Adam slept soundly that night, even after his nap he needed rest and damn did he sleep. He didn't wake up the next day until the sun was high in the sky. He didn't mind though, not waking up to an alarm everyday was a wonderful gift, and he never had an intention of leaving again today anyway so he was more than happy to just idle the day away.
The morning was spent slowly, he grabbed a meal from Eric for 14 caps bringing him to just over 900 caps and then spent some time relaxing by the river. He had brought the books and magazines with him and planned to spend the time just reading and enjoying the sun. Which is exactly what he did. He finished the Locksmith's reader first. It was not at all an instruction booklet, it did not give him step by step instructions on how to lockpick, but it did give him an inkling on how to actually try, he'd need a real book for the skill if he wanted to learn more, since this was only a magazine, but he was at the starting line now, at least, and he was positive that as he kept exploring old buildings going forward he would encounter more and more locked doors, safes, rooms, and chests. Having some sort of skill to unlock them would probably come in handy, but he would just need to learn as he went, there was no substitute for experience after all.
Next he read the Chinese Spec Ops Manual. It was… interesting. He was done being racist, they really did have some good techniques on how to hide in plain sight, how to move around secure buildings and how to blend into an environment you are not fully prepared to be in. It was incredibly informative. It also gave him insight into how the Chinese had been operating on American soil long before the bombs fell; there were mentions of entire franchises that were fronts for their operations. It made him wonder how deep they had gone before everything went to shit. He could only speculate, but the manual did well to teach him a few new tricks he could try out in the field. A lot of it would require practice and time to master but having extra skills in his back pocket was never a bad thing.
By now the sun was well past its Zenith but He was content to continue reading, he had no plans for today after all, not everyday needed to be an adventure, mundane and peaceful days are why he worked so hard. So he pulled out his third book, Lying, Congressional Style.
The book was a hilarious satire and deconstruction on the way politicians from his time would twist words, bend questions, and explain things in a way that was completely advantageous to them. It was a fun read. Sure, some of it could be applied to his everyday life, but for the most part it was not an instructional how-to book as much as it was a satire and explanation on how others talk people down. Unless he planned on becoming a politician it was mostly worthless information, but the book was a fun read anyway.
The last book, and by now he was impressed with himself due to having finished 3 other works before this one, was a fiction novel written by the man who was making the Agent America scripts. He had heard it was good but he was never much of a reader before the world ended, now he can't be much else. However, reading the previous book took far longer than he expected, the day almost being over now, so he instead decided to save it for another time.
Instead he headed back to Winchester's and quickly sold off the three books he had just read. He was finished and it's not like he had a home bookshelf to put them on so he'd rather just have the caps. 20 caps each left him 60 caps richer when he walked out.
He headed back to the bar and saw Salvatore drinking in his usual spot, though he did notice a strange man in the corner table, black braided hair, which was mostly matted down underneath a head scarf, football chest gear painted a bit with a red undershirt, a brown skirt looking thing that only covered up to his knees, and a face mask that hung low on his neck, though it was now down and hanging around his neck as he ate some food. He had a long spear leaning against the side of the table, a machete strapped to his hip, and a lever action rifle strapped to his back. He looked a bit silly but he had seen a few people come into town before from outside, he very much is not the only one who is not from around here, Adam too was from out of town so he had no place to judge. So he paid it little mind and then took a seat near Salvatore.
"Hey Salvatore." Adam began as he took his seat and flagged Mandy over when she noticed him. She was busy waiting at another table but he was no rush and he was able to convey that to her.
"What." Salvatore said with a gruff tone. Though, perhaps, that was just the way he spoke, there was no air of standoffishness as he might have expected.
"How much does it cost to hire you?" Adam asked thoughtfully.
"What?" Salvatore said now with a confused tone as he turned to look at Adam.
"How much does it cost to hire you?" Adam repeated, since he knew Salvatore heard him.
"Depends on what you are hiring me for." He responded as he downed a shot of whatever he was drinking before turning his whole body to face Adam. "What do you need?"
"I was thinking about taking a trip to Midway, not today obviously, and probably not for a few days but I'm planning out my options. I've never gone there and I learned that distant journeys can get harrowing if they are not well planned, so I'm fielding the idea of hiring you out to guide me there." Adam explained as he noticed Mandy walking over to them both, likely to respond to Adam's hail from earlier.
