A New Hunt
An El Cazador de la Bruja Fanfiction
Chapter 2: The Silver Tongued Sniper
Author's Notes: Here you go whoever is actually reading this one. The Cazador section of the site seems a little barren, and I'm glad to inject a bit of new material into it. Here is chapter 2 for your reading pleasure! ^_^
"Mommy, daddy, look!" A little girl with pink hair and green eyes said as she ran up to her parents with a handful of flowers.
"Honey, look." An older woman said. "Aren't they beautiful?" She said, taking the small bouquet and inhaling their sweet scent.
"Why yes." The man standing next to her said. "Thank you very much, Lirio." He said, patting his daughter gently on the head.
Lirio gasped out loud as she quickly opened her eyes. Ellis was still sleeping peacefully next to her, so Lirio carefully got up and went to the bathroom. After getting a drink and turning the bathroom light off, Lirio was about to head back to bed.
"Bad dreams?" Ricardo asked, to which Lirio shook her head no. "Was it a dream about them?" He asked. This time, Lirio nodded the affirmative. "Hang on to those good memories. I know you miss 'em. But I'm sure they'd be proud of you if they saw you now."
"Who are you talking about?" Nadie asked, rubbing her eyes.
"You're awake?" Ricardo asked.
"Yeah, barely." Nadie said through a yawn. "Everything alright?"
"Yeah. Lirio just had a dream about her parents is all."
"Her parents?" Nadie asked. "That's right. I've never heard anything about them."
Lirio just ignored the conversation and slipped back into bed with Ellis, snuggling up close to the older girl.
"You'll have to excuse her." Ricardo said. "The memories are painful for her."
"What happened?"
"Come on, Nadie. Make sure your gun is ready. Let's go for a walk."
"My gun? What for?" Nadie asked.
"Call it a hunch." Ricardo said, leaving the room without another word.
"Hey! Wait a minute!" Nadie said, following Ricardo. "Ricardo, what the hell is going on?" Nadie asked as she closed the door to their room behind her.
"The next room down. Listen." He said, drawing his revolver.
When Nadie concentrated, she could faintly hear what sounded like someone trying to pack in a hurry. "What's that?"
"He's been following us for some time now." Ricardo said. "He knows I'm onto him, so it sounds like he's trying to clean up shop."
"Dammit!" They heard a man yell from the other side of the door.
"Now." Ricardo said as he forced the door open, his gun at the ready.
Inside the room, there was a man with his dark brown hair tied in a ponytail ending at the middle of his back. He was dressed in a green and yellow set of pajamas and was sitting on the room's bed with a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth, holding his foot as if he was in pain. "Whoa!" The man said, the toothbrush falling to the floor. "Okay, okay! You got me!" He said, quickly raising his hands into the air.
"Who are you?" Ricardo asked, not lowering his weapon in the slightest.
"Ricardo, are you sure about this?" Nadie asked. "I think we just held up someone who was getting ready for bed."
"Not likely." Ricardo said. "You made a mistake, booking this room right after we got ours."
"That's the only mistake I made?" The man asked, looking at Ricardo in disbelief. "There had to have been more than that!"
"To be honest, you weren't exactly subtle." Ricardo said, remembering seeing this person following them earlier that day.
"Do you honestly think I was going for subtle wearing what I was?" The man asked, lowering his hands and resting them on his knees.
"Wait a minute, you were following us?" Nadie asked.
"Of course not!" The man exclaimed. "The name is Guy Songer, and I wasn't following your group. Rather, I was following you." He said, looking directly at Nadie.
"Me?" She asked. "Mind explaining yourself?"
"At this point, gladly." Guy said. "Mind if I change into something a bit less casual first though?"
"Answer the lady's question." Ricardo said. "I'd like to know what you're up to as well, and you're in no position to argue."
Guy sighed in defeat. "Fine, I guess I owe you an explanation. Okay, here's how it is." He said, clearing his throat. "I saw you first from across the bar. Unfortunately, the most complex thing I can say in Spanish is 'Me gusta el queso', so I figured there was no way I could talk to you."
"You wanted to talk to me?" Nadie asked.
"Who wouldn't?" Guy asked. "Hell, I'm shocked that half the bar wasn't swooning over you. Then again, guns McGee here might have unintentionally kept them at bay." Guy said, pointing to Ricardo. "I heard you two speaking English to each other, so I figured maybe there was a chance. I was only following you to find out if you were available was all."
"What?" Nadie asked, unsure of what else to say.
"Yeah." Guy said. "I didn't know if he was your boyfriend or husband or not, and I certainly wasn't about to risk a fight by walking up and asking. Hell, with that little girl with you, I thought it was just me being too hopeful. I figured maybe she was yours."
