Traitors, Turmoil, and Thursdays: Chapter 1 – Another Day, Another Struggle

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Chapter 1 – Another Day, Another Struggle

Today’s the day the traitors pay for what they’ve done not just to me, but also to the country. My true allies and I head out to the lower class section of the city and are immediately ambushed by people with small arms firing at us from all sides. Thankfully, we have armored vehicles with remote controlled turrets that we use to protect us. When we get to our destination, we come out guns blazing. Two groups take care of the surrounding enemies and another two groups head into the building, one of which I’m a part of and leading.

After we blow up the door, I head in first and take as much of the fire as I can since my cybernetic body can take it. With my dual pistols, I clear a way forward.

“Spread out and clean out this trash,” I command my followers.

“Yes ma’am!” they say.

I continue forward with some of my followers behind me clearing out one room after the other. My cybernetic body is still going strong despite being shot many times. The damage done to my head is negligible as well and my ammo reserves are fine. According to what I hear on the comms, my followers are winning with few injured. It’s good to know that all the money that I spent on armor and weapons is paying off. My group ends up meeting with another as we come to a room with two doors for an entrance. This must be where the last of them are. Entering the door, we don’t find anyone until we go further into the room where many of the traitors and their hired help spring out of cover.

“Give up, Roxy, or your friends die,” one of the traitors says before being shot by one of my friends that she was threatening.

“We don’t care if we die for-” a friend of mine says before he dies.

A gunfight ensues that ends with the deaths of the traitors and some of my friends, which I was hoping to avoid. In fact, I wanted to do this by myself, but another of my friends, Elliot, convinced me that it was too much for me to do alone even with my cybernetics running at maximum power and the use of my four cybernetic arms and enhanced interface since I would hurt myself if I used it for too long. Still, I wouldn’t mind getting hurt if it saved the lives of my friends and followers that got hurt or died today. We take our dead and injured with us and head back home. As we do, I look back on this forgotten part of the city.

The lower class areas of most American cities aren’t paid attention to except by charities and those looking for hired help. They might as well be one of the rogue states or the middle of the country that’s now known as the new wild west. Many people are moving out of America because of high taxes, increased violence, and more caused by this civil war that’s going on within the country. Few want to stay in what is owned by America with me being one of them. My family is one of the few rich and influential families that haven’t sold out to corrupt governors, mayors, and corporate leaders and we’re going to change it for the better. While thinking about our next move, my friend, Annie, enters my room and almost leaves at the sight of me reentering my cybernetic body that’s been repaired.

“Sorry I caught you at a bad time. I’ll come back later,” she says.

“No, it’s fine. You’ve seen me like this before anyways, so it shouldn’t bother you,” I say.

“It still does. The day that those traitors set fire to a building their own friends were in thinking you were there, you heading there, and going into the burning building only to be burned from head to toe still makes me sick.”

“It was worth it to save as many as I could. Besides, those traitors finally faced justice today.”

“That doesn’t make me seeing you scarred and burned any better. It’s an uncomfortable way to live, to say the least, isn’t it? You basically live in that cybernetic body and when you’re not, you’re resting in a healing pod.”

“I’ve gotten used to it.”

“If you say so. Anyways, do you know why those people betrayed us?”

“No. I didn’t bother to ask them when I saw them. They didn’t have any databases in their hideouts and all their cellular devices were destroyed. It’s possible that they just disagreed with the way my family and allies were running things or our motivations. It’s not uncommon for infighting to happen in these days of civil war.”

“It’s also not uncommon for people to be bought out or forced to betray their own. We have many enemies that disagree with our focus on God, family, and the country, especially those who are enemies of the Catholic church. They think we’re sellouts to Rome, a false god, slaves to religion, and so on.”

“What do you suggest that we do better to keep people on our side? We’re doing our best as is and plugging up holes where we can as we did today.”

“Tch. I guess you’re right. I’ll try to keep raising the morale of our friends. Maybe a vacation or some kind of team assignment like helping the poor and needy.”

“A vacation sounds nice. It’s a shame that I can’t enjoy the beach the same way because of this body.”

“The pros outweigh the cons as far as I can see. You’re basically bulletproof, you have access to an additional four arms, and you can change your eye and hair color whenever you want.”

“That last point ain’t that big of a positive.”

“But I’m sure you like it. You didn’t have red hair before you got that body. You only had red streaks in your blonde hair. I wish I could change my hair color whenever I wanted. I was thinking of changing mine from its current dark purple and black to dark blue and black. What do you think?”

“It sounds good but I think dark blue would clash with your mostly purple and red wardrobe.”

“Ah, you’re right.”

Elliot enters the room with a datapad in his hand. He looks as professional as ever with his white and black suit and slick brown hair.

