Hand of Steel

by Jessi L Roberts

  A dark Torf stood across the alleyway. I aimed my pistol at him.

  His feathers shot up. He aimed his rifle at me. “Hunter?” he asked.

  “Yes,” I said.

  “Then point that thing somewhere else.” He lowered his rifle.

  I pointed my pistol at the ground and peered around the corner.

  The female Skallan had vanished. A woman stood over Jarkan while a man bound the Chix on the roof. The man climbed down with the Chix.

  “You get him?” Another man, this one about five years older than I was, stepped from the shadows. He had a bit more fat on him than any serious hunter would ever have.

  “We got him,” the older man said. He dropped the cuffed Chix from his shoulder and bent to examine Jarkan.

  He had a red beard that dropped below his chin like two tusks. Was it Akar?

  “Jarkan’s mine,” I said. My voice squeaked a little.

  “We’d been tracking him for weeks,” the younger man said. It had to be Urkot, my useless second cousin.

  “And I got to him first.” I strode past the Torf and to Akar. “I want my bounty.”

  Akar smiled and patted his pistol. “It looked to me like he had you, girl.”

  I glanced at the woman. Reva, my aunt.

  “You don’t know who I am, do you?” I turned so he could see the right side of my face.

  “Nope.” Akar cuffed Jarkan.

  “I’m Krys.” The words came out in a sob. Even Akar couldn’t recognize his own niece. The realization hurt more than I’d thought it would.

  “Krys?” Akar hurried toward me and grabbed my chin. He gazed at my face. “It is you. I thought the pirates got you. Where’s Brok?”

  I instinctively stepped away from Akar’s touch. “He didn’t make it.” I tried to keep my emotions under control.

  The Torf and Urkot stared at me.

  “How’d you get those cybernetics?” Reva strode toward me. She had a slight limp, one Dad told me she’d received during the Tupra War.

  “The pirates. They thought they could get me to join their crew. It didn’t work.” Didn’t she care about her brother being dead?

  “Sounds suspicious.” Reva folded her arms across her chest. She kept her red hair tied back and high on her head. “Did you get any info? It would help if we knew their hideouts.”

  “No.” I looked away. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Leave the kid alone,” Akar said. “She’s been through a lot.”

  “So, do I get my bounty?” I still needed that bounty, needed to get my rank up.

  “We’ll give you two thousand then divide the rest between ourselves,” the Torf said.

  Reva glared at the Torf.

  “You only get a thousand if you strike out on your own again.” Akar watched me.

  I seethed at the manipulation, but what choice did I have? Dad wouldn’t have joined them, but I was alone. That fight with Jarkan could have gone bad in a hurry. I needed backup.

  “Who’s this?” I nodded to the Torf, one of the darkest I’d ever seen.

  “Qwalm.” The Torf dipped his head. “It will be a pleasure to have you on our team.”

  “Nice to meet you.” Qwalm had been the one who offered me more coin from the deal, more than Reva had.

  Reva grabbed the Chix, who had recovered from the shock of the stun dart. Jarkan was still paralyzed so Akar grabbed his arms. “Well, get his legs, Urkot.”

  Urkot scrambled to do as he was told.

  Reva pulled out a datsheet. By the solid way it folded, it had to be the latest model. She scanned the Chix’s face. “This guy’s only worth a hundred.”

  “Save an image of his face and leave him,” Akar ordered. “We’ll say he got away and report his crimes, but add evading the law to the list.”

  Releasing low paying criminals until they turned into high-end threats wasn’t right. What kind of people were my family? Then again, it was a random guard, not a true threat. Perhaps he’d been doing his job and didn’t deserve years of slavery for his actions.

  Reva released the Chix, who scrambled up the side of a building and out of sight.

  I watched them, wary. Qwalm stood a bit taller than I, but with his dark feathers, he cut an imposing figure. Anyone who knew how lethal Torfs were at close range knew better than to mess with them.

  We walked to the bounty ministry and handed over Jarkan. My license ticked upward two points to a point nine. If only I’d been able to take Jarkan on my own. A thousand more coin and you’ll be there.

