leanonstuff | PSL post for daughterless

PSL post for daughterless

[The NCR had sent Norman to the Vault because the area was surrounded by Fiends, and he was damn good at blending among the various "criminal" groups around the Mojave. No way an ordinary NCR trooper would be able to get inside without being attacked. And according to their intelligence, exactly what was inside was of such great importance that they couldn't possibly wait to go after it just in case Caesar's Legion got wind of it and acted first. Norman was searching for a box of special bottles that appeared to be beer or vodka bottles, but were actually filled with a chemical that, when introduced into a water supply, could spread a deadly bacteria that would wipe out anyone who drank the contaminated water for at least a month.

Unfortunately, finding the bottles was turning out to be far more difficult that Norman had anticipated. He'd gotten into the Vault in the first place by wearing old, torn and dirty clothes that could pass as those a typical raider or Fiend might wear. He'd even bought a few chems from them to help gain their trust (and to use them later, though he planned to tell the NCR that he'd disposed of them instead). The Vault seemed to be empty of Fiends, luckily, but he wasn't too optimistic that he wouldn't eventually run into ghouls or worse.

10mm pistol in hand, Norman opens the door to the Vault infirmary, hoping he might have some more luck locating the bottles in there.]

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That ain't my problem. [His voice is flat. Joel isn't about to risk his own life for some schmuck who got on the wrong side of the Khans. Figures that the guy had another motive in trying to talk him along-- hell, Joel's not so much surprised as he is annoyed.

His offer, though, is enough to give him some pause-- but it's still not enough, in the end. Bottles or not, Joel doesn't doubt he'll be able to scrounge up enough, at least, to make a little cash on the side. And he isn't sure if whatever they might kick up poking his nose into the lab or the office is gonna make it worth the hassle of more of those things.]

You want me to play along with your crazy plan, then I'm gonna need five hundred caps up front. And first pick of the loot. [He pauses for a moment, then adds:] And no more goddamn lies. [He doesn't doubt that Jayden is going to lie to him some more, but at least he'd have an excuse to shoot him if he went too far.]

Otherwise, you're on your own.

Nice to see a caring soul in the Wasteland.

[He responds with an equally flat tone. Not surprised either, in a place like this it's always been every man for himself. That's why they need the NCR to come in and bring some order to this chaotic landscape. At least NCR troopers watch each other's backs.

Norman squints at Joel when he makes his demands.] 500? Do I look like I have 500 fucking caps on me? I'll give you 150 and some NCR bills I have on me. Anymore than that and I won't be able to eat if this mission turns out to be a bust.

That's reasonable, isn't it? Imagine what kinda weapons might be down there... and you get first dibs. You help me with this, and you'll be sure to get great karma.

[He snorts at that.]

Karma, my ass. Make it 250 and keep the bills.

[Joel's opinion of the NCR can be summed up with more or less one word: HA. They're only good for keeping the Legion from breathing down all their necks (and lately not even that), their overarching goal of governing the Wasteland a pipe dream at best, criminally stupid at worst.]

You can take it or leave it.

[Why so chaotic neutral, Joel?]

You're an asshole.

[But nonetheless, he digs through his pack for the necessary amount of caps. The NCR had made sure to supply him with plenty in case he needed them for whatever reason, and this certainly qualifies as a good reason to use them.

Collected, he shoves the caps into Joel's arms.]

Now you better not take off.

[Norman can't believe he's hiring this guy. He's supposed to do this job on his own. But... he wasn't warned about the bullshit in here! He's supposed to be utilized for more stealthy jobs, not the type to go in guns blazing against difficult to kill monsters.]

[Being nice doesn't keep you fed >:|]

Hey, I ain't the one lyin' out of his ass about why he's here.

[Joel pockets the caps, then straightens up. He doesn't even really consider this a proper hiring-- more like bribery so he doesn't up and ditch the guy at the first sign of trouble. And this whole damn thing stinks of trouble.]

So what'd they ask you to fetch?