"Well…" He said as he pulled out the pack of cigarettes that Adam gave him yesterday and picked one out, putting it in his mouth but not lighting it, just like the last time. "From here to Midway can get a bit dangerous, i'd say with all the nonsense going on in the area the fee is 100 caps per day, getting to Midway is a two day trip. So 200 caps for an escort. If you want to dick around a bit on the way I'm going to charge you an additional 50 for any other stops, since I bet you won't want to head right there." Adam paused to consider his options before responding.
"What if I wanted to hire you outright? Like hire you as a permanent body guard?" Adam asked, though now he was mostly just probing, he didn't really think it was an option.
"2000 caps." Salvatore responded quickly. "Plus the cost for room and board comes out of your pocket wherever we go, as well as the ammo I spend and upkeep costs for my gear." Salvatore clearly had thought this out since he had already put this list together and spoke without hesitation.
Adam paused as he considered what Salvatore told him. It *was* doable, he had almost a thousand caps, of course he has his own expenses to think about but hiring out Salvatore as a semi permanent member to join him on his runs would be the best investment he could make with his money. He could buy all the guns in the world and that wont save him from being outnumbered, there was simply only so much he could do alone. It made sense to get a partner. He didn't have the money right now, but in the future he might be able to get it, especially if he put in even more effort Scaving. A man with Salvatore's experience would be indispensable going forward.
"Also." Salvatore said, interrupting Adam's train of thought. "I'm not going to follow you around like a lost puppy. You pay my fee. I'll help you when you need, but when you don't need me I'm going to do my own thing, that includes taking other jobs, so if you head to a settlement and don't plan on leaving for a while then I'm going to do as I please." He said as he finally took the cigarette out of his mouth and put it back in the pack.
"It's the same deal I have with the Winchesters. I make myself available for Chuck whenever he needs to go on a run and whenever we are not in Naper he pays for my lodgings, it's simple and clean." He said as Mandy spoke up after waiting for a minute for Salvatore's pitch to end.
"This old guy has been running this racket for as long as I've been alive. I remember being a little girl and Sal here running protection for the adults who needed to travel." She chimed in.
"Don't fix what ain't broke." Salvatore shrugged.
"I don't have 2000 caps on me… yet." Adam mused aloud. "But I'm not so far off that I can't actually consider this idea."
"Jesus kid you made that much already?" Salvatore said with some shock. "Damn, I knew scaving was lucrative but you got the devil's luck."
"Well considering I ran into some real tough types the other day I'd say the devil enjoys messing with me. I mean I almost got bit by a feral ghoul, might've turned me or something."
There is a pause of silence as Mandy and Salvatore stare at each other for a moment before they both burst out laughing. It was the first time he had seen Salvatore laughing too.
"Oh god, kid. You are so fucking stupid!" He said through laughter.
"Did you really think they were zombies from an old horror flick?" Mandy asked as she wiped a tear from her eye as she came down from laughing.
"Well I…" Adam started before he trailed off, blushing.
"It's a radiation kid." Salvatore said with a final chuckle before he calmed down. "You don't turn into a ghoul without radiation, feral or not." He paused and then reached across the bar for a bottle to which Mandy slapped his hand away. He groaned, reached for his caps pouch and then put down 20 and then grabbed the bottle again.
"Don't know what makes a ghoul turn feral, it just happens sometimes, but usually its advanced exposure to radiation that'll do it. Too much and it'll turn ya." He then popped the top on the bottle and drank right from it. "Radiation's a blessing and a curse, it can heal but also turns you feral, go figure." He shrugged as he went back to drinking.
Adam was left speechless as he sat there not sure what to do with all this new information. He had the completely wrong idea about ghouls. Granted he hadn't asked but he was entirely off base, and radiation heals them? That's ground breaking news. If he hired Salvatore and there was a switch in a room full of radiation or some other hypothetical situation he could do it without worry, so long as he doesnt stay there too long and become feral. He could ask more about it later but it seemed as though Salvatore was done engaging with the conversation so Adam let it drop and ordered a meal from Mandy for 12 caps.