What can I say? I hadn’t been shot at in a while, seemed like I was about due for a fight.

  8

  Curious to meet the buyer, I found myself trailing right behind Manny as the younger brothers brought up the rear with cocky smirks painted across their lips.

  “Damn, it’s goin’ to be good to have some money again,” Marlow muttered, “might even be able to afford a better truck.”

  “Mightn’t have to,” I said as Manny knocked on the shack’s door, nearly knocking the whole thing over in the process, “I mean, provided conversations with your brother go well.”

  “What does he mean, Manny?” Kit asked with an almost accusatory tone.

  “We’ll deal with that after,” Manny replied with no small amount of irritation before giving the door another hearty bashing, “got to finish this job ‘fore we even consider any sort of hypotheticals.”

  Have to say, I was starting to get the feeling that Kit wasn’t my biggest fan, but truth be told I didn’t need him to be a friend, I just needed him to be good at what he did.

  “Woah!” I exclaimed as I looked around to the still shut door and was greeted with a notification mere inches from my nose.

  Remember that you’ll need to go to a pod to level up!

  “What?” Manny asked, looking around concernedly.

  “I…” I trailed off, not having any sort of answer.

  Thankfully, I didn’t need one as the door finally opened revealing a hulking owl-man in a fancy waistcoat and black porkpie hat.

  Honestly, kind of wish I’d saved my ‘woah’ for him.

  “Hmm…” the brown-eyed giant murmured as he slowly looked me up and down.

  “He’s a friend, Bones,” Manny explained coolly, “wouldn’t have been able to pull off the job if it weren’t for him.”

  “Is that a fact?” Bones asked in an eerily low and measured way, “Because, and I can only assume my sources are accurate, one of your carriages failed to make it here.”

  “My fault,” Manny replied while I struggled to deal with how slowly and just plain creepily the owl talked, “gave him the wrong information.”

  “Is that what you call it?” Bones asked, turning his full attention to Manny, “Mixing up simple directions?”

  “I like to think that it has somethin’ to do with my dyslexia,” Manny said with a smile, “now, are you goin’ to throw about two-and-a-bit thirds away because we lost some, or are you going to do the smart thing and get us paid.”

  Bones was… Truth is, Bones was emotionless and unwavering and I may have just been reading too much into it, but to me Bones seemed about ready to gobble Manny up and cough up his, well, bones.

  “You come in with Manny,” Bones finally said, pointing his feathered forefinger at me, “you two can stay out here.”

  “What?” Kit scoffed, “Why should we?”

  “Because my home is small and your fat heads wouldn’t fit,” Bones replied, maintaining his air of monotony, “play with the dirt, look for animals in the clouds, I do not care. But neither of you are welcome in my home.”

  Surprised at Manny’s acceptance of Bones’ terms, I looked to the boys to see if guns were about to be drawn and blood to be shed.

  Thankfully, the cooler head of Marlow prevailed, and after resting his hand on his brother’s shoulder, nodded for us to go inside.

  “Those brothers of yours are troublesome,” Bones said before we’d even gotten all the way into his darkened shack, lit only by the dozens of computer screens that lined the back wall, “the youngest is patient enough, but I feel if the other were to do something fooli-”

  “We’re inside now and away from prying eyes, Bones,” Manny interjected coldly, “so I have no problem tellin’ you that if you ever, and I mean ever insult my brothers again, I’ll knock that beak o’ yours into the back of your skull, understand me?”

  For a moment Bones simply stood there, looming over the two of us despite the fact that he was facing the other direction, but eventually he let his shoulders fall and nodded.

  Struggling to fight the urge to bring up the brass ones Manny had, I followed Bones over to his large swivel chair where he sat down as slowly and deliberately as the way he spoke.

  “Quite the setup you have here,” I remarked, “you some sort of tech-nut or something?”

  “Accountant.” Bones replied.

  “Is that a fact?” I chuckled, “Well, once we’re done here, I may have a job for you.”

