Chapter 377 - Gommoriah...

Gomorrah turned out not to be the 'casino; Afton had expected it to be. Sure, in the main room there were blackjack and poker tables, but they were merely a front so guests had an excuse for coming here.

Afton walked around the club and quickly came to the realisation that this was no casino, but a whore house. He honestly hadn't thought a brothel this big would survive in the Mojave... Sexually transmitted diseases were usually stopped via condoms and other medicine, but, did condoms even exist nowadays?​​

The answer is most certainly, no. So, people who came here to indulge did so at their own risk. Afton was pretty sure the girls weren't being compensated properly for their life-threatening 'career'.

So, as a girl in a skimpy outfit came to see if he wanted any drinks as he watched a pole dance, he checked her over with [Living Anatomy].

[Tina Harrow]

Health : 67%

Stamina : 40%

DT : 1

Strength : 2

Perception : 5

Endurance : 4

Charisma : 8

Intelligence : 3

Agility : 4

Luck : 3

Ailments :

[Lacerations] : Increase likelihood to start bleeding from other trauma.

[Hairline cheek fracture] : Causes pain when moving facial muscles or eating.

[HIV] : Damages immune system and eventually develops into AIDS, loss of health and eventual death. -1 Endurance.

[Yeast infection] : Causes itchiness and pain.

[Jet addiction] : -1 Agility, -1 Charisma.

Afton glances at the status and mentally grimaces, that certainly wasn't good, not just because of the diseases, but because of her injuries too... One didn't receive those kinds unless you're brawling, in battle, or being abused.

He sends the woman off to get him a whisky while thinking what he should do about it, or whether it was better left alone... He still needed to find Tamia and Veronica, so he couldn't intervene, right?...

He shakes his head and decides he'd speak to the girl and then plan his actions afterwards. Fortunately, just as he makes this decision she walks up and places the drink on his table, smiling at him and waiting if he needed anything else.

Afton lightly coughs into his hand before turning his attention to her, "Er, excuse me miss? I was wondering if I could... Hire you?"

...

The woman raises a brow and looks over in the direction of some gangsters before slowly nodding, "I-um, I'd love that... If you've got what it takes." she states, and Afton just nods and forks over a handful of caps.

The girl takes one last glance at the gangsters before leading up through the club and to a room. The places thick with incense or whatever else they use to cover the smell of sex and old semen, but Afton's senses were good enough that he could smell everything anyway.

She leaves the door unlocked and strides to the heart-shaped bed while stripping her clothes off. She's pretty, sure, but Afton could tell that under all the makeup she'd look sickly, and injured.

He could see the barely healed lacerations around her thighs, as if someone had secured her in place with barbed wire to torture her. He raises his hand up before she could get too into this... He wasn't fucking around with HIV, even if it was supposedly immune to all diseases. "Stop... I only wanted to talk, I'm not interested in your 'normal' services. Alright?"

The girl frowns and glances towards the door that's currently behind Afton, as if thinking about how to escape. "You sure? We don't do refunds here you know..."

Afton shrugs, "I don't mind, as long as you try to answer my questions to the best of your ability."

She nods, "Fine, but you touch me and I'll scream, the boys'll come runnin'."

"Scream if you want, but I won't be the cause of it... My first question is, where did you get those injuries?"

The girl raises a brow and her hands unconsciously move to her legs, "I don't know what you mean?"

Afton just gestures at her, "I know one thing for certain, those wounds on your legs weren't from tripping... Does it still hurt from when he hit you in the face?"

[Spies Guise is in effect]

"H-how do you know about that?" the girl blurts out, her eyes going wide at her own words.

Afton nods, "Ah, so it did happen. Good thing you confirmed it for me, I wasn't entirely sure what the cause was..." he pauses, "Who's responsible for it?"

The girl's breath hitches in her throat and she shakes her head, "I won't tell you... Thing'll only get worse if word gets out... If you want to help, it's best you just leave."

Afton shakes his head, "I don't know that until I figure out what's happening. I'm not one to run away from challenges, so work with me on this and maybe we can help each other out."

"I won't... Can't. I think you should go." she finally says, rubbing her neck anxiously.

Afton sighs, knowing he won't be getting any good information out of her. "Fine, I'll leave your injuries alone, just answer a few more questions and I'll go." he says and she nods, "Have you heard of two women called Tamia and Veronica?" he asks, going on to describe their looks and personalities.

The girl shakes her head, "No... Never seen anyone like that..."

"Ok... Do you know of a man called Lowell Thompson Jr?"

...

"One of them NCR soldiers, right?" the girl asks before continuing, "Fat, ugly guy, sometimes enjoys the girls here... He hasn't been around for a while, don't know where he is..." she admits.

Afton slowly nods, seems like the major isn't as honourable as some might think. He wasn't sure what the military ettiquate was in the NCR, but he was certain Higher ranked individuals would be warned away from something like that... Scandals don't exactly help with their look after all. "Alright... Thanks for your time, try to keep yourself safe." he says while turning to leave.

The girl doesn't say anything as he exits, simply watching his back with a troubled look.