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

Chapter 20

The instant I left the store, I was spotted.

"Hey! Don't move you son of a bitch!" one of the dark-clothed figures barked.

Instead of doing that, I stalked off with the hopes of luring the group of six men away from Twisted Steel. I owe Alannah that much at least.

"You give yourself too little credit, my son." my mother breathed while I ghosted my way through the crowds passing by. "You believe you're a cold-hearted monster, yet your actions say otherwise."

"That's exactly what Boreas tried to tell me." I responded. "I am who I am, and I doubt that'll ever change."

"Have you ever stopped to wonder why you see your father and I?" the memory of my mother inquired with a sad smile on her face. "It's because you've never let go of the past. Move on, my son. Move on and make a life for yourself."

"There is nothing for a dead man like me." I rumbled, entering a more-decrepit part of the district.

And with that, I focused on eliminating my pursuers. Deciding to take a risk, I allowed myself to lag behind the crowd I was following. When my targets got ahead of me, I snuck up to the vagrant that was furthest away from his friends and drew my knife.

With a quick slash, I slit his throat in broad daylight. Before I was noticed, I blended back into the crowd and maneuvered my way toward a nearby alleyway. I then watched as the dead body in the middle of the street was noticed. The crowd quickly dispersed as people ran away screaming, and the remaining five thugs were jostled around. One of the bastards stumbled toward the same alley I was in, so I fell back and waited.

"Yeah, I dunno. Clancy just...fell dead. His throat was slit–No I don't know who fucking killed him. Get me in contact with Turbohead. We tried to collect dues from the owner of Twisted Steel, but we were side-tracked."

I felt my anger spike. Dues? You sick bastard.

Like liquid shadow, I crept forward and snuffed out the unnamed bloke before he could say anything else. He was turned away from me, so it was as simple as stabbing my knife into his back and electrifying the blade.

With a gut-wrenching scream, my target died.

"What the hell's happening?" someone demanded through a commset attached to the corpse's ear.

Removing it, I kept my message simple. "Run."

After that, I threw the earpiece onto the ground and stomped on it.

"Boreas." I began as I walked out of the alley. "Do a background check on Turbohead."

"Wh-What?" he demanded. "Why?"

"Apparently some of his thugs tried to collect 'dues' from Alannah." I explained, only to frown. "Which reminds me: how exactly do you know Alannah?"

"Oh, she's one of my informants on Erastus." Boreas explained. "She keeps me up to date on current events and whatnot."

"How convenient." I mused. "You led me to the store of one of your informants. Any reason you did that?"

"Oh, you know, I wanted you to meet more people–Make more friends."

"You succeeded." I replied, and left it at that.

Ignoring my friend's confused inquiries, I left the rougher section of the district and retraced my steps back to Twisted Steel. Upon arriving at the store, I saw Alannah smile when she spotted me.

"How many people did you kill?"

"Only two." I responded, pulling a gold credit shiv from my pocket. "I'd like to buy Betty."