Chapter 2
The inner hallways of the bounty hunter base were lined with doors—some of them locked, some open. Only the left hallway of the star-shaped fortress contained bounty hunter apartments, and the other hallways were taken up by lobbies, recreational areas, the battle arena, the training room, the kitchen, the slave quarters, and at the far end of the longest hallway, the personal chamber of Damidh Kash.
No one knew much about Damidh Kash. The bounty hunter leader had decided a long time ago that he was going to appear an elusive figure, one the world would just respect and fear. And his plan had succeeded: the name of Damidh Kash was one spoken in the shadows in alleyways as a name people should avoid saying, lest it brought a curse on the whole city. All anyone out of the bounty hunters organization knew about Damidh Kash was that he was the commander of the hunters and that he was a powerful being no one could ever defeat.
Evers had been with the bounty hunters two years now, and even now he didn’t know much about the legendary boss. He didn’t know very much about what his leader looked like, let alone what he fought like or acted like. Kash demanded respect and obedience, and nearly by his reputation alone, he got his wish. So far, only a few bounty hunters had dared try to take over the organization from him, and their skeletons were still hanging just outside the front door.
The huge door at the end of the hallway was heavily guarded: a pair of electric turrets extended from the ceiling, and spread out around them were a series of viewcams watching the hallway. A small, glowing pad was set just three meters in front of the doorway; Evers knew its function perfectly well. You had to stand on the pad to activate the door chime. If Kash wanted you to enter, he would unlock the door; if he didn’t want you to enter, the turrets would give you a sharp zap. If you were a threat, those turrets would pump enough electricity into your bloodstream that at once your heart would stop beating.
There were also two guards standing two meters in front of the glowing pad: two burly men wearing concealing combat armor made to resist all shots up to tank-barrel size. Each of them held a powerful lava axe—the poleaxes’ heads glowed with bright red energy, an interior power source making them hot enough to cut through almost anything in mere seconds, including people they didn’t like.
“Evening, gents,” Evers greeted as they walked past.
The guards, as was their grim nature, said nothing.
Ferus walked past him and stepped boldly onto the glowing green pad. A small, rather delightful little tune started playing in the hallway, informing Damidh Kash that they had arrived for the mission briefing. Evers knew that this meeting with their boss could only mean a mission briefing, because they were never just let into his office for a social call.
Evers glanced at the little yellow light beside Kash’s door as it flashed to blue. There was an internal clicking sound from somewhere in the door’s mechanisms, and the thick twin doors slid sideways into the wall, granting the two bounty hunters access to the inner lair of Damidh Kash, the infamous bounty hunter leader.
Evers glanced at Ferus. “You first.”
The big bounty hunter snorted, and moved forward. “Scaredy-weasel, aren’t you?”
“No,” the younger man replied with a sly smile, as he followed his big companion into the room beyond. “Just making sure I never turn my back on you,” he said as the door slid shut.
Evers had only been inside their boss’s chamber twice before—first of all upon application to become one of the feared profession, secondly when he and the other five in his team had been called in for an important mission to Thornail. It didn’t cease to amaze him.
It was a strange room, to be sure—the small projector in the ceiling had cast tiny lights around the room, the sole illumination, and those lights spun and whirled to some detailed algorithm within the projector’s digitized brain. The contrast of the lights only made the shadows in the room deeper, so the furnishings were difficult to make out. He could see the four plasma turrets in the ceiling above, and the chairs arranged in front of the tall desk at the back of the room.
Behind that desk sat Damidh Kash.
All Evers could see of his boss was a tall silhouette of a man behind the desk, wearing a battered hat of indistinguishable make. The face was just a shadow.
Ferus dipped his head briefly. He then whispered “Damidh Kash,” as if it were a religious ritual.
The bounty hunter leader leaned back in his chair. “Finally, you’re here.” The voice was neither deep nor cold, it was simply dangerous. “I was almost afraid you’d forget, Ferus.”
The big man sighed. “I’d hoped you’d forgotten that.”
“I am not a man to forget things, Ferus. One does not remain great if he lets his guard down.”
“Yes, sir.” Ferus bowed his head. Evers looked sideways at his partner strangely; it was quite odd to see the huge, normally impulsive bounty hunter so subdued.
Kash put dark fingers together with a small clacking sound. “I’ve only called you here because neither of you has purchased the Encrypter 4200. If you had seen fit to get that upgrade, I might have deemed it safe enough to simply send the message over the Data Web.”
