Nachi stared down at her drink as she sat at the bar, clinking the ice around in the amber-colored liquid. She was already on her fourth glass waiting for her drinking buddy to show up. This wasn’t the first time he was late, and sometimes he was the one left waiting, but they’d always show up eventually—as was their pact.
To give him some leeway, the place they’d made their regular spot wasn’t exactly a quick walk away from their workplace. Of all the facilities the Fiends For Hire compound had to offer, a ratty drinking hole wasn’t one of them. Nachi mused very briefly about opening her own bar in one of the available cubes, but dismissed the idea quickly. She simply wouldn’t have the time, and the point of her visiting one was to blow off steam, not be stressed by more responsibility.
Bisomote wasn’t exactly a drinking town either. They had a tavern, but there were far too many people who knew them there—not exactly the mellowest environment. A sports bar had also just opened recently which had zoneball matches playing on the TVs constantly, but that wasn’t really their scene either.
They ended up finding a trucker bar on the route between Bisomote and Hedgehind that quickly became their favorite. It was mostly regulars and the kind of place where everyone minded their own business—the perfect environment to down some drinks and have some idle chatter with a friend.
While such places often weren’t friendly to newcomers, the bartender was eager to serve them. The two often bought higher shelf liquor compared to the cheap swill most of the regulars drank. Plus, they had to consume more than double what most of the others drank for the same effect. Nachi didn’t mind the cost since she was paid well, but found she had to take a piss way more often.
“Bout damn time, Ti—” she’d started to slide Tize the drink she’d already ordered for him when he sat down next to her, but something caught her eye. “The hell is that?!” She wasn’t expecting a baby to be dangling from his chest in a carrier accompanied by a matching baby-supply bag dangling off the back of his waist.
“Feyj,” Tize answered as he took a deep swig of his drink, downing half the glass at once. It should have been obvious who it was given the baby’s hair, but it had been so unexpected that Nachi hadn’t been thinking straight.
“Our boss’ new power can apparently age Feyjrusa at will, so he reincarnated them early to get rid of that shabby past version,” Tize explained as he pulled out a tin of baby formula along with an empty bottle and set them on the counter. “Another round, and if you don’t mind boiling a bottle for me.” The bartender didn’t seem to mind in the slightest.
“Could have just called and canceled, y’know,” Nachi watched the newborn baby stare at everything around him with intrigue. “I’d say surprise-baby is definitely at the top of the list of reasons I’d forgive you for ditching.”
“Nah, I need this,” Tize finished off his first drink and then started on the second. “But this will be all for me today since I need to stay lucid. Happy to sit around with you, though, as long as he doesn’t get too fussy.”
“We’ll see.” Now Nachi plowed through her own drink. “Never been great around kids, so if he starts crying, I’m out.”
As the two Lesser’s sipped their respective drinks, both of them suddenly held their glasses away from their faces and exchanged glances. “Hear that?” Tize whispered over to her.
“Yeah, those footsteps are too heavy,” she smirked. “We’ve got a fighter.” No sensible truck driver would ever wear boots as encumbering as the steps they were hearing. They’d weigh the pedals down too much. It could be a construction worker or a service technician, but their guess was mercenary or military. Not that they had any prejudices against anyone along those lines, but it was suspicious in a place like this—not that they themselves had room to judge.
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“Two pistols under the coat.” There were no mirrors in front of them at the bar, but Tize was able to gleam what he needed from the reflection of his glass and the bottles on the shelves behind the counter.
“Approaching us…” Nachi listened intently as the footsteps drew closer behind them. They were sitting at the bar, so it was possible they could be on their way to order a drink. But the two Lessers were sitting off to the side, not the usual spot someone would pick. “Hmph, and they smell like blood.” Her hand slid down her thigh and loosely gripped her collapsed polearm.
The suspect didn’t do anything obscure just yet. They leaned over the bar, acting like they were waiting to be served. But completely conspicuously, their head turned and they looked straight at Tize and Nachi. Without warning, the stranger pulled one of their guns and fired a shot.
But Tize had been waiting, the base of his shield already in his hands. The shield sprung up before the assailant had even pulled the trigger, and the bullet stopped dead when it hit the invisible wall, clinking to the ground.
Nachi was ready for the follow up, swinging her polearm and knocking the gun out of their hands. They were at least somewhat competent, already instinctually reaching for their second pistol, but Tize was faster on the draw. He whipped out his gun and fired a paralyzing shot square into their stomach.
The stranger collapsed to the floor without any further fight. Tize quickly grabbed them by their arms and started pulling them out of the bar while Nachi paid the tab. Thankfully, there’d been no property damage or injuries thus far, and they wanted to keep it that way.
“What are you thinking? Bounty hunter?” After Nachi caught up with him and grabbed the person’s legs.
“Maybe, but we’re small fry compared to the others,” Nachi reiterated. “But that could also be why they picked us. Damn it, she’s cute,” she pulled away the assailant’s hat and mask so they could get a proper look at her once they’d dragged her behind the trucks.
“Whatever, let’s just scan her,” Tize pulled out his phone and took a picture of the woman’s face. “Ah zjik,” he scowled. “She’s not in the database.”
“Which one?” Nachi took a picture of her own for… personal reasons.
“All of them,” Tize quickly stuffed his phone away and pulled his gun back out as he started glancing around the area to make sure they were actually alone.
“Zjik, an assassin then,” Nachi pulled out her polearm and did a bit of scouting herself.
“You search her, I’ll keep watch,” Tize didn’t drop his guard for a second, analyzing every spot he imagined someone could be hiding.
Nachi quickly jumped on the offender with a disturbing grin. “Don’t worry, I won’t get too handsy, yet,” she failed to reassure the still conscious but immobile assassin. There wasn’t much to find—no wallet or identification, but Nachi did find the most crucial piece.
She found the picture of the woman’s target—several pictures actually. “You’re going to want to see this,” Nachi called Tize back over as she double checked the photos. They were all of Feyrusa, each of their past incarnations.
“Who the heck wants to—” Tize’s words were caught off when Nachi suddenly swung her polearm at him. Maybe he thought she was actually the assassin for a moment—an amusing notion. But no, while Tize was examining the pictures, a dot suddenly appeared on the baby’s forehead.
She thought about trying to block the shot with her polearm, but didn’t know what caliber of gun was being aimed, and couldn’t risk it being something that could punch through. The simplest solution was to force Tize to dodge. Words took too long to process, but attacking him got the message across instantly.
A shot rang out above his head a moment later, streaking into the ground behind him. Nachi didn’t even take a moment to check if they were okay, trusting his capabilities. She couldn’t let this opportunity go to waste and traced the angle of trajectory back to its source.
“A drone?!” That was surprising. It was very new tech and even the CP military hadn’t fully adopted their use yet. Whoever was targeting The Royal clearly had money and influence, or had someone backing them who did. “Quick, let’s get after them!” Nachi pulled out the keys for her bike, pressed a button, and the vehicle came speeding from the other side of the parking lot.
“You drive!” she grabbed Tize by the arm and hoisted him to the front while she hopped onto the back. Tize didn’t even question it and gunned after the drone. Thankfully, it was a hoverbike that didn’t need to follow the rules of road and terrain, since the drone certainly wasn’t going to give them that courtesy.