The Bounty Hunter |NEW COVER COMING SOON

7

7:

Bill had never felt happier.

Well... nope, nothing was better than this.

He happily bobbed his head to the radio, adjusting his sunglasses with a smug look. He wished he had gotten a picture of the look Pinetree gave him when he first sat down. He would have framed the damn thing if he could. So surprised. He chuckled under his breath. Best day ever. Looking down at his phone, sitting crooked in a nook under the radio, he could see a number he recognized flash across the screen. His day might just get better. Reaching over to answer, left hand taking the wheel, he glanced at his backseat, almost looking through the empty seats into the trunk.

"Hey Twigs, comfy?" He could hear the grating sound of the road echo in his ears as Dipper bit out his reply.

"Cipher! Pull over, now! I have shit to do today that doesn't involve you!" Bill nodded his head, eyes still focused on the road.

"Well, it involves me now. Sorry Pinetree, gotta pay my dues somehow." Bill could hear a slight sniffle through the phone, followed by sad gasping.

"Hey Pinetree? Pines? Dipper?"

"What?" Dipper croaked, the line still fizzling with a boxy clanking.

"You remember when we were in love, and we knew each other so well?" Bill asked, trading his phone to the other hand.

"Yeah?" Another sniffle.

"And I knew you so well, well enough to tell when your crying, and when your faking it. Bye bye!" Bill cackled as he hung up, hearing Dipper bang on the trunks lid.

"Dammit Cipher! Let me out of this trunk right now! Devil spawn!" Bill turned the radio up to drown out the consistent beating from his trunk, still laughing as he tossed his phone to the passenger seat and focused back on the road.

~*~

Dipper had never felt angrier.

That low-life corn chip had stuffed him into his trunk and now, now his day was going to shit.

Already his only lead to his story had vanished, leaving only a coaster and more questions. Cathy was following him and was probably out for blood. He couldn't call Mabel because that would only lead to her asking questions he couldn't or didn't want to answer. He tried to convince Bill to pull over and that didn't go as planned either. And his car was still at the park probably being ticketed as he thought. Shit, shit, shit. He had the luck of his Grunkle Stan.

"Alright, what kinda crap did you have stuffed back here with me?" Shifting around to take in his cramped surroundings, he found a emergency blanket wadded into a corner, a few shirts beneath him, his own bag stuffed full of papers and a survivors kit duck taped shut. Reaching for the kit, he clawed at the tape, jumping when his phone rang.

"I swear if it's Bill gloating again... oh!" Robbie's name flashed across the screen. Dipper shifted onto his back, the kit resting on his chest as he took the call.

"Robbie! What the hell happened? Where are you?" Dipper could hear slighting clicking in the almost silent call, Robbie's voice answering shakily.

"Oh, something came up... Friend needed help." Dipper shook his head. Wrong, that was wrong. Again, the clicking noise was audible on the other side. He recognized the sound, but from where?

"I saw a van leaving the parking lot, your driver window was blown out. Clicking... where are you right now?" It's a gun. That was the noise. Dipper only recognized it from when his Grunkle Ford took him and Mabel to a local range for their sixteenth birthday. That, and Bill carried one that sounded similar when held.

"Im with my friend, uh, my window? The keys got locked inside." Dipper chewed the inside of his cheek, picturing the van. No plates. Like the car at the suicide. No evidence except the coaster. They didn't find the coaster. Who was they?

"Robbie, that 'friend' your with, do they know someone working with the police?" The phone cut out, beeping as the other side hung up. Dipper took that as his hunch had been right. Whoever took Robbie, had been involved in the suicide, and whoever that was, took evidence from the case that ruled it a suicide. This was bigger than he thought. Putting his phone back into his work bag, he tore away the duck tape and opened the kit, digging around until he found a flare.

"This probably isn't safe but..." He lit the flare, coughing as the trunk filled with smoke.

"This is so stupid." He choked, hacking up a lung as he felt the car lurch to a stop. He grabbed his bag, rolling to face the trunks opening, waiting to bolt out with antsy anticipation. Finally, light seeped through the cloud of smoke that fogged his sight. He spotted that damned outline of his assailant and lunged forward, clocking its middle with a laugh before finding his footing on the hot pavement. He sprinted, clutching his bag tightly as he got eyeful of his surroundings. He was about two hours away from civilization and from anywhere he remotely recognized. Great. Shit.

"PINETREE! GET BACK HERE!" Dipper swerved into the tall grass beside the road, hopping over holes, gritting his teeth as his fingers dug into the leather strap of his bag. Damn his desk job. He could hear Bill getting closer, tromping through the grass. Finally, he was tackled to the ground, both landing in a heap of yelling swears, Dipper struggling against Bills grip as he was lifted back onto his shoulder.

Shit.