[It keeps him fed. Or it would, if he was telling the truth about his situation. The NCR keeps its employees fed, so he actually has no worries there.]

I had just met you. I wasn't about to share personal information like that with a stranger until I could trust them a little.

[Hiring, bribery... doesn't really make a difference to him. As long as Joel proves reliable, it'll be a worthy expenditure of caps.]

Just some ancient, pre-war bottles of booze. Guess there's some sorta legend around them by now, kinda like the star bottle caps, that makes them worth a boatload. I don't really buy into any of that crap, but if a couple dusty bottles will save my life, I'm not about to complain.

[Joel is checking his knife, testing the blade to make sure that the monster's acid blood hadn't ruined the edge when Jayden tells him what he's after. He nicks himself, and swears a little under his breath as he stows the knife away, making damn well sure nothing shows on his face as he turns back to the other man. This can't be a coincidence. Something must have tipped off both the Khans and his client, and now they're both racing to get at the prize. A couple of fucking bottles of booze.

In the part of him that is dead and ruthless and doesn't give a damn about anything or anyone, he half considers just shooting Jayden outright and going off to finish the mission. Nothing personal, but a job was a job, and what would be one more corpse in some old vault? But... Joel isn't that person anymore, not quite. And Jayden's focus on accessing the Overseer's office-- what if he had more information about finding the target? The bottles first.... and then Joel would see how this plays out.]

...Alright. Fine.

[He releases a low breath, and rolls his shoulders.]

So where to next? The labs?

[Joel does a good job of keeping his thoughts out of his expression, and Norman doesn't suspect they might be after the same thing. If he did... well, he might be having the same considerations as Joel, but for different reasons. His superiors had made it crystal clear that these bottles aren't to get into anyone else's hands, no matter the cost. But as long as his new 'partner' here doesn't need them, he supposes it shouldn't be a problem.]

Could be that the bottles are so special because they did some experiments in drink mixing down there.

[There's a hint of humor in his voice; gotta make a bit of light of this situation, horrible as it is.]

But yeah, the labs. We tread lightly and stick to the shadows... and I think we'll be okay.

Edited 2013-10-29 23:13 (UTC)

Yeah? Anything's got to be better than that piss they call beer in Vegas.

[He'll play along for now, but when the time comes, well, Joel has every intention on grabbing those bottles. But getting to them... that probably isn't going to be a cakewalk either.]

We'll see about that.

[Setting off for the labs, Joel is twitchy, staring down into every shadow and empty room. But the vault is quiet... actually kind of creepily so.]

Have you been to the Strip?

[His initial thoughts are no, Joel probably never has enough caps on him at one time to afford the 2,000 credit check, or a passport. Then again, if he does enough risky jobs, who knows?]

Guess we will.

[As they pass open rooms, Norman does his best to hurry past them without looking inside, not eager to find something else staring back at him. Fortunately, they make it to the labs without any further incident. Clutching his pistol again, Norman activates the door to the labs, and lets out a slow breath when nothing immediately attacks.]

All clear.

[The room is a mess. All over the place glass is shattered, as if someone or something went off on a rampage. There are also a few glass cages that are broken open, and it doesn't take a genius to figure that the creature they found probably came from one of them. But there are three there... and all are broken. Not a good sign.]

I'm gonna check for locked safes. Watch the door, will ya?

[He starts sweeping the room for safes, eventually finding one on the wall behind a large desk, and one in the floor as well. Without wasting time, Norman gets to work first cracking the one in the wall.]

I've been there twice, both times business.

[More like both times making damn well sure he got paid for his troubles. Joel takes in the ruins of the labs, the glass cages, and heaves a sigh as he crosses his arms, leaning against the wall as Jayden gets started on the safe.

Despite the bored look on his face, he's keeping a careful eye out on the entrances and exits of the lab.]

Find anythin' yet?

Gotcha.

[Business on the Strip could mean a lot of things. He isn't going to bother inquiring further.

This lock is moderately difficult, and inside he finds some research notes. Nothing useful.]

