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

Chapter 32

While we flew through the bustling skies of Erastus, I attempted to get a hold of myself.

"Are you going to be okay?" Alannah asked me. I had put my armor and helmet on before leaving, so I was able to hear her through my comms set.

"I'll be okay." I assured her. "Sorry..."

I felt her pat me on the back. "What did I tell you about apologizing? You have nothing to be sorry about, silly."

I sighed. "I just don't want to be a liability..."

"You're not a liability, Cylus," Alannah replied. She had a pair of goggles on to protect her eyes against the whipping winds, but I could still see her eyes glitter with humor, "You're...My special friend."

I cocked an eyebrow behind my helm. "Special friend, eh? What, pray tell, does 'special' entail?"

She turned to wiggle her eyebrows at me, only to loose a stream of curses when someone cut her off. "Go fuck yourself!" she snapped, standing up in her seat and flipping the person off. "See this? This means 'fuck you' in Terran! Memorize it, motherfucker!"

This woman does not take any bullshit. I realized. I love her so much. 

I had to force myself to think clearly as I tugged on the sleeve of Alannah's shirt.

"Please sit down." I pleaded with her. "And put your seat belt on while you're at it."

With a huff, the gunsmith sat back down, fastened her seat belt, and flashed me a coy grin. "To answer your previous question, my lovely Cylus, you're...more than a friend."

"I don't understand." Oh, I understand entirely. I'm just playing dumb right now.

Her smile made me squirm in my seat. "You'll understand...soon enough."

I ignored the rapid beating of my heart and focused on breathing so I didn't pass out.

I heard the devious redhead laugh. "Who would've thought I could make the galaxy's deadliest bounty hunter squirm in his seat?"

"You have...Quite a way with words." And you use your smoldering good looks to your advantage.

She shot a wink my way before focusing on flying her vehicle. "I come by it naturally, Mortie. When you've been a store owner and a bounty hunter for almost half a decade, you learn a few nifty tricks."

"I take it you've used your...skills on unsavory customers before?"

"You bet your breeches I have!" Alannah chirped. "For the especially disgusting customers, I lure them into a nearby alley and blow their brains out!"

"You catch that, Boreas?" I prompted my partner.

"Yep. The woman you're smitten over is as homicidal as you are." he replied. "Who would've thought."

"Hey, you laugh now Boreas." Alannah began. "But just wait: I'll save your skinny ass sooner than later."

He sighed. "It's sad just how correct you are."

We all shared a laugh, and before I knew it, we arrived at a small launch pad behind Alannahs's shop.

"We don't have to stay here, but I thought this would be a good place to start." she explained, only to sigh when her hair settled down around her in a wild mess.

I brushed a few strands of hair out of her face and chuckled when the gunsmith blew a rasberry at me. "I'm perfectly okay with starting here."

Alannah beamed at me. "Perfect! I can show you a few prototypes I've been working on."