Chapter 26: THE BOUNTY HUNTERS [PART SEVEN]

A pause, the negotiation grinding to a standstill against the objection of one. The girl stares down the Collective Auditor, a single breath taken as a form of flesh sits before an unnatural gaze of steel.

“May we have a section of time to enumerate?” Samuel requests the Auditor.

The Mage turns, cold eyes meeting his. “In a nominal negotiation such would be a cause for contractual annulment.” Hostile expression falling away, she continues. “However, given the problematic situate this is occurring in, I do not see the purpose of enforcing the common cultural expectations of the Collective upon you.”

Standing from his kneeling position the boy motions for his sister, the girl following as she grabs her rifle. A disgusted look at the Auditor, the thing replying with a warm smile of familiarity.

The cold wind of the desert blows past the sibling pair. A distant flickering of firelight in the darkness as a singular soul sits in silence.

In the howl of the breath of the world and underneath sleeping gods, the trudge of boots against sand and rock echoes like thunder. Moving with care against perilous cliff sides and sharp outcroppings the girl is the first to speak up. “Are we far enough?”

Glancing back at the barely visible figure the boy blinks. “Not preferable.”

“She cannot hear us.” The girl bites back.

“As a Mage of Observa she easily could determine our conversation by reading our speech.” The boy replies. “Preferably, I would gather at least a half-mile of distance between us.”

“I am not continuing to walk.” The girl stops.

“Very well.” The boy turns to her, placing his form between them and the mage. “Why have you objected to this alignment.”

The girl shoots her brother a glance. “You were the one who recollected the memory, therefore you should be the one who understands why we can not work with an Auditor.”

“You are using a past experience to provide evidence towards an unrelated situation. I do not see an issue with an alignment of a member of the Collective, despite our previous interactions with them.”

“And you trust her?” The girl asks coldly. “I see them as the same, of the very kind that took your flesh from you. Those that you speak of with hatred. And yet you accept her, one who is hunting a losethi like us.”

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The boy stares at his sister, an expression of utter calm against a calamity of emotion. “Do not mistake my agreement for an alignment for acceptance of their kind. And despite your reaction to her presence, I sense that we can trust her. The Auditor has one purpose, and that is to kill the losethi Mage known as Naro and return her weapon to District Two.”

“And what of you?” The girl asks as she turns to the distant form. “If she determines that you are…”

“Do not speak of that.” The boy silences her. “But be assured it will not be an issue.”

A scoff, the girl continuing. “I still see no purpose in this alignment. A bounty can still be obtained, without its interference.”

“Unlikely, with the destruction of the supply convoy the criminal collective will be consolidating their applicable resources. Certainly, they are now aware of the dangers we as bounty hunters pose to their operation. Isolating a group at current will be impossible under current circumstances.”

“And you believe she will assist us?”

“If the Auditor’s Huntarus Audmotum is within the criminal collective she will have no alternative.” The boy pauses. “With a standing bounty of a hundred thousand dollars for any Armin Collective mage in the Federated Cities her only possible allies will also be individuals willing to betray her.”

“Then why do we not terminate her?” The girl raises as she quiets her voice. “Retrieve the bounty placed upon her kind.”

“I am uncertain if you are even able to terminate her.” The boy replies coldly. “Aanar is the school of offensive magic, its users maintained by their ability to wage conflict with directed gravimetrics. And if she has reached the rank of Auditor within District Two, then she is more augmentation than base flesh. It will require multiple direct hits to her center mass for a full termination, more than you are able to implement.”

The girl takes a moment to gaze over his shoulder and back to the distant firelight.

Continuing, her brother speaks silently. “We need capital to survive. Our expenditure of ammunition and transportation has grown considerably. Without a bounty there will be considerable risks to our survivability in the coming weeks, we have no choice in this matter.”

A returned glance of emotion, the twin gritting her teeth. “The very moment the thing turns upon us, I will terminate her.”

“No, we need to cultivate trust, consolidate our tactical capabilities if we are to succeed.” The boy pauses, nullified emotion forming across his neutral expression. “But once the elimination of the Criminal Collective is complete and she is wounded, terminate her.”