Thousands of years after Earth became uninhabitable, humanity colonized other planets and moons around the solar system. Amid rising crime rate, the Galactic Space Force (GSF) set up a legal contract where registered bounty hunters (known as Coyotes...
Planetary News: On Earth, the alien abduction group "Aliens Are Real" has been granted permission to start a UFO religion. They will be conducting seminars in the city of Tanzanite, East African Society, every Friday, starting three months from now. Their leader, Finga Myhole, released a video after the news broke thanking the president of Earth, Julius Scissor, for his support and he hopes this will be the start of a beautiful relationship between humans and aliens–when they decide to reveal themselves to the rest of us.
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Wolf had spotted Victoria peeking out from the hall The Forgotten Nuns came through while listening to them. The young woman tried to get someone's attention but failed. Everyone looked preoccupied with the gold-skinned nuns, too enchanted to notice anything else.
"Victoria," Wolf called with a low voice after sneaking out of the room. If he hadn't been fast enough, the bishops would've spotted him. A mixture of distraction and luck enabled his easy escape. "Hey, Victoria."
The woman's eyes widened in shock before she ran away from him.
Dammit! He chased her up two flights of stairs and down a hallway before catching her inside an elevator. The door closed, and he hit the 'emergency stop' button. Bending over with his hands on his knees, he took a couple of seconds to catch his breath.
"What do you want?" Victoria asked with a shaky voice. It almost boosted Wolf's fragile ego that someone was afraid of him. It just happened to be the wrong person. "I have nothing you need, sir."
He smiled at her. "But you do."
"Ew!"
"No, no, no. That's not..." He sighed, then pointed at the red cassock in her arms that looked similar to the one the bishops wore. "What's that?"
She tried hiding it under her armpit. "None uh yer business." Looking at the floor, Victoria did her best to avoid Wolf's looming gaze, as though afraid he would learn her secrets by looking into her eyes.
Wolf raised his hands. "I mean you no harm. I'm Wolf, a coyote." He took a step toward her, and she stepped back, hitting the metallic wall. "I saw your video. I'm here to save you." He lowered his hands. "Trust me, I mean you no harm."
He didn't need to spend a significant amount of time with her to know she was hiding something. Moving closer, he put his hand on the wall, staring into her eyes as she trembled in fear. "What aren't you telling me, Victoria?" She gave off eerie energy—the same as The Forgotten Nuns—making his stomach tighten in fear.
When she didn't answer, he asked a different question. "Before me, how many coyotes came here to save you?"
Victoria gulped and gave no answer.
Wolf stepped away from her. "I see." He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to stay calm. Victoria didn't need to tell him anything. The answer was on her face. She wasn't skilled in deception, at least, not as good as she thought she was. "Your bounty hasn't been up for long, but the look on your face tells me other coyotes have been here and it didn't end well for them. The only way another coyote can take the same bounty within that time period is if they provide proof that the previous coyote is either incapacitated or dead."
