== "Iron Ferret Lounge" ==
--- Two Days After ---
Two knocks sounded on Nicholas' door as Desmond hit it twice. The bounty hunter then took a step back from the door, taking a deep drag of his cigarette as he waited for the other crewmember to answer.
A few seconds later the door would cycle open, revealing Nicholas, dressed in his normal attire. Behind him was his desk, with scattered papers, and datapads. He looked Desmond up and down, "Need something Desmond?"
"Yeah." Desmond said, stepping into the room. He examined the piles of paperwork that were in and then looked at Nicholas. "You got any... Part time jobs available?" He asked, leaning against the open door.
Nicholas looked back at his desk, "I've pulled some local jobs off the net. Quite the variety." He scooped up a datapad and handed it to Desmond. "That's the list I've pulled so far."
The datapad had a small list of bounties, organized by payout.
"How do you get this so fast?" Desmond said as he took the proferred datapad and examined it, going through the bounty lists. The bounty hunter checked each one of the jobs, and then his finger rested on one particular bounty, tapping it twice.
"This serial killer. Any leads on him?" He asked Nicholas
"I got an idea where he was last, and what he looks like." Nicholas replied, "Interested then?"
"Yeah." Desmond said, scratching the stubble that was irritating his face with his gloved hand.
"Well, you got it. All the information you need is on the datapad. Condemn it to memory, because I want that back."
The datapad had a picture of a dirty blond male Nepleslian. He had a aged face, with some scars. He had a short-haired beard, which covered his chin. His dark brown eyes stared directly at the viewer.
"He looks like a nice chap." Nicholas supplied, "He was last seen in the darker parts of town.
Desmond stared at the information for some moments, committing it to his memory. He took another drag of his cigarette, staring at the photo and then got up. "Right." He said, before walking out of the room, where Haures was standing.
"Let's go, Haures." He said to the lizard as he strode out.
Nicholas waved as he returned to figuring out who had attacked them. Haures plodded along beside Desmond, tongue sniffing around.
== Maharombi ==
--Some time later--
Desmond stamped down on the cigarette butt as he finished it. He looked around the place where he was in, your average run-down, unsafe and unclean part of the neighborhood. The buildings were cramped with one another, barely giving room for a single car to pass through, and several power cables snaked their way from one building to the other, some of them even holding some clothes that were left out to dry. All in all, most of the buildings weren't over four stories, with the occasional taller building rising from the sea of concrete like some sort of pylon amidst the others.
The bounty hunter had ditched the thick jacket and the sweater because of the climate, and instead was just using a black T-shirt under his vest. He started looking around the place as sweat trickled down his face, one hand near the holster for his pistol.
Haures head-butted Desmond's leg, looking up at him. I don't like it here , he seemed to say.
The streets had a few inhabitants, lurking in the shadows of the buildings. Desmond could feel eyes on him, from the buildings and the alleys. The overall presence of the area was dark, depressing, and had a sinister element, as if everyone there wanted to do the duo harm, and that wouldn't be far from the truth.
Desmond still had a little longer to go before he'd reach where the target was last spotted, and move on he did.
The bounty hunter advanced through the alleys, now keeping his hand on his pistol, ready to draw it. This was the bad part of town, but it wasn't as bad as the 'bad part of town' from Nepleslia Prime, no matter how short his stay there had been.
Constantly scanning his surroundings, Desmond continued to move through until he found the last place where his bounty had been located.
As Desmond made his way, he could see figures lurking in the alleys, staring at him. Haures bared his teeth at anyone that seemed they might make a move. About a hundred feet from the location, Desmond would hear a yelp of a Nepleslian man, and the growling of Haures, which prompted him to turn around and draw his sidearm.
The bounty hunter took a crouching stance and pointed his weapon to where the noise had come from. He was pretty much done with playing this game with the locals, if they were going to start chasing, he'd give them a very good reason not to.
Desmond would see a man standing behind him, fearfully looking at Haures. Haures was growling with his teeth bared at the man, and would jump on him on command. The other man was unarmed, or so Desmond could see.
"Umm... sir... I... we..." He stammered.
"You what?!" Desmond asked, keeping the gun trained on the man.
Desmond would feel a distinct pressure on the back of his neck, "Don't mind him." The man in front of Desmond smiled slightly, "We need everything you got."
The new arrival behind Desmond supplied, "And no funny stuff either."
Haures turned his head and saw Desmond's peril, and looked at him, awaiting some sort of signal.
