“I respect John for going first, even if Brownstone killed him. At least it gives us some proof that Brownstone’s reputation isn’t total shit.”
Trevor arched an eyebrow. “You think the Harriken would drop that much money on rumors?”
“We’ve all run into men who get lucky. Just saying these gangs get superstitious and easy to spook.”
“That’s some major luck,” Hisa murmured. “And what about the bounty action against the LA Harriken?”
“I don’t trust that the cops didn’t just kill a bunch of the bastards and get Brownstone to agree it was him.”
Trevor shook his head. “That’s a pretty impressive conspiracy theory, Connor.”
The other man snorted. “Conspiracy theory? Those bloody Oricerans had been fucking around with Earth for thousands of years, but anytime people mentioned faeries or aliens people laughed at them. You had people trying to hide the truth. You never know what you can believe anymore, mate.”
Trevor resisted laughing at the other man. Being stable wasn’t a requisite for being a good assassin. If anything it could make it harder.
“Just saying,” Connor mumbled. “Doesn’t matter. The Harriken are going to pay out for Brownstone dead or alive, so someone will need to supply him.”
Trevor nodded. “That still leaves us asking what our next move should be. I think us agreeing on who might go is still a good plan.”
The gathered assassins all nodded and murmured their agreement.
A good plan for me. I’ve checked this man out. Most of you have no chance of winning. You don’t fight a tornado by throwing another tornado at it. This will require tactics and patience.
“We could go after him together.” Connor looked around the table. “Not my favorite idea, but tossing it out there to you for due consideration, my highly esteemed colleagues.” He grinned.
You’re almost as annoying as John, although in a different way, you English prick.
“And split the money?” Trevor chuckled. “Not interested. I wouldn’t have flown across the world to meet with the Harriken for a lesser amount. Splitting the money would make for a lesser amount.”
“I’m not interested in working with any of you either,” Hisa told them. Today she’d shed her Japanese appearance and was now a blonde-haired emerald-eyed woman in a business suit.
Trevor noticed that her slight Japanese accent still came through in her voice. Maybe that was why she tended to prefer Japanese disguises. The faintest hint of something out of place could help someone see through a disguise.
“I’m not here to share the money,” Sabine agreed. “And I’m willing to wait until one of you wears him down. Besides, the fewer assassins left in this world, the less competition we all have.”
“Ah, you don’t even care if I live or die?” Connor asked with a smirk. “And here I thought we had a real connection, Fraulein Haas. I was going to ask you out after this was all over.”
Sabine rolled her eyes at Connor’s poor attempt at German and his behavior. “I’d prefer that you died, or at least that you don’t defeat Brownstone before I do.”
The man puffed out his chest. “Just because Brownstone killed some glorified gun boy doesn’t mean he’ll win against me.”
“He’s won against a lot of wizards.”
“Yeah, because he was going after them, not the other way around.” Connor waved his wand with a flourish. “The tough ones always underestimate electricity. It’s not just about wearing more armor or using a skin-hardening spell.”
Trevor nodded. “Are you going next, then?”
“Yeah. Why the bloody hell not? Brownstone might be tough, but I doubt he’s immune to a good shock. It’ll make it easier to capture him too, and why take less money when there’s more on the table, right?”
“The bastard is arrogant. I can’t believe he’s flying straight into Japan under his own name. Since he ambushed John at the airport he knows we’re after him, and now he’s coming straight at us.” Trevor rubbed his chin. “Though I doubt he knows all of our abilities. We can still use that against him.”
Don’t have to win in a straight-up fight with him. That’s where all these idiots will go wrong—except maybe Hisa. I have to go before her. Connor or Sabine might weaken him enough to put him in a hospital. Then it’d be an easy kill.
Trevor resisted the urge to glance at Hisa. He might have to arrange for her death soon enough.
“After what happened in LA,” Connor stated, “the man probably thinks he’s untouchable. I’ve taken out a lot of guys like that. It’ll be easy enough to stun his ass and drag him back to the Harriken, then I’ll take a long vacation with all that money.” He winked at Sabine. “You can come along on the vacation if you want.”
The woman muttered something in German before switching back to English. “You’re a fool if you think you can take him alive. If you want to have any chance of getting paid you should plan on killing him.”
Connor stood and started tapping his wand in the palm of his hand. “Do you want to go next instead? Ladies first, is that it?”
The woman sneered and waved a hand dismissively. “I will kill Brownstone when the time is right. If you’re so eager to die, be my guest.”
Connor sneered. “Yeah, thought so. This is the kind of job that needs some balls. I’ve got a mighty fine pair I’d love to show you.”
Sabine leaned back in her chair and ran a finger over the polished obsidian pendant she wore around her neck. “So many men have died at my hand. Their balls didn’t save them.” A feral grin appeared on her face.
“You threatening me, woman?” All the humor drained from Connor’s face.
Trevor looked at the two, his face impassive. If they wanted to kill each other he wouldn’t intervene. Sabine was right about one thing; it’d be less competition.
“I kill no one without the promise of payment,” the woman declared in a cold voice.