Not yet. Let me check the desk and the floor safe.

[The desk proves extremely difficult to unlock, which Norman is hoping is a good sign. He actually breaks a couple bobby pins before he has it open, at which point his eyes light up at the sight of a small, copper object.]

There's a key here. Could be for the Overseer's office.

[He pockets it, then goes for the floor safe. Inside are a nice pile of chems.] Got some stims and Med-X here if you want any.

[Meds are always good. Joel makes a 'gimme' gesture, indicating for Jayden to toss him some of those stimpacks. Trying to be casual, he asks:]

So you got a lead on those bottles in the Overseer's Office?

[He's about to go on, see how much additional information he can talk out of the man, when he catches something out of the corner of his eye-- more of a blur than anything else, too quick to pin down.]

Wh--?

[Norman tosses over a couple of the stims and collects a few more of the Med-X for himself. One thing he sure as hell isn't about to reveal to Joel or anyone is his addiction to the stuff. In fact, while he's ducked down behind the counter seems like a great time to have a hit of it. It's been awhile now, and he can already feel some of the shakes he gets when he doesn't take it often enough.]

Uhh... [He hesitates with the needle in his arm, but pulls it out once he feels the chem coursing through his system. That's better.]

Not too sure, but it seems like our best bet.

[Discarding the used Med-X, he rises to his feet and looks over to Joel. He looks startled by something.]

What's wrong?

[What's he still doing behind that counter...? Joel's too distracted by the whatever that had just gone past the doorway. Had he imagined it?]

Thought I saw--

[The words die in his throat as what he saw comes barreling straight through the door. Another monstrosity like the first, this one is more cat shaped, and the skin on its hairless, long-legged body looks like it was pieced together from dozens of human faces-- blinking eyeballs, noses, a tongue, sticking out.

It's fast, too. Joel's gun is up and out as soon as it clears the doorway, but it dodges the first of his shots with ease, leaping to the side and ramming into a nearby desk from the force of its speed. Joel shoots and misses again, swearing.]

Fuck!

[Norman dives right back behind the counter when whatever that new monster is comes barreling into the room.]

The fuck-!?

[He also starts shooting at it, and one of his bullets hit but doesn't seem to do too much. Oh god... what the fuck are they supposed to do now?

Norman looks around frantically, and spots a couple gas tanks near the far wall. If they could shoot them while the monster is near...]

Gas tanks, Joel! We need to get it near them!

[And how the hell are they supposed to do that? As Norman starts shooting, Joel takes advantage of the moment to pull the combat shotgun out of its holster. Drawing in a deep breath, he sights down the barrel as the monster comes charging at him. This time, he can't fucking miss.

BANG goes the shotgun, and this at least makes a dent in the creature, throwing it back with the force of the blast. The recoil's a bitch-- Joel grunts at the impact as he shifts, trying to get a better angle. He doesn't want to get any closer to the monster OR the gas tanks if necessary, but maybe the gun would be enough to drive it that way.

It's scrabbling to its feet as Joel approaches, taking aim and shooting again.]

[The sound of the shotgun fills the lab and the creature is driven back a little. Good... this might actually be a good plan if they work together. Joel shoots again, and the monster is even closer to the gas tanks.]

One more shot, then get the hell back and I'll shoot the tanks!

[Norman's already taking aim at them, making sure he's at a good angle for it. With any luck, the fire will burn through the creature only... and if it doesn't die, they can use the chance to shoot it down.]

Right--

[Joel grunts as he repositions the gun against his shoulder-- shit, that's gonna leave bruises tomorrow. The cat monster cringes away, then screams as another bullet hits its side. The sound is eerily human, and Joel swears as it goes sprawling across the floor-- the angle was bad, he hadn't drive the creature any closer to the barrels at all. He can't even tell if his bullets are really damaging it in any way

One last shot and this time, he'd be sure to nail it. As he aims, preparing to run the hell away as soon as he takes the shot, the monster turns its deformed cat's face up to them. "Please," it begs, garbled but understandable. "Please don't hurt me."

