A young man walked alone into the shanty town. The air was hot and dry and the wind was blowing sand all around. He had a scarf over his mouth and nose too keep the offending sediment out of his airways. He turned his eyes up to an old sign as he passed it.

'Welcome to Outset', the words were spelled out in faded red paint on the sun bleached wood. The young man smirked a little. The name of this town was a joke in and of itself. It was the first town most travelers encountered after entering the badlands as it was very close to the border.

As he made his way through the town he spotted his objective, a group of three large, obnoxious men. He kept his distance but followed them as they made their way into the town square. He pulled down his scarf and swallowed nervously as he pressed the button on his earpiece.

"Rubi, this is Alden. I think...I think, I found them. Can you see them?"

Rubi yawned and placed her hand over her mouth as she leaned up against her gun. She placed her eye against the scope, watching her partner walk into the town.

"О времени, когда он туда попал." She snorted and picked up here bottle of vodka and took a long swig. Once she heard him speak into the radio and sighed and placed her hand on her ear. "Of course I see them." Rubi set her bottle down, making sure she didn't knock it over. "I'm almost out of Vodka...so hurry up."

"We get to have fun with these guys, yes?" She watched Alden. "We make them freak, yes?" Rubi was looking forward to the game they had planned. They'd all be watching Alden. They're never know what was actually happening until it was too late.

Alden nodded and pressed his earpiece again. "Yes Rubi, just like we planned." He released the button and nodded in the general direction of her position in the hills. He couldn't tell if Rubi's excitement was due to confidence or inebriation, but it did help him relax a little. He gulped as he got closer to the men.

They were a dangerous group, Wes Dalton and his two cohorts. The three of them had amassed quite a reputation by attacking unguarded traders. They stole everything with value from their victims before killing them. He and Rubi had followed a trail of clues and stripped hover-skiffs to Outset. Now the time had come to claim their bounty.

"Wes Dalton!" Alden called out, approaching the group.

The three men turned and one of them spoke up, he was slightly taller than the other two and wore a dark duster with a rifle strapped to his back. "Who the hell are you?"

Alden pulled off his scarf, using the motion to turn his earpiece mic on. "My name is Alden Andrews. And I'm here for the bounty on your head." He began to count down from 50 in his head like they had practiced.

"Good." Rubi pulled her hand away from the mic and moved her hand down and placed her finger on the trigger. She listened to the mic, hearing his voice and the voices around him. "This is like taking candy from baby."

She adjusted the angle as she focused on the three men around Alden, keeping and eye out for others that might try and get involved. Rubi also did her own countdown to herself quietly. Rubi looked down at her bottle and sighed, moving her attention back to her scope.

"Это не займет много времени. Тогда мы можем пойти в бар."

The three men laughed and Wes stepped forward. "Bahaha! Get a load of this little shit." He grinned, and looked Alden dead in the eyes.

35...34....33...

"And how do you plan to claim that bounty eh kid?" He took another step forward. "Do you even know how to fight?" His two cronies howled with laughter as he jeered Alden.

29...28...27...

Alden pulled a small metal rod from his belt, it extended telescopically and a pair of blades came to a point at one end. He spun the metal spear over his head and planted it at his side. Electricity crackled along the blades. 'Don't show the fear...gotta keep them interested...'

12...11...10...

"Hahahahah! Oh god, what is that? Wes was laughing even harder and the other two were practically in tears. "Tell you what kid...I'll let you have the first shot before I kill you." He spread his arms and narrowed his eyes. "Better make it a good one."

9...8...7...

Alden raised his other arm, pointing at Wes with his hand shaped into a 'pistol'.

6...5...4...

One of the cronies feel over from laughter.

3...2...1...

Alden moved his thumb down.

Rubi lifted her head up from the scope, resting her chin on it for a moment.

9...8..7

She ran her fingers through her hair, lowering her eye back down against the scope, watching Alden.

6...5...4

Rubi smirked and licked her lips as her excitement for what was about to come next grew. She hummed to herself, tapping her non trigger hand on the ground as she counted in her head.

3...2...1

Her lips curled into a smirk. As soon as Alden moved his thumb, Rubi pulled the trigger. A large hole appeared in the middle of Wes' chest. Seconds later his thugs had matching holes as well.

Alden smirked a little as red blossomed from the new holes in the trio. "How's that for a first shot?" He spun the spear one more time as it retracted. He waved to the shocked towns people. before speaking into the mic again. "Nice shooting Rubi, now lets turn these three in." He turned the mic off and opened his bag. Some of the people who had seen this event unfold were starting to panic It would be best to have their warrants on hand, just in case.

He shivered a little as he tied up the bodies to be transported. He was never a fan of this part. Or, for that mater, the parts where Rubi used him as bait or a distraction. He sighed and continued his work. 'Oh well... If I wasn't around she probably wouldn't be able to stay focused on one hunt for any length of time.'

