by Beth Reason
Chapter 6
Tenet rocked back and forth in the bumpy, ancient transport. The creaks and squeals of the outdated technology filled the compartment, muffling the arguing voices of his rescuers. Once in awhile, the rocking would stop, as Hark got out to “fix the ol' bitch”, but Tenet was immune to it all. Once safe inside the rig, as safe as he could be in such a run-down hunk of junk anyway, his mind finally allowed itself to register the shock and exhaustion of his day and night of terror, and of his entire journey through hell itself.
“Hark's just changing the tire again,” said Enna, trying to get some sort of response out of Tenet. The boy looked bad, Scarab even worse. She had to know what happened, they all did. But she also knew it would take a little time. She herself had seen enough tough calls to be a little patient with the poor kid.
Hark got back in and slammed the door, throwing the machine in gear and leaping forward into the night. “You gotta pay for that bot, boy. I ain't got the money.”
Enna sighed. “Oh, for heaven's sake, Hark. Let him be for now.”
Hark knew the gravity of the situation demanded that Tenet start talking, and start talking fast. “Boy, snap out of it.”
Tenet sat there and stared blankly at Scarab's unmoving form beside him. He was responsible for this. He shouldn't have dropped his weapon until he was sure all was clear. Hell, he shouldn't have even come on this trip to begin with! How many lives were now in danger because of his pointless rebellion? The enormity of his actions slammed into him all at once, and he began to sob.
“Shit,” swore Hark. “There he goes.”
Enna batted at Hark's arm and turned in her seat to give Tenet a small smile. “Don't listen to him, son. Let it out.”
Tenet grabbed Scarab, carefully picking her up to him and holding her while he sobbed out his apologies. After a few minutes, his heaving wails subsided and he got himself under control.
“Feel better?”
He looked around him for the first time. He was in an ancient transport with two angels.
“You done your bellyachin' yet?”
Well, one angel. He nodded, feeling the heat of embarrassment creep up his cheeks.
“Don't pay him any attention, boy. You needed a good cry.” Hark harrumphed and shook his head, but kept his mouth shut. “Now. Let's start at the beginning. I'm Enna, and this prickly bear is Hark.”
“I...I don't know what to say. Thank...”
“No, save your thanks. This is what we do.” Enna gave him another smile. She was older, perhaps even into her fifties, and the lines on her face told of a rough, hard life. But her eyes were kind, and her words gentle. Surrounded by the hell of Summer, in a rusted old vehicle that didn't look like it would stay together standing still, let alone on the rough barren terrain, the shock and relief of finding a gentle soul made Tenet want to cry all over again.
“Scarab, she's hurt..."
Enna shook her head. “I know. We've get her somewhere safe enough to take off that suit. She's breathing, so that's something.” Tenet sighed and held Scarab a little tighter.
“Now, boy, get to talkin',” barked Hark.
Enna rolled her eyes, but made a motion to urge Tenet to speak.
He cleared his throat. “I...where do you want me to start?”
“Name.”
He wasn't going to lie this time. These people were obviously members of the hunters league and had gotten his location from the desperate message. Even if they weren't, they were definitely not members of the government. “Tenet Bradwin, IV.”
Hark swore under his breath and shook his head, and Enna flashed a quick, worried glance in his direction. It was brief, and her smile was back in no time, but Tenet was sure he saw it.
“Ah, is there any way you can confirm that for us?” asked Enna carefully.
Tenet frowned. “Why? What's going on?”
“Nothing, dear,” she said quickly.
“Like hell it's nothing!” roared Hark.
“Hark...”
“No, Enna. Enough. Stop pussyfootin' around it and let's cut to the friggin' chase already.” Hark looked into the mirror and locked eyes with Tenet. “Boy, this is serious business, so no yankin' our chains now, you got it?” Tenet nodded. “If you're Tenet Bradwin the whatever, we got problems. If you ain't, we got bigger ones.”
