Harry Watt Bounty Hunter

by Rob Guy

  Stop it, you idiot! Concentrate!

  As far as Harry could see through the throng, there was no one near her, not even Daisy, thank goodness. A quick glance around, he noted another exit behind her. He darted into the crowd, not taking his eyes off Clyde. The man mountain stopped, and turned his head this way and that. Good, he’d lost them, for the present. Running as best he could crouched down, he sneaked up behind Angel. Taking a second to gaze upon her perfect posterior, he grabbed her by the hips and yanked her backwards, taking care not to use his broken fingers. She squealed, and Harry was quick to place his good hand over her mouth, but this didn’t stop Angel taking a bite. Harry grimaced, but didn’t scream, though it hurt like hell. He dragged her into the vacant room and kicked the door shut.

  “Angel it’s me, Harry! Harry!”

  “Mmhffrrmmh!”

  “Don’t scream, please. It’s me. It’s Harry.”

  “Mmhffrrmmh!”

  Angel managed to work free as Harry relaxed his grip, and took another bite, this time drawing blood. And this time Harry did scream, boy did he scream. She spun on him and aimed an accurate kick at his nethers. He moaned like all good men before him, and took a right hook to the jaw for good measure, which sent him staggering backwards. He swayed for a second before dropping to his knees, and rolled over onto his side.

  “Okay. Guess I deserved that,” he said, in a voice not unlike Hackman’s. “Do what you will. I am lost, I am lost.”

  Another hit was on its way when Angel stopped in mid kick, recognition finally filling her face. “Harry! It is you! Oh shit, honey bunch. Are you all right?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” his voice vaguely his own. “Honey bunch? That’s nice of you.”

  “Oh my dear.” She rushed to put her arms round him but stopped suddenly. “You scared the shit out of me! What were you thinking?” For a few seconds Angel’s well-honed survival skills kicked in again, (no pun intended), and she resumed her attack. She was fierce, and Harry could do nothing but lie where he was and take his punishment.

  This truly is the end. I’ve killed the most popular mascot in the System, I’m a murder suspect, and I’m about to be beaten to a pulp by a twenty-something, forty-five kilogram redhead. Oh death, where is thy sting?

  After what seemed an hour, but was only a few seconds, Angel desisted, and plonked her perfect behind on the floor next to him, breathing heavily.

  “Are you done?” asked Harry. It was an effort to speak. “I mean carry on if you want, you have every right. Just let me turn over. That way I can get an all over beating.”

  He moved, but decided it was too much trouble. Angel was staring at him, undecided as to either take him up on his offer or to administer comfort. Thankfully for Harry she chose the latter. She shuffled towards him, and inspected his bitten hand. From a pocket in the band around her waist she took out a paper napkin, spat into it, and proceeded to dab it over the cut. She didn’t talk, but merely concentrated on tending his wounds. He looked at her in wonder.

  “Thank you,” he said simply.

  “For what?” she replied curtly, not looking up.

  “For not running out the door and screaming, ‘he’s in here!’”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “You’re sore at me, I can understand. It’s just…”

  “I don’t want to know. You must have a good reason for doing what you did. Poor Jonny.”

  Harry groaned and fell back on the floor, holding a hand to his forehead. He started laughing, and found he couldn’t stop despite the racking pain in his chest and abdomen. Needless to say this did not go down well with Angel. She threw his hand away and spun round.

  “I’m sorry, Angel,” Harry said, tears spilling from his eyes. “You and Dolores aside this has been the worst day ever.”

  She turned on her bottom to face him. “You and Dolores? Are you serious?”

  “Well….”

  “Aahh!”

  Hell hath no fury….

  Unknown to Harry, though he was now finding out the hard way, Angel was a karate Sho-dan and a tae-kwon-do Sabum, sixth degree, as well as being an expert Thai kick boxer. Though chivalry demands that you don’t hit a man when he’s down, Angel was not a man, and chivalry is generally reserved between men anyway. She pounded Harry’s torso, venting her anger and then some. It was at this stage of proceedings that Harry felt at least three ribs pop. But he was beyond pain. He just wanted the assault to finish so he could concentrate on dying.

