Dead Men Have No Legacies: Stories of a Seasoned Bounty Hunter

Chapter 15

"You're getting close," Boreas whispered, "Be on guard."

I could only nod in response.

After exploring the second floor for roughly ten minutes, I found a staircase leading up to the last floor. The first thing I noticed was the increased quality of, well, everything around me: lines of brass ran along the wallpaper that adorned the walls, and it glittered with a dull light as I passed by it. I happened upon a small sitting area in my search, which made me realize I was near the personal quarters of Christopher and Leanne Arestosos. Why they were currently in a parlor room was beyond me.

Thanks to Boreas, I didn't have to worry about any other unplanned visitors. That being said, I still took my time. When I finally reached my destination, I lingered before a set of double doors and eavesdropped on what was being said:

"Alexander, listen to your parents now!"

"No! I'm not going to listen to you monsters!"

"Alexander, that is not how you speak to your mother!"

I heard someone stand up and stomp over to...Somewhere.

"You both sent good people to their deaths! There used to be servants in this house, but you killed them all because they tried to help me!"

"They tried to take you away from us!"

"They tried to give me a better life! You think I stay oblivious in this dreadful house, but I've heard all the rumors. You're no better than the scum that traffic beings or sell drugs because you are that scum!"

A resounding smack could be heard, followed by muffled whimpers.

"You will learn your place one way or another." A deep voice, presumably Christopher Aresotosos', growled. "There is no escape for you, and there is no way you'll get away from us."

I had heard enough. In the short time this conversation had transpired, I relived about twenty memories of my childhood years. My father...Pretended to be a well-to-do architect, but he was just as terrible as Mr. Arestosos. He...tried to condition me to be his perfect weapon–his right hand man. However, I cared more for my mother, who protected me as much as she could. Eventually, my father grew tired of my refusal to bow to him and disappeared. I didn't know it at the time, but he had placed a bounty on me and my mother. As you can tell, only one of us lived to see the light of day.

"Cylus, what are you–?" Boreas began, only for me to shut off my commset.

Abandoning stealth, I kicked open the set of double doors that led into the parlor room and gazed at Christopher Arestosos as he stood before the fireplace that still continued to burn. He made to slap his son again, so I drew my pistol and shot him in the head before he could register my existence. The look of surprise was still on his face even when he died.

His wife screamed as he fell to the ground and didn't get back up.

"Vile bounty hunter scum!" She shrieked as she too drew a firearm from her side. A quick flurry of bullets sent me rolling over to a nearby sofa.

From what I was able to see, Leanne Arestosos was not a savory figure. She had brown wavy hair, and everything about her seemed normal enough.

Except for her eyes.

Twin pools of orange fury burned with the ferocity of a thousand suns as Leanne unloaded a clip into the sofa I was taking cover behind. I caught sight of Christopher, who gazed back at me with lifeless slate-blue eyes. Both husband and wife were dressed in casual clothing, a dress shirt and slacks for Christopher and a simple dress for Leanne, so they were not battle-ready. Well, I take that back. Apparently, they both carried handguns around with them.