“Come on, let’s go.” Elora yanked him out onto the street, all the while lecturing him. “I’m trying to find us a way out of this sewer and you go disappearing on me. What were you doing in there?”
“I was just . . .”
“I don’t care what you were doing,” she interrupted. “The point is, you shouldn’t have been doing whatever it was you were doing. You should have been doing what I told you to do, which was to be sticking close to me.”
“I’m sorry,” he apologized.
Elora stared into his face as they walked, a scolding look he’d seen countless times before, and he prepared himself for another of her annoying lectures on acting responsibly. The lecture never came though, as he saw his sister’s expression soften.
“Look,” she began, her tone a great deal less scornful. “Just try to . . .” Her sentence was cut off when she bumped directly into a large, brutish looking man who had placed himself directly in her path.
Taking a step back, they both looked up at him, cautiously and cringed in unison. As repulsive as his filthy appearance was, the smell was even worse.
A semi-toothed grin was spread across his grimy face as he spoke. “Are you lost, little girl?”
“No,” Elora began, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Are you?”
Laughs came from two other similar looking men that were with the first. Glancing over his shoulder at them, he began laughing as well.
Elora put on a grin and began to maneuver around the group of thugs, the first sidestepping to keep himself in front of her.
“Need help finding somethin’?” he inquired.
“No thanks. We were just leaving.” Elora tried to move around again, but he immediately cut her off.
“Yeah, lookin’ for a ride, right?” he continued. “Well, I just happen to have an extra seat on my own ship that a little woman like yourself would fit into just fine. One for your little friend here, too.”
Ethan turned his nose up at the remark, a bit offended. After all, he wasn’t that small.
“Sorry,” Elora answered. “I don’t have any money.”
Ethan could tell that his sister was trying to come off as grateful, though she had never been all that good at lying.
“That’s all right,” the thug assured her. “I’m sure you got somethin’ you could give in return.” He laughed with his other two companions.
Elora half smiled, obviously trying to hide her disgust. “That’s nice of you, really, but no thank you. We’ll be fine.”
Trying once again to get around the group, the way was again blocked.
“You know,” the thug began, “it’s not very safe for a young, pretty thing like you to be walkin’ around here by yourself. If one were so inclined, he might try to take advantage.”
“She’s not alone,” Ethan piped in, taking a step forward to stand in front of his sister.
Elora pulled him back next to her, her look of contempt for the man now obvious. “We can take care of ourselves,” she declared, as much a challenge as it was a statement.
Trying one last time to sidestep the thug, and once again having him block her path, this time reaching out to grab her, Elora drove her knee up between his legs.
Ethan couldn’t help but cringe as he watched the thug’s face instantly distort into one of surprise mixed with agony. The man curled forward, holding himself, and his sister didn’t waste the opportunity, kicking his legs out from under him and pushing out with her arms, knocking him backwards to the ground.
“Thanks for the tip, though,” she mocked with a grin, as he curled up into a ball before her, moaning in pain.
Ethan’s own grin quickly faded as he looked up to see the two other thugs that were with the first staring down at their fallen comrade, then back up at his sister, unhappily.
Elora took hold of his arm, putting herself in front of him as she took a few cautious steps backwards, the two thugs stalking after them. Taking a few more steps back, they were abruptly stopped short, Ethan bumping into something from behind him. Turning about, he found himself staring up into a recently familiar face.
Suddenly, he wasn’t so sure they weren’t better off with the thugs.
* * *
Jarred stared down at the young boy that had been trying to pick pocket him earlier, the same boy that he assumed had also been watching him a few moments ago in the tavern. He then looked up and caught the eye of the woman, obviously too young to be the boy’s mother, who he had just witnessed kneeing a man, twice her size, in the groin. The look he received back told him any wrong move on his part would earn him the same punishment.
He wasn’t entirely sure what he was doing getting involved in whatever dispute was taking place between them and the two burly looking men that were now standing before him, but it was too late to think about the reasons now. Jarred returned his attention to the two companions of the injured man lying on the ground before him and they stopped for a moment, taking him in.
“What seems to be the trouble, gentlemen?” he asked, eyeing them both.
“Nothin’ that concerns you, mate,” one of the thugs declared, nodding towards the young woman. “Private matter, between us and this one. Stand aside.” The two thugs went to move in, but Jarred took a step forward, placing himself in front of the young woman, causing them to stop their approach again.
“Seems a little unfair, don’t you think?” Jarred stated more than asked, letting his gaze move from one to the other and to the thug still on the ground. “Three men against one woman?”
“Who are you, her mum?” one of the thugs asked, mockingly.
Moving too quickly for the thug to react, Jarred raised the knife he had already drawn from its sheath beneath his cloak, up to just under the man’s chin, grazing the skin and making his eyes grow wide as he suddenly froze in place. The second thug did much the same, watching them with a stunned expression, as did both the boy and young woman, looking very surprised themselves by the sudden action.
“No,” Jarred answered simply, keeping the knife in place. “I’m just a concerned citizen. A mild mannered one.” He looked from one thug to the other, raising the first’s chin with a little more pressure from his blade. “But, when I see things like this . . . it almost makes me want to become uncivilized.” Beads of sweat began forming on the thug’s forehead as Jarred locked his steely gaze with his. “You don’t want me to become uncivilized, do you?”
The thug shook his head very carefully, trying to avoid any more contact with the sharp edged blade grazing his skin.
“Good,” Jarred announced, satisfied, and pulled the knife away, letting his demeanor become nonchalant.
The two thugs relaxed only slightly, the first breathing an unsteady sigh of relief as he rubbed the flesh under his chin.
“I knew you would see it my way,” Jarred continued. “After all, if we can’t be civil to one another, what are we, but . . . well, thick headed savages, really. Wouldn’t you agree?”
