Mazikeen Smith and Linda Martin as a bounty hunter duos.
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With her license being under question, Linda feels lost and upset. She knows what she needs to do to resolve the feeling -- she's read almost every book, study every journal, and helped thousands of people. But almost dying changes things and the way she wants to experience the world. She felt this gave her the right to ignore everything she knew she needed to do.
"Bounty hunter sounds more badass, Linda." Maze stopped, "No, it is badass. Why are you wearing Bail Enforcement Agent? Bounty hunter strikes fear into our prey."
"No, Maze, you strike fear into the fugitives." Linda nervously shrugged on a bulletproof vest. This was irresponsible, she knew that she knew that. But the adrenaline rushing through her -- could be the lack of experience -- felt amazing far more than anything she's experienced so far.
"You don't have to go in, Linda." Maze looked up at the ceiling, "Not after the shit you went through."
"I'm basically five foot nothing, Maze. I've slept with actual Lucifer, survived almost being killed by a goddess. Think of this as my midlife crisis and I do in fact need to be in the room with you. Just this once. It'll kill the crisis and I'll go back to fretting over my license being revoked."
Maze swung the baton against an invisible opponent thinking. Ever since Linda stepped out of the hospital, she hasn't held a weapon near Linda. As if being in the same room with anything that could kill her would in fact, kill her. Linda tried to bring this up with Maze, who promptly ignored her refuting the idea of keeping weapons away from her -- it wasn't a man-made weapon that almost got her killed.
"Fine, sure, whatever." Maze dropped the baton, sticking it on her belt. "I gave you the picture of the guy, right?"
"Yeah. The hideous scorpion tattoo all over his face won't be hard to miss." and his gnarled arm, caused by his failed attempt to murder his soon-to-be ex wife. It felt weird stepping into a situation where a villainous person looked the part of an evil wife beater. In her world, they had beach houses in Europe and went to lunch with governors. Their wives would sneak in and purge themselves of the shit that went down and then go back home.
"Maze, he's in a La Quinta?"
Maze gave her a weird look and didn't see that was fit enough for a response.
The evening felt bizarre as they drove to the pickup in a silver Nissan Juke. Maze explained it looked nice enough but didn't stand out where they were going. She wasn't wrong. They weren't even in Los Angeles anymore. Her palms sweaty as she pressed against the handle. She didn't want to grab upward, to an invisible ohshit bar as her father would fondly call it. They parked in a vacant parking lot just down the block from the La Quinta. Graffiti infested with a small Arby's advertisement to the left of them. Oh wait, that is an actual Arby's.
"Do you always do these alone?" Linda asked. Maze was in the back grabbing things,fitting them in somehow. She was a demon, she probably had magical pockets for all she knew.
"Look Linda. Get your head in the game."
"Rambling and questions is how I get my head in the game." She pushed up her glasses. She's been wearing her bullet proof vest since they left Chloe's.
Maze paused and stared down at her clothes. No, she was looking down at everything she was carrying as if remembering that Linda was with her. She slipped her hand in a jacket pocket. Something rattled.
"Maze, stop. You believe you need all of that. It's fine. Keep it all."
"No, I know." She handed Linda a silver knife, "Now, don't do anything I wouldn't do with this."
"There's a thousand things you would do. Narrowing it to a not list would --" Linda inhaled, "Oh, Maze, you were joking. Oh my god."
"Don't get overly excited. Take the damn knife. After this we get you your gun permit."
"I already have one."
"Badass." Maze smiled and tried to playfully punch Linda. Linda backed away. "Yeah, right."
According to Linda's research Bounty Hunters always find their fugitive. The area was empty and she felt the urge to watch every angle that she could humanly look. It was quiet because it was a working class neighborhood, she reminded herself, it's not quiet because the scorpion tattooed fugitive deemed it to to nab them.
You're not the guilty in this situation.
"His name is Sam Beacon." Maze spoke. Her voice quiet, calm, determined. She wasn't saying his name out of the blue -- she was telling Linda. She was trying to calm down Linda. "He's evil. If it was up to me -- but right now I'm on Earth. Earth rules, money and I get to kick some random's ass."
Linda couldn't help but smile. When they entered the La Quinta, the front office person was a six something, Amazon of a woman. Her uniform well pressed, presentable -- makeup was flawless and so was her brown curly hair. Linda stepped back whereas Maze stepped up, leaned against the counter.
"I'm looking for Sam Beacon."
"I can't give out customer information." The woman's hands crossed, an eyebrow raised.
"Look, I just want to talk to him. Don't make this more painful than what it needs to be." Linda stepped up to the desk. The lady stared down at her.
"Mm, but I love pain." She teased. "It's still no."
"Oh?" Maze breathed staring longingly at the woman. "But the bastard first."
The woman gave both Linda and Maze a confused expression before sitting down, sliding to her computer.
"Why do you really want this information?" She asked. This time there wasn't any harshness to it, not fighting because her hotel's rules or any moral telling her not to give them the information. She wasn't sure if she should ---
"Attempted murder on his wife. He's had rumors of previous abuse toward other women. His ex is scared shitless and if he doesn't get caught, that will be another unfounded claim against him. She'll be dead and he'll be a free man."
The words spilled out of her mouth with earnest. It was the only information she had on the case and she just willed them out so easily. Maze warned her not to do it because of the chance of friends telling their skip that they were there. But it happened. She waited for a growl, complaint or something from Maze.
