“A prissy two-faced bit— Um, a mean girl?”
“Yeah.”
James frowned. “She’s not pushing you around, is she?”
“No, I think she’s like you—misunderstood.”
“Guess you’d know better than I would.”
Alison leaned over and gave James a squeeze. “Just remember that I will always believe in you, James.”
2
The global head of the Harriken sat in the lone chair, surveying the gathered leaders kneeling at the table in the center of the room. There was a small box in his lap.
The failure of the subordinate was the failure of the leader. That principle defined the Harriken. The leader had earned the title of “Grandfather” for his cunning and strength, but that just left him as the person ultimately responsible for the failures of the entire group.
I should have executed Ikeda when I had the chance. Now I have inherited his shame, but at least in death he proved that even the great James Brownstone is a mere man, not a god.
Grandfather smiled to himself, remembering a few brief seconds of recovered footage that showed an enchanted Masamune sword piercing the bounty hunter. If Ikeda hadn’t been an overconfident fool, he could have finished the man off right then and there.
Luck was a lie. Destiny, a joke. There were only opportunities and those smart enough to seize them.
“It is rare that I have you gather in Tokyo, even rarer that we gather in Tokyo twice in such a short period,” the man began, glancing at his kneeling subordinates. “That I would have all my most trusted leaders gather here again is an inconvenience, but extraordinary times call for such measures.” He waited for several seconds as everyone stared at him. “I assume most of you already know that Jiro Ikeda is dead at the hands of James Brownstone.” He sneered.
Grandfather lifted the box and tossed it onto the table. The collision knocked the lid off and the contents spilled onto the table: Ikeda’s rotting and severed left hand.
The gathered men murmured at the sight.
“Ikeda lost his hand for his failure, although he kept it as a reminder to do better, but this arrogant foreigner Brownstone sought to intimidate the Harriken by sending it to me. It’s no matter. Most of the Harriken in America are now dead. What took our group twenty years to accomplish Brownstone has unraveled in months because of the uselessness of Ikeda and his underlings. People mock us on the internet and praise Brownstone as ‘the Scourge of Harriken.’” He clenched his fist. “Unacceptable. Completely unacceptable.”
Several of the other leaders exchanged glances, but no one said anything.
Grandfather took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “But this is my failure as well. I should have replaced Ikeda when I had the chance, so now I will take personal responsibility for controlling this matter. I will show the world why the Harriken should be feared.” He stood, voice rising. “Those who think now that they don’t have to obey us because of Brownstone will have nightmares about our might. We will reassert ourselves and destroy any who dare threaten us. We are the Harriken. We fear nothing, and all fear us!”
Several of the men cheered and others gave him uneasy looks.
Grandfather sat again with a smirk of confidence. He knew what they were thinking. Some were probably already planning to oust him from his position should he fail—as well they should. The Harriken had no place for the incompetent. Strength demanded respect. Weakness should and would be purged.
“I will personally see to the destruction of James Brownstone. I will ensure that he’s captured, and I guarantee he will he suffer torments previously delivered only by angry gods and monsters. When I’m done I will take his head, stuff it, and put it on this table as a reminder of what happens to those who oppose the Harriken.”
Enjoy your last few weeks on this planet, James Brownstone.
James wasn’t all that much for musicals, but he did like seeing Alison happy. Because she was enjoying it the show didn’t feel painfully long to him, even if his mind kept drifting off to thoughts of pizza and barbecue. The bounty hunter and the girl filed out of the theater after most of the crowd had left, James keeping a protective arm around her.
Even though he knew her soul sight let her navigate around people and animals with ease, it was hard for him to ignore the fact that she was technically blind. He wanted to do everything he could to make her more comfortable.
Alison spent most of the walk back to the densely-packed parking garage and the rented Toyota talking about her favorite songs from the show and the reaction of the crowd to the play. James offered the occasional nod or grunt in response.
After they arrived at the car, James did a quick inspection for anything suspicious. He wasn’t sure if Alison would pick up on his worries with her soul-sight, so he started from the passenger side and worked his way around the back so it’d look like he was just going the long way to his seat.
Yeah, she’s probably seeing right through this shit, but at least she’s not saying anything.
When James finally slipped into the driver’s seat, he couldn’t help but chuckle at the girl’s comparison of him to the misunderstood Elphaba. Other than the occasional concern about AET getting a little trigger-happy, James had never felt that he was misunderstood.
He wanted people to know that he was a tough bounty hunter, and that’s what most of them believed. He didn’t lie awake at night worrying about people thinking he was an asshole.
“What’s so funny?” Alison asked as he tugged on her seatbelt.
“You comparing me to the Wicked Witch of the West earlier. It’s kind of a strange comparison.”
“Are you mad?”
“No, no. It’s just, I’m not sure it fits.”
Alison looked down. “I meant it in a good way.”
“Yeah, I know. Don’t worry about it, kid. Like I said, I’m not mad. It’s funny, is all.”
James pulled out of the parking spot, drove to the parking gate, and waved his phone over the payment sensor. The bar rose, and he pulled into the busy street.