“Are you ladies discussing anything productive?” he asks, “We have a talk with the public media happening in a few hours.”

“We were discussing doing something for the poor and needy. It could help our public image,” Annie says.

“What helps our public image is action like what we did today. It’s why the media wants to talk to us because we cleared the ghetto of its trash.”

“Are you sure they didn’t organize this talk to villainize me again? One time they said that we were killing the poor who were defending themselves,” I say.

“Our contacts in the media have confirmed it.”

“I hope they’re right. We don’t need any more traitors among us,” Annie says.

“These people are loyal and you won’t need to worry about traitors. Most of our friends are loyal,” Elliot says.

“We need everyone to be loyal.”

“Obviously, but today, that’s a luxury to expect. A luxury we have for the most part, especially since we value old fashioned God-fearing virtues above all else.”

“Yes, and those virtues are why we shouldn’t always go out taking justice for ourselves because we don’t have enough friends in the police force to do it for us nor neutral cops who won’t be influenced by an opposing side,” I say.

“Why not? It’s what people want to see with all the unpunished crime and violence that’s going on in the city.”

“Because constantly repaying violence with violence doesn’t always stop it. Stop sounding like those sellout police chiefs and new age conservatives and liberals who have no other solution to the problems besides shoot everyone who disagrees with them,” Annie says.

“Hey, I’m only saying that we should do it more often and we do have access to non-lethal weapons.”

“Well, next time it does happen, I should go by myself. I could’ve taken care of everyone by myself.”

“No, you couldn’t,” both Annie and Elliot say.

At least they can agree on that.

“Your cybernetic body can only take so much damage and has to be repaired after every fight. Plus, I don’t want to drag you out of it like how I did in the burning building,” Elliot says.

Annie agrees and then adds, “We’re here for you, Roxy. Don’t forget that.”

“Okay, guys. I won’t,” I say with a smile.

“Good. Now, get dressed and take a look at these questions that the media will probably ask you and prepare your answers,” Elliot says while handing me his datapad.

“Sure.”

I keep forgetting that this cybernetic body isn’t already a full suit of clothes. It sure feels like one. Putting clothes on top of it feels like I’m dressing up a doll and I forget that I’m wearing clothes because of the body. Elliot and Annie help me choose what to wear and they pick a white and gray outfit with pants that make me look like an office boss. When meeting the media, Elliot and Annie join me and help me settle down and help me choose who I should answer first. The reporters ask about why we did what we did and the specific results of it.

Another reporter asks, “Since you took care of the traitors within your group, does this mean you’ll begin to repair the relations with the other families that you, your family, and allies have broken?”

“We are doing our best to work with all groups for the betterment of America, so yes, we are,” I say.

A different reporter is given the chance to talk.

“What about the ones that your extremely traditionalist group disagrees with?”

“We’ll work together on things we agree with but work separately on things we don’t.”

“Shouldn’t you all work together since everyone’s goal is to improve America? What about the Catholic bishops, priests, and groups that are doing what you should and disagree with what you’ve done today?” another reporter asks.

“We’ll settle our disagreements and meet in the middle, where we can.”

“What compromises will you make?” the next chosen reporter asks.

“The ones that are appropriate to make as long as they don’t conflict with the core values of the Catholic Church and founding virtues of America.”

“Don’t those conflict?” the same reporter asks.

“Not at all. In fact, they perfectly match compared to our competition.”

“What about your competitors’ views and religions, especially the largely secular majority in America? Don’t what they consider true matter?” a different reporter asks.

“What is true is the only that matters. We believe and know that our beliefs are correct. The other groups think similarly but they are wrong for the most part.”

“So, if you get your way, then their voices will be suppressed or made fools of? Don’t you think that your views and the changes you’ll make will turn America into a monarchy or a theocracy instead of leaving it as a democracy because of your traditional religion?”

“First, it’s not wrong to correct those who are wrong. In fact, it is charitable to do so. If we didn't care for our opposition, we’d let them be ignorant and let them destroy themselves. Second, America is a democratic republic. It is whatever we make it. Do you really think it’s a democracy now or even an effective democratic republic? The people with the most power and influence run the country and even if they didn’t, the people are so divided that only one group will get what they want while the rest will have to deal with it no matter how bad it may be. Is that what you want? Because it’s what we have now.”

The crowds are silent and no one gets up to immediately ask a question. When the questions resume, they ask simple ones about our future plans. Once the meeting ends, Elliot, Annie, and I go to the back.

“They were trying to make us look bad again,” Annie says.

“Did you expect the media to ask questions that wouldn’t cause a stir? It’s what they do. Besides, we were better prepared this time,” Elliot says.

“It wasn’t as bad as the other times,” I admit, “At least they didn’t outright call us murderers or extremists.”

