Reckless Bounty Chapter One Samantha Cassidy eyed her opponent warily, as she struggled to maintain her composure. She inhaled deeply, and attempted to ignore the blinding pain that was shooting through her right shoulder. The stupid imbecile had shot her, and now the old-fashioned bullet was lodged deeply into her shoulder. She fingered the wound tentatively, and was relieved to discover that she wasn’t bleeding profusely. Either way she still required medical attention, and she still had a job that needed to be finished. “Look Clayton, we can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way. Right now, I don’t really give a damn. But one way or the other, I’m going to collect my bounty, and I can’t collect the money unless I have the prize. Don’t be stupid. Quit wasting my time, and get your ass over here because you’re going down one way or the other.” “Now, see here little girl, I don’t think that you’re in any position to be giving me ultimatums. I ain’t the one with the piece of metal in my shoulder. Now run along before I get really angry.” Clayton gave her a sly grin that sent her stomach rolling with revulsion. He was at least twice her size. His pants were barely staying up beneath his rather over-sized belly. His shirt was two sizes too small, and the baseball cap that he wore on his head, was so sweat stained that its original color could no longer be determined. He still had his gun poised unflinchingly at her, and his beady little eyes, were filled with an unquestionable need to use it again. He let out a long belch, and then swiped the back of his sleeve across his face. “You know I really should be sittin’ in a bar and drinking a beer, that’s what I always do at this time of the night.” “Oh, I don’t give a rat’s ass about your plans,” she drawled sarcastically, as she rolled her eyes heavenward. She quickly reached inside her black leather trench coat, and enclosed her hands around the electric grappling rope that she kept to detain her prisoners. She didn’t like using many of the old-fashioned techniques and chose instead to use all of the up and coming technological inventions. Clayton was sloppy, and arrogant, she had one chance and one chance only to bring him down, and in. She decided to give him one last opportunity to give himself over peacefully. “You do realize that the wanted bulletin stated that you were wanted dead or alive, and though I prefer to take in my prisoners alive, I will consider enforcing my other option.” She explained, eyeing him warily. Then she watched as he stuck his hand down his pants and relieved himself of an itch. That was it; she was going to lose her cookies. “Well, now see I was considering that one myself.” Clayton bragged, flaunting the gun in front of her. Samantha remained impassive at his threat, and in one heart-stopping moment, she had her electric whip, out of her coat and fully activated. She fell to the ground, as his gun discharged, and she smiled as she heard his howl of surprise. The rope was fully tied around him and she was just about to activate the small shock that the electricity would give him, when the foul smelling Clayton yet again surprised her with the extent of his stupidity. He pulled against the whip, and even the small electrical surge it gave off failed to deter him. Before she knew what was happening, he was rushing toward her and knocked the wind out of her when he jumped on top of her. She struggled to knock him off, and screamed as she freed her one leg, only to bring it up toward his most vulnerable spot his crotch. Clayton screamed out in fury, and Samantha caught a glimpse of his red face as he reached his hands out and encircled them around her throat. She gasped for air, as he tried to squeeze the life out of her. She managed to reach into her pocket and pulled out her immobilizer. The charge that it would send through his body would definitely get him off of her. She discharged it into his belly, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. He released his hold on her long enough for her to push him off of her. Samantha surged to her feet, and felt the night air ripple against her face, as Clayton too, struggled to regain his footing. “Little girl, you really don’t know how to play nice.” Samantha watched as he backed away from her, and she realized by the dazed expression on his face, that he really didn’t notice what he was doing. They were standing on top of a one hundred storey tall building, and he was backing away from her toward the edge of the roof. “Clayton,” she began, but she was too late. He had lost his precarious balance and was swaying, as he tried desperately to not fall over the edge. His eyes had widened in dawning clarity, and she grasped the glowing whip, as she struggled to pull him back. But he was gone. He had disappeared over the edge of the roof. “Oh, please God!” she muttered. Her feet began skidding toward the edge. And then she realized her tremendous mistake. She had fastened the charged whip to her wrist, and now the release mechanism was jammed. “Bloody Hell!” she screamed, as she fell over the edge. Samantha fought against the panic that was welling inside of her and glanced down at Clayton’s hulking form. She looked away, and then tried to ply the rope from around her wrist. She reached up pulled a hair pin out of her hair, and inserted it into the release mechanism, it made a loud popping noise, and then in one split second she was free! But that still didn’t stop her from continuing to free-fall to her demise. She swallowed, and then reached for her grappling hook. She closed her eyes, released it, and grunted as it connected with the side of the building, and brought her sailing upwards, where she bounced for a few moments. She slowed her breathing, looked to the side, and decided to pull herself back up to the roof, but found to her unending despair, that the grappling hook wouldn’t retract. She was stuck. Utterly and completely stuck. She was quite simply hanging around, and then she saw a sight that made her blood run cold. “Damn him, straight to hell!” Samantha muttered angrily. Clayton’s almost toothless grin, was staring her right in the face. He was on a hover-motorcycle and he had one of his equally wicked looking cohorts with him, though she didn’t remember seeing this man on the wanted bulletins. She couldn’t stay out at the mercy of either man, so she looked toward the window that was in front of her, closed her eyes, and swung toward it. She crashed through the surprisingly thin glass, and cut the wire to her grappling hook. Reacting quickly, she immediately dove into a roll. She somersaulted onto her feet, brushed the remaining shards of glass off of her leather coat, and smiled sheepishly at the man that sat across the room, with a cold beer in one hand, and his T.V. remote in the other hand. She threw some money at him, quickly apologized and then bolted toward the door. She was now at the disadvantage, though on the upside, if she did manage to capture Clayton and his friend, she might just be able to collect twice the amount that she had originally anticipated. Sometimes, her partner made mistakes and missed some of their targets. If she could bring this one in, Johanna would definitely be excited. Samantha ran frantically through the building, down the stairs, and then stopped at the door. Clayton and his friend were waiting for her, and she was expecting them. Copyright©2004MarlyMathews

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