Chapter Five

"I'm gonna ask you one more time. Where the hell is James?" Spike held onto his gun casually, though forcefully resting it against the temple of a nervously sweating guy. The sweating guy happened to be the former accomplice of one valuable bounty head. He had searched for half a day for this man in the artic weather of Pluto. Spike wasn't about to make the situation easy for the man who had run at the sight of him, resulting in a twenty-minute chase through the streets of Pluto City. That hadn't helped Spike's mood one bit. It was bad enough Spike was on the hell ball people called a planet, but to have to chase someone through the snow in negative degree weather was not his idea of a good time. "I'm damn cold right now and I'll use any excuse to take out my anger on anyone. I'll shoot your ass right now without so much as a blink." The sweaty man wiped his brow with a shaking hand. His eyes darted to the gun pushed against his head. He took a deep breath, trying not meet Spike's fierce scarlet gaze. Spike glared at him, stressing to the man that he was not afraid to use the gun.

"I swear, I don't know! I left him in the docking port that day and I haven't seen him since!" Spike's patience for this whole mission was wearing thin, and he was seriously considering throwing in the towel. Yet, whenever he though of giving up, a zero filled number popped into his head, and greed strengthened his will to go on. He was not about to let the biggest bounty he'd seen his three years of hunting fall into the hands of someone who was going to piss the money away. A man could not live on bell peppers and noodles alone. Drake James' accomplice had to be the most annoying man in the universe, though. Several times during the conversation Spike's finger twitched on the trigger, but Spike wasn't one to shoot someone without a valid reason. At least not anymore. Especially not a person who possibly knew where a small fortune was running around. And one who had his own bounty on his head.

"You must know if he has any friends on Neptune. He has to be hiding with someone, the planet is but so big," Spike growled maliciously.

"He has no friends. He's new at this. I was shocked when I heard what he did. I had to drag him by his hair to help me rob the port and he was the one who fucked that up." The man wiped his brow again and gulped. "I don't know much about him. He grew up on Mercury I think. You might want to try there." Spike's eyes narrowed in anger. There is no way in hell I am going to Mercury.

"You have been absolutely no help, do you realize that?" Spike pressed the gun harder against the man's temple. The man gasped and started to tremble. How is it possible for me to be dealing with complete amateurs, but I still haven't found the fucking bounty head?

"I'm—I'm sorry! It's all I know!" Spike dropped the gun away from the man's head. He exhaled as though he hadn't the whole time he was talking with Spike, looking like he was about to wet himself. With a smooth motion, Spike kicked the guy in the stomach and he collapsed. Spike cuffed him then, without much caution, dragged him to the closest police station. The guy's bounty was only three hundred woolongs.

Spike stood outside the station and lit a cigarette, procrastinating about his trip back to Neptune. Heaving a great sigh, he glanced up at the smoky gray sky, running his hand through his hair. A snowflake landed in his eye.

"Someone up there must hate me."

*****

I have returning readers. Good. That's what I like to see. Thank you to all my reviewers. As I've said, a formal thank you will come later. Keep reading, you know you want to.

shut up