Several had been put back into service over the past decade. They were primarily used for shipping around the Glowing Sea and the mines, factories, and outland settlements. Chicago’s law enforcement agencies rarely came to Old Towne. Instead, the people of Old Towne relied heavily upon the enforcement of relative peace by the Syndicate and the subsidized street gangs that had claimed territory throughout the endless blocks of old-world brick-and-mortar buildings and the oppressive dark gray steel of newer construction. In the chaos of the Yakuza Wars, the Bounty Hunter Association had been formed as a substitute law enforcement. The idea of the Association was that it would regulate Bounty Hunting and keep its members in check with rules and ethics.

It had been a good idea, but one that never accounted for the nature of sentient beings and their innate selfishness. The Association held its members to a high standard and often ensured the best-paying jobs, unsanctioned bounty hunters often caused more trouble than they solved. Some were even little more than hired guns and killers for the highest bidder. The results were often a mixed bag, with sanctioned hunters usually looked at in the same vein as unsanctioned ones. Old Towne was rife with violence and crime, but all things considered, it could be far, far worse.

At least, that’s what Malcom Taylor would often tell himself. Not that he genuinely believed such rhetoric, but it made it easier for him to look the other way at times when he maybe shouldn’t have. Mal was a practical man, or so he believed. A veteran of the Ranger Corps, elite military units trained to track down and destroy any infected that remained in the region after the end of the war. One particular mission, which turned out to be his last act in the field, went catastrophically wrong. Many in his squad had died that day, and Mal himself had been critically wounded, requiring heavy cybernetic augmentation to recover and have a reasonably normal life. Well, at least a life where he wasn’t bedridden.

Malcom had even been granted permission to keep his cyber armor and augments active once he left the military. He currently wore the scout class armor he had heavily modified since his days in the Rangers. The plating was a solid matte black, matching the body suit he wore beneath. Made up of a torso piece, armored boots, gauntlets, thigh guards, and hip tassets, the suit had been modified with plenty of upgrades, including the repulsor pack he wore on his back. Mal could communicate commands to the armor’s computers and systems with a thought, being linked to them through the neural interface, or data jack, located at the base of his skull. 

“Are they here yet?” came a bored, low-pitched husky yet feminine voice. 

Mal glanced to his left, looking at the source of the voice through the visor of his helmet. Pepper, as he had been introduced to her, remained perched upon an old metal shipping crate, looking down at him from above. About five and a half feet in height when standing, dark hair cut near shoulder length, tan skin, and the silvery eyes typical of a fae.Though instead of circular irises, Pepper possessed cat-like slits. She was slender in build but had distinct womanly curves to her hips, bust, and backside. All of which were accentuated well by the tight-fitting, dark material of the night suit she wore, though the hood was currently pulled back to reveal her soft, attractive, and mischievous facial features. A pair of triangular, dark fuzzy ears were swiveled in Mal’s direction, and he could see her long, similarly fuzzy tail swaying idly in the air behind her. The Oyabun had asked Mal to bring the puca fae along as a favor. She had even paid him extra to consider it a training exercise for the young fae.

“You’re gonna need to learn some patience if you wanna do this job, kid,” Mal replied, his even-toned voice having a slight electronic pitch as he spoke through his helmet’s modulator.

“I’m not a kid,” Pepper protested, “I’m over thirty, you know,” she added with a huff.

“Can’t fae live to be two hundred?” Mal asked.

“Well, yeah…” Pepper answered.

“Right. Kid,” the bounty hunter quipped, smirking under his helmet.

“Ahh, don’t let him ruffle your feathers, Pep,” came a friendly voice from Mal’s right. 

Xavier Reynolds, Malcom’s Association partner, had worked with the human for several years. It had taken Mal the better part of a year to trust Xavier fully, but since then, he had come to rely heavily upon his partner’s keen senses and steady moral compass. He was taller, appearing as a human of about six feet in height with a muscular but not overly bulky build. His sandy blonde hair had been worked into a thick braid that hung past his shoulders, with his goatee in the same style. He looked like an extra right out of one of the old holo vid shows about vikings, though he was dressed in more modern clothing—a pair of jeans and a simple t-shirt with a K&M Industries logo on the front.

