The next morning, he woke by the light filtering through the windows. Then his alarm went off. He groaned, turned off his alarm and got up. Breakfast then shower. Johan stretched out his spine. Breakfast was simple with a bowl of cereal and a banana while watching some cartoons. After his shower he dressed in a simple white long sleeve shirt with an orange t-shirt jacket over it, his googles around his neck, a pair of dark blue jeans, socks and running shoes on his feet. He packed a black sling backpack with a full water bottle, a couple of snacks, his wallet, a pair of work gloves. Johan checked the time on his phone before stuffing it in his pocket. It was just after nine thirty. He pushed his bike out of the warehouse and locked it up. Next stop, work.
Johan ended up at rundown restaurant at the west edge of town. He sat down at an empty table and order a glass of water. His business plan was simple. Let the work come to him. Over the past two years he'd gain a reputation as a decent bounty hunter. At first he had to hunt down his jobs but now he just had to hang out here and it wouldn't be long before someone came to him. On the wall next to bar was a large screen showing the news. He wasn't watching long till someone came up to his table. Johan turn his full attention on him. It was a man in a wrinkled-fill shirt with the sleeve poorly rolled up. His hair was sprawled all over with the occasional grey hair standing out.
"You Geo Advervent?" The man asked.
"That depends on what you want." Johan answered. The man took a seat on the opposite side of the table.
"How about a tri-scepter dual processor." He answered. Johan had to struggle not roll his eyes or huff. But somehow he kept his cool composer.
"Those are hard to get a hold of. What do you have in return?" Johan started to tip his chair back slightly. The man was now leaning forward.
"Three hundred." He said firmly.
"Five hundred!" Johan retorted just as firmly staring the man down his chair flat on the ground again. He didn't need much for food and other necessities but he still had to pay back Hadley for his helping loan. The man looked to the side contemplating it for a second.
"How about three seventy-five with a down payment of the seventy-five and a free ID scan, Alpha level?" He offered. Johan leaned back against the chair again thinking about it. The payment wasn't bad and ID scans weren't cheap period! A free one may come in handy someday. Johan knew where he could get his hands on the processor. There were worse jobs he'd done with less of a reward.
"Alright. You got a deal." Johan stuck out a hand to shake. The man smiled and gave him a firm shake then handed him his seventy-five dollars.
"I can get it to you by as late as tomorrow morning. Where do you want the pick up?" Johan leaned back again.
"Right here. Can you get it here by closing?" The man replied. Johan knew he should charge a bit extra for a tight timeline. But he didn't want to be a bounty hunter, all he wanted to be was thirteen back home with Mom, Dad and Katherine. So he knocked the opportunity away with a nod. The man nodded again then left him alone. Closing was at ten thirty. He checked the time at the bottom of the news cast. A few minutes after ten. That gave him twelve and half hours. Johan down the rest of water in his glass and got up to leave.
It was a sunny day again with a stale breeze tossing his bangs to the sides. He pulled out a small black rubber rod from his bag and gave it a hard jerk down. Almost instantly his bike appeared. Despite living here for two years Johan still didn't understand completely how all the tech worked. But as long as it worked he didn't question it too much. He hopped on heading for the nearest transport station at the north end of town. Johan kept his fast and paced speed. The sooner he got there the less likely he would have to wait. Some people merely got out of the way without thinking twice, but others would make him go around them then give him a few choice words. He skidded to a stop at the sky station. The station constantly reminded him of a train station mixed with a space port in Star Wars. There were a several of maps line in a row with people checking them out. With a swift yank upwards on the handle bar it shrunk back into the grip and stuffed it in his bag. Johan walked over to an open map and touched the screen. It instantly changed to a dark screen a list of shuttles heading to the closest terminal to his destination. And the most recent one was just about to leave! Just my luck! Johan quickly paid and his ticket came out of the screen. Johan snagged the ticket then rushed off to the correct port. The door was just starting to close when he got there. He jumped on the rising door tucking his head down so he wouldn't bang it. Hopefully that was the last close call for the day. He took a seat next to the window on the far side of ship. It started to rise straight up in the air showing off the vast landscape of a suburb, city and open land. Johan pulled out snack from his back and tore off the top of the packing. Before he could even take a bite a small kid walked up in front of him with a smile on his face. Johan looked at him till he spoke.
"Hey mister! Do you have any more snacks? I ate breakfast but it still wasn't enough." The kid asked with still a smile on his face. Johan had no idea how to react. Fortunately for him before he could think of anything the boy's mother came over.
"Shinya Caladsra! How many times have I told you? Don't go asking people for their food!" She scowled him before turning to Johan.
"I'm really sorry about all of this." She apologized.
"There's no need. In fact, I do have some extra snacks." Johan dug in his bag and pulled out the rest of his snacks. He held them in display in both his hands for the kid to see.
"Take your pick! I shouldn't be eating all of this anyway." He offered. The kid's smile broke even bigger as he took a granola bar out of his hand.
"Thanks! You're nice! I like you." The kid said then walked off. Johan turned back to his mom to see how she would react. She thanked him and apologized again then walked off as well. What's the matter with kids these days? When I was that age we'd never go around asking from food from strangers. Great now I'm sounding like my grandparents. He thought munching on his own snack. For the rest of the flight he looked out the window at how the Earth curved and glowed by the sun with the black space as the backdrop.