Desmond started to raise both of his hands, looking at Haures. "Bite then, eh?" He said to whoever had the pistol pressed against the back of his neck, hoping that Haures would understand the cue.
Haures leaped forward, bringing the man in front of Desmond to the ground, and latched his mouth onto his neck. The man screamed. Desmond would feel the pressure retract as the pistol entered his peripheral vision, as the man tried to get a clear shot at Haures.
As that happened, Desmond attemped to grab the pistol with one hand, and the forearm with the other before he pulled, trying to topple the man behind him.
The man lurched forward from the pull, falling to the ground, landing next to the end of Haures's tail. His pistol was now in Desmond's hand. The other man was still struggling against Haures's jaw, though noticably weaker. As the man hit the ground, Haures smacked him in the head with his tail.
As if to add insult to injury, Desmond got up and then punched the fallen man on the neck. The bounty hunter got up, 'confiscating' his would be assailant's sidearm and pointing it at him.
"Tough luck." He said, pulling the pistol's hammer back,"You have two choices now, you can either help me find a friend of mine, or you can have a bullet for dinner. What's it gonna be?"
The man glanced at his friend, who was now not moving anymore. "I'll help you, who are you looking for?"
As the man complied, Haures released the other man's neck, and blood streamed freely, while Haures's maw was coated with blood. He growled at the other man, opening his mouth.
Desmond made a jesture for Haures to stay put, and then crouched next to the man. "Name's Black Johnson, quite famous around the neighborhood." He said, and then pressed his pistol against the man's kneecap.
The man gulped, "You mean, why are you looking for HIM? He's..." The man paused, "You don't want to find him."
"He's nothing. You tell me where I can find him, and I won't bust your kneecaps." The bounty hunter said, pressing the pistol harder against the man's kneecap, his face now a mask of anger.
"Okay, Okay, Okay!" The man spilled out, "They say he's hiding out in an old storage facility. It's about five minutes from here..." He pointed, "In that direction."
"You better not be lying." Desmond said, pressing the trigger, feeling the recoil of the gun. He couldn't afford that guy running off and telling everyone that there was a new person looking for Johnson, or even telling the serial killer himself. "Because if you are I'll come back for your other knee."
"Come on, Haures." The bounty hunter said as got up, holstering his pistol and then taking off in the indicated direction.
--- Two Days After ---
Two knocks sounded on Nicholas' door as Desmond hit it twice. The bounty hunter then took a step back from the door, taking a deep drag of his cigarette as he waited for the other crewmember to answer.
A few seconds later the door would cycle open, revealing Nicholas, dressed in his normal attire. Behind him was his desk, with scattered papers, and datapads. He looked Desmond up and down, "Need something Desmond?"
"Yeah." Desmond said, stepping into the room. He examined the piles of paperwork that were in and then looked at Nicholas. "You got any... Part time jobs available?" He asked, leaning against the open door.
Nicholas looked back at his desk, "I've pulled some local jobs off the net. Quite the variety." He scooped up a datapad and handed it to Desmond. "That's the list I've pulled so far."
The datapad had a small list of bounties, organized by payout.
"How do you get this so fast?" Desmond said as he took the proferred datapad and examined it, going through the bounty lists. The bounty hunter checked each one of the jobs, and then his finger rested on one particular bounty, tapping it twice.
"This serial killer. Any leads on him?" He asked Nicholas
"I got an idea where he was last, and what he looks like." Nicholas replied, "Interested then?"
"Yeah." Desmond said, scratching the stubble that was irritating his face with his gloved hand.
"Well, you got it. All the information you need is on the datapad. Condemn it to memory, because I want that back."
The datapad had a picture of a dirty blond male Nepleslian. He had a aged face, with some scars. He had a short-haired beard, which covered his chin. His dark brown eyes stared directly at the viewer.
"He looks like a nice chap." Nicholas supplied, "He was last seen in the darker parts of town.
Desmond stared at the information for some moments, committing it to his memory. He took another drag of his cigarette, staring at the photo and then got up. "Right." He said, before walking out of the room, where Haures was standing.
"Let's go, Haures." He said to the lizard as he strode out.
Nicholas waved as he returned to figuring out who had attacked them. Haures plodded along beside Desmond, tongue sniffing around.
== Maharombi ==
--Some time later--
Desmond stamped down on the cigarette butt as he finished it. He looked around the place where he was in, your average run-down, unsafe and unclean part of the neighborhood. The buildings were cramped with one another, barely giving room for a single car to pass through, and several power cables snaked their way from one building to the other, some of them even holding some clothes that were left out to dry. All in all, most of the buildings weren't over four stories, with the occasional taller building rising from the sea of concrete like some sort of pylon amidst the others.