"Really?" Ricardo asked, relaxing his grip on his gun a little bit.
"Yeah. Admittedly I might have gone a little far in booking this room, but since you two didn't seem to be particularly intimate I figured I'd stay a night to be sure and maybe ask you out for a coffee in the morning." Guy said, looking at Nadie.
Nadie was about to respond, but something in the bag Guy was packing previously caught her eye. She saw a glint of metal in the moonlight under the clothes. "What's that in the bag?" She asked.
"No way I'm reaching for that." Guy said, glancing at the bag. "If you wanna see it, you're gonna have to get it yourself. I don't need a bullet in me just because you wanted to see my gun." He said, looking nervously at Ricardo's revolver.
Ricardo, still holding the gun to Guy, stepped forward and grabbed the bag. Without turning around, he tossed it at Nadie's feet.
"There, now you have the only weapon of mine within reach." Guy said. "Mind lowering your gun, sir?"
"Hey." Nadie said, looking closely at the bag. "This has a United States Armed Forces logo on it."
"Sergeant Guy Songer, US Marine Scout Sniper, at your service ma'am." Guy said, giving a small bow.
Reaching into the bag, Nadie pulled out the metallic object she had seen. It was a chrome plated .44 magnum revolver with an ivory handle. "Somehow I doubt this was military issue." She said, examining the weapon closely.
"It's not." Guy said. "It's one of my private treasures. My other one is in the closet there in case you still don't trust me." He said, motioning to a closed closet.
Nadie moved over to the closet and opened it, revealing a long bag with a single carrying strap. "What's this?" Nadie asked, taking the bag from the closet and unzipping it.
"Careful." Guy said. "That's my pride and joy right there."
"Whoa!" Nadie exclaimed, producing a large rifle from within the bag. "Look at the scope on this thing!"
"A sniper rifle?" Ricardo asked.
"I told you I was a scout sniper, didn't I?" Guy said, standing up from the bed. Guy's sudden move made Ricardo tighten his focus. "Hey, come on. I'm letting her play with my toys, and I've been straight with you." Guy said. "Besides, how much trouble are you really expecting from a man whose mouth is still full of minty foam?"
"I've got my eye on you." Ricardo said, lowering his gun and backing away slightly.
"Yeah, yeah. That eye would probably be better off staying in your head." Guy said, walking over to Nadie and extending his hand. "My rifle, if you please?"
"Huh?" Nadie asked, looking at Ricardo.
"Take out the magazine first." He said, causing Nadie to nod the affirmative as she ejected the mag.
"Caution I understand, but your boyfriend there is something else." Guy said with a sigh.
"Boyfriend?" Nadie asked as Guy took the rifle from her. "It's nothing like that." She confirmed.
"For real?" Guy asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are you telling me you don't have a man in your life after all?"
"Well, I-"
"Nadie, is this really the time?" Ricardo asked.
"Right." Nadie said. "So let me get this straight." She said. "You've only been following us to find out if I was single?"
"And it seems I've completed my objective." Guy said, smiling to himself.
"That still leaves another question." Nadie said. "I get the feeling you aren't on vacation here in Mexico. Soldier or not, why are you so heavily armed just walking around here?"
"Well if you really want to know." Guy said, putting his rifle down gently on the bed. "I just stopped at the bar for a bit after turning in a bounty. You see, I'm not in active service right now." He said. "I just wanted to make some money while seeing some new places. Therefore, Mexico seemed like a good place to do it."
"Really?" Nadie asked.
"Oh yeah. Besides, ammo is easy to find if you look hard enough." Guy said with a wink as he popped a previously concealed magazine into his rifle and brought it to bear on Ricardo. "Bang." Guy said as Ricardo recoiled in surprise. "The Dragunov is a nice little rifle, wouldn't you say?" Guy asked, putting the rifle back down on the bed. "A nice sniper with the scope, and still a great rifle without. Relax, Tiny." He said, addressing Ricardo, whose revolver was aimed at Guy again. "None of you have bounties on you, so I'm no threat to you."
Ricardo backed down again, but kept his grip a bit tighter on his weapon this time.
"So now you know I'm single." Nadie said. "What now?"
"Well, usually the next step is something like a coffee. Sound interesting? My treat." Guy said, sitting down on the bed next to his rifle.
"Is this really happening?" Nadie asked.
"What? Don't drink coffee?" Guy asked. "I thought dinner and a show might be going too fast. Plus, I'd like to meet with the other two you were with. I get the feeling that they'll be more friendly than chuckles over there." Guy said, motioning at Ricardo with his head.
