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Cole let out a long drag of smoke escape his mouth. The dark cloud flew past him as his boots knocked against the ground beneath him. He was heading to the VEA’s office to reconvene with his boss, Sanjay, and provide him with any useful information he discovered on his evening patrol.
Unfortunately, the only “useful” information he gathered was that his favorite dosa food stand would be closing down soon. Suravasa was a community that heavily relied on local and family-owned businesses—A humble village, as one might say.
Out of the corner of his eye, Cole spotted two women speaking among themselves in hushed whispers. He couldn’t help the glance he gave them, which he immediately regretted when they met his gaze in disgust; one woman gestured to her left arm, then back at Cole.
Cole exhaled and brought the cigar to his mouth to take a much longer drag.
“They think I’m with those Vishkar bastards,” Cole grumbled to himself. Tucking his prosthetic arm out of sight from the audience he unintentionally gathered. He thought about confronting them, clarifying that his arm was a prosthetic, not a hard-light gauntlet like the one his boss had. And if it were a few months earlier, he would have.
But ever since Vishkar was given quarantine jurisdiction, the power to put the town into quarantine, the tension between the locals and Vishkar's personnel grew. It was clear the women already suspected his loyalties; they wouldn’t stick around to hear him out.
It was as if the more Cole told people he wasn’t affiliated with Vishkar, the more he didn’t believe it himself. It’s been several months since he started working with Vishkar, not for them. At least, that's how it started. He had been a wandering bounty hunter for years before this. Didn’t matter what he did, just that he was paid. Yet, when Vishkar first offered their first bounty to him, he didn’t expect him to be calling a man his boss and coming in to work like it was o’l 9-5 a couple of months down the line.
Soon enough, he reached the office door, holding the knob a second longer than he needed to before letting out a breath as he begrudgingly entered the building. Immediately, he met with a familiar yet unnerving smile from his boss, Sanjay Korpal.
“A little late, Cassidy—something else has your attention?” He mused, clasping his hands together as Cole walked up to him.
Cole forced out a chuckle, since sticking to famillitarites would get him out of here a whole lot faster than saying anything he actually wanted to say.
“Just enjoying the evening breeze. Today’s been quiet, seems like people are staying out of trouble,” he explained, though he didn’t feel as if he had to; it’s not like he was keeping his boss waiting for 15 minutes—He was probably just shy a minute at most, yet he was used to Sanjay being uptight about punctuality.
The man’s smile faltered for half a second, disapproval flickering across his face before speaking. “Sounds to me that you haven’t gathered any new information regarding future attacks,” He gestured to a chair in front of him, as if he was putting Cole in timeout, “I expect better from you—gunslinger,” Sanjay chided, adding that ‘cute’ little nickname he seemed fond of calling him as of late.
“Future attacks” in this instance were referring to the recent riots going on in the village of Suravasa. It was why the town was in lockdown—“counterinsurgency measures” in Vishkar's words.
It first began earlier this year when there was a huge break-in at one of Vishkar’s highest offices in Roshani. While everything was reportedly recovered, the damage was immense—to the point that Vishkar started to suspect it was organized. After some investigation, Vishkar could pinpoint some of the criminals in Suravasa. Behind closed doors, Vishkar was given jurisdiction to “track and arrest those responsible”.
That’s at least what Cole was told back when he first joined. Those were the majority of his bounties when he was first contracted by the company: Those involved in the riots or people potentially connected to the attacks. What was supposed to be taken care of within a few weeks turned into months, with Cole struggling to complete the bounty that “would end this ‘lockdown’ for the citizens—the leader of the riots.
However, his recent lack of results didn’t mean he was going to just let Sanjay trivialize him. “Never said I didn’t. Believe it or not, I got a theory on the motivations of the next attack. You know why they’re gonna do it, you’ll know where they’re gonna do it.” Cole deflected Sanjay’s attempts to ridicule him, giving a wink and finger guns to further goad him in return.
Sanjay raised his eyebrows, huffing a little, part amusement, part disbelief, “Then I won’t keep you from withholding that information any longer, Cassidy.” Sanjay insisted with his arms open, drawing out Cole’s last name like it was earned.
Cole actually had absolutely no clue what motivations the leader of the riots had. He just didn't want Sanjay to go into a long monologue about how his ability as a bounty hunter has lost its edge.
Though he was smart, it didn't take long for him to come up with something convincing. Funnily enough, his theory began with how his favorite dosa stand closed down. He lived in Suravasa long enough to know how its economy worked—before Vishkar took over it, that is.
