Coyote

[14] nothing wrong with an alliance.

Beltan News: The Chancellor of the Belt Alliance Committee, Stephanie Osiris, has reached an agreement with the miners in Devil Soil and a union will be formed immediately.

Wolf's dirty thoughts were interrupted by his roommates closing the door and pinning him to the wall.

"What the—"

The man covered Wolf's mouth with his hand.

"Listen to us," the woman began. "We don't have much time before purification, so we're only going to warn you once: stay away from Yolanda. The nuns purified her to be beautiful for a reason. She's playing a role here. She targets newcomers who seem reluctant to be purified and has sex with them, hoping to change their minds."

"We call her kind, Succubus," the man said. "They are cyborgs designed for pleasure and killing—in that order. We've fought thousands of them, so we can pick them out of a crowd."

"Don't say you weren't warned," the woman added.

Coldness prickled Wolf's lips after the man removed his hand from his mouth, his ears picking up the humming AC from the corner of the room. Leaning on the wall, his jumbled thoughts tried to untie themselves and give him an answer as to what had just happened. He didn't know these people, and they had attacked him and his horniness? The nerve on them.

Glancing at the woman, she had short curly hair and green eyes, while the man had a bald head and sharp brown eyes.

Wolf gasped, his pupils enlargening from recognition. "You're the ones who bought weapons from Lazy Eyes in Paradiso."

They looked way older up close. The map of wrinkles on the man's face told a story Wolf wished he had the time to listen to. His black stubble gave youth to his old face, and his twinkling eyes showed he still had a lot of fight in him.

It was the brown woman who warmed Wolf's heart. Though she looked nothing like his mother, she reminded him of her. She had a fruity smell, which was inviting and reminded him of home. Yet he hadn't been in Wonderland for over a decade. Her bloodshot eyes with deep crow's feet stared at him.

Dressed in the same red suits and white ties, the two looked to be in their early to mid-fifties. If his parents were alive, they would have been around the same age.

"I knew you looked familiar," the woman said. "You were in Paradiso the same time we were." She looked at the man beside her. "I told you, hun. It was him."

The man folded his arms and laughed. "You were right, as always."

"What are you doing here?" Wolf asked. They had bought laser pistols from Lazy Eyes. Had they used them already?

"We're here to avenge my brother," the man said. "He came here to rescue his pregnant wife after she was kidnapped by the nuns, but got killed instead."

"Sorry for your loss." The only family Wolf had left was Rainbow. Even though they weren't blood-related, he couldn't imagine losing her. He relied on her for most things in his life. "Excuse me for asking, but why didn't your brother seek your help with his wife's kidnapping?"

"Coyotes are stubborn. We think we can do everything on our own. I used to be that way before I met my wife." He looked at her, and she smiled at him.

Wolf nodded in understanding. He was basically that—a one-man army—but with the help of an AI. And in the world of coyotes, working in teams meant completing more bounties and getting a lot of credits. But Wolf was stubborn when it came to finding partners or allies. He never knew how to approach someone and ask them to be friends or work together. He felt awkward and pathetic wanting to do so.

All of a sudden, something clicked in his head. All the lights in his mind switched on, and he chuckled. It wasn't a laughing matter, but that was always his reaction whenever things came full circle. "Your brother was the former Lord Orc, wasn't he?"

The man and woman exchanged curious glances. "How do you know that?" the man asked.

"The timing of it makes sense. He was killed not long ago, and here you two are seeking revenge. The reason I'm here is because of your brother too. Not directly, but a young woman using his phone—" He started laughing. More dots connected in his mind. The answer to his questions had been in front of him the whole time and he hadn't realized it.

In order for Victoria to post the video on the GSF community page, she had to have found a way to broadcast it out of the city. She was the one who had all the answers he needed. If he could find her, then there was a chance he could connect Wednesday to the city's satellite and complete the bounty.

The man grabbed Wolf by the shoulders and shook him. "How do you know about the young girl using my brother's phone?"

Wolf realized he hadn't properly introduced himself. "I saw it in the red zone. My name's Wolf. I'm also a coyote."

The man and woman started laughing.

"What's wrong?" Wolf asked.

"Nothing. I'm Tevin, and this is my wife, Kim. You can call us Blue Eagle and Silver Crow. We'd prefer it, actually."

Silver Crow was still laughing. For whatever reason, what Wolf had said was funny to them. A sour taste crept into his mouth before sending strings of itself to his heart. He hated feeling left out—whether it was a joke or anything else.

"Can I know what's making you two laugh this much?"

"Your name; we've heard about you," she said.

Wolf pointed at himself. "Me? Where?"

"You're famous in the community threads."

Now it made sense to Wolf. They were laughing because they had finally met the infamous Destroyer. The other low-ranked coyotes had dubbed him that because his hunts ended in the destruction of buildings and land, sometimes leaving innocent bystanders wounded.

"I see." Wolf pretended not to care about other people's opinions, but it mattered how he was perceived—especially relating to his work. While most coyotes had other jobs apart from bounty hunting, this was all he had. A family legacy, some might say. He never imagined doing anything else because the GSF was the only place he felt close to his late parents. "I won't bother you anymore."

Before he could turn around, Blue Eagle grabbed his shoulder. "Wait," he said. Wolf looked at him. "Look, sorry if we hurt your feelings. We thought it wasn't a big deal. Destroyer is a cool nickname to have—much better than what other coyotes are given. What do you say, are we good?"

Wolf smiled. "Sure."

"Great." Silver Crow stepped between them and slung her arms around their shoulders. "Now that there are three coyotes here, how about we work together and take down these nuns."

"It won't be easy," Wolf said.

"We don't like easy." Blue Eagle licked his lips. "The harder they are—"

"—The sweeter it is seeing them fall," Silver Crow finished the sentence. "So, what do you say, Wolf? Are you in?"

Wolf didn't know what to think. He wasn't sure if the hyena and the two coyotes would want to work together. Just because he and Olivia seemed cool, it didn't mean that would be the case between the three of them. Also, being in a team made him uncomfortable. His stomach grumbled at the thought of putting his trust in others. What if they betrayed him? This mission was too important for it to fail because of being backstabbed.

But if he wanted to complete the bounty without dying, the best way was by working with the other coyotes and the hyena. It would enable him to gather enough information before he captured the leader of The Forgotten Nuns and brought her to justice.

With a smile on his face, Wolf said, "Let's take down these bastards."