The Fractured Empire: A Tale of Downfall

Chapter 25

Once we halted at a bustling train stop full of people waiting around, my crew and I immediately left the train and blended into the thronging crowds. The buildings around us were immense and numerous–perfect cover for a band of bounty hunters to ghost through.

"Damn, this place is stunning," Alexander breathed as he stuck by my side. "What are these buildings made of? Brass? Stone? A mix?"

"Who knows, kid–we weren't the ones who built them," I mused, studying the dark-brass colored buildings that rose above us, "What's important is that they can provide us with a good place to hide."

"Eh, true. So much for sightseeing..."

I snorted. "You? A sightseer? I didn't think you could do more than slit throats, son."

"Well dad, I'll have you know I'm more complicated than that."

"Uh-huh. One mention of Boreas' cooking, and you turn into a famished hound."

"Ooo! Remember when Boreas made that strawberry tart! That was the shi–fuck!"

"Keep it down, you oaf," I hissed, only to groan when I heard Boreas laughing his ass off.

"Ah, I'm glad you loved that, Alex," he breathed, "I'm surprised your memory goes back more than a few minutes."

"Hey, fuck off," he growled, "I'm not that stupid."

"With the amount of times you and Cylus have hit your heads, I'm surprised you both aren't completely braindead," my partner mused.

"Who's saying we aren't?" Alex retorted.

Damn it all. My crew all snickered with barely-contained laughter as we continued stalking through the sun-kissed city of brass buildings and sandstone-colored streets. So much for taking things seriously.

When our chuckles died down to an acceptable level, we refocused our attention on our journey at hand.

"Excuse me," Boreas called out, causing me to turn around and regard him as he addressed a middle-aged woman in a simple blouse and flowing skirt, "Would you by any chance have a map of this city? This is my first time here on Apollihiri."

She regarded me and the rest of me crew with a nervous laugh. "Um...are they with you?"

"Oh, them? Yep, they're my security detail," Boreas answered without missing a beat as he took his glasses off and cleaned them with the tail of his coat, "It's so much easier to hire mercenaries than bothering with the Federation. Oh, silly me," he continued, putting his glasses back on and flashing the woman a bright smile, "The name's John Dodson. I'm a researcher for the United Terran Federation."

In the next instant, I saw everything click into place in the other person's head: her thoughtful frown turned into a bleached expression, and she hurriedly pulled out what appeared to be a holo-computer. A cord extended out of her device, and she looked at Boreas expectantly.

"Oh, let me see that," he said. A few moments later, he had a holographic layout of the map displayed above his device, "Ah, thank you so much."

"Th-The administrative building is near the center of the capital–you're currently in the eastern sector, so go west. You can't miss it."

"Thank you very much," Boreas replied in a smooth voice, "Have a nice rest of your day."

After we left the shell-shocked woman I heard Alex hum to himself. "How come no one recognizes you, dad?"

"It's because the sorry bastard usually appears on pictures and surveillance footage as a simple silhouette," Boreas explained, "He wears nothing but black, and that serves to be his greatest tool–no one knows what he looks like."