A few months ago, shortly after Vishkar declared the lockdown, they also enforced a new list of regulations for the local market. The result was families being left without a source of income. To make matters worse, the company manufactured its own corporate dependency on the citizens, who never once touched a product of theirs to begin with. So any income that the villagers did manage to make just went back into Vishkar’s greedy pockets.
Given all of this in mind, Cole had a clear picture of why and how the rioter orchestrated his attacks. He’ll primarily target Vishkar's run operations, would try to avoid civilian casualties, all while causing the most costly damage the company needed to clean up after. His motivations were just as easy to guess; if it’s Vishkar-related, it was gonna get targeted.
So Cole gave Sanjay a story about how food stalls and corner shops were closing down one by one, feeding into the corporate dependency. Every single penny was going into the hands of the corporation, which was responsible for ruining their lives. The conclusion? The company’s supply chain would be the next target.
Sanjay took a moment of consideration before replying. “Given the pattern of their recent attack, your theory is plausible; our supply lines are a likely target.” Sanjay agreed, nodding in approval.
But…? Cole raised his eyebrow in anticipation—Sanjay was never known to accept any of his theories without some critique.
Sanjay continued, “However,” Cole huffed under his breath. “You have been misled by the one leading the attacks. Humanitarianism is not of this one's concern. It's clear that his motive has always been of a destructive nature, even before the lockdown. You lack perspective.” Sanjay asserted smoothly, like he had just given Cole wise advice.
Cole scoffed, amused. “When have I ever been wrong about what this guy's gonna do? This guy clearly just wants the town to be back to how it used to be without Vishkar hogging up their space—”
“No, that is not his motivation.” Sanjay cut in, his tone clipped; his words sharp. “His actions are done with the intent to cause irreversible damage to Vishkar, not activism. He contended, not just shutting Cole down, but condemning him.
“This is not the work of a civilian.” He insisted. He drew in a measured breath, forcing composure into his words again. “These attacks are coordinated, funded, and planned. This could be the work of the Arcology factions or another organization with the resources, or an ex-collaborator of the company,” he finished explaining.
Sanjay’s tone eased back into its usual, calm inflection. He brought his hands together and turned away from Cole slowly before lifting his prosthetic to his headset, the light from his visor flickering faintly in the dark room.
….You done? Cole snarked to himself.
Cole could barely hear what Sanjay began to mutter about, yet he caught the name “Pruksamanee”; He could’ve sworn he recognized it somewhere. Cole leaned back in his chair, better to just keep quiet when Sanjay was like this—snappy, that is, he never got angry, not truly. But maybe that was worse, like a bomb that was always on the edge of detonation.
Cole heard Sanjay exhale deeply before circling back, his hands now behind his back, polished and composed as if he wasn’t on the verge of losing his temper just moments ago.
“Tomorrow, you will be patrolling around Vishkar’s more vulnerable market and resource outposts. Though I believe that an attack would be unlikely tomorrow, given that our next drop off won’t be till next Monday. Plans are likely to change, with the B.O.B. units taking over your patrols as you search for any possible leads on persons of interest who could be feeding information to the enemy.” Sanjay informed Cole of his duties for the next day. The tension in the air was already fading as if giving orders was some sort of stress relief to Sanjay.
Cole shrugged his shoulders, waving a hand vaguely. “No problem—Boss,” he replied, though he wasn’t sure if he called Sanjay boss in a cheeky sense or just to appease the man’s fragile ego.
After a few seconds without any follow-up from Sanjay, Cole motioned to the door, nonverbally asking for permission to leave. Sanjay acknowledged him with a nod, making a motion with his hand for Cole to stand up. The two began walking towards the exit, Sanjay following close behind.
As Cole’s prosthetic brushed against the door to freedom, Sanjay’s own prosthetic landed on top of his own. “One moment, Cole.” Sanjay hushed against his ear. Cole removed his hand from the door handle a second faster than he needed to, as if Sanjay’s touch burned him. He turned to face him, his arms crossing over each other protectively. He raised an eyebrow.
What was so damn important that you waited until the very last second to tell me?
“You’re work here is greatly appreciated, given the skill and risk you take every day, don’t think once that it goes unnoticed,” Sanjay murmured to Cole, his voice low but measured, like he was preparing him for bad news.
Cole’s jaw tensed, swallowing a bit, noticing Sanjay was too close for comfort. “I appreciate it,” he concurred, though he wasn’t sure where Sanjay was leading with this.
“You’re well observant when it comes to tracking our previous bounties; however, it’s clear this one has evaded your attempts to subdue him.” Was Sanjay hinting that he was losing his touch—that every other job he had completed before meant nothing?
Cole felt his throat tighten, restraining himself from biting back and challenging Sanjay on what he knew about bounty hunting. He looked on, confused about what Sanjay meant by the backhanded compliments he was giving him, but knew better to let him finish what he had to say first.
