Manhunter Revelations (7 page)

Feeling a little better, and after fully
assessing my tactical situation, I took the vid comm from my
emergency pack and called my client. I was informed that they would
arrive for pickup within a half hour. That startled me for that
meant they were very close. I had assumed they were still in
Canada, and would send a local law unit to pick up Lenevos. Well
this was better. Right now I wanted nothing more than to get back
home to New Pioneer, a small town outside of Desert Oasis, the Mega
City in the Southwest Sector and some really good medical and
therapeutic care. Around twenty-five minutes later my client along
with a fair contingent of local law arrived to pick up Lenevos.
Upon seeing Lenevos condition, my client became alarmed and asked
if he was dead or dying. I explained that he wasn't, but he would
require immediate medical care. I also explained that Kilgore, his
right hand man was dead and was also Lenevos' son. This bit of
information did not seem to startle my client. When I asked why I
was told,

"We long suspected that there was a more
personal relationship between Lenevos and Kilgore. Although we
weren't able to figure out what, indications were that Lenevos was
grooming Kilgore to take over. I know we should have told you that
bit of info, but there was some security concerns in our
investigations, which suggested that this piece of info needed to
be kept quiet.

"After I had him trapped under the nest, I
used tranqdoc gas on him and he wasn't affected. Later the
nococaine darts almost didn't work either. What kind of man is he
that he could stand up under such drugs and still function"

"As compensation, an additional $50,000 MU's
will be paid to you for your efforts. I assumed $300,000 monetary
units will smooth over any disagreements we may have"

he said completely ignoring my question.

"Well let's see, $250,000 MU's to bring him
in alive and now you are paying me an additional $50,000 for my
troubles. Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but why do you
want him so bad?"

"You are so right Mr. Hutchins. Do not look a
gift horse in the mouth. Your funds have already been transferred
into your account. Good Day” With that statement I was dismissed,
and politely escorted from the warehouse. A medic took me over to
his Med-Amb unit, looked me over and stated I needed to be
hospitalized, but I declined. About twenty minutes later my client
and his crowd was driving away with Lenevos and his boys in tow.
Trust me that was a fast cleanup. I had previously arranged for the
company I rented the Capture Net from to come and retrieve their
equipment upon completion of the job. Getting confirmation that
they were on their way, I drove carefully back to my hotel. Once
back in my room I called the emergency combat medic I had retained
earlier in case I needed him. The medic arrived, checked me out and
also suggested that I be hospitalized. Declining again and having
him stabilize my injuries, I paid him and he left. Combat Merc
Medics are highly specialized medics who are skilled in stabilizing
personnel injured on the battlefield. The few who have gone private
make themselves available to select people in hazardous fields of
work who may require their services in an emergency, such as a
bounty hunter. I took a long hot shower, ordered up a thick steak
with potatoes, gravy and a couple of beers, and after gorging
myself went to bed for a good night's sleep.

I was awaken the next morning by my room comm
ringing so insistently it jumped off of the nightstand, or maybe I
knocked it off. I was so pissed to be awaken, that any action I
took against that comm unit was justified. As I picked up the comm,
I said,

"You had better be dying whoever this is, or
I will be killing you myself"

"Boss is that anyway to greet your better
half. I should quit just for that mean greeting” Looking at the vid
screen I saw it was my associate Yolanda. One of the most capable
and dangerous people I knew. Her past is clouded in secrecy, but
she was a godsend as an associate. She was also one the most
beautiful women I have ever met.

"Sorry Yolanda. Yesterday was a bad day, and
I needed some rest"

"So I heard. I contacted some friends in
Faring and was informed of your little battle there. Don't ask. I
have contacts in the strangest of places. How are you feeling?"

"Battered and beat down badly. I will be on
the evening flight out tonight, and will need Doc Med to fully
check me out tomorrow. I sustained some serious injury to my left
ankle and ribs, but I have a Cello cast on the ankle and my ribs
have been stabilized for now. I also have a minor burn to my
stomach. They all will be stable until I get back"

"I figured as much. I have sent over some
therapeutic help to get you through the day, until your flight.
Enjoy"

"Damn it Yolanda, I don't need any help, just
a few more hours of sleep. Call off your help and let me rest in
peace"

"You almost died in pieces. The help I sent
will insure that you heal in peace and should be at your door right
about now. See you later tonight"

She then hung up. To verify her statement,
the doorbell started ringing. Cussing to myself, I checked my
scanners to see if any weapons was present outside my door. Getting
a negative reading, I got up and hobbled over to the door to send
the troublesome help running. I just needed some sleep, not a damn
nursemaid. Getting to the door I yanked it open and opened my mouth
to send away the help, but froze with my mouth open. Standing there
was a vision of womanly loveliness, which took my breath away. She
was a head shorter than me, but full figured in all of the right
places. Her angelic face was a nice rich tan that you could see she
had acquired from years of living under a tropical sun. She had a
slight angular face that was very beautiful, especially her rich
full and tempting lips. Her voice though when she spoke was the
deciding factor. When she spoke, I was hooked. Completely.

