Dream Light City Chapter 9: Justice

Read chapter 9 of Dream Light City by jensrichard on NovelPedia.

Walking home. My wife is still out of town and will be gone for one more week. I miss her. We haven't talked much lately. Guess we got busy. My daughter, Sally, found someone new and wants to invite her over. Maybe she thinks it's serious this time. It would be good for her with a stable relationship. I sense someone following me. I look around. The bounty hunter named Zeck is following me. We keep our distance and greet. "There is a price on your head, John." "Tell me something new, Zeck." "Some father lost her daughter, and you did nothing." I don't answer. "He wants justice." I can't hide how hurt I am about this case. Zeck sees it. I try to be cool but fail. There is nothing to be cool about having a young girl killed as a pawn in our game of chess. It will haunt me forever. Zeck gets into business: "You have one week to find the murderer." "Or else?" I ask him with a deep voice. "Or else I will collect the bounty on your head." "Do you think you can do that?" "I have seen your show, but how much of that is real?" "You will find out if you get too close to me." "Doesn't matter if I snipe you from the city mall's rooftop while you sleep." I better be careful. Zeck is the top dog of the bounty hunters, and he knows his craft. I change tactics to avoid a fight. "How much is my bounty?" "40.000 credits," he answers casually. "That's a serious bounty." "A father who lost his daughter is one of the most serious things in life, John." "Do you even know if he can pay that much?" "He already paid half." Shit got real. I can't cross Bix. I also have a daughter, but justice may be at hand. Why didn't I think of bounty hunters before? They can go where I can't. I try to turn the table. "I know the killer, and I'll pay you the last 20.000 for you to collect him." He looks at me like I'm an idiot. "I'm not fetching Bix, you idiot." "Then get the minion who did his job." That gave him something to think about. "40k for a minion? Are you sure? Why don't you get him yourself?" "Do you want it or not, Zeck?" I hope he bites. I'm not setting foot on Bix's street, and I do not need a fight with Zeck. He seems to take the deal into consideration. "Pay up now, and we got a deal." I can't justify this as an official bounty. I have to pay from my own pocket. I give him a chip with 15.000. "The last 5.000 you can collect at my office as an official bounty." "You will make an official bounty and give me competition?" "I fucking gave you 15k, and you have a huge headstart. Take the deal and get lost." I move a step forward and proclaim with a clear voice: "You are not on a rooftop now. You are within my range." He takes a step back and grips his pistol. I power up my Powerblade in response. He takes his hand off the pistol and asks: "Fair, got a name for that minion?" Actually not. But I know who does. "The bounty and name will be out tomorrow when I'm back at the office." "Sounds good to me, John." I better get that name from the rookie. He should know it as he was a part of the plan. Now I must go home and see about that dinner with my daughter's girlfriend. "Anything else I can do for you, Zeck?" "I'm still curious about your skills. How powerful you are." “So am I, Zeck, so am I.” He walks away, and my adrenaline is pumping crazy in my body. Time to go home. … My penthouse is nice. I have a great view. I'm lucky to live here, and I just got myself a nice coffee table in Danish retro design. It costed me 21.000 credits. But it is empty here. Sally isn't home. I check the GPS. She's offline. I try to call her. Voicemail. I guess she forgot her own dinner plans and flies on a pink cloud with her girlfriend. It's not the first time she makes plans and doesn't show up. I take out my police pad. It has a better range of ID chips than my biotech. I walk out on my balcony. I scan for her. Nothing? Should I trust her? Should I trust the city? Should I panic?