As far as I was concerned, Karu was a failure. A pity, I’d employed her services several times previously and always been mildly impressed by her focus, confidence, and most importantly, results. But it seems she had decided that the money was more important than doing her job, and I could not abide that level of greed.

It had been a mistake, I realized, to add 5 million to the bounty for every attempt before the successful one. My intention was to encourage the hunters to go easy on the Exhuman and give it a chance to grow into its powers a bit. An amusing little game, I imagined, the hunter wanting to drag it out as long as possible to maximize payoff, but still needing to end it sooner than later before the Exhuman mastered their powers and became more than a hunter could tackle. It seemed Karu had let greed blind her to the latter and was just toying with him.

Or so I assumed. She’d been to fight him, what, three, four times now? And even after being hospitalized, she went out again with no results, not even noticeably wounded that time. I seethed at the thought of being hospitalized by an Exhuman, I knew I would be spending every hour I was locked in a regenerator planning my revenge, but I had my pride. Karu apparently didn’t.

Perhaps she’d realized she was too weak to defeat him and was just flying out there to have a nice little vacation on my dime. I cared nothing about the money, but the abuse of the system and level of disrespect were intolerable.

A light appeared on a small console on my desk. I pressed the glowing button and heard the voice of one of my servants filling the room. “Sir, you have another call from the agency,” he said, and then hung up. Concise, just as I trained them.

The agency, or more formally The Hunters Association. A legally grey organization of assassins and muscle for hire, both employed and denied to exist by the government in equal measure. Given the dangerous nature of Exhumans and how impossible some of them could be to incarcerate, capital punishment had long been a necessity, but politicians had always been squeamish about getting their hands dirty.

The creation of an extralegal body was a natural consequence. When someone needed to be dead for the betterment of US interests, we had plausible deniability now. It was a vigilante from that shadowy ops unit, not us, and they disappeared without a trace — along with several millions of credits. What a fortunate tragedy.

Being their primary bankroll and founders, we had a lot of sway over how they operated, and getting status updates regularly was one mote of compliance we demanded. Invariably the call I’d gotten was one such update. Karu failing yet again, I imagined.

I drummed my fingers with impatience as the line rung before a woman’s voice answered on the other end. “State your name,” she said, bluntly as a greeting.

“Deputy Director of the XPCA, Blackett.”

“Good evening, Director Blackett. Please hold while I pull your file. You have an update on an outstanding contract.”

I waited for a moment while she did whatever she did on her end.

“Director Blackett. A new hunter attempted to pick up the contract. Luminary.” Oh, that idiot. I already knew what her next words were going to be. “He successfully located and engaged the target but was unable to complete the contract.”

“Has Luminary already claimed the bonus?”

“No, he’s currently seeking medical attention and has not formally reported yet.”

“See that he does not. I am changing the contract to remove the bonus clause.”

“Sir, as I am sure you are aware, you can’t just alter a contract after associates have already attempted to claim it.”

“I don’t care,” I said bluntly. “I will no longer pay to support incompetence.”

“I understand that you may be displeased with our service, but the bonus stipulation on this contract was added by you–“

“And it is your agents who have consistently failed to make any headway whatsoever on closing the contract. Clearly my generosity in offering a bonus was short-sighted in light of your failures. I made a mistake, and I always correct my mistakes.”

She responded with only silence.

“Remove the bonus clause.”

“I…will see what I can do. You will still have to honor your commitment to Luminary–“

“That fop is getting nothing from me unless he somehow manages to pull his head out of his own ass and kill the Exhuman.”

“I will let him know you said so, sir.”

“Do so,” I said, and hung up on her.

I was very irked and had a servant make up some tea for me. The insufferable gall of some people, entitled little snowflakes, stumbling around with their begging arms outstretched, demanding a reward because they tried.

I don’t know what life lessons these people had learned but I knew they had missed some important ones. It was not my duty to educate the idiots, but if they insisted, they would find me an effective teacher.

I was only a few sips into my tea when the light on my desk illuminated again.

“Sir, you have a call from one ‘Luminary’.”

I sighed and punched the call through.

“Oui, monsieur, I am Luminary, a very famous hunter of peerless renown and mastery.” What an earful.

“State your business,” I gritted.

“Oui. I was recently on a contract of toi hunting zee dangeroux Exhuman called Ashton. It seems zere hazz been a clerical izzue of zome kind, az I am unable to claim which iz rightfully à moi.”

“If there’s a clerical error, go talk to a clerk,” I said, reaching for the button to hang up.

“Non, non, non. Zee error lies with toi, I have been told. Monsieur, I encourage you to reconsider. It does not do to have angry, famous hunters, who are very dangeroux people to be mad at you.”

“A threat?” I asked, genuinely amused.

“Non, think of it as a compelling argument.”

“Somehow I find myself not compelled.”

“Monsieur!”

“Bring me the bounty I paid for and you’ll get your money.”

“Let uzz talk zis over like civilized men, non? Allow me to convince you that I am worth zee money.”