“You’re earlier remarks and speculation regarding the leader's motives show me how you’ve been approaching the issue at hand.” Sanjay speculated, pausing a bit to ensure Cole was listening before he continued. “And given that he remains elusive, I’d recommend you take into consideration how you rationalize his thought process; it could be limiting your capabilities.” He concluded matter-of-factly, his gaze lingering on Cole, his expression unreadable.
“Wha—what are you saying?” Cole implored, his tone incredulous. He lifted one of his hands in frustration, his shoulders tensing inwards. A mixture of unpleasant emotions knotted in the back of his throat, making it harder to breathe.
“It’s merely a suggestion, something I like for you to consider once you get home. It’s not an order, but rather a different strategy. I'm sure you’ll get some use out of it.” Sanjay stated nonchalantly, conversationally, if one didn’t know the context.
It’s an order. I dunno why he bothers acting like it isn’t. He’s basically calling me stupid, like I'm not able to get this job done. And that's what he calls it, a suggestion!?
Cole felt a growl threaten at the back of his throat, a retort that would put Sanjay in his place, but would keep him here for another hour if he dared let it out. He knew just by going along, he would leave this conversation behind and go home and act like it didn’t happen. But at the same time, how could he let this man, who he’s done more than enough for, think he’s no longer useful to him?
But he didn’t say any of that. He didn’t owe Sanjay anything, and he knows it. Sanjay didn’t know a damn thing about his line of work; let him yap his mouth off if it helps him sleep at night. “Thanks for the advice.” He responded plainly, letting out another forced chuckle, smiling through gritted teeth.
But before he stormed out the door, Sanjay put his hand on his shoulder. What now? It took him everything not to just shove Sanjay out of the way, every nerve in his body already seething with barely restrained anger. Despite his best efforts, Cole couldn’t resist the urge to glare at Sanjay, waiting to see what would come out of his smart mouth now.
“Easy now, cowboy.” Sanjay eased out, his words a knife wrapped in soft velvet. “Suravasa is now a safer space because of you. I can see that the well-being of the civilians here is of great importance to you.” Sanjay spoke softly now, his volume just a hint above a whisper.
“Your frustration is not only valid, but admirable—it shows how much you truly care. Your efforts…” Sanjay lifted a hand, but before Cole could react, Sanjay adjusted the brim of Cole’s hat. “...Will not be in waste,” He assured.
Cole’s body froze, the action done before his body even realized it. His eyes widened in shock. What!? Why did—? A brief flicker of disbelief and irritation flashed across his mind. He wasn’t sure what he had expected, but it sure wasn’t that. And for what? Some sick joke?
Yet, Sanjay's face didn't provide any explanation, just a genuine smile playing on his lips, one Cole wasn’t quite familiar with, like Sanjay took great pleasure in seeing Cole taken off guard. Before he knew it, Sanjay mentioned something about Cole finally being able to go home, not realizing that he had never provided him with a response until he was already outside. His feet continued to carry him regardless, taking notice of the coolness of the wind brushing against his heated skin.
By the time he reached his vehicle, Cole still couldn’t wrap his head around just what had happened. And not just Sanjay clearly violating his boundaries, but how he did it. The shock from his little stunt caught him so off guard, he had completely forgotten the crap he said about him earlier. Regardless of how he attempted to spin the story, Sanjay was clearly telling him that his methods were no longer working, at least, not for the current bounty at hand.
He even thought about lighting another cigar for the ride home, but something about it felt off, like he just couldn’t, as if the smoke would combine with the fog in his head. Was Sanjay actually trying to give him advice, and he was the one who interpreted it incorrectly?
I mean, who could blame me? The man never gives me a break. Why would he now? Cole mulled over in his head before chuckling. He’s such a bastard that even advice sounds like an insult. He rationalized that was probably the outcome Sanjay intended, just poorly executed.
Yet there was still something about the interaction he still couldn’t piece together, like Sanjay still had ulterior motives, and he probably did. Not that he had enough evidence to prove it, not yet at least. But keeping an eye on Sanjay wouldn’t hurt, considering that anyone with higher ties to Vishkar seems shady anyway.
Upon arriving at his house, he hesitated to turn the ignition off, as if the return of the silence would be too difficult to tolerate tonight. Even once inside, he didn’t feel at home; he never really did here. As he turned to his coat rack, he reached for his hat to hang, his fingers lingering on the spot where Sanjay had touched it for a few moments before he took it off.
His gaze scrutinized the headwear for a moment more before sighing.
“Your efforts…...Will not be in waste.”