The Watcher: Adaptability Of A Bounty Hunter

Chapter 9) Blinker Bot Chase

The sun reached its apex as midday rolled around. To be specific, Three in the afternoon. Roman led the way, followed loosely by his two forced companions, Mari and Cliff. The group made their way through the barren streets, meeting absolutely no resistance. After spotting the congregation of police forces near the border to the eastern district. Roman, with little explanation to the others backtracked, taking them back around the ‘residential’ area of the western district. A title given to the area by people who wouldn’t be caught dead inside this part of town. To the men and women who called this place home however, it was the slums.

“It's soooo hot,” Mari sputtered out amidst several gasps for air. Her shoulders slumped, sweat dribbled down the pale skin on her forehead. She had long since abandoned the gray-ish cloak she started this journey with. That still wasn’t enough to cool her apparently, as not long later she had tied up the bottom of her white shirt into a small knot, exposing her midsection. 

Walking step in step with Mari, Cliff chimed in, “Tell me about it…” 

“Hey… You remember that coffee shop? Let’s go back…” Mari said, fanning herself with an open palm.

“Tafabid Brews,” Cliff whipped his forehead, “You want coffee right now? Sheesh…” 

“Iced Coffee, Stupid… also, put your shirt back on, nasty.”

Cliff’s black tank top was slung over his shoulder. Completely exposing his nude upper body to the world. The bulky male seemed to be covered in even more sweat then Mari, despite wearing less clothes. The slick, pesky liquid rolled down his muscular chest, leaving behind a glistening shine to his build.

“Both of you be quiet, I can’t think with you two yammering on and on,” Roman said, coming to a stop in the middle of the street. 

Mari and Cliff came to a halt, though Mari was less than happy with the situation, “Okay you know what, f**k this!” 

“Ugh, Mari come on, let that one slide. I really just wanna get this day over with…” 

“To hell with that Cliff,” Mari marched up to Roman, puffed out her chest, and scrunched up her face, “What’re you thinking about huh? Come on don’t be shy, share it with the class!” 

A slightly peeved Roman responded, “I’m formulating a plan. We need to leave Tafabid if we’re going to make it to Acropolis, right?” 

“Yeah, that’s what Agma said.”

“Well that task just got a whole lot more complicated thanks to the cops. So if you want to impress the Dulvian devil by completing this mission. Simmer down and follow my lead.” 

“Oh no you don’t!” Mari jutted an accusing finger at Roman, “You aren’t gonna blow me off like that! You’ve been marching us around for hours with only vague ass reasoning, well no more! I want specifics, where are we going, why are we going? You said someone owed you a favor, what kind of favor?” 

Roman turned around, “You’ll find out when we get where we need to be.” 

“What. the. Fuck.” 

Cliff broke his silence and threw in his own two cents, “Don’t even bother Mari, wimps like him like to keep everything secret till the last second.”

What a creative insult, Roman thought. Who would’ve figured the mage who embodied the phrase ‘brawn over brains’ would call someone he didn’t like a wimp. Over a day later and the sheer intensity of Cliff and Mari’s childish mannerisms still hasn’t quite settled in. 

“I’ve beaten you twice, who’s the real wimp here?”

 ...Worst of all it seems like part of them has rubbed off on Roman.  

“Ehhh- What was that scumbag!” 

“Okay both of you shut up!” Mari screamed, shushing the men for the moment, “Seriously… Sure, Cliff get’s weirdly entitled any time he’s put in charge--” 

“Hey!” 

“--but at least he explains his plans! We call that ‘communication’ you should really look into it.” 

Roman glanced over his shoulder, he opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He sighed, looked straight ahead and tried again without looking at them, “Look, just… trust me, okay.” 

 “Trust you!? We barely know you!” 

Cliff joined Mari’s side, “We were only supposed to bring you to Agma. So forgive us for being less than excited to work under you.”

His partner nodded in agreement, Cliff looked to his right and spat on the chipped sidewalk, “I traded one masked know it all for another…” 

“Whaa? Cliff shut up, he’s nothing like Agma!” 

“He is and you know it.” 

Yet again the two Dulvians broke into a pointless squabble. Each individual was right in each other's faces, practically shouting their viewpoint for all to hear. Roman was so frustrated he couldn’t think straight. They thought they had drawn the short end of the stick with this deal? Roman was singled out by one of the most powerful underworld organizations. Forcefully hired to help them ‘work out’ their differences with the Nishi Syndicate. 

The de facto leaders of the entire criminal society of Ifrailia. Forget walking on a tightrope, this job wrapped a noose around his neck. And the slightest mistake tightened that scratchy rope, and eventually if he fumbled around too much, his neck would snap. And these two thought being kept in the dark for a few hours was unbearable? As if he needed more of a reason to consider these people nothing more than children.

In the end throwing a fit over his unfortunate circumstances would only serve to slow him down. They were nearly where they needed to be, no use in prolonging things any more than they already had. But when Roman turned back to face the two of his childish colleagues, something caught his attention. Mari and Cliff were far too engrossed in their debate to notice anything afoot. Roman focused in, drawing an invisible sightline between him and the general area where he remembered seeing the irregularity. 

