Chapter 6: Wanted

Tom is wanted

Three years had passed since I started the Gigalist. Already, the Equinox was not a fan of our work. We hadn’t done anything against the resistance, but we hadn’t helped them either.

I was with Izzy, in a bar, trying to relax after a mission. We lived in a small rural town away from any big cities. The T.V. played quietly with subtitles, talking about how a small guerilla group had recently destroyed an equinox lab. I set my black wide-brimmed fedora down on the table on top of my coat. It was a warm night, so my black tank top was more than enough to keep me covered, I untied my bandana and took off my goggles, wrapping them up in the jacket as well. I sat down at the bar and ordered a soda. I wasn’t a fan of alcohol. It generally didn’t mix well with the katanas in my arm and pistols strapped to my hip.

Alex, however, had no such restrictions. She slammed her hand on the table. “Gimme a Sangria!” she demanded cheerily.

Izzy sat on the other side of me, leaning against me and ordering a small glass of water while Will opened his beer. We all toasted to each other and started drinking.

I had barely gotten my first gulp down when two men in black suits with white glasses came in and asked the bartender something. Their suits looked relatively normal except for the equals sign on their shoulders with a ring of fire around it. The waiter pointed to me.

"Here we go again," I mumbled to Izzy, sighing and putting my can down.

"Are you Thomas Keir?" the smaller man asked.

"Maybe. Why?" I replied, resting my head in my hand and leaning my elbow casually on the bar.

"You need to come with us," said the more intimidating man.

"Why?" I repeated.

"You're wanted for crimes against the Equinox"

"Oh? And if I refuse?"

"You can't." said the big man, sliding his suit coat to the side slightly to show a pistol strapped to his hip.

"Watch me," I jeered. I got up and started walking away when the bigger man threw a punch at my head.

I side-stepped and grabbed his arm with my robotic one. "Aw, sh*t. And I was gonna let you live, too," I lied sarcastically.

I threw him into the wall and kicked his back, as the bartender ducked into the back room. I flicked my arm, the compartment opening up and jettisoning the swords out just above my head. I caught them out of the air and flicked them open. I swung the first sword and deflected a bullet from the smaller man. He shot another bullet, but as he pulled the trigger, I grabbed the larger man by the collar and swung him in front of me. The gun still went off, and the large body slumped in my hands. One down, I told myself.

"Help!" The small man cried pathetically. Reinforcements poured through the doors, armed with guns and swords.

"Izzy," I said to her, "go to the back and watch the bartender. Will, go with her."

"But Tom..." Izzy started.

"And tell the janitor I'm sorry." and with that, I pulled my scarf over my nose, and I was off.

I swung my swords around in my hands, turning toward the crowd of people that now swarmed around the small man. "Come out and play, motherf*ckers," I taunted, motioning them closer with my hand. Alex climbed up onto the bar and knocked an arrow.

As the men started to charge at me, I ran up the first soldier and grabbed his face with my feet. In the air,  I used my robotic leg to flip, swinging the soldier over myself and slamming him into the next one. I punched another with my left hand, blocking his swing before I stabbed him with my right blade. I threw him onto the ground and caught a lunging soldier with an uppercut from my left blade, impaling him. Not slowing down, I ran full and kicked a taller man's legs out from under him. I pushed his head down by grabbing his face with my robotic arm until I forced him to the floor. I overcharged my laser-cutter on his face, using it as a gun. I threw one sword at the approaching soldier, then loosed my laser. One guard tried to jump down from above me, only to be riddled with arrows and fall to the ground beside me. "Glad you could make it," I teased to Alex without looking.

"Wouldn't miss it," Alex snapped back, as I heard her nock another arrow.

"Good," I nodded, "I didn't wanna have all the fun." I laughed, quickly drawing a pistol and shooting another guard. The fighting continued for another good couple of minutes as we shot, stabbed, blasted, and otherwise killed every equinox soldier that came through the door.

"Great. And all I wanted to do was spend some time with Izzy," I said grumpily as she returned from the back room.

"I had fun" said Alex, twirling her bow.

Izzy walked over and kissed me on the cheek, hugging up to me.

Will was leaning against the doorway behind the bar, apparently taking a nap.

“Take them outside and burn them, please, Will,” I sighed. That was usually how we ended up cleaning up the messes we made. The bartender didn’t seem to mind. He came back out and served us another round of drinks. It was the first time the Equinox had attacked us at home, in our own territory. We would have to move soon. I sighed.

“I hate bounty hunters.”

Author's Note

I am currently editing the first part of Gigalist so if there are grammatical mistakes or repetitive information just know that they will all be fixed very soon! Thanks for bearing with me!