“How do you know they’re bringing them in here?” Pepper asked curiously, looking toward the docks again from her perch upon the old cargo crate.

“Diego is never wrong about these things,” Mal replied, also turning his gaze toward the docks. 

“How did he know about it, and the Oyabun didn’t?” the puca asked with a slight tone of disbelief.

“Diego has contacts around Old Towne that the Syndicate doesn’t. But that’s why they pay him and support his activities,” Xavier explained as he looked up at the puca. 

“Sounds expensive. How do you guys afford him?” Pepper teased with a flash of a fanged grin.

“Favor for a favor,” Mal answered.

“What kind of favors are we talking about?” the puca quickly asked, her Cheshire grin remaining.

“Oh, nothing too scandalous,” Xavier replied before Mal could. “Besides, Mal here has pretty calloused hands. If you know what I mean.”

“I heard some people like that sort of rough treatment,” Pepper quipped.

“I think this is our guy,” Mal said quietly as he spotted a middle-aged human man exit one of the dock offices. 

The bounty hunter’s tactical software in his helmet quickly locked onto the man and focused upon the human’s face, running recognition software. Within a few seconds, an image of the man appeared in the upper right hand of the helmet’s HUD, listing off his name and other information. Mal quickly glanced over the display, nodding a bit as the man’s identification came back as the one the Oyabun had asked them to bring to her. He was about to move to intercept the man as he walked away from the dock office toward the neglected parking lot nearby when Pepper leaped from her perch on the old crate to the roof of a nearby storehouse. 

“Hey!” Mal called out as the puca nimbly ran across the roof and leaped to another. “Damnit…”

“Is this why you don’t like cats?” Xavier asked with a snicker before he began to make his way toward the man, though he stuck to street level.

“I like cats,” Mal protested before he stepped out of the small alley they had been watching from and triggered his repulsor pack with a thought.

The bounty hunter’s armored form shot through the air. However, the noise alerted his quarry, causing the man to glance over his shoulder with a look of fear and confusion. Mal had almost reached the fleeing dock foreman when a flurry of movement came into view, tackling the middle-aged human to the ground. Malcom landed a few seconds later, finding Pepper sitting atop the human male’s chest, casually assessing the sharp claws on one of her hands as the other held similar claws to the human’s neck. She flashed her wide, fanged grin as Mal approached.

“Look, I caught him for you,” she announced proudly.

“I didn’t do nothin’!” the dock foreman protested.

“Damn, she’s quick!” Xavier announced as he joined them, huffing a little from running.

“Cat,” Mal replied with a shrug.

“Panther!” Pepper corrected the bounty hunter.

“Isn’t that a cat?” Mal questioned.

“Big cat,” Xavier confirmed. “Though I’ve never seen a panther puca…. Plenty of cat puca, though!”

Pepper glared at the pair of bounty hunters for a moment before she let out a bored-sounding sigh, “So what do we do with him?” she asked before turning her gaze on the human she had pinned. The fae leaned over the man with a broad, playful grin, wiggling the clawed fingers of one hand in front of his face, causing his eyes to widen. “Do I scratch him now to show him we mean business?”

“Try not to make him piss himself,” Mal suggested as he looked down at the pinned man. “We have a few questions for you, Sully.”

“Wh-How do you know my name?” the man shot back, though his squirming had stopped once Pepper had her claws near his face.

“We know everything!” Pepper said as she leered over the man. “Now, tell us where the girls are!”

“What girls? Get offa me!” Sully retorted as he began to struggle again.

“Let’s just all stay calm,” Mal instructed as he drew one of the heavy blasters he had holstered and pointed it causally toward Sully, ceasing the middle-aged man’s struggle.

“I bet he’ll remember if I pluck one of his eyes out!” Pepper offered with another of her Cheshire-like grins.