Barely twenty feet away from them was the curve of the road where it branched off to the right. A broken down, dirt stained housing complex was at the center of Roman’s vision. All was normal, rusted over children's playground equipment at the front, boarded up windows, nothing stood out as strange for this area. That’s when he saw it, tucked away behind the grimy metal of an aged slide, was what appeared to be a floating black cube, with a short antenna poking out from the leftmost corner. From the side facing him, he spotted what looked like the iris of a camera mounted onto the front, with an L.E.D that winked a yellow light on and off. 

“Blinker bot!” Roman hollered.

“What--” “f*****g hell!” 

Mari and then Cliff exclaimed in rapid succession, Roman didn’t wait around to scan their facial expressions either. He turned on his heels and bolted down the desolate street. The hurried sound of footsteps not far behind told him that they were behind him. 

“How did that thing find us!” Mari questioned.

Cliff replied hurriedly, “I don’t know, maybe we got caught up in the damn bot’s patrol route!”

“This isn’t good--” Mari’s face suddenly grew dark, “Wait Roman, what color was the thing?” 

“Yellow!” 

“For real,” Curiosity got the better of Mari and she peeked over her shoulder, “Oh god! That thing is gaining on us!”

 “Don’t let it see your face! If the Blinker flashes red, we’ll be swarmed with androids!”

“I know damn it!”

The group sprinted down the street, with the Blinker Bot hot on their tail. Roman was a step ahead of the others, leading the way for his allies. He turned the corner, and ran down the road until he came upon a four way intersection. To Mari and Cliff’s absolute shock, Roman paused, taking a second to find his bearings.

“Why are we stopping!” Mari cried out.

Cliff swung around and clacked his knuckles together, “We might just have to fight!” 

“We won’t have a choice, if someone doesn’t get a move on!” 

Her constant shrieking wasn’t helping Roman at all. His brain was working overtime, spurting out every feasible plan of action he was capable of producing all at once. The avalanche of conflicting ideas and solutions stormed the rest of his mind. To put it bluntly, he was overwhelmed and confused. When he had his old suit of armor, the analytical program would display the optimal path anywhere in the city. Without that assistance, he was nothing more than a lost child in a shopping complex. 

The metallic hum of the drone’s anti-gravity generator brushed up against his eardrums. On a whim, Roman dived into an alleyway at his right. Vaulting over tossed out furniture, and ducking under low hanging fire escapes, after clearing the clutter the path to the otherside was clear. Mari did the same, almost, if not faster than Roman himself. Compared to the other two members of the team however, Cliff was about as adept at precise movements as a bull would be in a china shop. 

First a loud bang.

“Ow! Son of a b***h-” 

Then a tumble, punctuated by the ringing of a trashcan’s lid. 

“Grrr… you know what---!!!” 

The constant beat of footsteps softened, Mari was glued to Roman’s side like a fly. Therefore the only logical conclusion was that Cliff had fallen behind. Roman hoped to god that he hadn’t decided to trash the drone instead of running. The second that the droid's signal stops broadcasting, a squad would be sent to investigate the disturbance. No, it had to be something else, Cliff may only think with his fists, but destroying a blinker was beyond brainless. 

One last obstacle remained, a plain wire fence at the far end of the passageway. They were so close to the end, all they needed to do was get past this gate.  

Roman spoke aloud, “We’re nearly there, I think…” 

“You think!?” Mari said, dumbfounded. 

“Shut up and keep running---” 

“RAAAAAUUUGH!” 

A thunderous boom exploded onto the scene. The blur of something large, and cylindrical quickly sped by, overhead. Roman didn’t even need to question what was thrown. As not even a second after the mysterious object passed a disgusting, rotten banana peel splat on top of his head. 

“A trashcan?” Roman asked himself. 

Mari squealed, “Ah-- yuck!”  

The subsequent moments were the birthplace of a new type of weather, trashfall. Scraps of uneaten meat, discarded candy wrappers, aluminum soft drink cans, any and everything you could imagine in the garbage was hailing to the ground in the short, five to ten second period once the rubbish bin had been thrown. Mari threw up her arms, a vain attempt to save herself from the guck and grime. 

Aside from yanking off the decayed fruit, Roman didn’t pay it much mind. For the second time within a thirty second period an ear splittingly loud crash occurred a short while away from the group. Roman turned to attention, catching a small flash of the aftermath. The wire fence-- just wasn’t there any longer. Rather it was sprawled out on the ground before a two story building. The trashcan, rolling around on the concrete, like some delinquent had just pushed it over. Which honestly, wasn’t the biggest stretch imaginable.

“Looks like Cliff took out the fence--”

Mari recoiled as she peeled off some unknown slimy substance from her shoulder, “Was climbing ONE fence so much of a hassle Cliff!” 