Evers nodded slowly. “Yes…but it was more expensive than either of us could afford—”
“—because I don’t pay you enough?” Damidh Kash finished quietly. “Perhaps if you upgraded your combat skills, I would send you on far more missions, and you would have the cash to buy it. Ferus, I’ve sent you on so many missions; you should have that by now.”
“I…I spend a lot of money on drinks down at the bar,” the bigger man admitted.
“I know that. You know that. We all know that. You just don’t know you need to stop.” Kash leaned forward. “Do you need a…lesson…that will constantly remind you?”
“No sir.”
“Excellent.” Their leader stretched himself out in his chair once more. “We have just received an offer, from a source whose name I will not reveal at this time, for a very special task. It requires all six of you Destroyers to go to Metropolita.”
Evers blinked; he’d just been reading up on Metropolita this afternoon. “Metropolita?” he repeated.
“Yes, can’t you hear me?” The boss folded his fingers together. “To Metropolita. One of their Leading Families is taking over the Metro Government there, and is causing a good deal of trouble to some of the big businessmen. Apparently some of them are cutting off trade routes, forcing many to come to Metropolita to purchase their goods. And apparently one of these men whose trade routes has been closed down is willing to pay a kingly sum to have that Leading Family assassinated.”
Ferus’ eyes widened. “An assassin job? Demen’s gonna love this to death.”
Their boss smiled—an almost imperceptible motion. “He has already been briefed on the mission, and has already been…forcibly reminded not to express such pleasure.”
Evers and Ferus traded a glance. “Oh.”
“This is not going to be an easy assignment,” Kash informed them. “As such, the kingly sum. As the total is $300,000,000, this will entitle each of you to $20,000,000.”
Ferus grinned and rubbed his hands together. “I’m already looking forward to it.”
“Don’t make me activate the electric turrets,” the bounty hunter leader warned. “Demen’s already sporting a sore butt.”
The big man immediately stopped rubbing his hands, and resumed his grim expression.
“In order to properly assassinate this Leading Family,” Kash said, “you will all need to remain undercover. We want it to remain mysterious exactly who killed them—because, apparently, this businessman also has the dollars to sponsor a cleverly-devised war.”
“One in which we’ll remain safely neutral,” Evers guessed.
“Precisely. We have agents working in some of the bars around. They will recognize you and give you the necessary information for this task when you find them. The bars you’ll need to search are the Lucky Penny and the Eggless Hen. And, because you’re going to be undercover, no combat armor is allowed.”
Ferus winced. “No combat armor! But I—”
Kash’s shadowy finger moved over a glowing button on his desk that read TURRET CONTROL, and Ferus’ mouth snapped shut like a nutcracker. All knew what would happen if any annoyed their boss beyond the acceptable level, which would only give that offender an electric shock. So far, during the length of the three meetings, Evers had been lucky enough to avoid any shocks, due to his quiet nature.
“Are we supposed to bring any specific weapons?” Evers questioned. “Anything special?”
“Nothing big,” Kash informed him, and Ferus was wise enough to keep his mouth shut. “You’re just going to appear rougher visitors, and not some of my best bounty hunters. Pistols are good. Small grenades are good. I’ve already informed Venin of the acceptable tools, so he can tell you before you select your inventory.”
“Yes, sir,” both bounty hunters said simultaneously.
Kash leaned back in his chair. “You’re dismissed…and don’t fail me. Twenty million dollars hang in the balance for each of you. Don’t make me get rid of you.”
Evers and Ferus nodded. The younger bounty hunter could once more feel the thrill of a new quest coming over him, as he turned towards the door. An undercover assassin assignment! What could possibly be better to escape the gloomy feelings that came after a boring sewer mission? What better way to practice his combat skills than in a mission that could force them to shoot their way out if everything started to fall? What else could lift him higher in the eyes of Damidh Kash than this?
He paused halfway through the door, as he suddenly remembered one detail he had forgotten to ask. He turned back around to regard his boss, and said, “I forgot to ask you…”
The boss waved a hand. “Who is the Leading Family that you’re going to assassinate?”
Evers nodded. “Exactly.”
Kash smiled, revealing teeth that glinted as one of the tiny lights passed over them. “I’d hoped you’d ask. You see, Evers, I enjoy dealing out pain, whether through my guns, my minions, or through the barrel of my gun. So listen closely.”
Evers felt a sinking feeling in his gut, as Damidh Kash folded his hands on the desk. “You’re to assassinate Family Harvin.”
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