The bounty hunter had ditched the thick jacket and the sweater because of the climate, and instead was just using a black T-shirt under his vest. He started looking around the place as sweat trickled down his face, one hand near the holster for his pistol.
Haures head-butted Desmond's leg, looking up at him. I don't like it here , he seemed to say.
The streets had a few inhabitants, lurking in the shadows of the buildings. Desmond could feel eyes on him, from the buildings and the alleys. The overall presence of the area was dark, depressing, and had a sinister element, as if everyone there wanted to do the duo harm, and that wouldn't be far from the truth.
Desmond still had a little longer to go before he'd reach where the target was last spotted, and move on he did.
The bounty hunter advanced through the alleys, now keeping his hand on his pistol, ready to draw it. This was the bad part of town, but it wasn't as bad as the 'bad part of town' from Nepleslia Prime, no matter how short his stay there had been.
Constantly scanning his surroundings, Desmond continued to move through until he found the last place where his bounty had been located.
As Desmond made his way, he could see figures lurking in the alleys, staring at him. Haures bared his teeth at anyone that seemed they might make a move. About a hundred feet from the location, Desmond would hear a yelp of a Nepleslian man, and the growling of Haures, which prompted him to turn around and draw his sidearm.
The bounty hunter took a crouching stance and pointed his weapon to where the noise had come from. He was pretty much done with playing this game with the locals, if they were going to start chasing, he'd give them a very good reason not to.
Desmond would see a man standing behind him, fearfully looking at Haures. Haures was growling with his teeth bared at the man, and would jump on him on command. The other man was unarmed, or so Desmond could see.
"Umm... sir... I... we..." He stammered.
"You what?!" Desmond asked, keeping the gun trained on the man.
Desmond would feel a distinct pressure on the back of his neck, "Don't mind him." The man in front of Desmond smiled slightly, "We need everything you got."
The new arrival behind Desmond supplied, "And no funny stuff either."
Haures turned his head and saw Desmond's peril, and looked at him, awaiting some sort of signal.
Desmond started to raise both of his hands, looking at Haures. "Bite then, eh?" He said to whoever had the pistol pressed against the back of his neck, hoping that Haures would understand the cue.
Haures leaped forward, bringing the man in front of Desmond to the ground, and latched his mouth onto his neck. The man screamed. Desmond would feel the pressure retract as the pistol entered his peripheral vision, as the man tried to get a clear shot at Haures.
As that happened, Desmond attemped to grab the pistol with one hand, and the forearm with the other before he pulled, trying to topple the man behind him.
The man lurched forward from the pull, falling to the ground, landing next to the end of Haures's tail. His pistol was now in Desmond's hand. The other man was still struggling against Haures's jaw, though noticably weaker. As the man hit the ground, Haures smacked him in the head with his tail.
As if to add insult to injury, Desmond got up and then punched the fallen man on the neck. The bounty hunter got up, 'confiscating' his would be assailant's sidearm and pointing it at him.
"Tough luck." He said, pulling the pistol's hammer back,"You have two choices now, you can either help me find a friend of mine, or you can have a bullet for dinner. What's it gonna be?"
The man glanced at his friend, who was now not moving anymore. "I'll help you, who are you looking for?"
As the man complied, Haures released the other man's neck, and blood streamed freely, while Haures's maw was coated with blood. He growled at the other man, opening his mouth.
Desmond made a jesture for Haures to stay put, and then crouched next to the man. "Name's Black Johnson, quite famous around the neighborhood." He said, and then pressed his pistol against the man's kneecap.
The man gulped, "You mean, why are you looking for HIM? He's..." The man paused, "You don't want to find him."
"He's nothing. You tell me where I can find him, and I won't bust your kneecaps." The bounty hunter said, pressing the pistol harder against the man's kneecap, his face now a mask of anger.
"Okay, Okay, Okay!" The man spilled out, "They say he's hiding out in an old storage facility. It's about five minutes from here..." He pointed, "In that direction."
"You better not be lying." Desmond said, pressing the trigger, feeling the recoil of the gun. He couldn't afford that guy running off and telling everyone that there was a new person looking for Johnson, or even telling the serial killer himself. "Because if you are I'll come back for your other knee."
"Come on, Haures." The bounty hunter said as got up, holstering his pistol and then taking off in the indicated direction.
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