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THE
EARLY BIRD |
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“Just gimme a minute, ok! I’m almost done!” A young girl’s voice called out from behind a wielders mask, then went back to her repair work on the flying machine. “Yeah, well hurry up! I plan on going out on the town tonight and I need my favorite ride.” He said with a small grin as he turned around and closed the door to the garage, making his way into the living room. The girl lifted the mask away from her face, revealing her fiery red hair and those big, blue eyes with the small bandage across her left cheek, mostly for decoration. It was Kei, and she sneered at the door. “It wasn’t for your nightly outings’, I wouldn’t have to keep fixing it....jerk.” Then, on a small computer screen on that was sitting on the desk, a slightly more ornate projection of Bob’s AI appeared. “Good afternoon Kei...” Kei jumped a little from the surprise, then glanced over to the screen. “Oh, hey Bob. How’d the job go?” “It went...” he responded rather disappointed as he twirled around a bit. Kei chuckled softly. “That bad, huh? Well, that’s Iria for ya...” “I suppose so.” Bob said. “Have you seen Fujikuro around?” “Yeah, he’s inside...”She said as she pulled the mask down and went back to her work. “...and you can tell him that I’m charging him for this one!” Bob laughed softly. “Right...” Then the picture on the screen faded to black. ***** Fujikuro had plopped down onto the couch, propping his booted feet on the short table in front of him as he flipped on the television. The scruffy, middle-aged Hunter hadn’t changed in a year. He still had that green-tipped, black hair and the stubby beard. Most of all, he was still as arrogant as ever. He sat there and watched a news broadcast of a woman standing behind a podium addressing the people of Myce. On the large screen of the giant supercomputer that was built into the wall, Bob once again appeared. Fujikuro caught a glance of the screen for a moment then looked back to the news. “So how’d it go...?” “It was a bit unprofessional, but the job got done. Iria’s getting paid directly from Tedan Tippedai so she’s at their main office to pick up her bounty right now...It’s only 5000 Kem though. Not a lot for a job like this, but we could always use the money.” “ ‘A bit unprofessional’...?” Fujikuro repeated him with a arrogant grin. “What? Iria blow the whole colony away?” “No...she got some help from an anonymous donor...some guy.” “...really? What’s his outfit? Gounbak Security?” “No. He didn’t say anything, but he was defiantly a Hunter...” “A quiet Hunter, eh...?” The AI twirled abit. “...do you think it’s ‘him’...?” “No clue,” Fujikuro said as he watched the TV closely. He watched as the woman stepped back and man approch the podium. This man had shoulder length, dirty blonde hair with a few thin bangs falling in front of his pale iris colored eyes. Fujikuro sighed softly...”Ah....! Not this guy again!” “Good people of Myce City...” The man opened up his speech. “As you all know by now, I’m Kross Tsutomegi, the new Vice-president of the Tedan Tippedai Corporation. It’s been almost one year since the Tedan Tippedai and Administration’s armies wiped out the threat of the evil Zeiram creature...” “Please...!” Fujikuro said in a outrage. “Give a guy a little power and he goes off telling stories! We were the real heroes that day!” “Be quiet, let him talk...” Bob said as Kei walked in, wiping her hands off with a towel. “...recently, our world is now battling yet another feasible threat. These...clones of Zeiram, these Zeiramoids, are appearing left and right while reeking havoc across our city and beyond. Naturally, the new President of Tedan Tippedai, Mr. Puttubayh, and myself are currently undergoing plans to cleanse the world of these vile creatures. However, due to the amount of capital involved, a few new taxes must be put in place to fund our cause. In return though, once the dust has settled, Myce will be reborn as the peaceful planet it was meant to be.” “Sheesh...give a guy a little power and look what he does with it. He’s just looking to line his pockets with gold.” Fujikuro said as he turned the channel. “And with that idiot Puttubayh as the president now, he can do pretty much whatever he wants.” “But there’s one thing I don’t understand.” Kei said and sat on the couch next to him. “We destroyed Zeiram and his beacon that called all the Zeiramoids from the other galaxies, so why are they still here?” “Got me kid...” “It’s possible that Zeiram could have placed more beacons elsewhere on the planet. But if that where so, Administration would have found them by now,” Bob added. “Yeah, and what’s worse,” Fujikuro went on, “these guys are smarter than the last batch. It’s like they’ve evolved or somethin’. But atleast now some of them can be killed with regular bullets.” “Yeah...but I still don’t get it...” Kei said as she leaned back on the couch. “Well...that Kross guy’s right about