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Chapter Ten The Lioness

Chris Stone sat at the bar alone as the sun set over the dust covered landscape of The Oasis. He was going back to Earth tomorrow to search for any other sign of what he was looking for. As he finished off the third drink of the night, he began drawing circles onto a napkin, wondering if The Map even really existed. He ordered another drink, making good use of the money his employer gave him for supplies. He watched the sun set through the tinted glass, watching sand rip across the street as some thuggish men walked into the bar. They sat near the back. Chris knew them as a small gang of hired guns. Their pictures were on some wanted boards across town. They weren't worth a whole lot dead. Chris was never a good bounty hunter anyway, so he decided against attempting to subdue them. Half way though the glass of beer he was working on, he glanced back to the thugs. They were harassing a waitress, a pretty lioness. He was sure there would be a hunter lurking the bar, though none emerged to help the woman being badgered. He always assumed they were like that. Eager to seek the glory of saving some helpless damsel in distress. The woman did eventually leave to get them more drinks. It was about the time Chris got up to use the restroom. He left his jacket at the bar and told the barkeeper to refill his drink on his way to the back. He glanced over to the small group at the back of the bar, getting a good look at them. They all had weapons on them, small six-shooters. Chris didn't know guns too much. He always carried a shock pistol on him, though it wasn't lethal, being a glorified stun-gun. He shook his head as he looked at himself in the bathroom mirror. "Don't even think about it, Chris." He said sternly to himself as he entered a stall to pee. Part of him wanted to see if he could take the small group. The effect of the alcohol, making him feel a bit courageous and a bit greedy. They were at least worth a couple grand. He made sure to wash his hands, looking at himself, convincing himself not to do anything stupid. He knew he did stupid things when he was drinking. Even if his plan seemed foolproof. He exited the bathroom to see that the thugs were back to work on trying to get the lioness to sit on their laps. She was doing a pretty good job batting the larger of the group's hands away from her breasts. Breasts of which Chris could admit that he would take a grab at, too, if he were a bit more drunk. The large canine was called Grant. Grant had four friends sitting to his left. Chris glanced down at the table in which they sat. It wasn't bolted or attached to the ground in any way. He stopped as he passed them. The woman said, "I said let me go!" That part of Chris' mind that told him not to cause trouble disappeared as he felt that urge to be the hero to some good looking waitress. In an instant he thought of all the ways she might like to repay him. With a smirk, he turned around. The woman had a sawed off shotgun to Grant's throat and the man's revolver aimed at on of the henchmen. Her expression was no longer helpless. She looked quite in charge. Chris looked to her and said, "Oh, I guess you got this under control then." She nodded and smirked, "Yup, figured I'd make a quick buck while I'm here." While she looked to Chris, one of the men pulled a pistol out. Chris pulled his shock-pistol out and zapped the man before he could land a hit on her. He collapsed onto the table, the other men looked at Chris in disbelief. The lioness said, "Really? A shock-pistol? Were you really planning on taking them all on alone with that thing?" Chris shrugged and said, "Hey, It's all I had! Would you prefer I let him shoot you?" As he placed a new battery pack into his weapon. The woman laughed and looked back to the other men, "If I don't see guns on the table in two seconds I'll start shooting! Then you guys can drag your friend back to your cave or pit or whatever you bandits like to hide these days." The men put their guns on the table, grabbed their unconscious friend and ran outside, defeated. Grant looked up to that and sighed, "So, guess we're heading to the police, huh?" The lioness nodded, "Yup. Ready to go?" "After this drink, if you please." Said Grant. "Take your time." She replied as Grant downed a glass of liquor. The lioness turned to Chris, "Hey, you." She smiled at him, "Want to come with? I think you deserve a little bit, at least, for saving my life and all." She thought for a moment, "Well, after you distracted me.. " "Sure, I've never taken in a bounty before." replied Chris, genuinely excited to see how it was to turn in a criminal. Chris grabbed his jacket, leaving money at the bar. The woman gave the bartender some money and gave him the apron she was wearing telling him she didn't need the job after all. Grant, Chris and she walked a few blocks down to the police station. Excited, Chris said, "So, how did you do it?" She looked at him confused, "Do what?" "Catch this guy, know when he'd be here." She laughed under her breath, "Ancient Bounty Hunter secrets, passed down from-" "She knew ahead of time I was coming." Grant cut in, "My phone was hacked last week. I'm guessing she did it." The lioness shook her head, "Don't go thinking you're important enough for me to waste my time hacking your phone or even follow you for a week." She said to Grant and leaned over to whisper to Chris, "I was in the area, wanted an easy two grand.." She shrugged, "A hacker owed me a favor, anyway." She paused, "Look, I take whatever falls into my lap. What are you here for? You don't look like a local." Chris grinned, all too eager to try and impress the still nameless lioness, "I'm a treasure hunter. I just got back from Earth. Still looking for some left over tech." The lioness smiled, "The Creature from