"$30,000,000 for her capture?! That's insane!"
"She has to be caught. I'll bay the bounty myself Inspector."
"She's only wanted for attempted murder, a bounty this high for that kind of crime is ludicrous. Lower it to $500,000, please."
"Why are you so concerned about this?"
"I don't want all the cut throats in hell's half acre to come out of the woodwork. It will just increase the crime level. It's already bad enough."
"Fine. Half a million, but I'm going to say this. When she kills, I won't be there to clean up for you."
~~~~~~~~~~~
He took a drag of his cigarette. Like a taster of wines he held it in to let the smoke fill his senses. He let it out in a long stream. A small cat meowed at the tall dark man seated in his lawn chair. He clamped down on the cigarette and picked up the small cat.
"Hey Charlie. How's my boy?" he said as he stroked the black feline.
He puffed again on his cigarette then put it out. The cat jumped off his lap as he began to stand up. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he began to walk inside. The phone rang as he stepped into the small shack. It startled him slightly but recomposed quickly and picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Whiskey, that you?"
"Mike?"
"Yeah. Listen, I just got wind of a new job for yeah."
"I told you Mike. I don't do that anymore."
"Well listen to this, seems a girl has a $500,000 dollar bounty on her head."
"So?"
"So, they're going to raise her bounty by $500,000 per day and if she's caught alive, they'll instantly double it."
Whiskey looked around his beat up shack of a house.
"What did she do?" Whiskey asked is a precise matter.
"Attempted murder. They didn't say how or why."
He shifted then gave a heaving sigh, looked around his shack again,
"I'll do it."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two martial arts students bowed to their instructor then turned and bowed to each other. Once they finished, they snapped into fighting poses. Their eyes focused on each other, their body's moving slightly with anticipation at the coming fight. Hundreds of parents had shown up for the fight.
"Go timothy!" The parents of one of the boys shouted.
The red haired boy blushed at his parents' outburst. The other black haired boy heard nothing. That was all the praise he needed. He knew she was there. He just knew she was watching.
"Fighters ready!?"
"AIYA!"
"BEGIN!"
Timothy came at the black haired boy full-force, his blows hard enough to break a jaw. His opponent parried them all they began to retaliate with blows of his own. As the boys fought, she looked on with joy on her face. The woman next to her tapped her on the shoulder.
"So, which one's yours?"
She paused as Timothy's opponent through him to the ground and pinned him.
"That's my boy."
"Oh your Megale's mother."
"No, just his watcher."
She smiled but the woman eased off like from a wild cat. Megale bowed to Timothy then to his instructor and walked off the floor. After the expedition, he changed in the bathroom by himself while all the other parents and kids hugged and cried and took too many photos to count. He put on his favorite raiders hat over his now soggy black hair and walked out of the back with his bag and new belt. He looked around cautiously then gave a whistle. A black mass crashed out of the trees and landed in front of him.
"You always did like to make an entrance."
"Is that anyway to talk to your mother?"
Miguel straightened up but a warm hearted laugh wasn't far away from them both.
"So how did I do?"
"Wonderful! You make me very proud."
"Really?"
"Come on Miguel. You know why I'm not there for you all the time but I try my best to make sure you're taken care of. It's never been a question about if I was proud of you or not, its weather or not I can be a good mother to you. You're all I have left."
Her son grabbed onto her.
"You're all I have left too." he said with tears rolling down his face. "I don't want you to go."
"I must Miguel. The stakes are higher now. The man who's after me just put a big $500,000 bounty on my head. You must stay out of danger. I need to disappear again but I swear I'll be back."
"I love you mom."
"I love you too Nightingale."
Miguel broke away from his mother and wiped his eyes.
"Now get home. I'll watch you 'til you get on the bus. Tell Ron and Katy I said hi and the check will be there."
"Okay."
"Cheer up. One day, this will all be over and we can be a family again, I promise.
Miguel smiled and picked his stuff back up. He began to walk away when a shiver of fear ran up his back. He turned to see his mother still standing there. She stood there watching as he turned back around and walked to the bus stop. As the bus screeched to a halt, his mother disappeared into the streets.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Midnight in the Mohave Desert. Nothing but sand, death and rocks as far as the eye could see. Whiskey's Harley Davidson was doing at least 100 down the highway, with Charlie safely tucked away under his jacket Mike was going to meet him on the Nevada-Utah border to start the hunt for her. She had last been seen in San Francisco headed south. They thought she would either head straight for Los Angeles or head to Oakland then change direction quicker. Whiskey wasn't sure this girl was that hard find, she was probably just hard to catch, which is the case with most criminals. But …… this time it seemed different. Somehow, someway this bounty was going to be different then anything he had ever dreamed of in his life.
"I'm delusional." He said to himself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You wanted to see me sir?" a young man said as he walked cautiously into his boss's office.
"Yes, I understand you're head of our Military Research Department."
"Yes Mr. Corell."