  We walked through the ministry’s doors and onto the dark street. A few stars reflected off the domed glass roofs of the high-class buildings.

  “Do you have a place to stay?” Akar asked.

  “It’s warm here. I can sleep on the streets.” Dad and I made it a practice to not waste money on comfort.

  “We’ve got a hotel. You can stay there with us,” Akar said. “I don’t want you on the streets.”

  “I guess.” A bed would be nice, and safer when I was alone.

  I followed the four to their hotel. The white building stood tall. A glass dome covered the top. I’d never been in one of these hotels. When we stayed inside, Dad and I always picked the lower end ones.

  I stepped through the door and onto a plush rug. The walls were painted white, and the lighting on the walls reflected off the glass dome above.

  “This way.” Qwalm bobbed his head toward one of the hallways. He wasn’t as imposing under the lights.

  I followed him and the others. At the end of the hallway, there were two doors leading to two separate hotel rooms. The walls went all the way to the high glass ceiling, leaving way more head space than we needed, a costly building style.

  “We’ve only got four beds so I’ll let you take mine,” Qwalm said. “I’ll sleep on the floor between you and Reva. Akar and Urkot sleep in the other room. They snore.” He opened the door.

  I walked into the room. Two huge beds stood on either side of the room. Another fluffy rug lay between them, one that Qwalm promptly lay on.

  I poked the bed. “If you want, I could take the floor.”

  “That thing’s a bit soft for sleeping.” Qwalm twisted his neck around so his chin lay on his shoulder.

  Qwalm was right about the bed. It took me half the night to fall asleep in it.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Outlaws

  A week later, we managed to track down another bounty, a Skallan who had embezzled money.

  “Krys, stay with Urkot. Only come if we need help.” Akar ordered.

  “This guy’s not known for violence,” Qwalm said. “Give Krys a chance. See how she does.”

  Akar’s green eyes narrowed. “I don’t like it. She’s just a kid.”

  Qwalm’s feathers lifted a little. “You saw her drop the Chix. If Jarkan hadn’t had that armor under his shirt, he’d have been hers too.”

  “Fine,” Akar sighed. “I’ll let her go with you. Keep an eye on her.”

  Reva only watched. Maybe she didn’t care if I got hurt.

  Qwalm bowed his head to Akar.

  Akar spread his datsheet. “Qwalm, block the back door. Krys, you go in. You’ll run him straight to Qwalm. The rest of us will surround the building.”

  I’d get the bounty before Qwalm had a chance to take him. Akar and Reva needed to know I wasn’t a dumb kid.

  Qwalm and I walked toward the building. It made sense to send us. After all, we were the two least suspicious members of our team. Torfs, being mostly of the Free Kin sect, rarely became hunters, so Qwalm wouldn’t draw suspicion. With Akar and Reva’s heavy muscle and lean bodies, their looks screamed “hunters.” My cybernetics set me apart, but I was young enough to get by.

  Without a word, Qwalm left me and strode toward the back exit of the office building our target worked in.

  I paused. Akar would have given me a quick chat, something about what I’d meet in the building, but Qwalm hadn’t. Had he forgotten, or did he expect m
e to know what to do?

  I stood tall and strolled into the building.

  I walked past a few civilians, then took a flight of stairs, which creaked a bit more than I liked, even if I was trying to walk casually. A Human stood at the top of the staircase. A stunner pistol hung on his belt. A guard.

  I looked at my feet. “Um, do you know where doctor Keesh is? I’ve got a package for him.” I’d learned the doctor worked on the same floor.

  “Keesh hasn’t worked here for a year.” The guard reached for his belt.

  I drew my pistol and shot him in the neck. He fell to the floor, his hands twitching.

  “Sorry. I’ve got work to do.” I hurried past the guard. Next time I made up a cover story, I’d need to make sure my information I found on the datnet was up-to-date.

  I burst through the second door on the left. Our target ran for the exit.

  I fired.

  The Skallan fell, a dart buried in his back. I winced. I’d been aiming for his hip. Akar doesn’t need to know that.

  I grabbed my folded datsheet and spoke into it. “Qwalm, I got him.”

