Chapter 28: A Shot At Redemption
Never before had I planned a meeting or run in with the police. It was different, to say the least. I was usually running from the authorities, not chasing them down. But I had to work with them, like it or not. Overwatch has already been exposed to the public during the mission in Egypt. People are already skeptical of our intentions. So it's best we separate ourselves from Overwatch if things get hairy, so they can't be blamed for it.
Jesse and I sat on the hood of the car we took to drive here, relaxing in the hot desert suns of Texas. It was calming, and quite nostalgic to me. Being back here brought me to the times Jesse and I would sneak out and have some fun, something that was rare those days with Deadlock. We usually got caught though, but eventually we started getting good at tip toeing around resting gang members.
We had to wait for the deputy and probably the whole department to show up to meet us. I had a feeling they wouldn't trust the word of an anonymous tip saying to meet some of the most wanted criminals in a park. But we tried to make the situation as comfortable as possible for them. We had even set up a desk in the middle of the park, as odd as it may sound though. It was already uncomfortable for us, so we best not make them feel the same way.
They would probably be suspicious of our reasons for being here and our relationship with the now recalled Overwatch (though they don't know that). But we'd have to make up a reason, probably just saying we were searching for a good bounty and found our chance to get the money we desired. Emily Kirkland was a force to be reckoned with. It'd be just as easy for her to arrest us and take us in rather than listen to our side of this engagement.
But, instead of a shit load of cars and police, we were only met with one car. It was all black, gliding along the air much smoother than ours. It was sparkling, almost like it was freshly cleaned and painted, and the windows were tinted. I couldn't get a good look of who was inside until they revealed themselves. But I was realizing how open we really were for an ambush. They could open those windows and open fire on us, and boom, we're both out of the picture. They wouldn't have to worry about coming for us.
It came to a stop right in front of us, and I heard the click of the locks on the doors unlocking, and out stepped one woman, the driver staying in. I had to assume it was Emily Kirkland, the way she presented herself to us in such a manner, almost degrading us with one simple look. But she could be certain we were judging her all the same as she did to us.
Her blonde hair was up in a ponytail behind her, holding all of her stands of hair out of her face. She had a suitcase, and wore a smooth, dark suit and tie, probably woven with the best cotton and silk money could buy. We simply wore something that resembled what we wore in our Blackwatch days, wearing a smooth black jacket with simple bullet proof armor, topping it off with our hats. We were sure to not wear anything resembling Overwatch, as they would take it in the worst possible way.
Her high heels clicked against the sound of the pavement under us, avoiding the grass and dirt around it, certain not to smudge her appearance as much as her dignity. McCree and I looked at each other, flashing each other looks of "I told you she'd have blonde hair!" And "oh whatever." We had made a bet, as childish as it was. I said I was certain she'd have blonde hair and keep herself neat, but he had given her the benefit of the doubt to not fall the the stereotypical businesswoman. Hopefully she wouldn't handle herself the same way though. But I could sense she had done dirty things in her past, and wasn't afraid to do so again.
I tensed up, standing up beside McCree to greet her, placing a hand out in front of me, hoping for her to meet me halfway. She stopped, her eyes glancing at my outstretched hand, and she slowly reached out, meeting it in a firm, solemn grasp. Jesse tipped his hat, and I released her hand, already nervous of the outcome that could happen.
"Please, take a seat." I said, motioning behind me, as she nodded, walking past me, situating herself in her seat, crossing her legs comfortably. I took my seat in front as well, along with Jesse seated beside me. "The name is Nathan Parker, known criminal and murderer. Jesse McCree beside me, known for the same things. I figured I should be honest with who we are rather than-"
"You think I'm unaware of who you both are? The dynamic duo, they call you." She scoffed, and I smiled politely, folding my hands on the desk. "Yes. Emily Kirkland, it's good to meet you. We've heard of your outstanding achievements." Jesse said, and she nodded, smirking a bit. "Tell me, is that what they say about me in Deadlock?" She asked, and I smirked. "Not exactly." I said, and she grunted, that coming off as a laugh to me.
"Trust me, Deadlock is done. We left for a reason, and we took it down for a reason." I stated, and she frowned, her cold eyes meeting mine. "I've heard reports of the deeds you had done there, and what you did when you took it down, Mr. Parker. Quite unsavory work I must say." She grimly spoke, and I nodded, staring her down. "You would've done the same with your men I'm certain." I said, and she frowned, only for a moment, her lips curving up into a smile. "Fair enough."
