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Aloy glared at the man in front of her. He stood easily a head taller than her and seemed to be a wall of sheer muscle and tattoos. He wore a lazy smile on his scarred lips as his fingers twitched near the gun at his hip.
“You could just make this easy for both of us and surrender, Ms. Sobeck.” He said, the rumble of his voice pitching into a purr.
“And why would I do that?” She asked, her hands settling at her hips.
He shrugged. “Seems a lot of effort to keep running around like you have. And you could also help a poor fellow out. Let me collect the bounty on your head so I can pay my rent for the next few months. Actually, the number on your head is so large, I could probably be set for the next year or so.”
“Your living situation isn’t really my concern.” She said, taking a step backwards and cursing when he took an even larger one towards her in response.
“Oh. Have a heart, will you? Things haven’t been easy for me, with this.” He complained good naturedly as he wiggled his stump at her.
“You seem to be doing fine.” She replied in a dry tone.
“Well, I do what I can, but a lot of the guilds won't give me jobs anymore, just the Chief and he takes a lot of flack for it, and not to mention trying to line up a doctor for a prosthetic…”
“Again, why is any of that my problem? Can’t you go to the Utaru cities for bounties? They just want to keep unknowns out. Plenty of work to be had there.”
“Plenty of work, but none of the challenge. From what I’ve heard, you’ve been quite the slippery thing to catch. Bringing you in could earn me the renown I need to be let back into the larger Tenakth circles.” He tilted his head as something occured to him. “You know a surprising amount about the world of bounty hunting.”
She shrugged. “I have a price on my head. Thought it would be a good idea to figure out who would try and collect. Don't you think, Marshal Kotallo?” She asked, delighting slightly in the way his eyes went wide, then narrowed in chagrin. “Do you even know why Sylens wants me?”
“Should I?”
“I would think a good bounty hunter would want to know.”
“Many would say a good bounty hunter wouldn’t care.”
“And are you?” She asked.
“A good bounty hunter? Sometimes.” He said, dropping into the chair beside him. “But let's say I'm not this time. So, why does Sylens want you?”
“He wants access to my mother’s company. To the tech she created. Specifically he wants the climate change intervention system she developed. He thinks he can utilize it as a ransom measure to get people to fall in line with his ideals of the world.”
“Is he right?” He asked curiously.
“If he knew how the system worked, then yes.” She said with a sigh, taking a seat as well. “There are failsafes built in to undo excess growth in certain areas. If he or his team figured out how to change the system so the default is to undo the growth of healthy biospheres, it would have devastating effects on the environment of wherever he decided to target.”
“You know how the system works. But you don’t seem like the type to just give him that information even if you did end up in his hands.”
“I’m not. But I’m not the only one he has a bounty out for.” She held up her phone and showed him the wanted poster that appeared to have her face, though the hair was cut differently and the expression appeared softer and more vulnerable. “My sister, Beta. With both of us, he can use us to threaten the other into compliance. I am a little easier to get at since I’ve been on my own since I was young. Beta was taken in by the owner of a megacorp. So she’s protected.”
“Why do you think this information changes anything? You’re still a high priority bounty who could give me some much needed stability for the coming months.”
“Now who doesn't have a heart?” She challenged. “We're talking hundreds of thousands of lives here. Do you know who he would target? Anyone. Everyone. There are people who would stand in the way of his desire for knowledge and the world to work the way he wants it to. And they're all a potential target of his whims if this happens. You're not special to him. Just a means to an end.”
He shrugged and stared at the floor. “All bounty hunters are a means to an end.”
She huffed and went silent. Then, when the silence became too much she asked, “You gonna take me in or not?”
He continued to look down. “You're certain this is what he wants?”
“I can find you proof if you want it.”
He pulled out the burner phone he used for his jobs and dialed quickly. “Chief. I'm going to need to drop this bounty.”
Murmuring on the other end.
“No. Complications arose. Sylens isn't being upfront about his intentions. I think this job needs to be put on hold indefinitely for all hunters. Can you get me in contact with the Sunhawk? I'd like to see if her outfit has anything out on him.”
More murmuring.
“Not usually no. But if what I've just learned is correct then he presents a threat that needs to be eliminated. Yes. Yes, Chief. Walk with the Ten.”
He clicked the phone shut with a sense of finality.
“What's going on?” Aloy asked with trepidation.
“How do you feel about helping me with some wet work?” He asked with a smile.