Joel's finger tightens on the trigger.]

[Norman also cringes at the sound of the scream. Whatever was going on here... he can't even fathom it. The Vaults were supposed to save people, but instead they created some of the most twisted, fucked up things in the entire Wasteland. The fact that it's talking too... God. But they can't take pity on it, not when it'd probably tear them apart given a single moment's chance. After Joel takes the final shot, Norman lets loose a few bullets at the gas tanks behind the creature.

The resulting explosion is extremely loud, and extremely damaging. Norman dives behind the counter, feeling the heat of it there, while the monster screams in anguish and it's burned alive. He can only hope Joel made it out of the way in time, or else he's gonna be dealing with some serious burns too.]

[The explosion just barely misses Joel as he ducks behind a table. He feels heat singe the edges of his hair, and his ears are ringing long after the blast is over. Cautiously he peers out from over the top-- where the creature had been, there's a mound of smoking black char and the twisted remains of the barrels.

....]

Well, fuck.

[His voice is too loud, he realizes belatedly, but his hearing is still all screwed up. Still, it had been a good call from Jayden. From the way his shots had practically bounced off it, he's not sure if they could have killed the monster otherwise.]

This better be the only one of those damn things roamin' around.

[Norman peeks over the edge of the counter a few seconds later, ears also ringing uncomfortably. But he breathes a sigh of relief to see that the plan has worked, although his heart is still pounding in his chest with adrenaline that will probably need a couple minutes to wear off.

Despite how raised Joel's voice is, it still sounds muffled to Norman, and he responds equally loudly.]

Three cages... two monsters down. There's probably still one more around here somewhere.

[Unless it's died some other way. Hopefully.]

At least now we can head back to the Overseer's office!

[Joel can't really manage to sound quite as excited.]

Yeah, I s'pose so.

[Slowly picking himself up of the laboratory floor, Joel begins reloading his guns with quick, practiced motions. There's a twitch of the mouth as he realizes he's out of shotgun shells, but his hands are on autopilot, and his thoughts are far away.

Jayden seems pretty confident about searching that office. And if they find those bottles there, then what? The obvious answer is also the easiest, cleanest one. He'd shoot him in the back, take the goods and go. But that was... he didn't...

...concepts like 'fairness' and 'honor' don't mean a damn thing to Joel these days, but they'd struck a bargain and it seems like a shit thing to do, putting a bullet in the man after all this. When had he started caring? The though is disquieting, and Joel can't help but think that he's getting soft.]

Ready whenever you are.

[He makes sure the key is safely in his pack, along with some of the supplies he picked up, and heads for the door.]

I'm ready.

[Norman is a lot more confident on the way back to the office. Wherever the last monster is, he has to guess it's on another level... what with the other two up here. Surely not all three are in the same place? Hopefully not.

He isn't really thinking about what to do about Joel afterward now. He hasn't expressed any interest in the bottles. Going their separate ways afterward seems like it'd probably be just fine.

They make it to the office, and luckily, it's the right key. Norman opens the door and immediately heads for the lockers. The bottles have to be here.]

Feel free to pick up anything useful you see while I work on these.

[He idly starts poking through the desk drawers, tapping at the keys to the old desktop computer, all the while keeping a discreet eye on Jayden-- in case those bottles really do turn up.

The computer screen comes up green and gray, demanding a password. Joel doesn't know shit about hacking, and is about to leave it alone when...

...there's a scrap of notepaper taped to the inside of one of the drawers, a single scrawled word on it. "Chimera."]

Huh. Lazy.

[He inputs the passcode into the computer and gets logged in as Overseer Raoul. The first few entries he clicks are full of boring data-- water purification logistics, a list of recent births, maintenance schedules. Joel clicks a new file, and the screen flashes with the message: "Door unlocked." He glances back at Jayden to see if he'd noticed anything, but it seems like the man is still working at the locks.]

Any luck on your end?

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ngl, i laughed at the karma bit

I had to

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