The Crimson Captain

Chapter 2: The Gentleman

Billy Parkins: Bounty Hunter, gentleman and perhaps a caged animal waiting to break out. In his field, Billy is not only one of the top bounty hunters, but one of the preferred ones. A lot of bounty hunters can catch their target, but few of them do it with the style and class that Billy does.

He is known as The Gentleman Bounty Hunter. He has earned this name because of his cool demeanor and well spoken personality. A rich politician or business man could invite him to their home or place of business without fear of embarrassment. He was always well dressed, well spoken and well behaved. Even on his jobs, he treats his targets with respect, and tries to bring them in alive if possible.

But what few people know about him, is that deep inside, Billy was a boiling pot of rage. Most people never got to see this side of him, most never wanted to, either. Billy was good at his job, so everything usually went his way, but when they didn't, well, Billy wasn't a man you wanted to run into. Only a few people could ever bring this side of him out, and one of the worst was the ever-so-lovable, Crimson-clad Captain Rogers. This is probably the fourth of fifth time that Rogers has managed to escape Billy's reach, and this time, it cost him more than a payday, it cost the life of his client's wife. A hit to a Bounty Hunter's reputation is probably the worst thing you can do to them.

Billy started walking towards the back of his ship where his ship's cryo tanks are located. These tanks are usually used to put his bounties in cryosleep so he can safely transport them to the desired location. But today, one of them is being used to store his failure in. As he walks back to the far left tank in the back, he unplugs the tubing and stares into the glass, taking in what transpired on his last mission, and most importantly, who is responsible for the way things turned out.

The cargo door starts to open in the back of the ship. A young man that works for the landing station peaks his head over the door and asks for Mr. Parkins. Billy doesn't say anything, but the kid wheels up a transporting device to the man anyway, "Here is the hand truck you requested, do you need any help wi-" the young man caught a glimpse of the tank and jumps back. Stuttering, he manages to spit out, "S-sorry, here, sorry! Ha-have a good day, sir...." Billy pays the kid no mind and loads up the tank, strapping it down and preparing himself for what he has to do.

It's a long walk to the senator's house. It gives him time to think about what happened and what he could have done differently. It doesn't help, he just gets more and more angry. His eyes are on fire, his heart is burning, and the only thing that is going to make everything alright again, is to settle his debts with the man in the crimson coat. Unfortunately, that will have to wait until he settles one more debt, a failed promise, really.

Finally, he arrives at the senator's mansion. After a few moments, he knocks on the door. A butler greets the man and begins to inquire about him when he sees the look in his eyes. It was almost enough to melt through him. "What... can I do for you?" the butler asked. Billy doesn't even look the at the man, he just manages to grunt out the word "Parkins." Having been given orders to bring the hired bounty hunter to his office as soon as he arrived, and not wanting to make him angry, he lets the man in and points up stairs to Mr. Tamsens office. "The senator is up there waiting for you.", he says hesitantly.

"MISTER TAMSEN!" Billy shouts with an unusually harsh tone. Placing the tank upright in the foyer of the house, he then starts unhooking the bag of money from his belt, the payment for the job that he was given up front. Mr. Tamsen comes running down the stairs, "What's this all about?" he asks. Billy drops the money on the floor, next to the tank, and simply says, "He got away. Here is your money back." Mr. Tamsen looks confused, "Wait, who is in the tank then and where is my wife...?" Mr. Tamsen walks over to the front of the tank and his eyes widen with shock. "NO! NO!" he shouts, "YOU SAID YOU COULD HANDLE HIM! YOU SAID SHE WOULD BE SA-" Billy slowly turns around and locks eyes with Mr. Tamsen. The pure uncontrolled fire in his eyes said all that needed to be said. Mister Tamsen was silenced with one look. Continuing to walk out the door, Billy stops just outside and lets out a sigh. He states in his usually calm manner, loud enough for Mister Tamsen to hear, "When I find Mr. Rogers again, there will not be enough of him to put in one of my tanks."