  Soon, I heard clawed feet bound up the exit’s stairs. Qwalm stepped through the door.

  “I see you got the guard too. Good work.”

  “Is the guard okay?” Sometimes, the stun darts led to complications.

  “He’ll be fine.” Qwalm bobbed his head. “You’re a better hunter than Akar and Reva give you credit for.”

  “I’m not that good.”

  “You draw the pistol faster than most. Not quite Akar or Reva fast, but you’re no rookie.” Qwalm tried to pull our captive Skallan to his feet.

  I grabbed the guy’s other arm and helped Qwalm lift him. We dragged him down the stairs, his feet thumping on every step, then out past the civilians, who watched but steered clear of us. Once we were out of the building, Akar met us at one of the local hovers. “Good job, kid,” Akar said. It made me feel warm, knowing he’d actually recognized my abilities.

  Reva waited in the passenger seat. “I see Krys didn’t get herself shot.” Reva smiled at me.

  Qwalm’s crest shot up. “Of course she didn’t.”

  Once in the hover, I sat in the back, while Qwalm had to put a seat down so he could crouch. I glared at Akar, Urkot, and Reva from behind. Why was it that Qwalm was already more of a friend than my relatives? Best I could tell, they’d taken me in because they didn’t want me on my own, but they resented having to let me join them.

  “How’d you get in with these three?” I asked Qwalm.

  Qwalm rubbed a clawed hand over his feathers to straighten them. “Allied to go after a gang and stuck together afterward.”

  Urkot glared back at us. “I’d be an elite if it wasn’t for you not giving me my fair share.”

  “Your fair share?” Akar laughed. “If you weren’t with us, you’d have about as much luck surviving as Krys.”

  I clenched my steel fist. I’d do fine on my own.

  “So, after we dump this guy off, would you guys like to go to a bar?” Akar asked.

  “Sure,” I said. Dad and I had made some easy hits where people tended to get drunk and forget they were hunted.

  Akar squinted at me and shook his head. What was up with him?

  Reva laughed a little.

  Akar pulled into the ministry. We prodded the prisoner in. He glared at us, but kept quiet.

  “Four thousand,” the minister said. “How’s that divided up?”

  “Give Krys a thousand,” Qwalm said.

  “But that’s not fair,” Urkot whined.

  “She shot him,” Qwalm said. “Besides, she’s the only one who hasn’t reached the single digits.”

  “Thanks,” I whispered to Qwalm while we got paid. A thrill shot through me. I’d made ten thousand in the last year. Now, I was a true hunter, not a kid living in someone’s shadow.

  We left the ministry. Akar drove through town until he came to a bar. He parked our hover a fair walking distance away like any smart hunter would do. With such a streamlined and shiny vehicle, we couldn’t afford being seen near the bar, not when criminals might recognize it as belonging to someone who had coin.

  “So, who do I pair up with?”

  Akar stared. “Pair up with?”

  “I didn’t think we wanted to all go in together.”

  “Relax.” Akar turned the hover off on our vehicle and it sank to the brick road. Akar stepped out and headed for the bar with Urkot following close behind. He strode toward the pub, more focused than I’d ever seen him. Surely he wasn’t excited at the prospect of sitting in a pub and trying to find a bounty.

  We walked into the bar together. Maybe being in a big group would make us less suspicious.

  The interior of the building could have used more lights. We came through the door near the bar, which ran along half the length of the room. Tables stood a short distance from it, and another door opened near the tables, allowing patrons to leave without passing a bunch of drunks.

  I eyed an empty table in one of the corners. Without even looking for bounties, my four associates headed straight for the bar.

  Qwalm stood while the other three sat on stools. Akar said something to the Skallan bartender, who hurried to get drinks.

  “Come on, Krys.” Akar smiled, more laid back than I’d seen him since we met.

  I slunk to the table. “Shouldn’t we be looking for bounties?”

  Akar grabbed some sort of alcoholic drink from the bartender. “Tomorrow’s the Sabbath. We can sleep in.”

  Urkot downed a glass of something clear and held his hand out for another. “Haven’t you ever gone to a bar just for the fun of it?” He started on his second drink.