"Have you come up with that new serum yet?"
"We still can't get a subject to survive the enhancement."
"Did you bring a sample of what you have so far?"
"Yes sir, but it's very…. unstable."
"Open the box Pattson."
"Yes sir."
While Pattson opened the suitcase he had, Corell pressed a button under his desk.
"Here sir."
Pattson handed him the metal tube of serum and looked down in shame.
"Pity. I would have thought better from one of my employees."
Suddenly, Pattson was grabbed by two massive guards. Corell put the serum into its gun and put in a needle.
"I want results. I like getting my way. Jumping through hoops for the public is one thing, but jumping through hoops for my own subordinate is quite another. I will not tolerate it."
"No please no." Pattson pleaded as Corell drew closer, needle in hand.
"It's too late for please, you're relying on deef ears."
"NO!"
RING
The room froze. Corell eased back from Pattson and heard the phone again. He grabbed the receiver.
"What is it?!"
He listened to the other end and went from angry to gradually more happy as the conversation went on.
"Very well, keep me informed."
Click
He glared and turned around.
"Good news, you may be spared from the stab of this needle."
Corell walked towards the door and motioned the henchman forward, dragging Pattson with them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The motorcycle stopped and its rider let the spring-loaded kickstand down. Whiskey took off his helmet and tossed his jet black hair like a salad.
"Whiskey Delta Hotel, speak of the devil." a fat middle-aged man called.
"Mike Bravo Echo. It's been too long my friend."
"Yes, far too long for Army buds to be split up."
"I think it was for the better."
Mike only laughed at Whiskey's sly remark.
"So you catch her scent?" Mike asked.
"Yeah but….. I'm skeptical, something's different here that, well, I just can't put my finger on it."
"Spit it out boy."
"I think I'm scared."
"What?!"
"Yeah, I'm worried something bad is going to happen."
"What's the worse that could happen?"
"I could fall in love with her."
"Okay, so that's the worse case scenario but, hey, from what I heard about what she did, she'd kill ya before you could look at her."
"Very reassuring."
A long pause began between them, only broken by the soft meow of Charlie.
"So, where she headed?"
"Los Angeles or Oakland, she likes big cities, lots of people to hid behind."
"You got any sightings?"
"A couple in San Fran, mostly near parks. I also keep seeing something about a bracelet she wares made out of noodles and shells, like a kid would make."
"Anything else?"
"Nope that's all I know so now it's your turn. I'm only the receiver, you're the quarterback. You make the plays."
"Okay then, let's get to work."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"She has to be caught. I'll bay the bounty myself Inspector."
"She's only wanted for attempted murder, a bounty this high for that kind of crime is ludicrous. Lower it to $500,000, please."
"Why are you so concerned about this?"
"I don't want all the cut throats in hell's half acre to come out of the woodwork. It will just increase the crime level. It's already bad enough."
"Fine. Half a million, but I'm going to say this. When she kills, I won't be there to clean up for you."
~~~~~~~~~~~
He took a drag of his cigarette. Like a taster of wines he held it in to let the smoke fill his senses. He let it out in a long stream. A small cat meowed at the tall dark man seated in his lawn chair. He clamped down on the cigarette and picked up the small cat.
"Hey Charlie. How's my boy?" he said as he stroked the black feline.
He puffed again on his cigarette then put it out. The cat jumped off his lap as he began to stand up. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he began to walk inside. The phone rang as he stepped into the small shack. It startled him slightly but recomposed quickly and picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Whiskey, that you?"
"Mike?"
"Yeah. Listen, I just got wind of a new job for yeah."
"I told you Mike. I don't do that anymore."
"Well listen to this, seems a girl has a $500,000 dollar bounty on her head."
"So?"
"So, they're going to raise her bounty by $500,000 per day and if she's caught alive, they'll instantly double it."
Whiskey looked around his beat up shack of a house.
"What did she do?" Whiskey asked is a precise matter.
"Attempted murder. They didn't say how or why."
He shifted then gave a heaving sigh, looked around his shack again,
"I'll do it."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two martial arts students bowed to their instructor then turned and bowed to each other. Once they finished, they snapped into fighting poses. Their eyes focused on each other, their body's moving slightly with anticipation at the coming fight. Hundreds of parents had shown up for the fight.
"Go timothy!" The parents of one of the boys shouted.
The red haired boy blushed at his parents' outburst. The other black haired boy heard nothing. That was all the praise he needed. He knew she was there. He just knew she was watching.
"Fighters ready!?"
"AIYA!"
"BEGIN!"
Timothy came at the black haired boy full-force, his blows hard enough to break a jaw. His opponent parried them all they began to retaliate with blows of his own. As the boys fought, she looked on with joy on her face. The woman next to her tapped her on the shoulder.
"So, which one's yours?"
She paused as Timothy's opponent through him to the ground and pinned him.
"That's my boy."
"Oh your Megale's mother."
"No, just his watcher."
