Disclaimer: I do not own Metroid.
"Nice Ream,your wife leaves for three days, and by the first evening, the entire house is torn apart," Bill commented, peering around his best friend's living room. The couch cushions were tossed around the room, popcorn littered the floor and in the corner, a potted plant laid on it's side, soil pouring over onto the carpet.
"This is what I get for volunteering to host Constance's sleepover," Ream said, collecting a few empty plastic cups and stuffing them into a garbage bags. "Who knew five four year olds could cause so much trouble." Bill laughed.
"You should have known by Miranna's kids," Bill said, a painful pang hitting his heart as he said it. "Your brother-in-law nearly burned the house down trying to cook for those two."
"Yeah, well at least I can cook," Ream said. "Not well but I can cook." Bill picked up a vaccum and turned it on, the loud roar of the suction creating din in the otherwise peaceful house.
"Why did you even have kids?" Bill asked, attempting to clean up some of the popcorn kernels.
"It's not like I said, 'I want two daughters' and poof, they magically appeared," Ream said, trying to be heard over the noise. "But it's been a wonderful thing, fatherhood. You would make a wonderful father, Bill. I see the way you are with Miranna's kids. They love you."
'There's a reason for that' Bill thought to himself. He would never have kids, unless...
Miranna...
He pushed the name away. He loved Miranna. She never felt the same way, and she found someone else. Bill suppressed his jealous rage. He would be happy that she was happy. He did love her children, and he treated them as if they were his own. With those two and Ream's daughters, he had plenty enough family.
Besides, having kids meant settling down, and Bill never wanted to do that.
Bill drummed his fingers on the hard metal arm of his chair. His new base was being set up. The higher authorities were beginning to become annoyed with is constant change of bases, but how could they complain when the other forces were discovered at least once every other month.
He switched his thoughts to the other situation at hand. Rista and Samus were heading to Earth, and there was only one reason for that. They wanted to speak with Colleen. Hmmm, he would have to draw her away for some reason. Her traitorous behavior was getting on his nerves, and he would have do something about it. Not yet though, she added flavor to this very delicious twist of fate.
Bill would have his revenge on Rista. He would try to avoid hurting Samus, though he would have to kill her should she pose any threat. The Pirates would literally kill him if he let her get away once in his grasp. Rista had to die. He waited so long for this, and he would not be disapointed this time around.
XXXX
"So where does Mrs. Eurynache live exactly?" Rista asked, looking around the bustling hangar in Bingen, Washington, USA.
"The Federation records said this was the town," Samus said. Rista and her were going to try to gain access to her home by dressing as Federation workers. The only outfit that Samus owned that even resembled the semi-formal attire of the higher authorities was a pair of black slacks that had only been worn once, in her earlier days, when she was tracking down a black market/mobster buisness man. Her light blue shirt reached just below her elbows, effectively covering her scar.
Rista, on the other hand, was going to stay outside the apartment complex that the Eurynaches resided in, listening to any conversation inside through a reciever for the microphone that was under Samus' shirt. She played around with it, snapping it on and off.
"Stop that," Samus hissed. "It's beginning to annoy me." Rista sighed.
"Sorry," She grumbled. Then she added in a louder voice,"Bingen, eh? I think I know someone who lives here."
"What does he do? Grand theft? Mass murderer?" Samus said dryly.
"Ha, ha, you crack me up," Rista said sarcastically. She looked at passerby's faces, hoping to see a familiar one. No such luck. A deep chuckle sounded behind them. Samus and Rista turned to see a short, dark haired, tanned man, with bulky muscles that showed through his shirt.
"Sharp as eva', Rista," The man said. "Thought ya forget 'bout Unca Gordie." Rista grinned.
"How'd you-"
"Ya forgettin',I nearly run this here place naw," He said. "I screen evra' body. That there ship said that you were a passenger, and I left ta see ya 'fore you ran off. Not another word spoken. Had to see my lil' Rista."
"It's good to see you," Rista squealed. "Though Darryl wants to kill you because you took the chance to do a legal trade." Gordie shrugged.
"Twas a family bizness," He said. "Felt lak I could use da money. Still, I do some...extra bizness to keep it runnin' smoothly."
"I'm sure." Rista seemed excited and giddy to Samus. Like a little girl almost. She almost expected Rista to start jumping up and down, clapping her hands and giggling. The image was in Samus' mind, practically, an eight year old Rista dancing around her mother, gushing about going to the fair and whatnot.
"Who's she?" Gordie asked, mentioning to Samus. "I musta missed 'er name."
"This is Samus," Rista introduced her to Gordie. "She's a bounty hunter." A look of realization crossed Gordies face. His mouth dropped, as the rest of his face formed, then froze, into an expression of shock. When he recovered, he looked from Rista to Samus to Rista again.
"The Samus A-" He began, but Samus quickly cut him off.
"The one and only," She said hastily. "It was nice meeting you Gordie, but we have somewhere to be."
"Rista, do ya know what she is?" Gordie said. "We don mingle with none of 'em bounty hunter folk. She a famous one. Maybe she the one that took out Maybelle. Eva' thought of that."
"Samus almost excusively deals with the Space Pirates," Rista said defensively. "She is going after Bill Werster, just as I am, and we make a good team." Gordie shook his head in disbelief.
