Adam walked out of the manager's office a moment later, his new protectron in tow. He did not really have a plan for it at this time but it was never a bad thing to have more robots. Maybe he could sell it? Who knows? However the night was still young and there was time to kill so Adam decided to have a chat with the Colonel. He was an interesting man, so why not talk with him for a bit?
With a simple order he sent his new protectron over to the rest of his group and then walked over to Colonel Harrison himself.
"Hey Colonel." Adam said as he walked up to find the Colonel sitting on a small green folding chair amongst his men's camp which were already deployed.
"Adam." Harrison said back with a light nod. "What can I do for you?" He asked back, deadpan as ever.
"I was wondering if you would be interested in chatting?" Adam smiled. Harrison stared at Adam for a moment and then looked off to the side with a sigh.
"Suit yourself." Adam entered the camp and took a seat on an overturned shelf next to Harrison.
"I was actually curious. How did you become a Gunner? And more pointedly, how did the Gunners come to be?"
"The answer to your second question is easy." Harrison began as he uncorked a canteen and then took a sip. "As long as the world is turning there will always be a need for hired guns. We just so happen to be the best. It's really not that complicated."
"Okay but why 'The Gunners'? You guys obviously have a style to you and you guys use old world military rankings."
"Marketing." Harrison said as he took another swig from his canteen. "We look the part, act the part, sell the part. Who would you rather hire? A bunch of nobodies wearing ragtag gear? Or a bunch of professionals in military BDUs? Plus old world tactics still thrive, we learn our lessons from the wasteland and apply old world plans to it."
"And you?" Adam continued. "How did you end up in the Gunners?" Harrison sighed.
"Does it matter?" He shot back.
"No, not really." Adam admitted. "But we've got a night to kill and I don't see why I shouldn't get to know a man who I may be dying with better. Besides this is the second time already. We already shed blood together." Harrison sighed again but then turned to look at Adam.
"I joined up back when the Gunners were still getting their feet off the ground in the Boston area. I was not even from Boston, but from the Cape." He then paused and added. "Cape Cod, I mean." He shook his head. "My family were fish farmers, inglorious work, aside from all the sea creatures we had to fend off. But I wanted more. Heard about the Gunners in my area and joined up before my parents even knew I was gone. I never looked back." He took another drink from his canteen. "I was around with the Gunners long enough to see their rise to power and then watch as they crumbled in the same year. Boston was the height of The Gunners but also its extinction. There may still be some Gunners there, I don't know. But as far as I am aware, my outfit is the last of the Gunners anywhere. I take my role very seriously."
"I bet." Adam said with a nod, in understanding. "You are carrying the torch of your people. In a way you are not too dissimilar to my friend Deccanus over there." Adam said as he mildly gestured to Deccanus. "He is the last of the Legion as far as he knows."
"Maybe." Harrison admited. "But truth be told I'm not interested in making sure The Gunners survive as much as my men and me. This is all I got left. I gave my life to the Gunners. Even if I wanted to back away I wouldn't know how. I am going to do this until the day I die, I'm certain." He let off a dry chuckle.
"Never thought of settling down?"
"I've thought about it." Harrison sighed. "But truth be told that life ain't for me. I'm at my best when I'm in charge of this outfit. Ensuring my men live and fight another day, keeping a roof over our heads, and caps in their pockets. If I ever were to stop that I would wither and die." He then smiled a tiny bit and added: "Or go crazy, whichever happened first."
"I understand completely." Adam said with a nod. "I'm a scaver because I love the thrill of it. It's definitely a job well suited for me. I can certainly fit any role I have to. However, if I get to pick, that's what I would keep doing." Adam chuckled. Now it was the Colonel's turn to nod.
"What drives you, Adam Baxter?" He asked.
"Hm?" Adam said in return as he looked at him.
"What pushes you on? You throw yourself into fights, you gather up allies and enemies alike, you move mountains, and for what? What are you trying to accomplish?" Harrison asked now.
"What motivates me?" Adam asked back as he paused to consider. "I don't think it's anything grandiose. I just want to live well, have my friends live well, and the best way to do that is to put my skills to use." Adam shrugged. "Sure it may seem like I'm being altruistic here, and maybe I am. But Chicago won't be safe if I just sit on my hands. I have the ability to help so I will. A safer Chicago benefits us all, right?"
"In my line of work, no, it doesn't." The Colonel said with a small smile. "But then again safer streets aren't the worst things to have."
"My point exactly." Adam smiled back, chuckling a bit to himself.
"That protectron of yours. The one from the backroom you found. What do you plan on doing with it?" Harrison asked as he gestured to the protectron with his head, still just mindlessly milling about Adam's group. The sudden shift in topic caught Adam off guard for a moment but no more than a moment.
"I don't really know, I haven't given it much thought, honestly. I just saw it still sitting in its pod and decided to make use of it. A little reprogramming and suddenly we have another fighter. One that doesn't eat, sleep, or feel pain."
"I'll buy it from you." Harrison said after a moment to think.
"You would?" Adam asked back.
"Yes. I would prefer to buy your other robots, the assaultron, the sentry bot, the Mr. Gutsy, but I doubt you will sell them to me, right?"
"Well actually Eve is not mine. She is a person, she makes her own decisions. If you want to hire her you'd have to talk to her."
"Hm." Is all The Colonel said in response as Adam continued.
"As for the other two…" Adam paused to consider before quickly settling on an answer and shaking his head. "I don't think I would sell them, no. Not for any reasonable price anyway. They are very useful."
"Precicely why I want them." Harrison said back. "But with that in mind a protectron would still make a valuable addition to my fighting force. If you are selling I would buy it off you." Harrison continued.
"How much?" Adam asked, looking at him again, now considering the mercantile nature of their exchange.
"1000 caps." Harrison said back quickly.
"1500." Adam countered.
"1250 and we can take the price out of the fee you owe me for the mission." Adam paused to consider and then nodded slowly.
"Alright, you have yourself a deal."