Now that Adam had confirmed Deccanus was okay. Physically at least, he clearly had some mending to do mentally, he wanted to find some work around town. It would be even better if he could find work to coincide with his next outing. If he could scavenge for supplies as well as be on the hunt for something he knew someone wanted that would be perfect. As Mandy had said before this town definitely would have some work if he looked around enough, finding it might be the hard part.
The first job Adam secured was working for a flea market vendor who was selling guns. All the guns were in poor condition and in desperate need of a strip and deep cleaning. Unfortunately the vendor seemed to have no idea about weapon maintenance. So Adam got hired to fix them for him. Certainly by the time Adam was done working this over he had increased the value of the guns tenfold. The man was appreciative, but perhaps not as appreciative as he could have been. The work only netted Adam 60 caps. Not nothing but certainly less than he had hoped. Still he soldiered on.
Next he found himself caught in a game of telephone between two love birds, handing letters between the two of them secretly over the objection of their overbearing households. It was certainly the most "romantic" thing Adam had ever gotten involved in. Adam walked between the two outermost edges of the city more times than he wished, but ultimately it felt like it was for a good cause. Eventually, after the tenth letter the two met up and, probably, eloped. Saying they were playing on heading to The Pier, hiring a guard to get them there safely. They paid Adam 25 caps for his work. Not worth his effort but it was nice to help out a young couple at least.
As he was leaving this exchange he encountered two groups that seemed deeply at odds with each other. They looked ready to come to blows. Adam intervened and managed to calm down both parties before they started a flight. An agreement of non interference was reached between them as Adam stood there and played mediator for what ended up being a 2 hour discussion. Apparently the groups were two tribal families who had a long blood feud dating back a century. An agreement to end the blood feud was struck as long as each party adhered to their end of the compromise. It was quite an arduous affair. Adam was no mediator or diplomat. Luckily most of what he needed to do was babysit these grown men as they argued, and help keep the emotional temperature of the room down. The two groups paid him 50 caps each, 100 caps in total. He hadn't even gotten involved in their dispute to earn money; it was all happenstance. But luckily some of the techniques he had learned in Lying Congressional Style had actually turned out useful. Not to say he lied, but bending the truth proved a helpful tactic.
Regardless with just these three tasks he had already spent much of the day. But while he was on the hunt for the jobs he did pick up some tasks that would require him to keep an eye out when he leaves to scavenge. From comic books to military circuit boards, Adam actually had a list now, he even had to open an entire new quest log entry in his pip-boy to manage all the requests. Many of them wouldn't come to fruition but it was good for spreading his name a bit as a man who could get things for people even if he could only get a few of them.
But the day was getting late, and so it was time to stop his odd job work and focus on his other tasks for the day. In one day he had made 185 caps. Honestly, not a terrible day's work all things considered. He could afford the hotel he was staying at, minus the Layover special, and get food for the day too with that. Though there was no telling if he kept doing odd jobs if he would make enough money to live off indefinitely. He would likely have to lower his standards if he lived on odd jobs and didn't leave the city. It was really expensive to live here. Probably why the people in Naper were happier.
Regardless, with his money earned he headed for Olivia Frost's shop. It was time to work on getting some armor.
"I knew you'd be back." She said with a grin as Olivia saw Adam walk into her store.
"Well, There's a limit to recklessness." He chuckled. "Can't go out to dangerous places with only my chest covered, I need a bit more to stay safe."
"I knew you were a man who understood the value of good armor." She grinned. "Now tell me, what are you looking for?"
"As much as I'd love to buy that combat armor off of you, I simply don't have the funds." He chuckled. "So I'd like something modular, Maybe some kind of gauntlets, elbow guards, shoulder protection, and some sort of armored leggings? I have body armor and a helmet, I simply lack armor on my extremities." She nodded as Adam spoke.
"Well certainly I can get you something to help you feel safer." She paused. "What's your budget?"
"Well…" Adam paused now himself to consider, with the work he had just done he had over 2200 caps, but he wanted to keep a small cushion of money just in case. But he really did need armor, getting to Second life would not be easy. As he had heard it might end up being an arduous trek, furthermore the interior might be no easier, but that was for the future.
"Well let me see what I can do." She said as she began to rummage through her shop.
"Oh, also, I carry around a lot of gear, so whatever I do get needs to not conflict with my holsters or slung weapons." She paused as Adam spoke looking at the combat armor on the wall now. Not the mark 2 but the one he used to wear back in the army.
"You are a Scaver, yes?" She said slowly. As she stood up from looking inside a trunk.
"Uh, yes. I am, which is why I need good armor." Adam said with a smile.
"Then… I have a deal to offer you." She said as she walked over to the Combat armor on the mannequin stand and touched it. "I know of a place with a chest full of things I would love to get my hands on, armor, mostly. But I can't leave myself, and the place is a bit too dangerous for your average joe but…" She stopped touching the armor and walked over to Adam. "I hear you are no slouch, surviving a Lakelurk infested mall, eh?" She grinned.
"Oh, um… yes I did that. Where did you hear about that?" Adam asked.
"Jay." She smiled. Well at least that made sense. "So here is what I'm proposing." She gently touched Adam's shoulder with her finger.
"You bring me back the chest from a location I send you to, anything else you pick up there, armor, obviously, you sell to me, and I will give you that armor over there for only 4000 caps, if, by that time, you still do not have the money, I will cover the difference and you can pay me back with interest, deal?" She smirked.
Adam stopped to think. This was a great opportunity. A location full of good loot that he could sell right back to her and, in addition, he would get a 2000 cap discount on one of the armor sets he was looking at. He could finally ditch his bullet proof vest. Of course he'd much rather get the Combat Armor mark 2 but beggars couldn't be choosers. However while he was still considering she spoke up again.
"In addition. I'm not just a pretty face who sells life saving armor. I also know how to make certain clothing even better." She grinned. "For example, I can use ballistic fiber to turn any piece of clothing, even that vault suit of yours, into armor. And, since your vault suit is skin tight it can even be worn under our friend over there." She said gesturing to the Combat armor. "Or, if you'd prefer a military uniform that'd work too, all the same." She shrugged.
"You do this errand for me, in addition to everything I said before I will also offer you my services as a seamstress. I don't normally offer this to customers because, quite frankly, it's a pain in the ass, but I can do it for you for a price."
Once more Adam stood there contemplating. Honestly this was just another huge reason to accept this mission. If he could turn his vault suit into something more than just a convenient piece of clothing and instead into armor itself he could feel safer even under fire. Peace of mind is worth any price after all. Simply having the option to upgrade his vault suit, or any piece of clothing for that matter, was a massive bonus. There was one issue with all of this. If she was offering him such a good deal, what kind of place was she about to send him into? How dangerous was it?
"I have just one question." Adam said after a few moments to contemplate. A serious tone in his voice.
"What is it?"
"What kind of place are you sending me into?"
"A military stronghold." She grinned.