Here we are at Chapter 30. The team is in a slump, but maybe they can find a way to get back in the saddle and find out more about Nexus. I do not own Zoids. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 30. Enjoy.
Chapter 30: Bounty
After getting their zoids repaired in town, Team Lockhart don't take long before they head out back on the road. With the zoid battles on mostly lockdown, their travel plans don't have as many destinations. What's more, they got Lt. Roderick with them as well.
"Remind me again why we aren't heading for the nearest ZBC base?" Roderick asks.
"Because that will make it less likely that they'll attack us. You wanted us as bait, remember. And their last attack on a ZBC base didn't go so well, so they won't as bold in that regard. We took out one of their manufacturing bases, and a good number of their soldiers, but we don't know how many more there are. So, while we're still acting as bait, we'll look for more of those bases and take them out. The less resources they have, the better," Sarah explains, standing behind Sky who pilots the Hover Cargo.
"And you didn't think to inform the chief of this beforehand?" Roderick asks.
"Hey, if you want to tell him, go right ahead. We're still doing our mission, but in our own way," Colt waves him off.
"Agent Wilson, need I remind you that you work for the ZBC, as does the rest of you. There is such a thing as protocol here," Roderick reminds them, annoyed.
"And the last time I checked, you assigned me to be a part of Team Lockhart. Well, Team Lockhart works WITH the ZBC, not for them. They're not getting paid for all these extra hours after all," Colt replies, smirking.
Roderick grits his teeth a bit, "Will you at least tell me that you have a destination in mind?" he asks, annoyed.
"Not exactly," Grace replies offhandedly, making Roderick sigh.
"We're heading southeast for right now. Maybe we'll find something along the way, or maybe we'll be out in the open long enough for the Nexus to attack us again. If not, we'll stop by the nearest town and try and gather some intel there," Rickie says.
"Ugh, whatever. Just be sure to inform me about any changes. I'll brief the chief on this matter," Roderick says and leaves the control room.
"Man, he's annoying. How can you stand working for this guy?" Grace asks Colt.
"By making sure I never take any promotions for the higher ranks, and always staying out in the field as long as possible so I can hear him as little as possible," Colt replies.
"That's actually pretty smart, even for you Colt," Grace jokes.
"Hey!" Colt retorts.
"Enough guys," Sarah tells them.
"So, where are we heading exactly?"
"There's a place known as Bates Town, but it's more commonly known as the Merchant City. Lots of merchants, junk dealers, and other zoid enthusiasts come through there. And I happen to know a guy there that might have some intel for us," Colt explains.
"This guy wouldn't to have some kind of criminal record, would he?" Grace asks, narrowing her eyes at Colt.
Colt scratches his head, "What?! No, of course not. I mean, he's... not a serial killer if that's what you're asking," he replies, but now everyone stare at him. "Okay, yeah he's done some time, but he's a decent enough guy. You can at least trust that his intel is legit," he says.
"Well, it's better than nothing. We should be there in a few days," Sarah says.
…
Two days later, the Hover Crago nears Bates Town around noon, finding scores of transports, from other Hover Cargos to Gustavs, to regular vehicles, and even a few flying transports as well, coming in and out of the town.
"Wow, you weren't kidding about this place being a merchant hub," Grace notes in slight awe.
"I told you. You can find almost anything here. But, just to be safe, keep the zoids in the Hover Cargo and on lockdown. Grace, you and Rickie stay here and watch our equipment. The rest of us will head out," Colt says.
"What about Roderick?" Sarah asks.
"Oh, I have an idea for that," Colt smirks.
The team enter the town and keep their Hover Cargo at the zoid institute and leave Grace and Rickie there.
"What are we looking for here?" Roderick asks.
"Supplies. You can find almost anything here," Sarah says as they walk on ahead.
Roderick catches up with them, "Need I remind you that we are on an important mission. We don't have time to go shopping," he says.
"That's precisely why we're here," Colt says, noticing the large number of people walking throughout the streets, and all the vendors around them.
"What, exactly, are we looking for here?" Roderick asks.
But, before anyone can answer him, he gets sidelined by one vendor selling zoid part schematics.
