Chapter 219 - Assassin's Greed

Afton climbs out of the manhole and pushes the cover back over it, yeah, it might be petty but causing trouble for the Legionary was the least he could do for the man's threats. Afton now had a time limit, a year to kill Major Thompson or have all of his information revealed to his enemies, something that'd put a huge target on his head.

Though, he was still thankful that they'd found out the identity of his quarry. Without their help, Afton sincerely doubted he would have ever discovered it. Still, Afton was going to do his best to destroy both factions, or at least, both faction's presence in the Mojave.​​

Shaking his head, first thing first would be removing Emory's head. Afton couldn't hold himself back any longer and wanted to get some vengeance as soon as possible. The almost forgotten feeling of utter hatred for the man bubbling to the surface, causing a harsh scowl to appear on his face.

Quickly he started making his way towards the NCR civilian building where Emory's office had been. Afton was sure the man would still be there, not just to take care of the NCR civilians in Freeside, but also to keep the Kings in check.

Hmm, perhaps he should leave something after he'd killed the man to suggest some Legion involvement? It'd prevent any and all associations with him... He nods to himself, sounds like a plan.

He continues sneaking through the streets until he discovers the tall building surrounded by obviously undercover guards. Still, they were placed there to protect against a large assault, not an infiltration.

Afton snuck to the less occupied building next to Emory's one and quietly climbs to the top and looks down at the gap between the two buildings, the alleyway currently being patrolled by a squad of undercover NCR troopers.

Afton was hoping to jump from one building to the other, but the gap was larger than it had looked from below. Additionally, his missing arm was causing him to doubt if he'd actually be able to catch himself once he jumped. The only thing to hold onto once he got there was a window lacking its glass, some grooves that he might be able to fit his fingers into, and a balcony a few floors down...

Eventually, after thinking for a few moments he decides to leap off and grab the window, transitioning to the groves so he could climb to Emory's office. After a moment of psyching himself up he jumps, activating VATS halfway across so he could plan out his midair movements. Truly VATS was more OP than the games had ever stated.

His hand grips the window and he flops against the building's wall as his feet fail to gain purchase. He grunts slightly as he pulls himself up with one arm, digging his feet into one of the grooves to get some grip.

"-lly think the Kings will keep their words? They're nothing but a gang of thugs." Afton catches someone saying from within the building, the broken window allowing him to clearly hear them.

Fortunately it's dark enough that they 'probably' won't see his fingertips holding onto the window... Hopefully. He waits there for a while as they continue their conversation, one person speaking their doubts on the King's while the other tries to mediate, though, Afton could tell both had misgivings about the alliance.

Eventually they both walk away and Afton breaths a sigh of relief, his fingers were starting to feel sore from hanging this long. He quickly looks up to the grooves and chews the inside of his cheek, he'd need to throw himself at it due to his missing arm.

Shaking his head he jumps slightly using the grooves and activates VATS just as he's midair, using it to plan his movements. The method continues to work as his fingers find their way into the groove, his feet digging in and alleviating some weight from his single arm.

With this he continues clambering up the building, all the while hoping no one could see him from below... After half an hour of repeating this he reached the top floor where Emory's office would be. Light streamed out of the window and he peeked inside, using VATS once he spotted the man sitting at his desk, seemingly glaring at some paperwork that'd been stacked before him.

Afton scans the room while time is frozen and spots a window that's slightly ajar near a shadowy corner of the room... Hmm, he wondered is his [Blur] Perk would help him enough to allow him to actually climb through that undetected...

Deciding that its best to try and fail than fail to try, he started shimmying around to it, once he was at the window he used the top of his head to slowly widen it at a rate he hoped Emory wouldn't spot.

Truth be told, if he just wanted to kill Emory he would've just shot the man from outside. But that wasn't what Afton wanted, well, not entirely. He wanted to question the man, find out if he had just been following orders or had another reason-no, excuse.

Plus, Afton was looking forward to acquiring a cybernetic arm, is it karma that Emory just so happened to have a right-handed cybernetic arm waiting for Afton? Probably not, but it sure felt like it!

Afton goes through a breathing exercise before climbing through, his entry into the room making literally no sound whatsoever, courtesy of his Sneak Skill. Quickly he reactivates VATS and takes a glance at Emory, noticing the man still hadn't looked up... Noice.

He turns to the door and would've snorted had time not been frozen, the key to the room was already inside the lock. Emory apparently not having expected for his room to be infiltrated from a window and locked from the inside. This only reinforced in Afton's mind the fact that Lockpicking was one of the worst Skills...

Afton allows time to resume and locks the door, causing an audible click to echo through the room, Emory looking up at him as Afton stands in a relaxed posture. "Emory, we need to talk." he states, doing his best to not reveal how tense his body was... Though, with how bad his Charisma skill was Emory was probably aware of it.