The Watcher: Adaptability Of A Bounty Hunter

Chapter 13) House Scouting

How many times had Roman seen this sight? Streams of men and women with glossy eyes and robotic movements. Sluggishly wandering down the road, barely indistinguishable from a shambling corpse. He weaved through the crowds with ease, moving past an assortment of massive factories. The sun overhead dipped ever closer to the bottom edge of the horizon. The sky above was muddy, and gray as afternoon transitioned into twilight. Imposing towers, puffing out columns of black smog faded into the background as Roman approached the end of the city’s western chunk. The defining feature of any Megacity, the gargantuan walls which wrapped around the entirety of the megalopolitan area came into view. Though still a ways away, the appropriately named ‘dividers’ drew a definitive line between the large town and the outside world. Tafabid took that philosophy and rolled with it, using the walls to separate the thriving casinos and luxurious hotels from the rundown slums, and poisonous factories. As a whole, it was one sick joke. While families starved on the Western end, others would gorge themselves on Ifrailia’s finest.

Looking for a distraction, Roman reached into his pocket and came out with the holo-pic. Idly he flipped through the digital images, each one generating in front of him for less than a second before the hologram fizzled out, replaced by the next picture. On the third pass, he happened to pause on Max Yelena’s grisly mug. Deadbeat, alcoholic, and homeless, had Elizabeth not clued him into the man’s repugnant personality, he may have felt sorry for the guy. That being said, Roman was delighted in the fact that he didn’t have to interact with Max. But there was still this, nagging feeling he couldn’t shake away.

Mari and Cliff, for all they were worth didn’t seem very subtle. He would equate them to a jackhammer, or a gun, loud and messy. But greatly effective at busting a man’s skull open, they might not go about it as cleanly as Roman would. But he had faith in them, though he’d never admit it face to face. After Max, they should be going after the restaurant owner and extracting his debt. Leaving a single target behind, Travis Talon, the mage. Roman tapped a side button, swapping out Max’s uneven face for the almost too symmetrical facial structure

The man’s skin was absent of blemishes, not even a wrinkle tainted his image. Flowing black hair ran down his back, thick bushy eyebrows accentuated his ocean blue eyes. By all means he had the makings of a fairly decent model, Roman struggled to associate him with the Toymaker’s usual clientele. Rugged thugs and people looking for trouble didn’t quite jell with Travis’s outward appearance. But who knows, the guy could be some sort of sadistic hitman. Would certainly explain why he couldn’t purchase a catalyst from a proper, and legal vendor. And it was common knowledge, if you frequent the blackmarket you’ve gotta have some reason to bend the rules.

Roman looked up from the holo-pic, the divider wall was right before him. He turned to the right, and shoved the projection device into his pocket, he had reached the checkpoint. Placed into a rectangular slot, chiseled out of the hulking barrier, the security point consisted of a small cubicle, only large enough to hold a single operator and a biometric scanner fastened onto the exterior. Two S.C.S androids stood guard on both sides of the scanner. As far as safety measures were concerned, Tafabid’s system was fast and efficient. A woman stepped into the flowing waves of blue energy, emanating from the biometric scanner. She waited for less than ten seconds, allowing the turquoise fields to wash over her body, a short beep sounded off and the woman inside the cubicle waved her through.

There was a short line, three individuals waiting to be granted access to the western district. And it was already on the move as a man took the woman’s place in getting scanned. Roman joined the line, bringing the total back up to three. The high pitched bloop sounded off, and the line moved up. Again, the confirmation sound blared and the lady in front of Roman entered the energy field. In less time than a fast food worker serving a drive through customer, four citizens were looked over, confirming everything from their blood type to the hospital they were born in. Sometimes the advances in technology were frighteningly productive.

“Please remove any clothing that might obscure your face, citizen,” The leftmost android said in it’s synthesized monotone. Strange, in all the times Roman had passed over into either of the districts, they never required this. He hesitated for a moment, long enough to grab the attention of the woman operating the device. She spun her chair around, pushed a button on the control console and then…

“Newly implemented alongside the curfew,” her voice came out crystal clear through an unseen speaker system, “It’ll only be a few seconds sir, nothing to be afraid of.”

 “...Right,” Roman pulled his hood back, the operator gave him a thumbs up, and then he walked into the scanner. The device hummed as the transparent swirls swarmed and flowed throughout his body. Though he felt mild discomfort from showing his face off, it was nothing he couldn’t bear. Since leaving the Shadow’s Requiem headquarters he’d been forced to endure showing his uncovered face. Nothing about the checkpoint scared him per say, but it certainly made him nervous. And knowing that he was listed as dead in the Alexandrian database, or that the handgun tucked away in his cloak could be easily picked up by the most rudimentary scanners, wasn’t helping very much. 