"Hey there, mister. You interested in zoid schematics for parts. I've got quite a good deal on items for Zaber Fangs, Iron Kongs. I even have a schematic on some parts for a Raynos if you're interested," the merchant asks him, getting in his way.
"I'm not interested. Now, please, move aside," Roderick tells the man, irritated already.
Sarah nods to Colt, and he uses this chance to silently slip away in the crowd, while the rest wait for Roderick.
"Oh, you drive a hard bargain. Okay, I'll throw in a 15% discount, just for today only," the vendor continues.
"I told you to get out of my way!" Roderick yells, and pushes the man aside.
"Well, that takes care of one issue," Sarah mutters to Sky, who just nods.
"My word, it's amazing that any business gets done in a place like this," Roderick notes as he joins them, but then notices that Colt has disappeared. "Where is Agent Wilson?" he asks, looking around.
"When to find some parts for his zoid. Come on, we'll meet back up with him later. I'm getting hungry," Sarah says and walks on ahead, with Sky right behind her.
"But, shouldn't we be looking for him?" Roderick asks as he follows.
"He's one of your guys, remember? I'm sure he'll be fine," Sarah notes, making Roderick grit his teeth again.
They continue on, looking for a place to eat. Meanwhile, Sky hops into an old junk dealer's shop, walking straight to the back, and out the back door, only to find a man wearing a black and blue scarf around his neck, concealing half of his face, with shaggy black hair, black pants, a jacket with ripped-up sleeves, and a gray undershirt.
"Joe," Colt says, leaning on the back wall next to the man, with his arms crossed.
"Wilson," the man named Joe replies, in the same position.
"So, what have you got for me?" Colt asks.
"Listen, this intel wasn't exactly easy to get. I had to risk my hide just to get something of value," Joe says.
"And I told you that you still owed me one for getting you out of that jam with the ZBC a while back, and I'm calling that favor in. So, as far as I'm concerned, you've already been paid in full. I'm not even taking into account that time I got you out of a jam with those bandits a while back, either. Now, give me the info," Colt tells him.
Joe sighs, "Fine, fine. I couldn't find anything out about the leader of that Nexus group. However, I did learn a few other things," Joe says.
"Such as?" Colt replies.
"Well, those black Whale Kings of theirs, they always take different routes, but they all up going south, really south. Beyond the continent are some small islands, but no one's ever seen a Whale King flying around there," Joe explains.
"Okay, what about their spy in the ZBC?" Colt asks.
"Not much there. Only a few rumors about that they've had a spy in the ZBC since before the Backdraft Group showed up and started making a fuss," Joe replies.
"That long?" Colt asks. He knew they must've had a spy in the organization for a while, but he didn't think it was that long. "What else can you tell me?" he asks.
"Just one other thing. I'd be careful if I were you from now on. Word on the street is that someone put a bounty on all the members of Team Lockhart recently," he says.
"What?! Who would be crazy enough to take on a job like that. Putting bounties on zoid warriors is illegal," Colt says.
"Yes, so I don't think any of the zoid teammates in class A or above will try it, and those in class B or below aren't dumb enough to try it. But bandits and criminals just might take a stab at it. What's more, the bounty is doubled if you're all brought back dead," Joe explains.
"Nexus must be behind it. We have been messing with their plans as of late. Thanks for the intel. You should lay low for a while," Colt says and walks away.
"Pfft, it ain't my life you gotta worry about," Joe replies before going his own way.
"This isn't good. I need to warn Sarah and the others, fast," Colt mutters before taking off in a run to where Sarah went.
Knowing her, she probably went with Sky to get something to eat.
…
"When are we going to find these 'supplies' of yours, exactly?" Roderick asks, sitting across from Sarah and Sky, the former munching on a sub.
"After we eat. You don't travel much, do you?" Sarah asks after swallowing some of her meal.
"When I'm ordered to, or when necessary. It's all a part of my duties," Roderick replies, not bothering to eat anything.
"Well, welcome to the world of zoid warriors," Sarah notes, before noticing a few other patrons staring at them for a few seconds and then turning away.
"What is it?" Sky asks.
