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

Chapter 33

When I had managed to piece myself back together, Alannah and I left the rooftop.

"Do you want to head back to your house?" she prompted me, taking my left hand in hers.

"I'm sure Boreas is flipping his shit right now, so that's probably the best course of action."

Alannah chuckled to herself. "That's a good point. Alright, let's go."

I looked at her in confusion. "What about your shop?"

"I have a few assistants. They'll take care of Twisted Steel while I'm gone." she answered while we both entered her vehicle.

I nodded and reclined back into my seat. Every time I've tried to reach out to someone, they've typically lashed out at me. Guess I can't blame them; I am a bounty hunter after all. Maybe I shouldn't care about this emotion-y bullshit and focus on bounties....However, that doesn't feel right. My mother always taught me that compassion was the highest virtue...

I closed my eyes and silenced that thought process. For the ride back, nothing much was said. I suppose Alannah was sorting through her thoughts as well.

When we touched down near the front door of my house, Boreas stormed outside with a manic light in his eyes.

"Get the fuck in here before I hang a hobo!" he snapped.

"What?" Alannah and I demanded in unison.

"Get inside!"

Needing no further prompting, we hurried inside.

"Okay...Someone better start talking before I lose my fucking mind," Boreas growled when we had all taken a seat, "Usually, I'm a chill dude. However, you've been acting erratic lately, Cylus. I get that you don't like talking about the shit you've been through, but for fuck's sake, man! Don't cut me out of the loop to 'protect me'. I had to see good friends get carted out of their cubicles because they had to take a quick break when I worked on Du'Vuna. I've seen fucked up shit before, so I doubt anything you can say will freak me out."

I didn't have an adequate response to his outburst, so I decided to tell him everything I told Alannah. I told him the complete story about Katherine, the foolish hope she instilled in me, and what Gavin did to steal that away from me. By the time I was done talking, Boreas' jaw feathered.

"I see..." he breathed. "Thank you for telling me this..."

I took my helmet off and set it on the coffee table before me. "I'm sorry for keeping this from you. I...didn't want you to feel bad for me."

"That's a new level of fucked up, my friend."

"I know, I know. It's just...You have a wife and a child. I want them to be at the forefront of your mind, not the shit I've had to deal with."

"The shit you do nowadays is always at the forefront of my noggin," Boreas retorted, rapping a knuckle on his forehead to reinforce his point, "We live under the same roof, so I'll care about your dumb ass whether you want me to or not."

I huffed out a soft chuckle. "Fair enough...Can you tell me more about the bounty?"

"Yeah, I suppose I can," he replied, tossing an info shiv my way, "Your target's apparently a slippery bastard: there's a small list of planets he might be on."

I put my helm back on and inserted the shiv into my left arm. Studying the list Boreas mentioned, I felt my heart drop. Of course Perstalsxi VI is on the list...

"I already know where to go first." I breathed.

"Where?"

"Perstalsxi VI."