"Where eva' Darryl is naw, if he hears you traveling with a bounty hunter, he'd be boilin' with rage," Gordie said. "Took ya in, and we all treated ya like our own daughta', and what do ya do in return? Ya start mingling with the wrong folk. Why, with all I say right here, she'd probably turn me in this instant."
"If I have a mission dealing with a single person, as yourself, they are at least at a Level Five Danger Alert," Samus said. "I don't bother with lowlife scum such as yourself; so, don't flatter yourself." Gordie growled, but he did not say another thing on the matter.
"Rista, I'll be goin'. If you eva' need help, just call on Unca' Gordie," He said. "And next time, try to lose da bounty hunter."
"Right..." Rista muttered in a low voice. She watched as Gordie disapeared into the crowd. It was a perfected technique, blending into the people around him with such skill that he was practically invisable if he wanted to be. Rista could do it, not as well as her adoptive family, but to most people, it worked wonderfully. Probably the reason why was that they trained her to be a criminal, but in the end, she never wanted to live up their expectations. She only wanted revenge. She supposed that once she got her revenge that she would run the "family" trade, but at the moment, she only had one thing in sight for the future.
"Unca' Gordie, huh?" Samus said, breaking Rista out of her reverie.
"Gordie, Maybelle, Marco, Grimble and Darryl made up my family of outlaws," Rista explained. "Maybelle was captured by a bounty hunter and is serving a life term and Marco was killed on one of the moons of Xielon. The last I heard of Grimble, he was trying to attain inner-peace back on his homeplanet of Grostox. Gordie came back here to take over his late brother's ship hangar and Darryl, my 'old man', is wandering the stars, on the run from the authorities."
"Close knit family, eh?" Rista laughed.
"I suppose we're not any more," She said wistfully. "The last I saw Darryl was three years ago. Haven't heard from him since. He was looking haggard and gaunt, not in good condition. I pray he's still alive; probably would hear something on the news about it if he was dead. Especially if he was caught by the Galatic Police." She shrugged.
"C'mon, we have to meet Colleen," She said, changing the subject. "The records gave you her address, right?" Samus nodded.
"I have no access to ground transport. We're going to have to take a taxi," Samus said. "Not ideal transportation, but it will get the job done." She looked Rista over. "Do you have to be outside for the microphone to work?" She asked. "You've been wearing the same thing since I met you. Perhaps you would like to buy a new outfit while we're here?"
Rista stared down at herself. Since Samus was a few inches taller and more muscular than Rista made it hard for Rista to borrow her clothing. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I'll have the driver take me to a shopping district or something once you're dropped off." Then she sighed. "Just one thing. I have no money." Samus gave an identical sigh.
She ran back into her ship; when she exited, she pressed some cash into Rista's hand.
"You'll probably have to find an exchange shop around here," Samus told her. "I hear that countries here tend to use their own money still instead of the Galatic currency." Rista nodded.
"Thanks," She said. "I figure one of these days I'll have to pay you back."
"We'll see." Samus started walking off towards the road, looking for a vehicle to take them to Colleen's apartment.
"We'll see what?"
"Whether or not I like you." Samus said. Neither her or Rista had ever hailed a taxi before, and to their dismay, it was not nearly as easy as it looked. Aftert they finally got one to stop, they quickly leapt in, and Samus told the driver Colleen's address. The taxi buzzed away.
"Also, me and my...sister are tourists here, and we'd like to know where the best place to buy a new outfit is," Rista nearly choked on the lie. The driver looked back at them in the mirror, his dirty, unshaven face scowling at them.
"That would be Smithies Shopping District," He said in a hoarse voice. Rista pretended to giggle.
"Great, sis, you go see Auntie Lila, and I'll go ahead to the store," She said in a high-pitched girly tone. Samus rolled her eyes but remained silent.
"Ya'll don't look much alike... ah, never mind," The driver grumbled. It was a good twenty minute ride to Colleen's apartment building. Samus slipped out and handed the driver some bills.
"Thatshould be enough for her ride too, but if she needs more then she can pay you," Samus told him. Rista watched her walk away before the taxi sped off. She peered out the window and let her thoughts drift away.
"Plaid? I hate plaid, Mom," Rista groaned to her mother. The woman laughed.
"Now why dear?" Her mother asked, holding a gray dress up to Rista's body.
"It's so old fashioned," She complained. "Last time I wore plaid for my school picture, everyone laughed and called me an old lady. Besides, no one dresses up for their school picture anymore. That's so kindergarten."
"It's absolutely adorable," She said. "I loved plaid when I was your age. I still do. So does your grandmother. It's apart of being a Wilkens girl."
"Guess I'm no Wilkens girl," Rista said, referring to her grandmother's maiden name. "I'm a Nevaria." Her mother laughed.
"That's the spirit," She said, hanging the dress back on the rack.
"I'm like you in everyway, looks and all," Rista told her.
Except...
Rista pushed the thought away. It was painful, thinking of that day. Subconsciously, she put her hand over her eyes. The taxi came to a screeching halt. Rista got out and threw some money at the driver, even though she did not owe him anything. She walked briskly away.
She would have her revenge on Bill. Even before her family was killed, she knew she would have it.
It all happened that one day, so long ago...
Authors Note: Just picked that town off a map. Wanted some place in Washington and decided to stay away from big cities. Is Bingen a big city? Honestly, I have no clue. Remember, reviews are greatly appreciated!
