Ten

Hunters Headquarters, I wish I was somewhere else Ville, Valiant

Alex sat on a hard chair, the metal of the seat digging into his back.

“I guess you don't have chairs in here for comfort huh...” He wiggled in his seat.

He was sitting in a large office. The room was very spartan in style despite it's size, with floors of concrete and walls of metal. He was sitting in the back of the room, watching as the other two occupants spoke.

He'd learned that the name of the woman whose son had been kidnapped was named Eloise and that her son was a half orc. Which could have been the reason for why the Hunters had been so reluctant to help.

Most Hunters were not known for being sympathetic towards non-humans.

The female Hunter (“Call me, Rembrandt.”) was seated at a messy metal desk in front of Eloise, jotting down notes in a leather-bound notebook.

“The last time I saw him, he told me he had found a job, with the Hunters.” Eloise explained.

Rembrandt nodded, as Eloise spoke. Every once in a while she would write notes and steal glances at Alex. Monitoring him, it seemed.

“I don't know what happened to him after that. I waited a day before I called, but they told me they couldn't help.” Eloise said pulling at a loose string on her blouse.

Rembrandt smiled reassuringly at Eloise, who looked much better now that someone was listening to her, though she was still remarkably tense. “I'll do anything I can to help.” She pulled out a form and handed it to the woman. “Just fill this out, and hand it to me when you're done.”

Eloise smiled brightly and nodded enthusiastically, before she picked up the form and took a pen from Rembrandt.

Rembrandt left Eloise at her desk to fill out the form as she made her way over to Alex.

“So, what brings you here?” She asked.

He smiled. “Well, you know. Man's gotta eat.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Shouldn't you have work pouring in or something?” She asked. “You're a bounty hunter aren't you?”

He ran a hand through his hair, “I see you really do keep tabs on people.”

Rembrandt smiled. “It's my job. I need to know who's in the city.”

“Well, I heard that the payment here is gas, which is something I need for my bike.” He explained. “Besides, no one is exclusively a bounty hunter these days. It just happens that bounty hunting pays great.”

She nodded thoughtfully.

“Excuse me,” The pair looked up. Eloise raised the papers in her hand meekly. “I'm done filling this out.”

Rembrandt turned to her, and took the form. Her eyes widened with surprise as she read it but she quickly recovered. “Uhm, just leave me your information and I'll look into it.”

Eloise nodded, a grateful smile on her face. “Thank you so much.”

“Don't thank me yet.” Rembrandt said, noticeably uncomfortable.

Eloise still had a smile on her face as she walked out.

When Eloise left, Rembrandt turned to Alex. “Look, I know this is going to sound strange.”

“It's a strange world.” Alex said.

Rembrandt gave him a puzzled look for a minute before she shook her head. “There's a job I can give you. It's not something that anyone can do, but it's something someone with your skill set might be able to do...”

“What is it?”

“The lady that came in, Eloise, her son. I think he's been taken, or murdered by the same person that has been murdering people all across Valiant, V'neck- in fact there are reports coming in from all over. I don't know if it's the same creature but the

crime scenes are too similar.” She stopped talking , and took a deep breath before continuing. “There's been a string of missing people; you might have seen the posters.”

“I saw some on the bulletin board, yes.” Alex cocked his head to the side. “But there are a lot of missing people these days.”

“Well, this time we believe they all have one cause.” She sat down across from him. “It's a creature,” She looked down at her hands as if the next words she was going to say were physically difficult, “It's been tearing people apart-beyond recognition. That's what those posters are. We haven't been able to tell any of this to the public, due to the panic it could cause. I need someone to find it. We haven't had anything like this in I don't know how long. I-We don't need this to get worse.”

“Shouldn't you tell people though?” Alex asked.

“I can't tell anyone anything until we're certain.” Rembrandt replied exasperated.

“Certain of what?”

“Of what it is.” She leaned back in her chair. “That's why I'd like to hire you. Get out there, find out what is killing people, and come back to me.”

Alex stared at her for a moment. “Why can't you do it?” He cocked his head again. “Better yet, why me? Don't you have your own lap dogs you can send out?”

“It needs to be done under the radar, and through different territories I can't get to.” She said. “My people are good soldiers. Good muscle, and damn good at being able to solve cases that require blunt instruments.” She smirked. “But we aren't a police force. We've been forced to work in that capacity, but the Hunters primary job is to kill things. Whereas, according to your files, you've done investigative work.”

The look she gave him suddenly became more measured. “In Vegas.”

Alex didn't respond. He stared back at her. When he didn't respond, Rembrandt seemed to take it as confirmation of something. She rose up from her seat.

“Just think about it. And if your answer is yes, well, you know where to find me.”

“What will you pay me with?” Alex said, all emotion removed from his voice.

“Whatever you need I'll give you, as long as you get the job done.”

Alex's eyebrows shot up. He leaned forward, intrigued. “That price seems mighty high for a simple job.”

“Well that's the thing.” She walked over to the door and opened it. “I never told you it was a simple job.”

Alex rose, getting the sense they were done speaking. “Let me think about it.”

“Sure.” She cocked an eyebrow. “But before that, maybe you should get a look at the suspect we're about to bring in?”

“About to?”

She smiled. “As I said. My men are good at jobs requiring a bit of force.”