::Lost and Found::
By Anime Angel~^0^
"Aniki! Look out!"
Gene Starwind quickly reeled backwards, barely missing the bullet that had been flying toward him. Taking one precious second to reload his gun, the red head fired back toward the enemy.
"Watch it! You're gonna get yourself KILLED!" Jim's frantic voice screamed through the intercom.
The outlaw took a moment to glance up at where his partner was securely hidden. Shifting his blue eyes up toward a pile of miscellaneous car parts, Gene could clearly see the lock of blond hair sticking up from beneath a smashed car door.
The two partners were currently tracking a bounty...or had been. Now, however, they were face to face with the man. His name was Niega Corar, and he wasn't an easy target. They had been battling for almost an hour, and neither of the men were getting anywhere. The guy was fast; he was unbelievably fast. This made it hard for the outlaw to aim...and keep out of the criminal's line of fire...
"Where is he Jim?! I can't see the damn bastard!"
"To your right...no left! Wait..."
"Which one dammit?!" Gene growled. He didn't have the time...
"I don't know! He's too fa-- he's behind you!"
Gene dove to the side instinctively, just as another spray of bullets littered the ground where he was standing. Rolling quickly to the side, the outlaw replaced the pistol he was currently holding with his castor.
This guy can't be human... he thought, loading a number 16 into the gun's chamber. Is he a cyborg?
"Jim, I need a reading on this guy! QUICK!"
"You got it Gene."
With a deep, determined breath, Gene rolled away from the piece of metal that had been concealing him and fired the castor. Unfortunately, Niega was dashing out of the line of fire even before his outlaw adversary had let go of the trigger.
"Damn..."
"Aniki?!" The outlaw snapped to attention at the sound of his partner's small voice in his ear, quickly dashing to safety.
"What is it?!"
"Aniki I don't think he's just your average human..."
That's an understatement... "What is he then?! An animal?!"
"N...no....he's a human but..."
Another three or four bullets whizzed past Gene's hiding place. "WHAT IS HE DAMMIT?!"
"He's got cyborg enhancements!"
Great...
Gene swore under his breath, through clenched teeth, and reloaded his castor yet again. The battle wasn't going well, and for once in his life Gene was unsure of whether he was going to bring the bounty in alive...him being alive, that is. But he had to win...get rid of the guy, and quick. Not only did he have his own skin to think about, but his young partner's as well...
"GENE!"
The outlaw's eyes snapped up in attention, like the trained bounty hunter that he was. Niega was nearby...he could tell just by all of Jim's screaming through the microphone.
"Jim, kid, tone it down!" Gene tried to decipher what the kid was yelling about, straining his ears while at the same time paying attention to where Niega was on the premises. Damn, the outlaw swore mentally. The bounty had escaped his line of vision. "JIM WHERE IS HE?!"
"I DON'T KNOW!"
"Great...what am I supposed to--"
The comment was cut off as a large, crumpled car exploded into dust in front of him. The red head took off, zig zagging his way around car parts as best he could. Heavy footsteps followed behind him.
"I'm using a --"
"GENE! Don't tell me you're using the ones we just GOT!"
The outlaw ignored his partner's complaining, shutting off the intercom. A number 3 would do the trick...it had too.
And it did.
The bullet exploded out of Gene's castor, and the outlaw could feel the power radiating from it. The magic hit its target square on, and in a few seconds their bounty was rendered immobile. Niega fell to the ground, lifeless and limp.
Gene wiped some of the sweat off of his brow, marveling at the dirt and grime his cape picked up. He re-holstered his castor, making his way over to the body, when the voice of a very annoyed Jim reached his ears.
"Gene Starwind!"
The outlaw turned around quickly, knowing what was coming. His bright red hair, the color of his ship, was matted down on his forehead with sweat, and his eyes clearly showed exhaustion. He was not in the mood...
"What do you want Jim? Come on...let's take this guy in..."
"Aw Aniki, you used up the 3?"