“Wh-w–No! W-wait!” Sully stammered as the puca leaned over him, one clawed hand pointing a finger at his left eye.

“Better get yappin’, dude. I’m not sure how long we can keep her calm,” Xavier suggested with a shrug of his broad shoulders.

“This is calm?!?” Sully asked nervously.

“Have you ever seen a bored puca?” Xavier asked, looking down at the pinned human. “Especially a predator puca.”

“I… well, no…” Sully replied quietly, still focused on Pepper’s hand near his face.

“I think you better give us something we can use to track down those girls the Jade Dragons bribed you to bring in,” Malcom instructed.

“What girls? I don’t know wh….” Sully began to protest again.

“I’m bored with this!” Pepper announced loudly before one hand pressed the palm to Sully’s forehead and pushed upwards, forcing his eyes open even wider as her other hand moved a clawed thumb and forefinger toward one of his eyes.

“Oh, those girls!” Sully quickly relented, trying to squeeze his eyes shut.

“Yes, those girls,” Malcom agreed with a nod. 

“Well, I don’t really know where they took them,” Sully explained, though as Pepper’s claws drew ever closer to his eye, he sped up, “But I know where their block captain in this part of the city hangs out! You can ask him!”

“That would be helpful,” Mal replied before waiting a brief moment. “Spit it out already.”

“Can you make her stop?” Sully asked nervously.

Pepper had shifted her weight over the pinned human, kneeling on his hips with her knees and holding herself up by his shoulders, digging her claws in as she leered down at him. A rather wild-eyed look accompanied her wide, fanged, Cheshire grin as her long tail flicked back and forth behind her. Both of her triangular-shaped fuzzy ears were swiveled forward and standing straight.

“He’s not telling us something,” Pepper said in a sing-song voice. “His heart is pounding,” she added.

“That could be due to the crazed puca looking at him like her next meal,” Mal suggested.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Pepper replied. “I’m conscientious about what I eat.”

“We had to stop at the Wiener Wagon on the way down here,” Mal responded.

“Authentic Chicago Dogs are a tradition,” Pepper said, her eyes still fixated on the human.

“Those things are definitely not authentic,” Malcom argued.

“Fine. Authentic Imitation Chicago Dogs,” Pepper relented.

“So you can’t be that picky,” the bounty hunter joked.

“I’d argue that synth beef hot dogs are far less hazardous to my health than greasy Italian dock workers,” the puca retorted.

“Fair point,” Mal agreed with a shrug, looking back down at Sully. “So what’s it gonna be, Sully? Come clean, or do I turn the kitty loose?”

“Okay! Okay!” Sully nearly shouted, trying his best to somehow retreat into the concrete he was lying on to escape the lingering fae.

“We don’t have all night here, Sully,” Mal prompted the man.

“Look, they didn’t give me a choice,” Sully explained. “I mean, how am I supposed to tell the Jade Dragons no? They woulda killed me! They even had some cop with them! So I couldn’t go to the authorities or anything!”

“You could have gone to Diego,” Xavier suggested.

“The Triads are all over the place in Old Towne lately,” Sully argued. “They’re probably watching us right now!”

“Well, wouldn’t that suck?” Xavier asked with a smirk.

“Bored!” Pepper announced loudly.

“They sent a transport and loaded the girls up!” Sully sputtered out. “I don’t know where they went from there, but the Jade Dragons have a bunch of places under their thumbs in Chinatown.”

“I didn’t know we still had a Chinatown,” Xavier said, glancing over at Mal.

“What used to be Chinatown before the war is mostly built over now with projects and shitty housing, but there’s a section of the undercity area near the old downtown that the Triads operate out of. Most of the refugees that came here at the start of the Infection settled there eventually,” Pepper said, not taking her eyes off the human she had pinned.

“Yeah, what she said,” Mal agreed, pointing toward the puca.

“Well, how the hell are we supposed to find them? It’s not like we can just go waltzing in,” Xavier said with a shake of his head.

