"Oh! I know, I know!" Valentina lost hold of her glass. It hit the counter and shattered. She blinked, her eyes a bit wild. "It was on Ame, in sector 6. You know, the rich Ame –the one that sells that water stuff." Her voice suddenly grew soft, and her eyes, distant. "Ame. One of my favorites."
The Hunter appeared to be off in her own thoughts, so Elizia fished in her jacket for her data pad and linked it to her ship on the space dock. Using a code she established, she signaled for the dock crew to undo the clasps, letting her take off at her leisure.
She stowed her data pad and turned back to Valentina, "If you can give me coordinates, that would help me out so much! I might even be able to get Brella to amp that cloak you have. She's great with those things."
Elizia was practically bouncing in her chair. It was a wonder she was still in it, and if she was honest she was amazed as well. Why wasn't she out the door already?
"Sure," Valentina said, oddly subdued. "Brella –when I saw her, anyway– was working in the president's research labs. We talked some, actually. I'd had to ask her about someone else who worked there."
Brella, at a research lab? Elizia thought, That doesn't sound like her. But, it's Brella. Maybe she found ir to be worth it.
Elizia pulled out her data pad again and handed it to Valentina, who still seemed rather distant, "If you would please?"
Val took the data pad in her hands, her long nails clicking as she typed in the coordinates. When she finished, she handed it back to Elizia. "I was sent to Ame for the first time to assassinate the president's wife. Turns out, the president is the one who hired me." She paused, her chewing at her lips.
"Wait, you didn't know who hired you?" Elizia asked, stumped. It seemed kind of silly, working with someone you didn't even know.
Valentina laughed a harsh laugh. "Honey, your age is showing. When a president hires someone to kill someone else, they hire that someone through a third party. It's all very hush hush."
( do you think the others are gonna show up at all?)
Elizia shrugged. What else was she expecting from a bounty hunter? Still, the honor just wasn't there. Even mechanists, the rebels that they were, did their illegal dealings honestly.
Either way, she had what she needed. She nodded respectfully to Valentina, then noticed that it was quite dark outside. She turned back, "I don't suppose you know a good place to stay the night? I wanna sleep off my whiskey."
"Oh, well, there's a rather nice place down by the river. It's called the Mix or something like that. It's welcoming of visitors from difference…places." Valentina snapped out of her reverie. "Watch out for humans, though. They're blood thirsty."
(no clue…)
Typing in the place and finding it on a map, Elizia raised her hand in thanks and walked out. She followed the river until she came upon a building, the logo for the "Mixed Inn" mounted on the front. Tired and quite happy with her adventures already, Elizia paid the alien clerk there for a room. She settled down. Sleep had almost taken her when she heard a scratching at the door.
Valentina stared down at the glass on the counter. She ordered another drink. But this time something stronger. Her brain was taking an impromptu trip down memory lane, making her feel guilt, of all things. A bounty hunter shouldn't feel guilty, but here she was. Taking a shot of vodka, she let herself get lost in the memories of a rainy planet and a boy with trusting eyes.
(Was I supposed to be the scratching?)
(Nope)
Elizia lazily got out of bed, moving to the door and checking the screen displaying those on the other side. No one seemed to be there, and Elizia turned back.
Then the door exploded, sending wood splinters everywhere. The figure of a man stepped in, gun in hand, attempting to get ahold of her. She couldn't make out any details, because of the light pouring in from the hallway. In a panic, Elizia willed her wings into being, creating a neon glow that illuminated her attackers face. He was a human male, older than her by a long shot, and armed to the teeth. No doubt he was a bounty hunter, similar to Valentina.
She struggled against his grip, trying to touch her wings to his head. If she could do that, she could stun him, maybe even blind and deafen him if she was lucky.
(If you forgot her ability, look back to Elizia's description.)
Valentina staggered through the hallway of the Mixed Inn. She was hella drunk and honestly she felt amazing. It was easier to think about things when she was drunk. She giggled, flopping against the wall. A man walked past her, slamming his shoulder into her and nearly sending her off her feet. "Hey! Manners!" she shouted, her voice unhinged. The man kept going. She recognized him belatedly. Another bounty hunter? Here? She decided to follow him…if she could figure out how to make the floor stop moving. Man. She was drunk.
Elizia failed to hit the man with her wing. Despite being several drinks in herself, for a moment she thought she was doing rather well, but she soon found herself on the floor, cuffed. Her wings fizzled.
"Get these restraints off of me! I swear, when I get to my jacket I'll…"
"Shaddup! You coming with me, Butterfly!" The man said, hitting her over the head with a baton. It hurt, but Elizia had faced worse under her own family. She went limp under the blow, and as the man bent down down to pick her up, she rolled over and kicked out with her legs, sending the man staggering backwards.
"Eliza? Alicia? Uh…Elizia?" called Valentina as she stepped out from behind the desecrated door. She peered down at Elizia, still in chains, and the bounty hunter, writhing in agony. "I guess you don't need my help, then," she slurred, grinning sloppily.
Elizia tried and failed to kick herself to her feet.
She gave Valentina a pleading look, "I could use a hand, actually."
"Oh, right, no problem girl," Val drawled, taking a swig from the bottle of vodka in her hand. The bounty hunter turned towards her, his eyes filled with fury as he swung. She simply ducked under his hand with the bottle still to her lips. Sidestepping his attacks, she slammed the bottle into his head, sending him to the ground. The bottle shattered. She stared down at it with sad eyes. "Aw damn. No more vodka."
Elizia went wide-eyed, "That was cool!" She again tried to kick herself to her feet, and found herself on her knees, "Ugh, I wish I hadn't had those drinks. I'm so out of it…"
"I'm so glad I had those drinks because otherwise I would've killed him," Val replied with startling flippancy. She glanced down at Elizia, who still struggled in her restraints. "Oh, right, one second." She rummaged around on the unconscious bounty hunter for keys. Finding them, she tossed them to Elizia.
She caught the keys backward and fumbled until she had the cuffs off. Looking down at the bounty hunter, she drew her gun and overcharged it with the energy from her wings, then holstered it.
"You're welcome," Val said with a clumsy bow. "You owe me for the vodka."
Elizia smiled and shrugged, "You might be waiting for a while. Thanks for the hand, though." She gestured to the unconcious man, "Friend of yours?"
Val pulled a face, her lips rolling back in a snarl-like grimace. "Oh, that piece of shit? His methods are scummy. His name is Juhporg, I think."
"Well, if you would be so inclined, tell your friends to kindly stay away."
Elizia still felt the rush of adrenaline from her encounter. Snatching her jacket, she slipped it on and pulled out her data pad, "I need to record this. Oh, this is so exciting!"