The scanning process lasted longer than the others, but after a brief twenty seconds the approval beep arrived, “Alright you're good to go sir.”

“Thank you,” Roman nodded and returned the hood to his head as he started down the sidewalk. Silently professing thanks to the Toymaker, not Elizabeth but the old man who preceded her. It had cost the aging man a fortune, but he came up with a solution to Roman’s situation. And evidently, it still worked just as well as it did all those years ago. As for the handgun, all it took was a little technical trickery to get it past the biometric scanner. See, these scanners as the name would imply are primarily used to keep a comprehensive record on all the citizens coming and going through the two districts. But that doesn’t mean they don’t account for inorganic material, in fact it can pick up most metallic objects at a rate comparable with a high end metal detector. Although, since the Alexandrian police force’s ranks were muddled with androids, there needed to be a work around. A small computer chip, the size of someone’s fingertip burrowed away inside the android’s neck, was the solution. These scanners would pick up the chip, and allow the android to pass through without hassle. Needless to say, acquiring one of these chips and installing it inside of his personal handgun was incredibly easy.

The streets were bustling with life. Men and women of all walks of life shared these streets. Poverty stricken citizens, not dissimilar to the Dulvian’s of the slums, walked side by side with members of the middle, and sometimes even upper classes of society. So was the power of Tafabid, the so-called center of entertainment in Ifrailia. But that wasn’t the truth, anyone who’s ever been to Acropolis knows that for a fact. He moved with the flow of traffic till he came across an open alleyway. He ducked into the darkness, and waited to see if anyone by chance was eavesdropping on him. Perhaps this was an unnecessary precaution born from his overly paranoid nature. But one could never be too careful when your occupation risked life and limb on a daily basis. When he felt sure that no one was stalking him, Roman moved deeper into the narrow passage.

A rodent scurried away as he approached a large garbage pile at the midpoint of the passageway. The back door to the right of the trash accumulation implied that he was standing behind a restaurant. He considered moving deeper into the alley, but ultimately decided to stay. He didn’t need secrecy for very long, and even if an employee came out, he figured he could pass for a homeless man, scrambling for his next meal. Roman pressed his back against the wall, and once more plucked the Holo-pic from his pants. He activated the device, picking up right where he left off. Travis Talon’s picture stared back at him, he flicked a button and the image minimized to a small square, the man’s information spelt out in text, filled the majority of the hologram.

As per usual with these types of assignments, the client provided a fairly detailed description of the targets, And Elizabeth certainly spared no expense, aside from simple stuff like the physical description and name and age. She included things he found much more useful. Though she had already mentioned his mage class, it was nice to have it listed alongside other relevant information. Helped Roman gauge whether or not he had prepared enough in order to take Travis on, in short, Roman was ready. The man read over the intel once more, committing his address to memory, before switching the device off and popping it back into his pocket.

“1321, Axel street…” He muttered to himself as he walked towards the light at the opposite end of the alley. While he wandered, Cliff’s words seemed to repeat over and over again inside Roman’s head. When the massive man insinuated that Roman needed a crutch to win battles-- he hadn’t expected it to stick with him for as long as it had, “I’ll show you who’s weak…”

He declared to a rival, who couldn’t have possibly heard his decree. Moments before he broke into the veil of light, leaving the dingy alleyway behind. Roman had a name, location, and most importantly a personal reasoning for pursuing this mage. With no fault of his own, Travis became more than another target, more than just a means to an end. He became the vessel Roman would use to deliver his message to the Dulvians working with him. A testament to his strength and prowess. Roman Sylvanas, a so-called magicless weakling defeated a fully fledged Magus, without any armor or tricks, just his two fists and a handgun. Now that he had prepared the message, all he needed to do was turn it into a reality. And to do that, he needed to get to 1321, Axel street as soon as humanly possible.

Twilight softened into the very beginning of evening. The sky was bright enough to confirm that night had yet to fully take over, but it was well on its way. In a few minutes, the sun’s light would be fully extinguished for the day and the darkness of night would blanket the world till morning. And yet, the streets were as packed as they ever were. Large crowds all packed together on the sidewalks, making the journey on foot to the center of the district. The land of casinos, clubs, and vibrant cinemas. Even when inside of the eastern district, people wanted nothing to do with the Dulvian’s right next door. A harsh fact of life in this city, he wasn’t happy about it, but it would take a lot more than one sympathetic Alexandrian to change the thoughts of an entire society.

