Chapter 2 - Two strangers come to town
It didn't take long till Jennadelle stood in front of the town gate.
"Hey, you! You stranger!", Jennadelle heard surprisedly a strong voice next to her.
She looked around.
"Yes, I meant you! Over here!"
Jennadelle spotted the watchman of that closed town gate which stood on a tower surrounded by a bulletproof pane and looked down on her. He spoke with a microphone which let his voice sound louder by a loudspeaker outside the pane.
"Who are you? I never saw you here before....!", the loudspeaker said.
Jennadelle didn't answer. She wondered about the look of this watchman. He looked.. like a big, grim chicken? This had to be the clakkerz which ones the grubbs talked about.
The watchman didn't wait for an answer anyway but said: "If you want to enter the town you also have to hand over your guns here, did you understand? Or else we can't let you in. The townsfolk always want to play it safe."
"I don't have any guns.", Jennadelle said.
"Nobody walks around these parts without a weapon. Now do hand over it! You'll get them back when you leave the town. We don't want any outlaws which make waves!"
"Mark my words I really don't have some!"
"Have I to come down to you and frisk you?"
Jennadelle shuddered to think.
So she spun and showed every side of heself with a bit upraised arms.
"Do I look as if I had something to you?", she sighed.
She saw the clakker eyeballed her suspiciously. Then he pointed at Jennadelle's belt with his white wing.
"And your bag there?", the watchman asked her provoking.
Jennadelle showed him her harmonica.
"I don't wear more than this.", Jennadelle stated and put her instrument back.
It took some seconds till the chicken pressed the button. Then the big town gate opened squeakily and released the path to town.
"Well, I believe you...", the loudspeaker said unsurely.
Jennadelle went to the town till the tower was some meters behind her.
"You may come to town. But if you'll make waves...", the grim clakker threated.
"I'm not going to do that.", Jennadelle just said.
The watchman glanced at her very suspiciously and the gate got close.
Okay, let's have a look at this town here, Jennadelle thought.
Here were some more clakkerz around. Some of them took notice of Jennadelle, some other ignored her simply.
She seemed to be not especially known. That was good.
Jennadelle got granular on this town here. There were trailers, little hutted, a general store, a practice, a jail and a bounty store.
The bounty store produced Jennadelle mysterious interests. She stepped up to it till she stodd right next the door. At its left and right were pinned some more wanted poster at the wall. Some of them were already stamped with a red colored "jail" on their faces and other ones still seemed to be loose.
Jennadelle didn't know why but she was sure that she could get some money here...
Because she didn't have some.
When she eyed the unstamped wanted posters the store door opened surprisedly right next to her.
And Jennadelle saw this bearded, big man standing in front of her.
It was just a peep. Almost unseeing eyes.
His poker-face didn't show a facial expression when he looked in Jennadelle's face with his deep-green, mysterious eyes.
Then the lion-like guy hit the road out the town.
I knew this man had to be a bounty hunter, Jennadelle thought a bit smirking.
Stealthily, she followed him till she saw him disappeared behind an other town gate. And the gate has closed.
Jennadelle just had to follow that guy. She felt it in her bones. She had to know who he was!
Straightway, she went to the bounty store where he did come out to get some informations about this bounty hunter and... to accept a possible order.
Jennadelle wanted to be a bounty hunter. Well, she couldn't get money in an other way anyway... and this way she also could find out where the lion head has went to follow him.
She entered this bounty store and saw a waiting clakker behind the counter.
He eyeballed Jennadelle when she came in.
"Oh, a bounty hunter!", he finally said, "New here, my lady?"
"...yeah. It seems so, I guess.", Jennadelle answered and came closer the counter, "Are here some jobs for me?"
"Well...", the clerk began, "you're a bit late I'm sorry. Some little moments ago another person accepted an order and left the town."
"Who was this guy?"
"The bounty hunter of our town?", the clerk asked.
Jennadelle nodded.
"Nobody knows really. He's just known as Stranger. You know nothing about him but he's one of the best bounty hunters around these parts", the clakker said.
"You don't know more about him?", Jennadelle asked.
"Nothing else."
"Hmm..."
Silence.
"What... what is your name, stranger?", the clerk demanded.
Jennadelle looked at him. She wasn't sure whether she should answer.
But she did it finally.
"I am Jennadelle."
"Never heard such a name."
"Could be. May I know what order the bounty hunter has accepted?"
"Just a minute...", the chicken-like man said and concentrate his attention at his hidden drawer under his counter now. His wing grabed in a chaos of stamped and unstamped wanted posters and some newspapers.
"Aha! I found it...", the clerk spotted and put a unstamped poster on the counter.