Annie grunts and then says, “Well, I guess it’s back to business then.”

“Yup. I already have this week’s events and duties planned.”

“Let me take a look at them before we do any of what you planned.”

“What? You don’t trust me?”

Annie and Elliot talk about our future plans and argue about the details of it like they always do. While they do that, I begin to walk away. They notice this and ask where I’m going.

“Just going to rest for a bit. Today’s been a lot,” I admit.

They agree to go back home with me to rest for a bit as well before going back to work. This cycle of work and rest is really starting to wear on me since there’s no big break in sight. When it does seem like things are going to quiet down or major progress is going to be made, something comes along to ruin it such as traitors, criminals, corrupt officials, lies of the media, and the like. Today, we may have given justice to traitors and staved off the media, but who knows how the future may be ruined or made better. Right now I can only hope, pray, and keep the grind of work going for the good of everyone.

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Civil unrest and rebellion have split people and states from America, which is struggling to keep itself together. In the new states, people do as they wish without consequence. It's the wild west again with few fighting to keep the peace and serve justice except for one man, Colton. With his allies, they seek to instill order and the true American way in this new wild west one bullet at a time.

No Innocent Men and Wednesdays: Chapter 4 – What We Sacrifice For

Chapter 4 – What We Sacrifice For

Today, I help transport goods to a neighboring state, however, the road ahead is blocked by cars and men with their guns around drawn on us before firing. They’re on all sides of us and drive us off the road with trucks that come out of the trees. By the time we get out of the car, they have their guns in our faces and are beginning to pillage our truck. The man in a brown cowboy hat, tan cloak, and dark brown pants and boots has a look of contempt on his face as if I’ve wronged him in some way. In the second I have to disarm him before he fires, I take his shotgun out of his hand and-

“Jesse! There aren’t any people in these trucks!” one of the pillagers says.

The man in front of me who is presumably Jesse looks at me and I look at him before we fight over his gun. He manages to get his shotgun back while I draw my revolver. Anticipating each other’s move we fire and move to dodge the other’s shot. We end up shooting each other’s gun out of the other’s hand, drawing our rifles, dodging, and doing the exact same thing again. I tackle Jesse to the ground, but he manages to fight me back and we begin to fistfight.

“Where did the slaves go?! Do you have another convoy out there?” Jesse asks.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. We don’t have any slaves,” I say.

“We know you have them. Confess it and your crimes such as the murder of the Prowling Lions.”

There’s no talking to this guy. The two of us keep fighting until suddenly both of our forces are attacked by a new group of attackers.

“How about we sort this out later and turn our attention to more pressing matters?” I say.

Jesse agrees and we pick up our weapons and work together with our forces to drive back our attackers. By the end of it, we find that we have several men dead and more injured.

“Traitors,” Jesse mutters to himself while examining the bodies of our attackers.

“You know them?” I ask.

“Yeah. They’re bounty hunters, old friends, that told me that you were transporting slaves.”

“Why would you be friends with bounty hunters? All they do is play both sides for money.”

“Because not all of them are like that or at least a few of them aren’t. I used to be one too before I changed and became a protector of a farming town. It’s why I thought I could trust them.”

“I’m sorry.”

Jesse sighs and then says, “You don’t have to be. It’s my fault. Let’s take care of the dead and wounded.”

After hours of cleanup, Jesse and his friends drive me and the remaining watchers with me to his home where the wounded are being cared for. Here, his people prepare food and drinks for us and begin their negotiations with my hometown leaders to make amends for their mistakes. While this is happening, Jesse and I repair our guns and eat with each other.

“I was surprised when you said you were a bounty hunter,” I say, “I thought you were an ex-enforcer because of your eyepatch, at first.”

“I didn’t know ex-enforcers wore them,” Jesse admits.

“We do,” I say as I show my cybernetic eye under my eyepatch.

“I have one of those too,” Jesse says while showing me his under his eyepatch.

“How did you get one?”

“It was a reward from my boss. He tried to give me more things since I was such a great bounty hunter such as cybernetic limbs and enhancements to my body, but I refused them. It felt wrong to do more things to my body. Even all the women, booze, guns, and fancy estates felt wrong to have. It was only after so many empty days, hearing of other states rebelling from Old America, and a new girl I was given did I change my mind.”

“The struggles of our day and age and a good woman can change a man for the better.”

“I assume a woman close to your heart did much the same for you?”

“You could say that.”

“Heh. They’re God sent miracles.”

“Yeah.”

“How’s your town and girl doing?”

“Fine. After the Prowling Lions helped us clear out our mutual enemies, the state as a whole has been doing better. Speaking about them-”

“Don’t worry about explaining. I’m assuming what I was told about them was a lie and you had your reasons for killing them.”