Connor slipped his wand into a holder under his jacket. “Yeah, thought so.” He waved to the gathered assassins. “I wouldn’t bother figuring out who’s going to try after me, mates. Brownstone’s going to be bloody dead very soon.”
The electricity wizard strutted toward the door.
Trevor smirked.
I bet Brownstone kills you quicker than he killed John.
17
“Please place your thumb on the DNA scanner, Mr. Brownstone,” the Japanese cop said, his English slightly accented but still near-perfect—and a hell of a lot better than James’ near-complete lack of Japanese. “Your registered agent Mr. Capelli submitted the paperwork before your arrival.”
If I’m gonna be traveling the world kicking ass I need to start studying more languages. Maybe Shay could help me.
James placed his thumb on the panel, then a faint burning sensation struck his digit. He removed his thumb and shook it out.
The bounty hunter glanced over his shoulder. Shay was waiting on a bench in the hallway in front of the police kiosk.
Shay talks all her shit, but in the end she has my back even when she’s not next to me.
The bounty hunter blinked a few times, letting the thought settle over him. He relied on his confessor to take care of his soul, but otherwise he’d tried to live his life not relying on anyone else. He’d convinced himself that he was protecting both his simple lifestyle and the people who might get caught up in violence.
Everything had changed. He was about to adopt a teen girl, he was living in Mack’s rental apartment, and now Shay was helping him with both information and jobs. For that matter, he had a business arrangement with that prick Tyler.
Life was anything but simple anymore, but the idea of having friends and people he could rely on didn’t bother him like it once had.
James returned his attention to the police officer processing his temporary foreign bounty-hunter license. He had to admire the efficiency of the whole operation. The minute he’d stepped off the plane he had been directed to find the nearest
police kiosk.
The cop looked up from his screen. “The scan checks out. Now I have to ask you a series of questions.”
“Go ahead.”
“Have you familiarized yourself with Japanese laws concerning bounty hunting, Mr. Brownstone?”
“Yeah. I read all the notices and documents in the app on the phone.”
“Do you understand that non-bounty deaths will be prosecuted as murder?”
James nodded. “Yes. Same in America.”
“Do you understand that your temporary bounty-hunting license extends only to bounties that have been issued by the National Police Agency of Japan and no other criminals, officially reported or otherwise?”
“I do.”
The cop cleared his throat. “This doesn’t mean you should stand by if a crime is occurring, but we don’t want you to hunt random criminals.”
“Gotcha.”
“Let us continue. Have you declared all dangerous weapons, artifacts, and beings of interest, including those that would be classified as either magical or technological? Please note this includes non-sapient magical creatures.”
“I have.”
For a brief moment, James felt a twinge of guilt. Despite his big speech to Shay, he’d not declared his amulet as an artifact, nor the toys he’d borrowed from the Professor. Then again, smuggling artifacts remained far easier than smuggling weapons, since the authorities in most countries didn’t have a reliable and widespread way of easily detecting magical violations.
From what James understood, before magic spilled back into the world in a big way it was easy for certain people to keep track of what was going on. Now magical forces were just part of the background noise.
The cop nodded. “Policy dictates that I make it clear that we take a much dimmer view of collateral property damage than many other countries, especially America. You will be responsible for payment to the affected individuals in addition to fines.”
James resisted the urge to laugh. The Japanese would have to fine him a shitload before they caught up to the fines the LAPD and the City of Los Angeles had slapped on him during his last adventure.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” the bounty hunter assured the policeman.
“Please note, severe damage to the wilderness will be fined and potentially prosecuted.”
James nodded and managed not to grunt in annoyance. His first bounty did involve a forest, but it wasn’t like he was planning to burn it down to smoke out the bounty. He couldn’t help but wonder if something like that had happened.
“I always try to keep damage to a minimum.”
Well, at least damage to innocent people’s shit.
The cop narrowed his eyes. “You have a reputation, Mr. Brownstone. Don’t think we’re not aware here of how much damage you can do, and of some of your more destructive incidents in Los Angeles. Also be aware there are no outstanding organizational bounties on the Harriken in Japan.”
“Who said anything about the Harriken? I’m here for the three bounties I committed to.” James forced a smile. “I’ve always wanted to visit Japan, so I figured I’d pay for my trip by taking out some scumbags for you while I’m here.”
The cop’s face twitched and he nodded. “I see.”
“I totally love Japanese culture.” James grinned. “Really interested in things like Masamune swords and kintsugi.”
Total surprise settled over the cop’s face for a few seconds, then he smiled. Everything about his body language changed, including his shoulders relaxing.
Glad those Harriken assholes gave me some shit to work with. Now, this guy doesn’t think I’m just an ignorant asshole foreigner here to make trouble, even if I kind of am.
The cop tapped at his keyboard at a furious pace for about thirty seconds before offering a slight bow to James. “Enjoy Japan, Mr. Brownstone.” He reached into a drawer beneath the counter and pulled out a thin card with an embedded chip. “This is your temporary bounty-hunter license. Please do not lose it. That may cause complications.” The man looked to the side for a moment before looking back at James. “Also be aware that the law in Japan states that if a TEK team arrives you will submit to them immediately, otherwise they may be forced to treat you as hostile.” He frowned. “Excuse my use of the abbreviation. They are our anti-magic police.”