“I am,” said Tenet, wondering just what was going on.
“Can you prove it?”
“I don't know how...”
Hark hit the wheel of the old vehicle in frustration. “Dammit boy! Think! We gotta be one hundred percent sure.”
Tenet looked down at his suit, his sack, looking for anything that could prove his identity. The thing was, before he set out he took careful measures to conceal who he really was. He looked at Enna with questioning eyes.
“An ID holo?” When Tenet shook his head, she shook hers back, letting him know she was out of ideas herself. They both looked to Hark.
“Do I gotta do everything?” he asked in annoyance. “You got no holo? How 'bout your Agro card?” Tenet shook his head. “A photo of you with your family?” Again, the shake of his head was Tenet's only hopeless answer. “Shit, boy. Didja write your name on your underwear? Somethin', anythin'!”
Tenet had an idea. “Hey! Do you have a tagger?”
Hark swore and beeped a horn on the wheel. “Now where in the hell you think we'd get ourselves a tagger? Hm?”
But that got him thinking. There was a way to prove who he was. He was about to ask if it was safe to remove his gloves, then noticed they weren't wearing any themselves. He figured it was alright, and unsnapped the glove on his right hand. He took it out and looked at it; the family mark on the back side of his hand, burned in when he was born. In real life, he hated the blatant symbol of privilege, and all the scorn it brought. Here in hell, it was hidden most of the time by the thick gloves and he was, finally, a nobody. He didn't even think Scarab saw it, but it wouldn't matter if she had. Of course she knew it had to be there. That mark had opened a lot of doors for him, and he hoped it would open just one more.
Enna looked at it an nodded. “Alright, sir. Nice to have you on board!”
Hark scoffed. “Sir? It's 'sir' now just cuz he shows a little tat?”
Enna hit Hark on the arm again. “Behave yourself! This is the first time we've had royalty on this...”
Tenet interrupted her. “No, ma'am. Please. I'm not royalty.”
“Of course you are!” Enna looked truly shocked that he'd say something like that.
“No,” insisted Tenet firmly. “I was born into a powerful family, that's it. I'm not royalty...hell, I didn't even have a say in it! And when you get right down to it, I haven't done anything to earn any of the fake 'power' I have.”
“Tell 'er, boy!” cackled Hark from behind the wheel. He looked at Tenet in the mirror again with a little respect, not for his status, but his words.
Enna sighed. “Fine. I won't call you sir.”
“Good.”
“I'm sorry it's such a sore subject.”
Tenet shrugged and looked out the window at the darkness. He had no idea himself just how sore that subject really was. After a moment, he sighed and turned back to her caring face. “So, what does it matter who I am?”
Enna looked incredibly uncomfortable, and even Hark shifted nervously in his seat. They glanced at each other, and Enna made a motion for Hark to do the talking.
Hark cleared his throat. “Uh, jus' how much do you know about that bounty that got issued on you?”
Tenet shrugged. “Nothing. I assumed that my father issued it, but for all I know it could easily be governmental. They're slow, but the more I think about, the more sure I am that they're not that slow, especially when it comes to...my family.”
“You didn't ask Scarab?” asked Enna.
Tenet gave a small smile. “I couldn't get anything out of her.”
Hark swore softly. “Well, that's Scarab. Always secret. Back in my day, you
told the little bastard you was chasin' why you was chasin' him.”
Enna swatted Hark with the back of her hand.
“Er, no offense meant.”
Tenet smiled. “None taken.”
“Well, since she didn't see fit to fill you in, guess that lies on our shoulders.” Hark glanced at Enna, who gave a small nod. It was obvious to Tenet that they were a well seasoned team. Hark nodded. “Alright, boy. Hang onto your britches. You ain't gonna believe this. You got one of them dual bounties.”
Tenet frowned. “Dual bounties? I've never heard of them.”
