Chapter 138 - Companionable Ride

Afton rests on Dirt-Bird as he waits at the entrance of Novac to wait for Karl to finish doing whatever he needs to do. The old man had made friends with a few people around Novac and presumably wanted to say goodbye before they left. Neither knew when, or even if they'd return to this place, so it was good to say a few words in case you never saw them again.

Afton himself was a little put out that Boone still hadn't spoken to him, the man had watched he and Daisy drive around Novac from the dinosaur, but hadn't given any indication that he was surprised. Though, it was hard to tell from so far away.​​

A few people approached him to ask questions about injuries and diseases he'd treated, wanting to know if they'd have to do anything further to prevent further risk to themselves. Afton gave whoever asked a hand-written note with all the information they needed to know. They could pay for his services again if they were dead after all.

He could see Karl off in the distance slowly making his way to him, a large empty backpack slung over his shoulder, along with his old .44 Revolver strapped to his hip. "You ready to go?"

Karl nods, "Yeah, you sure you know how to drive this thing though? I'd rather not die from your shit driving."

"There's no trust Karl, it shouldn't be that hard to do... Right?" Afton asks semi-sarcastically, causing Karl to get cold sweat down his back.

Just before they were about to leave, Afton glances behind him as he hears someone walking towards them... Boone. Them and still wearing his dirty white shirt and jeans, scoped hunting rifle slung on his back.

"Wait." he says as he walks up to them.

Afton raises a brow at him, "Don't tell me you want to join now after ghosting me for a couple weeks."

...

"Really." Afton states after hearing the silent acknowledgement.

Boone nods, "I can't stay here. I've tried to make it work but everyone knows that I had something to do with Jeannie disappearing. That with the memories of Carla... I need to get away from here, who better to help me with that than you?"

"What do you think Karl? This doesn't just affect me after all."

Karl shrugs, "From what I've heard you're a hell of a shot, would be good to have you along... You should know that we'll definitely be making enemies out of the Legion though... Maybe even the NCR depending on what Afton here decides to do."

"I know about the Legion but, what's the NCR got to do with it?" Boone asks turning to Afton.

"I'm hunting an NCR ranger that killed my mother, if you've got a problem with that you can stay here." Afton states.

Boone shrugs, "As long as we aren't randomly attacking NCR soldiers then that's fine. Just try to keep the damage confined to your target."

Afton nods and holds out a hand, "If you're fine with all of that, then welcome aboard Boone."

Boone shakes his hand, "Yeah, let's get outta here. Before anyone tries to stop me leaving."

[Craig Boone has granted you the Spotter Perk]

[Spotter] : Enemies highlighted while sights are aimed down or zoomed in.

[Craig Boone has become your companion]

Afton smirks as the notification comes up, the [Spotter] Perk seemed pretty overpowered. If he didn't have VATS it'd be invaluable. As of right now though it was a more or less just an aiming aid due to the fact he could locate any visible enemy while time was frozen in VATS. He wasn't going to say no to a free perk though.

"Alright... Boone you're in the sidecar, we might need you to pick off an enemy so that's the best place for you to be. Karl you're sitting behind me, and no, I'd rather you don't hold my waist. There's a handle behind the seat to keep yourself on the bike." he states.

Karl and Boone are a little reluctant to climb on as their positions were a little emasculating. The sidecar making Boone feel like a child in a booster seat, and Karl like some kind of damsel in distress.

"Why couldn't you just fix up a car kid? I don't think it'd be all that much harder than fixing this thing up."

Afton snorts, "If you wanna have a go repairing one then go ahead. Otherwise stop your complaining when you're riding my bike." he states as he kicks the stand up and starts the engine, causing it to give off a low hum.

In all honesty, Afton was slightly... Very, afraid that he'd immediately crash the motorcycle. How embarrassing would it be to recreate a pre-war motorbike and almost immediately crash it? Not to mention right after the whole town had seen Daisy driving around on it. If she hadn't he could've put it up to a faulty wheel or something.

"LET'S GOO!" Afton musters his courage and accelerates, causing the bike to immediately start moving. It was fortunate Afton had sunglasses, otherwise the wind and dust would be terribly annoying. The other two had eye protection as well so he didn't need to worry either.

"I forgot to ask... Where are we actually going?" Boone asks loudly from the sidecar.

Afton doesn't tear his focus away from the road and just shrugs, "No idea! Just gonna follow the road until we find somewhere to rest for the night. We'll decide tomorrow."

Karl seems like he wants to retort, but the front wheel of the bike hits a relatively large crack in the road, causing the whole thing to bounce. The former-ranger tightly grips the handle, almost shitting his pants as he feels the vehicle shudder beneath him. "Is that supposed to happen kid!?"

Afton laughs, he feels like he's getting the hang of driving Dirt-Bird. "Hahaha! Probably not! But who cares! NITRO!"

Of course, this isn't a video game, so simply shouting 'Nitro' doesn't give it a boost, nor would a nuclear-powered vehicle even be able to use Nitro... Not that Karl or Boone could tell, both were wondering why they were even risking their lives with this crazy bastard in the first place.