Never Hurts To Help

Chapter Five: The Disguises

Sylvia needs a ride off-planet to meet her client so she heads back into town with her bounty in tow.

It shouldn't be a problem. After all, Wander is known for being quite helpful.

Enjoy!

Getting over the wall was easy. Sylvia simply picked a patch of stone next to a tall building, and further screened from view by a group of small scrub trees. The wall was obviously made of similar stuff to the stone towers; porous and pitted by time and wind, so handholds were a synch. Wander was the biggest hurtle. She had to climb mostly one handed with the fuzzy little alien slung over her shoulder since she wasn't about to let him out of his cuff so he could climb on his own. He enjoyed this far too much for her liking, reclining in a relaxed posture on her shoulder, and giggling when she jostled him.

Once on the other side, Sylvia took a moment in the shelter between two buildings to scan for watchers. It was midmorning now and the main streets looked pretty busy, but no one seemed to have noticed their entry, or were paying attention to them at all. Still, that wasn't to say someone wouldn't notice them soon. There had to be some other bounty hunters still combing the city for such a valuable target.

Sylvia was still peering out at the crowd, trying to remember which direction they'd have to go in to reach the starport, when she became aware of Wander leaning up close to her side. When she shot him an annoyed glance, he smiled up at her, eyes sparkling.

"Quite a crowd," he said.

"Sure is." Sylvia agreed reluctantly. She wasn't looking forward to waltzing out there with a prisoner attached.

"Hey, ya know what we could do, Sylvia?" Wander continued after a moment, his voice warbling with barely suppressed excitement.

"No, I don't." Sylvia's tone was pure annoyance.

"We could play dress-up!"

Somehow the weirdo still managed to surprise her.

Sylvia opened her mouth to snap at Wander, who was already digging through the contents of his hat. He pulled out a green cloak and threw it over his shoulders, raising the hood up over his head, and Sylvia's mouth snapped shut again. That was actually a pretty good idea. Due to the dust and the strong winds on this planet, plenty of people were wearing cloaks of all shapes and colours. They wouldn't get a second glance.

"Got one in here for you too!" Wander offered when she didn't say anything. His hand had been back inside his hat, tongue poking out from between his lips as he searched for something suitable. Now he brought the hand up out of the hat slightly, showing off a similar cloak, this time coloured pink.

"Nothing in pink," Sylvia said automatically.

Wander grinned, dropping the cloak back into his hat.

"Then ya like my idea?"

"I didn't say that," Sylvia clarified quickly. She looked carefully at his smiling face. He really didn't seem like he had an ulterior motive, but then what was his deal? Was it possible he really was exactly what he appeared to be? Having spent almost a full day with the pest at this point, Sylvia couldn't think of a single instance of him trying to trick her at all, or even wanting to escape from her. Confusion taking over again, she gave their connected hands a tug, pulling Wander over to the side of the building with her. She fixed the little alien with a piercing look. "Why are you really doing this?" she demanded.

Wander shrugged, slipping his hat back on his head. The green hood fit over it neatly.

"I jus' wanted ta help."

"Seriously?" Sylvia was still having trouble buying that, despite all her evidence. "You know that by helping me you're 'helping' yourself get turned over to my client, right?"

Wander smiled, waving one hand as though brushing off what she'd said.

"Aw, Sylvia, it never hurts to help! Besides, I'm just happy we're gettin' ta know one another. Now you know that I like dress-up, an' I know you don't like pink!" He smiled triumphantly at her. "Ya said we might not be travelin' together all that long, so I wanna enjoy every minute of the time we have. An' what's more fun than sneakin' through the city with a new friend at yer side?"

Sylvia stared at her captive, completely nonplussed. How was this guy possibly for real? All of her instincts told her he couldn't be; that there had to be some kind of play here, and yet he seemed so perfectly genuine she couldn't bring herself to disbelieve him. That brought up a few uncomfortable feelings. Sylvia was a realist. She was under no illusions that being a bounty hunter was a noble profession. She was out for herself in this line of work, and she'd taken advantage of a fair few chumps along her way, turning them over without a thought for their unfortunate fates, but Wander was another story altogether. He was so flarping sweet and innocent that taking advantage of him felt like kicking someone's pet. Would he still be smiling and waving to her when she handed him over for cash?

