Chapter 386 - Back Together

Afton had been spending a couple hours gambling on the first floor of Gomorrah. There wasn't much else to do after getting rid of Cachino, so he decided to find out as much as possible about the strip, Mr House, the other families, and the NCR presence in it.

Unfortunately, he hadn't found anything different to what he already knew, or had suspicions about... Not that the dealers and other patrons were all that loose-lipped. It seemed like Afton wasn't exactly the first to go snooping around like this, so people had been warned, and knew what to expect...​​

The only people who really said anything of worth were the incredibly drunk NCR troopers who were spending their life savings of caps. They relayed info about the Mojave and area's that the NCR controlled. Most he already knew, as he was partly responsible for it, Highway 15 being cleared, increased tensions between NCR and Freeside, Novac's succession from the NCR's protections...

But, he did learn a few things while he was there... Murders occurring in Bittersprings, NCR patrols around the Supermutant town known as Jacobstown, Rangers finally being deployed from California to assist in the battle against the Legion... As well as President Kimball making a visit to the Hoover Dam in a couple months.

He was about to raise the bet in his game of Blackjack when a notification causes him to raise a brow...

[Quest failed! : Kill Lowell Thompson Jr.]

...

What?

How is it even possible to fail that quest?... Unless... Someone else killed the man before him? Fuck.

He'd really been looking forwards to confronting the man, you know, before eventually ending his miserable life.

Afton sighs and stands from the table, leaving the caps he'd bet as well as the whisky he'd been sipping, he wasn't in the mood for gambling any more.

"Ah, sir! You-"

"Keep the change." Afton almost growls out as he heads towards the exit, collecting his weaponry once there and walking towards the meeting spot they'd designated beforehand.

Already, he could see Boone waiting there with a bored look on his face. Ed-E easily detects Afton and floats over, beeping happily.

"You two alright? Find anything?" he asks as he approaches.

Boone shrugs, "Define 'anything'..." he says in a vague tone.

Just as Afton's about to retort, he feels someone slip their hand into his pocket... Danger sense hadn't activated, nor had any of his other similar perks, meaning they weren't a danger to him, nor did they mean any harm... Regardless, he locks the arm in place and looks at the person responsible, gaping when he finally sees them.

"Veronica?" he mutters breathlessly, his eyes examining her up and down to make sure he wasn't being tricked.

She smirks and pulls her hand away, grasping a handful of caps, "This'll go towards repaying that Snack-Cake you stole the last time I visited." she jokes, pocketing the caps before jumping at him with a small squeal. "Affton!! You didn't tell me you were coming out here!" she exclaims.

Afton isn't able to do anything as Veronica throws her hands around his neck, hugging him tightly and almost dangling off of the floor due to their height difference. He wasn't really sure what to do, his brain short-circuits as he unconscious wraps his arms around her waist...

To be honest, he hadn't really known what to expect when finally meeting Veronica again... He should have expected her to do something like this... Though, judging by Boone's amused look, the man knew she was already here, meaning Veronica was likely at the Ultra-Lux.

"Er... Hey Veronica, long time no see-"

She lets go of him and jabs him in the chest, "Don't you start with that, Afton... I thought you were supposed to stay-..." She glances at Boone and leans forwards in order to whisper to Afton. "In the bunker."

Afton scratches the back of his head, "I-well..." he drawls, feeling like a scolded child, "I kinda. Youknow... Left?"

...

"You did what?"

"I left..."

...

Veronica brows almost reach her hairline in surprise, she crosses her arms and looks away, seemingly deep in thought, "So... So you just abandoned everyone? Just like that?"

Afton nods, knowing that Veronica probably felt that this situation was 'Christine 2.0', "There wasn't anything left for me to do there, I needed to leave and find my own path. Besides, it's not like your situation is all that different to mine." he says, playing off the severity of his own actions.

She frowns, "There's a difference between having permission to leave, and just straight up leaving!"

Afton shakes his head but holds his tongue for now, "We can talk about this later, in private..." he pauses, "It's good to see you again Veronica, you have no idea how busy I've been this year..."

Veronica gives him another quick hug and nods, "We definitely will... Besides, you've not been the only busy one, ah, I've been travelling with someone, do you remember Tamia, right? She certainly remembers you." she says, glancing backwards at Tamia who was walking towards them.

"Hope your surprise was worth it, we've been leaning against that wall for an hour now.." the courier mutters, rubbing her sore backside. "Hey Afton, good to see you again."

He nods, feeling slightly grateful that Tamia had kept Veronica outta trouble... Or at least safe whenever trouble found her, "Likewise."

"Oh, the gang's back together again, huh?" A voice calls out, and once everyone looks over they spot a clearly exasperated Karl helping a shit-faced Josie walk toward them. "Next time, one of you can partner with her, 'cause I'm not dealin' with this shit again." he says, letting go of the engineer who stumbles and sits on the floor with a stupid look on her face.

"Er, Karl? Where are we?"

"We're where we need to be, now be quiet and let the adults talk." he states, looking over at the group, "Still lookin' fine, miss." he says with a nod at Tamia.

She crosses her arms with a mirthful expression, "Still lookin' old, Karl."

Karl chuckles, "What's it with you and wilful women, kid?"

Afton shoots him a glare, "One word... Jeannie."

Karl's lips form into a pout, but he doesn't say anything else... Yeah, a retort isn't really possible when you fucked a crazy, slaver, piece of shit.