"Yes Jim...I used the 3."
"Aw man! I paid--"
"Look...I don't damn well care what you paid! Let's GET THIS GUY IN," Gene said bluntly, picking his way around garbage.
"Aniki," the boy began, running a gloved hand through blond, thick hair. "You really need to pay more attention to our finances..." Jim looked up his partner with a disapproved frown. "You know, like not drinking so much...spending so much on your 'girlfriends'..."
"Look Jim, I'm not gonna stop just because you tell me too! You're NOT my boss!"
"But I AM YOUR PARTNER."
"My YOUNGER partner."
The outlaw ignored the boy's angry look. Jim would get over it, he always did.
"I'm not a little kid Gene. I'm more mature than you!"
"Like HELL you are!"
"I AM! I'm mature enough to REALIZE that money doesn't grow on--"
"YEAH I'VE HEARD IT!" Gene snapped, whirling on the boy. His eyes flared. The red head was definitely not in the mood for Jim's little arguments about money. He wanted to go home, get a drink, pick up a girl, and relax.
"Gene! You obviously DIDN'T GET IT THE FIRST TIME!"
"MAYBE THAT'S BECAUSE I DON'T CARE!"
"WELL YOU SHOULD! I WORK MY--"
"YEAH AND SO DO I! I am SO tired of you and your little outbursts!" Gene sneered, hands in the air. I can't believe him! I just saved his ASS and he's COMPLAINING!
"Ge-"
"I DON'T CARE! Half the time I'm around you..." The outlaw took a breath. "You're complaining and yelling! 'Gene don't do THIS' and 'Gene we can't AFFORD THAT!" he mocked..
"That's BECAUSE WE CAN'T!"
"Well maybe if you weren't here we could!"
Jim took a step back, as if he had just been slapped across the cheek. "You don't mean that..."
"And what if I do?!"
Jim furrowed his brow, letting his anger take over. "No you DON'T! Hell, I'm the one that keeps most of our money in CHECK!"
Gene shook his head, not caring anymore how angry the kid got. Things had been worse. "Think about this...MY money trouble started when YOU came along! Until then I was FINE ALL BY MYSELF!" Gene wasn't even thinking anymore. His mouth was moving seemingly by itself... "If I had left you there, I coulda had EVERYTHING! Girls, cars, A NICE STEADY JOB!"
Jim shook his head again.
"I coulda led a NICE, RELAXING LIFE! You think it's MY FAULT we're outta money!? HUH?!"
"Why didn't you LEAVE ME THEN? HUH?!" Jim screamed, his hand balling into angry fists. "If you're so SMART...why didn't you LEAVE ME?!"
"BECAUSE YOU WERE A PATHETIC PIECE OF SHIT! My girlfriend made me feel guilty!"
Jim was silent, his eyes starting to sting. His aniki didn't mean it...he couldn't...
"She nagged me, and nagged me, and I HAD to take you in! AND LOOK WHAT I GOT OUT OF IT! Nothing!" The outlaw stopped. It wasn't true but...but then again what his partner was saying wasn't true either...
Uh oh... Gene thought. The blond was totally still, his eyes shiny and bright with tears. Maybe I got a little carried away...
"Maybe...I...I'll just leave then! H...huh?!" Jim backed up, running into a piece of metal. His cheeks were flushed with red, like they had been a few weeks before when he had had the flu.. "IF IT MAKES YOUR LIFE SO GOOD THEN I'LL LEAVE!"
"Ji--"
But the apology was cut short as a gunshot echoed through the dump. Both partners were silent as the sound died down.
"What the HELL was that?!" Gene yelled, pulling out his castor. The boy in front of him was silent. "Aw come on Jim...I didn't..."
Gene stopped, noticing his partner wasn't moving...
"Jim?"
"A...Aniki..." The boy gasped, eyes glassy and distant. Gene could only stand there as Jim collapsed, falling to the side, and to the ground. His body went limp when he hit, arms falling over his stomach. Gene continued to stand there in shock, taking in what was happening.