Still in full sprint, Roman was the first to make it through the fenceless opening. Mari was second, face seething while she dusted off the last bits of refuse that clung to her body. There was a short pause, before a shirtless Cliff stormed out of the narrow gap in between two buildings. Roman led the group through the slums like a mouse in a maze. A right here, then a left, and then another right. The messy, barely livable homes and similar looking shops all melded into one at the corners of Roman’s eyes. Somehow during this chaos, Cliff made it back in pace with Roman and Mari.

Consequently, the security drone was closer than it had ever been before. Roman knew they wouldn’t be able to shake this thing through conventional means. All the more reason why they needed to reach his destination as soon as possible. He looked around, there were noticeable less houses than there were previously. Replaced instead by restaurants and other establishments that shared the same unkempt look as the majority of the eastern district. A positive omen, finally, he needed something to go his way for a change. 

“We’re almost there!” Roman affirmed. 

Cliff was the one to speak up this time, “Cut the s**t and tell us already!” 

That caught him by surprise, Cliff normally sat back and let things play out on their own. Allowing Mari to take the position of ‘prime complainer’ a job he was sure both would have loved to share. Although, perhaps the stress of being pursued by an annoyingly effective type of security drone was enough to shove his immature half to the wayside. Roman didn’t respond right away, the three of them charged down another half mile down the road before he saw it.

“There!” Roman pointed to a small, rather inconspicuous building with a wooden sign hanging above the door, “Head for the Trashed Whale!”

Mari spoke up, “What the hells a Trashed Whale!” 

“It’s a bar,” Cliff responded, “Looking for a drink before we take on the entire A.P.D tin man?” 

Obviously a man like Cliff would know about the Trashed Whale. Roman didn’t dignify him with a response. This tiring first leg of their journey together was about to come to an end, and it couldn’t have come along any sooner. He just needed to make it to the door, then everything would turn in his favor.

The Trashed Whale was a measly few steps away. Roman felt his admittedly drained body spring to life with new energy at the sight of the end. And he felt all that momentum come to a crashing halt the moment the double doors opened up. Two blanked humanoid figures exited the bar, single file. It was a being Roman had seen many times during his tenure as an active bounty hunter. Mari and Cliff must have also been familiar with them, S.C.S androids. The A.C.G’s cheapest answer to the issue of policing the people. 

The robot in front locked his sights on the three strangers funneling towards them. Synchronized to absolute perfection, the pair of androids reached down and equipped the standard issue mark three heavy pistol. Mirroring one another with inhuman accuracy as they both drew their guns. 

“Halt deviants!” a synthetic woman’s voice pumped out of the android’s voice box. And it would be the last thing these machines would ever say. 

Mari jumped out from the left, using her purple blade to cleave the android at a slanted angle. The bot’s wiring sparked, oil spilled out, dribbling out from the wound to the legs, painting the already blackened metal, another shade darker. The android’s upper body was slowly pulled downward by gravity. Separating the two halves with an oddly satisfying squelching sound. 

The last android tried to retaliate- only to be met with one mountain of a man. Cliff shoved Roman back and dashed forward, he reached out with his right hand which was already covered in that sickeningly red glow. He wrapped his fingers around the robot’s faceplate, and squeezed. It’s head popped with little give, splattering shards of crumpled up metal and mechanical parts all over the place. 

The flutter of a camera snapping a picture stole everyone’s attention. And when they flipped around, the Blinker bot’s camera flashed again. That was it, combined with what those androids saw before becoming scrap metal, that photograph sealed their fates. Now there wasn’t any possible way to sneak around the police.

Cliff cracked his knuckles, “So much for not fighting.” 

“Aw well, I wanted to do this from the start~” Mari replied, voice full of excitement. 

They were right, there was room for stealth when being chased around by an army of police androids. That being the case, Roman didn’t see any reason to leave this pesky Blinker alive either. He reached into his cloak, and grasped the wooden hilt of his handgun. The drone twisted around and peeled away from the Trashed Whale. He whipped out his weapon, angled his sightline with the pistol’s iron sights, and curled his finger around the trigger… 

CRAAAACK!

A massive surge of lighting rocketed past his head. The burst of wind that came after reminded Roman of a cannon firing off a volley. The uncontrollable, blue light zigzagged through the air. Carving out a path that leads directly towards the bothersome Blinker. The droid’s antigrav system was capable of impressive feats of speed, and still it didn’t stand a chance against the beam of chaotic energy. Like a light that just had it’s plug pulled, when the electricity collided with the small cube, it shut off. Completely powered down, the anti grav switched off, forcing the small robot to the ground. 

Roman, Mari, and Cliff all turned back, and they all saw the same thing. A woman, tall and thin, with short, bright orange hair that contrasted powerfully against her bland overalls, standing at the entrance to the bar. She had pushed out her left hand, middle and index fingers extended with what looked to be smoke trailing off the tips. Her aggressive scowl seemed to vanish when she realized exactly who had just shown up. Mari and Cliff were beyond confused, and on guard, refusing to lower their weapons in the strangers presence. 

Her pink lips contorted into a smile, “Been awhile, Watcher.”