A Hunter's Blood: The Crimson Contracts
1

Drakx was standing in front of his supervisor, waiting, just waiting. He wanted this to be over so he could get back to work. A slap on the wrist, a little butt chewing. He says that he won’t do it again, bullshit sincerity, then back to work. No big deal. Part of the job.

He only took D.O.A. contracts, Dead or Alive. Everything he did was within fugitive retrieval regulations. He just walked the darker edge of extreme. Drakx never retrieved a fugitive. Although it was well within regulations, it was on the sinister side of actuality. He always caught his fugitive, always collected, and always found uniquely frightening ways to deprive them of their lives.

He was very good at what he did. He was a bounty hunter, the highest division of law enforcement. If your case was taken by the Hunters that meant the normal enforcement agent division couldn’t handle or control you. That’s when you graduate past rights, and red tape, and step into justice inevitability. Every case taken on by a Hunter had two end results. Life, without the possibility of parole, or worse, death. Drakx chose the latter sentence every time.

That was the reason he was standing there, waiting. His Eradication record was the highest in the department. He knew his supervisor didn’t agree with his method.

The supervisor was sitting at her desk, tapping on her computer, pretending to be concerned with whatever random graphic that popped on screen making Drakx wait. She was pissed, he could tell.

“What happened this time, Hunter?” the supervisor asked without looking away from her screen.

“I acquired the target in the Life Rise District, near the Kordur Transport Terminal...” Drakx began.

The supervisor slammed her hands on the desk, and stood aggressively. She leaned frighteningly closer to Drakx, and screamed, “You know I don’t give a damn about your report! I read that crap! I’m giving your trigger happy, loose cannoned, psychotic ass one more chance to tell me what the hell happened this time?! What was the real reason for this eradication?!”

Drakx didn’t flinch. He was used to these explosions. It was becoming boring, and loud. Not startling in the least.

“The target became aggressive and threatened my wellbeing. I therefore had to Erad the target for safety purposes, Sir,” Drakx nonchalantly lied to her.

“BULLSHIT!” Barked the supervisor. “You killed him for a hard-on, freak! You kill EVERYBODY!”

The supervisor began tapping on her computer again. She grabbed the monitor, and turned it towards Drakx. Drakx saw what was on the screen. His Apprehend/Eradication record.

“How many Eradications Hunter?” the supervisor asked. “How many?”

Drakx looked towards the ceiling in exasperation. He wanted this to be over.

“Two thousand five hundred sixty one Erads, Sir,” Drakx answered without care.

“How many Apps?” the supervisor impatiently asked. “How many have you brought back?”

Drakx prepared himself for the retort.

“Zero Apps, Sir.”

“Excuse me, Hunter, come again. I must not have heard you. What was that number?”

“Zero...Sir.”

The supervisor showed a slight hint of satisfaction with Drakx’s irritation.

“Not one App! Zero! You couldn’t bring one back if they surrendered to you nude in the middle of this station! What is your mission statement, Hunter?”

Drakx was getting very irritated at this point. He wanted to leave now.

“We both know the M.S. Sir,” Drakx said.

“I know I do. Hunter. It’s you I’m questioning. Recite the M.S.”

Drakx realized that he had to go through this crap. No shortcuts. Just do it, and get back to work. He began to recite.

“A fugitive retrieval agent’s duty is to neutralize the threat of criminal actions that cause harm and/or legal discomfort to non-criminal citizens by apprehending or eradicating any criminal element. A fugitive retrievals agent will respect the authority the agent holds, and exercise their absolute law ethically.”

Drakx knew, and lived by the statement. His supervisor lived by her opinion of the statement. That’s what he thought.

“That M.S. has the word ‘apprehending’ in it, correct?“, she asked.

“Yes Sir, it does,” Drakx said, thinking that it was almost over.

“Then why the hell won’t you apprehend ANYONE?!”

“It’s that other word that, surprisingly, is only two words away in our illustrious blood oath credo, eradicating! Look, I live by the M.S. I follow it to the letter! I have NEVER illegally eradicated anyone! They are criminals. They committed crimes by their own volition! They deserve the price!” Drakx exploded at her. He had finally had enough.

His supervisor stared in his eyes, fighting to slow down her anger, and control her breathing. She slowly said,” You will always respect me as a superior, and never lose your composure in my presence. You will also, without exception, address me as Sir. Is that clear Hunter?”

Drakx wanted to walk out of the office. He wanted to tell her to kiss his ass. He wanted to, but regained composure. He had to respect her. She wasn’t the superior by vote. She was the toughest, by the book, Hunter in the department. She earned her position.

“Crystal...Sir,” Drakx responded.

After a moment of uncomfortable quiet between them, the supervisor broke the silence.

“Hunter, you seem to have a problem with your Dyna-Techor contract.”

Drakx snapped out of his mindset of leaving. He knew that his contracts were clean. They were to the letter, as he so adamantly stated earlier.

“Sir, the contract was completed without an error. Chelys was the last DNAccident on file.”

“Wrong Hunter,” the supervisor cut him off quickly. “There is one more. Her name is Sensus, and her...”

“One more?! Her?! What the hell is going on here, Sir?” Drakx blurted out. He was angry at the covert betrayal, and confusion his supervisor had just revealed.

“... And her contract wasn’t active until the rest of the DNAccidents were either Apped or Eradded,” the supervisor continued. “Now your problem, Hunter, is that this contract is a Non-Erad contract. App only, no exceptions.”

Her final sentence hit Drakx like a pulse cannon.

“I don’t do Non-Erads, Sir, you know that! Re-assign this one. I’m not doing it,” Drakx said with absolution in his words.

“I don’t re-assign contracts unless you are dead. You know that, Hunter. They wanted the best we had, and no matter how much you piss me off, I’ll admit that you’re the best. It is your contract, so like I said, it is completely your problem,” the supervisor said, overruling his absolution.

“She tossed the file chip across the desk towards Drakx. He hesitated, but knowing that he had no choice, he picked it up. He stood at attention quietly, waiting to be dismissed. He felt betrayed, ripped, and defeated.

The supervisor sat back down, and began tapping the computer again. After a few minutes of making Drakx wait, letting him simmer in his dim, sad situation without looking up, she said,” Dismissed.”

Drakx let out a breath, and turned towards the door. He grabbed the handle, and began to leave when he was halted by her voice.

“Hunter...” she began, finally looking up at him, “don’t fuck this up. Bring her back alive. Because if there is any problem with this App, You are not only terminated, I’ll Blacklist you across this galaxy. Are we clear Hunter?”

Drakx knew that Blacklisting was career death. An Erad contract on your job. He also knew that he couldn’t do anything else. He understood that if he didn’t fulfill this contract, there would be no more contracts. He felt her grip on his balls tightening.

“Crystal, Sir.”