Chapter 20: Bounty Hunting
William Myers was a notorious thief on the run for months. Having a lean, tan physique and several spears strapped to his back. He had managed to evade the authorities of a country thus far, but his luck had been running out the past few days since two bounty hunters had made it a priority to capture him, which had landed William in his current situation.
William desperately ran through the woods, trying to escape the two bounty hunters who were hot on his trail. It was a sunny day, but those details didn't matter; he was too focused on getting away.
As he was running, he felt the sting of branches scratching his face and body, but he didn't slow down. He had to keep moving. Finally, he burst out of the forest and into a small clearing.
To his surprise, he saw the bounty hunters waiting for him. One has a swimmer's physique, a hand axe and grappling hook, tough brown leather armor with bits of silver-scale armor covering parts of the body, and a spectacle helmet. He is wearing a belt that carries two pouches. All in all, the armor doesn't sacrifice any mobility.
The second man has brown hair and reddish-brown eyes. He wears a red headband with the words "Rock You" and has tied up spiky, waist-length hair. He also has a muscular physique, wearing a red sleeveless jacket, black fingerless gloves, red shoes, and a few belts, including a blunt sword.
They had anticipated his escape route and had waited with their vehicle behind them, a rusty van that shouldn't be able to drive. The one wearing red said tiredly, "Look who showed up. Seems I'm right again."
"Yeah, yeah, I'll take care of it."
Seeing the masked hunter walking towards him, William responded by turning around and bolting towards the woods, trying to escape. However, he felt something wrap around his ankle. Stumbling, he looked down and saw a grappling hook. The thief tried shaking it off, but the material and grip behind it were too strong.
William begged for mercy, "Wait! Wait! If you let me go, I'll tell you where to find an artifact."
The Masked man wasn't interested in what William had to say, but he decided to listen anyway. "What kind of artifact?" he asked.
"It's a piece of black technology, some kind of weapon called a PS1," William replied.
Daubeny's grip loosened at the mention of the artifact, and William knew he had a chance to escape. He quickly grabbed a spear from his back and stabbed the rope on the grappling hook, releasing its grip on him.
Without wasting any time, William started running away from Daubeny. The man in red laughed at his comrade, "Looks like he's getting away; you're getting sloppy, Daubeny."
Daubeny hung his head down, sighing and reeling back in the grappling hook. "Really now... I'm the one getting sloppy? Most of the time, you make me work without moving a muscle."
Turning around and entering back inside the van, Frederick flipped off his friend. "Shut up. This is payback for all the work you pushed onto me."
Daubeny stomped his foot in rage, cracking the earth below him. "IT'S BEEN FORTY- SEVEN YEARS FREDERICK; LET IT GO!" Daubeny then started chasing after William. He was determined to catch him, no matter what it took.
William ran as fast as he could but knew he could only outrun Daubeny briefly. He had to find a way to slow him down. He spotted a large tree up ahead and quickly climbed up, hoping to gain some distance from his pursuer.
Daubeny followed the thief to the tree's base, where he looked up. "Last chance, come down here, or I'll be forced to hurt you." William didn't say anything as his eyes darted around to find a new exit. Seeing that his target had no intention of leaving his safe spot, Daubeny took out his hand axe from his back and, with massive strength, cut the tree down with one strike.
William fell with his last remaining spear, landing an inch away from his face. He quickly picked it up and pointed it at Daubeny, shouting, "Stay back! I'll use this if I have to!"
But Daubeny wasn't fazed. He continued walking towards William, continuing his stride. When William went to pierce Daubeny with his spear, the bounty hunter dodged the attack and uppercutted with so much strength that William was launched into the air, dazed.
Before William could even realize what was happening, he was tied up with Daubeny's grappling hook. He struggled to break free, but it was no use. The grappler was too strong and knew he had been caught. He resigned himself to his fate as Daubeny threw William in the back of the van. Daubeny returned to the van, throwing the thief in the back into the van, and took up the passenger seat. Frederick drove off to take William to where members of a country he stole from would meet them and deliver the payout to the rest of the countries.
That country was known as India but is now known as the Independent Airborne State of Zepp. Back in the early 2020s, India had taken the stand to preserve Black Technology, which the UN had already prohibited because of environmental damages. So, while every other nation was replacing black technology with magic, India broke off from the UN to still use black technology. This is thanks to an Indian multi-billionaire who developed the the Ultra-Dreadnought class ship that would house the nation. These airships are the size of a small country, with Zepp comprising many small islands. Though it can travel anywhere globally, it generally remains above the Indian Ocean to prevent diplomatic disputes.