"I think some of the people here are just creeped out by an official from the ZBC showing up. I bet some of them even think that we're his kids... That tasted awful to say," Sarah says, muttering the last part.
"I don't have children," Roderick says.
"I was trying to make a joke. Come on, let's finish up here and get what we need before heading out," Sarah says.
They finish their meal (well, Sky and Sarah do since they actually ordered something to eat), and then hit the commerce market. They actually did need to pick up a few things while they were here anyway. Sky finds a few data components for his zoid's radar equipment, and Sarah found a part for radiator in Grace's Spinosapper. Due to the Geno Storm-Blade being one of a kind, they could only get parts for that zoid from Sarah at the ZBC. After getting everything that they need, the group make their way back to the Hover Cargo.
"We actually got some good finds here. We may have to come back here some time, after this whole chaos with Nexus has been dealt with," Sarah notes, carrying one bag in her arms.
"Excuse me, but why am I carrying this stuff?" Roderick asks, carrying three bags in between his arms.
"If you're gonna be travelling with us, then you'd better pull your own weight," Sarah notes.
"But Mr. Faust isn't carrying anything!" Roderick points out, nudging his head to Sky, who doesn't have any bags in his hands.
"That's because he's our security. He needs his hands," Sarah replies.
They continue walking through the streets, squeezing their way through the crowd as it starts to build up. As they try to make their way through, Sky glances to the side, seeing some shady characters with leather jackets with torn sleeves, and punk-style haircuts eyeing them like a dog would do to a bone. He gets right behind Sarah, making sure not to get separated from her. He glances to the right, finding three more people staring at his leader. Roderick lags behind a bit, but is still in view. The shady people start moving in, going in different directions as they get closer to Sarah and Sky.
"Be ready," Sky whispers to Sarah.
"Huh?" Sarah utters.
Just then, one goon makes a grab for Sarah from her side, only for Sky to grab his outstretched left arm, and make an elbow shot to his face, breaking his nose. He follows it up by smashing his elbow on the man's arm, snapping his elbow in the wrong direction. The man screams in pain and falls to the ground. Two more attack, but Sky sees them coming. They throw punches at him, but he grabs them in his hands and pulls both men into each other, smashing their bodies together. He then kicks them to the ground. Sarah looks back to see a fourth guy come at her from behind, but she pulls out one of the parts she bought, wielding it like a bat, and swings away, nailing the guy in the face. He clutches his face, and she swings again at his stomach, knocking the wind out of him and giving Sky the chance to punch him to the ground.
"Who the Hell are these guys?!" Sarah yells as she looks at the unconscious thugs on the ground.
"No one good," Sky replies.
"What are you two doing?" Roderick asks as he finally catches up to them.
"We need to leave, now!" Sarah orders and they make a run for it. Along the way, they bump into Colt. "Colt, we need to get back to the others! I'll explain later," Sarah says, not stopping.
Colt keeps up, "I know. Someone put a bounty on our heads. I'll bet it was Nexus, but I didn't think anyone would go for it this quickly. Must be pretty high," Colt says.
"A bounty?! When?!" Sarah asks.
"I don't know!" Colt replies.
They eventually return to the Hover Cargo, pill in, and head for the control room where Rickie and Grace are.
"Whoa, where's the fire guys?" Rickie asks.
"We have to leave, NOW!" Sarah yells.
With no time to ask why, Rickie gets the Hover Cargo started up and they leave the city.
"We should head to our zoids. Sky, get into the air and scout around for us," Colt says.
Sky nods as he, Colt, Grace, and Sarah move to the hanger where their zoids are. They all strap in, and Rickie gets the catapult ready for Sky and his Pteramander.
"Alright, you're all set, big bro," Rickie says.
"Let's fly," Sky mutters and the catapult launches his zoid into the air, to which he flies even higher to scout around while not being seen.
"Can someone explain to me what is going on now?" Roderick asks from the control room.
"Looks like some people put a bounty on us, and now some thugs are here to try and collect on it. The key word is 'try'," Colt replies.
"What?! Why is it we can never get any kind of peace whenever we go somewhere new?" Grace notes.
"A bounty huh. I kind of like it. Makes us popular in a way," Rickie jokes.
