Chapter 659 - Infiltration Initiation

Cass leans back in her chair as she looks out the window of her 'tailoring' business. Shady Sands, the capital of the NCR had changed significantly since the catastrophic loss over in the Mojave. The place was basically in a state of 'controlled terror', everyone knew shit was about to go down, yet, no one dared do anything about it.

By all accounts, they should be celebrating due to the defeat of the Legion... But, the threat of the Bull was gone, the public realised that they'd been fooled by their leaders... The threat was never really the Legion, but the Brotherhood of Steel, which was continually stripping away territory from the NCR by the day.

Now it was obvious to all what the NCR's true intentions for the Mojave really was, they wanted to annex it and take control of New Vegas, essentially robbing Robert House of his rightful property. The pretence of stopping the Legion's march West was wiped away like a thin film of dirt once these facts were leaked over the radio by an 'unknown source'. Most wouldn't really believe it, were it not for the extensive provable evidence that'd also been provided.

Now, citizens were being taken from the streets and forced into the army to fuel the NCR's dwindling military... Cass was spared of course, as her tailoring business was popular among the officials, but this only displayed yet another issue that'd come to light.. The blatant corruption now going on in the NCR leadership...

Even the patriots weren't willing to defend their leaders anymore, this was especially so when their sons, daughters, fathers, and mothers started randomly getting shipped off to war, to die a meaningless death against the now prolific Brotherhood troops in their territory.

The door to her shop opens and two quiet pairs of steps make their way towards her...

Cass breathes a sigh of relief as she spots their faces in the window's reflection. "So, it's you who he sent?"

Anja and Juan nods, both currently wearing ordinary-looking wastelander clothes.

Cass stands and gives Anja a brief hug, "I heard about what happened, but it looks like such a thing never even happened." she says while looking into the ghoul's eyes.

Anja nods with a smile, "Sir had the scientists create Cybernetic replacements... It's hard to get used to, but, I feel good." she confirms.

The Cybernetic eyes she'd been provided with wasn't just better than the average organic ones everyone possessed... They also came with a number of add ons that'd make her role as an infiltrator far easier. Night vision, infrared, magnification... Plus, they were durable, and weren't irritated by things like sand storms and the like...

It had taken a bit to get used to them, at first she'd accidentally been shifting through the various add ons at random... Going from infrared to normal to magnification with every awkward step... But, with Doctor Usanagi and Juan's help, she eventually got it down.

Perhaps she should have taken longer with it though? Considering Afton had sent them out on a mission as soon as she was confident with them...

Cass turns towards Juan and crooks a brow, "We haven't met. Name's Cass." she greets and extends a hand.

Juan nods and reciprocates with his own gloved hand, "Erm, so, we weren't really told what we would be doing here... We kinda just got sent out with bare minimum information." he mutters.

Cass nods, "Yeah, good. Afton is a bit stingy with the information he gives out, says the more people who know it make it more and more vulnerable... You gotta be on your toes out here nowadays as well. Almost got nabbed by the NCR for my 'closeness' with a guy who turned out to be a Brotherhood spy... All I did was sell him a couple suits... Thank god the NCR didn't find the tracking devices in them." she trails off.

"Uhm, so what are we doing here?" Anja asks.

"Ah, well, we were kinda subverting the NCR from the inside. But now that Afton's secured the Mojave, he decided to put the nail in the coffin, if you know what I mean?"

Anja and Juan look at one another with worried expressions. Though, each was worried for different reasons.

Anja was wary of making such big moves inside the capital of the NCR, but knew Afton wouldn't send them on a suicide mission for no reason.

Juan was more worried about the ethical dilemma's of this mission... 'Putting the nail in the coffin' could mean many things, but when Afton's concerned, it usually meant mass murder and potential genocide...

Cass coughs into a fist to get their attention and leads them towards the back room of the shop after locking the front door, "So, we've been in contact with a guy called Samuel Duurne, he's the son of a local Brahmin baron who's been routinely and 'wrongly', persecuted by the NCR government." she says while making quotes with her fingers.

"It's been a bit difficult, but I've slowly been grooming him against the NCR while he has things tailored... With the recent shit that's been happening, I'm afraid he might just run into congress guns blazing... So, it's better to give him something that'll actually be effective... If you know what I mean?"

"You want to kill the NCR officials?" Juan asks, his worry somewhat placated due to the revelation they wouldn't be hurting civilians.

Cass shrugs, "Want is a strong word... I would like to kill the NCR officials... Yeah, that sounds better." she murmurs to herself. "Anyway, Afton's already sent the shit needed for that, now we just need to get Samuel into the building while congress is being held... That give's you around, three, four days to get this shit done?"