Chapter 26: Hunter
Standing outside the garage, Throttle couldn't believe his luck. His bike broke down a few hours ago and it just so happened that another biker came by with number for the garage that he was looking. It also happened to be the garage that Charley worked and lived at.
Sighing as he sipped on his root beer as looked up at the stars in the sky. It had taken a little over an hour for Throttle to explain to her parents what had transpired over the past four years and how they met. Hunter was none to pleased with the Plutarkians and wanted more than his fair share of vengeance.
He thought about Charley's father and the Freedom Fighter tattoo on his arm. He wondered how in the world Hunter had become one of them. Even better, why did he join their motley crew. A thought occurred to him and decided to ring up the one individual who might be able to aid him in solving this mystery.
"Throttle. You find Charley?" M.D. asked over his bike's intercom.
"Yeah. I did" he answered as he walked around with his hand-held radio.
"You rock dude" he exclaimed, happy that his friend finally found his fiancee.
"More like breaking down and getting lucky" he admitted as he leaned against the side of the garage.
"Oh well. Better than nothing" he replied.
"True that. Gotta a question for you. Since you have been around a lot longer than pretty much anyone" Throttle chuckled.
"Oh come one. I'm not that old" he laughed, knowing that his age was never an issue.
"Yeah you are" Throttle enjoyed picking on M.D. He never seemed to be phased by anything.
"So, what's the question?" he asked, finally deciding to get serious.
"Do you know a freedom fighter named Hunter?" Throttle asked as he looked cautiously around to make sure no one was listening on.
"Hunter? Why do you ask?"
"Please, just answer the question" Throttle didn't have time to play twenty questions.
"I heard he was a ghost. Rumor has it he was known for being more destructive when it came to the Plutarkians. According to what I heard, he lived up to his name. He supposedly killed without mercy and was the most violent of the Freedom Fighters, that's why they kicked him out. How true any of it is, is anyone's guess" he answered.
"Great. Anything else?" Throttle knew that there had to be more to it than what he was hearing. That was always the beauty of rumors, you never what was true or false.
"Supposedly, he can fly and was able to walk through walls. I don't know much about him because, I never met the guy. Very few did" he stated.
"Thanks for the info. We'll have to meet up as soon as Charley comes around" he said as he shifted his weight and noticed that Charley's dad was staring at him while drinking a root beer. He gave him a wink and turned up one corner of his mouth, giving him a ghost of a smile.
"No problem. Over and out" he replied and signed off.
"Yeah" Throttle reluctantly said as turned off his radio.
"Look, your highness, if you want to know something about me, just ask" Hunter said as he walked over to Throttle and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I wasn't sure what your reaction would be to me asking questions about you" Throttle knew it was a piss poor excuse but, it was the truth.
"I understand. So, what do you want to know?" Hunter asked with a mild chuckle, allowing Throttle to see that he had a sense of humor, albeit a bit dry.
"According to M.D., you're quite violent and killed without mercy. How true is that?" Throttle asked, feeling more comfortable with the older Freedom Fighter.
"That, my son, is far from the truth. For me, it was never about the killing or trying to wipe out a race of Plutarkians. Not that they don't deserve it but, it was more about protecting the future" Hunter stated, leaning his back against the wall of the garage and looking up at the stars.
"I can understand that but, why didn't you try and dispel the rumors?" Throttle inquired.
"Without the rumors, the Freedom Fighters wouldn't have had the advantage. If the Plutarkians truly believed that I was a force to be reckoned with and that I was truly an insane murderer, then they normally took off. I have only killed maybe a dozen or so of their kind. The number's not so high that I wouldn't be able to keep track of it" Hunter wouldn't need any more that both hands to count with.
"So, why were you kicked out?" Throttle was completely confused at this point. It was obvious to him that Hunter didn't live up to his name or reputation.
"I wasn't kicked out. I left" Hunter said as he pushed away from the wall and walked over to the front of the garage, where he could see through the slightly dingy glass of the garage door, and looked at an unconscious Charley on the couch and his wife sitting on a stool beside her, holding his daughter's hand.
"For them?" Throttle joined Hunter in looking at the two females and finally understood.
"You have to understand, she and I married secretly and were betrayed. The Plutarkians found out about her and our unborn child. They used them as a pawn to draw me out and force me to stop being a member of the group. I didn't have a choice. As long as I stayed away from the Freedom Fighters, they were safe. It was a price I paid willingly" Hunter gazed lovingly at his beautiful wife and thought about how lucky he was. He had a gorgeous wife, an amazing daughter, and a Freedom Fighter, who happened to be a wealthy prince, for a future son in law.
"Who betrayed you?" Throttle asked, knowing that it wasn't any of them who throw someone under the bus.
"It was Mace. I made the mistake of trusting him. I learned later on that he was a rat in disguise of a mouse" Hunter felt saddened by the memory of learning the truth to late.
"I've heard of him. There's a warrant for his arrest on Mars. That's if anyone can find him" Throttle groaned as he looked at Hunter.
Hunter stood almost as tall as Throttle with a slim build. He had short salt and pepper hair and steel colored eyes. He had a sleeve of tattoos running down both his arms, disguising the fact that he had a Freedom Fighter tattoo on the one.
"Not if I get to him first" Hunter admitted that he wanted vengeance against the one who betrayed his innocent family to the Plutarkian empire.