"Hm." Ricardo said, holstering his gun and leaving the room. "We'll think about it." He said as he closed the door behind him.
"He's not after you too, is he?" Guy asked.
"I wouldn't count on it." Nadie said. "He's already got a girl in his life that takes up all of his attention."
"The little one, right?"
"Yeah. Lirio." Nadie said. "Oh well. I'm not actually interested in him like that anyways."
"So can I expect to see you and your group tomorrow morning in the café by the lobby?" Guy asked.
"We'll see." Nadie said. "After tonight, I'm not sure if Ricardo will be in the mood." She said with a chuckle.
"Kanpeki." Guy said with a smile.
"What?"
"It's the Japanese word for perfect. A maybe is better than a no, and I like to show off when I can."
"Japanese?"
"Yeah. I've been learning the language a bit in my spare time. I've been making decent progress too."
"So you're in Mexico, but you're learning Japanese?" Nadie asked.
"Stick around. You'll be sure to find stranger things about me." Guy said.
"I hope that wasn't a pick-up line or something."
"I hope so too." Guy said. "I'm not very good at this right now. I'll be better in the morning. You should probably get back to your room before tall, dark and angry comes back to kill me for keeping you too long."
"Right." Nadie said as she turned and left the room. When she did, she was surprised to see Ricardo standing just to the side in the hallway. "Ricardo! What are you-"
"You really thinking about seeing him again tomorrow?" He asked.
"Well, I figure free coffee is free coffee. Where's the harm in that?" She asked, turning her nose up at the question and walking back to the room.
"Great." Ricardo sighed as he followed her inside.
"Well, at least she's thinking about it." Guy said to himself as he put his guns back where they belonged before finally washing the toothpaste out of his mouth.
The next day.
"Okay Ellis." Nadie said. "What do you say we get some coffee and head out for a bit?"
"Do we have to get coffee?" Ellis asked. The unexpected question caught Nadie by surprise, but Ricardo looked intrigued by Ellis's reaction.
"Why?" Nadie asked. "I mean we don't have much money, and we're getting it for free."
"Whatever." Ellis said, heading out of the room with Lirio right behind her.
"Ellis, what's up with you?" Nadie asked, moving to go after her before being stopped by Ricardo.
"Nadie, maybe you should skip the coffee." Ricardo said.
"What? Why?" Nadie asked. "I don't see the big deal there."
"Maybe it isn't a big deal to you, but I get the feeling Ellis wasn't asleep last night." Ricardo said.
"Wait, you mean-"
"Guy heard us in our room." Ricardo interrupted as he moved to leave the room. "Not a stretch that she could have heard his from here." He said as he left Nadie alone in the hotel room.
"Hm? What's up, Lirio?" Ellis asked as Lirio tugged gently on her jacket.
"Mm." Lirio said, a sad look on her face as she looked up at Ellis.
Ellis sighed when she saw the look on Lirio's face. "I'm not mad." Ellis said. "I just don't like the sound of the guy she was talking to last night is all."
Lirio tilted her head slightly, obviously not convinced.
"Okay." Ellis said, patting Lirio's head gently and smiling. "I can't say no when it's you."
Lirio's face immediately brightened up as she gave a wide smile and a cute giggle.
"Ricardo, wait!" Nadie exclaimed, jogging down the hall to catch up to Ricardo. Nadie slowed down when she noticed Ellis. "Ellis, is everything okay?"
"Yeah, I guess." Ellis said.
"Do you want to talk about something?"
"No. It's okay." Ellis said. "Lets go get some coffee." She said, going ahead of everyone else again.
"Ellis, wait up!" Nadie said, catching up to her friend. "Are you sure everything's alright?" She asked. "You've been acting differently since this morning."
"It's okay. Free coffee is free coffee after all, right?" Ellis asked, looking completely serious.
"Yeah." Nadie said, now somewhat unsure. "Didn't I say that last night?" Nadie wondered as she followed Ellis.
"Hey Nadie." Ricardo said, stopping the group briefly.
"Yeah? What's up?" Nadie asked.
"Lirio and I are going to stay in the room for a while longer. Come on back when you're ready to go."
"Is it about her dream?" Nadie asked.
Lirio simply nodded the affirmative and grabbed onto Ricardo's coat.
"Alright. We'll be back in a bit." Nadie said as she and Ellis proceeded towards the café.
"Man, I probably shouldn't expect her to show up." Guy sighed as he waited at a table in the hotel café for Nadie and her group. "Stick around. You'll be sure to find stranger things about me." He said to himself in a mocking voice as he stirred his coffee angrily. "I'm such an idiot." He sighed. Just when he was about to get up and leave, he saw Nadie walking toward him.
