Section 4

Our story so far:

Aaron Damerson is a rogue of sorts, at the moment under the employ of an alien named Thenar. His job was to take care of a certain problem – Porten Ve’tan. Upon arriving at Porten’s house, Aaron decided not to immediately act on his orders. Instead, he listened to Porten’s side of the story. Now, he has decided to confront Thenar with his newfound knowledge.

The story continues…

With a newly found sense of rage, Aaron’s hand left his holster. He turned and slowly made his way through the mire of alien bodies. Once he was finally outside, he hurried up to the rooftop where he had stashed the bicycle seat and his rifle. With a single kick, the seat roared to life and unfolded into the jetbike once more.

Aaron took to the skies. His mind was a blur of angry images and thoughts. Why had Thenar wanted Porten dead? Porten, who seemed to be doing so much good with his life?

The jetbike landed outside the Lusty Septopod, Aaron leaving it there with little thought. A seedy looking character eyed the bike with a smile, but Aaron shot him a steely glare and revealed his pistol. The other man backed away and down the street, almost at a run. With a smile Aaron thought of how, at least here, a gun still had some clout.

Shaking his head, Aaron stormed into the bar. There was Thenar, sitting at his same back table and drinking some ale. When he noticed Aaron, he smiled and called out.

“Dam! Back so soon?”

Aaron’s hand flew to his holster as he pulled out his gun, pointing it squarely between Thenar’s eyes.

“Whoa! Whoa! Wh-what are ya thinkin’, Dam?”

“What am I thinking?” Aaron replied, hearing the clicks of guns cocking and the low murmuring whir of laser pistols warming up. “You sent me in to kill what seems to be one of the only good people on this light-forsaken rock and you ask me what I’m thinking?”

“Okay,” Thenar said, reaching for his ale. Aaron swatted it away, smashing it against a wall. “I can see you’re a little tense.” Aaron pulled the hammer of his pistol back. “Alright, a lottle tense, but it’s just business.”

“You know what it feels like to have a bullet through your brain, I would assume it doesn’t feel too good.”

“Fine,” Thenar said, putting his hands up. “I’ll tell you, alright? He used to be a dealer. One of the best I ever had. Made me a fortune. Dabbled in other crimes, did well there, too. Never forgot where he came from, though.

“One day, he met that Meryana,” Thenar’s voice was dripping in venom when he spoke her name. “Cleaned him right up, she did. Took her a while, but she did it. Turned him into a do-gooder.” Thenar spat at the ground. “Business started falling into some hard times, I needed my old friend Porten back, so I think to myself, I think, ‘How best to get back one of the most dirty lowlifes of them all?’

“ ‘ Well,’ says I, ‘kill his wife, of course.’ So I send out a hit and they off his precious little minx. Didn’t take the hint, though. Hit us harder than ever. If this keeps up, in five years, there won’t be an addict on the streets.”

Aaron stared at the vile creature before him. Thenar had the nerve to smile. His finger twitched on the trigger, but his eyes strayed to the guns surrounding him, all ready to blow his brains out for the slightest reason.

What is Aaron’s next move? And what about Porten? How safe is he now that the truth is out? Weigh in here or on the Facebook group.