Bounty Hunter [REWRITTEN VERSION]

Chapter 7: Found

ALEC

By the time Alec got back to his apartment, it was already almost noon. As he unlocked the front door, he was both amused and annoyed to see Kishan lounging casually on the sofa, absently flicking through channels on the TV every five seconds. Though, once he saw that Alec was back, his attention immediately pulled away from the screen and turned to face him.

"So what's the news?" he asked curiously.

"Well, be prepared to see a whole lot more of the bounty hunter," Alec grumbled spitefully as he explained. "Chief assigned Maize and me as your protection detail until we get the whole FBI framed thing resolved." He was still not happy with the idea—working with Maize was going to be a pain, he was sure of it.

Kishan looked surprised for a moment, before giving a nonchalant shrug. "That only makes sense...I mean, she certainly seems capable of handling business just from that look in her eye."

Alec muttered out some sort of absent response, his mind having drifted to other things. Namely the partnership itself.

Since he and the bounty hunter—as reluctant as he still was to accept it—would be working together, on the same team, should he try contacting her? See where she stood on the topic of the mission? They still had no idea how close the gang was on Kishan's trail—or the FBI for that matter. And at the moment it was hard to decide which posed the greater threat. Was it even a good idea to stay in the city while the Captain brought up an investigation? What if it only succeeded in leading them straight to him? Damn all these unknowns.

"Hey Kishan, is there any reason that either the bureau or the gang would suspect you had a reason to come to New York?" Alec asked openly, still in thought.

Kishan seemed momentarily surprised by the sudden question before he saw the calculating look in Alec's eyes, and he tilted his head up as if considering the possibility. "Between the two, I would say I'm more concerned about the gang—they were higher on my trail when I left LA. The bureau, on the other hand, hasn't actually made very many moves to go after their 'rogue agents' as far as I know. But, I have a feeling that might just have been because it was a part of the mission, now that my two colleagues are gone, and any proof of my innocence was stolen and most likely destroyed, I just have no idea..."

Alec listened and gave a sole nod of his head once Kishan finished. "So what you're saying is Zmeya is currently the higher threat."

"Yeah, I suppose. They're a ruthless group, with a lot of resources..." Kishan trailed off. "But I seriously doubt they'd be able to catch up with me this soon—"

His careless tone suddenly cut off. They both suddenly felt it, a new apprehension in the air.

Something wasn't right.

Outside the door Alec could have sworn he heard it; a heavy shuffle over the floorboards in that hall just outside their door, followed by a faint muffle, as if something was creeping slowly outside.

"What are the odds that's just the sound of some guy delivering pizza at the wrong address?" Kishan murmured carefully.

They heard an unmistakable weapon click.

Alec sucked in a tense breath, "Unlikely."

Shit. They had company—and something in the air told Alec it wasn't the friendly kind.

Silent as a shadow he drew his gun from his waistband. However, a moment before he could even take a step forward, there was the sound of a surprised yelp followed by a heavy thud that actually shook the base of his door. Alec suddenly paused, glancing back to share a confused look with Kishan. Until he heard a new voice cut in, muttering outside the door.