"Hey you." She said with a wave. "We're ready for that coffee now."
"Wow. Straight for the cookie, huh?" Guy asked as Nadie sat down across from him.
"Well we don't have a lot of money, and Ellis and I would like to get going soon." Nadie explained as Ellis sat down next to her.
"Oh. Where are you girls headed?" Guy asked. "Maybe we're going the same direction."
"Probably not." Ellis said with a smile. However, Guy couldn't help but feel like she was trying to intimidate him.
"I'm sorry. We haven't met." He said, extending his hand to Ellis. "My name is Guy Songer. Happy to meet you Miss…"
"Ellis." Ellis said, not moving her arm.
"Right." Guy said, pulling his hand back when he realized that Ellis had no intention of shaking it. "It's nice to meet you, Ellis." He said, beginning to feel a bit nervous. "What's up with this girl?" He wondered as he raised his coffee to his lips. As Guy took a sip of the drink, he managed to burn his tongue a little bit, making him recoil in pain as he put the cup down quickly. "OW!" He exclaimed as he swallowed the molten java.
"Are you okay?" Nadie asked as she leaned forward a bit.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Guy said, opening a little plastic cuplet of cold half and half and stirring it into his coffee. "Needed a bit more cream." He chuckled. "That was embarrassing." He thought as he meekly took another, much less painful sip.
Ellis laughed just a little bit at the display, and it didn't go unnoticed by Nadie. "Ellis, can I talk to you for a minute?" She asked as she stood up.
"Yes sir." Ellis said as she got up as well and followed Nadie into the women's restroom.
Once Nadie was sure there was nobody else around to hear, she turned to Ellis. "Ellis, is everything okay?" She asked. "Why are you being so rude to him?"
"I don't like him is all." Ellis said. "I feel like he's hiding something from us."
"Hiding something?" Nadie asked. "Like what?"
"Don't know." Ellis said. "I don't trust him."
"Still, you usually aren't like that." Nadie said.
"Like what?" Ellis asked.
"You know, you seemed kind of hostile back there."
"Hostile?" Ellis asked, tilting her head. "Not hostile. He should have been more careful with such a hot drink."
"Wait." Nadie said. "Did you have something to do with that?"
"What do you mean?"
"The coffee." Nadie said simply.
"You think I did that?" Ellis asked, beginning to feel a bit distressed.
"You've been acting weird all morning." Nadie said.
"Nadie, how could you?" Ellis asked, tensing up a little bit. "Fine. Have your coffee." She said as she walked out of the restroom.
"Ellis!" Nadie exclaimed as she gave chase. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going back to the room." Ellis said. "Come back when you're done here." She said as Nadie gave up the chase.
"Ellis…" Nadie said, regretting confronting her like that.
"Everything okay?" Guy asked, walking up behind Nadie.
"I don't know." She sighed. "She's in a bit of a bad mood this morning."
"I noticed." Guy said. "So she's not always so distant?"
"No. Usually she's really friendly." Nadie said. "She always speaks her mind though, and that's what has me worried."
"Well hey." Guy said. "I think maybe you should go and see to her. She looked pretty upset when she came out of there."
"You sure?" Nadie asked.
"What do you mean am I sure?" Guy asked. "Saves me money on coffee. Besides." He said, leaning in closer to Nadie and whispering. "The coffee here kind of sucks anyways. You aren't missing much."
Nadie laughed a little bit at that. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."
"Here. At least let me accompany you to your room." Guy said, going back to his seat and picking up the large bag there. Inevitably, it contained his trusty rifle.
"Alright." Nadie said, leading him into the hall and walking back towards the room.
"By the way, where are the big scary guy and his little follower?" Guy asked. As if on cue, Ellis came running down the hall towards the two.
"Ellis?" Nadie asked. "What's wrong?"
"Nadie, come quick!" Ellis exclaimed. "Ricardo is hurt and Lirio is gone!"
"What?" Nadie and Guy both exclaimed as the three ran back down the hall towards the room.
Author's Notes: Oh no! A cliffhanger! Unfortunately, I will be putting this story on hold for a little while. It doesn't exactly get a lot of views, and I'm a bit lacking in motivation for it at the present time. I'd like to focus more on my Lucky Star stories for now, and I've got plans for another one to take the slot in which I would otherwise have been working on this.
I am by no means dropping the story, but I will not be working on it for a little while. I'll get back to it whenever the motivation to do so strikes me.
Look forward to it!