"Now, I presume that you are both here for the bounty on Bill Williamson, John Allen, and Ricky Johnson?" She said, and we both nodded. "Tell me why you would be more useful to us as an ally rather than behind bars." She said, and Jesse cleared his throat. "With all do respect Madam, you don't know these guys. But we do. We've worked with them before in our time in Blackwatch, and we know what makes them tick. We could bring them to ya, and we know exactly where they are."
A silence overcame us, as she thought over what he had said. "I agree. We could use your expertise on this matter, and hope we can reach a just end. Though there must be something you want in return." She said, and I nodded. I had to lie and come up with something, or else this meeting would be more suspicious than it already is. "We will bring them to you alive, so you can do with them as you will, but on one condition. You must promise to not pursue us any longer. You have to clear our names."
I finished speaking, and her eyes stared into mine, as if she was looking for the truth or catch behind this proposition. But she would get no other proposal, so she spoke up once more.
"Deal. I'll have them clear your names, but only after you bring them to me." She slid a burner phone my way, which only had one button. "When you find one, or all of them, press the button. That will let me know to meet you here, as soon as I can. I'm trusting you with this. If you betray me, you'll regret it, I can promise you that." She stated, and I grinned.
"We understand. These men will be yours soon enough madam." I said, and she grinned, standing from her seat, and Jesse and I did as well on cue. She reached her hand out this time, and I met it, smiling as I did so. It went much better than I expected. Hopefully she wouldn't betray us. She seemed to understand the way our minds work, and respected it.
"Good luck Mr. Parker and Mr. McCree. We'll have our eye on you."
Later...
It was simple enough, finding their hideout. Or more of following the directions Winston gave us on our way. Bill and John should be here, working together with local gangs and even Talon, trading weapons and smuggling supplies across the border. We were killing two birds with one stone here.
Nothing had even stopped us on our way. Or really no one. They seemed to be completely careless about their actions, not wary of the two people on their way. Hopefully we could make this quick, and try and draw them out.
We both stopped right outside of their front door basically, looking up and scoping out the area. They had the high ground on top of the fort, and we were left out in the open if they decided to fire. Which I'm betting they will. We aren't dealing with your typical law abiding citizen.
"Bill Williamson! John Allen! Come out here!" I simply demanded. These men didn't really take much to outwit. I'd distract them with conversation, while McCree would be able to slowly climb up and make his way to them via a rope. It was late, and most of the criminals would be asleep, so we could do this quick while they were even getting dressed.
"And who in the hell is asking?" I heard the familiar over the top southern drawl, and chuckled, Bill's unsymmetrical shaped face and almost cross eyes meeting mine. His crooked nose jerked upward in a spectacular fashion upon seeing me. "Nathan fuckin' Parker!? What in the blazes are you doin' 'ere?" He asked, and I smiled.
"I came here to talk, wanted to speak about Blackwatch. Good old commander wants it back together." I lied, hoping that would peek his interest, and of course, like a fish, he bit. He was so idiotic he lacked the knowledge of how Blackwatch was long gone, and I had even died by our commander's hand.
"What? That's crazy! Ya can't be serious?!" He didn't believe me, and I smirked. "Come on and call down John. I know he's here." I said, and he growled. "And who said I wanted to come back! I never did like you folks. Never treated me right. Ya always did think I was an idiot." He said, and I fought off the urge to smile, agreeing with one of his statements for once.
I spotted McCree, who was nearing him. I had to keep him distracted. "That ain't fair Bill. You know it isn't. You were like family to me." I said, and he snorted. "Sure. One you hated. You always were hanging out with that doctor. You ever actually seal the deal, or was ya too afraid to do it?" He joked, and my trigger finger itched. I fought back the urge to kill him now. One thing he was good at, was testing my patience.
He laughed, howling into the night like a coyote, and I couldn't stop myself from smiling as he finally took the blow to the head from McCree, knocking him out unconscious. I made no effort to stop his body from plummeting off the top of the fort. He came down with a crunch, and I smirked. I looked up at McCree, and I frowned. "Ya sure took your time." I said, and he shrugged, jumping down, landing softly. "I liked seeing ya so irritated." He admitted, and I chuckled.
One down. One more to go before we could go back for Ricky. Ricky was somewhere else in the county entirely. He wasn't too far though. I wasted no time placing handcuffs on Bill, making them extra tight because of the unsavory taunts he spit my way.
The doors blew open, with John at the helm of a group, carrying sawed off shotguns and revolvers, and I didn't hesitate to put a bullet through the three men's skull, leaving a shocked and startled John by himself. He shook his head vigorously, as his ears rang from the shots fired, as I walked up to him, before elbowing him in the face, and his eyes rolled back, falling down. His nose was bleeding, and I restrained him as well.