Rubi looked over the town through her scope. Once she didn't see another threat and sat back and started to pick up her items. She stuffed her bottle back into her coat. Rubi stood up and slung her rifle over her shoulder, letting it rest on her back.

Rubi started down the hill humming to herself as she headed towards the town. She could stay focused on missions. She'd get to it eventually. She reached into her coat and pulled out her Vodka and looked into the mouth. "Almost all gone. Pity. We must hurry up and get money, then Vodka."

Alden grumbled as he dragged the bodies towards the marshal's office. "I can't believe I'm doing this alone. I should have left them laying there until she came to move them." He smiled and laughed to himself as he thought about it. Realizing that would probably earn him an empty bottle to the head. He wouldn't say Rubi was violent towards him, just easily frustrated when something was keeping her from her pay.

He looked in the direction of Rubi's hiding spot, and saw her already inside the city. He raised his hand over his head and waved to her. "Here for the paycheck eh?" He pointed to a building over his shoulder. "Well the marshal's office is right here, so you're just in time."

"Жарко. Не большой поклонник тепла." She fanned herself and spotted Alden. "Finally." She walked over to him and crossed her arms. "We're leaving soon, yes? I do not like this heat. Never had this at home." She looked up at the building and grinned.

"Of course I'm here for paycheck. They better pay up to. We took them out easily. Everyone else had trouble. Pathetic." She then stared to walk towards the door. "Hurry hurry.. We'll go to bar after this. I want a drink."

"Yeah yeah let's go." Alden said, picking up the ropes and dragging the bodies up to the door, he leaned them up against the outside wall. "And what do you mean you need a drink? I saw you go up that hill with a full bottle." He heard her huff behind him as he opened the door.

Two men were inside the marshal's office. An older man in the traditional dark blue marshal's uniform with a badge and a bushy grey mustache. "Can I help you two?" He sat up straight in his chair. The other man, who was younger but in the same uniform and filling out some paperwork, also looked at them.

"We're here to collect the bounty on the Dalton trio." Alden said.

"Oh is that so?" The marshal raised his eyebrow. "Ya don't look like much of a fighter, boy."

"Well, actually, Rubi here put them down for good."

The men looked at each other and laughed.

"So? I go through bottle easy." She waved her hand and stepped inside and crossed her arms. She was more concerned with her empty bottle then what was going on in the room. Once she heard the last few parts she looked up at the two males as her eyebrow twitched in anger.

"Почему? Потому что я женщина? Глупые свиньи!" She slammed her hands down on the table and glared. "Я убью вас обоих прямо сейчас, если мне не нужны награды деньги! Вы ленивы жира разгильдяев!"

The older man held up his hands. "Easy, easy. It was a test." He produced a back of coins from under the table. "Ya think I didn't hear people talking about you're little display out there? Just wanted to see some of that fire for myself." He handed the bag to Alden. "I understand if you and your lady friend don't want to talk about it right now, but I feel like you two could do some real good out in the badlands."

Alden had managed to calm Rubi down a little with the bag of coins and was trying to usher her out the door. "I'll hear you out tomorrow Officer." He nodded at them. "Come on, Rubi let's go to that bar you kept eyeing on the way here." He hoped he could get her out of the office with no further confrontation.

"Тест? Не смешно. Никогда не оскорбляйте моих навыков." She glared at the marshal and then looked down at the bag of money. Rubi calmed down and turned towards the door with the promise of booze. She eyed the two other males before she looked over at Alden.

"About time!" She scoffed and grabbed his jacket, tugging him down the street. She muttered in Russian quietly. "These jokes are not funny." Once she saw the bar her eyes lite up and let go of his jacket and made her way inside. Rubi pushed the door open ad looked down, moving to the counter and sat on a stool. "Vodka." She tapped her fingers on the counter and started to survey the bar.

"Очаровательное место." Her lip curled a little and sighed, placing her chin in her hand.

Alden brushed off his jacket and looked up at the bar in front of him. 'The Angel's Share' the words were painted on a sign over the door. He stepped inside and looked around. Like most of the buildings in Outset it was fairly well maintained. There were people sitting on the tables enjoying food and drinks, and the atmosphere was lively. He spotted Rubi at the bar and took a seat next to her. As he looked over the shelf of alcohol behind the bar he could feel people stealing glances at them. "Looks like we made an impression..."

"Well what do you expect?" A woman stepped in front of them, behind the bar. She appeared to be in her late twenties, with sandy blonde hair pulled into a messy ponytail and a pair of oval glasses resting on her nose. She wore a red blouse with a black tie and vest. "You two blew into town and killed three people in the town square. That ain't exactly a normal thing." She handed Rubi her drink. "Here you go hun."

Rubi kept her attention at the bottles behind the bar. Her eyes glanced over the labels. She didn't even notice Alden sit down until he spoke. "Hmm?" She blinked and looked over at him. "Oh..yeah!" She nodded. "конечно!" Rubi nodded. "I bet they haven't seen people like us."