“Still, you should know that the Lions were hypocrites doing evil in the service of good in secret. I only discovered this after my watchers dug up this information and I and some of the guards from the other towns went on a mission with them. They thought they were justified and the good guys.”

“Good guys don’t exist out here. Just repentant sinners and obstinate scum.”

“Exactly my thoughts. There aren’t many places with God fearing people like my town, our allies, and yours.”

“It’s a shame really. Even after killing hundreds, probably thousands of scum, saving the lives of the repentant, and doing our best to make a better life out here, there’s still no end to the struggles and people who want to take advantage of others.”

“That’s just how life is. We may not be alive by the time any real change happens, but we shouldn’t give up.”

“I’m not saying that we should. It’s just that it gets so tiresome.”

“I know.”

Now I’m feeling bad for Jesse since I know how he feels. Thinking of something to do to cheer him up, I ponder it for a bit until the meeting is over. By then, I finally get the right idea.

“Let’s go out for a walk,” I say to Jesse.

Jesse agrees and we take a walk through his town. While out, many people say hi and good afternoon to us. Some thank Jesse for what he does and he responds usually by saying he’s just doing his job.

When we get back to where we were, Jesse asks me, “What was the point of that? I assumed it was to clear my mind?”

“That was part of it. The woman close to me suggested that I do it every now and then to see the fruit of my work and even if I’m not complimented or acknowledged by the people I help, I should feel content to see what I’ve built and who I’ve been fighting for.”

“I see. Thanks for this. It did help a bit. I feel like something is missing from it though.”

Liah and another woman step out of the meeting hall to confront us. I assume the other woman is Jesse’s girl since she has the same look on her face as Liah. They ask about where we went and what we were doing. We tell them and they seem a little surprised.

“It’s about time you took my advice,” Liah says.

“Yeah, I’ve been saying the same thing to Jesse, but next time, you have to go out on a walk with me,” Jesse’s girl says.

The two of them tell us about the deal they made, how Jesse’s town will repay our town for the damages they’ve done, and the dinner they’re giving us today as an appetizer for things to come and as a way to get on friendly terms with us. They are also replacing the damaged goods with their own as well. The strangest thing about eating here is not that I’m eating with people who’ve killed my men, but that it feels right in a way. These are decent people eating and enjoying each other’s company as if nothing is wrong with the world.

“This is what we were missing,” Jesse whispers to me.

After considering it, I agree. This is how life should be. This is what I protect, and even though I’d love to spend the rest of my days like this and let go of my days of constant killing, I know I can’t. Not until my work is done whenever that may be either in dying in battle or in old age. If I could choose, I’d pick old age, especially since I know dying in battle would upset Liah and I still have so much to do for her and ask her something important that I haven’t the courage to do yet. Whatever the future holds, I pray that I have the strength to endure it and conduct myself in a way that God approves. For now, I enjoy this little taste of Heaven.

We sleep in Jesse’s town for the night and get a rude awakening in the morning. The guards at the gates report that there’s trouble coming in and they heard from the black net that they’re friends of the bounty hunters, enforcers, and other people we’ve got mad at us. It’s times like these that I thank God for gate guards that wake us up when we really need them. It also reminds me of the people I must get to rescue since they didn’t have any walls around their settlements. I shouldn’t worry about it now and keep it in my backlog of jobs to do since I have to protect this town. Jesse and I get our weapons and ammo before heading out.

“There’s no rest for men like us is there?” Jesse says.

“We’ll get a good rest when we’re dead,” I say.

“Or when the scum of the earth is dead. I think you know which outcome is better. You hold the wall in the north and I’ll go south.”

Doing as Jesse says, I join my watchers and guards who are already set up with their guns and mounted machine guns. We also have people radioing our allies for help and anyone who will listen. From what I hear, we’ll need all the help we can get. If not, it’ll be a miracle if we survive. Five trucks two of which have mounted machine guns on them arrive at the gate and are only stopped from crashing through our gates by us firing on them. Another two trucks come to back up the others one of which has a man with a launcher that blows open the gate. I, along with the others, retreat while taking out as many of our enemies as we can.

The fallback position we go to is a makeshift barricade made of cars and metal barriers taken from previous engagements with bullet marks and black coloring from explosives. This position doesn’t last as long as the previous forcing us to continue retreating. We keep killing as many as we can and falling back until our back against the wall with our other allies. Seeing Jesse again is a relief, but also worrying since he wasn’t able to hold back the enemy on his side. This last position of ours is near a clocktower that has mounted machine guns and snipers giving us cover from it. Still, this doesn’t look good. I haven’t seen any more reinforcements in, however, they still outnumber us and we’re quickly losing men.

“I’m not sure how much longer we can last,” I admit, “Have you heard anything about our reinforcements?”

“I’ve heard that they jammed our communications,” Jesse says.

