Adam stared at him in disbelief for a moment. Though he was careful not to stare he couldn't help but be confused. He was a ghoul? He had been under the impression ghouls weren't allowed in Midway proper. And this man was also somehow the head of The Guild? It called into question so many things.
The Boss, seemingly noticing Adam's confusion, chuckled softly to himself and then reached to a drawer on his desk, pulling out an ornate wooden box. Inside was a finely rolled cigar, which he took out, clipped the end of with a tool from his desk, and then lit.
"I see you are surprised to see me."
"Yes… um… I am, if I'm honest." Adam said, deciding honesty was the best course of action. The boss seemed to grin a bit and pulled out the cigar, holding it in his fingers now.
"Good, I hate liars." He chuckled a bit again. "I also hate bigots, but you ain't got the eyes of one anyway. Besides anyone who rolls around with a ghoul ain't a ghoul-hater so you already passed." He then put the cigar back into his mouth and smiled.
"But I thought-" Adam began before getting cut off by the Boss.
"That ghouls weren't allowed in Midway?" He finished Adam's thought. "Conventional wisdom." He said before taking another puff of his cigar, letting the pause drag out as he enjoyed himself.
"I own this town, Mr. Baxter. No matter how much long standing policies might wish me gone, They can't oust me." He grinned.
"Then why not push to get the other ghouls to come and go freely in the city?" Adam asked, innocently, now curious and confused.
"What have they done for me?" He asked back callously.
"I uh… don't know? But if you 'own the town' in your own words, then why not use that power to help them?"
"I ask again. What have they ever done for me?" He said with a more menacing tone now. "I'm not in the business of charity work. My business is business. Now…" He leaned in a bit, still menacing. "I'd suggest you drop the topic." He said before he leaned back again and relaxed, taking another hit of his cigar.
"I'm sure you are curious why I had you called over here Mr. Baxter." He said as he fiddled with his hat for a moment.
"Yes I was." Adam nodded, deciding to go along with his whims.
"I've heard of you." He said as he tapped some still burning ash off his cigar into an ornate golden ashtray on his desk. "You have been making quite a name for yourself, haven't you Mr. Baxter?" He asked. Though it was clearly rhetorical.
"I suppose?" Adam said, uncertain what to say to that. "I've just done what I needed to since I got here." The boss laughed.
"Honest and humble." He grinned. "I think I'm going to like you, Mr. Baxter." He said before taking one least hit of his cigar and then snuffing it out.
"I have a task in need of a man of your skills. A getter of things, a doer."
"Your reputation speaks for itself." He continued with a casual commanding tone, though he was not menacing Adam it was almost natural to him. "You have broken into a former military compound, a mirelurk nest, crossed swords with War's band, and have made waves in the merchant community by bringing back hoards of valuable commodities." He grinned. "I'd say you have done more than a little to make your name spoken around here."
"I didn't realize I had become so well known."
"I have eyes and ears everywhere Mr. Baxter. So naturally when a rising star enters my city I take notice. Naturally I've already done my research on you before you were brought here." He grins. "But I haven't called you here to tell you about yourself."
"You mentioned a task?"
"Yes, I did." He leaned in a bit again. "I want you to get a specific object from a vault in the area. Vault 54."
"But why me? Don't you have men for this sort of thing?"
"Yes." He said, holding up a finger. "You may not be one of my men but not many people leave settlements on a regular basis and come back without issue. The only ones who usually do are caravans, and they travel in groups or stick to known roads with guards. You? You jump into the thick of it." He leaned back in his chair.
"I hear you took down a raider base, is that right?" Adam was surprised, that happened only recently and he wasn't going around bragging about it, though he might have casually dropped it once or twice for this man to already know said a lot about his intelligence network.
"Yes…" Adam said, slightly intimidated by the scope of his knowledge.
"Then I can send you out on this job without worrying about you dying before you finish the task." He looked Adam in the eyes. "Guys like you aren't as common as you think, Vaultie." He said with an almost playful tone, trying to lower the tension.
"And," he continued. "To answer your second question. If I had any men who I can ask this of, do you think I'd be coming to you?" He chuckled softly. "These guys are great, I trust them, but there is a difference between handling tasks in the city and leaving to investigate an old vault. For things like these I hire an outside contractor." He leaned in again and gently pointed at Adam.
"So…" Adam says, wrapping his head around this. "You are asking me to go to an old vault, explore it, and look for a specific item?" He asked, just to be certain he was understanding all this correctly.
"Indeed." he grinned as he took his cigar and put it back into the box.
"And what am I getting out of this?" Adam said firmly. The boss laughed for a moment at this.
"Oh you are also bold." He grinned. "Any chance you want to join The Guild? I could use someone with a lot of spunk like you." He asked, suddenly turning this into a recruiting offer.
"I appreciate the offer, but I'm not looking for any permanent employment at the moment." Adam said back quickly.
"Shame." He shrugged. "Well anyway, you will be properly compensated. I will promise a 250 cap reward for bringing me information on the vault, and an additional 500 caps for obtaining the item for me." Adam sat there in silence for a moment thinking before he looked the boss in the eyes and spoke.
"Each." Adam countered.
"Excuse me?" He said, shocked at Adam's tone and response.
"I have a partner, I would like to see him compensated for this task too. So a total of 750 caps for each of us, assuming we succeed in getting your item." Adam said, standing his ground. The boss raised an eyebrow as he looked at Adam.
"Do you know what it means to be negotiating with me?"
"No." Adam admitted. "But you are a client asking to buy my services, it seems only fair that I can negotiate." There is silence that permeated the room for a few tense seconds. Adam even began to wonder if he had overstepped his bounds. Then the Boss laughed hard.
"Alright." He grinned. "You do this task properly, and, as requested, you and your partner will be paid for your efforts." He grinned.
"Thank you." Adam said with a light nod. "Now what can you tell me about this vault and what is this item you are looking for?" He asked.