I drove through the humming neon grid of Neoz City, heading toward the one place that never slept — the Bounty Hunter Guild.
My car slid to a stop in the Guild's underground lot. I stepped out, high heels clicking against the metal floor, and Harry padded quietly at my side, his optical sensor pulsing like a watchful eye.
The lobby of the Guild buzzed with the usual low-level chaos. Hunters shuffled between terminals, some deeply focused while others looked half-asleep, slouched over cups of synth-coffee. The scent of gun oil, old leather, and ozone lingered in the air.
I made my way to the staff counter, where the ever-grinning clerk greeted me with his usual flair.
"Carl," I said, voice cool and to the point, "I'm assembling a team. I need two qualified hunters."
Carl's eyes lit up, flashing that flirtatious smile he always wore around me.
"Ah, Miss Jane," he said, eyes scanning me far too obviously, "looking dangerously sexy as always. Let me pull up the best matches for you." He winked. I rolled my eyes.
A minute passed. Carl tapped at his console, then handed me a printed slip. "Here you go. These two are solid choices. One of them's even a cyborg — just like you."
I took the slip and scanned it. My system captured and saved their data instantly. Two profiles loaded in my AR view.
> Hunter Profile
Name: Boston McCormick
Age: 30
Gender: Male
Special Tag: Augmented Cybernetic Arm and Leg
"Modder," I muttered to myself. Useful. Tough. Gritty. Let's check the second one.
> Hunter Profile
Name: Kathy Wess
Gender: Female
Special Tag: Full Cybernetic Body – Class-B
My brows lifted slightly.
A Class-B cyborg.
Serious firepower. Those bodies cost more than most luxury vehicles. Reinforced frames, high-density composite muscle, and advanced kinetic dampeners — she was built for battle. Definitely a step above my own Class-C civilian-grade body.
"This might just work."
I sent out contact requests to both of them. Within minutes, we agreed to meet at a nearby bar restaurant for a sit-down. Neutral ground.
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Later That Day – The Meeting
The bar restaurant was warm and quiet, a cozy contrast to the neon chaos outside. Harry and I arrived first. I chose a booth near the window and sat with graceful ease, my cyberbrain scanning the QR menu in a blink.
Steak-flavored cyborg juice, again. Why not?
The waiter arrived and placed the tall, chilled tube of nutrient mix on my table. I took a sip and smiled. The synthetic taste hit weirdly at first — metallic umami with a fake grill aftertaste — but it always settled into something nostalgic.
A few moments later, the others arrived.
Boston was tall, dark-skinned, and muscular — the kind of guy who could bench-press a gunship. His left arm and both legs gleamed with reinforced alloy plating. Kathy followed close behind, walking with confidence and precision. Her long brunette hair was slicked back, and her eyes, glowing faintly blue, scanned the room like a machine calibrated for war.
She wore an IBRBS — Impact & Bullet Resistant Body Suit — a step above my own IRBS. It hugged her figure with armored elegance. I couldn't help but admire the craftsmanship: two layers of non-Newtonian polymer sandwiching three layers of advanced Kevlar weave. Expensive. Effective.
We exchanged polite handshakes before sitting down.
"We probably already read each other's files," I said casually. "So let's skip the formalities."
I snapped my fingers and shared the digital bounty poster through short-range airdrop. It pinged in Kathy's system and blinked across Boston's AR goggles.
> Target: Samuel Houston
Status: Class-B Cyborg
Reward: 250,000 Credits
Boston grinned. "Ah, that guy. I've been watching his bounty for weeks."
"Same," Kathy said, eyes narrowed. "Tried applying solo — system rejected me. Too risky without a party."
"Well," I said, lacing my fingers together, "sounds like our goals align."
I leaned forward. "Let's form a temporary hunting party. Take him down. Split the credits. What do you say?"
"I'm in," Boston said without hesitation. "I want to see what that Class-B freak is really made of."
"Kathy?" I asked.
She shrugged, calculating. "Two hundred fifty split three ways? Still a fat payday. I'm in."
"Perfect," I said with a smile. "We start tonight."
We used the Guild's secured app to register our temporary party. A few taps later, our hunt application was approved. The bounty for Samuel Houston was officially ours.
After that, we split up to handle preparations — ammunition, gear checks, last-minute recon.
A few hours later, we regrouped. This time, we weren't just hunters.
We were a team.
And Samuel Houston had no idea what was coming.
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