“Great.”

“We’re going to need a miracle to survive this.”

To our surprise, Jesse’s girl, Liah, and some of the other civilians come guns blazing out of the buildings to give us support.

“That’s not exactly what I wanted,” Jesse says.

“Neither did I, but it is giving me the kick in the butt I need to keep going,” I say.

With the help of the civilians, Liah, and Jesse’s girl, we manage to fight back our attackers and send them running off. We’re about to celebrate until we see more of them coming in, however, these reinforcements and those who are retreating are killed by the people coming in with their own trucks and cars. Our allies and new faces have finally come to aid us and came just in time. While everyone is helping the wounded and cleaning up the mess of the battle, Jesse and I sit down to rest.

“Well, that was something else,” Jesse says.

“This is the first time your home was attacked?” I ask.

“No. This is the first time I’ve seen strangers come to our aid. Usually, we have to offer something in return for help, but this is the first time people have come to help without offering anything. We’ll end up giving them something as thanks for their help anyways, but still. It’s good to see that there are some decent people out there.”

“Yeah. It’s a surprise to me too. There are more decent people out there than I thought.”

“What’s today?”

“Wednesday, I think. Why?”

“I was hoping it was closer to Friday so I could take a break. After we clean up, we’ll have to go after the people who sent these guys after us.”

“Yup. More days of tireless work are ahead of us. What? Are you saying you’re done? That you don’t want to do this anymore?”

“No, not at all. Are you saying that?”

“Nope. In fact, I’m already ready to go.”

“Same.”

Both Jesse’s girl and Liah overhear us and tell us that we have to help them and rest before heading out.

“Yes, ma’am,” we say.

Our enemies have tried to break us down today and failed. Even though there’s much work that needs to be done before our states will be what we want, we are not tired and out of the fight yet. We have today to make up for the mistakes of yesterday, pick ourselves up, lick our wounds, and do what’s right. Let’s get to it.

The End

No Innocent Men and Wednesdays: Chapter 3 – Never Judge Positively

Chapter 3 – Never Judge Positively

Once Liah got over me getting minor injuries, I was allowed to go out again without her talking my ear off. People whisper behind my back that she holds my leash and that we may have a secret relationship together. These are all rumors and nothing more. I’m not sure if I could marry someone five years younger than me and I have my doubts that she would even consider being with me. Regardless of that, I’m currently guarding a group of negotiators from our town to talk about trade, laws, and their implementation with our allies in our state. While our leaders are having their negotiations, I play cards with the other guards in the room appearing as inconspicuous as I can while keeping an eye and ear out for trouble. The other guards on the upper floors, roof, outside, and near the gates of the town keep in contact with the rest of us and keep us informed.

“Be on your toes, boys. We got enforcers from Old America coming in. They’re friendly so play it cool,” one of the guards from outside says.

Friendly enforcers? I doubt that the enforcers would come out here while on the job unless it was for a purpose that will benefit them or their country. The other guards agree with my view of it and make sure that our guns close and a closer eye on our leaders. Looking at Liah, I think of how badly she wanted to come and be part of the decision making even though her parents and their friends do most of it. It may have been a mistake bringing her here. Sure, our leaders are as armed and have light armor as we do, but still. You never know what's going to happen.

Before we know it, the enforcers walk into the restaurant we are in with their helmets off. Some stop what they're doing for a second to look at them before going back to what they're doing while others make it look like their presence isn't worrisome. On the other hand, I now know why they were called friendly enforcers and am interested to know why they're here. The badge on their shoulders is a lion with a sword in its mouth, a symbol for the Prowling Lion squad of enforcers. Their leader, Johnson, is a man of renown for helping the relations between Old America and the states that have fallen away from it and ridding the new wild west of scum. The Prowling Lions look around, talk to each other, and buy drinks from the bar before coming up to our table and watching our game until we’re done.

“Can we get in this, fellas?” Johnson asks.

The other guards look at me and we all nod to each other with some of us getting up to give the Lions seats while others play.

After a bit of playing, Johnson turns to me, and says, “Have you fellas heard of the reaper cowboy of the west? He’s said to be a man dressed in all black carving a bloody path of justice for God, family, and country. Some of ya’ll are dressed in black, but you, seem to match his description the best.” Johnson looks at me with a smile. “You aren’t really hiding it that well, especially with that outfit, eyepatch, and flower in your hat.”

“I’m not trying to hide it,” I say.

“I see you’re a man of confidence. I also appreciate your style. You’re really dressing up for the new wild west look, aren’t you?”

“Am I why you’re here?”

“In a way. We’re looking for help actually.”

“I’m not interested in joining the enforcers.”