"Jim?!" Gene forgot about his castor, about the gunshot, about the overpriced bullets...and he ran straight to the fallen blond.
The outlaw didn't know what to do. He kneeled down next to the kid, eyes wide with worry. Maybe this is just some joke...to make me feel guilty... But his partner was barely breathing, and so still...no one could fake that.
"Hang in their kid..." Gene gingerly turned the boy all the way onto his back, surveying Jim's body for anything that could tell him what was wrong. And that's when he saw it...the neat little bullet hole in Jim's chest, just beginning to bleed.
Damn...the gunshot!
Knowing that whoever did this was still out there, the outlaw glanced upward, and around the surrounding mountains of metal.
"There's nothing...wait." On a crumpled car, fifty or so feet away, a figure stood, gun in hand. Gene could tell it was a guy, perhaps another bounty hunter seeking revenge. Time seemed to slow as the red head awaited another shot, but instead of shooting the figure turned, and made his way down the mountain of metal, disappearing below.
"Dammit," Gene seethed. He wanted to go after the guy, to make him pay, but he needed to worry about his partner first.
The kid was bleeding very badly now. Crimson liquid poured from the hole, making Gene a bit queasy. Careful not to hurt him, the outlaw pulled off his dirty cloak and wrapped it around his small partner, making sure that it was tight around the wound. He lifted Jim up and, hoping he wouldn't be too late, hurried to his car. As he set the boy inside, a small gasp of pain escaped the child's lips, and the outlaw subconsciously wondered if his partner would be alive to hear his apology.
"What the hell is taking so long?!"
Gene paced the hallway for about the hundredth time, impatiently awaiting the doctor...and his results on Jim. He has to be okay... Gene told himself. Any minute he'll wake up...
But secretly the outlaw was wondering if he would. Nothing like this had happened before...
"Mr. Starwind?"
Gene snapped out of his trance, immediately ceasing his worried pace and confronting the doctor.
"Lemme guess...he's just fine? Right?"
The medical professional was silent, struggling with the words. "Mr. Starwind--"
"Can I see him?"
The doctor shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry," the man whispered. "But the boy didn't make it. He was too weak..."
Gene felt like he had been hit by a truck. He just stood there, staring at the man.
"You're...kidding..."
"Sir I'm sorry, there was nothing we could do. We tried--"
"What do you MEAN nothing?!" Gene suddenly yelled, grabbing the doctor by his collar. "YOU LET HIM DIE?!"
"Mr. Starwind PLEASE!"
"HUH?! HE WASN'T THAT BAD! DAMN YOU!" he screamed, tears beginning to cloud his vision. He couldn't believe it...didn't believe it. The boy, the happy boy that he had raised and cared for, joked with and traveled with...his best friend was... was dead.
"Sir, I know this must be hard...but I am going to have to ask you to please let go..."
Gene complied, letting go of the man who in turn dusted himself off. Without another word the doctor turned, leaving the outlaw alone in the hallway.
To be continued...hopefully. Maybe. I don't know...
Hola. Como estas? Yo estoy muy enferma. *sigh* Yo fui a la cine en San Jose, y yo vi una pelicula, Monsters Inc. La pelicula fue muy muy...bien!
*ahem* Now that I have ended my Spanish rant about my night at the movies...I am sick, I got sick at the theatre. I AM NOT IN THE MOOD FOR FLAMES. There have been a lot of them running around lately, about all fics, so please: DON'T. BG COME BACK FROM YOUR TRIP! I want to talk to you...bored I am...WRITE MORE. *sigh* Please enjoy the fic! I wrote it when I got home...before my nose became stuffy! And I puked! And contracted a fever! YAY.
If my Spanish is wrong, that would be because I fell asleep in class during the lesson. Got a good nap out of it...
E-mail: anime_angel95052@yahoo.com
Fic edited by Meilora Starr. By request she asks that I put her page: Meilora Starr's AAA. She will edit fics for you!