The two thugs looked back and forth to one another, nodding their heads in unison, while backing away to leave.
“Gentlemen,” Jarred called out as the men turned to go, causing them to halt and look back. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
The men looked confused and nervous, not responding and Jarred motioned towards the third man still lying on the ground. The thugs looked to their fallen comrade, and moving over to him, lifted him off the ground before carrying him away in a bit of a rush.
“You gentlemen behave yourselves now!” Jarred called out to them as they disappeared into the crowds of people. He turned around, still grinning a bit, and was immediately taken aback by the apprehensive expression on the young woman’s face as she kept herself in front of the boy, who’s eyes were wide and locked on him.
What was that look in his eyes? Curiosity? No, it was something more. Fascination maybe. Whatever it was, it made him uncomfortable. No more so though than the look he was receiving from the woman in front of the boy.
She was attractive, yes. Even in that dirty, worn jumpsuit she was wearing, her dark hair tied back messily with a few loose strands falling into her face, he could easily see that. What struck him most about her though were her eyes, both dark and penetrating, watching him warily. They disarmed him somehow, making him feel vulnerable, a sensation he was not accustomed to.
Suddenly unaware of what to do, Jarred took an awkward step forward, opening his hands to the sides to show no harmful intentions. “I’m sorry about that,” he apologized. “But, if you hang around places like this long enough, you’re bound to run into people like that.”
The woman’s demeanor remained unchanged.
His first attempt at friendly communication failing, he took a different route. “Are you all right?” he asked.
We’re fine,” the young woman answered quickly, and a bit harshly. “We didn’t need your help. We can handle ourselves.”
“Yeah,” Jarred responded, rubbing his chin and grinning. “I noticed.”
“Excuse me?” Mac cut in from behind.
Jarred looked back over his shoulder, having momentarily forgotten about his new prisoner. Five minutes out and he was already becoming annoyed with him.
“Yeah, hello.” Mac nodded a brief and obviously sarcastic greeting towards the young woman and boy before turning back to Jarred. “Listen, we’re both business men, right? We’ve got to be able to work out some kind of deal here.”
Jarred rolled his eyes at Mac, beginning to seriously consider a muzzle for him. Luckily, it wasn’t going to be a long trip.
“What is Taliss offering?” Mac continued. “I’ll double it.”
“I thought you said you didn’t have any money, Mac,” Jarred shot back.
“No,” Mac corrected, “I said I didn’t have Taliss’ money.”
Jarred shook his head. Maybe he could just stun him into unconsciousness for the duration of their time together.
“Think about it,” Mac continued. “Double the bounty to just . . . let me disappear. Twice the credits, half the work. You won’t even have to drag me across the system to get it either.”
“But it wouldn’t look too good on me would it?” Jarred rebuked. “Losing a bounty?”
“It won’t look any way on you. Taliss won’t ever know you found me. You can just walk away.”
Jarred nodded in agreement. “I could . . . if he didn’t already know I have you.” He watched as the color immediately drained from Mac’s face. “Taliss wanted to know the moment you were located,” he continued after a moment. “And apparently, he couldn’t wait for me to bring you all the way across the system either.”
Mac looked as though he was going to be sick. “He’s here . . . on Isyss?”
“Well, not here,” Jarred corrected. “Not yet. It wouldn’t be very prudent of me to tell him exactly where or when to find you. Why would he pay me if he could just grab you himself?” He demagnetized Mac’s bindings and lifted him upright by one arm. “But he is close, and very eager to see you again.”
“Then why don’t you just shoot me, right here,” Mac challenged, pulling away. “I’m as good as dead if you take me to Taliss anyway.”
“That’s not my problem,” Jarred stated coldly. “Did I make you take that money . . . or the girl?”
“All right, I messed up,” Mac admitted. “But a guy deserves a second chance, doesn’t he?”
“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” Jarred began, pausing for a moment before turning to look back at Mac. “When you see Taliss, remember to ask him that. I’m sure he’ll agree with you. Really.” Taking a new grip on Mac’s arm, he pulled the man forward, starting off for the docking ring.
The young woman, who he’d nearly forgotten was still there, suddenly moved forward, stepping in front of him and stopping him in his tracks.
“You’re a bounty hunter,” she declared plainly, not asking.
Jarred hesitated briefly, being thrown off by the girl’s new sudden interest in him. The look of apprehension and her overall hostility had vanished, replaced by what he took to be genuine intrigue shadowed by something else that seemed to be almost opportunistic. He wasn’t sure why she would be interested in what he was, or what she could possibly want from him, but his own experience had taught him not to hang around long enough to find out. He had always made an effort to stay under the radar whenever possible. In his opinion, having an interest taken in you was never a good thing and was usually a precursor to trouble.
Wanting to make a quick exit, he simply nodded in affirmation. “Is it that obvious?” He stepped around the woman, but made it only a couple of steps before realizing that it wouldn’t be that easy.
The woman had moved up behind him, not seeming ready to let the issue drop. When she spoke again there was a hint of desperation, or possibly even hope, in her voice.
“Then . . .” she began cautiously, “. . . you have a ship, right?”
Jarred looked back at her, curiously. There was an expectant, hopeful look in her eyes that caught him off guard, considering her earlier reaction to him.
Before he could say anything, a low rumble began to resonate through the air, the ground trembling lightly. As the sound grew louder, he let his vision track around the border of the outpost’s crater wall, searching for the source, while noticing most others in his vicinity doing the same. Dust began to rise from the streets, swirling through the air in blinding clouds. As the thunderous rumble grew louder, Jarred made out the higher pitched sounds of smaller ion drives approaching. He looked up into the sky to see the familiar outlines of a number of Sect patrol ships hovering into positions over the compound, followed by two much larger troop carriers.