"Hello Mr. Hutchins. My name is Viela. Ms.
Dormans sent me over to tend to your medical needs. May I come
in?"

"Yes. Yes by all means, please come in and
please, just call me Conrad"

"Fine, and you can call me Viela"

"Okay Viela. What medical field are you
trained in?

"The therapeutic kind Mr. Hutchins, The
therapeutic kind"

At that point I closed the door, she advanced
on me and commenced to soothe all of my medical needs.

Chapter Two: Back Home

I arrived home late the next night. Viela's
therapy was so good I decided to stay another night. Yolanda hadn't
left any messages for me so I went up straight to bed. When I woke
up it was already early afternoon. After taking a shower and
throwing on some clothes I went down to see what was happening. Doc
Med was already waiting for me in the dining area drinking some
coffe.

"Hello Doc. Glad to see you"

"Hello Conrad" Doc said while eyeing me
critically. "Yolanda told me you had sustained some serious
injuries on your last job

"Well yes Doc, I did. That's why you are
here, to check me out, and rebuild me"

"Yes I am, so why don't we get started"

Doctor Raymond Medici. Called Doc Med by his
friends. One of the best surgeons in the world today, at least by
his claims. I however have no complaints. I had met Doc Med a
little after my uncle had disappeared while working on a case
tracking down a group of four killers wanted by the local
government right here in Faring. During the case I had to choose
between letting some children be killed or go into an obvious trap
to save them. I saved the kids, killed three of the killers and
captured the forth. However I took a bullet in my side during the
battle. After seeing to the kids getting home safely, I went to the
hospital in the area that Yolanda had told me was one of the best.
That's where I met Doc Med. He had been called down to consult on a
very difficult case in the E-Med Room when I arrived. As the staff
was swamped with injured patients due to a logging accident, Doc
Med stepped in and attended to my wound. He removed the bullet and
patched me up and over his strenuous objections I left instead of
staying in the hospital. I had promised to come back in a couple of
days to have my wound checked. Naturally I got busy and as my wound
healed nicely, I didn't go back. Needless to say the doc sent a
medic to my office three days later to check up on me. At first I
told him I didn't need the follow-up, but Yolanda convinced me to
do so especially since the doc had been concerned enough to send
the medic in the first place. Both the medic and Yolanda when she
found out was very surprised to find that my wound had not only
healed well, there was practically no trace of the wound left. As
the medic reported this back to the doc when he returned to the
hospital, we were both surprised when the doc showed up at our
office the next day to see the wound for himself. He was stunned to
see there was only a very small dark spot where I had been shot.
After informing me that no wound such as I had, would heal to that
degree so fast, the scientist in him kicked in and he wanted to
know my complete medical history. He was clearly intrigued as to my
rapid healing, and due to such got my curiosity up. I informed him
that other than getting the required child immunizations and
checkups I had never gotten sick as I grew up. Any childhood
injuries I had sustained healed very quickly. Although stunned by
the condition of my wound, he recovered enough to offer his
services as my personal physician, and asked to do a complete
medical workup on me. I told him I would need to think about his
offer. I discussed the matter with Yolanda, who checked him out.
She found out he was one of the top trauma surgeons in the country
as well as a major medical researcher. After thinking about it and
getting Yolanda's input on the idea, we both agreed it would be a
very good idea to have a doctor on call for serious injuries. As
part of his usual medical duties, he would also try find out why I
healed so remarkably fast as well as my other unusual attributes.
Since then he has patched up a lot of my aches and pains and in the
process had also become a very good friend. We headed to the Med
Room located in the back.