"This isn't the time, Rickie," Sarah says. "Sky, anything to report?" she calls out.
"Large zoid group ahead," Sky reports.
Sarah brings it up on screen, finding a total of twelve Gordos zoids in front of them, waiting to attack.
"Ugh, they must have had other guys waiting for us in case the ones in town failed. Let's make this quick," Grace says.
The three warriors launch their zoids into the battle, and the Geno Storm-Blade and Bravejaguar quickly take off towards the enemy zoids, with the Spinosapper behind them. The Gordos fire off their laser guns, forcing them to scatter, but the Geno Storm-Blade continues to charge ahead. The enemy fires again, but Sarah's partner flies right through them. Activating its sub-arms, the Geno Storm-Blade flies by and slices the legs off of two Gordos, followed by swinging around and firing off its laser cannons, taking out two more. Just as the other Gordos turn around to attack, the Bravejaguar jumps up and clamps its jaws down on the neck of one Gordos, crushing it and breaking the head off. It then fires off its twin laser cannons, taking out two more. The remaining five attack again, but two of them get blasted from behind by the Spinosapper's missile launchers. The remaining three try to make a break for it, but are stopped when the Geno Storm-Blade jumps up and lands right in front of them. The two on the side are quickly cut down by the Bravejaguar's claws and the Spinosapper's chainsaws, leaving the lone Gordos all by itself.
"This can't be right. We had them outnumbered... and they cut us down in seconds," the pilot gasps, shaking in his boots.
The Geno Storm-Blade quickly finishes it off with one clean swing to slash off its front legs.
"Man, that was way too easy," Grace notes.
"These guys aren't with Nexus. They're probably just some bounty hunters or common criminals looking for a quick score. So disappointing," Colt adds.
"Sky, return to the Hover Cargo. We're done down here," Sarah calls out.
…
The leader of the group is tied up outside the Hover Cargo, while the rest of his goons are also tied up, but are all unconscious, either from the battle or when Sky knocked them out with his fists. The leader has dirty brown hair, a vest over a sleeveless shirt and leather pants and boots.
"Alright, start talking. Who hired you?" Sarah interrogates him.
"Heh, you won't get me to say anything," the pilot retorts.
"...Geno, you hungry?" Sarah calls out, and her partner steps up behind her, growling while showing its teeth. "He hasn't had any humans to eat in a while, so he's pretty hungry. I'd start talking if I were you, unless you want to be on today's menu," Sarah threatens him.
The man starts shaking and almost pisses himself as Sarah's partner leans closer to him.
"O-Okay, okay, okay! We were informed about a bounty placed on you guys and learned that you were in town nearby. We already had friends there, but when we learned about it, we came running for a piece of the action. We weren't that far away anyway," the man answers.
"How high is the bounty?" Grace asks.
"50,000. 10,000 for each member. Told it would be doubled if you were all brought back dead," the man replies."
"That's it? I'm actually insulted. That's dirt cheap for someone like me," Colt mutters in annoyance.
"Okay, next question. Who placed the bounty on us?" Sarah asks.
"Don't know. Never saw the guy's face. It was done over communications, but he had his face blacked out so we couldn't see it. All I know is that it was a dude. That's it. That's all I know, I swear!" the man replies.
Sarah stares at him, "...Alright, I believe you. Sky," she says and Sky punches the guy in the face, knocking him out.
"Well, our situation just got a whole lot more difficult now. How are we supposed to get anything done when we have to keep looking over our shoulders for not just Nexus, but criminals and bounty hunters now?" Grace asks.
"We'll figure it out. Right now, we still need to figure out our next move," Sarah says.
"I already informed the local authorities about these criminals. They'll be here shortly to pick them up.
"Well, with that out of the way. I think I have an idea about where to go to next," Colt says.
"And that would be?" Sarah asks.
Colt smirks, "Have you ever been to the tropics?" he asks.
And that's the chapter. A bounty has been placed on Team Lockhart, making things much harder for them now. Meanwhile, Colt has info about a possible Nexus location somewhere deep south from them. Could it be another clue or Nexus base for them to take out? And how will they handle this whole bounty business? Until then, please Read and Review.