He weaved through the groups as inconspicuously as possible. Following the walkway until he came onto a street lined with duplexes. Roman checked for any signs which would confirm his gut feeling. He found one at the corner of the adjacent sidewalk that also fed into the neighborhood. In bold letters, the sign listed this area as Axel street. The Watcher was right where he needed to be.

He turned into the neighborhood, dodging a well dressed man and his much younger date on the way towards Travis’s house. Several streetlamps all kicked in simultaneously, cutting a wad out of the blackness. Roman moved along, not really paying those who passed him by much attention. A sentiment the men and women who slipped past seemed to echo. Good, he’d make much more progress without being questioned by passersby. Roman followed the smoothed out concrete till the man reached its end. Taking note of the four numbers stamped unto the twin houses, underneath the windows specifically. Due to the split nature of duplexes, Roman counted off two number sequences per single house.

1316 and 1317, then 1318 and 1319, and at the farthest end of the cul de sac, the final house, containing the number pair Roman was searching for, 1320, and 1321. Looking at the house, nothing directly stood out to the seasoned bounty hunter. Chrome paint covering what looked to be a sturdy, blackened metal alloy. Normal dimensions for a house cut down the middle, two story building at a modest size where width was concerned. There were two driveways, the one intended for 1320 was empty, but Travis’s lot was filled by a lean, two passenger car. Least Roman knew someone was home now. The lawn might have crept up a tad higher than it ought to, but other than that there was nothing wrong with the place. Certainly wasn’t a mansion, but Roman knew there were far worse spaces to live in. If Travis could afford a place like this, why couldn’t he pay the Toymakers price?

Roman did a second look over, from his limited view into the windows all the lights seemed to be off. Strange seeing that his vehicle was parked, the first thoughts came into his head almost instantly. It was relatively late, for a working man anyway. After a long day's work, sleep would be the prime candidate for treating a day's worth of fatigue. Or hell, Travis might have just left his car behind and went for a stroll. Not the strangest thing, Roman liked the peace and quiet a walk provided. But there was also a third possibility in the back of his mind…

What if Travis saw him coming?

Unlikely, but not impossible. Motion sensors, cameras, and given the fact that Travis Talon is a known mage, magic. All were options one could use to secure a location, but swordsmen class mages such as Travis weren’t known for these forms of spells. Swordsmen had a tendency to focus solely on physical augmentation spells, enhanced strength, blinding speed and the like. He disregarded the magical option and checked the corners, no cameras, not in plain sight anyway. From eyeballing the site alone, Roman couldn’t spot anything alarming. Was it possible that there were no security measures in place? In Roman’s mind, that was a horribly risky decision. Hubris and self confidence were prime causes for self destruction, and he knew that better than anyone. Feeding into his own paranoia, he scoped the left portion of the duplex out again and still came to the same conclusion. Travis either didn’t consider the Toymaker sending goons after him, or he was so confident in his abilities that he wasn’t concerned.

No point in questioning the logic used. Roman planned to get the money from Travis regardless of his retaliation. He looked to his right, the once flooded streets were nearly empty. Save a few stragglers, making their way towards the bright neon lights of Tafabid center. They’d be gone soon enough, excluding that they weren’t even looking in his direction.

No witnesses.

Gravel crunched underneath his boots. The walkway leading up to the door was short, and in only two or three steps Roman stood at the front door. The sturdy door was made of metal, with a handle in place of the traditional knob design. Cliff came to mind, the brutish Dulvian would’ve busted down the door without a second thought. Mari egging him on, while jittering uncontrollably at the possibility of unleashing her magically powered sword.

Hold on…

Why was he thinking of them?

Roman shook off the weird emotions he felt and reached for the hooked handle. No movement, it was locked. Now he could try a window, though more than likely the same scenario would play out a second time. Breaking in was also a possible path, albeit a messy one at that. Travis would be on the attack before Roman even touched the ground. Without the advantage of surprise, Roman knew he stood little chance against the magus… At the end of the day there was really only one way to go about this.

Knock, Knock, Knock.

Roman waited... then when nobody came to the door after a minute of waiting. The urge to knock again crept into the man’s mind. But as soon as he extended his hand, the handle twisted, and the door pulled open. And what he saw startled him right to the core.

It wasn't Travis…

“...a kid?”