“We’re not asking for that. Instead, we’re asking for help in ridding this land of criminals. There are a few places around here that are a bit too much even for us to handle and we thought we’d put the offer on the table for you fellas to join us for a good price.”

“We’re not mercenaries.”

“No, but ya’ll want to protect your new homes and we’ll let you do that. The new states and America don’t need to be at odds with one another. If you do this job with us, we’ll both get what you want and we’ll give you whatever you want in return, within reason, of course. We’re even less subtle than you, Mr. Reaper Cowboy, so I’m sure you know our reputation and that we’re honest.”

I look over to the other guards who shrug, whisper to one another or nod. Our leaders are told about what the Lions want and agree to their terms. We go on a mission for them to clean out our mutual enemies and they promise to make sure other enforcer squads don’t bother us. They try to offer us food, weapons, money, and technology from America, but we refuse these since we can make them ourselves. It’s a shame to know that some of the good states and secluded one town states can’t sustain themselves without help or doing jobs for others. By solving the problems within our own state, we can help theirs survive and grow.

Before the mission, the Lions put us through a training drill of shooting galleries and mock shootouts with bb guns so they know our strengths and who should go on be in what teams. This was actually fun and reminded me of the training I had as a soldier and enforcer. What was a training drill before a hunt became a game of guys showing off their skills filled with laughing, bets, and jokes at one another’s expense. During one of the drills, I manage to score better than everyone else and win the bet against me. Surely, I can buy Liah something nice with the money I got.

Johnson approaches us and says, “You fellas shoot like true marksmen, especially you, Mr. Cowboy Reaper.”

“You don’t need to keep calling me that,” I say.

“You’re right. I should call you by a more proper name,” Johnson says while removing my eyepatch, “Colton.” The once pleasant atmosphere goes silent for a few seconds. Johnson backs away and the guys with me move in subtle ways so that their hands are near their guns. “It didn’t take much research to find out your real identity.”

“And?”

“And? And what? Relax. We aren’t going to do anything to you, fella. Rogue enforcers like you are the last bounty on America’s hit list and with what you’ve done, you’re basically off it since you’ve been doing our job for us. If I could ask one favor, then I’d ask you to leave our more questionable fellow enforcers to us rather than bringing them to your own justice, but I get it and respect wanting to do it your own way.”

“It’s the way it should be done. Don’t blame me if a few ‘questionable’ fellow enforcers get the justice that they deserve. This is the new wild west after all and justice isn’t limited to being given out by America alone.”

“God has other executioners, I know. You can always come back to the enforcers with no fear of punishment. Your friends and other fellas would appreciate it.”

“I’m fine where I am.”

“Suit yourself, Mr. Colton.”

It feels like it’s been years since I last saw or even thought of my friends and family back in America. I’m sure they’re fine without me. I left them a note explaining what I was going to do and that was the last I saw of them and the last I’d like to think about them.

“Do you have any other cybernetics besides your eyes?” Johnson continues.

“No, not at all. Cybernetics weigh me down, even the ones that are enhancements to my skin to make it nearly bulletproof.”

“I get your point, but there’s nothing like surviving getting shot more than once and being able to go into combat the next day.”

“That’s true. You should still be careful. Surviving getting shot isn’t as advantageous when you’re missing your limbs, can’t go anywhere, and the pain won’t let you die because of your body’s resilience. Most of the people with these enhancements beg for mercy or to be killed faster, but the best I’ve done is shoot over thirty rounds in them, and I’m sure you can guess how they felt.”

The Lions and Johnson seem to be shocked by the idea as if they never thought about it.

“Um. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Once that’s all over with, Johnson considers who should be on what team. He decides that I should be on a three man squad with him and another of his Lions. I head out with Johnson and his lieutenant Azrael to a spot that’s a well known resort. Here people gather to relax, gamble, and play sports. It’s a no fighting zone where any kind of violence is returned tenfold and the associates of the perpetrators are denied entry to the resort for a set amount of time or a heavy due is paid to the offended parties and resort. Despite these security measures, underhanded deals still happen here like in the gambling dens of Old America and the resort does nothing about them if they don’t negatively affect their business and customers. People are also allowed to openly carry their guns just in case there’s trouble just like the rest of the states that aren’t part of Old America, which is one thing I’m glad about since most states in Old America don’t allow you to even own guns.

I’ve brought Liah here a few times and we had fun. I hope she doesn’t mind if we’re banned for a while and the resort’s owners, workers, and customers understand. We come in dressed as normal gamblers in fancy suits. With the information Azarel and Johnson gathered, we go to a certain area of the casino, tell a password to one of the employees, and are led to a secret underground casino. There are many more people than I’d think there be despite it being for a select few. Besides having more unique games and betting areas that appear more lavish and expensive to buy into, there are strippers and exotic dancers on stages and dancing from curtains on the ceiling and leading high paying customers into the back. It’s disgusting that men and women subject themselves to this wretched profession in a resort where there are many more jobs available.