one thing...” Fujikuro said as his arms reached back behind his head. “...with all the Kem their gonna suck up for their ‘plans’, you can probably bet that our pay’s gonna crash too...if you know what I mean.” “What do you mean by that...?” Kei asked curiously. “Don’t be so dense! I mean that I got a feeling that they won’t even pay Iria for what she did today. Budget cut or not, I just think that something's gonna go down and they won’t pay her...” ***** “What do ya mean you won’t pay me!!!” Iria shouted as she slammed her fist down on the receptionist desk at the Tedan Tippedai building. “I did what your bosses told me to do and the job got done! So what’s the deal?!” “Like I told you before, miss...” The man behind the counter said as he pushed his glasses up on his nose a little. He did look a bit nerdy. “You must remember that the contract was open to all available Hunters and someone has already claimed the bounty...” “That can’t be!?” Iria shouted again. By now she had the attention of the entire floor. “I was the only one to sign up for this job this morning! You can’t just give money away to people who don’t even have proof of what they did!” “Actually another person signed for it this morning after you and he did have proof: An audio record of the entire mission via a Mini-Comm. There was a young woman’s voice in the background. You perhaps?” Iria’s eyes widened slightly as she figured out who exactly he was talking about. She was so aggravated and frustrated that her face turned completely red and she began to speak through her grinding teeth. “Did this guy have a black coat on..?” The man was trying hard not to giggle at the comical scene before him. “Yes, I believe he did. He left just a few minutes ago also. ‘The early bird gets the worm’ I believe the old saying goes.” Iria couldn’t hold her frustration back anymore, rearing back and kicking
the desk as hard as she could. She was swindled again a la Fujikuro-Style.
“Damn it! Now listen here...!” She hollered as a gloved hand emerged
from the maroon cloak, reaching over the desk and grabbed the man by
the collar. As she jerked him closer, the man couldn’t help but let
out a geeky whimper as she saw the narrowed eyes and sneer on “Please Miss, calm down! There’s nothing more we can do! Our budget’s running low enough right now to try to get rid of these Zeiramoids. We just don’t have the money!” The man said jumping back a little as she let him go. “If you keep your hands and feet to yourself, I’ll see if I can find more information for you.” He said as he turned to his computer for a minute. “Let’s see... the Sabaku Mining Colony mission, huh.” He clicked on a few things as the red-faced Iria watched on. “Yes, here it is. The bounty of 5,000 Kem was given to registration No. 9965-3, that would be....” He looked deeper into the files, “.....9965-3...that would be Hunter Kazon Locke.” Iria’s head tilted to the side slightly as she repeated his words, “... ‘Kazon Locke’...? Is there anything else on him.” “Apparently nothing I have access to. It appears that his files are under the highest security measures.” “...’Kazon Locke...9965-3....” Iria thought to herself. “I need to go see Bob...” ***** Thirty minutes had passed when Iria pulled her Kreeper into the garage
and hopped out. As she headed to the door, she pulled a small button
on the wall that made the Kreeper automatically stand upright. She pushed
the door open and made her way inside, seeing that Fujikuro was still
lounging lazily on the couch watching the television. She couldn’t see
Kei, but she was most likely in the kitchen preparing dinner for the Fujikuro glanced over to Iria as she came in. “Hey...Iria. How’d it go with the bounty?” Then he watched with a dumbfounded look on his face as she marched right past him, mumbling obscenities to herself. Fujikuro blinked a few times. “Is that a good sign...or a bad sign...?” “They didn’t pay me...” Iria mumbled softly as she hung her rifle on a rack, her back towards him. “What do you mean they didn’t pay you?!” Bob said, twirling a bit on his computer screen. "HA!" Fujikuro said, almost proud of himself. "I told ya so!" Kei heard what was going on and stormed out of the kitchen. “Yeah! I mean the job got done, right?!” “That guy in black got there first.” She said as she turned around and removed her maroon cloak, hanging it up beside the rifle. She made her way over to the couch in her navy blue body suit and sleek white armor. “And thanks to that new Vice-president’s budget plans, I didn’t even get one Kem for killing two of those things.” “Typical Tedan Tippedai....I’m starting to really not like this Kross guy...” Kei said, leaning back against the door frame. “So did they tell you anything else?” “I don’t really wanna to talk about it...” Iria said as she plopped down on the couch beside Fujikuro, her elbows resting on her knees and propping her chin his her hands. “They didn’t have a lot to say...” “Oh...” Kei said as the room fell silent. For about a