Camille was fascinated now. "Where did you learn all that from?"
The White Bolt waited for a moment then took a deep breath and whispered, "In this trade we call life, everything is up for sale…"
Silence prevailed for a few moments before Camille figured that it would be better to keep talking with him. That way she could, maybe, understand something more about the bounty hunter.
"Are you going to kill me?" she asked, in an almost whispering tone.
The bounty hunter took his time to look back at her. "Are you worth killing?"
"Will you hurt me?"
He leaned ahead. "Will you?"
A further few moments of silence passed and this time the roles were reversed. Camille was sitting with a bowed head and Vincent was observing her. Seeing her clenching her fists in her lap he said, "So, will you tell me your name?"
She looked up as he leaned back. "Camille," she replied. "Camille Baylis."
"Well, Camille, what do you do? Are you a Zaatsu?"
"No."
"A Mystic?"
"No."
He waited.
"I'm a Sokidu," she eventually said.
"Sokidu already, huh? Then why choose to be a sneak?"
"I chose to be a Spotter because I can read people very well."
"Interesting… and what else? They thought you had a better understanding of Ki than most of your peers?"
Blinking incoherently, she mumbled, "Y-y-yes."
"Spotter," he said with a smile and looked away again saying, "Not a very good one I see."
It shocked Camille what the bounty hunter had said. 'He knows about our ranks and designations,' she thought. 'He even knows all of us so well. He knows I'm supposed to be good at spying. Does he know about my missions as well? Does he know I was part of the group sent to gather information about him 2 months ago?'
"It's your hands," he said then looked at her. "It's always the hands."
As he shook his head, she gulped and asked, "What about them?"
He did not say.
"Are they telling you I'm a Spotter?" she added.
"No," he replied with scrunched eyes then shook his head again. "Not really…"
After a few moments of silence, she asked again, "So, what about my hands then?"
"You shouldn't be a spy. That's… not your thing."
"What? What's that supposed to mean?"
"You're more of a leading character than a quiet sneaking type of person."
"Hey! I'm a great Spotter! I've completed many missions, you know! I have a great record of bringing detailed information back to my superiors. I only lack a little in brute physical strength, but my skills as a Martial Artist and as a Spotter are more than proven."
The White Bolt was taken aback by her animated response. She continued undeterred, "You don't actually know me," she said. "How would you know if I'm any good? You got a lucky break and scrambled my Ki flow, or I would have shown you!"
He smiled then chuckled. Camille stopped and looked at him. 'He has such a wholesome smile,' she thought. 'It's so bright. Could he be that good at hiding his true nature?'
He looked away once more, so she asked, "Why are we sitting here, Vincent? It is Vincent, right?"
"Hmm," he nodded but then shook his head. "I'm waiting…"
"Waiting for what?"
"There are marker spells around the area… tracking your team's movements. When I see an opening, I'll leave." He looked up. "But that guy is good…"
Camille leaned ahead. "What about me?"
"Hmm?" He looked at her and waited.
"Are you gonna let me go?"
He shrugged. "Why wouldn't I?"
"What?"
"You are not a threat to me. And I'm not in the habit of spilling needless blood."
"But…" she stopped, and he smiled. "What?" she asked.
"Judging by your thin, long fingers, you should either be an instructor of some kind, at your Martial Arts academies maybe, or you should be a squad leader. Just because you're quiet and have more of an introspective personality doesn't mean you should follow people quietly in the dark. Either follow your talent or follow your heart." With a chuckle, he added, "And this is clearly not your forte."
And with that the bounty hunter stood up. Camille did as well. He gently placed a hand on her right shoulder and removed the spell she was under. Immediately she regained control over her Ki.
The tiny ball of flame was doused, and without saying another word, Vincent turned around and began walking away.
A moment where the young Sokidu could have attempted to strike came and went as quickly as a passing wind. She kept staring, mesmerized. By the time she came to her senses and accepted the bizarre fact that her captor had released her unharmed, he was already many paces away. She ran after him.
"Wait," she said. "Hold on!"
The bounty hunter kept increasing his speed and was now running quite fast. Following him through the trees, she tried her best to keep up, but he was just too fast, getting farther and farther away. He lunged on to a large branch of a tree and looked back at her, then took a big leap forward to finally move out of the tree cover.
Then, the young Spotter witnessed lightning tearing down from overhead.
It was sudden and fast – too fast even for the White Bolt…