  “Oh, I’m well aware that you and your little… agency are in need of an accountant,” Bones said with what could almost be mistaken for happiness, “but, as you have said, there is still work to be done. Two of the carriages and some change you said, correct?”

  “That’s right,” Manny replied coolly, watching the screens but clearly having absolutely no idea what any of the green numbers and letters meant, “what’s that fetch us?”

  “Well, considering how it’s near-impossible to transport the ‘change’ without drawing at least some attention, I’d suggest you let me sell off the two full carriages and you hold onto the rest for a rainy day.”

  Manny clearly wasn’t happy with that response, but at the same time he seemed to understand that there weren’t a ton of options open to him.

  So, with a nod and a sigh, he turned to me, “Don’t s’pose you’d be interested in buyin’ some half-melted gold?”

  “Speak with your brothers about joining the team, then we’ll talk.” I replied with a smile.

  “Seems fair to me,” Manny said before turning his attention back to Bones’ screens, “let’s ship off this heat.”

  “Order’s already been put through,” Bones replied after a few moments of tapping on a holographic screen not unlike Linda’s, “just have to program in the details with the carriages after we scan them. Once they leave atmo, you’ll be paid and you can share out the reward as you see fit.”

  “Not my first rodeo.” Manny chuckled before leading the way to the door as Bones got to his feet.

  “I understand that,” Bones sighed, the sheer effort of getting to his feet apparently being enough to exhaust him, “but it’s best to be clear on these matters.”

  Manny shook his head and huffed amusedly at that before stepping into the near-blinding light outside, “No arguments here.”

  “Hey, Manny,” Marlow said as we made our way over to the carriages, “what’d Bones say about the guns?”

  “Guns?” Bones asked.

  “Oh yeah, almost forgot about them.” Manny replied amusedly, “You reckon anyone out there’s going to want a bunch of Nexxie weapons and armor?”

  Bones appeared to think on that for a moment, although he may have just spaced out, then shook his head, “The scan will reveal the gear inside, after that you should bring it out and see if you can find a new buyer.”

  Manny let out a slightly disappointed sigh at that and nodded, “Ah well, I’m sure we’ll find someone willing to take them off our hands.”

  “Criminal outfits probably won’t be interested,” Bones remarked as he produced a small cube from his pocket and planted it against the wall of the train, “but you might be able to find a mostly legitimate business.”

  “True,” Manny agreed with a nod after the cube had flashed and Bones had moved it over to the next carriage, “and it’s not like the Nexxies are going to care if a couple of good folks are using old tech that ‘fell off the back of the freighter’.”

  In that moment, I thought about giving them an offer, but stopped myself just short of actually speaking.

  I wanted the guns and armor for the agency, yes, but the last thing I needed to do was spend the entire reward and some change on guns when there were other things that needed to be paid for.

  Probably.

  Anyway, after a few minutes of Bones telling Kit and Marlow which crates needed to be shifted into the back of the truck, he sent the carriages off into space with what seemed to be an involuntary wave.

  “Reckon the one in town’ll be a problem?” I asked Manny as we watched the carriages disappear from view.

  “Doubt it,” Manny replied, “thing was mangled beyond recognition, and it’s not like the Nexxies stationed out near there have any interest in getting involved with more paperwork than… Well, any paperwork.”

  “We should head off,” Kit said, pulling Manny and I out of our conversation, “don’t want to outstay our welcome.”

  “Fair enough,” Manny sighed before turning to me, “we’ll be heading into town, hiding in plain sight and all that. Come find us at Milo’s when you’re done.”

  With that, Manny and Kit walked away, climbed onto their horses, and followed Marlow as he pulled away in his truck, their load of guns and armor barely covered in the tray.

  “I…” I trailed off as my eyes followed them into the distance, “Alright then, I s’pose.”

  Not trying to complain or anything, but moments like that broke the immersion a bit for me.

