Bounty Hunter

Chapter 4

The vehicle tumbled over and over. The seatbelt held Joe in place, but he still tried to grab onto anything to better secure himself. The rolling stopped more abruptly than it'd begun, and Joe was thrown to the right, the seatbelt the only thing that kept him from slamming into the passenger door. The movement stopped long before Joe found his bearings. Gravity pulled him as he hung parallel to the ground. He tasted blood and hoped he hadn't bitten through his tongue.

Red warning lights flashed across the cutter's control panel. Outside, water lapped at the windshield.

He closed his eyes while he allowed himself to relax. No broken bones, but his left wrist complained...possibly sprained. He took a breath and opened his eyes.

A sound of metal-on-metal movement came from the back.

"You still alive back there, Sikes?" Joe called.

There was no response.

Pressing his left foot against the dash and his right against the passenger door, Joe unhooked his seatbelt. Finding his balance, he stood on the passenger door and grabbed the latch on the driver's side door above him. The door wouldn't open. He tried again, pushing harder this time, with no better luck. He grimaced, stood at full height, and stuck his head and arms through the open window. He braced his arms on either side of the opening and pulled himself up and through.

He sat on the side of the rig and took in the scene. It was impossible to see more than fifty feet due to the dust storm, but the visibility was better here. Monster had ended up in a ravine, coming to a stop in the middle of a stream. The water was no more than a foot deep, and Joe was glad that the night had brought a dust storm rather than a rainstorm. He knew all too well the dangers of flash floods in the rocky hills of the Midlands. The steep embankments on either side blocked the harshest winds. He listened for sounds of the second vehicle but heard only the whistling wind.

The sounds from the back of the cutter returned, and this time, Joe knew that Sikes was hitting or kicking something.

Joe rolled his eyes. "I can hear you trying to break out back there. You're not exactly being sneaky about it."

The sound paused for a couple of seconds before starting back up more aggressively. The screech of a metal door opening got Joe's full attention. He hopped off the side of the cutter and landed on the rocky ground. He reached for his blaster and found the holster empty. Then he remembered that he'd had it in his hand when Monster was rammed off the road. Sighing, he pulled his backup blaster out of its off-hand holster. He winced as his left hand protested, gripping the pistol. He raised the blaster, considered grabbing his shocker, then fired.

A moment of surprise registered when he missed. He frowned and fired again.

Sikes collapsed with an impressive howl.

Joe switched the blaster to his right hand and walked over to his bounty, careful to keep the weapon aimed at the now-injured man.

Sikes was cradling his calf when Joe stopped before him. He looked up. His hair was damp with sweat, and he seemed covered in scrapes and bruises. "I can't believe you shot me!"

"That's for being dumb enough to try to escape." Joe glared. "I should shoot you in the other leg as payback for your buddies up there who tried to break you free."

Sikes frowned. "My buddies?" He seemed genuinely confused; then, his features fell into dejection. "Nobody I know cares enough to rescue me."

Joe looked up at the road at least seventy feet above them. He'd assumed that whoever was in the other cutter had come for Sikes, but then it made no sense for them to leave without their friend. Though, their attackers were just as likely linked to the Gillett clan, delivering vengeance against him for killing one of their own earlier that day. It could've been just about anyone out to do him harm. The number of people who wanted to see him dead was a whole lot bigger than the number of people who cared to see him alive.

At least their attackers had cleared out, likely assuming he was dead, and not having the ambition to stand around in a dust storm to find out. His armor blocked the dirt from scraping his skin, but it gummed up the joints between the plating. He'd have to spend hours cleaning his suit once he turned in his bounty. Until then, he'd have to deal with the grimy joints.

He turned back to his bounty and motioned with his blaster. "Back to the cutter with you."

Sikes guffawed. "I can't walk. You shot me in the leg."

"You still have one good leg. Besides, that's just a graze. It didn't even break your skin," Joe said, cocking his head at the singed hole in Sikes's pants.

His prisoner attempted to stand before falling dramatically back into the dirt. "I can't."

"Move."

Sikes scowled. "You know, compassion can accomplish a whole lot more than cruelty."

Joe chortled. "You've never been in war." He sighed and holstered his blaster. He bent down, wrapped an arm around the injured man, and helped him to his feet. Joe carried well over half of the other man's weight as he assisted him back to the cutter. They stopped when they reached the back of the rig—or what was left of it. The back door had been broken off its hinges, and the cage was heavily dented. He was surprised Sikes'd even had to kick himself out of the cage.

Joe let Sikes take a seat on the edge of the vehicle, and his gaze moved from his rig to his bounty with wonder. "How is it that you're even still alive?"

Sikes shrugged. "Just lucky, I guess." His features then lifted. "Hey, how about we consider this enough punishment for my minor civil case, and you let me go."

"I can't do that. It's not my job to deliver punishment. That's for the judge to decide." Joe pulled out the hand restraints.

Sikes kept trying. "But you could tell them that I was killed in the accident. Then we can each be on our own way."

Joe grabbed his prisoner's left wrist, careful not to grunt at the tenderness in his own, and cuffed Sikes to the cutter.

Sikes's features fell. "Oh, come on." He sounded depressed.

Joe ignored him and went to work figuring out how to fix his ride and get out of the ravine.