Chapter 477 - Jerb Done

Afton stomps along the Freeside roads as people rapidly move to get out of his way, clutched in his hand is a masked head that seems to belong to Scorpion-Man, the new vigilante that'd been helping folks... Apparently, that was at an end now, however...

Unfortunately, his progress was impeded by a small group of NCR soldiers who intercept him, "Afton Parker! You are under arrest for numerous crimes, including arson, vandalism, murder, and your traitorous actions!"​​

Afton just raises a brow under his helmet, "And you guys are going to arrest me, huh?" he asks, curious about what they actually expected to happen here.

The leader quickly shakes his head, "Er, no... Procedure just required us to make you aware of this... If that's all, we'll be going now..." the man sheepishly says, leaving under the disbelieving gazes of the other Freeside residents.

"Huh, ok..." he mutters before continuing up the road.

He'd just passed by the Atomic Casino and was now approaching the Silver Rush to get his reward for the job. The guard standing in front of it seemingly shrinks under Afton's heavy gaze, it wasn't every day you get stared down by what amounts to a terminator.

"S-stop..."

"Stop? I've got a job to finish." Afton states, holding up the head of 'Scorpion-Man', "Unless you want me to explain to your bosses why they need to hire another doorman."

"W-wait here..." the man asks before quickly entering the Silver Rush and audibly locking the door behind him.

"Tch." Afton clicks his tongue, wondering how long they'd make him wait out here.

"S-spare some chan-"

"Piss off." Afton growls, making the beggar stumble backwards and quickly flee. "Fuckin' junkies."

*Click, click, click!*

The door opens, revealing a group of men all wearing combat armour and pointing Plasma rifles at Afton's head. The doorman is amongst them, but also a woman he wasn't familiar with. The only thing he could say was that she certainly wasn't a looker... Dull tanned skin, receding hair with an almost bald head (most likely from radiation poisoning or something), and a low-cut jacket that reveals the rather unpleasant sight of her cleavage.

"If you're gonna shoot, you better make it count." Afton challanges, if he was struck in the face by all of those shots his face would probably melt from the heat of it, but that would depend on whether or not he'd stand there and let it happen.

"I have to say Mr Parker, you work faster than expected... Terrence hasn't even returned yet and you've already completed the job." she gestures at the head in his hand.

Afton shrugs, "What can I say? Efficiency is my middle name."

She nods, "And Faith is mine... Let me see it." she asks, gesturing at a guard.

Afton hands the still dripping head to the man who displays it to the woman as if it were a trophy. She grabs the yellow and green mask of the vigilante and lifts it, revealing the scarred and pock-marked face of the thug he'd met in the alley.

"Hmm, he looks different than I expected... Certainly not the 'Superhero' look and more of a 'Down of his luck Chem-Addict'." she says, looking the head over appraisingly.

"Surprises come in all shapes and sizes. I'm guessing you're my real employer then? Terrence made a big deal about separating the Silver Rush and the Van Graffs, but we both know it isn't as simple as that."

"Well, we try our best to be roundabout with such information. I'm Gloria Van Graff, by the way. A pleasure to meet the Mojave's most wanted man." she says, waving off the guard holding the head and holding out her hand towards Afton.

He shakes it, careful to not crush her frail hand in his grip, "Guess my job's done here then, I've already come to some agreements with Terrence, so I'll let him report back on what my reward should be. If there's nothing else...?" he trails over, giving Gloria some time to consider.

She shakes her head, "Not at all, though, I will ask that you come through the back exit next time... I don't need the attention your presence brings. Goodbye Mr Parker, I hope to be seeing you again relatively soon." she says, before turning and leaving further into the shop.

Afton nods and leaves too, heading towards the gate so he can teleport out the same way he'd come in... He was pretty sure the meeting went well, obviously she couldn't see his expression through his helmet, so it'd be terribly difficult to tell if he was lying about Scorpion-Man or not... She seemed to buy the story though, so as long as Scorpion-Man doesn't return, his relationship with the Van Graffs should be stable... For now.

Once he'd returned back to Big Mt he heads directly towards the cells where Scorpion-Man should be held. As he was passing by the cells he wakes Caesar up by pressing the 'electric' button just for shits and giggles.

Soon enough, he reaches the cell with an unconscious Scorpion-Man lying face down on the floor, Dala was already waiting outside speaking with Glados about some project. Though, it was obvious Dala would be salivating at the sight of their new guest if she had the glands to do so.

"So, what do you think of our guest?" he greets.

"The new teddy bear? It's... Wonderful... The sample I took is mysterious, yet elegant. Have you decided to allow me to look more extensively at it?"

Afton shakes his head, "Dissection? No. To be honest, I think I want to add him to our forces... Super strength, advantageous mutations, once we've gathered all the data from him I think he'd be a perfect addition." he says with crossed arm, afterwards glancing at Glados, "How far along is the project I requested?"