ONE

It was as if the suns had never set. Although the night had technically begun, a constant pollution of artificial light illuminated the city, scaring the dark away. Jack made his own contribution to that glow, lighting up a cigarette and taking a deep enough drag for the orange glow to light his worn-out face. When the embers faded, they were replaced with plumes of smoke that went dancing into the air.

Jack's target of interest, a fugitive he had been following for four days now, was situated inside of The Den, a club of raucousness. He was a petty criminal who was operating an illegal smuggling ring, trafficking in stolen goods and anything that he could get his hands on, anything that yielded currency. These items consisted of the two most common criminal favorites, drugs and weapons, more specifically, experimental drugs and prototype weapons.

The target's trade didn't stop at things that could fry minds and put holes in bodies, though. He also worked as shadow broker, a little side-gig to feed the greed. This involved the selling and trading of information, valuable information. Whatever the need, this scum-pot got the call.

Lucky for him, he had avoided the burden of having a public name, which made him difficult to track. He went by the call sign, "The Black Rabbit," as he was quick enough to avoid capture and attention.

He had someone's attention, now.

The Black Rabbit was good at what he did, but so was Jack. Tracking down targets, nabbing them, and most importantly, bringing them in for a nice reward was his business. That was one thing he had in common with his targets, really. Crooks traded goods for money. Jack traded crooks for money.

He looked in through The Den's window from the platform, outside. It was time to intercept his target, now or never. Jack took one final look at the city. It went on for as far as the eye could see, a seemingly infinite expanse. Speedy motives and different shuttle vehicles whizzed past, moving through the city of tall and sharp high-rises that stabbed the sky.

The club's clientele was a confused mix of various alien species and humans. Even though New Terra had been colonized by humans, aliens soon took refuge and started to make themselves comfortable, calling it their home too. Perhaps it goes without saying that these extraterrestrial guests were not entirely welcome.

Jack spotted the Black Rabbit at the far end of one of the bars. He flicked his cigarette off the edge of the platform, ready to move inside. The Rabbit was known for always being on edge, so Jack took this into consideration, proceeding cautiously. The last thing he wanted to do was spook his mark and lose his payday.

Jack entered the club, or tried to.

"Stop right there." The bouncer held out a scanning device in front of Jack's face. "Hold still," the hulking guy said, as if facial recognition was some brand new technology that needed explaining.

A blue cross of light scanned the features of Jack's face. The device beeped, confirming scan's completion. The bouncer looked at the scanner's main view screen. Thousands of faces flickered past as a database was scoured for a face as rugged, tired, and "over it" as Jack's.

The bounty hunter stood there, remaining patient, at least he appeared to be on the outside. Then, the device beeped once more. A profile of Jack appeared on screen. It read the following:

-FACIAL RECOGNITION COMPLETE- 

NAME: FOX, JACK

OCCUPATION: BOUNTY HUNTER – FEDERAL ALLIANCE

CLEARANCE LEVEL: MODERATE- HIGH

IDENTIFICATION SERIAL: FJ-225-879

THREAT LEVEL: MINIMUM

-AWAITING CLEARANCE…

The bouncer lowered the scanner. "So, you're a bounty hunter. What brings you to a place like this?"

"I'm hunting a bounty."

The bouncer was not amused. "Good for you. The price to get in is one straight answer. Pay up."

"Alright. The guy is wanted by the Federal Alliance. Wouldn't it be nice to have him escorted from the premises?"

The bouncer jerked his thumb at the Den. "Half the people in here are wanted for something."

"Not like this guy. Now, are you and I done with our first date?"

The Bouncer looked Jack up and down and gave a slight grumble. "Alright. Try not to cause any trouble. Do what you have to do, and leave. Got it?"

"Got it." Jack pushed his way past the bouncer and entered the club. He was suddenly hit with a disorienting and intense wall of music and lights. People crowded the floor, either dancing or convulsing, depending on how you looked at it. Above, a plethora of colorful holographic shapes glowed and tumbled through the air.

Beyond the main floor, others were sitting in private rooms with their own personal "dancers." The Den was a popular playground for the citizens of Luminis City and travelers alike. Among them, sitting at the bar, was the Black Rabbit. He was sipping on some kind of blue cocktail with an ever-so-subtle bioluminescent glow.

Jack made his way over to an empty lounge in the far corner, where he could keep an eye on his target. All the bounty hunter had to do now was wait for the Rabbit to move. People were more vulnerable when they were focused on getting from point A to point B. On top of that, although their relationship was off to a rough start, Jack felt inclined to abide by the bouncer's wishes of "not causing any trouble." Taking the Rabbit down some place quieter would be ideal.

If only I was here to kill him.

It wouldn't take much to drop the guy and drag his highly valued corpse out of the place. Unfortunately, if Jack wanted the full payday, he had to execute this mission with precision and take the Rabbit in alive. At this point, a full payday was the only way for him to break even. He had been on this case for a good three months, following his mark to six planets, all leading up to this moment in Luminis City. Jack was tired of traveling, and he was even more tired of searching crowds for the Rabbit's gross, Surian face. Tonight was the night that the Black Rabbit was going down. Happy holidays.

Jack continued to monitor him until finally, someone else entered the picture. A young male, no more than the age of twenty, approached and exchanged a few words with the Black Rabbit, who then gestured for the young male to follow him. Jack waited to allow for safe following distance. The Black Rabbit and his client stepped into an elevator, a stalkers worst nightmare. They could be going to any floor. By some miracle, over the pulsating music, Jack heard the Black Rabbit say, "Roof access."

The doors closed. Jack quickly boarded the opposite lift and repeated the same command. As the elevator climbed, Jack thought about how much he hated being out of eyeshot from his mark. Even the three seconds that it took for the lift to climb seemed like an eternity. No matter, though, the job was almost done.

What Jack didn't know, was that someone else had their eyes on the same prize, someone who would not stop until the Rabbit was begging for mercy, until he spilled out the information she needed. Her searing desire for the truth could not burn any hotter.