Bounty Hunter

Chapter 8

Joe swiped his armlet over the scanner next to the door to let Reuben know he was there. He waited, had expected to wait for several minutes, but the door unlocked right then, and a light on the scanner turned green. Surprised, he stepped inside the office, the door sliding closed behind him. The small room stank—someone had eaten too many beans for lunch, and Joe was glad that his mask helped filter the air.

Across the room, Reuben Tally, owner of the Agency and Joe's employer, sat behind a simple brown-composite desk. On the other side of it stood two men with their backs to Joe. He recognized T-Rex's stocky exoshield with chipped green paint; the man had been with the agency since it began, and Joe suspected the hunter had been sleeping with the previous owner, Reuben's mother. T-Rex was the most relentless, hard-headed, crude person Joe knew, and possibly the only hunter Joe would almost consider a friend if he didn't want to kill him the rest of the time. T-Rex was also gutsy enough—or crazy enough—to be seen in public without his helmet. He even went so far as to pick a callsign that had his real name in it: Rex.

The other man in the room wore plain clothes—likely a client since no one except contractors and clients tended to meet with Reuben. The man looked far more confident than he should've, based on the way Reuben nervously scratched his chin.

Reuben acknowledged Joe before turning back to the man. "I'm disappointed that you reneged on our deal, Phillipe." Without looking up, he added, "Havoc, tell this gentleman how I feel about clients who refuse to pay for their completed tickets."

"You don't like it," Joe replied without hesitation.

"That's correct. I don't like it one bit. In fact, I find it hard to run a business if my people and I don't get paid for our hard work," Reuben went on softly.

The man took on a defensive posture. "I told you, circumstances changed, and I didn't need the ticket carried out after all."

"The problem is that the job was already finished, by T-Rex here," Reuben motioned to the other hunter.

The client seemed to shrink from Rex before turning back to Reuben. "Then that's too bad."

Reuben's lips thinned before he spoke again. "T-Rex, please show this gentleman what I think about clients who refuse to pay for their completed tickets."

"I'd be glad to." T-Rex pulled out his blaster and shot the client in the head before Reuben stood and held out his hands.

Joe clenched his eyes closed before opening them. Here we go again.

Reuben's eyes were wide as he stared slack-jawed at Rex. "Why'd you do that?"

The hunter seemed pleased with himself as he replied in his gruff voice, "I showed him what you thought of him. And what I thought of him. That was pretty rude of him not to pay. Seriously, who does that?"

Reuben sat back down and rubbed his neck before looking back up. "I meant for you to scare him, not kill him."

Rex shrugged. "My mistake. Though, don't you think it's better all 'round this way? I mean, he had the worst gas. I put Mr. Smellsalot out of everyone's misery."

"Now, how is he going to pay what he owes me? What he owes you?" Reuben asked, exasperated.

"I could pay a visit to his family," Rex offered.

Reuben held up a hand. "No. You've done quite enough already."

Joe stepped closer to the desk and eyed Reuben. "You really should know Rex better by now, that if he has a chance to shoot someone, he will. He just can't keep his blaster in his pants."