Alison let out a long sigh. “I...do have a question. Something I’ve wanted to ask you for a while.”
James grimaced. He hoped she wasn’t going to ask him about sex. There were some conversations he wasn’t ready to have yet.
“Go ahead and ask.”
“In the show,” Alison began, “you know, Elphaba gets mad, and with a lot of the stuff she does she isn’t sure if she’s doing it because it’s the right thing, or because she’s just kind of freaking out and reacting.”
James grunted. “Yeah, that’s pretty much life for a lot of people, whether they are Witches in Oz or guys working in an office.”
“I see. Do you like your job?”
The bounty hunter spared Alison a glance, surprised at the apparent non-sequitur. “Huh?”
“Your bounty-hunting job. Do you like it?”
As James thought the question over, the muscles in his shoulders and neck tightened. This was dangerous territory on the best of days.
“I don’t know how to answer that. I’m not gonna lie. I like a good fight, and when I take down a bad guy I feel satisfied. It’s not always fun or whatever, though. A lot of days the jobs can be annoying, and some of these guys are such scum it turns my stomach.”
“Why do you do it, then? I know how much money you have.”
James shrugged. “I guess I do it because someone has to.” He frowned. “There’s other stuff, too, but I don’t want to talk about that.”
Alison gave a slight nod and turned toward the window.
James didn’t want to hurt the girl’s feelings, but he wasn’t prepared to talk about the lingering pain of the death of Father Thomas. At times, James wondered if he could have saved the man if he’d had access to the amulet.
James sighed. “Look, kid, if there’s something on your mind, just talk to me. I didn’t want you to shut up. I’ve just got a shi...lot of issues I’m still working through, and I’m not
a great guy to talk to about my feelings.”
“I guess I was just curious about if you ever get angry at people when you do your job.”
“That’s an easy one. Sure. Most of the people I go after are complete pieces of garbage, Alison. They’ve hurt a lot of innocent people, so yeah, I get angry a lot when I’m on the job, especially when they won’t come along quietly or hurt other people when I’m going after them.”
James changed lanes, glancing at a stream of drones passing overhead. The greater population of NYC was packed into a small area, especially in Manhattan, which led to more people, cars, and drones than James was used to. The drones formed a river of buzzing metal and plastic in the sky.
“When you get angry,” Alison asked quietly, “do you want to hurt people?”
“Not always, but…” The bounty hunter sucked in a breath. Even if the girl could see into his soul, he didn’t like the idea of voicing the words.
“But what?”
James grunted. “You know why I originally went after the Harriken, right?”
“Because they killed Leeroy?”
“Yeah. If people hurt someone I love or even threaten to hurt someone I love, I get fucking angry. Real fucking angry.” James didn’t even bother to try and hold back the cursing this time or control the angry quake in his voice. “I’ve lost too much family already, so I cherish what little I have. Any asshole who threatens that... Well, they get what they have coming. Live by the sword, die by the sword, as Father McCartney might say.”
“What if someone did something bad by accident?”
James shook his head. “That’s different, but it hasn’t come up yet.”
Alison didn’t say anything, and James wondered if he’d scared the girl with his intensity.
Fuck. This is why I didn’t want to talk about any of this. She doesn’t need my shit weighing her down.
They’d driven in silence for a good five minutes before the teen spoke again.
“Have you ever thought about doing a different job?”
“Why? You worried about me?”
“A little, but...it’s not that.”
“What is it then?”
Alison looked at him for a moment, her eyes unfocused as always. “Your soul doesn’t match the angry bounty hunter. It’s...beautiful. It’s like you were meant for something else.”
James chuckled. “I don’t know, kid. You probably know better than anyone but God what my soul is like. When I was younger I thought about being a priest for a little bit, but I think it’s good I never decided to become one. I don’t have the patience.” He snorted. “I don’t know how my confessor puts up with me half the time.”
“I don’t know a lot about priests, but I think you would have made a good one. Maybe you would have scared people into behaving.”
“That’s one way to do it.”
James pulled the Toyota into a McDonald’s parking lot. “Figured we could get a little snack before we continue with our sightseeing. McDonald’s okay?”
“Yeah, sure.” The girl’s voice sounded distant.
The bounty hunter parked between an Audi and a newer-model Ford truck and forced down the grunt that wanted to rise. He missed his F-350.
“You killed that King Pyro guy,” Alison continued, looking away.
James’ stomach tightened. “Yeah, I did.”
“Did he say something about hurting people you love?”
“Yeah, he did.” James turned to look directly at the girl. “He had killed innocent people before so I had no problem wanting to take him down, but then he bragged about how he was going to go after the people I cared about. Even though you were safe, I got really angry at the idea that he might go after you, so I finished him off.” He gritted his teeth and sucked in a breath. “And no, I don’t regret it.”
Alison fingered her necklace, a jeweled pendant on a silver chain. James’ gift was fashionable enough, but the real power was in its defensive magic. It was another small way he could protect her even when he was far away.
Tears slipped down her cheeks, and her sniffles soon grew into full-blown sobs.
