Fallout, Second Life Chapter 307 - 307

Everyone dispersed, going to tend to their wounds or their own activities as Adam sat down and began repair work on Rae. Deccanus promised to return though, with food. He really was a great friend.

Luckily nothing major was damaged on Rae it was mostly hits to the chassis, but wear and tear over a long period of ti could cause issues. In addition he never really fixed up Rae's arms too much so since he was already working, he figured he might as well do everything. So after a quick trip to the flea market to buy so scrap tal and a few other pieces of needed material for a total of 15 caps, he buckled down and began his work.

He was about 15 minutes into fixing up Rae, sitting inside his APC, screwdriver in his mouth and spot welder in his hands when soone showed up before him. He expected it to be Deccanus, having returned with food. But it was not. In fact one could argue it was the opposite of Deccanus. The Ranger.

"Howdy." The ranger said as he strolled up, helt off and under his arm but otherwise dressed as he had seen him commonly up till now, in his riot cop armor and duster.

Adam looked up at him, nodded and then stuck a finger up in a 'wait one mont please' sort of way, since his mouth was holding the screwdriver and then finished the weld he was working on for Rae. Once that was done he set the welder down and took the screwdriver out of his mouth.

"How you doing?" Adam asked, politely.

"Pretty well, I'd say, all things considered." He responded to Adam's polite response with an actual answer.

"So what can I do for you?" Adam asked now, choosing not to beat around the bush.

"Well… word on the grapevine is that you and your crew are about to do sothing very reckless and very brave soon." Adam looked at him surprised for a mont. It seed he knew about the attack on Pestilence. Adam had been keeping this moderately close to his chest so unless Baxter went around spilling the beans that only left one man who could have spread the information, Mr. Cantelli. This could be bad, even if he ant to offer Adam aid like he said if the news got out now that could give Pestilence ti to prepare for the upcoming fight.

"Do you… know what we are about to do?" Adam asked, suspiciously. Trying to figure out how much of the plan was actually leaked.

"Not much, I'm afraid. Just that you are doing sothing big and that there's a reward for those of us interested in following along." Adam raised an eyebrow and then nodded slowly. Alright, so Mr. Cantelli was smart about this. Guess he wasn't the underground king of Midway for nothing. There might be news that Adam was planning sothing that would reach the ears of the cult. But they can't assu it will definitely be an attack on them, especially when they don't know when this would happen. They might strengthen their defenses a bit, but they are winning the war right now, if they ease up on the pressure the situation could turn around on them. The montum they have must be maintained, which in turn leads to overconfidence. The overconfidence Adam was betting on. Of course this was deep psychological assumptions based on people he barely knew but it was a sound theory, at least.

"If you don't know what I'm about to do, why would you want to throw your hat in the ring?" Adam asked as a follow up, now asking about the ranger himself, not just trying to discern how much his plan has leaked.

"Well the way I see it, I was in that last little get-together you put on where you threw yourself literally into the line of fire for the sake of the city. Now, I've seen a lot of people in my day, good ones, bad ones, idealists. You though, you are a special kind of crazy." Adam laughed a bit at his comnt.

"So why would you want to follow through my crazy plans?"

"Because I'm the sa kinda crazy, I think." The ranger grinned and let off a soft laugh himself. "'Sides, the man I saw at that last battle? The one that put his body on the line to give the rest of us a fighting chance? He wouldn't be doing sothing dubious. I trust you enough to know it's gonna be for a good cause."

"Well… When you put it like that…" Adam said, montarily at a loss for words. He then sighed and stood up, offering his hand. "I suppose I won't say no to your help, I'll be glad to have you along." The ranger smiled back and took Adam's hand with a firm shake.

"Glad to be a part of it. If you need I'm staying in the Rest Inn."

"Actually we are all going to be eting up at a location in 2 days, if you want to just be there on ti for us to all gather it right here. I can show you on my pip-boy." Adam said as he stepped out of the APC to show the ranger on his map the parking garage.

"Adam, they did not have quesadillas today, however I was able to get you a large burrito and-" Deccanus said as he erged through the door and then stopped in his tracks when he saw the ranger.

"Well, if it isn't our resident legionaire." The ranger said with a big smile as he looked over at Deccanus. Deccanus, anwhile, was looking a bit on the backfoot. It seed that, despite shaking the man's hand before the battle with Famine, his feelings had not yet fully gone away, as evidenced by the look on his face.

"I was not… aware you would be here…' Deccanus said. An uncommon mix of trepidation and concern in his tone. Almost as if he was afraid.

"Well I needed to talk to the organizer of the party Adam here is putting together. Just signed on for whatever sort of plan y'all got cookin'."

"I… uh… see…" Deccanus said, very uncertain. "You will be joining us in battle again?"

"Yup." He then leaned in closer to Deccanus a bit, even though he was still several feet away. "That ain't gonna be a problem, is it?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No… I… suppose it won't be…" Deccanus returned, still uncertain.

"Wonderful." He said to Deccanus and then turned to Adam and raised a fist slightly in solidarity with Adam. "Then I'll be seeing you at the et-up zone." He then chuckled softly to himself and headed back inside, leaving Deccanus standing there montarily stunned.

"You all right, Deccanus?" Adam asked carefully after the ranger was gone.

"Yes… I will be fine… I was just not expecting him again."

"I did not either, but he wants to help with our upcoming battle… are you going to be okay with it? I an I thought you worked up the resolve to put your issue behind you." Adam asked, curiously.

"I did. And I thought I have but…" Deccanus said before stopping himself. "I realize that my resolve from back then was due to my fear of death, now, my feelings are… confused…" He admitted slowly. Adam smiled softly and patted his arm.

"That's okay, it's not easy to move past old grudges. But the very fact you worked with him before and that you were able to do so again is a great sign of growth. You don't need to rush yourself. Just give it ti. You will no longer feel like that."

"I see…" Deccanus responded, taking Adam's words in but also still sounding uncertain. "I just need ti to sort myself out is all." He repeated before shaking his head and then walking into the APC, holding the plates of food he brought out for Adam. "For now, I suggest we eat. I shall put this behind for the mont." Adam nodded and then took a seat himself and dug into the food Deccanus had picked for him. It was delicious.