I reached out to hang up again but paused. It had been a slow week without any Exhuman events to speak of, and I was growing restless. A little bloodletting might be amusing. Whether it was this idiot’s blood, or the Exhuman’s, I didn’t much care.

“Very well. East Point train station, there’s a coffee shop. In say, two hours?”

“Monsieur,” he said, his voice pained. “I am over a hundred miles away–“

“Then you’d best stop talking and start looking up flights.”

Two hours and fifteen minutes later I was sitting at a table under a canopy, finishing my tea and preparing to leave when a white luxury sedan came tearing into the parking lot and skidded to a halt. Urgently, the driver emerged from the vehicle, but the passenger in the back had already let himself out. Somewhat disheveled, he stomped over to my table, smoothing out his red-and-black combat jumpsuit as he walked.

“Deputy Blackett?” He asked. He needn’t have asked. I was not in uniform, certainly, but the only other patrons seated around me were a pair of my servants and bodyguards, who were most definitely in uniform.

“Luminary, I presume. So nice to meet you,” I said, gesturing to the seat opposite me without bothering to stand or smile. “What brings you here?”

“Monsieur’s unreasonable demands,” he pouted, and sat down with his arms crossed.

“I believe you were going to sell me on your services?”

“But of course. Wilfried, un café au lait if you please,” he said to his driver, who bowed and disappeared inside the coffee shop. Monsieur Blackett, as I am certain you are aware, the XPCA is a proud sponsor of à moi.” He flashed me one of the many corporate logos patched onto his suit, as though him already taking our money was some point of pride. “Clearly, persons in your organization with excellent taste and–dare I say, more authority than you–think I am clearly a valuable azzet.”

“How unfortunate for you that they are not the ones who posted this bounty.”

His face froze in an uncomfortable grimace for a moment before he regained composure.

“But of course I did not expect that alone to sway monsieur. That iz why I have zeez periodicals for your perusal.” From nowhere, he produced a handful of pamphlets, all prominently displaying his own smiling face, often plastered on a body in a dynamic action pose. He thrust the peacock-tail of paper at me, but I simply continued staring at his obtuse face, keeping mine as expressionless as possible.

“…perhaps, I shall read zem for toi?” He dropped the pamphlets on the table between us and began reading from one. “Who iz Luminary? Iz he a savior, a celebrity, or iz he the twice-award-winning most eligible bachelor in America? No, he iz all of zeez, and more–“

“I grow tired of this PR charade. Give me a compelling reason. Cecil.”

He slumped back in his chair. “Cecil? Who iz this–“

“The Hunter’s Association sources much of their intelligence from us. Do you think I don’t know a few things about you?”

“Monsieur, surely–“

“I also know that you were born in New York and have never once been to France. You may dispense with the falsities.”

It was fun to watch him deflate in his seat.

“Alright,” he said, his voice thankfully devoid of the flowery pomp. “You got me.” He leaned in close. “But you know what? I’m still your man for the job. These pamphlets and the whole Frenchy thing? That’s to sell the rubes. But you and me, we’re real men of action, people who get things done. I’m a hired killer for God’s sake.”

“Currently you’re walking the line on being an un-hired killer.”

“And you’re making a big mistake in doing so, boy-o. You want this kid dead, I’ve seen his stuff now. I can take him, easy. Kid’s a damn joke.”

“If it’s so easy, go kill him and collect.”

“Ah-ha-ha. You’d like that wouldn’t you? You still owe me my five million, and I don’t work for free. That’s what we’re negotiating here. You give me that, and then I go get your little boy’s head.”

“I rescinded that bonus because certain unscrupulous failures were taking advantage of my generosity.”

“You must be talking about Karu,” he said, putting his feet up on the table. “Yeah, she’s something alright. Crazy religious bitch. Can you believe she turned me down? Me! Luminary?” He gestured down at himself. “Turning all this down, can you believe it?”

“Somehow I can.”

“You’ve got a real smart ass on you,” Luminary muttered. “Y’know, I was just pretending before for the cameras, and when I said that wasn’t a threat, that was pretend too. I am absolutely threatening you.” I saw motion on either side of me as my bodyguards stiffened. I waved them down. “Yeah I see you goons. I ain’t afraid of you. I eat Exhumans for breakfast, the fuck are you supposed to do to me?”

“It doesn’t seem like a very solid business model to threaten your employer,” I mused.

“Helps that you ain’t my employer if you ain’t paying me.”

“I was referring,” I gestured to his shoulder with my near-empty cup of tea “to that.” He looked down at the XPCA patch on his sleeve and then sneered at me.

“I don’t think anyone would suspect me if there was an unfortunate accident.” I rolled my eyes. Any hope I had of him not being a complete idiot had fled. In fact…

I picked up my mobile and began paging through contacts.

“Had a change of mind, eh?” Luminary said, leaning back in his chair with an impossibly superior grin.

“Yes, I have. I’ve realized that if vermin like you are the best the agency can produce, I’m calling off the contract altogether.”

He slammed his fist into the table, making my saucer jump. “That still doesn’t get me my five million,” he said.

