III. Closing Deals

Strife's ship landed on Pangaea. He got out and smelled the air filled with fumes and what not. It's not a good smell and frankly research shows they are deadly but to him it's like being back on your childhood home. Which is probably true.

I met Strife about twelve years ago. That was just a year after I got transferred into this dimension. Garner, the man who adopted me, taught me how to be like them. It was rough but what can you expect from a fourteen year old? Anyways back to the story; I really could not remember the details of that day. I remembered that we were hired by a wealthy philanthropist to take down an illegal lab, which we did. We beaten the hired security detail but once we got inside everything was gone.

All the research, hierarchy diagrams, everything that the philanthropist was asking. There were just context clues of what transpired, illegal experimentations. We contacted the philanthropist to update him. He was disappointed, so he asked us to torch the place. We prepared all the explosives. But one of our members found a what seems to be a corpse. It wasn't human, but it was a bear, a polar bear.

The one who found the bear kept poking to check if it was alive. He continued to do so. Until the bear woke up, the next thing we heard was streaming. We rushed to the place and saw that the sub-adult polar bear was holding one of ours at gunpoint. The situation evolved into a stand-off. The bear kept grunting, like it wanted to say something.

Garner looked at the bear. "It might seem like you have a hostage. But we don't know what you can do." He held his blaster "For the safety of the rest of my crew, I am not afraid to do a little friendly fire."

The bear held his gun a little tighter. He snarled. He tapped his throat. "If those bastards did what they said they do. Then I could kill you all without even going for another clip." His voice were robotic and rusted.

Both of them continued to stare at each other. The tension rose up.

"Alright, Everybody chill. I'll handle this" I shouted to break the tension. Garner looked at me as well as the bear "Garner you're a bit cold". I looked at the hostage "Breathe a little, your kinda frozen"

Garner looked at me. "What are you doing"

"It's cool. I can do this"

"We don't know anything about that creature and all you are doing is telling us to chill?" Garner replied furiously.

"Those are puns. And I have to say they suck" The bear said.

"Those puns are aimed at you. So I'm not shivering in fear" I raised both my hands. "I just want to talk." I said to the bear. "You like a polar bear. Where you from?"

The polar bear let his hostage go "I was a polar bear. Now I'm this thing… They did things to me, and made me this"

"Well your not who they made aren't you? You got a name?"

"No"

"Well you caused a bit of strife here so… I'll you Strife, sounds good?"

"Yeah" Strife cried.

Maybe not but it's mostly how things went. When people actually ask him how we meet he'll just avoid the conversation entirely. But honestly that is the jist of his origins.

፠፠፠

Where was I? Right. Strife got out of his ship and used his holowatch. He called the alien who hired him. He answered

"Where are you?" The alien asked.

"On my way." Strife replied. He called a cab.

Strife arrived at the meeting place, it was an abandoned warehouse. The alien was there with his three bodyguards. 

"Keep the meter running" Strife told the driver. He went inside. "Hey guys, how's it goin'?" He greeted the alien and his bodyguards.

"Where's the item?" The alien asked him.

"Here" Strife showed the item. "Where's my half?"

"I already paid you full remember?"

"I though we changed the deal a little? Double the original payment?"

Strife wanted to argue some more but his holowatched beeped. "You know what I am pressed for time, so if you'll keep being a drama queen. I'll just call off the deal"

The alien looked pissed.

Strife walked back. The alien signalled his bodyguards to shoot Strife. They pulled out their guns. Strife smelled the metal of the guns, they shoot him. Strife dodged and in a swift motion back hands one of the bodyguards. The force of the hit made him fly a good few meters. Strife then pulled out his guns and aimed at the remaining bodyguards. He snarled and shot the two down.

Strife pulled his weapon back. He showed his claw at the alien. The alien quivered in fear. Came closer, Strife could feel his fear. Strife reached out to the alien's chest, not to slash but to take his wallet. Strife took a black card, and operated his holowatch to transfer the amount he was owed. After the transfer Strife returned the card and handed him the item.

"Pleasure doing business with you." Strife the walked away. He boarded back on the cab. He told the driver to go to the Gold Ducks, the driver nodded and drove. His holowatch beeped. It was Julia.

"Hello, Ms. Julia" Strife answered in a more professional manner.

"Mr. Strife are you and your partner ready for this job?" Julia asked.

"Oh yes, I'll just have to pick him up… and we'll be back on the docks. Oh, by the way-"

"I have my gear as well as the permits. This will be the most legal job you made" She nervously laughed. "Sorry"

"That's okay" Strife laughed as well. "I got to say tho, you are the only one brave enough to ask us with regards our job"

"Well one of my job as a journalist is to tell the people about the world… doing this is simply doing my job"

"That's very noble, if I say so myself." Strife smiled. "I'll see you on the docks" He ended the call.

Julia put down her holowatch. She was in a bar, looking at a man telling a story. It was about how he saved an endangered species from one of their rogue scientists. Everyone was invested in this man's story. Because well that man is me. We had a little chat. Then the buzzkill, Strife walked in the Gold Duck looking for me. Julia looked at me as I look down. Strife saw me and approached my table. He sniffed and gagged.

"Oh you're drunk" Strife said.

"Just tipsy" I replied as I sipped my drink. "What are you doing here Strife?"

"I need a pilot and a partner."

"You mean a captain?"

"You're ship is still the way you remembered it" He snickered.

"Can you do it a little later? I'm on a date here" I pointed to the woman.

"Actually I'm here on business now" The woman said as she saw Strife.

"Oh hey julia" Strife greeted the lady. "I thought you were gonna meet us at the port?"

"Wait, you knew her?" I was frustrated and confused which my face did not fail to display.

"Yeah, She's the one who gave us this job" Strife explained to me.

"Actually I'm a reporter and I'll be doing a documentary on our line of job" Julia explained to me.

I planted my face in my hands and groaned. "Oh come-on! You know I don't date people I work with"

"Just get-up, he's expecting you to take this job." Strife added.

"No"

"Yes"

"I'm busy."

"You're not."

I continued to refuse him but the polar bear was running out of patience he grabbed me by the collar and dragged me out of the bar.

"A documentary with a hot lady, this'll be fun"

And that is how this downhill spiral of a week I had began.