The Bounty Hunter

Loud cheers and laughter could be heard from a bar not so far away.



"Why wouldn't there be laughter and cheers in a bar? It's only natural.." He thought to himself.



A lone man was wandering through the streets in the middle of the night, without any real destination, it seemed. The only source of light was the moon, however, lights from behind windows also shared their part in enlightening the road for the stranger.



A sign above one of the windows revealed a bar's name, however, the sound and stench alone would be enough to know it was a bar. The man opened the door and his silhouette was finally revealed.



He was wearing a long coat, reaching his knees, his pants were a bit baggy, for the part you could see them, and he wore some boots that looked like a soldier would wear. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of sunglasses, and his mouth was buried behind his scarf. His black hair and rough face were the only notable things. Of course, his sunglasses were pretty notable too, as it was the middle of the night. He seemed to travel about a lot too, his dirty clothes and unshaven face confirmed this.



While he walked in, no one really seemed to notice him, they were either too busy singing, dancing and even fighting. He took place behind the bar, where he was greeted by the bartender.



"Whaddya want, lone stranger?" The bartender stared at him, as if he's trying to look through his scarf and sunglasses. Apparently he was really intrigued by the mysterious appearance of the stranger.



The man didn't bother looking up at the bartender. He was staring to the right, towards a table which stood out the most in the bar. It was the most silent and shady one, not a single person at the table was having any fun, like one would in a bar. A rather robust man sat there, with three other shady characters, the robust man seemed to be the leader.



"Who are they?" The mysterious man asked the bartender.



The stranger was whispering in a low voice. It suited his appearance and the bartender became even more curious. To get on his good side and hopefully learn more, he decided to answer him.



"That group, ah, that group, a bunch o' trouble they are. The large man's called Steel Arm. His right arm is made o' steel, ya see? The other three lads be his lackeys, I assume. Seen 'em with 'im before. Ya shudn't mess with 'em, they be real dangerous. No one ever has survived when he got on the bad side of Steel Arm. He already seized most of this village and a few neighboring ones. He even has a bounty of 50.000 dollars on his head!"



The mysterious man didn't faze, he kept staring at Steel Arm's table and didn't bother to turn to face the bartender while he was speaking to him.



"Thank you." He simply said, when the bartender was done.



"So, tell me stranger. What are you called?" The bartender couldn't hide his interest anymore and blurted out the question before he realized.



"Aaron. Aaron Divine." The man replied.



With that, Aaron stood up and walked towards the large man at the table. The bartender was in shock and pale. He heard of this name before, however, it always seemed like it was part of a legend then that it was actually true.



"Greetings, Steel Arm." The words weren't loud, on the contrary, they were merely a whisper.



Yet, the whisper was more than enough to make the entire bar go silent and avert their attention towards Steel Arm's table. Aaron was standing face to face with Steel Arm, the table being the only hurdle between them.



"The name's Duncan Schwartz. How are you called, stranger?"



Duncan stood up and revealed his rather old face. He looked like he was around the age of 40. However, his body seemed tough and well-built. He took off his jacket and revealed his right arm, to see how the stranger would react. It shone brightly in the light and he looked curiously at Aaron.



"Aaron Divine, pleasure is all mine." Slowly Aaron pulled down his scarf and revealed a large smile.



As soon as Aaron said his name, the three lackeys jumped in front of Duncan. They all reached for their guns and pointed them at Aaron.



"So, the Bounty Hunter, finally came to get me? Too bad, I've already prepared for you. I'll get more fame and be feared by everyone if I dispose of you!" Duncan laughed as if he already won the fight.



Suddenly the whole bar turned upside down. Everyone started to surround Aaron and point their guns at him. Everyone, except the bartender, who was completely confused by the situation and didn't known what was happening.



"Fifty thousand... Usually I don't bother with low-profiles, like yourself. However, I'm in need of a drink and sadly, I'm out of cash." Aaron was, not at all, fazed by the sudden turnabouts of the situation. In fact, he was laughing and grinning more than earlier. Slowly he also took off his sunglasses and threw them on the floor. His eyes were gray-blue and gave out a feeling that they'd pierce you, just by staring at you.



"What's this? Are you trying to bluff your way out?" Duncan briefly looked confused at Aaron, but then started to laugh.



Aaron didn't bother to reply, and reached for his right pocket with his right hand.



"Move one more inch and you'll become swiss cheese!" Duncan warned.



Aaron winked at him and ignored his warning as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He took one out and put it between his lips. He lit it and inhaled deeply, his right hand put away the pack and lighter the same way he took them out. He blew his smoke towards Duncan. Suddenly, Aaron started to wildly touch his body and stare bewilderedly at it, for no apparent reason.



"Nope, no holes. I guess it was a bluff." Aaron grinned broadly at Duncan, who now was red with fury.



[To be continued, if you want it to, at least.]