Chapter 521 - Horror Cell

The duo slowly makes their way down to the basement, Afton mentally remarking about the blood-stained walls that seemed to lead down there. Once at the bottom he's greeted by the overwhelming scent of death and decay... The floor was coated in bloodstains and also whatever the fluid the Ghosts produce.

There's a jail cell in the middle of the room, inside there's a bucket filled with what is most likely piss, but that's not even mentioning the human-looking shit scattered all around the room. However, the most damning piece of evidence is the litany of bones present...​​

Human skulls and other gnawed-on skeletons are present, with absolutely no flesh on their bones to be seen. He glances behind him at Anja who seems to be struggling with the smell, her sight might be gone, but that only proves to heighten her other senses.

Nearby the cage is a radio playing a strange signal... This should be the one capable of triggering Elijah's collars, meaning that whoever was kept in here was probably another victim... Though, judging by the state of the place and the fact the jail cell isn't locked, they were more accomplice than victim.

Afton just shakes his head, "There's nothing down here, let's head back up." he states, not feeling the need to wade through shit and bones just to confirm this.

They head upstairs and back to the reception where two familiar faces are already present, both looking at the message he'd left for them. Veronica and Dean quickly turn with weapons ready when they hear the door open behind them, but they quickly relax once they see who it is.

"Afton! I knew you'd be alright!" she quickly says in a relieved tone, though, this doesn't last long once she looks at Anja.

*Gasp!*

"Anja! What happened to you!" Veronica exclaims, walking up and clasping the ghoul's arms comfortingly.

"I-I was caught off guard... It's my mistake." Anja solemnly admits, "If I was paying attention, then sir wouldn't have had to save me."

Veronica shakes her head "Don't say that! It's all of our fault for not noticing... That guy who attacked up was big and heavy enough for us to have heard him coming..."

Afton nod with crossed arms at the side, not that Anja could see him of course... He turns to Dean, "Anything happen on the way here?"

Dean rolls his neck as if he'd just been asked a loaded question, "Other than fighting off that big blue bastard? Our mutual friend seems to be trying to persuade Veronica here that he's not all that bad. You know, if we ignore the collar, the kidnapping, the evil genius playbook, et cetera, et cetera."

Afton raises a brow under his helmet, "You know he's listening right now, right?"

Dean nods with a sneer, "I know. That old man can lick my wrinkly, necrotic testicles for all I care!"

*Beep Beep Beep Beep*

His collar rapidly beeps, indicating it was close to detonating, Dean just laughs however, instead of looking horrified like Elijah would expect, "You, Need, Me. You would no less kill me than you would yourself... Unless of course, you wish to forget about the treasure..."

The collar stops beeping, making Dean smirk victoriously.

Afton just watches this happen with a strange expression, there was clearly more going on than what first meets the eye... Judging by what he'd heard so far, Elijah was most likely trying to find some sort of treasure contained in the Sierra Madre Casino itself... Though, what would be worth coming to this damn hellscape, he didn't know... He could make some inferences though...

Judging by Elijah's character and his past actions, he was most likely looking for some sort of technology... Now. What technology present here could be used for absolutely destruction and control if used properly?

*Ping, Pong!*

The Cloud. Elijah was trying to gain control of the Cloud... Fuck, if that wasn't a scary thought he didn't know what was.

Afton shakes those thoughts from his head momentarily while looking at Veronica, "You came from the upper floors right? Did you find anything?"

Veronica shakes her head, Nothing but Ghosts... Anything down here?"

Afton sighs, "Nope. Nothing but a cell filled with bones, piss, and shit... Guess we can cross this place off of the list."

"Ah... Can we go to the Medical District next? Elijah said Christine was there... I don't think there'd be any harm in looking..." Veronica sheepishly says.

Afton raises a brow under his helmet, "You mean, other than the litany of traps, Ghosts, and other deadly things he has there waiting for us?"

...

Veronica glances sideways, "Maybe?"

...

He sighs again, "Fine, but I retain the right to say 'I told you so', regardless if Christine is there or not." he states nonnegotiably.

Veronica shrugs and escorts Anja to the stairs leading to the higher floor as Afton leads at the front like an immovable shield. He follows the duo's directions to the window on the third floor they'd initially entered by, climbing out of it and walking along the rooftops.

Once outside it was left to Dean to lead them... Fortunately, the Medical District wasn't all that far away from the Villa Police Station. This meant that they'd have probably gone there next, regardless of Elijah's prompting... Had the man taken this into account just to try and gain some trust? Or was he simply trying to trap them?

....

All Afton knew was that he'd be punching through Elijah's skull once he found him. Not just for what he'd indirectly done to Christine, but also because of his actions at Helios One... If anyone was responsible for what happened to his parents(aside from the NCR), it was Elijah, but his mismanagement, poor strategy, cowardice, and reliance on technology that may or may not even be functional.

Putting all your hopes on an orbital laser? One that was 200 years old and may have been hit by meteors, space debris, or other objects? Foolish.