She sat up when the bartender spoke. Rubi spotted her vodka in her hand and shifted in her seat. "They were wanted." She quickly picked up the glass and took a sip before she pulled it away. "Don't kill innocent people." She swirled the liquid in the glass for a moment before she finished it. "There a place to stay around here? Close to bar, maybe?"

The woman nodded and pointed to a stairwell. "Yeah there are rooms upstairs. But I think there's only one vacancy tonight..." She pulled a small notebook out from under the bar, apparently a registry. She traced a finger along the pages. "Yeah only one room tonight. That shouldn't be a problem though eh?" She looked at Alden and winked.

Alden had been reading a drink menu when he snapped his head up at her words. "Wha-what?"

"Hmm?" The woman raised an eyebrow. "You two aren't together?"

"No." Alden said, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers.

"Ah alright, well sorry. It's not often you see people working together out here. Unless they're a gang or an item so I just assumed. She shrugged. "Well, can I get you a drink in that case?"

"Yeah that would be nice, thanks." Alden watched as she poured another glass of straight vodka like she did for Rubi. He took the glass and sipped it, he cringed slightly. He could handle alcohol but preferred not to drink it on it's own.

"I'm Ashley by the way." The woman said, picking up a dirty glass from another patron and beginning to clean it. "Could I get the names of today's heroes?"

Rubi looked up the stairs at the doors on the second floor. "One huh?" She made a slight face. Maybe she could find someone and just kick them out. It would have been easy enough. She placed her chin in her hand as she continued to drink.

"Hmm?" She looked over at the bartender before she coughed, choking on her vodka. She pounded on her chest. "Вот почему я ненавижу людей." She shook her head and sat up straight. "Don't assume." Rubi rolled her eyes and went back to her drink, muttering more.

Once she finished her drink and pushed the empty glass away and looked over at Ashley. "Rubi." She waved her glass a little. "And I want another."

"Right away Miss Rubi." Ashley poured more vodka into her glass with a smile. She then turned to Alden. "And how about you? What's your name?"

"Alden" he said, finishing his drink. "And 'heroes' is probably a little strong." he said with a slight laugh. "We're just hunters." He looked over at Rubi. "Well, she's a hunter. I tend to fall more under the 'bait' description."

Ashley snorted and hook her head. "Well...whatever works yeah?" She grinned at the pair. "You do put on a hell of a show."

"I thought that up myself." Once her glass was filled she picked it up. "Pretty good, yes?" She laughed a little and swung her feet. "I had to convince Alden to do it. Told him he wasn't going to get injured. I was right." She took another sip from her glass.

She downed her vodka before she set the glass down and stood up. "I'm going to turn in. Must check over my baby anyway." She patted the rifle on her back.

"Yeah for once.." Alden said, pointing to bandages visible on his head and neck. "Though...credit where credit is do. He nodded. "This one went exactly as planned." He payed for his drink and stood up with her. "Well, if there's only the one room, I suppose I'll go set up the sidecar to sleep in." He turned and exited the bar.

"Sidecar? Like...to a motorcycle?" Ashley laughed and shook her head. "Making him sleep outside eh? You bounty hunters are a no nonsense bunch."

She headed up to the room and pushed the door open. "Hey Alden!" She looked behind her. "You don't have to sleep in the sidecar. Room has two beds." She walked into the room ad walked over to the bed next to the window. She tossed her jacket off and walked into the bathroom closing the door. "Мне нужен горячий душ."

Alden called back to her. "Good to know." He walked towards the edge of the town looking up at the sky. The sun was setting and a few stars were starting to appear. He smiled to himself, the badlands were surprisingly nice when no one was trying to kill him. He reached the edge of town and grabbed the rest of their stuff out of the saddlebags. Rubi claimed this bag was clothing, but it was heavy. He returned to the inn with the other bags and said goodnight to the Ashley before heading up to the room. He heard the shower and knocked on the door. "Rubi. Your clothes are in the bag outside the door." He set the bag against the door and sat down on the couch, pulling out one of his books.

"Good." She called from the bathroom, focusing back on her shower. Her clothes where in the bag, along with some of her guns and ammo. She turned the water off when she was done. Rubi opened the door a crack and pulled the bag inside, closing it after. Once she was dressed she opened the door and walked over to one of the beds and sat down, laying back. "Я устал. Я думаю, что я мог спать в течение нескольких дней." She stretched and closed her eyes, placing her hands behind her head.

Alden stood up and set his book (A Beginner's Guide to Russian) down on the nightstand. He picked his bag up off of the other bed and headed into the bathroom. He put his old clothes in the bag and tossed his old bandages into the trash. After his shower he put on the shirt and pants he slept in. He decided to leave the bandages off until morning. They were uncomfortable to sleep in, and the wounds mere mostly scars at this point anyway. He stepped out into the room, setting his bag on the floor and laying against the headboard and opening the book again.