"Fourteen bounty hunters total," Amir said, scanning the bar in a heartbeat. "And five more are acting off—they're definitely in on it."
"You've gotten sharper," Veronica murmured.
"Top of my recon class," Amir replied, though his focus was fixed on the room.
"Right. Drop-out," Veronica teased, absentmindedly touching her mechanical left arm. "That case looks heavy."
"We'll find out what's inside soon enough." Amir smirked.
"After this gig, I'm taking a break. You guys should stop chasing chaos too," he added, downing the last of his drink.
"Mind your own business."
Amir tapped the communicator on his left wrist. A section of the square device lit up and detached—eight thin limbs unfolded beneath it, supporting a central module like a mechanical spider. A droid.
Meanwhile, the trench-coated man walked directly to the bar. Confidence or sheer stupidity? Hard to tell. Sitting there meant being surrounded on all sides.
He placed the case by his feet and ordered a drink.
The moment the case hit the floor, Amir saw it: those key individuals all paused. Their gazes locked on the case. A few even reached for their weapons.
The bar fell into a strained hush. Only the two singers kept performing—twisting, blowing, singing in vain.
Tension flooded the room like fuel, waiting for a spark.
Even the uninvolved patrons began to sense something was off and shuffled out.
"Who's the drop going to?" Amir muttered, resting his arms on the table. Somewhere, the spider-droid was on the move.
Veronica stared at the control display still active on Amir's wrist, tracking the droid's feedback.
"High energy signature—no, extremely high. Could be a reactor core... Maybe nuclear-grade. That'd explain the attention. But without containment, it should've exploded already," she said, frowning at the readout.
Beneath the bar, the spider-droid extended one leg toward the case, just about to make contact—when a large hand seized the box and lifted it out of reach.
At the same moment, five people stood and approached the trench-coated man. Four of them raised old blaster pistols, scanning the surroundings. The leader tossed an envelope onto the bar.
Simple mission: deliver the envelope, take the case, go home with the pay. Nothing more.
But as he reached for it, the trench-coated man stopped him—placing a hand over the case.
The courier instinctively reached for his blaster, ready to rough up the idiot. But then he saw the man smiling.
Not a casual smile. One of defiance. Maybe... resignation.
"Shit! Move! Veronica, get out—now!" Amir's instincts flared. He slammed a command on his controller, signaling Rango and Jay to retreat, and yanked Veronica by the arm.
At the bar, the trench-coated man raised his hand toward the case's trigger. No one expected this.
But in that instant, a burst of electricity crackled—the spider-droid latched onto his leg and discharged a surge of current.
The jolt paralyzed him. His hand froze just a centimeter from the switch, then jerked back under the shock.
The courier had no idea what just happened, but he kicked the man aside and reached for the case.
And that's when it happened—over a dozen bounty hunters stood as one. Blasters raised. A storm of red bolts lit up the room.
The five around the bar didn't stand a chance. They were shredded by the volley of laser fire.
Screams erupted. Civilians surged toward the exits. The singers dropped their instruments and ran for their lives. Chaos exploded.
The bounty hunters had removed the competition—but they weren't allies. They immediately turned on each other, circling the bar, inching closer to the case.
"Why are we running?" Veronica asked, glancing toward a ventilation duct near the bar as they reached the exit.
"Spider-droid picked up dangerous readings. I think the case is a bomb. That guy wanted to take the whole place with him," Amir said, tossing BD to her. "Rango and Jay should've gotten the signal by now."
Suddenly, a small spherical device dropped from the ceiling.
It hit near the bar—and burst into thick white smoke.
"Too late," Amir growled, pressing his back to the wall. He slipped along the edge, recalling the spider-droid. "Acting on your own again," he muttered to it.
Seeing the smoke, the mercs grew tense. One started firing blindly into the cloud, and the rest joined in. Red bolts punched into the fog, vanishing like drops in an ocean.
A shadow flickered—maybe. Maybe not. Either way, the hunters surged forward, desperate.
"BD? What are you doing back here?" Amir asked, surprised as the droid returned to his side.
Bzzzt—beep beep!
"That guy in the coat? You're sure?" Amir's eyes narrowed.
Beep. BD nodded emphatically.
"Alright. I'll try," Amir muttered, watching the man struggle to stand at the fog's edge.
The smoke began to thin. Slowly, the scene came into focus.
"The case is gone!" someone shouted.
All eyes darted to the bar—the battered old case had vanished.
No sign of Rango or Jay. Amir exhaled in relief. He shot Veronica a glance across the chaos. She nodded. Time to move.
The trench-coated man recovered, crouching behind the bar, gripping a blaster, eyeing the encroaching hunters.
Amir glanced at BD, who looked torn between action and retreat. He sighed.
"I was going to sit this one out… Let them fight over it and go home. But looks like I've got no choice."
He drew his blaster and peeked out from behind a column.
"Hello there."
Every mercenary turned. Dozens of alien eyes locked onto the blond human.
The trench-coated man seized the opening—jumped onto the bar, grabbed the ventilation shaft, and pulled himself up into the ductwork.
Only then did the mercs realize the escape route. Too late. They opened fire upward in frustration.
Amir ducked back, raised his arm, and fired five times—disabling five shooters.
Suddenly, they turned on him. Blaster bolts rained down on the pillar. Others broke off, studying the ductwork, racing to intercept before the target escaped.
"Move!" Amir shouted at BD, who buzzed to life. The mission was done—the case was gone, the man had escaped. Now it was Amir's turn to reach the rendezvous point and get Rango and Jay out safely.