#1 Jane Gets Backhanded

"Ow," I clicked my jaw back into place and groaned, "This sucks." It was all I could say. By then my mouth was so filled with bloody spit that I gagged on whatever would have come next.

Either way my would-be bounty backhanded me again. In the same spot, too, right above my left cheek bone. I felt the skin split with that familiar sting. There'd be stitches tonight.  If I didn't hate this guy before I really did now.

I spit out the waste in my mouth and rolled my eyes so hard, "You know, Banco..."

Banco stopped just before back handing me again. That smug little look on his copper tone face.  I took a deep breath through my swollen nose and cracked my neck before looking my captor in the eyes: "You're a real jerk."

Banco put his palm on my face and shoved me backwards. The entire chair I was strapped to came with me.  But I expected this, or some variation of it, so I braced for impact and taunted Banco with a laugh to spite the pain.

Banco put his boot right on my neck - just enough for me to feel it - and he leaned down into my face, "And you know what, Spacer Jane?" 

That's me, Spacer Jane, I'm tied to a chair on the floor with a boot on my neck by the guy I was supposed to capture. I looked at him inquisitively trying to pretend that I wasn't blacking out.

He continued, "You're a real bi--" but the last moments of his comment were cut off by the bullet piercing his neck.

As I watched Banco gag on his blood and fall to his knees, I got to see who pulled the trigger behind him.  It was Richard, my ... Uh.... Partner? It's complicated. But either way I was glad to see him.

"Only I get to call her that," said Richard arrogantly, pocketing his pistol and kneeling down to untie me. 

"Took you long enough," I told him, kicking the ropes off from around my ankles.  I gave Roger a kiss on the cheek while Banco bled out next to us.

"Bite me," he replied with a dimply grin.  I wanted to bite his cheeks, but I was distracted by all the bloody gurgling.  

I got to my feet and groaned at the body below me. "There goes my payday."

"D or A, babe," Richard finished undoing my ankles and heaved the corpse up onto his shoulder.

My eyes lit up with the promise of a payout, albeit reduced. D or A bounties means Dead or Alive.  It means they're wanted alive, but dead works too for less money.  

That's my life. I'm Spacer Jane and I'm a bounty hunter for the HoA, the Hunters of Attrition. We specialize in bringing in people whose statute of limitations are coming up on their crimes, also called attritionists. Which, in a galaxy as expansive as this one, with this many planets, there's a lot of work to be had.

Sometimes it's dangerous, like Banco.  Sometimes it's downright stupid, too.  Nevertheless, me and Richard always seem to make a decent payday by turning perps into the government, aka the Civil.  

Banco's  would've been worth a vacation on the Beltloop Astroids if I got him alive. But I'm okay with being able to afford a nice dinner on Three Moon. 

We get Banco's remains onto our SRS, our short range shuttle, and we all headed out as one big happy family. 

this post was originally published here as a blog entry but has been edited for this page and reported by the original author, which is me: http://www.bubblews.com/news/4559225-bubblews-fiction-spacer-jane-1