It seemed wrong somehow, and it made her feel guilty when she knew it shouldn't. After all, if she didn't cash in on the little twerp, someone else would. That was how the universe worked. If he was going to be a sucker, he'd suffer the consequences for it. She had no idea how he'd traveled through the galaxy for what was apparently quite a long time already, all the while still remaining this naïve.

It shouldn't matter to her, she decided, dismissing the unpleasant feelings as best she could. If her prisoner was going to be this accommodating, and she was sure he wasn't trying to trick her, then maybe she should just go with it for now, though she still meant to keep an eye on him. He wouldn't try to escape, and she could get him to her client with time to spare. After that, it would be out of her hands. If anything, it would be his fault for trusting her after she'd explicitly told him what she was going to do with him.

"Gimmie a cloak," she snapped, still feeling annoyed for no reason she could determine. Wander happily swept his hat off and rummaged inside it again, eventually pulling out a large, dark blue cloak which he passed to her. Sylvia pulled it around her shoulders, grumbling quietly the whole time. It was a perfect fit, and it made her wonder briefly about why he was carrying a cloak that wouldn't possibly fit him, but she shrugged it off. It still felt very weird to accept help from Wander though. It gave her a strange pit in her stomach she couldn't quite dismiss.

Cloak secure, and emotions under control, she started out into the thoroughfare, Wander skipping along at her side like they were going on a picnic together. At least no one would assume he'd been captured.

They had to stay fairly close together so that the fringes of Sylvia's cloak hid their handcuffed hands from sight. This also meant Sylvia couldn't pull Wander around the way she had been. She had to keep constantly aware of the people around them, making sure they weren't jostled and keeping an eye out to see if they were attracting any unwanted notice, so she found herself paying less attention to her captive than she had been. She swore that was the only reason she jumped slightly when he leaned close to nudge her with his elbow.

"Isn't it a gorgeous day, Sylvia ol' girl?" he asked, voice ringing with joy. "Lookit all the awnings, an' the people, an d'ya smell that cookin'? Ooo, what do ya think that guy's selling?" He was gesturing more the more he talked, pointing and exclaiming over their surroundings, until Sylvia grabbed the front of his cloak, pulling him close so their faces were centimeters apart.

"Stop it!" she hissed. "I don't care about the 'local culture' or whatever you're going on about. I just want to get to the spaceport and find a way off of this rock."

"But Sylvia!" Wander clutched his chest as though wounded. "The flowers ya stop an' smell along the way are the best part o' travelin'! What's the point of seein' this ol' universe if ya don't take the time to enjoy it?"

Sylvia let go of his cloak, dropping him back on his feet.

"I'm not here to enjoy the sights, just to catch you," she reminded him for what felt like the thousandth time. Why was it so hard for him to get that? "Now, if you want to be helpful so bad, zip it. We're trying to be unobtrusive."

Wander shrugged, unconcerned at her tone, or the reminder. He seemed to consent to be quiet for the next few streets, although Sylvia noticed him ooooing and aaaahing silently whenever she glanced his way, and he was still smiling at her. It bothered her more than it should.

They hadn't reached the spaceport yet, but Sylvia paused as a thought crossed her mind. They were just passing by a bar, stone walls uneven and paint pealing; the kind that was likely to be filled to the brim with just the competition she'd been avoiding, but passing it reminded her of something else. Unless you'd had an unfortunate accident like she had, bounty hunters tended to see to their own transportation. It was much easier to go undetected if you weren't chartering a flight, even if your vehicle wasn't, so to speak, legally yours. Sure enough, there were quite a few small, compact crafts parked near the bar, all pretty similar to ships she'd piloted before in her time. To be honest, she liked the idea of stealing one of these more than taking something official from the spaceport. One irate bounty hunter was usually easier to evade than an entire planetary police force.

The trick would be snagging one without being seen, and it would probably be better to wait until dusk before she tried something like that. Until then, she probably needed to find somewhere to keep out of sight. No one seemed to have noticed her and Wander yet, but she didn't like to push her luck. She avoided the bar for obvious reasons. Going inside would just be asking for trouble. Where was a place they could wait where it wouldn't look suspicious, and where other bounty hunters were unlikely to go.