Enna filled him in. “A dual bounty is a bounty that's issued by more than one party. It doesn't happen often, but we've all hunted on them once or twice. You see, if there's a 'forgotten', the parents, most often, issue the first bounty, and the government is almost always satisfied with that.”
Tenet cocked his head. “They let the offense go?”
“Sometimes. They look at the person, see if they can determine the reason behind the breech of law. Most often, it's just some young kid looking for a taste of freedom.” She looked at Tenet carefully then, searching to see if that was his reason. He left his expression blank, and she gave a little shake of her head. “Anyway, in those cases, is consigning some kid to a life of servitude really the best punishment? No. Usually the humiliation of failing to live in the off season, having a bounty, and being publicly dragged through the mud on their return is enough to hammer home the point.”
Tenet was surprised. He was starting to think there was no such thing as sentiment or understanding in his government. “I never knew that, but it makes sense I suppose.”
“Usually. Then sometimes you have the family who takes out a bounty on their kid who has committed a criminal act. They still try and protect him...or at least try to force him to do the right thing. Those are usually the dual bounties, because the government also wants the criminal. Governmental bounties trump private. Usually.”
Tenet frowned again. “I see where you're going. I guess it makes sense when you think about it. My father issued the first one, but I'm also a concern for the government...”
“Enna, tell him,” said Hark quietly.
“I'm getting there,” she said quickly. “Yes. Yes, you are. Bounties are worded differently depending on the issue. For instance, a bounty consigned by a family usually clearly states, 'payment guaranteed for live delivery'.” Tenet swallowed hard, not knowing where this was going exactly, but knowing wherever it was wasn't good. “Governmental bounties on criminals give the option of bringing them in alive or dead.”
Tenet shook his head. “No. The government does not approve of murder.”
“Son,” said Hark as kindly as he had it in him to say. “Sometimes, there ain't no choice. You get a man or gal facing federal charges, sometimes they'd do anythin' to get out of it. Even killin' you. Sometimes you do whatcha gotta do. If it came down to you or him livin', I hope to hell you'd do what it took to win.”
It annoyed him that Scarab had said something very similar. “Still, governmental approved murder?”
Enna shook her head. “No. It's not murder. It's a hazard of the job that even the idiotic government has to make allowances for. It's rare, but it does happen.”
“I don't get what it has to do with me.”
“Show him the bounties.”
Enna reached into a compartment in the front of the vehicle and took out two cards. Tenet had seen them before, official bounty contracts. He'd helped his father take one out on the thief they discovered was working for them. Enna handed them over. "Put them in your com and have a listen."
He reached around and took Scarab's com out of her broken sack. Enna quirked an eyebrow at his familiarity with Scarab's belongings, but he just said, “Long story.” He snapped the first bounty card in, the one from the government. He wanted to get the bad over first.
“Bounty contract for Bradwin, Tenet, IV. Last seen T-Minus 14:00 launch migration. Questioning of friends and family indicates subject planned an intentional off season and is not considered a forgotten. No warrants. No indication of weapons. Subject considered harmless. Payment upon live apprehension.”
That surprised Tenet and he laughed. “I seem downright yellow bellied, don't I?” He shook his head. “Well that's a relief.” He popped the card out and put the other card in. “If that's the worst I'm in for, I'd say I'm pretty damned lucky.” He laughed again, and hit the button.
“Bounty contract for Bradwin, Tenet, IV. Last seen T-minus 14:00 launch migration. Questioning of friends and family indicates subject planned intentional off season to escape prosecution.” Tenet had been listening to the same preamble. However, that last part threw him for a loop and he paused the playback. “Prosecution? What the hell?”
Enna bit her lip. “Keep playing it, son.”
He didn't want to. He didn't want to know. He reluctantly hit the red button as if it might bite him. “Warrants pending. Weapons stash acquired pre-escape. Subject considered armed and extremely dangerous. Repeat, subject considered armed and extremely dangerous. Payment standard upon delivery, live apprehension. Payment incentive upon proof of death.”
