Another Day Another Bounty: Drifter, #1

By D.M. Wicks

Bounty hunters, computer whiz kids, and a woman that is irresistible to men. These are the makings of a space western. The best of both worlds are in this novella.

Shinjiro Kusanagi is a space cowboy that is down on his luck. Enter Wendy Lockhart, a woman with a mysterious past that now, has a bounty on her head for all the wrong reasons. When these two collide, chaos and mayhem are left in their wake. When Shin is given the choice of catching Wendy and turning her over to a man with not so good intentions, will he do what's right, or will his need for money take priority? 

Do you like damsels in distress? Do you like space opera action where bounty hunters scour around on new planets? Then this novella is for you!  
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: D.M. Wicks
• Release date: May 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386186144

Book preview

Prologue

L ift with your knees, not your back, Shinjiro muttered as he hefted his bounty, Billy, over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He walked out of the alley behind the bar, known as Bebop Parlor, the very establishment that Shinjiro had coerced Bill out of, like a mouse into a trap. Shinjiro carried his bounty through the crowded streets of the Case City Bazaar. He wasn't worried about anyone looking at him funny or causing any problems. The residents of Case City tended to mind their own business. It was the way of the people who grew up in a city without a law system. People only looked out for their own and Billy was practically a tourist. He was from a suburb, somewhere between uptown and downtown. Supposedly, he had taken a kitchen knife to his wife after he found her fucking the neighbor. He had mentioned to her that he was working a double shift and wouldn't be home until lunchtime the next day, but the guy he was covering for showed up at work and Billy made it home by midnight. After the hack and slash, he went to the bar to mope in his misery.

The bounty had only been out for an hour and Shinjiro had just picked it up for pocket change. Billy's wife was taken to the closest hospital by the neighbor, which was in Okoto City, located in the Japanese Territory. The authorities of Okoto City had then put out the bounty for the capture, alive, of the culprit. Shinjiro could not have cared less about the entire story; all he was concerned about was getting his paycheck. Devin, his partner, was a growing boy and, therefore, was eating them out of the ship and home. The boy was growing like a fucking tree, all lanky and knobbly-kneed.

Shinjiro began to pant with the exertion it took to carry Billy to the docks, and by the time he got to his ship he was sweating; his worn, blue suit jacket was drenched. His ship, or, as he liked to call her, Misery, was a medium-sized, tin disaster waiting to happen. After dropping his bounty into the cells on the lower level of the spaceship, he met with Devin in what acted as the living room. Devin was typing away on the holographic keyboard of his computer at the small desk in the corner of the room. The adolescent turned at the sound of the door sliding open.

Devin's face broke into a smile. Shin, you’re back!

Shinjiro forced a smile and waved a little. He would never get used to the exuberance his partner showed for him whenever he came home. Sometimes it was a bit much, especially after living a practically solitary life for several years before picking up the kid.

Ah, Devin, how are you, man?

Good. I see you got the guy. Are we setting sail for the Japs' land?

Yeah. So if you could type in the coordinates we can be on our way. The sooner we turn in that sack of bones the sooner we get paid—and the sooner I can afford to buy dinner.

Alright. Devin put the computer to sleep with a sideswipe of his hand. He then jumped up and ran to the stairs that led to the upper deck, where the navigation controls were. Shinjiro sighed and sat down for the first time all day. Work was hard, he thought to himself and he was pretty tired. Shinjiro spread out on the loveseat that was off to the side and kicked his long legs over one of the arms; he rested his head on the other. Folding his hands on his belly, he let the soft buzz of the ship coming to life lull him to sleep, as his worries slipped away. It was another day and another bounty. His life was interesting and he enjoyed the freedom of it, but sometimes he wondered why this kind of life appealed to him so much. Some would say he was running from something, and maybe he was. At this moment, all he cared about was getting some shut-eye before he had to deal with the cops, who were a giant pain in the ass most of the time and a fucking headache the rest. He figured he would have to pick up another bounty to afford anything decent to eat. This particular one would only buy them cup noodles for a few days if they spent it right, and he was getting tired of them, despite the variety of flavors. Honestly, it all tasted like salt to him. He was just dozing off when he heard Devin come back down into the living room.