“We were paid to find Sully here and get what he knows out of him,” Mal replied, shrugging his armored shoulders. “Kitten here can take it back to the Oyabun.”

“She’d probably pay extra if we went and found these girls,” Xavier proposed, arching one brow.

“I’m not really keen on going into Triad territory and poking around,” Mal said sternly.

“It’ll be fun!” Pepper chimed in with a cheery tone.

“It’ll get us killed,” the bounty hunter replied. 

“Hey, at least it’s the Jade Dragons and not the Mogui,” Xavier said. “Those guys are into some freaky shit.”

“The Dragons have more personnel and more guns,” Malcom countered.

“You know the Oyabun is gonna ask us to go anyway,” Xavier argued with a smirk.

“Then she can ask, and we’ll negotiate. We’re bounty hunters, not enforcers,” Mal said firmly.

“Oh! Maybe she’ll send one of the Akuma!” Pepper exclaimed as she bounced slightly on poor Sully’s chest.

“See? I’m sure the Oyabun has it covered,” Mal said, nodding to Pepper.

“You know this isn’t going to end with a simple smash and grab, Mal,” Xavier replied with a knowing look.

“What she does is none of our concern. The last thing we need is to get caught up in another gang war,” the bounty hunter argued.

“Didn’t you work for her during the Yakuza Wars?” Pepper asked curiously, tilting her head in the most adorable way possible.

“I did some work for her, but I didn’t work for her. There’s a difference,” Mal explained.

“Sure. Sure. But why wouldn’t you work for her again in this war,” Pepper responded. “If there is one.”

“There’s gonna be one,” Mal said with a shrug. “She’s not about to let this go easily.”

“How do you know that?” Pepper asked.

“Because I know her,” Malcom replied. “And this isn’t going away quietly.”

“Best to play it cool then,” Xavier nodded.

“Can I go now?” Sully asked from his position on the ground.

“No,” all three answered in unison.

“We should take him back to the Oyabun,” Pepper suggested as she grinned at Sully again.

“Wh-why? I told you everything I know!” the dock master protested.

“Maybe. But then maybe not,” Pepper said, that Cheshire grin taking on a decidedly sinister look.

“Alright, don’t make him piss his pants,” Mal said. “We’ll take him back and see what the Oyabun has to say.”

“Can I cuff him?” Peper asked as she finally stood from kneeling on the human.

“I guess,” Mal replied, reaching behind himself to pull a pair of cuffs from his belt and hold them out to the puca. 

“Get on the ground! Roll over with your hands over your head! Do it! Now!” Pepper suddenly began to yell harshly at a surprised Sully, who quickly moved to comply. “Stop resisting!” Pepper shouted as she roughly kicked the prone dock master to speed him up.

“Whoa! Whoa!” Mall called out, reaching to grab the puca’s arm. “What the fuck was that?”

“That’s how the cops do it,” Pepper explained with a confused look.

“I mean…..” Xavier began before Mal held up a hand to cut him off.

“We’re not cops. We’re professionals,” Malcom reminded the fae. “And not all cops act like that.”

“Tell that to the ones arresting people outside the Rose,” Pepper said as she cuffed Sully’s wrists behind his back. Once finished, she hoisted the human to his feet and turned her grinning visage toward Mal. “Got him! So what’s next?”

“We take him to your boss and see what she wants to do,” the bounty hunter answered.

“Great! I’m starting to get the hang of this Bounty Hunter thing. Thanks for agreeing to train me!” Pepper replied before escorting Sully to the hover car they had stashed in an alleyway.

“Wait…. What?” Mal called out after the puca, turning to follow her.

“Aww, Mal. Such a great job mentoring Pep.” Xavier snickered as he fell in step with the bounty hunter.

“Shut up.”

“What? It could be worse. She’s got a really cute… tail,” Xavier continued to tease.

“I will shoot you,” Malcom threatened.

“I’ll heal,” Xavier quipped.

“Yeah, but it’ll hurt.”

“Worth it.”