“Yeah, I know about them.” James took the card from the police officer. “Thanks for your help.” He turned to leave.
Self-defense still applies. I can’t help it if I have to kill everyone who shoots at me at Harriken headquarters.
James lay on the hotel bed, head resting in his linked hands. Shay stepped into his room and closed the door.
“I finished the sweep of my room. No weird shit in there.”
The bounty hunter grunted. “No reason for there to be. All those assassins have probably bugged the decoy’s room, and his hotel is about an hour away.”
“Given everything that cop said to you, I think the plan we discussed before is our best bet.”
James sat up, frowning. “So you go after these assassins while I take the easy way out?”
Shay laughed. “Brownstone, you’re the only man in the world who would think taking on a bunch of high-level bounties while acting as bait is ‘the easy way out.’” She leaned against the closed door and crossed her arms. “And we’ve talked about this already. You’re a great bounty hunter. Great instincts. I’m a field archaeologist now but I was a killer before, so I have better instincts when it comes to professional hits. Plus these assholes don’t know about me, so I have the element of surprise.”
“These aren’t exactly normal assassins.”
Shay’s smile vanished. “I’m not exactly a normal woman. I’ve taken on my share of people with magic.” She raised a hand. “Look, no one loves my life more than I do. I’m careful—more careful than you—so if anything, this plan is far safer.”
James grunted. He still didn’t like the idea, but he understood Shay’s logic. “You really think this will work?”
“They’re gonna figure out your decoy fast if they haven’t already, and now your name is in the police system. If they don’t have access to that the Harriken do, so it’s only a matter of time before they figure out what you’ve done and come for you. But we’re already here and set up, plus we’ve got this hotel under fake names so they can’t easily trace us here.”
“Sure hope you’re a good enough killer to take out these others.”
Shay rolled her eyes and snorted. “They aren’t killers. They’re assassins.”
“Same thing.”
“Is a Chevy the same thing as a Ford? You might as well sell that antique of yours and buy any old random truck, right?”
James gritted his teeth. That was a low blow.
“No.”
Triumph spread over Shay’s face. “Always remember, killers are killers and assassins are pussies.”
After traveling for the whole day he was finally settled, and James decided he didn’t want to go after the bounty until the following morning. It’d give his body time to adjust.
He’d better send Alison a text so she knew what was up.
James pulled out his phone and tapped out his message.
Safe in Tokyo with your aunt. Going after a legit but weird bounty tomorrow morning. Tell you about it when I get back.
It was pretty early in the morning in Virginia so he didn’t expect a response, but that didn’t stop his phone from chiming.
Be careful.
When am I not?
All the time. A rolling eye emoji followed.
Okay, talk to you later, kid.
Love you, Dad.
James just stared down at the phone. His reason for coming to Japan was encapsulated in that three-word message. The Harriken stood between him and a happy future with the people he cared about.
“Fuck you, assholes. You had your chance to leave me alone. It’s my turn.”
18
“I can see why they
call this place ‘the Sea of Trees,’” James mumbled as he made his way through the dense cypresses and Japanese red pines. The omnipresent buzz of cicadas prevented a silent approach.
The occasional flutter of a bird or scuttle of some small ground animal kept the bounty hunter focused. After all, he wasn’t there for a leisurely stroll.
I think I prefer the desert. Fewer places for bastards to hide.
James’ phone buzzed and he pulled it out to check the text from Shay.
I’m back about a hundred yards and keeping pace. By the way, I fucking hate that coat.
James glanced over his shoulder. Shay was behind him, but he couldn’t see her. Still, knowing she had his back allowed him to focus on the bounty.
He smirked about the coat. He’d purchased several of the same style of gray coat she’d hated during their trip to Mexico. It was functional when it came to hiding weapons and allowed good range of motion. Not only that, he’d gotten a sweet deal. Plus, it amused him to tweak Shay over her strange fashion obsession when it came to him.
Some branches crunched under his boots as he headed toward the last known sighting of his bounty.
It was hard for him to think of it as a bounty since this was his first true monster hunt, and a nice level-five at that.
Magic’s return and the stronger connection to Oriceran might have flooded the world with assholes like King Pyro or allowed gangsters to wield magic swords, but it’d also revealed another horrible truth: monsters were real and more than ready to prey upon mankind.
An unusual spike in suicides, even for an area already known for it and believed to be haunted, had led the authorities to investigate, and that had led to drone confirmation of a so-called “despair bug.”
The name didn’t do justice to the huge monster. Oriceran reports indicated they had similar creatures in some of their forests, but no one was sure if that meant they’d traveled to Oriceran from Earth or the opposite.
“Come out, you overgrown maggot,” James shouted. “I don’t want a waste of lot time in a place where I can’t easily see the fucking lines of fire.”
Bring The Pain_An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure Page 13