"Hey Sylvia, look!" Wander kept his voice down, but the excitement in his voice was still evident as he pointed across the street. "Isn't that a neat library?"

Sylvia's gaze followed the pointing finger until it rested on the big stone edifice. It looked ancient, and vaguely run down, though the stonework was probably pretty impressive if you cared about that. More importantly, it would probably be fairly quiet, was in sight of the bar, and most of the bounty hunters she knew of wouldn't be caught dead inside it. Perfect. She started towards the building, with Wander following happily at her side.

He was still talking, gushing about the carvings on the library's face, and then listing all the books he'd read that came from this planet. Sylvia thought about shutting him up again, then decided against it. She supposed the happy chatter served some kind of purpose right now at least. It certainly gave the impression they were just two tourists exploring the city.

The library was cool and relatively dim, which was a relief from the rapidly rising temperature outside. As Sylvia had figured, there were hardly any people inside, and those she saw looked completely absorbed in the books they were reading. She headed for the second floor, settling into a window seat where she could look down on the street below.

Wander sat next to her, swinging his legs and drinking from a water bottle he'd taken out of his hat. Sylvia drank from her own canteen. She was hungry, but not quite enough to eat one of the travel bars she'd brought, and she wasn't sure the library allowed eating anyway. She didn't want to get them kicked out when there was still so long until dusk.

Her gaze drifted over to the orange nomad beside her. Wander beamed back as soon as he caught her eye, and she felt that uncomfortable feeling deep down inside her again. How could he look at her like that, knowing who she was and why she'd captured him? The silence was making her uncomfortable suddenly; her own thoughts too loud inside her head. She couldn't justify snapping at him again, so she settled on trying to make conversation.

"So…" She shot a glance out the window at the bar across the road, then back to Wander again. "What'd you do to this 'Lady Infinite' to get her so mad at you anyway?" It was something she was genuinely curious about. Sure, Wander was infuriating to her, but she had to be around him. Surely a galactic conqueror would be under no threat from the stringy little fuzzball at her side.

Wander shrugged in response, legs stilling as his hands settled in his lap, the cuffed one pulling on her own wrist slightly.

"'M not all that sure, tell you tha truth. When we first ran into each other, I don't think she was too keen on me wanderin' in while she was busy conquerin', an' she would get a li'l frustrated with me. Now, it seems like she wants me around more'n she did. She's goin' ta all this trouble, after all." He swept out an arm, and Sylvia figured he was referring to the bounty poster, herself and everything else that came with it. "She gets upset every time I leave, an' that's sweet 'n all," Wander continued. "But it's a little inconvenient when I'm tryin' ta travel 'n see the sights. I'm open ta visitin', but seems she wants me there a little longer'n I'm comfortable with."

Sylvia mulled over this strange answer to herself for a moment, eyes once again scanning out the window. Wander didn't seem too bothered by his situation, just as he hadn't seemed bothered about being captured in the first place. It was almost like he viewed it more as an inconvenience, interfering with his traveling. What a weirdo. Still, he had admitted to escaping from his captors before, which brought up another question.

"Then," Sylvia tried, "if you want to travel around and stuff, why haven't you tried to escape?" He'd easily slipped out of his cuff last night after all, and she had her doubts about how secure it was now, despite what she'd told herself when she attached it the second time.

"Well, 'cause I'm travelin' with you, silly!" Wander grinned up at her again as though the answer was obvious. "I told you smellin' the flowers along the way was the important part. And it's way more fun with a travel pal at yer side!"

And there was that pit in her stomach again. This was why it was a mistake to get to know your targets. Sylvia lapsed into silence again, looking out the window and waiting for dusk. She hoped Wander would keep quiet as well. She didn't feel like talking to him anymore.

Hope you enjoyed!

Sylvia was trying her best to rationalize Wander's behavior, but looks like she's finally convinced. She's still planning to turn him in, she's just feeling a little weird about it, that's all.

I'm definitely referencing "The Little Guy" a bit in this chapter. It's one of my favourite episodes, and the first time you really start to see that there's more to Wander than there appears to be.

Next up will probably be the next chapter for "Traveling Companions", or possibly "Learning To Swim" chapter 1, depending on which one bugs me more.

See you then!