My office and home isn't the traditional one
most people would expect. My business and home is located in a
two-story warehouse that had once been abandoned. It is located on
the outskirts of New Pioneer. I discovered it one day while working
on a case and it immediately caught my eye due to its small compact
size and structure. A year or so after my uncle disappeared, I had
occasion to come across the warehouse again. For some deep primal
reason I became convinced that it would make an excellent
office-home combo. The fact that it was abandoned was an added
bonus since any abandoned building not over three stories tall
could be claimed by any individual with the only requirement for
such was that the building be fully restored to meet or exceed the
city's present building safety codes, which basically was to insure
that the building would not fall down, and that all electrical
wiring and plumbing was up to spec codes. It also must have a
wholesome and pleasing look to it. Buildings, which looked worn or
in bad condition was subject to demolition period. So if you wanted
to take over an abandoned building you had to restore it fully. It
took me almost a year to do so, but I completely restored most of
the warehouse for my living and working space and moved the
business out of the old building my uncle and I had previously
worked out of. On the first floor of the warehouse as you
approached the building on the left was my main office door. Inside
that was a small foyer where the visiting customer was fully
scanned for weapons, explosives and possible biohazards. If cleared
there was another door, which allowed them to enter the
Reception-Conference area. Both the outer and inner doors and the
foyer's walls was NanoSteel reinforced. Nothing short of a blast
from a military tank would dent them. The walls around the lower
level of the building was also NanoSteel reinforced to prevent
entry using explosives. In my line of work the extra security is
needed as it is not unknown for past or present perps or associates
of such I have brought to justice to seek revenge against me. So
once prospective clients entered the Reception-Conference area, it
is there I would meet the client to hear the nature of their
business, and to decide whether to take their case or not. These
meetings are very rare as most of my jobs are setup and finalized
via comm. Prior to the comm conference with the client, Yolanda
obtains verification of a court ordered Manhunter Warrant. This
insures that I won't travel across the country only to find out
there is no warrant and thus no job. When you entered the
Reception-Conference room on its right side was Yolanda's desk and
comm station. Behind her was a door that led to her private
quarters. Even though she had her own quarters further in town, I
had provided a large living space for her so that if she had to for
whatever reason, she had her own private quarters to stay in. To
the left side of the room was a series of cabinets, which stored
any supplies Yolanda needed. Near the far wall was a large
conference table, which was used to discuss contracts with
prospective clients. On the other side of the large conference
table was another door, which led to the Main Comm Room. This room
is filled with the latest in comm and computing equipment, some of
which I consider suspect as it mirrors some equipment I have seen
in military installations. Yolanda assures me though that the
equipment is legal, furthering my belief that a lot of her past
history may have been in government work. The Main Comm room is
where Yolanda does most of her Maxinet and other research. On the
far side of this room is another door to the kitchen and dining
area. When you entered the kitchen dining area you noticed it was
walled off on three sides but to the right it was fully opened to
the hallway. Entering the hallway, off to the left was the Med room
and to the left of that was a general storage area. Hidden in the
far corner of the storage room was a hidden emergency exit. The Med
room was essential in my line of work. Being confined to a hospital
for recovery isn't such a good idea. This room comes in handy
because it was fully equipped and in the event a high security
situation was required, an injured person could be attended to
there. To the right of the kitchen dining area, the hallway
extended to the bathroom, workshop, armory, weapons range area, and
to another door to Yolanda's quarters. Straight ahead as you left
the kitchen-dining area was the doorway to the garage. Adjacent to
that door on the right was a stairway to the upper loft area, which
was my living quarters, gym and combat training area. Adjacent to
the right of the stairway was the opening to the workshop where the
weapons and other equipment was repaired. Walking through the
workshop in the back is a small locked room, which was the armory.
Continuing down the hallway was another small hall to the left to a
bathroom equipped with a large jacuzzi tub, shower and toilet
facilities. Past the bathroom was the doorway to the weapons range.
Across the small hallway from the bathroom was another opening from
the workshop. The garage was large enough to accommodate three
large vehicles, but was used to store my Battle van, Yolanda's
sports car, and an ATUV, which I used for general transportation.
There was also space for Doc Med to park his vehicle when he
visited. Going up the stairs to the upper loft you enter a open
space. Directly in front of the stairs about twelve feet away is a
fireman pole, which allows fast exit to the floor below right
between the garage and workshop next to the armory. To the left of
the stairs is the gym area. To the right of the gym area is more
open space where another stairway is located. This is my private
entrance stairway. Adjacent on the right of this stairway is
another equipment storage and repair shop, which I use on my
personal equipment and for extra storage. To the right of the
stairway from the first floor is the Combat Training area, and to
the right of it is the bathroom also fully equipped with jacuzzi,
shower and toilet facilities. Turning one hundred and eighty
degrees as you come up the stairway from the first floor you will
see my main living area, which has a king size bed against the far
wall with a couch, small couch and lounge, and large comm display
to the left of the bed. To the right is my comm unit, and closets.
In the corner of the space to the right of the bed is a small
spiral stairway leading down to the first floor to the hidden
emergency exit.