“You alright there, fella?” Johnson asks me. “You aren’t hot under the collar for the women around you, are you?”

“I’m the exact opposite,” I say.

“I’d figure a man like you would be, but don’t shoot them. They’re just civilians trying to make a living. We don’t need to worry about them unless you think they’re hiding weapons in their skimpy outfits.”

“You never know.”

“Heh, sure. Keep your eyes open for our targets. You can take out your uncomfortable feelings on them. Besides, I have a uh…close relationship with some of these girls.”

“And a guy,” Azrael says.

“Hey, I didn’t know he was a guy until he took his clothes off.”

“You mean until you came back with a pain in your butt.”

“Hey, this pure fella with us doesn’t need to know that.”

He’s right. The three of us walk around the casino floor acting as if we belong and are interested in the games and gambling until we recognize one of our targets entering the area.

“He’s over there,” I say while pointing in our target’s direction.

“It’s showtime, fellas,” Johnson says before whispering the plan to us that’s been changed from the original due to the crowd.

A shot comes from behind us and hits Azrael in the back of the head. Turning around, we see that one of the exotic dancers from the roof was the shooter. More of the dancers and strippers take guns out of their cybernetic limbs and begin to shoot us. Johnson and I must help the somehow still living Azrael over the bar table to take cover. The civilians in the area run away and the staff calls for help. I return fire with my rifle while Johnson helps Azrael with his head.

“You were right. How much will I owe you?” Johnson asks.

“It doesn’t matter. Just help him and then help shoot them back,” I say.

Eventually, Azrael gets the bullet out of his head, inserts some kind of medical fluid that closes the wound, and drinks a shot that was left on the bar table before he takes out his gun to shoot.

“Are you good?” I ask.

“I’ll be good as long as that shot last, and whew! I never tasted anything that good that gave me this hard of a kick!” Azrael says.

He shoots fairly accurately with his burst rifle despite the hole in his head and drinking something that smells as if it could get you drunk by the smell alone. Anyways, we manage to kill our attackers, and by the time they’re dead, all the civilians are gone, however, more people show up to shoot at us few of which are our targets. We shoot a path through them and into the hallway they came from where there are more of them taking cover. This calls for my charge shots that shoot through their cover and forces them to retreat as we steadily advance. As we turn the corner, we are faced with a mounted turret at the end that nearly guns us down.

“Hold on, fellas, I got this,” Johnson says.

As he peeks his head out, he looks at the different metal and reflective surfaces and whispers to himself before shooting his pistol at a surface. The bullet bounces around the room until it hits the gunner at the end of the room in the face.

“Got’em!” Johnson says before high fiving Azrael who is as excited that he got the shot as he is.

Moving on, we enter a room dedicated solely to the exotic dancers. The room is dark and only momentarily lit up in certain places by the red, purple, and pink flashing lights. Johnson, Azrael, and I keep our eyes open and our guns up and ready to shoot at a moment’s-there! Shooting in the direction I see the silhouette of a person in, I manage to get them before they shoot us.

“Nice. Keep them quick hands ready, cowboys,” Johnson says.

We put our reaction times to the test as more people come in until someone turns on the lights. Looks like someone disagreed with the ambush tactic they had or thought it wasn’t working. Regardless, we take care of whoever they send our way and quickly check the bodies to find only a couple of our targets among them.

“We can’t be slowed down anymore by these goons. They could be on their way out as we speak,” I say.

“Yeah. Hopefully, there aren’t many more of these fellas they can throw at us,” Johnson says.

“There’s always more that they can throw at us.”

“I’d like to think positively, Mr. Colton.”

“Sure, you do that.”

Hurrying ahead and up the only active elevator our enemies were coming from, we find ourselves back on the ground floor where many gamblers and resort goers are relaxed as if nothing is happening. There are fewer people here than before, but there are also more guards patrolling the area. Making our way around them, we finally find our targets loading their goods, men, and prostitutes in their trucks and heading out one after the other. Using the few fuses I have left, I use my charge shots to kill the drivers of the vehicles that are already leaving before focusing on everyone else. Johnson, Azrael, and I focus on the people shooting at us while the rest drive off. We rush into our car and go after them, but Johnson stops the car once they're in sight.

“Why are you stopping?” I ask him.

“Sit back and enjoy the fireworks, cowboy,” Johnson says.

Looking ahead, I see the escaping cars explode one after the other.

“Who blew them up?”

“As part of our deal with the resort, we had to prove to them that our targets were bad for their business. It was a good thing they were intimated enough by our presence to shoot at us first to prove it. They must’ve been scared that we were able to get into the most secure area of the resort with no problem and knew that we were eventually going to find them. I'm sorry you had to take a bullet for us, Azrael.”