minute, the only audible thing was the television. Then, finally, Iria spoke... “Bob...I want you find some data on someone for me.” Fujikuro grinned wildly as he streched his arms out a bit and let out a yawn. “Aw...Iria wants info on someone? You gotta crush on some poor guy?!” “Shut up, will ya...” Iria said as lifted one of her elbows and jabbed him in the ribs with it, rather hard too. “Ow!!” Fujikuro yelped a bit and rubbed his side a little. Then he flashed that grin once again. “...heh heh, I love it when ya play rough with me...!” “Anyway...!” Bob interrupted. “Who do you want me to look for, Iria?” The young Hunter turned her attention back to the computer screen. “... ‘Kazon Locke, Registration #9965-3’....” Bob and Fujikuro immediately fell silent, looking towards Iria wide-eyed...well, at least Fujikuro was wide-eyed.... Iria and Kei looked back and forth between the two. “What?” Kei asked. “You two heard of him...?” “Huh...? Oh!” Fujikuro quickly shook it off, as did Bob. “Ah, it’s nothing. We’ve just heard some stories about him, that’s all.” Iria glanced over to him from the corner of her eye. “So, is he an old, perverted geezer like you?” Fujikuro scratched his head and chucked nervously while waving her off. “No, no..it’s not that! It’s just--” “In any case,” Bob interrupted yet again, “...I’ll have it for you when you get back.” “ ‘Get back’...?” Iria asked with an arched brow. “Get back from where?” “A new contract was just put out...” Bob said as the image of a paper flashed onto the screen. The page was covered in Mycian handwriting. Iria let out a frustrated sigh as she leaned back on the couch. “Gimme a break, Bob! No more jobs for now, ok...?!” “It’s addressed directly for you...” Bob went on, “...by Dr. Touka.” “Dr. Touka?!” Iria said as her face lit up. “He’s still around on Myce? What’s the objectives?” Bob chuckled a bit. “I’d figured you’d be interested. Well, it doesn’t say anything about the mission on the contract, but he does want to meet up with you. Except he doesn’t want you to come to his lab at the Tedan Tippedai building, I guess to avoid security. He wants to meet at a bar in Sector A-3...” “What?!” Fujikuro screamed aloud. “Sector A-3.... ‘The Outrigger’?!” “If that’s what it’s called, then yes.” Bob responded. “That place is nuts?! Why go there?!?” Kei grinned a bit. “And how do you know about this place Fujikuro? You go there whenever you ‘go out on the town’?!” “Shut up, brat!!” Fujikuro screamed in his outrage, throwing one of the small, decorative pillows at her, which she easily dodged. “All I’m trying to say is that place gets too rough! I’m not gonna let Iria go there all alone!” “She won’t be alone...” Bob said, shutting Fujikuro up. “Dr. Touka wouldn’t put Iria in that kind of situation so he’s also notified another Hunter he knew from around Toawajon to assist her.” “So I’ll have a partner?” Iria asked curiously. “Right. You are to go to the bar and meet up with the other Hunter, then head inside to look for Touka. He’ll fill you in on the rest one you meet him.” “Now hold on!” Fujikuro said standing up his arms waving around in the air. “Who said she can go?! If Gren was still around, he’d kill me if I let her go to a place like that. And with a stranger?! Hell no!!” “...Touka’s willing to pay 10,000....up front....” Bob added, making Fujikuro’s eyes grow to the size of grapefruits. “...10-10-10,000....?!” He mumbled as he glanced over to Iria who was still sitting. “Well, what the hell are you waiting for?!” “Wha--...?” Iria watched him as he scurried over to the rack where she hung her rifle and cloak. He took the items down and ran back to her, shoving them into her arms. “What are you doing Fujikuro?!” “Don’t just sit there!” He exclaimed, pulling her to her feet and pushing her towards the door. “There’s money to be made!!” “B-b-but... I thought you said this place was dangerous..?!” Kei said as she watched in confusion. “Ah, C’mon! She’s a big girl! She can handle it! Right Iria...?!” “B-but...I--” “See! I told ya! If some drunk touches ya, you can shoot ‘em!” He said as he pushed her out the door into the garage and waved to her. “Have a nice trip Iria!!” Then he closed the door on her. Iria’s eyes narrowed as she was left standing there holding her stuff in her arms. “Greedy jerk!” She said as she kicked the door and then turned toward the Kreeper. “... ‘don’t know why I even put up with him...” "Well then, now that that's taken care of!" Fujikuro said as he grinned to himself. He then looked over to Kei who was giving him a rather harsh look. "What..!?" "...jerk." Fujikuro walked back over to Bob’s computer screen, looking a tad bit more serious. “ So it was ‘him’ that helped her, eh...?” “Yeah.” Bob responded. "Why else would she bring it up like that?” “Who?” Kei cut in. “You mean that ‘Kaz’ guy?” “None of your business, Shorty. Atleast not for now.” Fujikuro responded as he walked into the kitchen. “So...when’s dinner...?!”
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