"I won't stand in your way" Throttle said, putting his hands up in the air, letting Hunter know that he meant every word.
"I know. Anything else you want to know?" Hunter asked, turning to face Throttle.
"How about the whole flying and walking through walls thing? How true is that?" Throttle wanted to see how twisted rumors could become.
"Flying and walking through walls? Huh? I guess someone actually saw that move" Hunter chuckled.
"What? You mean that's true?" Throttle was shocked. He thought it was impossible.
"Yes, it's actually true. I'm actually a Mercurian" Hunter finally admitted to the truth that he had hidden for years. Even his wife didn't know about that side of him and he did that deliberately in order to see to her safety.
"I thought that all your people were wiped out by the Plutarkians years ago" Throttle was in shock. He had heard stories about the Mercurians when he was a child. Supposedly they were a peaceful race of fairy-like folk who worked with the world around them.
"I'm the last of my kin. I was always a bit rebellious and left long before the Plutarkians attacked. When I went back to visit my family, everything was gone" Hunter knew that he was taking a big risk in telling Throttle who and what he was but, he felt a sense of trust in the young male suitor.
"But, that was still a very long time ago. How old are you?" Throttle knew that the Mercurians were wiped out almost two centuries ago. Which meant that Hunter was at least that old if not older.
"I just hit my third century a few days ago" Hunter looked up at Throttle and smiled.
"Do they know?" Throttle asked, tilting his head and gesturing towards Charley and her mother.
"No. Charley hasn't shown any signs that she possesses any of my abilities. So, there really isn't any reason for me to tell her until she does" he said, finishing off his drink.
"I can see your reasoning. How do you two meet?" Throttle was curious as to how in the world a Mercurian met a human and she was never suspicious.
"That's actually one of my favorite stories. She saved my life. My kind are obviously not completely immortal. We can die. It happened to be during my darker moment. It was just after discovery the devastation to my home in Mercury that she and I met. She was a cashier working the late shift at a gas station and she had just gotten off from work. I was walking through one of the alleys and got pretty badly beaten up and left for dead. She came through a few minutes later and helped me to my feet. She wanted to take me to the hospital but, I refused because, I didn't want anyone knowing what I was. So, she took me back to her apartment and patched me up" Hunter still remembered how it felt to feel the warmth of her touch as she cleaned up his cuts and bandaged him up.
"It was during my recovery time, which took about a week or so, that I realized that there was still hope for my people. I know it meant that I was going to have to step outside myself and discover human love was much different than our own. My kind doesn't normally fall in love with the opposite sex. We mate when the time is right and no real bonds are formed. It's too risky to form an emotional tie to anyone. But, for the sake of the future, I had to try something new and it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would. It didn't take much to fall in love with her."
"She also had to change her perspective of the male species. She was a once a victim of domestic violence. She had witnessed her mother being abused by her father and then she spiraled into the same pattern as her mother. A series of abusive males to the point of where she wanted nothing to do with them. She even feared me. A male who had done nothing to her. So, I made a promise to her that I would never hurt her."
"I ended up staying at her apartment for several months. I became quite the house husband and learned so many menial tasks while she worked. I learned how to cook and clean. I also learned how to enjoy food with a female, which is another thing that Mercurians don't do. Our lives are very backwards and the female and male species don't usually speak to each other unless it involves mating to the other."
"We lived together, as friends, for about six months before I asked her to be mine. Of course, my bluntness did shock her and she thought I was joking at first. Then she realized I was serious and said I needed to get a job before she would answer me. I did get a job as a mechanic and received an education, both academically and hands on. I saved up quite a bit of money and bought this garage about twenty-five years. It took me almost another year to build up the funds to buy it."
"I took her to it and asked her again to be mine. That time she said yes. We moved out of that apartment and into this place. Mind you, it wasn't even grand back then but, it was fully paid for and we owned it outright. It became home for us. We ended up getting married before moving into it as sign that we were both committed to making it work as a team."
"How did you meet the Freedom Fighters?" Throttle was really curious now.
"I found that hole in the wall one night and found an injured mouse hiding in there, fighting for his life. His name was Gabriel and he became my best friend. You know what's funny, you look just like him when he was your age" Hunter chuckled, knowing that there was no way that Gabriel would have had a son without telling him about it. But, then again, Gabe always did have a thing for Melisande.
"That's the second time I've heard that. No, I'm related to him. He's actually still around and owns a bar in the city" Throttle stated.
"Cool. I'll have to go visit him after Charley wakes up and things settle down around here" Hunter stated.
"The problem comes in is that the city came under attack from within. The Plutarkians sent in a spy and have taken over the city. It was because of Charley that I came here. She may be the only one who can help my people" Throttle admitted as he reached into his front pants pocket and pulled out the paper that his mother had handed to M.D. and then handed it over to Hunter, who unwrapped it and seemed shocked by what he saw and read. He watched as Hunter turned and walked into the garage.
"You didn't know, did you?" Throttle inquired as he followed suit, not sure what Hunter was going to do. He didn't seem angry or anything but, more curious.
Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up. I've been balancing the story and getting my daughter's bedroom remodeled. Not exactly an easy task. I wish to thank all my readers and reviewers for their patience and understanding. Many CYBER HUGS to everyone. If anyone has any questions, comments, concerns, or things that you might want to see in one of the upcoming chapters, please feel free to let me know.