The woman looked over at Maze for confirmation, a slight nod. A few moments later she jotted something down -- hovering away from any of the security camera.
"I had a gut feeling about him when he came in a few days ago. He's already had issues with my cleaning crew. But our hotel manager,." She sniffed angrily, "Be careful."
"That's what you should be telling him." Maze said as she swiped the information off the desk.
Linda turned, "But don't! He can't know we're coming." she quickened her steps to catch up with Maze.
They stepped further into the building. They slowed down by a "EMPLOYEES ONLY" as two elderly women in almost-yellow main uniforms walked by. Maze waltz in there without a word and came back with an outfit. It was a little long for Linda, but she quickly put it on.
She had the silver knife gripped tighter than -- she shook her head of those thoughts. It her legs burned with every step until they hit the elevator. His hotel was on the second floor somewhere on the opposite end of where they came in at. As the elevator doors opened she could hear laughter, loud music and children giggles. It was a busy hotel for such a quiet area -- possibly chosen because its cheap price tag and familiar name. It was a modern name slapped on an older generation's hotel. She could almost smell the old cigarette smoke on the brick walls or it was this uniform, she couldn't tell.
The rumbling music deepened the closer they got to his hotel room. She couldn't hear anyone else as they stepped in front of the door. Maze gently tapped her shoulder, she found a spare hotel two doors down -- she was going to climb it.
Linda would be the soon-to-be verbally abused maid. Ugh. Her hand gingerly knocked on the door. There wasn't anyway someone could hear that knock. She pressed her hand against it once more.
"How many fucking times --" Scorpion tattooed , Sam Beacon, stood, butt-ass naked with a beer in his hand. Her eyes quickly started looking at the top of his head which was a long travel as he was even taller than Maze. A lot more. He could pick her up like a football and chunk her with his pinky finger.
"Ahh, Ahh, i just wanted to come by to check if everything was fine." she sputtered.
"Ahh ahhh.. Listen to this bitch --" he leaned in though she couldn't see if he was actually talking to anyone. "I already told that brown bitch that came by an hour ago --."
"Listen, here, you little asshole. Don't you fucking dare talk about my co-workers in such manners. Who gave you any right to even think you could talk about her like that? " She rolled her shoulders preparing for the worse. "You probably didn't even think. That's the problem isn't it? Never think outside of your needs and anything to make you feel superior. You have to a fucking pretend audience to act tough around."
She wasn't sure how accurate that sentence was. She prepared for impact.
He sputtered as he slumped forward, she shrieked backing up.
"Did you get you fix yet?" Maze's knee slammed into him as she pulled his hands to the back. Crushed bits of glass decorated his hands as blood freely flowed.
"Don't even try to verse me on why this is so unnecessary." Maze muttered. She started slapping at him until he fiercely came to. "Look here, bitch, you're in handcuffs. You will come peacefully. Or my small friend will break every last bone in your body. She already knocked your punk ass out."
"Whaaa. Whaaa the ever loving ---"
"We're Bail Enforcement Agents, jackass." Linda venomously spat at the guy. He winced, confusion written over his face as Maze forced him up.
The naked and very angry man walked the walk of shame as the noise they made brought in voyeurs. No one had more delight than Maze and the workers at the place as she dragged him to the front desk.
"You two? Got him?" The front lady looked impressed and confused. A look, Linda, decided was something she was going to have to get used to.
"She's stronger than what she looks." The guy admitted begrudgingly as Maze tugged him out the front door. Linda hesitated, she wasn't sure why but she needed to turn and thank the lady at the front.
"Thank you." She said, raising her hand to shake.
Claudia instead gave her a business card, "Whatever you gals need, especially ,your Amazonian gal pal."
"I, uh, thanks." Linda could feel her nodding was a bit excessive and awkward but she went with it. She hurried to catch up with Maze -- though -- really she didn't need Linda there. But there stood Maze at the corner of the sidewalk that lead to the hotel.
"Do you have a muzzle on him?" Linda joked.
"I accidentally dropped him a few steps ago and my knee accidentally ---"
"Ah, got you. Thank you Maze. I don't need to hear anything that could legally bind --"
"Chill, Linda, chill. Let me bring you into my world. Full stop, all of its mighty glorious shit." She jerked the guy backwards, shaking him as if he were a doll, "It's not pretty. It could be prettier and more as humans tell me legal but what's the fun in that?"
"Human?" The guy sputtered.
"Don't ask things you don't want answers to." Linda advised.
"How did Sam Beacon of San Francisco, end up on bail in the first place?" Linda asked. If he was recorded to be hostile and his ex-wife had evidence.
Maze stopped and turned, "You know, Linda, if you fully embrace the Bounty Hunter life I could give you all the details. I don't have to just give a flavor of these cases. You could go head first in with this."
"So you're not afraid of me being hurt anymore?"
"Fuck yeah I am. But you're here and," Maze paused, "It was cool to be able to show off for a friend."
"Maze, you don't have to --"
"No, you misunderstand, you experienced something I have decided to do on my own. You embraced this, you helped me get here. I want you to be apart of it."
"Well, I --" She fixed her glasses glancing at the floor -- she wasn't used to not having words to situations. "I like that idea."
Maze left for a moment before reappearing with a sleek black laptop. All the cases files, she explained, sat in there. Any and all answers she needed to find about Sam Beacon and his bail were there if she needed to find out why.
For all the corruption that is a staple of Las Angeles, putting violent criminals out seems a bit out of character for it.