Tenet felt sick. He felt like he swallowed a ton of lead. He felt alone and unwanted and...rage. At the base of it all, he felt rage. If he was to be truly honest with himself, and there was no better time to start, he wasn't surprised. Still, hearing it for himself was a shock. “Live or dead” would have been sickening enough. But his father actually offered a bonus if he was killed. Numbly he removed the card and handed them both back to Enna without a word.
Hark cleared his throat. “So, you see why we need to know who you are. The value of the bounties...it's big. I ain't gonna lie. It's real big. If you weren't Scarab's, well now...I jus' might try for you myself.”
“Oh, Hark!” said Enna outraged. “Not now.”
“Did Scarab know?”
Enna shook her head. “No. Not about the governmental bounty. That was just issued.”
Tenet felt the bile rise in his throat. “But...she knew about...”
“Course she did, boy!” said Hark, coming to Scarab's defense. “And from what I seen, she woulda given her life to see you returned alive!”
Tenet looked down at Scarab and felt...betrayed? Was that what it was? She was going to bring him in and turn him over to a man who wanted him dead. Betrayal. As heavy as the weight of it sat in his stomach, that's what it felt like.
Enna saw the disgust in his eyes. “Now you listen here, boy. No one told you to set off on this foolish mission. You did that to yourself. And she's a hunter. Her job is to come out in this god forsaken hell and misery to drag the likes of you home safe, even if it takes her life to do it. And by the looks of her, she might have done just that! Anyone else would have taken the incentive, and if you stop and think, you'd realize that. She's a hunter, she hunts. You're a kid with his whole life ahead, and you threw it away. You want to cast daggers at anyone, you cast them your own way.” Giving him one last huff of indignation, she turned ahead, her back stiff, her posture no longer friendly.
And it worked. She reprimanded him more sternly than anyone ever had in his life, his mother and bastard father included. Her words were filled with the passion and anguish of someone who spent their entire life in a thankless, but absolutely necessary, existence. He felt truly small in that moment.
“I...I'm sorry,” he said quietly, to all in the vehicle, even Scarab.
Hark sighed. “It's alright, boy. Just think at who you're mad at before you go off half-cocked with them thoughts of self importance. Everyone's somebody. Everyone's gotta live. Shit, if I got that bounty on you, I'da shot ya.” He was looking at Tenet in the mirror again, and gave a nod when he said it. Tenet had no doubt he meant it. “Most of us would. Easier to deal with, an' the money...”
Tenet held his hands up. “Alright, I get it. I'm meat.”
“No,” said Enna with a touch of sympathy again. “You're just a
job.”
Tenet remained quiet for a long time. Just a job. Once again, he was someone else's pay. That's what he was to his father when he got right down to it. Groom the next leader, and the rest of his father's life would be secure. He'd keep his ranch, never have to work or struggle, and fade into old age on the back of his son. His mother didn't think like that, but she certainly didn't try and stop it and was happy to let someone else carry the load. His mother, for all her free thinking and wandering spirit, pushed him to do whatever his father wanted out of him, despite how many times he confided in her that he loathed that kind of life. “It's your path, honey.” The words echoed in his head and made him feel sick. She let him. She let his father control him for his entire life and never once stood up for him. She never once stopped the misery when she could have with just a word. She didn't even stop him from taking out a bounty on her only son!
The combination of his thoughts, the ordeal of the night, and the endless jostling in the old vehicle made his stomach lurch. “I'm going to be sick,” he said, frantically pulling at his mask.
“Hark, stop,” said Enna quietly. Hark pulled the vehicle to a lurching halt, and Tenet had just enough time to fumble the door open and tumble out before he lost it. He knelt in the sand, his stomach heaving despite having nothing to dump. Over and over, he heaved until finally a small amount of water came up. When he was done, he sat panting for a minute to catch his breath, then got back up and climbed into the rickety transport.
Without a word, they started back up, and finished the night off in silence.