Snow White

Chapter 1

It had been years since the great war with Russia had ended and placed earth in a post-apocalyptic state. The use of atomic weapons severely altered the ozone which caused every country to be effected by the harmful rays of the sun which could literally fry you in a second if you were stupid enough to go outside during the day. And don't even get me started on the acidic rainstorms that usually happened here all the time in Florida or well what's left of the place.

That stuff was known to cause bad burns and if you were stupid enough to get caught up in one, it could kill you in a matter of minutes, melting the skin right off your body. Leaving you looking like a huge puddle of bloody goo and bones. I've seen this happen firsthand. In fact, that was how my younger brother was killed.

With the way that the world was harmfully destroyed, brought out a martial law. Causing all the criminals to come out of their hiding places and pretty much taking overrule of the United States. It was a danger to travel across the lands especially if you weren't armed as you literally risked losing your head if you ran into one of those bastards. They didn't give a shit who you are or who you used to be for that matter, to them everyone was the same in their eyes, someone to rob and kill. I just happened to be one of the lucky ones.

Though I may not have lost my life to the criminal overlords, I still lost something rather precious to me that felt worse than dying and that was having my wife and son both being kidnapped by the head of the Moreno crime family on a case of mistaken identity. I remember the day that his goons showed up on my doorstep and how they forced themselves into my home when I tried to prevent them from coming inside.

The sounds of my wife and son screaming and crying for me to save them, still haunt me to this day. Which is one of the reasons why I am at the only bar here in Florida, to see if I can get the help of the legendary bounty hunter known as Snow White, so that she can hopefully help me get them back and end the nightmares that currently haunt me.

As I sit at the bar while sipping my glass of cheap wine, I hear the sounds of the other rough and rowdy crowd as they sit there playing cards at one of the nearby tables. The sounds get even louder when I heard one of the men slam his cards and then yell out to a woman with long platinum blonde hair who is sitting directly across from him and then said in an angered tone as he quickly stood from his chair. "Alright, you damn bitch! Now I know you are cheating! There is no way that you got a full house two damn times in one game."

I turned on my seat and watched as the cocky young woman who was all propped up in her seat made a tisking sounds with her lips and then looked up to the large red-haired man and then said. "Oh, shut up, Marco. You always do this when we play a game a poker. Every time I win a game you claim that I cheat. Which you know damn well that I don't. So, either play the damn game or go over there and sit with Angelo and sulk about it." She said with a no nonsense tone her voice as she pointed over to where an older short statured man with a grim look on his face was sitting on a tattered, red plush couch smoking a cigar.

I shook my dark head at the sight and then watched as the man known as Marco said nothing back to the petite young woman and then sat back down his chair. He grabbed the cards that were sitting on the table and then shuffled them in his hands and then looked up to the young woman and then said. "Sorry, Snow. I let my anger get ahead of me. But you can't blame me after we had to kill that kid today."

"Marco, I have killed both young and old alike. If they are coming towards me with intent to kill me, I will kill them before they can do anything. I don't give a shit about their age. I mean it's only a number anyways." The woman now known as Snow White said with a shrug of her shoulders and then grabbed her glass of whiskey and finished off the glass and then slammed it back down on the table.

Now knowing that I had finally found the one woman that I had been searching for several years, I quickly stood from my seat at the bar and grabbed my glass of wine and quickly finished it off and placed it back on the bar and then turned and quickly walked over to the table where Snow White was sitting at with all the courage that I had within me and then asked her. "Are you the bounty hunter known as Snow White?"

"Yeah. Who wants to know?" She asked without looking up at me as she took the cards that were getting passed to her.

I gulped nervously and then replied. "My name is Blake Williams. I am in need of your assistance; my wife and son were kidnapped by the Moreno crime family two years ago and I was told that you and your group were the only ones that can help me. Please I will pay you any amount that you want."

I watched as turned her head from her cards that were in her hands and then looked up to me with curious look on her face and then said. "You're that billionaire who I have been hearing about who has been going around town asking about me. That creepy you know that. Besides, how do you know that you're wife and kid are still alive? The Moreno crime family has been known to kill their hostages once they get them back to their compound and then ransom them out to their families."

I could feel my anger rising within me when she said that they could possibly been already killed. I didn't want to believe that, but a small part within my soul had been telling me for two years that they could be dead. I continued to stare the beautiful young woman in the face and then replied. "They can't be dead. They have to be alive. Listen, if you help me, I promise you that I will pay you whatever you want, just name your price."

Snow White thought about what I had said for several minutes and then replied. "Since you are so damn sure, I will help you. I mean I get to kill two birds with one stone. And get paid twice as much for doing it. By taking out and collecting the bounty on the man and his group who killed my parents and my little sister and getting paid six million by you for rescuing your family." She said with a wicked smirk.

This woman was pure evil that I could tell from just one look. But I wanted my family back no matter what the price was. I nodded my head in agreement and then replied. "Alright, I will pay your price. You're one of the best around here and I trust no other to help me. We have a deal." I said and reached my hand out towards her to shake.

She stared at my hand with disgust and then said. "I don't shake hands. Too many diseases going around these days and I don't want to catch something that I shouldn't have to. But I can offer you one better to seal this little deal, why don't you sit down here and have a drink with us?"

I nodded my head in agreement with what she had said and lowered my outreached hand back to my side and the quickly sat down in the empty chair beside her and then watched as she snapped her fingers to the bartender who quickly poured two glasses of whiskey and brought them over to the table and sat them down in front of us and then quietly walked away back to the bar.

With our drinks in front of us, I watched as Snow White raised her glass up in front of her and then looked at me and said. "To the rescue of your family." She said and we both slugged down our drinks and then I watched as she slammed her empty glass back down on the table and then said. We leave at sundown. You better make sure that you have your shit together before we leave."

"I have nothing to gather. Everything that I carry with me is in this small pouch right here." I said pointing at the small burlap pouch that I carried around my waist.

I watched as she nodded in approval and then said to me. "That's fine now join me and Marco here for a game of poker. Though I will warn you not to cheat. Marco here has been itching to kill someone during a poker game and I would hate to see my money supplier die before I can even do my job." She said with a smirk.

"I promise that I won't cheat you have my word on that." I replied and we started playing until sundown finally came.