  “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he said, his voice straining to be heard. “Please stop. You win. I had no idea our twenty minutes meant that much to you.”

  “You bastard!” And she punched him in the stomach as a fiat accompli.

  Harry let out a low groan and rolled over again. “Find a happy place,” he said hoarsely. “Find a happy place.”

  Instinct forced him into the foetal position, and he lay there for the next five minutes, unaware of the world, his troubles pounding on his mind and body like Satan himself, with the entire horde of tortured souls of Hades thrown in for good measure.

  He saw a grey mist, and out of the mist came a voice, tugging at his consciousness like a lifebuoy.

  “Each must find their own road, Harry my boy. But yours does not lead to perdition. Get up, you asshole.”

  “Huh? Larry?”

  “Who else? Get up now.”

  “Larry. Oh thank God. Where have you been?”

  “Doing your job for you. You need to get up, Harry. It’s not safe here. They’re checking every building round here. You need to move. You can trust the girl.”

  “It’s all gone nuts. For the first time in my life I don’t know what to do.”

  “You need to calm down and focus.”

  “Calm down? I’m a damn murder suspect!”

  “Is that the best you can do?”

  “What?”

  “You were never really good at swearing, Harry, unlike Manny.”

  “What! Okay. I’m a fucking murder suspect! There. That better?” Harry exploded, imitating his Irish associate.

  “Yes. That’s better. More passion. It’s going to be needed. Come on now, you need to get moving.”

  “I can’t move. I think my ribs are broken. Ow!” He tried, and finally managed to sit up again. “Larry?”

  “Hush now, honey bunch. You’re delirious. Oh Harry. I’m so sorry I hit you.”

  “Angel? Where’s Larry?”

  “I don’t know who that is. You passed out. You had me worried. I’m so sorry.”

  “Passed out? How long?”

  “Ten minutes, maybe longer. You were talking to yourself. You really scared me.”

  Harry recoiled and closed his eyes, arms up in a feeble defensive gesture, but no more fists came a-flying. “Ten minutes you say?” he said, opening one eye. Angel nodded at him. He could see she looked worried, either for their safety or for what she had done to him.

  “I think there are policemen outside,” she said, biting her lip.

  Oh God, that is so sexy. Stop it, you bloody fool! Get a grip!

  Suddenly, Harry, like he’d just received a charge to his testicles, jumped up off the floor and looked around. He winced at his ribcage and placed a throbbing hand there, the one he’d trapped in the door during his escape from Hackman. The two middle fingers looked like a pair of burnt carrots. The other, bearing teeth marks, he offered to Angel.

  “Come on, sweetheart,” he said, in his best macho voice. “We need to move. Now.”

  “Okay,” she answered, in that perfect feline whisper. No objections, just blind trust. Even then, Harry thought how brave she was.

  She took his hand and he pulled her up. She fell into his arms and looked up at him, finally accepting that this man had indeed saved her life. Those eyes, that hair, those lips. What the hell! They kissed, and for Harry the whole damn world could go fuck itself, for three seconds at least.

  “Better?” she asked in a sexy undertone, stroking his
chest.

  “You bet, baby. But we really do need to move. Come on.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “Anywhere but here for the time being.”

  “I have an aunt.”

  “Good for you. But we…”

  “No, silly. I have an aunt that I live with, in the East district.”

  “Oh I see. How far?”

  “How far?” Angel giggled, and a dimple formed on either cheek. “You’re new to the Station aren’t you?” Harry made a face. “Two blocks, about five minutes.”

  “I get your point. It’s not a big place. I have kinda figured that out already. Okay, let me check the exit then you can lead the way.”

  Harry very slowly opened the door and peered outside. Sure enough, what passed for local law enforcement was busy checking each building. He guessed they had about two minutes. He motioned Angel to take a look. She did so, and Harry couldn’t stop himself from taking another opportunity to inspect her perfectly shaped backside. She glanced back, and saw what he was doing. She smiled a wicked smile, took his hand, and led them out.

