"Why aren't you moving? Like what you see?" The woman at the front of the people still wearing War's symbol said. Though it was not said with a flirty tone, it was pure annoyance.
"I was wondering why you were here." Adam said, calmly.
"What? What's it to you? This is War's territory! Of course we are here!" She said back sharply.
"War left." Adam said back, without batting an eye. "He moved on, supposedly heading to somewhere called the Pitt? I'm not sure. But I believe he was heading to Detroit first. If Chicago was this bad, Detroit must be that much worse." Adam said, chuckling a small bit. Even after the world had ended the Chicago-Detroit rivalry never really died. It was all in good fun though. He didn't actually hate Detroit. Not that much anyway.
"War may be gone but his ideals never die!!" One of the men in the back of the group shouted, interjecting. However he did seem to speak for the group since he got a lot of nods.
"So what are you doing then? Just walking around, accosting people wearing his colors?" Adam asked. The group seemed less capable of answering this one as they all looked at each other. Apparently since War had left they had done nothing they could claim.
"We don't…. Know how to proceed." The lady at the front admitted a bit meekly. Adam sighed softly.
"War was… from what I knew of him, a man who cared deeply about people. He wanted to see change brought to the world through whatever means. He wanted to create a world that allowed everyone to see their efforts bear fruit." Adam said, explaining his understanding of War's ideals. Of course ignoring the genocidal and crazy parts of it because he was talking to his followers. "Ultimately he sought to bring about the change in society through force, but there are many other ways of doing that too. If you all truly want to follow his vision here in Chicago the best way you can do that is by joining the Knights of the Round. They are the only group in Chicago that truly wants to help people, for no benefit of their own. Sure, they may not share War's ideals to the letter, but they are a good place for you all to start if you want to really start some sort of change here." Adam said, thoughtfully. "Perhaps, in time, you all could even start a new group, one that works to help uplift those who are downtrodden and undervalued. I do not know. Your paths are your own. But I can say that acting like thugs was contrary to what War wanted. So find a way to apply yourselves. That is the best thing you can do."
There was silence that permeated from the group as they thought over Adam's words. Most of them didn't seem convinced but they were all listening, that alone was enough.
The woman turned around to look at the others in the group and shared a look with the others, conveying some sort of conversation non verbally, before turning back to Adam.
"We will think it over." She said, not really very grateful at all. Then she and the rest of the group all turned around to leave, leaving Adam alone once more with his friends to pack up his APC.
"You asked me why I wanted to come with you…" Percy said as he appeared at Adam's side suddenly. "That is why." He said as he motioned with his head towards the warfighters who were walking off.
Adam turned to look at him, confused.
"Im not sure I follow."
"Anyone can shoot a man." He said as he rested his hand on his revolver. "Its easy to pull a trigger to kill. Hell, even a child can kill an adult with enough luck." He said before pulling off his gas mask helmet. "But it takes a special kind to be able to talk an opponent down. That's a skill not everyone has." He said, offering a small smile.
"I just don't enjoy needless bloodshed. If I can avoid a fight and talk my way through things I would prefer that." Adam said back.
"And that's what sets you apart. Sure there are plenty of altruists out there, and there are plenty of people who have the devil's own silver tongue, but few have both."
"Im not an altruist, though. I'm just doing what feels right. Not killing people is almost always the best answer." Percy chuckled a bit and then gently poked Adam's chest.
"And that is what makes you interesting. Because for you it comes natural. That's a rare trait nowadays. Few still got it in them. Most would rather fight their way through a problem. Most I knew anyway. Talk seemed to be the last thing on their minds, when usually it's the easiest way forward." He said. For once his smile faltered for a moment but quickly came back.
"Well… uh… thank you." Adam said, not exactly sure how to respond to the compliment.
"Don't mention it. Just wanted to point it out to you is all. This is not the first time I've witnessed you talk down a problem. That's something they didn't even teach me." He chuckled, patted Adam on the shoulder, and then headed inside to grab more bags.
Once the APC was loaded up and ready to roll out Adam found himself quite satisfied with his haul. There was already a moderately decent number of guns he had taken from the battle with the Cult, even if that was tempered by limitations at the time and more than half the stock being left at the Vault for the Vault Guard, however now it was a sizable haul of guns and ammo, enough that Adam was excited to see how much money he would make off of this. Of course, splitting his earnings with his friends.
However, despite the most optimal course of action being to head to Midway to sell everything off Adam had a different plan in mind.
Due to the nature of the Four Horsemen, certain locations had been inaccessible or otherwise not worth his time to visit. Namely The Raft and The Highrise. Both for different reasons. However now was a perfect chance to visit these locations he had heard about but not had the opportunity to actually see first hand. Hopefully they would have a vendor he could offload some of this to, because he'd rather not be driving around with an APC full of guns without a plan in mind for them. But hey, the uncertainty was half the fun.
So, with his first destination in mind he got everyone back inside the car and headed out, to The Highrise.