Bounty Hunter Academy 3 by Hadwin Fuller

Author:Hadwin Fuller [Fuller, Hadwin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Independent
Published: 2024-05-30T00:00:00+00:00

23

Chapter 23

I stepped around the burnt-out hovercar, trying not to look inside in case I should see anything that resembled bones. While none of the areas in Cetakan City were up to the same standards of safety and cleanliness that the streets of Cometbreaker Colony could boast, the area Dr Vantir had led me to really took the asteroid cookie.

As well as the occasional burnt-out vehicle, there were wide, open storm drains that had lost their protective coverings, tall stacks of garbage cubes that stank with the smell of a two-week collection sabbatical, busted street lights scored with blaster burns, upturned vending units that had been ransacked of every last Meteon Chocolate Chew Bar, and zubarin trees that had been transformed into nightmarish creations courtesy of a liberal use of holograffiti spray cans. In the two minutes I had spent walking from the mag shuttle station, I had spotted more space rats than people, and as my growing sense of uneasiness rose to a level of persistent alarm, I activated the ShadowStrider VX9, disappearing into my surroundings as well as if I was a piece of litter.

Up ahead, Vantir cornered sharply, and I picked up my pace. I wasn’t going to lose him now - not now that I was so close to getting my bounty hunter licence. I would have to watch out for those concealed hand cannons, but at the end of the day, Vantir was a scientist. He hadn’t undergone months of combat training under the murderous tutelage of Instructor Shade Brekum, and if I could use the stealthsuit’s invisibility to sneak up on him unawares, it would only take a few well-placed blows to put him into an unconscious huddle.

Then, I just had to figure out how I was going to get him to the CUI centre…

“Harkum!” I said, touching my commpiece. “Come in, Harkum! Are you there? Harkum!”

No response…

I gritted my teeth. Where was that boy? Had he completely forgotten about me and instead turned his attention fully to the hotel’s all-you-can-eat buffet? I wouldn’t have been surprised to learn Harkum was putting food before friends, even though—

“Tega? Tega, is that you?”

I almost pressed the commpiece into my ear canal. “Harkum?”

“Who do you think it is? Destron’s grandmother?”

I turned the corner. Up ahead, Vantir continued his brisk walk through the semi-apocalyptic streets. I had to speak quietly. I couldn’t risk him hearing my conversation with Harkum. I knew the stealthsuit had some noise-reduction capabilities, but I doubted it would completely conceal the sound of my voice. And if this area of the city was anything, it was quiet, with hardly any hovercar traffic and equally few pedestrians. (Those that were out hurried through the streets at a jog, their hands in their pockets, presumably clutching concealed blasters.)

“Where are you?” I whispered as quietly as I could manage.

There was a pause on the other end of the comm channel. “I’m at the hotel.”

“At the buffet?”

Another pause, then: “Yes.”

“Well, go wash the quasar sauce off your hands because I’m going to need your help.

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