Oh, shit. Did I scare her? What should I say?
“Uh…” was the best James could muster. “I’m sorry, kid.”
Fuck. I wish Shay was here. She would know what to do.
Alison only cried louder.
James pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket and placed a video call to Shay. He muted the sound and waited for the call to connect.
The dark-haired field archaeologist answered with an annoyed look on her face. He turned the phone so Shay could see Alison and back, then shrugged.
Shay rolled her eyes and shook her head. She mimed placing the phone to her ear and waited.
James unmuted the phone and brought his phone to his ear.
“I don’t know what you did to make her cry, but console her, you idiot,” Shay hissed over the line. “Even if you think you didn’t do anything, just...make the damned effort, okay? Hug her at least.”
James grunted as he ended the call, then tossed the phone on the dashboard.
What if I just make her more pissed? Fuck.
A deep, slow breath followed, and the man reached over as if he were about to grab an unstable nuclear bomb. He unbuckled Alison’s seat belt, pulled her into a gentle embrace, and patted her back.
The teen didn’t jerk back, slap him, or spit in his face. She buried her head on his shoulder, although she kept crying.
James didn’t understand why she’d started crying or if it was his fault, but it didn’t matter. He was the closest thing the girl had to a father now, and he needed to do what he could.
3
Alison calmed down after five more minutes, not offering any explanation for her emotional outburst. James was fine with not prodding the girl. Women’s emotions usually confused him, let alone a teen girl who had lost her parents and was still dealing with learning she possessed magical abilities.
James decided to go to a slightly more upscale place than McDonald’s. Some fries and a salad later, Alison seemed more relaxed. They didn’t talk much, though.
The girl didn’t smile until they grabbed some ice cream. They strolled down the street side-by-side after that.
Even though the sun had long since set, the light poles, along with the haze of light suffusing the city, prevented true darkness.
“I’m sorry,” Alison blurted.
“For what?” James asked.
“For freaking out. I guess…” Alison shook her head. “Sometimes I feel helpless and I worry about you, is all.”
“You’re not helpless, kid. You’ve got powerful magic, from what your teachers keep telling you. It’ll come soon enough, and then you’ll never have to worry about anyone ever again.”
Given what he’d seen in the aftermath of Alison’s mother’s magic, if the girl had half her power she would be a living WMD. The School of Necessary Magic would give her the discipline and training she needed to wield it safely.
The bounty hunter took several more steps before he realized Alison wasn’t beside him. James’ stomach tightened and he spun. Alison was a few yards behind him, staring across the street.
He glanced in the direction she was looking. Other than a few guys entering a bank, he didn’t see anything interesting. Their coats were a bit heavy for the weather, but maybe New Yorkers were softer about temperatures than people from Los Angeles.
“What’s up?” James asked, stepping toward her.
“Those three men…” Alison gestured toward the bank. “They’re planning something bad. I can see the evil streaks in their souls.”
The bounty hunter’s face tightened. He didn’t need a fancy degree in psychology to figure out what three men with evil intent might be planning in a bank, but it also wasn’t his business.
Keep it simple, stupid. He lived his life using that philosophy, and part of keeping it simple was going only after people who threatened him, those he cared abo
ut, or bounties. Being a hero was a good way to make trouble for himself down the line.
The girl nodded toward the bank. “You can stop them, James. They might hurt people.”
James gritted his teeth. He was carrying his .45 in a shoulder holster. If the bank robbers weren’t enhanced criminals he could probably take them out without even using his gun, but leaving Alison alone on a New York street didn’t sit well.
“We should just call the cops. They might not even have bounties.”
Alison shook her head and crossed her arms. “No” didn’t seem to be an acceptable answer.
“I can’t just leave you here to go play hero,” James added. “You’re the most important thing for me to protect.”
Alison laughed. “You remember how we met? The neighborhood I was walking around in when I found Leeroy is much rougher than this place. Don’t worry. I’ve learned a few things. I’ll be okay.” Her smile disappeared. “Besides, I want to be nearby when you kick some butt for once. Maybe I won’t feel as helpless then. And if you wait for the cops, it might be too late. I’ll call them, but please go in there and stop them before someone gets hurt.”
James shrugged and sighed.
Guess it’s time to stop a bank robbery. Okay, so my special father/daughter time is gonna involve me kicking bank robbers’ asses. Didn’t see that coming.
“Don’t worry, Alison.” The bounty hunter cracked his knuckles. “Someone’s gonna get hurt. It’s just not gonna be anyone innocent.”
James waited for a break in the traffic, then darted across the street. That didn’t save him from getting a few loud honks.
“Fucking drunk-ass idiot!” a man yelled as he zoomed past.
Ignoring the angry drivers, the bounty hunter pushed into the bank just in time to see the three men yank pistols from their coats. One fired into the air, and several people shouted or screamed. The other two swept the room on either side, guns at the ready.
The lone security guard raised his hands. One of the robbers rushed over to him and yanked his gun out of his holster before pistol-whipping the man with his own weapon. The guard crumpled to the ground with a groan.
Bring The Pain_An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure Page 2