I turned to McCree, who was placing his gun back in his holster. "What?" I asked, and he laughed. "Remind me to not insult Angela will ya?" He joked, and I picked up John, motioning for him to do the same with Bill. "Come on, let's get going before more show up."
Later...
If you told me the hardest part of this mission would be listening to Bill talk, I would've called you a damn liar. But it seemed as though it wanted to go this way. I mean, I could beat him to a bloody pulp, but I don't trust myself enough to know when to stop. The man had an irritating aura. And I was stuck with him until Emily showed up to pick him up and John.
John was still out cold, not bothering me one bit. But I was undergoing a torture like no other, and I almost felt like this was punishment for everything I had done. Or perhaps Kirkland was here but wanted to see me suffer for a while at the hands of this idiot.
He continued to ask about what had happened, and kept begging me to release him so we could fight like "real men" as he put it, and I almost took him up on that offer. To cause him a bit more pain could possibly subdue the unbearable headache I was experiencing right now. Kirkland couldn't come faster. I felt like I was losing brain cells listening to this guy.
"Why'd you betray me you idiots?" He asked, and McCree chuckled. "You had a fine bounty on your head. And I sure didn't mind dispatching some well deserved justice to you. You killed innocents, and the guns you sold and smuggled, killed others. I have no problem bringing someone like you in to the authorities."
"You ain't much better. You've killed before." He said, and McCree growled, chewing on the cigar in his mouth. "Only those who deserve it, and you're making me want to add you to that list more and more."
"Kirkland isn't any better either. Do you know the things she has done? She has to be responsible for countless unsolved murders. People who say things about her end up disappearing. Criminals like us end up disappearing. You're a fool to trust her. You idiots are gonna get yourselves killed." Bill warned, and I sighed. "I implore you to rethink your choice of words." I said, growing tired of being insulted by someone with half the IQ of a rabid squirrel.
"You implore me? You always were one for big words. Hope they can save you from Kirkland. She'll betray you, you can count on that, Parker."
He had a point, for once. She wasn't the most reliable person. But perhaps if we looked at it her way, we'd understand the need to take such precautions against us. We did set an example with our lives, and had no real motive to deviate from our normal criminalistic ways. I just hoped we wouldn't be betrayed. She had to keep her end of the deal, or this was all for nothing. I was looking for redemption in this mission in particular, and if she arrested me, it'd all be undone.
"We were a fool to work with people like you too. But we turned out okay didn't we?" I asked, and he growled. "By working with people who killed us?" He asked, and I groaned. "You're so blinded Bill. If only you could see the truth."
"Whatever. You might as well kill me, Kirkland will have my head. She isn't very forgiving-" I sprang up from my seat on the hood of the car, knife now in hand, my free hand resting on his chest, holding him down, the other near his crotch. "Shut the hell up before I chop your balls of and gift them to your parents!" I threatened, and he slunk back into the roof of the car as much as he could. McCree chuckled, patting my shoulder, and I turned around, meeting Emily's curious face.
She raised an eyebrow, a faint trace of a smile on her lips. "Oh. Sorry Kirkland, had a little outburst." I joked, placing the knife back in my belt, and she walked past me, looking at Bill and John, focusing her vision on Bill, a she stared her down. "Why hello there Williamson. I've been looking all over for you." She teased, and he struggled to sit up. "Fu-"
He couldn't even finish the sentence without his head being slammed into the car. I smiled, finding it satisfying to see him out cold once again. Finally some peace and quiet. The woman was as lightning fast as she was intelligent and intimidating. "Damn." I heard McCree mutter, and her eyes snapped to me. She paused, before smiling.
"Thank you for bringing these men to justice. Trust me, they'll be put behind bars where they belong. We wait patiently for Ricky as well. Hopefully we can put this mess behind us." She stated, and I shook her hand. "It was my pleasure bringing them to justice. Make sure you hold your end of the deal when I bring Ricky back." I reminded her, and she eyed me closely.
"Confidence? I like it." She said, not acknowledging the reminder I said. It unnerved me, the way she was silent about her end of the bargain. But it didn't matter.
I shook it off, letting it go, assuming I was too paranoid. I needed to finish this mission. I wanted to finish it. This man, Ricky, had to be brought to justice. And I had to be the one to bring him in. It was only right. And those were the only thoughts that accompanied me on our trip back to base for a rest. I needed it after all. This bounty hunter work was harder than I thought it'd be.
