Outlaws (The Slingers Trilogy, Book 2)

Chapter 20

Elicia woke up in the bunk next to her brother, the early morning sun rising over the smoggy hills of trash and junk. They had stayed the night at Thadeus's place again, and thankfully the Buzzards hadn't come to find them. Dante's ability to lose a tail was astonishing, as was everything else about him. She got up and quickly got dressed into her "work clothes" as she liked to call them, which mainly consisted of a grey set of pants, a white dress shirt, and a charcoal grey vest, along with a red tie to match her brother's blue one. He always did have a flair for symmetry. She smiled to herself as she thought of when she and Edvard had bought their first set of real clothes back on Rykkak, and how comfortable and warm they had felt compared to the rags they always wore. Her brother had always tried to make her happy when they were feeling helpless or depressed. He would tell jokes, do magic tricks that couldn't have fooled a 5-year old, but still impressed Elicia nonetheless, and tell stories about galactic adventures and space pirates. They always fascinated her, but she soon became tired of those stories when she grew up. Elicia sighed slightly so she wouldn't wake her brother up, and tossed her long, platinum blonde hair over her shoulder. Hopefully Bunker would be up by now so they could test the ship. As she walked into the hall, she saw a light at the end of it. The stairs leading up to the roof were lit up, meaning the door was open. Curious, she went to go and check on whatever it was, and as she made it to the top, she saw Dante standing there, his black coat billowing in the wind behind him, as he looked out over the city with a stoic look on his face. Without even looking at her, Dante spoke. "He's coming."

As Bunker finally sat down in the seat of the Renegade, he found himself reaching a state of eerie calmness, despite the situation, as he always did whenever he got in the co-pilot's seat. As he was about to start up the engines, he instinctively looked over at the pilot's chair, to confirm with Andress they were ready to take off, but of course, no one was there. He clenched his fist over the starter, and pushed it forward slowly, feeling the weight of it in his hand. Then, incredibly, he felt the familiar shuddering of the twin turboboosters roaring to life, and saw the console light up with it's pattern of colours and beeping. Bunker gave a quick fist pump to himself. The Renegade was back and ready to fly. He looked down back into the cargo bay, and saw Edvard and Koil grinning with delight as they inspected the Swift, which was also back in full working condition. Then, he saw Elicia and Dante walk in, Elicia with a scared look on her face, while Dante looked determined. She came right into the cabin and stared at Bunker with wide eyes. "We need to leave. Now." Bunker looked confused. "What's wrong?" Dante stared at Bunker and crossed his arms. "The unfinished business I told you about? He's on his way. And I don't think he's letting us go without a fight." Bunker looked down, and Koil and Edvard looked at each other. Bunker sighed, then looked out of the cabin. "It'll take me at least 12 minutes to do preflight checks, 8 if I rush." Dante looked at Bunker, then nodded as if he had decided something. "I'll give you 13." As he was walking out the door and out of the ship, Elicia called out after him. "Wait! We need you here to fly this thing!" Dante stopped and looked back. "Koil can take over. If you're ready to fly before I'm back, leave without me. Got it?" He walked out, not waiting for an answer, while the 4 of them looked on with sadness.

He could practically feel his sword pointed at the man in black's throat. He knew he was that close. After a full night of searching, he had tracked him down to this place, one that smelled of rust and rocket fuel. He kicked open the door and began to stalk through the house silently, searching for any sign of him. He knew that the ones who worked with the man in black might be here too. That's what the man in red armour had told him. Regardless, he was ready for any of them. As he made it to the upper level, he saw several rooms with the doors open and spaces cleared out. Then, he smelled a familiar scent of iron and chrome. The man in black had just been here. As he was about to turn around and continue the trail, he heard a weapon cock behind him, and he slowly turned around. He saw an old man with several body parts replaced with metal holding some sort of makeshift weapon at his face. "You best leave now son, before I put you down." He stared at the old man's face. He didn't recognize him as someone who worked with the man in black, but he was in his way, and therefore a threat. He reached behind his back and drew his sword, activating the plasma blade. The old man stared at him, and began to spin up his weapon, but before he got a single round off, he dashed forward and cut the barrel and the old man in half with a single stroke. As the man collapsed, he continued following the trail of the man in black, out across a path, over to a small tower which held a lift, which carried up towards a landing pad. On the pad was a small ship, a repainted cargo ship. He recognized it. That was the one the Director wanted so badly. He knew that wherever that ship was, the man in black would be as well. Then, as if he read his thoughts, he felt a sudden shift in the wind from above, then, with lighting speed, raised his sword up and blocked the incoming aerial attack from the man in black, who had dived down from the tower with both his swords raised in attack. It was a bold move, but ultimately useless. He pushed him back, and the man in black landed on his feet, both his weapons at his sides. He stared down at him, and assumed the bowing position that he learned during his training in the art of KendoKai. The man in black returned the bow, and looked back at him. "You asked for a time to fight. It is now." He nodded, and finally, the battle he had been waiting for began.