  As you’ve undoubtedly seen, there haven’t been many, although that, the whole ‘mission’s done, bye’ thing, was something I’d had happened in Lord knows how many RPGs.

  With that being said, a quick look at my PDA and the ‘+5000 Credits’ on it killed any and all sense of disappointment that I felt, which was compounded with the sudden appearance of two welcome but still surprising notifications.

  Mission Complete!

  Remember that you’ll need to go to a pod to level up!

  “So,” Bones said from uncomfortably close behind me, “you’re in need of an accountant, are you?”

  Taking a moment to compose myself, I pocketed my PDA and turned to face the menacing owl, “That I am,” I chuckled as coolly as I could, “reckon you’re the man for the job?”

  “That depends.” Bones replied, his words more purposeful than they had been, “Tell me, Stargun, do you think you have what it takes to kill a man.”

  “Is that a trick question?” I asked amusedly.

  “I mean a man who doesn’t put up a fight,” Bones said, “say, a spineless accountant who, though surrounded by gunmen, would run away and leave you alone for the rest of his life if you let him.”

  Silence rang through the air for a time.

  Then, after a morality killing thirty seconds, I cleared my throat and rested my hands on my belt, “We talkin’ hypotheticals here, or do you want to start crunching numbers?”

  That earned me my first smile from Bones, and I have to say it felt good.

  “I’ll give you the information and his location, you bring back his eyes and PDA.” Bones said excitedly.

  “His eyes?” I scoffed, “Sure am glad I ain’t the questionin’ type.”

  “As am I,” Bones replied, “I suggest you go back to that compound of yours, collect some gunmen of your own.”

  “Don’t think I’ll be able to handle it myself?” I asked.

  “It’s not a judgment of your ability,” Bones explained, “merely one of their overwhelming numbers. A handful of rounds and a can-do attitude will only get you so far.”

  “S’pose I can see the logic there.” I said with a nod before letting a smile play across my lips, “Hope to be seein’ you again soon.”

  “And I’m sure you will,” Bones replied, his general vibe of excitement having died down some, “good luck, not that you’ll need it.”

  “Thanks.” I chuckled before taking in and exhaling an oddly dizzying deep breath, preparing myself for the ride home.

  Have to say, I was really starting to regret not starting the day with at least a halfway decent meal.

  Mission Started!

  Death of an Accountant

  Objectives

  Mission Status – In Progress

  XP – 1500

  Locate the Bald Rock Hideout

  Kill Nathaniel Rew

  Take Nathaniel Rew’s eyeballs and PDA to Bones

  9

  “Good to have you back,” Mags said almost as soon as I touched down next to her in the middle of the slightly more alive compound, “trust you had an eventful journey?”

  “Eventful’s one word for it,” I joked, looking to the four horses hitched just outside the brothel, “seem a bit early for whorin’ to you?”

  “Depends what your line of work is,” Mags replied, jutting her head towards the agency, “c’mon, girls have been waiting for you.”

  “Have they now?” I chuckled as I followed the engineer, “Figured they’d still be asleep.”

  “Probably would’ve been if the Protos hadn’t started poking around,” Mags said concernedly, “thankfully them and Spencer managed to spook ‘em.”

  “They take anything?” I asked.

  “Nah,” Mags replied, shaking her head, “like I said, as soon as they saw Spence they hightailed it to parts unknown. My bet’s the mountains. Anyway, the girls wanted to go lookin’ for you, but when I told them I didn’t know where you’d gone-”

  “We decided we’d fix us up some breakfast,” Roxy interjected from where she stood in the agency’s doorway, “well, I decided to make breakfast, Amy figured her efforts were better spent stripping and cleaning every weapon she could find.”

  “Ain’t nothin’ wrong with a little bit of diligence with gun maintenance.” I said as we reached Roxy, at which point I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

  “No arguments here,” Roxy replied happily, “still though, something tells me she’s a little… embarrassed about how last night played out.”

  “Oh yeah?” I chuckled, “What gave you that impression?”