  “Boy, I didn’t think they would be this serious about it,” Angel commented as they skirted the plaza.

  “Indeed,” replied Harry. He tried not to show it, but every movement was an agony. He had definitely fractured some ribs, and his crotch hurt like hell. Added to that the fingers he had caught in the door handle had swelled up even more to resemble a pair of rotten bananas. His jaw too looked like a badly designed golf course. He was walking like a chimpanzee, and steadily getting lower and lower. Eventually he had to stop. Even if all the flatfoots in the System were after him, he could go no further. Angel had certainly down the deed on him. He slumped down on the wall, people milling about them.

  “Harry, it’s not far now. We can’t stay here.”

  “I can’t go any further.” Harry found he was short of breath, his face stretched as he tried to hide the pain. “Angel, I need to tell you something, and you’re not going to like it. I cannot risk you getting involved any further. You should go. This was a mistake.”

  “Oh here it comes. You’re married, aren’t you? Well do you think you’re the first guy to lie to me about that? I don’t care. I’ve got a thick skin.”

  “No no. It’s nothing like that. I’m not married. Well, I was. But that was a long time ago. I have a daughter too, not much younger than you actually, but that’s not what I want to talk to you about.”

  “You have a daughter? How old?”

  “Erm, fourteen I think.”

  “You think? You don’t know how old your own daughter is?”

  “She’s fourteen, I’m pretty sure.”

  “Where is she?”

  “Back on Earth with her mother. But that’s not the point.”

  “You think?”

  “Look, forget it. You should go. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s too late for that, don’t you think? Tell me how I can help.”

  Harry sighed, and rested his head on the wall. “I’m booked on The Infinity Wing, heading for Mars day after next. I can’t miss that flight.” Angel made to say something, but stopped herself. “But first I’m going to need a doctor. Do you know anyone I can go to, someone who won’t ask too many questions?”

  “There’s Doctor Noe. He’s a bit of a quack, but he takes care of the girls when required.”

  “Sweetheart, we are talking compound fractures here, not a social disease. And maybe, I think, a ruptured spleen.” Harry adjusted his posture and pulled a face.

  “I’ve never had one of those,” Angel pouted. “How dare you.”

  “I didn’t mean to offend you. You’re a sweet girl. You don’t belong in that place.”

  “Miss Richards, that is, Dolores, takes good care of us. Besides, this was my last day believe it or not. Me and my aunt are shipping out the day after next.”

  “Really? Where to?”

  Angel made a smug face. “Take a wild guess.”

  Oh that’s just dandy. “Mars. Wow, that’s great. I’m really pleased for you.”

  “Well try and sound it. My aunt and I have bought land in the Lowell district. We’re having our own house built. With this new StraightLine Drive you can be there in twelve days instead of six weeks.”

  “So I’ve heard.”

  There was a brief pause. “Harry?”

  “Mmh.”

  “Why did you come into the bar? Was it to see me? Or Daisy?” She made a noise. “Why did you kill Jonny?”

  “That’s what I need to talk to you about. We sort of went off track there. But I’m feeling a bit better now. Let’s move. We can talk later.”

  Angel seemed satisfied with that and helped him up. “Do you want me to hold anything?”

  “You can, gorgeous, but we may get arrested.”

  Despite herself, Angel giggled her cute giggle. “You are silly.”

  Harry allowed himself to be supported by this delightful, diminutive beauty that seemed to belie her size with her physical strength. He couldn’t recall many men who had hit him harder. And boy was she fast.

