A Hunter's Deal

5 Basic Bounty Hunter Rules

Malachi Alois was not a good man. He of all people knew this fact the best. Of course, not many people would describe a bounty hunter as good, well at their job perhaps but certainly not in character. Those who were described as such were few and far between and Malachi definitely wasn't one of them. But he'd made his peace with this fact long ago with the universe or god or whatever deity he had to, willing to face whatever eternal damnation he'd certainly get on that final judgement day. In the meantime however, he'd continue doing his job and drink away his feelings whenever the rare case of guilt popped up. It's not that he liked his job, not many in his line of work could honestly say they did. Well some did, but those were usually the ones who would take kills for scraps. Only kills. Malachi wasn't a good man but he certainly wasn't the worst either and he clung to this reassurance, a dying light in his dark world.

The day was bright and clear, not that you'd be able to tell from the layer of smog and steam covering the streets of Old New England. Yes it was quite the lovely day, perfect for a hunt, which is was Malachi was currently trying to do. Emphasis on the trying. His grizzled features blended him in perfectly with the tired looking masses, hiding him from any who might be searching for him. Still, he avoided the outposts and the police officers with their metal dogs, just to be on the safe side. As he sidled down alleyways and small streets to a vendor's stall that could serve him some decent coffee, he went over the information given to him by his latest client in his head, rubbing at the stubble on his jaw absently.

Female, very young, blonde, blue eyed. That's about it he thought to himself I should have asked for more information. A photo maybe. Rule number five you idiot. Do your research. He gave a sigh, swishing the muddy coffee in his flask around and wincing at the bitter taste when he took a swig. He tried not to think about why the client wanted such a person found. Basic bounty hunter rule number four: Don't ask questions. Luckily the man was willing to pay 35 silver scraps for her. Unluckily however, the client had also lost her in one of the biggest, goddamn motherFU- point is, such a small thing would be hard to find in a city as large as Old New England. He chugged the rest of his coffee and began his search.

Malachi was very good at his job, but it still took him about 3 days to track down the target. It was a stroke of luck that he'd spotted a flash of dirty yellow in some dimly lit alley. Now it was only a matter of getting her to come with him. He paced outside the entrance, trying to come up with a way to approach his target, if she even was the right one, without getting officers called on him. He tugged at his long brown hair in frustration. He knew his height intimidated most adults, which was great when he needed to look scary for a job, but trying to capture a child with his tallness? Not exactly the best of ideas. Just play it off. He huffed to himself Be casual, friendly. Be nice and smile! He froze. HOW DO YOU ACT FRIENDLY??? I KILL PEOPLE FOR A LIVING FOR STENME'S SAKE!! He gave a small groan and thumped his head against the stone wall softly in defeat. Nice. You can take on a fully armed guard down in a few seconds and are completely rendered useless by a tiny child in an alley-

"Are you okay??" a quiet voice asked. His eyes flew open No way. It can't be that easy. He glanced over at the tiny figure beside him, staring at the man with big blue eyes. His mind went blank for a few moments at the realization that his target was right there, literally right next to him. He realized the panic that must have shown on his face and mentally berated himself. Rule number three!! No emotions unless needed! With the grace of a practiced actor, he switched into a sheepish smile and straightened himself up, brushing off his dark cloak of invisible dirt.

"I'm fine" he started before hesitating "Well, actually..." he gave her a troubled look as if worried about something "Do you happen to know of a man named Sloan?" The light skinned girl paled even more at the mention of the name and Malachi celebrated on the inside. Gotcha. Before she had the chance to run down the alley she'd came from, he grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her out of view of the sidewalk they were on. Fortunately for him, they were in a pretty dark and quiet part of the city so he didn't have to worry about getting caught. "Geez kid" he laughed, kind demeanor falling away like a second skin "You really gave me a run for my pay. Took me forever to track you down~" the girl stood trembling and terrified under him. He allowed himself a better look just in case she managed to escape, not likely, but you never could let your guard down around children.