"That's Filthy Hands Floyd", the clakker introduced.
Jennadelle had a look at the wanted poster.
The clakker watched at her thoughtfully while Jennadelle looked at the poster. Jennadelle looked up at him now. Her eyes told that she was determined to do this job. Nevermind, whether someone is going to do this already or not. Jennadelle would be doing faster.
Now there was a silence in the store for a little moment while the clerk seemed to read Jennadelle's mind.
"I tell ya what, Lady!", he began finally, "And it's really important what I'm going to tell ya know! So listen to me."
His very strict voice left Jennadelle cold.
"Get cracking.", she said easefully.
First the clakker seemed to be offended by Jennadelle's calm, almost barefaced disposition. She seemed to dismiss him.
So he tried to sound a bit more greatly when he told her: "There's no return if you start a life as a bounty hunter. Understand? No Return!"
Jennadelle nodded which meant: "I know, I know. Do I get the job, now?"
The clakker was stony-faced: "You also have pretty more enemies. And probably less friends. Is this clear in your mind?"
"Yeah, it is.", Jennadelle answered.
First the clerk behind the counter opened his beak to say something else. But when he saw the too strong will in Jennadelle's eyes which one he could not repress or to argue it into doing another job, the clakker gave up his wisdoms.
"Well!", the clerk surrendered, "Wait a moment..."
And he went to the back room. Jennadelle heard how he searched through drawers. First things first.
"Somewhere here it has to be...!", the clakker mumbled while he paced up and down the room, opening every drawer he could find.
Jennadelle waited impatiently. She wondered how far this Stranger was already. If this clakker guy keeped Jennadelle waiting, she never could stand a chance to overtake that other bounty hunter and snap his booty up. Somehow.
"Ah, here it is!", it sounded out the back room.
With an oddly familiar, can-like thing in the hand the clerk came back the counter. It wasn't the same can Jennadelle saw in the woods before. This one looked like new. The clakker showed it to her.
"That's a so-called can trap.", the stony-faced clerk said, "Me as a bounty store clerk have the job to give this thing everyone who wants to be a bounty hunter."
Jennadelle wanted to grab at this dark-colored can to see it closer. But the clerk partook of it immediately before Jennadelle could touch it.
"This can trap soaks up anything what is lying on the ground when you aim its opening to your booty. And, of course, it must be used for outlaws only! Such ones which you get bounty for, okay?", the gimlet-eyed clerk told her strictly, "For
nothing other but outlaws! Nobody else. That's the law!"
Jennadelle nodded again. And this made the clerk more mistrustful. That was also the reason why he still was hesitant to do give her the can trap. Slowly, he delayed her this can-like thing. Jennadelle grabed at it but the clakker still didn't loose his hold on it. Jennadelle wondered about it.
"Can I trust in you that you're not going to abuse the can trap for illegal purposes?", the clakker asked strictly.
"I'll only use it for outlaws.", Jennadelle answered.
The bounty store clerk let hear a chagrined sound from himself that means: "I trust in you but I always will keep an eye on you, you strange lady!"
Finally, he loosed his hold on the can and Jennadelle let slide it in her bag.
"Where can I find this Floyd?", Jennadelle asked.
The clerk hesitatingly answered :"You better should go out the same gate which one Stranger left the town. If you saw him."
"Yes, I did. And then?"
"Then you just follow the road till you come to a place with trailers. But be alert. On your way you could meet some outlaws already. So look out for them. Floyd is noted for holding trailers up which normally drive to our town to give us their wares. The wares are important for our general store. Since Floyd and his minions plunder our trailers we can not keep the general store because we can't sell a thing."
"I see...", Jennadelle just said.
She turned around and went back to the door when she heard the clerk saying: "Take my advice, my lady! If you really plan to run across Stranger to steal his booty... then forget it! He doesn't like competitions if you know what I'm talking about. He always works alone. And until now neither outlaws nor other hard guys could mess with him ever. Nobody did!"
Jennadelle was rooted to the spot. She never assessed Stranger's reputation that hard.
At that time she has saw him in the woods she has perceived him as one of the "normal" sort. Someone who engineered traps, messed around with outlaws and traped them finally.
But Jennadelle has underestimated him apparently.
"Well...", she said with a look behind, "I'm going to find that out timely."
The Clakker did a throw-awaying gesture with his wing and just said: "I did warn you... and now hit the road already!"
Jennadelle just grinned self-confidently. Then she left the bounty store. Out to the glaring sun light. Through the creaking town gate out... to the dusty, dangerous places.
Jennadelle's wrath
. I never thought that there are so many guys which read my story 
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