I saw him.
Sure enough I turned and there he was, like a supersledge to the face. 6 foot 8 inches of scars and secrecy, his pale eyes unblinking, his unsmiling face glowering over me as I entered the room and slowed to an awkward stop, biting my lip too hard and drawing blood.

I dabbed the blood off with my glove, composed myself, put on my most charismatic airs and tried to strike up a conversation despite the butterflies rising and falling in the pit of my stomach. It wasn't the jet either. I've done that shit a million times and I couldn't shake the weirdness I was experiencing even when my jet high dwindled into mild nausea as it does.

"Hi there" I said coolly.
"Can I buy you a dr-"

He cut me off abruptly.

"Talk to Ahzrukhal." He growled

Taken aback, I redoubled my efforts.
I had always had a way with men and he should only be so lucky.

"Who the fuck is Ahzrukhal? Are you trying to tell me you're gay? Taken? Hey. It's all good."

The large ghoul sneered at me, uttering an unintelligible grunt of irritation.

"No need to be an asshole about it, I was just kidding. I just got out of the Chop Shop and-"

He leaned forward so he towered over me even more and fixed his penetrating gaze on me.

"Talk. To. Ahzrukhal." He snarled, spelling it out so even I could understand it in a tone of voice that told me not to push him any further.

His eyes flitted to the ghoul behind the bar so I didn't have an excuse to ask any more stupid questions so I backed up feeling as sheepish as hell, all the while keeping my eyes locked the giant ghoul. I had stubbornly started a staring contest with the with the cryptic bastard and was determined to win it until I gracefully backed up into the bar and spilled someone's beer all over myself and the floor.
Good job, champ.

"Can I help you, smoothskin?" Smiled the well-dressed Ghoul behind the bar smiling at me ingratiatingly.

I felt a rail of sticky warm beer trail down the back of my craptastic blastmaster armor and felt myself cringe. I turned my back towards the wall and pretended to focus on the ghoul in front of me, but back turned or not my focus was still undoubtedly on the giant ghoul in the corner.

I ordered a double vodka and quietly inquired about the ghoul in the corner.
I trusted Ahzrukhal as much as I trusted that robot which is to say not at all, but when he told me that this ghoul in the corner, his bodyguard, was brainwashed and potentially for sale I offered him 1000 caps in exchange for the one named Charon and to my surprise, he accepted.
I could barely contain myself when he placed the yellowing piece of paper in my palm and I smiled to myself knowing that without my penchant for stealing, this probably wouldn't have been so easy so who says crime doesn't pay?
I acquired another couple of vodkas and went to chat up my new "purchase."

"Hi, Charon" I said unctuously as the ghoul sized me up yet again with those unblinking eyes.

"Talk to-"

"Oh no, Charon. None of that. You belong to me now."

Something flashed behind his eyes for a split second as I held the shot of vodka up for him to take.
He didn't reach for it.

Continued to stare me squarely in the eyes with that strange animal calm of his.

"I belong to no one. If you are my new employer then I will serve you.
But first I, must take care of something. Wait here."

Fair enough.
"Be my guest." I said stepping out of the way, bowing slightly and drinking one of the shots of vodka.

The ghoul calmly strode past me, crossing the room in a few paces. He stopped in front of Ahzrukhal

and something told me he wasn't just stopping by to say goodbye as
a palpable current of electricity made all the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

"Ahzrukhal. I am no longer in your service" he said politely before pulling the shotgun off his back and pumping Ahzrukhal full of shells.

He continued shooting Ahzrukhal even after his body was little more than a piece of meat that was once a man and then breezed past me nonchalantly, only saying

"Alright. Let's go."

"What the fuck was that?!" I blurted out.

Perhaps I didn't think this through as well as I could, which figures because I had to kill the last guy I went home with on jet/psycho because he turned out to be a cannibal and a transvestite.
Who knows what the hell I'd gotten myself in here...how well could I really trust him after that little fiasco?

Charon placidly explained to me that he thought of Ahzrukhal as an "evil bastard" and he was glad to rid the world of that "disgusting rat", but now that he served me he would serve me for "good or ill."

At that moment I made a mental note to be very, very careful around my new "friend" because truthfully, I'm not exactly a shining beacon of hope by any stretch of the imagination.

"So does that mean if I misplace your contract then you'll blow me to kingdom come if I've made you stand in the corner for too long? Huh?!"

Charon just looked at me. His face impassive, still giving away nothing and I got lost in his eyes

for just a moment.

Deceptively emotionless, cool and tragic, pale in contrast to the dusky skin pulled taught over his chiseled skull. As before he just stared back, his expression stoic, his stance informal.

"I will serve you. For good or ill."

"Yeah I'll bet you say that to all the girls."
I muttered as I gave an orphaned shot of whiskey a good home.
"Goddammit... Just...just hold on."
I knelt by Ahzrukhal's carcass, slid my hand under what was left of him to see what he had in what was left of his pockets. I retrieved the key to the fridge, discreetly looted all the goodies within it and got my 1000 caps back for good measure. I parked Charon on the concourse, almost hoping that when I got back from saying goodbye to Snowflake and talking business with a Mr. Crowley that he would be gone, but sure enough when I emerged from Mr. Crowley's, Charon hadn't budged and was busy ignoring some drunk.