*BOOM!*

The sound of the mine going off alerted Karl and Afton that the former's plan had worked. They enter through the backdoor of the building that'd presumably been locked with its key lost. Who knew Karl was handy with a bobby pin? ​​

Neither knew how many criminals there are so they were going about this clinically and cautiously. With all the attention drawn towards the front entrance, no one would think of them coming through the back.

In the hallway they notice a few people rushing from upstairs towards where the explosion had occurred. The biggest shocker being the fact that one had a huge weapon with them... Both were quickly able to identify it though, it was called an Incinerator.

While it did technically count as an Energy Weapon, Afton had no prior experience with it. The Brotherhood considered it an inferior weapon as all it did was launch small fireballs. Regardless, it was something they'd have to watch out for, not only due to the damage it could potentially cause them, but because the ancient building they were standing in would go up like a match stick with relative ease.

The hallway they were in had two exits, one on the left which led to the stairs up, and the right which led into a large room, perhaps the dining room of the hotel before the war? Just as they were about to pass the stairs, rapid steps force them into hiding.

Judging by the sound it was only one person, as soon as the person reaches the ground floor Karl launches at them, kicking away their 10mm pistol and grabbing them in a chokehold. Afton pulls out the Ranger Knife Karl had lent him and stabs them a couple of times in the gut to stop them resisting.

Their eyes widen as they give choked groans, spitting up blood and losing consciousness soon after. Afton leans down and slits their throat for good measure, can't have them waking up and alerting the whole place to their presence.

Afton cleans the blood off of the knife with their victims clothes and hands it back to Karl, they shake their head though, "Keep hold of it for now, better in your hands than mine." he states as they sneak into the dining room.

Many tables were upturned towards one side of the room that had two entrances, the cons assumed an attack would come from the front. A small campfire sat in the middle of the dining room with a molerat pierced over it on a spit. Afton grimaced at the thought of eating such a creature, it looked more like a cancerous growth than anything edible if he were honest.

On the other side of the room was what seemed like the kitchen, it was dimly lit but they could see a man sitting on his knees with his arms bound. probably Deputy Beagle if they had to guess.

They glance at the new visitor and his eyes widen with hope, "Are you... Did they send you to rescue me?"

Karl scoffs and Afton shakes his head, "Seemed like the townspeople were ready to let you die... They just stayed holed up in the casino, refusing to move or even help themselves."

Beagle sighs and looks down, "Yeah, I can see that... Doesn't mean you can't untie me though, right? You caused that explosion right?" he guesses anxiously.

Afton nods, "Yeah, we're about to fight the rest of the cons so an extra pair of hands would help." he says, leaning down and is about to cut Beagle free.

"Ah, I'm not so sure I'd be of any help... Not that I don't want to, its just..." he says, causing Afton to stop and scowls at him, "You have two choices, one, you stay and fight with us... Or two, you sit here still bound with a high chance of us not returning for you... Pick."

A bead of cold sweat runs down Beagle's back as he gives his best smile to Afton, "Ah... Now that you mention it, getting a pound of flesh for what those cons have done to me would be alright..."

Afton cuts the man free and glances at Karl who's watching the door, waiting for the criminals to return. Perhaps they'd assume one of them was fucking around with one of the traps and accidentally donated it on themselves? It was a reach but criminals weren't known for being smart, especially those who took over a town with no plan for afterwards.

Beagle stands and pulls out a 9mm pistol from... Somewhere, Afton doesn't even want to think about where he could've hidden that, the criminals would have definitely searched him so that left the options rather... Limited... Assuming it was pre-loaded to meant that Beagle had bigger balls than Afton had first thought.

Even Karl was giving Beagle a weird look, who hides a loaded gun in their rectum for fuck sake? That's not even counting the ease of which he'd retrieved it. Apparently not even the former-ranger had heard of something like that.

Afton glares at Beagle, "There's a few rules you need to follow... First, don't ever touch me, especially with that gun. Second, you follow everything we tell you to the letter, ignoring us could mean you tasting lead with your forehead. Third, try not to annoy Karl. Good?"

Beagle quickly nods "That's an affirmative... Sir." he adds, feeling as if he was a child being manhandled.

Karl quickly gestures at them and they crouch down behind the desk as the criminals stream into the dining room. There was only two exits from the kitchen, the one that they'd entered from, and a locked room on the left.

"Does ANYONE have any fuckin' idea how those idiots got their hands on a mine? I TOLD YOU TO NOT TOUCH THE TRAPS, and what do you do?! NOW WE'VE GOT FIVE DEAD, A BLOWN OUT FRONTDOOR, AND I HAVE NO IDEA IF THEY BROUGHT ANYMORE MINES!" the man wielding the Incinerator shouts.