  10

  Heidi

  They reached Angel’s aunt’s apartment without further mishap. Angel had managed to make a call from a public booth warning her of their arrival. Her aunt naturally wanted to know what had happened. Harry spent a tense couple of minutes waiting, his eyes everywhere, while Angel relayed the brief details. Once at the apartment, Angel’s aunt Heidi met them, and Harry was struck by another beauty, though not an Oriental one that he was expecting. Heidi was Caucasian, around forty, slim, only a little heavier and taller than Angel, and curved in all the places where a woman should be curved. Her hair was a shock of short-cropped platinum blonde, trimmed into hoops below each ear, and in stark contrast to Angel’s sensational flame top. But what drew Harry in most were her eyes; deep brown, intense, with a spray of tiny freckles below them and across her nose.

  Together, the two women placed Harry breathless on the living room couch.

  “Aunt Heidi, this is Mr Watt.”

  Harry picked up straight away on the formal introductions. Angel had changed her demeanour completely for her aunt. Either this was to continue if Heidi was strict, or what he hoped would happen is that once he had been introduced the formalities would be dropped.

  Heidi extended a slender, soft hand, nails manicured and painted red. “How do you do, Mr Watt.”

  “Harry, please.” He took the hand and resisted the temptation to kiss it. “I can see where your niece gets her good looks.”

  “Well aren’t you the charmer? Mr Watt, I have to truly thank you for what you did.”

  “I was in the right place at the right time. Anyone else would have done the same.”

  “Up here I doubt that very much. It was extremely brave and selfless. Thank you.”

  “Well then, I will say you’re welcome.”

  “Excuse me. I’ll get some water and ice for your hand.”

  Harry watched Heidi move across the floor with a wide smile. She was barefoot, which to Harry only heightened the sensuality of a woman, with her toenails colored in the same deep red as her fingers, and dressed in a simple black one-piece. She walked with a smooth rolling motion, her hips accentuating all movement.

  This woman enjoys a carefree outlook to life. But something tells me I wouldn’t want to cross her.

  Angel noticed his appreciative glance at her aunt’s rear, and narrowed her eyes at him.

  “Angela, can you get some towels from the bathroom, please,” Heidi called from the kitchen. “Also, ask Mr Watt if he would like some tea.”

  “Okay.”

  “Angela?” said Harry, eyebrow raised.

  “Yes. Any questions?”

  “No. It’s a very nice name. Do you want me to start calling you Angela?”

  “No, I do not want you to start calling me Angela, thank you very much.”

  “Tea?” came Heidi’s voice once more.

  “Yes, he’l
l have some tea,” Angel hollered back.

  “Yes, apparently I will. Does your aunt know what you do?”

  “Of course she does. What kind of question is that? I have no secrets from her.” Angel opened her hands at him. “She used to do it too, but now runs the financial side of things. She works mainly from home.”

  “I see. Does she know we were together earlier?”

  “Were we? I had no idea.” Harry made a noise. “She doesn’t need to be told. Aunt Heidi has a sixth sense for these kind of things.”

  “And what kind of things are we talking about? Are you in the habit of bringing clients home or just those who saved your life?” Harry closed his eyes. You idiot! “I’m sorry, Angel, I shouldn’t have said that. Please forgive me.”

  “Of course I forgive you. After all, you saved my life.”

  “Try not to sound that sarcastic will you? Is your aunt seeing anyone?”

  Angel glared at him. “Boy, you move right along don’t you?”

  “I only…”

  “Don’t go getting any ideas, Harry. You’re here because I did this to you and I want to make things right. And…” Angel trailed off and turned away.

  Harry took a deep breath. His line of questioning had paid off, and he hated himself for what he was about to say. “Angel. Angel, look at me.” She turned round but wouldn’t look at him. “I am very flattered, but we’ve known each other a matter of hours. Your feelings only stem from what I did.”

  “That’s not true. Why would you say that?”

  “Because it needs to be said. Are you saying that if nothing had happened to you, and I had just walked in to Delilah’s you wouldn’t have treated me like all the other punters?”

  “Now you’re just being cruel.”

  “No I’m not. I’m being realistic.”

  “Don’t you like me?”

  “Of course I do. What’s not to like? But hell. I’m sure I’m old enough to be your father. You know absolutely nothing about me.”