Destined For Doom

Chapter 7 - Targets

-7-

-Targets-

Jamie hadn't even attempted to speak to the young Asian woman across from him. She had been asleep since he had boarded the plane, or at least it seemed like it. She was definitely not normal. Tall and athletic, her body was an array of streamlined muscles designed to work with speed. Her attire and weaponry were unusual, looking like they belonged in an entirely different time. A bow as tall as she was rested beside her, carved intricately out of some type of wood or bone with feathers inlaid into either end. A quiver brimming with massive grey-shafted arrows lay alongside it.

A light vest was crafted out of vermillion dragon's scales, with other assorted pieces made out of bones and pieces of exotic beasts she most likely hunted. One of her shoulders was entirely covered with a large skull, a decorative pauldron to intimidate her enemies most likely. She couldn't have been older than twenty-five.

He reached over and picked up the bow quietly, examining the carvings along its length closely. The string was drawn tight, twanging musically as he flicked his finger across it. Out of curiosity he pulled back on the drawstring, surprised by the resistance he was met with. Even using all of his strength he was barely able to pull it back more than a few inches, this girl must be a lot stronger than she looked.

A tiny smile lit up her face as she opened her eyes, clearly wide awake and amused by his meagre effort.

"You should really ask before touching other people's things," she laughed, kicking both of her feet up onto the seat beside him.

"Sorry," he winced sheepishly, handing the weapon back to her. "You were never really asleep, were you?"

"No. I like to watch people sometimes, it shows a lot more about them. I'm guessing you're on this plane for the same reason as me?"

He nodded, "I guess so. But you don't look like someone in my line of work."

She smiled, "Well you don't exactly look like someone in my line of work either bucko."

"I guess that means we don't share employee benefits," he laughed, "Go on, take a guess what I do for a living."

The girl looked him over patiently, taking note of the black leather duster he wore. Black jeans, a Cranberries shirt and shoulder length hair; he actually looked fairly normal in comparison to her own appearance. It was the two bulges around his waistline that gave him away, oversized revolvers tucked inconspicuously into holsters that would be practically invisible under the coat.

She gave a satisfied nod, "I'd say you're a few hundred years late to be a Wild West sheriff, so I'm going to go with bounty hunter? Seriously though, all you need is a cowboy hat."

He smiled, "Correct. Jamie Harkness, bounty hunter. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

She gave an informal salute with two fingers in return, "Name's Moriko Ito, monster hunter."

"Monster hunter? Huh... The target must be pretty big."

Moriko nodded, "Must be. If we're going up against some bruisers, I'm guessing you're packing a bit more than lead in those peashooters?"

Jamie nodded, pulling a fat bullet out of his pocket and holding it up for examination. "Obsidian, silver shavings and salt-infused iron cast and cooled with a mixture of basilisk venom and holy water; the works. These suckers'll kill pretty much anything they hit, no matter how powerful they are. Expensive as all hell to make though..."

She gave a small clap. "Very impressive."

"Thanks. Do you know the client?"

"Yes, he's an old friend of the family. We do jobs for him every now and then."