Walking with the raider turned lackey at the front he led them through more of the 'town' giving Adam an impressive perspective of just how creative people were at finding ways to survive. From the ways they get filtered water to the ways they set up stores and inns here it was quite interesting especially considering he was effectively walking inside a giant tube that once allowed the transit of subway cars. He did, however, see signs that this place used to be a settlement for more reputable folks before it became a den of raiders. He couldn't quite put his finger on it but it felt like a house that was owned by a nice old couple who then passed away and then was sold to house flippers who completely modernized the house and gave it new paint and a makeover. A lot changed but some things from the original house stuck through. The town seemed to be not created by raiders but instead something they stole a long time ago. That was the vibe he was getting anyway.
Regardless, after keeping his eyes open and not cowering while wandering around, led by the man, he avoided any trouble and arrived at what could affectionately be called a dive bar. There were plenty of men and women drinking, laughing, and messing around while drinking slop that probably was alcoholic in ways you wouldn't want it to be.
"H-here is the bar." The lackey said, speaking with a softer, more whipped attitude after getting floored with one punch by Adam earlier. Being a clone with enhanced genes came in handy from time to time.
"Thank you." Adam said with a cold tone to him, keeping up his facade for as long as he was here while he flipped the man a single bottle cap as a tip.
Honestly, the single bottlecap was almost more of an insult than if he left him alone. It was like throwing money at a man he just beat up… well no, that was exactly it was. However, more than that it was practically an insult because of what he was about to do next.
Adam cleared his throat and then spoke in a loud tone, more than loud enough to get the attention of everyone in the room.
"Attention, raiders, mercs, scum, and those with too much time on their hands." Adam said as he pulled out 5 100 midway cap slips and put them down on the counter. "You, I, and everyone in Chicago is about to die. Famine is on the move, if it is not stopped no one but the ghouls will be left alive to speak of it." He turned to the bartender and whispered something to him, the bartender took the money and walked off while Adam continued.
"Right now an army is forming at a location in the east. People from all over chicago will be coming to-"
"Why the fuck do I care eh?!" One of the raiders in the back said while giving Adam the stink eye. Adam rolled his eyes.
"If you would shut up for a half moment maybe you would get something new in that head of yours aside from beer." He said to the man which, surprisingly, got a chuckle out of a few of the patrons. "Now…" Adam continued, still doing his best to keep up this attitude. He no longer felt like he was about to be stabbed, but the possibility was there, and so long as the possibility was there he had no intentions of giving any impression to these people other than one where he was unflappable.
"As I said, an army is gathering and if you all don't want to die I'd strongly suggest you think about whether you want to fight for your lives, die like cattle, or flee." Adam said before looking over to his right where a map of Chicago, overlaid with the now defunct subway lines was hanging. He pulled out his knife and then stabbed the map right where the gathering spot was going to be.
"If any of you people aren't complete chicken shit come here, and be prepared to do something worthwhile for once." He could tell the mood of the room was dropping again, a few of the people were very much not a fan of being insulted and some looked they were a few more ill spoken words away from trying to kill him, even with Pearl at his back, which seemed to be the only reason they hadn't already. However he was not riling them up without cause. It was just one prong of his attempt to goad them into taking part.
Adam took out another Midway slip for 100 caps and waved it around.
"And, anyone from Hell who shows up to this party will get to take part in a cake of 3000 caps." Adam grinned and then threw the extra 100 cap slip on the counter too, where the 500 from before used to be.
"I don't care how many or how few show up, you come to me at the end of the battle and I'll make sure you get your slice of the pie. What you do after is your business." Adam said with a shrug. This was his plan, he wanted to rile them up, get them angry to try to prove him wrong, then try to get their interest in trying by offering a bounty for them to try to collect.
"What's stopping us from killing you now and taking the caps for ourselves? Sure you got a mutant with you but… wouldn't be my first mutie killin'." Another man in the bar said with a menacing grin as he licked his own knife, drawing blood from his tongue as he did, which somehow didn't even seem to phase him.
"Do you really think I'd be stupid enough to walk into Hell carrying that many caps?" Adam said with a raised eyebrow. "I'd have to be stupid to do that. No, the money is elsewhere, you kill me, you don't get a cent." Adam grinned.
Of course all of this was a bald faced lie. He did in fact have 3000 caps on him, well over, actually, sitting at around 4500 caps now that he had basically given 600 caps to the bartender. In retrospect it was a stupid move, but honestly, whether he had the caps on him or they were in his APC, it made no difference. If someone here wanted to kill him, even just suspecting he had caps, they would do so anyway. The truth of the matter in that case would be inconsequential.
There were some murmurs from around the bar, people speaking about the reward, about the insults, about jumping Adam anyway, basically the exact sort of conversations you'd expect. However, just as people were starting to get some strange ideas, the bartender returned carrying a large barrel of what was likely moonshine or bathtub gin and placed it on the counter.
"Oh, and I just bought everyone's drinks here today, and that barrel along with it. All of it is on me. Drink up and think about my offer. Maybe some of you will be leaving the battle rich enough to buy a home in Midway." He shrugged and then turned around as there was cheering beginning to erupt in the bar as the news of free drinks were setting in.
Before fully leaving Adam stopped at the door and then turned around to look at the bar.
"One week. Make sure you are at the location in one week, otherwise you don't get a single cap of the pot." He grinned and then left, Pearl walking right behind him. The cheering from behind him as the men and women scrambled to get the free liquor could be heard even as Adam gained a considerable distance on the bar. He hoped that their cheering for free beer did not drown out his last piece of critical information, the date, but he could only hope now.
As Adam walked towards the exit of Hell he patted himself on the back. There were many ways this could have gone down. Did he handle this perfectly? Absolutely not. Was there better ways to get these raiders' help? Without a doubt. However Adam was throwing together this plan as he went along, and for what he could do in the spur of the moment with only the time spent driving to think about it, he thought he did decently well. He riled up their competitive spirit, enticed them with monetary gain, and then won their favor with free beer. In addition, the commotion will draw other people to the bar, which in turn, will spread the word further. It sucks that to get the help of some, otherwise, lowlife reprobates, he would need to spend 3000 caps on top of the 600 he already paid for drinks but it was a worthwhile investment. Midway slips would be worthless if Midway was erased off the face of the map. Besides, he was a scaver, he could always make more money.
As he was about to leave through the front gate 3 denizens stopped him, blocking the way out.
"Heard there was a new guy in town, thought we'd pay him a beating." One grinned. Adam looked at him like he was stupid.
"Are you stupid?" Adam asked, voicing his thoughts. "Do you not see my super mutant companion?" He asked, genuinely wondering if these guys were blind or just had an IQ lower than room temperature water. Read full story at 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝※𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖※𝕟𝕖𝕥
"I can see perfectly fine." He grinned as he pulled out a switchblade, as if that was going to even puncture Adam's combat armor. "And what I see is a sucker ready to get a lesson on Hell's hospitality!" He charged in and tried to stab Adam.
Without even taking a step back, Adam grabbed the man's wrist and pulled him forward and then slammed the man's head right into his knee. He went down to the ground without delay, not unconscious, but with a bloody nose.
"Pearl, mind cleaning up these guys for me?" Adam said with an evil grin as he looked at the other two who had not yet moved, but seemed ready still for a fight. Must be on chems or something. Pearl then grinned too as she pulled the super sledge off her back and placed it in her hands.
"Pearl happy to help Adam."