Devin whispered, Hey Shin, I'll wake you when we get there.

He then heard the soft tapping as his partner resumed typing with his fingers on the wooden desk. Shinjiro was pulled back under with the thought of, What the hell would I do without that kid in my life? Without him I’m just a drifter without a purpose. I'm just an outlaw.

Devin shook Shinjiro awake. He felt bad having to wake him, but they had already arrived at Fyoko Harbor, the only dock in the Japanese territory. Also, the guy in the cell on the lower deck hadn't shut up since waking, about twenty minutes ago. Devin had already researched the man named Billy, or at least that's what he liked being called. His real name was William Hanson III. He was the son to a once well-to-do businessman. That was until his father's business flopped. It's like they say, Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If you lose, you lose everything but your name. Despite his father's failures, Billy had made a decent living working in a factory, as a head manager, in the suburbs of Case City. It wasn't the best place to live, but it was better than most places downtown. Sure, you got the occasional kid driving with his windows open and loud music blaring, but the crime was at a minimum and the neighbors were friendly. Devin guessed they were too friendly in this case.

How long has he been yelling? Shinjiro asked as they made their way to the cells.

About twenty minutes.

The door to the lower level slid open, and a rank smell engulfed the two. For fuck’s sake, he puked again? Damn it, whose turn is it to clean up?

Devin grinned. That would be you.

Damn.

They continued to climb down the ladder that connected the lower, middle and upper levels. Shinjiro made it to the bottom first and attempted to plug his nose, but winced after remembering that it had recently been broken.

Devin frowned. I meant to ask, did he break your nose? It looks more crooked than the last time I saw you.

Shinjiro shrugged as he made his way over to the cell and kicked the bars, crushing Billy's fingers.

Fug.

That's what you get for stinking up my ship.

Shin, cut him some slack; he was drunk when you brought him in, right? You know how the ship's g-forces mess with the stomach.

Shinjiro glanced at Devin then opened the cell. He looked over at the toilet in the corner of the room and realized that was where Billy had upchucked. He was thankful it wasn't on the floor.

So, Billy Boy, are you going to make this easy or what?

Billy looked up at Shinjiro from his place on the floor then burst into tears as he gripped his injured hand.

I didn't mean to hurt 'er, I was just so fuggin angry when I saw her with the guy and I reacted. Why she do it, man? Why?

Shinjiro sighed. Come on, Billy, you can tell the police your story, I'm sure they might care.

Shinjiro used another zip tie and bound Billy's hands together behind his back then pulled him to his feet. Shinjiro pulled the guy to the ship's bottom exit. You stay here, Devin. I got this.

Devin frowned as the door closed, and they were gone. When Shinjiro came back, he looked tired, but smiled at Devin and held up a bag of cup noodles. Chicken, shrimp, or beef?

Devin sighed as he grabbed the chicken and pulled out the attachment, which instantly heated the water in the cup. I have another bounty whenever you're ready; it came while you were hunting Billy. It's a big one, and I think we could use the money.

Shinjiro glanced up from his food. Who and what?

Wendy Lockhart—and thievery.

Shinjiro nodded as he slurped a particularly long noodle. Alright, fill me in while we eat.

One

Why is this happening again ? was the first thing that went through Wendy Lockhart's mind when she woke to an all-too-familiar scene. She was in a dark bedroom. The only light came from the moon outside the window, on her side of the room. Next to her was a warm body that she didn't remember hooking up with the night before. Her long mane of copper hair stuck to her forehead in disarray; she smoothed it back from her face. The last thing she remembered was eating cereal in her apartment; everything after that was blank. She could