the Blue Lagoon, right?" Chris nodded, pridefully, "Yup, that's me. I'm Chris Stone." "The name's Susan. An orphan, so excuse the lack of a surname." The man the two were escorting groaned, "Taken in by nobodies.. Fuck me sideways.." Susan sighed, "Well, I'm new at this, yes..." She paused of moment, "But I got your sorry ass." She poked him roughly with the business end of her saw-off shotgun. They were standing before the police station a few moments later, where a couple officers accompanied the three inside. A large Ape with a screen in his hands was sitting behind a counter, behind a thick sheet of glass, looking absolutely bored out of his skull. The whole lobby was locked away from the rest of the station. The ape looked up at the three, then back to his hand held computer, then back to them, "Steven Bishop Grant?" He paused, "We've been expecting you." Grant huffed in frustration while the Ape looked over to the other two, "I would like to see some identification and your Bounty Hunter's licenses." He said, dully. Chris looked over to Susan, with a worried look. Susan took a card out of one of her pockets and said, "Susan of Hector's Transports and Arms. The ram is a friend." The ape nodded and said, "Okay, you check out alright. Working your way up the latter, Susan. Good job." He paused and looked Chris over, "You're friend doesn't have any weapons on his person, does he?" Susan shook her head, "Just a shock-pistol." "May I see this shock-pistol, please?" Replied the ape, as thought he were being severely inconvenienced. Chris handed over the weapon, which was quickly looked over. The ape handed it back, "Owns to a treasure hunter, Chris Stone.." He nearly rolled his eyes and turned to Chris, "Treasure Hunter license and I.D. Please.." Silence fell over the lobby as Grant was taken away, leaving an awkward quiet in the room as Chris handed the ape his identification. The ape sighed, "Sorry about all this. Standard procedure..." Susan smiled warmly, "Don't sweat it, big guy." The ape let out a quick laugh and handed back Chris' cards, "You check out. You've been under the radar for a while, Mr. Stone. Haven't found anything worthwhile lately?" "Unless you count sand worthwhile, no." Chris replied, getting a chuckle from the ape. The ape shrugged, "Could be worse. You could be stuck with nothing but paper-work to look at." He grinned slightly, greatly enjoying having a conversation. Chris faked a laugh and nodded, "This is true..." There was a long paused while the ape typing something into the computer. Chris looked over at Susan, who was also starting to look bored. Handing in crooks was not holding up to what Chris had always imagined. The ape cleared his throat, "Alright. One thousand and two hundred dollars added to your account, Susan." He turned to Chris, "I regret to inform you that, as a Treasure Hunter, you cannon collect any bounty from the imprisonment of Mr. Grant. If you were crucial in the capture of said criminal, I would suggest you work with Susan in agreeing on a proper reward." he said, as if he were just reading it off his screen. Chris nodded, "Sure thing. Um.. We'll get on that right away, sir." He looked over to Susan, who looked ready to leave. He turned to the ape, "Thanks and uh.. Good bye, officer." The ape smiled friendlily to both of them and said, "Thank you for your help, have a good night you two." Chris and Susan made their way outside and Susan smiled over to Chris excitedly, "Was that everything you ever wished or what?!" Chris sighed, "My dreams have been crushed, thank you for that." "It wasn't that bad, was it? I mean, he was friendly. Usually they just go through all that and tell you to get out." She said, grabbing his hand, leading him down towards the ship docking station. Chris smirked, "I'm glad I went into finding treasure. Less.. Protocols.." He followed her, hand in hand. She looked over at him and leaned against him, "Y'know, I was thinking.. You deserve a cut of the pay but I need my computer to access it. You wouldn't mind coming on to my ship, would ya?" Chris shook his head, "I wouldn't mind at all. What kind of ship do you have?" "It's a single cabin, compact c-pit, fighter ship. Not really made for distance traveling." She smiled, "I named him Little Bugger. Quite possibly the smallest ship in the galaxy." They walked to the Docking Station, Little Bugger was small enough to still be parked horizontally. It had one ammo container for each machine gun, a fuel container, a cabin with a bed and computer, which was directly behind a single pilot cockpit. It was painted Forest Green. Giving it an almost cartoony appearance. A mouse in a jumpsuit came up to her and told her it was fueled up and ready to go. She thanked him and led Chris into the cabin of the ship, closing the hatch behind him. The inside of the ship lit up. It was a bright inside. It all looked brand new. She sat a the pilot's seat, typed some things into a computer. She looked back to Chris, "Alright, Are you happy with thirty percent?" Chris looked back at her and nodded, "Uh, yeah, sure. Sounds good." He didn't really care how much he got. There was really only one thing he wanted since the moment he decided to save a waitress being harassed, and it was something she could give him without costing him a dime. He walked over to the cramped cockpit, handing her his PDA. She added his payment and grinned, pressing a button on the computer panel, making the think glass windows of the ship fog over, dimming the light of the sunset in the distance. She turned around and stood up, facing him, "Y'know.. I think you deserve a little extra.." Before he knew it, their lips were pressed firmly against one another while the ram and Lioness undressed each other frantically, pressing their bodies together. The spent the night together, until Chris got the phone call.