  “Well, and I could be wrong here on account of the fact that we haven’t known each other all that long, but she doesn’t seem to be the type that typically avoids eye-contact and conversation.”

  “Conversation maybe,” I replied amusedly, following the smell of bacon and eggs to a kitchen I didn’t know was on the first floor, “but yeah, she’s got a pretty good stare on her… I assume.”

  “Trust this morning’s panned out well for you?” Roxy asked as Mags and I took a seat at the simple, four-person wooden table near the middle of the kitchen.

  “As well as one could hope,” I said, weighing up whether telling them I’d robbed a train would be bragging or something they should really probably know, “got some money, made some friends.”

  “Was that before or after you robbed that train?” Mags asked with a smirk.

  “During,” I replied coolly, “how’d you hear about it?”

  “Simple,” Mags said confidently, “I tracked your location using the inbuilt GPS in the Flash Back, then I-”

  “Milo called,” Roxy scoffed amusedly, “wanted to let us know in case you didn’t make it back.”

  “Couldn’t let him believe I was semi-omniscient for two seconds, could you?” Mags joked as Roxy set the plates packed with eggs and bacon in front of us along with some nice-looking cutlery, “What’s this?”

  “Food.” Roxy replied.

  “I… Why?”

  Roxy appeared confused by that question for a moment, “Because you sat down? I mean, if you don’t want it-”

  “No, no,” Mags blurted out, “I just… I didn’t think you’d make me breakfast.”

  “Why not?” Roxy chuckled, “Seems cruel to let you starve while the rest of us eat.”

  “Question,” I said between mouthfuls of some of the best eggs I’d ever had, “where’d you get this?”

  “Ah, that question makes sense,” Roxy replied before nodding in the rough direction of the brothel, “Lorrain had some dehydropaks, figured we could use some on account of the fact that we haven’t exactly got a general store.”

  Figuring pretty quickly that ‘dehydropaks’ were dehydrated space food, I made a somewhat risky but what I felt was necessary leap, “When’d we get a dehydrator?”

  “Was in the kitchen when I got down here,” Roxy said, tapping a tall convection oven-looking device next to the fridge, “must’ve been a gift from the Mayor.”

  “Or the only thing that survived Spencer’s assault,” Amy suggested as she came into the kitchen with Flint perched on her shoulder, having traded in her birthday suit for a purple button up that she’d tied in such a way that her abs were visible, “I smell bacon.”

  “Why am I not surprised that bacon summons you?” Roxy chuckled as she got Amy a plate, “Will Flint want any?”

  “Probably,” Amy replied, not making eye contact with either of us as she sat at the table and struggled not to look awkward, “might hate it though.”

  “I sincerely doubt that’s possible,” I said after Flint had spotted me and took the short flight to the top of my hat, “how’d you sleep?”

  “Well enough, you?” Amy asked just a little bit too quickly.

  “Yeah, pretty good,” I replied as Roxy finally joined us at the table with a plate for herself and Amy in her hands, “stirred early though.”

  “Should’ve gotten me up,” Amy said with a slight bitterness in her voice, “would’ve been good to get a solid start to the day.”

  “It’s still early,” Roxy lightheartedly remarked, “and I’m sure Chuck has plenty of ideas for what we’re goin’ to do with the day, ain’t that right?”

  “I do actually,” I said after swallowing a good deal of bacon, “I was goin’ to take all of us out for the job, but after the mess Mags told me about with the Protos I figure it might be in the agency’s best interests to leave Spencer here.”

  Mags nodded fervently at that, “If you need him by all means take him, but I could use the backup.”

  “If by ‘backup’ you mean ‘shield’, I couldn’t agree more.” Amy chuckled before turning her full attention to me, “What’s this job?”

  Have to say I really did love Amy’s work ethic.

  “We’ll be getting ourselves an accountant,” I replied, losing some of Amy’s interest in the process, “met a guy, wants us to head out to Bald Rock and knock off another accountant.”