Chapter Text
“Hide here sweety,” Papa talks in a whisper, “Papa will be back soon, I promise.” Mama yells outside the small crawl space. Sophia covers her ears, does as Papa told her.
Through the small crack in the door, Sophia can see everything. She sees Papa and Mama arguing over something. Mama keeps pointing to the crawl space, keeps saying something about giving them Sophia. But Papa disagrees. Papa always disagrees.
There's a bang on the door and suddenly the kitchen is filled with strange men. “Mr. Gretzky,” one of the men says, stepping forward, “did you really think we wouldn’t find out?”
Papa takes a deep breath and goes to speak, but is silenced by the bullet that pierces his skull. Mama is only able to let out a small gurgle of a scream before she's silenced to. “You don’t betray us. Ever.”
Everything else happens suddenly. Sophia bolts from the crawl space, screaming, shouting for Papa. A hand stops her as she enters the kitchen, covers her eyes. But through the cracks in his fingers she can see the still bodies of her parents. She sees the blood that pools around them, that seeps toward her feet. It’s so red .
“Mr. Gretzky was hiding a child?” The man covering her eyes chuckles. “I think she can be of great use to me.” He grabs Sophia by the shoulders and turns her. “Isn’t that right.”
November wakes in a cold sweat, liquid bubbling up from her throat. Her hand franticly moves over the nightstand until she finds the bottle of pills. She swallows down two and does her best to calm her breathing.
“This is getting worse,” Alice says, “you need to tell Angela.”
November shakes her head and turns her face into the pillow. “No.”
“The medicine doesn’t even help anymore Sophia!” Alice moves closer to her, puts a hand on her shoulder. “She’s still waiting for you to come back.”
November snorts and moves to sit up, using the back of her hand to wipe away the sweat on her brow. “It’s been seven years, she’s not waiting for me anymore.”
Alice sighs and sits at the edge of the bed. “Maybe if you actually returned some of her letters, instead you send her the typical, ‘I’m still alive, send more meds’ letter.”
A sudden gurgle escapes her lips and she runs for the bathroom. She barely makes it before the ooze of black blood falls from her mouth. All she can do is try and cough it up and wait for the pain to subside. She watches the two little pills go down the drain.
“I told you.” Alice leans against the bathroom door frame. “You need to tell Angela.” November waves a hand behind her, trying her damndest to get Alice to disappear. “Sophia.”
“I'm not Sophia anymore!” November's scream startles Alice. She takes a step toward November and than backs away with a frown. “She’s gone.” Alice sighs and recedes back into November’s mind, leaving her completely alone.
November doesn’t leave the bathroom for sometime. When she finally makes it back into her room, the sun has just started to come up. It seeps through the cracks in the window. November makes a mental note to board those up as well.
The old Blackwatch hideout was old, completely abandoned. When she got here, she was surprised that the A.I. still worked and let her inside. It had been completely cleaned out, nothing left but empty rooms. She was thankful the small kitchen still worked. Why the government was still powering these hideouts was beyond her, but she was thankful.
She’d furnished it with only a mattress and a stand to set her things on, nothing more. She had hoped, slightly, that something would still be here. Or a sign that maybe someone had been here.
She wanders over to the nightstand and picks up the recent letter from Angela. No matter where she is, Angela is always able to get a letter to her. November is sure Angela is keeping tabs on her, probably has someone following her around. It doesn’t bother her as much as it should.
Dear Sophia,
I won’t ask how the pills are doing, because I know I will receive the same answer. I am not sure what has driven you to refuse treatment, it’s not too late. I can help you, but if you wish to not receive my help… well I can not force you.
I have been receiving letters from Genji and he wishes to make contact with you. I was not sure if this was something you were comfortable with, so I withheld your contact information. I think it would be good for you to talk to him. He’s changed, a lot over these years, and maybe he can help you.
You can’t keep running Sophia. Eventually you’re going to run out of energy and be left alone. I am here for you. Please come home.
Angela
November hasn’t cried since the Swiss HQ blew up, but this letter brings her to tears. Angela always has that effect on her, always brings her close to breaking down. But she can’t tell her yes. She can’t come home, because there is no home for her.
She left Sophia in some dingy hotel in New York after attempting to take her life. She left her there, lying on the bed, blood pouring from her veins. She isn’t the same person. There is no home for November and there never will be.
“Where are you going?” Alice appears in the doorway as November grabs her coat.
November peers back at her. “I have a job to do, you forget?”
Alice frowns. “In your condition?”
November just shrugs and closes the door behind her. Alice is in the car when she opens the driver side door. “Just can’t leave me alone can you?”
Alice scoffs, “You’d die without me.” November laughs and starts the car. Alice opens the holo tablet and scrolls through the Bounty details. “Our mark hangs out at the Two Rivers Bar on 6th Street.”
Two Rivers Bar is a beat down, wannabe bar. The neon sign only says Rvr as the rest of the words are lifeless. There’s at least five drunk guys laying in the alleyway, covered in their own waste. November sighs and leans back in her seat. “Was this one dead or alive?”
Alice scrolls through the info, “Dead.”
November watches her mark leave the bar. He’s a scrawny looking man, wearing far too much clothing. His coat hangs low, trails on the ground behind him. His hat is littered with holes and November can see the many scars across his face.
She rolls down the window and pulls out her pistol. She lines up the shot and fires. James Transion is down before he even reaches his car. She pulls up close to him, thankful his head landed sideways so she can get a clear picture of the bullet wound. Blood pools under him and she aches to get out and feel it under her fingers.
Alice makes her stay in the car.
The bar November turns her bounties into is across town. It takes exactly an hour and three minutes to get there. Fifteen of those minutes were sat parked alongside the road, throwing up more blood. Alice pats her back, tries to comfort it, but she can never feel her hand.
“November!” The bartender smiles as she approaches and already has a glass of Whiskey waiting for her.
“Got that bounty done,” she says as she pulls out her holo tablet and slides through the photos, “was a piece of cake.”
The bartender whistles, “Quick work, like always.”
A commotion at one of the many TV’s in the bar draws the bartender's attention and November follows the gaze.
[Breaking News]
“We’ve just received word that a train carrying an unknown parcel was attacked and held off by a single man locals are calling The Gunslinger. Police are asking anyone that sees this man please report his whereabouts. He is extremely dangerous and you are advised to not approach him.”
The picture they throw up on the screen is blurry. A single camera picked him up exiting the train before it stopped. He rolls off the top and makes a dash for the nearest exit. November doesn’t miss the Stetson on his head, or the red serape around his shoulders. She doesn’t miss the metal arm or the skull that’s etched into it.
“Bounty board just got updated,” the bartender says behind her.
She glances over at the holo board and sees a picture of The Gunslinger smack dab in the middle.
WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE
$60,000,000 REWARD
November smiles something fierce and accepts the bounty, along with a hundred other bounty hunters. She’s not worried about the others. They don’t know Gunslinger like she does. They don’t have a personal connection to him.
They haven’t wanted him dead for seven years.