Outlaws (The Slingers Trilogy, Book 2)

Chapter 16

Even if his legs were cybernetic, Koil's feet were aching like never before as he pulled the Broker and the rest of the crew into a small store on the side of the alleyway. He breathed heavily and kept his assault rifle pointed at the door in case anyone decided to pop in. As Bunker and the twins sat down to take a rest, Koil peeked out from the abandoned shop and looked up and down the alley. There didn't seem to be anyone following them, for the time being. Koil turned back around and approached the Broker first. "Alright then, as you can see, we're in kind of a hurry right now, so I'd appreciate it if you managed to hand over that hard drive." The Broker looked up at Koil, furious. "Who were those people! They come into my club and think they can shoot at me!" Koil looked over at Elicia, who then looked down with a guilty face. Koil sighed. "They don't matter right now. If you give us that drive, we can guarantee your safety." The Broker looked shocked and insulted. "Are you kidding me?! You almost got me killed at least 3 times back there!" Koil kneeled down to the Broker's eye level and looked at him condescendingly. "Or, there is always the alternative of leaving you here alone and letting them come shoot you for information." The Broker squinted his eyes and growled, then pulled the slim device out of his robe. Koil looked over at Bunker. "How long did Thadeus say it would take to fix the Renegade's engine?" Bunker shook his head. "Not short enough. It would take at the least another 5 hours to fix the main power core, with the right tools." Koil ran a hand through his hair in frustration. This was going to be tougher than he thought.

Vos pushed the large scaffolding which held the lights off of him, and helped his 3 other Buzzards up as well. He looked out the door where the twins along with their friends had escaped. He clenched his fists and drew his pistol, walking through the door into the bar, where the bartender was hiding underneath a table. He aimed the barrel at his head. "Where'd they go?" The bartender's eyes widened and he shook his head wildly. "I-I don't know! Ple-" Before he could finish begging for his life, Vos shot him between the eyes, and walked out the front entrance. He looked around, but it was impossible to spot anyone in this crowd. He cursed, then heard a loud honking. He turned around and saw the small buggy that the Buzzards had brought with them, along with many more of his men. Vos grinned and stepped forwards as he greeted his second in command. "Hey Vos. Did you really find 'em?" Vos pointed to the bullet holes on his chestplate still healing. "What's it bloody look like? They can't have gotten far. Search this entire city. I'm betting they don't have a ship. And be sure to keep them alive! The other blokes with them you can kill all you want." The Buzzard grinned and cocked his shotgun. "With pleasure." Then, out of the corner of his eye, Vos saw something move like a flash across the back of the buggy. The next thing he knew, the turret on the back collapsed, it's stand cut clean in two. Then, two of the Buzzards looked down at a large protruding black blade poking out of their chests. Vos and the other Buzzards drew their guns and looked around for the assailant. "What the hell?" Vos asked, aiming his pistol. Then, as both of the stabbed Buzzards collapsed, Vos saw who it was. A man with jet-black hair and a long, flowing, black coat stood staring at the group of Buzzards. He held two large longswords, one in each hand, and was looking at them with fierce determination. Vos found himself terrified by this unknown man, and yelled in fear as he shot his weapon at him.

Elicia was sitting down in the corner of the small shop, contemplating how she had almost messed up their entire plan, when Bunker and Koil came up to her, with Edvard by their side. "Alright, I think you two owe us an explanation." Koil stared down at her, and she looked over at Edvard. He nodded, then she got up and sighed before speaking. "They're called Buzzards. They're...mercenaries, guns for hire. They don't have any special alignment, they just work for the highest bidder. But most of them work for a man called Rafe Cypher. Rafe is an old friend of ours. Back when we were growing up on Rykkak, we had nowhere to go. We were orphans, raised on the street. We learned how to pickpocket from a young age and ate out of waste bins." Edvard nodded. "Rafe was our only friend. But then one day, we come across this guy named Tony Nbarro. He used to be the biggest crime boss on Rykkak. He said that he had use for kids like us. We mainly helped him in cons and snatches, and we were rewarded for it. He gave us credits, a warm bed, food. Back then...it was better than nothing. Then, Tony got axed off. We have no idea what happened, but apparently he got shot by this guy named Hansel. Rafe went out one night...and he came back with his body. Rafe soon became the head of the syndicate, and we were his partners. But afterwards, he started to get a bit too greedy with his power. Some of the other guys wanted to axe him off too. Then, we found out something horrible." Elicia looked down. "Rafe was the one who killed Tony. He shot him, then planted evidence that Hansel did it. When he found out we knew, he ordered a huge hit on us. We decided to get out of the business and con our way to make a living, and we've been on the run ever since." Koil and Bunker looked at the both of them, then Bunker spoke up. "You don't have to run anymore. When we're done with this whole Dorado Piece thing, you'll both be rich enough to buy everything that Rafe owns twice over." Elicia laughed, a true and genuine laugh, which made Edvard snicker a little bit. Even Koil cracked a smile. The Broker looked at all of them like they were crazy. Elicia looked at Bunker and gave a small smile. "Thank you..." She reached up around his armour and gave him a hug. Edvard nodded as well, glad to see his sister happy. Then they heard someone enter the front of the store, which made Koil, along with everyone else, point their guns. They all were shocked to see Dante standing with both of his swords drawn, and a few bullet holes in his coat. Everyone was silent until Edvard spoke up. "Where the hell have you been?!"