"Another day, another bounty."
Daubeny smiled and then pulled out a document from the compartment before him. The acronym "FYEO" was printed on the first page. The document contained nothing more and nothing less than the latest information on the criminals with a price on their heads from each region. These were the data that all newspapers would later use as a basis for writing one-page articles.
The first half of the document contained portraits of criminals, as well as their abilities, criminal charges, and the amount of rewards. Skipping all that, Daubeny turned to the pages in the middle. Finding:
-Criminal Com Interational Search and Capture Order No. E13645100/Decapitated/Stray Sheep
-Criminal Com Interational Search and Capture Order No. US2T1/21801031/Exterminated/Bunther
That was the list of criminals with rewards captured that month, the bounty hunters who had captured them, and the date the reward was collected.
Since it was just an official newsletter, it was inevitable that it would be flat and monotonous. If it were the monthly rewards report for the general public, it would feature bombastic headlines.
Most bounty hunters aspired to have status and a stable job. Even if one decided to continue working as a bounty hunter, it was a good idea to make one's name known. For this reason, the names of those who caught criminals with large rewards appeared and were mentioned in the newspapers in a big way.
If someone carried out a murder that couldn't be made public without giving his name, he might as well be a murderer. The bounty hunters didn't care about the details.
Not finding William's page, Daubeny continued flipping through the pages.
Occasionally, some "anonymous" appeared on the list. This happened when those responsible for eliminating murderers considered "evil" or destroying criminal organizations did not leave a name. Daubeny and Frederick, in order to blend in with human society and continue bounty hunting, had their names be "anonymous."
However...
"Anonymous" was also code for criminals who wanted to get rid of their henchmen and police officers who tried to rise through the ranks and occasionally joined forces with each other. They were not legendary bounty hunters but vile tightrope walkers who walked the fine line between corruption and duty.
Being part of the industry for so long, Daubeny knew everything about it and much more. As he went through each "anonymous," Daubeny finally found what he was looking for.
Criminal Com Interational Search and Capture Order No. M9OSA/5027785/Dead or Alive/William Myers.
Daubeny had removed his spectacle helmet and placed it on the floor below him. He had not looked a day older since becoming a Gear.
"Hey... So-" Daubeny started, but he was cut off by Frederick, who took his eyes off the road to glance at the file Daubeny was holding.
"No," Frederick said firmly, his eyes on the road.
Daubeny's eyes widened in shock, and his head stood in place as he sighed softly and tried to speak again. "What? Listen--."
But the flame of corruption interrupted him again, this time with more force. "No."
Daubeny stuttered before attempting to finish his sentence. "At least let me--."
Frederick responded with finality, "I said, 'NO.'"
Daubeny gently sank deeper into his chair, closing his eyes in disbelief. A few seconds of silence passed before he spoke up again. "I haven't even said anything yet," Daubeny said, hoping to reason with Frederick.
He looked at Daubeny with unamusement and said, "I know what you're going to say."
Daubeny opened his eyes and looked at the file. "If what that guy said was true, then I can't ignore this."
The rest of the drive was silent until a few hours passed when they found a small airship the size of a house landed in a remote area, with several men and women standing on guard with machine guns. Putting back on his helmet, Daubeny and Frederick exited the van to meet with their contractors.
A man in a more decorative outfit with badges and a fancier hat stepped forward, speaking in English with a heavy Slavic accent: "Do you have the thief with you, bounty hunters?"
Daubeny nodded. "So I was thinking if instead of World Dollars, we could receive a PlayStation 1 as payment."
The man refused adamantly. "Impossible, whatever technology we possess belongs with our great nation."
Daubeny shrugged. "That's too bad." The soldiers tensed up, ready to act if necessary, but Daubeny and Frederick remained calm. Until Daubeny flicked his wrist with a magic symbol that appeared below him. Dozens of glowing golden chains composed of pure sunlight restrained every soldier there. He and Frederick ran into the airship as Daubeny thought about the last few days.
He reread the notes he had made in his journal. Due to living a long life, most of his memories of a long time ago were foggy except for some cherished ones. So, at one point, he wrote what would happen to the best he could remember. And with what he wrote, Zepp would become a military state within the next decade, so now was his only chance without killing anyone.
"What a pain... fine, we'll get the console you want so bad," Frederick said while operating the airship, taking off towards Zepp, forgetting about the thief who would escape again as the soldiers were restrained.
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Daubeny outfit
Sol outfit