Bounty Hunter

Chapter 28

Gabriel Sloan remained in his heavily armored vehicle while his specialized squad of twelve murcs, all in exoshields, set fire to the derelict building that bore a faded sign reading Harry Haft's. The people inside hadn't expected a second attack, and they'd been woefully unprepared. They hadn't even taken a single shot before the bomb went off.

Hunters who'd had their exoshields on ran through the flames, only to be gunned down by Sloan's squad. One of the hunters had been carrying out a badly burned woman when he'd been shot, and she toppled out of his arms when he collapsed. The woman—likely a barmaid—tried to crawl away, but a single blaster shot finished her off.

Fire and soot showered down, pelting Gabriel's windows. He grimaced. He didn't understand why Roderick enjoyed being at the front of the battle. It was messy and chaotic, two things Gabriel thoroughly disliked.

A gunfight erupted in the alley behind the bar, and Gabriel leaned forward, craning to see, but all he could make out was flashes of blaster fire. He tapped his comm on his armlet. "What's going on back there?"

"Two targets escaped through a hidden tunnel in Tally's office. We're pursuing them now."

"Update me when you have them."

Gabriel waited, impatiently tapping his foot. He found it incredibly tedious to sit and wait for an update that he didn't receive for nearly an hour. When the squad leader approached empty-handed, Gabriel fumed. He opened the window. "You let them escape?"

"They lost us in the tunnels, sir. But everyone else that was inside is confirmed dead."

"I don't care about everyone else!" Gabriel glowered. "Find him and kill him."