothing better to do than pick the man's brain.

"Son, do you know what a Ranger is?" he asks while staring at the blue sky.

"Elite NCR special forces that're only deployed in dire circumstances, you're telling me you were one of them?" he frowns, the memory of a Ranger shooting his mother flashing in his mind

Karl slowly nods, "Yeah... The only people that hate a rogue ranger more than the Legion is the NCR. They train us to do the impossible, to be impossible. One day Caeser'll be minding his own business in that great fort of his when *bam*, a bullet rockets through the bastards skull... Course, this hasn't happened yet, but its only a matter of time."

"You went rogue then? Against the NCR?" Afton asks.

Karl shakes his head, "Its... It's a long story..."

Afton shrugs and pulls on his cuffs, causing them to rattle against the metal railing, "I've got all day."

...

"I have a daughter." he starts, Afton's eyes dimming as he knew where this was likely going. He hadn't said it in past tense meaning she was still alive, but it clearly still pained the man to say it. "Spitting image of her mother, bless her soul. She wanted to follow in her father's footsteps and joined the NCR as soon as she was old enough. Got trained well, was a good shot and a damn good fighter, Spitfire they used to call her, used to run into combat like a bat' outta hell." Karl mutters, a small smile on his face as he reminisces.

"But, no matter how good a fighter you are, if given dog-shit orders and sent on a suicide mission you'll end up like the rest. I personally told command that there was a high chance of the Legion attacking their convoy, but they didn't listen, thought I was just being overprotective for my daughter... Fuckers, of course I was worried, I knew an attack was coming." he growled, expressing twisting at the thought.

"The attack came, and her convoy was wiped out, she wasn't killed though... I heard that the higher-ups continued with their mission, refusing to listen to my warning. I arrived just as the Legion was leading the female soldiers away, all connected by chains that were attached to collars around their necks. Youknow, the Legion treat women like cattle, only difference is they don't eat 'em."

"I saw my daughter there with the others, bruises covering her face but a hard look in her eye... She'd defy them, and she'd pay for it." he shudders and clasps his hands together, "I couldn't... I couldn't let them take my little girl, so I went against orders and followed them, my partner left to report that I'd gone AWOL... I followed them to Cottonwood Cove, the place where they sent their slaves over the Colorado to become slaves.

I was a Ranger, but I hadn't been equipped with good enough weaponry to fight the whole place, my initial mission was just to report what happened to the convoy. Only had Sequoia, some bullets, and grenades."