Return : Book One in the Return series

Part 7 - Standoff

  Vulture lifted up Matthews limp body, grunting, " Damn. He's one heavy desk jockey, that's for sure. And a pain to tie him up, though it was fun interrogating him. It'll be worth it in the end though. That bounty prize of 50 million creds gon last me a long, long time."

  He patted Matthew lightly on the head, who groaned a little but didn't wake up. "Who knew a little bugger like you could be worth so much? Just your stroke of luck, innit? Finding some fancy ass files with some stuff you weren't supposed to set your eyes on? But it's too bad for you."

  He set him down on top of a table with a black body bag on it. He then put Matthew down on the bag, and pulled up the zipper with a really darn satisfying zip. He picked him back up again, holstered his rifle, snapped on his goggles, and kicked open his door as he ventured out towards the meeting point Sledge had put out on the billboards.

  As he slowly walked towards the more futuristic parts of town, the high tech areas grew, as did the stares he got from passing civilians looking at him as if he was a unknown monster, which he considered he could be, given his appearance. But he shrugged it off and keep walking towards his destination: an abandoned field. It stuck out like a sore thumb, but it was a good spot for illicit activists in the heavily policed areas, due to the hazardous wastes surrounding it.

He approached the field, the air growing more grim around him, pressing in like roaring water. The streetlights changed to dumpster fires, and well dressed people turned into hobos straggling on the street, sticking their arms out in a plea for cash, having no other way of surviving.

The stadium's entrance loomed over him as he came closer. Once a great marble door, now in shambles with scraps all around, and waste floating by. "Heh. Could be a setting for a zombie apocalypse. Just need someone to write it." Vulture walked through the doors and saw a small gathering of people. There were two groups, one with was a smattering of assorted characters, some rich, some poor, all holding something suspiciously like a body bag, or a head. The other group was made of Sledge, his private group of cops, and what looked like a shiny robot, though Vulture had no way of making sure.

  He headed over towards the latter group, noticing that the first group had now turned their stares on him and his cargo. As he came closer, Sledge turned towards him and said to the woman who looked like a robot , "Check him." She walked towards him and held a hand out, signalling for him to stop. She gestured towards the gun, motioning for him to take it off.

  Vulture shrugged and dropped Matthew, then slung off his rifle and placed it on the ground. He said , "Any of you idiots touch it, you'll be sorry." He picked Matthew back up off the ground and walked towards Sledge. As he got closer, he saw that Sledge was a short man, with a deathly pallor about him. He didn't seem to look like a normal person, more like someone who had just beaten cancer and was in rehab. Vulture wondered what Sledge was up to, to want someone like Matthew, but those thoughts quickly disappeared into thin air, to be replaced buy the thoughts of the fortune he would amass from this bounty. It was the first bounty that had been put out in a long time, due to the sharp downfall of crime, but this Matthew character didn't really seem all that bad.

Vulture spoke, "So. Where's my thirty million credits, old man?"

Sledge replied , "Proof first. Give me proof that the thing in the bag is Matthew Stone, and you'll get your money in due time.

Vulture placed down the bag and then slowly unzipped the top so that you could see the face of Matthew. All in all, he didn't look too worse for wear either.

Sledge smiled. "Indeed, you have the right person. Well, payment is due. Janice!"

  He snapped his fingers and the robot walked over. She dropped a bag at Vulture's feet , and in turn unzipped it just a little, so that Vulture could see the stacks upon stacks of silver credits that lay inside. His mind shorted out and he just stared at the money for a few more seconds before righting himself and saying, "Okay. Here's Matthew, and now give me my credits."

  He passed Matthew over to Sledge, and then picked up the bag of credits, which Vulture felt was a little light, although it could've been his imagination. He said , "Good doing business with you." And started to walk away.

He glanced back as he was on the way out and saw Sledge whisper something into the robots ear. Sledge noticed Vulture looking and returned to giving a fake , rubbery smile.

Vulture felt like something was off, but he couldn't tell what, so he just shook it off and kept walking. He glanced back once more, and Sledge and his compatriots were now leaving out of the other side of the arena, but the first group of bounty hunters were now staring at Vulture with a hunger, which led him to quicken his pace, but the mob started to follow.

  He broke into a run, and the mob did likewise. It seemed none of them were cooperating, as it was clear that they all just wanted his money. He saw a couple snouts of rifle poking up and his pace quickened, trying to think of a way to get out of this alive and keep his money, with the chances becoming increasingly slim before his eyes. He pulled out a smoke grenade from his belt and popped it, cooking it until it would explode instantly. He wheeled around and aimed carefully, and with a beautiful underhand tossed it in the face of the head of the mob. They were engulfed in a sea of smoke, and stumbling over each other, allowed Vulture to quickly escape.

  After getting away from that mob, Vulture found a fairly empty alleyway, and ducked into it. He unzipped the bag, to confirm the money, and was relieved when he saw it, at least until he tried to pick it up. It fizzled and disappeared. At the bottom of the bag, there were a couple of holograph projectors, weighted to make it seem like there was real money in it. Vulture sighed, and tossed the bag. He could sell the projectors for some money, but nowhere near 50 mil.

  He punched the wall in frustration and shouted, "Sledge, you lying shit, I'm COMING FOR YOU!"