She smiled but the woman eased off like from a wild cat. Megale bowed to Timothy then to his instructor and walked off the floor. After the expedition, he changed in the bathroom by himself while all the other parents and kids hugged and cried and took too many photos to count. He put on his favorite raiders hat over his now soggy black hair and walked out of the back with his bag and new belt. He looked around cautiously then gave a whistle. A black mass crashed out of the trees and landed in front of him.
"You always did like to make an entrance."
"Is that anyway to talk to your mother?"
Miguel straightened up but a warm hearted laugh wasn't far away from them both.
"So how did I do?"
"Wonderful! You make me very proud."
"Really?"
"Come on Miguel. You know why I'm not there for you all the time but I try my best to make sure you're taken care of. It's never been a question about if I was proud of you or not, its weather or not I can be a good mother to you. You're all I have left."
Her son grabbed onto her.
"You're all I have left too." he said with tears rolling down his face. "I don't want you to go."
"I must Miguel. The stakes are higher now. The man who's after me just put a big $500,000 bounty on my head. You must stay out of danger. I need to disappear again but I swear I'll be back."
"I love you mom."
"I love you too Nightingale."
Miguel broke away from his mother and wiped his eyes.
"Now get home. I'll watch you 'til you get on the bus. Tell Ron and Katy I said hi and the check will be there."
"Okay."
"Cheer up. One day, this will all be over and we can be a family again, I promise.
Miguel smiled and picked his stuff back up. He began to walk away when a shiver of fear ran up his back. He turned to see his mother still standing there. She stood there watching as he turned back around and walked to the bus stop. As the bus screeched to a halt, his mother disappeared into the streets.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Midnight in the Mohave Desert. Nothing but sand, death and rocks as far as the eye could see. Whiskey's Harley Davidson was doing at least 100 down the highway, with Charlie safely tucked away under his jacket Mike was going to meet him on the Nevada-Utah border to start the hunt for her. She had last been seen in San Francisco headed south. They thought she would either head straight for Los Angeles or head to Oakland then change direction quicker. Whiskey wasn't sure this girl was that hard find, she was probably just hard to catch, which is the case with most criminals. But …… this time it seemed different. Somehow, someway this bounty was going to be different then anything he had ever dreamed of in his life.
"I'm delusional." He said to himself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You wanted to see me sir?" a young man said as he walked cautiously into his boss's office.
"Yes, I understand you're head of our Military Research Department."
"Yes Mr. Corell."
"Have you come up with that new serum yet?"
"We still can't get a subject to survive the enhancement."
"Did you bring a sample of what you have so far?"
"Yes sir, but it's very…. unstable."
"Open the box Pattson."
"Yes sir."
While Pattson opened the suitcase he had, Corell pressed a button under his desk.
"Here sir."
Pattson handed him the metal tube of serum and looked down in shame.
"Pity. I would have thought better from one of my employees."
Suddenly, Pattson was grabbed by two massive guards. Corell put the serum into its gun and put in a needle.
"I want results. I like getting my way. Jumping through hoops for the public is one thing, but jumping through hoops for my own subordinate is quite another. I will not tolerate it."
"No please no." Pattson pleaded as Corell drew closer, needle in hand.
"It's too late for please, you're relying on deef ears."
"NO!"
RING
The room froze. Corell eased back from Pattson and heard the phone again. He grabbed the receiver.
"What is it?!"
He listened to the other end and went from angry to gradually more happy as the conversation went on.
"Very well, keep me informed."
Click
He glared and turned around.
"Good news, you may be spared from the stab of this needle."
Corell walked towards the door and motioned the henchman forward, dragging Pattson with them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The motorcycle stopped and its rider let the spring-loaded kickstand down. Whiskey took off his helmet and tossed his jet black hair like a salad.
"Whiskey Delta Hotel, speak of the devil." a fat middle-aged man called.
"Mike Bravo Echo. It's been too long my friend."
"Yes, far too long for Army buds to be split up."
"I think it was for the better."
Mike only laughed at Whiskey's sly remark.
"So you catch her scent?" Mike asked.
"Yeah but….. I'm skeptical, something's different here that, well, I just can't put my finger on it."
"Spit it out boy."
"I think I'm scared."
"What?!"
"Yeah, I'm worried something bad is going to happen."
"What's the worse that could happen?"
"I could fall in love with her."
"Okay, so that's the worse case scenario but, hey, from what I heard about what she did, she'd kill ya before you could look at her."
"Very reassuring."
A long pause began between them, only broken by the soft meow of Charlie.
"So, where she headed?"
"Los Angeles or Oakland, she likes big cities, lots of people to hid behind."
"You got any sightings?"
"A couple in San Fran, mostly near parks. I also keep seeing something about a bracelet she wares made out of noodles and shells, like a kid would make."
"Anything else?"
"Nope that's all I know so now it's your turn. I'm only the receiver, you're the quarterback. You make the plays."
"Okay then, let's get to work."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~