“How observant of you,” I mused.

I was about to dial the agency when I caught a low sound of an engine in the distance, louder and higher than a VTOL, and growing unmistakably louder. Luminary, his servant, and my men began to scan the skies. Paranoia was in their natures. Soon the roar of engines became loud and distinct, a personal plasma jetpack, military grade. But what would military personnel be doing, flying through the city streets?

I figured we were about to find out.

In a moment, a person in a white armored flight suit appeared, leaving streaks of blue plasma in the air behind them as they maneuvered easily over the city streets. Traffic had slowed to a crawl, and pedestrians were craning their necks to take a peek. Some seemed interested in retreating indoors. The flyer descended gracefully, landing on tiptoe on the sidewalk at the entrance to the cafe. Luminary gave a tremendous sigh as the flying woman pulled off her red-glowing visor and approached with it held under one arm, shaking out her mane of blonde hair as she went.

“Deputy director Blackett,” she said with a snapped salute. “My apologies for disrupting your tea. I’m here to collect this one.” She jerked a finger towards Luminary, who reacted with exaggerated shock. His acting was as poor as his French.

“Why, mademoiselle Karu!” he proclaimed, back in his idiotic faux-speech again. He rose to greet her, and snached one of her hands with the intention of kissing it. Before it reached his lips, he reeled sideways as the hand slapped him hard across the face instead.

“You are an embarrassment to our order and a being I despise with my entirety,” she said, her green eyes burning as she glared at him. “You have abused your position of privilege to look up a client’s personal information in order to arrange a private meeting, violating numerous regulations and disgracing the association and its members — and me. You will come with me at once to face disciplinary action for your transgressions.”

“Not so rough, mon amie. Save it for the bedroom, I beg of you.” He gave a salacious wink. I doubted very much that any of the weapons hanging off of Karu’s frame were as lethal as her glare was in that instant.

“My apologies again,” Karu said, turning her attention to me. “But it appears I will be forced to engage the infractor in personal combat. I would politely request that you vacate the premises as there may be significant collateral damage.” She put her helmet on and the two red strips lit up ominously as she turned back towards Luminary. “And also significant intentional damage.”

“I do not think that will be necessary,” I said, rising from my seat. “Luminary here was about to go. You see, he convinced me that continuing this contract was a pointless waste of my time, and that was what he’d come here to do.”

“Why you–” he began, but stopped as Karu raised a weapon to within an inch of his face.

“You are cancelling the Ashton contract?” she asked, a little too casually.

“It seems appropriate, given the level of difficulty is apparently beyond your association’s ability to deal with.”

“I…would prefer that you not,” Karu said, a hint of something in her voice. Regret? Pleading? It seemed that perhaps my plan had worked after all, and she and the Exhuman had formed a rivalry.

“Give me a good reason why I should keep the contract out,” I said. Luminary, his eyes locked on the barrel of the weapon at his nose blindly fumbled for one of the pamphlets on the table and thrust it at Karu, who touched it only long enough to let it fall to the ground where she buried the smiling face of Luminary under her heel.

“Oh that was just unnecessary,” he said.

“I have fought the Ashton Exhuman several times,” Karu said, completely ignoring the idiot. “Each time he surprises me with newfound strength and ability, but furthermore, each time he surprises me more with continued compassion and justice.” She lowered her gaze slightly. “This is a selfish request, but fighting him has awakened something within me. I know not what, but I do not wish to conclude this…revelation prematurely.”

The visor snapped to my face and the red lines burned into my eyes as she met my gaze directly. “I do not understand what is occurring between the two of us, but I am committed to see it through…to one end or another. I am not certain I can justify this if the bounty is withdrawn. That is my reason.”

“That is the worst–” Luminary began.

“Very well, Karu. The bounty is on under one condition then,” I said.

“State your condition.”

“The bounty is now exclusive to you. Should you die without claiming the bounty, it will be revoked. Should another hunter claim the contract, it will not be paid. Is that acceptable?”

“What about my five million?” Luminary bleated.

“Your condition is acceptable to me. I will provide the association with a recording of this conversation and the contract will be amended immediately. Please review the new terms to ensure your satisfaction at your leisure.”

“Very well. You may leave. I think, after all of this excitement, I could do with another cup of tea.” I turned to a servant. “Ginseng and orange this time, I think.” He vanished inside with a crisp bow and Karu pulled Luminary from the table with a jerk on his obnoxiously large black collar.

Perhaps I was being soft on the hunter by not revoking the contract, but that burning bond she’d expressed…that was just what I’d wanted. The hunter and the Exhuman, neither able to live while the other survived…it was beautiful. And either the Exhuman would die and prove that he was useless, or live, and grow yet more interesting to observe.

I took a scalding sip of my new cup of tea and watched with the crowd as Karu loaded Luminary into an unmarked car which pulled up, leaving the man’s servant standing listlessly by their sedan. It had been a while since an Exhuman event had demanded my attention, but somehow, I was still finding it possible to amuse myself. At least for now.