“You see me complaining?” Azrael says.

“You planned for them to shoot at us first?” I ask.

“Not exactly. It was the second plan. The first was the plan was the one that I went over with you to just take care of them in secret. Still, if that happened, then the resort's chauffeurs wouldn't have planted the bombs in the escaping cars and blown them up once they were far enough from the resort to not do any damage to the land, but also show them off as an example to those who would break the resort's rules. All in all, I'd say the mission went well, wouldn't you say?”

“I wish you would've told us the second plan.”

“Azrael knew.”

“Why didn't you tell me then?”

“Didn't need to. Assuming it came to it, I knew that you knew what to do.”

I guess there’s nothing more to say.

Before we leave the resort, Johnson gives the guards at the gates some cash, and then says, “Good doing business with you fellas.”

“Always happy to do business with you, Mr. Johnson. Until next time,” one of them says.

With the mission done, we head back home where some of the others have come back from their missions as well. The last group comes back not too far behind us. Johnson hosts a party for a job well done and no casualties. During the party, I talk to the guards of the other towns who went along with the Lions to hear what they did and share what I went through. I also hear the news from my watchers and what they’ve discovered while I was gone. Johnson and his Lions come to sit with us with their beers in their hands and smiles on their faces. They all look partially drunk.

“Why are ya’ll sitting over here by yourselves? We don’t bite and, hey, we’re friends now after what you’ve done for us,” Johnson says. Noticing the silence, he adds, “What’s up? Something sour the mood?”

“Yes. Your ways soured the mood,” I say.

“My ways?”

“They’re questionable, to say the least, and we’d like you to answer for them.”

“Why? You guys trust us, don’t you? I mean we’re the Prowling Lions. Our reputation precedes us.”

“It does in both positive and negative ways, especially the negative ways.”

“Such as?”

“From what I’ve heard, selling people, weapons, ammo, and more to scum so that they trust you.”

“It was to get them to trust us and give us the information we needed. Don’t worry, we got everything we gave them back and took out a major criminal syndicate as a result.”

“You still made deals with our enemies. Even kidnapped innocent people and murdered others.”

“Like I said, we did those things so we could-”

I slam my hand down on the table and then say, “It doesn’t matter your reasoning or what you gained. The ends don’t justify the means.”

“That’s funny coming from you, Mr. Cowboy Reaper. The only thing you do is kill.”

“I protect people from scum.”

“So you’re saying you’re justified while I’m not?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, Mr. Perfect. You should ask your sources about all the good I’ve done as well. We’re both saints in our own way whether you like to admit it or not. People in the new wild west and America call me a hero!”

“We aren’t saints and you’re no hero. Those don’t exist, especially out here. I’m not one either. I’m just a repentant sinner doing God’s work.”

“Oh? So what would God have you do with me?”

Hardly five seconds of tense silence pass until someone shoots three of the Lions. I don’t bother looking to see who it is until I and the others shoot Johnson and the rest of his Lions. It turns out that it was Liah who fired the first shots.

I get up from my chair and say to her, “What are you doing out here?”

“Why were you just talking to them? You know that scum like them don’t deserve to live,” she says.

“I wanted them to confess their crimes before their deaths. They weren’t complete scum.”

“Of course they were. They were amoral self-righteous people just like everyone else in America and the other countries in the world.”

“Not everyone is like that. Not everyone in the new wild west is God fearing like us. Regardless of that, you shouldn’t have been out here.”

“Once I learned about the sins of the Lions, the watchers could only restrain me for so long before I slipped away from them and did what had to be done. You taught me to have no mercy on people like this.”

“Yeah, I did.” Turning around, I and the other guards shoot the Lions who were slowly getting up and reaching for their guns. “I also taught you to shoot cybernetic people more than once to make sure they’re dead.”

“I’ll be sure to remember.”

I then walk away from the bodies trusting my watchers to properly trash them. To be honest, I wanted Johnson and his Lions to answer for their crimes because they remind me of myself when I was an enforcer, except I was more serious. Part of me hoped they would see their mistakes and repent as I did, but I guess it wasn’t going to happen. Before I changed for the better, I had my doubts. The Lions appeared to have no doubts about what they were doing and thought they could do no wrong. Believing that good and evil are subjective or based on circumstances was part of the reason America died. It created self-righteous people that believed and still believe they could never do anything truly wrong.

Here, in the new wild west, we’re going to show them why they’re wrong by creating the true America. With its rebirth will come a better people and a better country as a result. My bullets and blood are the building blocks that I add to it. Along with it, I am reborn as a better man. Looking back at the dead Lions, I’m glad that part of me is dead and buried in the garbage to be forgotten forever just like they will be.