Outlaws (The Slingers Trilogy, Book 2)

Chapter 10

Bunker was sleeping, the suit he had practically been in for almost his entire career hanging on a peg on the wall. He was curled up in the ratty and torn sheets that Thadeus had given him on his wooden board and moldy mattress. It wasn't much, but it was enough for now, and he was so tired it honestly didn't even matter. Outside of his suit, Bunker wasn't as big as most people saw him to be. He was still above average in terms of size and strength, but he wasn't a goliath on the inside like most people thought. He slept soundly, and his thoughts drifted to Andress. She was his partner, and for all he knew, she could be on the opposite end of the universe. He needed to find the Broker. He could tell him where she was. But he needed to sleep...it had been a long few weeks. He began to feel his eyes grow heavy, and he finally drifted off.

5 Years Ago

Bunker moved his arms and flexed his muscles, the servos in his suit responding with an almost instant reaction time. He felt like the suit was part of himself. He looked out at the grassy fields. The wind was blowing and making them flow like an ocean of green. He began to fidget in his armour, anticipating the action to come, but also trying to draw back his fear. He picked up the usual provisions from the supplies tent, and walked back towards the tank. He saw Koil sitting on the barrel, a cocky grin on his face. "You're sweating big man. You scared?" He said, and Bunker tossed him the supplies, and took a bite out of a nutrient bar. Bunker frowned and replied back in a tough tone. "Shut up. If I weren't here, you'd be wetting yourself with fear right now." Koil chuckled and took a swig of water. Bunker drove the tank along with him and Andress and Melinda. They were a tough group, one of the best in all the GDF. He wouldn't fight alongside anyone else. He looked and saw Melinda and Andress coming over the hill. He nodded to both of them. Melinda shouted to the entire company. "Move out!" Bunker opened up the front hatch of the tank, and jumped into the driver's seat. As he drove away, he saw Andress running up the hill to provide overwatch. He smiled inwardly. He knew he could trust going anywhere with her watching. As they moved through the field, Koil called out from the turret. "Got nothing on scopes, boss." Melinda called back from the main cannon. "Alright boys, keep it tight. Should be smooth sailing from-" Bunker then remembered a large boom and a flash of light, then blacked out. 

As he awoke, he could smell smoke. He looked around and saw that the entire cabin was filled with it, and he assumed that most of it was on fire. He turned around, and saw the tank had been blown clean in half. He managed to pry off his restraints, and heard a loud moaning. He climbed his way out of the tank, and saw Koil pinned underneath some metal. "Koil!" He yelled and ran over, and pulled the metal off. What he saw was horrifying. Koil's legs had been severed clean off by the metal scrap. "Oh my God..."  He pulled Koil out, who was groaning and had blood running down his mouth. "It's gonna be ok, Koil. We'll get you help." Koil looked at Bunker and gripped his arm. Unbelivably, he laughed, causing more blood to bubble on the corner of his mouth. "Guess you're taller now, huh?" Bunker lifted him over his shoulders, taking him in a fireman's carry. He then saw someone running across the field, past the destroyed and twisted wrecks of other tanks. It was Andress. He reached his hand up and waved to her. She saw him and her eyes widened. "BUNKER!" She ran to them and keyed her communicator. "This is Valkyrie 1-4, I need a medic down here NOW! I have two wounded and-" She cut herself off and looked at Bunker with fearful eyes. "Where's Melinda?" Bunker shook his head. He hadn't seen her...but it wasn't looking good. Andress got up and ran around the tank. "LINDA? LINDA!" She then went quiet when she went out of view, then Bunker looked up. He put Koil down and walked down to the tank. He saw Andress kneeling next to a charred and burned corpse, which had Melinda's armour and badge. The field was quiet, then Bunker heard Andress begin to scream...

Bunker awoke with a start, and wiped the sweat off his brow, as if that would erase the horrible memory. But Andress's scream still echoed in his mind. It was 5 years ago, and he still couldn't get it out of his head. And he knew that she couldn't either. As he was about to get up, he heard a knock on his door. "Come in." The twins walked in, both of them looked a bit fearful. "Hey, Thadeus told us you'd be here." Elicia said, looking a little nervous. Bunker was confused. "Everything ok?" Edvard noticed that he was looking at the two of them funny, and instantly changed to a neutral expression. "Yeah, it's cool." Bunker sighed. This was what he got for working with two con artists. Elicia spoke again, more serious this time. "We were wondering what the plan is." Bunker leaned forward. "There's a person on this planet called the Broker. He is the biggest collector of information and knowledge in the entire system. We can use him to figure out where Nolun and Andress are. He's in a place called Club Morpho." The twins nodded and Bunker went to put on his suit. A few minutes later, Bunker, the twins, and Koil walked out of the small house into the city. "Hey, anyone else wonder where Dante is?" Elicia wondered out loud. "I've learned to just let that guy do his own thing." Koil replied. They made their way through the bustling marketplace, and into the downtown district, where the streets were filled shoulder-to-shoulder with people. As they rounded a corner, Bunker saw a blue, purple, and black coloured neon sign that said "Club Morpho" on it. They went inside, and made it into a bar area, filled with neon lights, blacklights, human and robot servers, people from every walk of life, and drinks of every kind. Bunker went straight to the bartender. He smiled. "Evening. What can I get you?" Bunker stayed neutral. "Tell the Broker that Bunker is here to see him." the bartender paused, then nodded and went into a back room. After a few minutes, he came back out, and opened the door to another room. "This way, if you would be so kind."