  I’d never eaten out without looking for bounties. Buying food or drink from a place like this had been out of my price range.

  Qwalm took some sort of pink wine and sipped it. He slid a second small glass of the stuff my way. “Have some.”

  I sniffed it. It seemed to be some sort of fruity wine. I took a small sip. “Not too bad.” I glanced around the bar again, instinctively looking for bounties.

  Qwalm was already on his second glass.

  I sipped mine while the others swigged their drinks. Qwalm didn’t gulp his down as fast as the three Humans. Urkot drank like he’d walked through a desert. Whatever my Human companions consumed, they had the look of stronger drinks than the berry wine.

  Akar wandered off to talk to a smoking Skallan with muscular arms and a pistol at his side. Probably another hunter.

  “Do you want more?” the bartender asked me.

  Dad’s words came back to me. Drinking’s fine, as long as you don’t get drunk. “Some water and a bit of targan roast.” Normally, I wouldn’t have bought such expensive food, but I guessed my family would be paying.

  The bartender brought me water and meat. I ate and scanned the crowd while the other hunters drank.

  A group of six Skallan sat around a table in a dark corner, a place I’d have chosen if I picked the tables. I looked away from them.

  Out of the corner of my cybernetic eye, I saw them shooting glances our way.

  I grabbed the next glass of wine the bartender passed to Qwalm. “Don’t look now but we’re being watched.”

  Qwalm yawned. Alcohol made Torfs drowsy but didn’t impair their judgment, unlike my other companions.

  “A plate of roast broshoots, please.” Qwalm slid the wine to Urkot, who downed it.

  The bartender brought the food and some water. Qwalm ate and drank. Every once in a while, he glanced around the room, checking to see where our stalkers were. He bumped Akar and whispered to him. Akar waved his hand and guzzled another drink. Akar’s drunk gaze landed on me. “So, who was it who murdered Brok? Was it the Deathhorn’s captain or a crew member?”

  I froze. “I don’t want to talk about it.” I wished the distress call Wurrud made before we were boarded hadn’t made it through. That would have allowed me to pin the blame on a different cre
w, one who deserved it.

  “I want to talk about it,” Akar slurred.

  Qwalm yawned again.

  Urkot fell off his stool. Akar and Reva watched him stupidly.

  “Time to go,” Qwalm said.

  “Can I have a sack of cold water to go?” I asked the bartender.

  He handed one to me.

  Akar and Reva lifted Urkot and dragged him through the door. Qwalm stumbled after them, his eyes half shut.

  “I’m driving,” I said.

  None of my companions responded.

  As we rounded the corner of the bar, two Skallan stepped in front of us. I recognized them as two from the pub. One carried a knife. The other had no weapons.

  Qwalm stumbled past me.

  Using my cybernetic hand, I held the water sack over his head and squeezed.

  The sack burst, showering Qwalm with icy water.

  His eyes snapped opened. He shook himself.

  “We’ve got company,” I said.

  Akar released Urkot and fumbled for his pistol. Reva held on to Urkot.

  Four Skallan ran up behind us. One tackled Akar.

  “Hand over your coin and you won’t get hurt,” The one with the knife waved it in the air.

  I reached for my pistol.

  The Skallan with the knife charged. His blade slashed through the air.

  I threw up my cybernetic arm. The knife clanged against my arm and slid off it, slashing toward my stomach. I dodged to the side.

  The other Skallan charged Qwalm. Two more leaped at him from behind.

  The knife wielder circled me.

  Qwalm screeched, a wild sound that pierced the night. One of the Skallan leaped at his back. Qwalm kicked backward, catching the unlucky Skallan in the leg with his clawed foot.

  I reached for my pistol. The knife wielder sprang at me, slashing and forcing me to abandon my pistol yet again.

  I unsheathed my claws and swiped at the Skallan, dodging as I did so. My claws connected with his flesh. He stumbled away from me, his face bleeding.

  Behind me, a stunner pistol popped.

  The Skallan raised his knife too high. I sprang at him and my steel fingers closed on his wrist. I squeezed. Bones crunched under my hand.

  The Skallan doubled over. I sprang away from him and drew my pistol.