Before Rei sprinted, Luna held out her hand in front of her.

“No, kitty!” the panther woman shouted. “Don’t get involve!”

"But that lizard creep will shoot that poor lady!" Rei cried.

"We’re bounty hunters! He isn’t on our hit list!”

“What? We can’t let him hurt her!”

“The police will arrest him.”

Rei looked around. “I don’t see them here!”

“Do you think they want to be here?”

Rei hissed and pushed Luna aside as she pulled out her gun. “Jenjang! I will not stand by and let him kill her!”

"Stop-"

Before Rei pulled the trigger, a gunshot blasted behind the lizard man. He dropped his pistol and fell to the floor with a hole in the back of his head.

Rei lowered her gun. "Ileol suga!"

The sheep woman stepped back from the corpse, shaking in fear. Then a sheep man in a business suit approached her, carrying a smoking rifle.

"Are you alright, my dear?" The business sheep man asked.

The sheep lady rushed to him and hugged him hard. "My darling! I was so scared! Thank you!"

"Wow!" Rei turned to Luna. "Everyone can defend themselves here?"

Luna turned a grin. "Anyone here can own a weapon and kill to protect themselves."

"But….. Isn't that illegal?"

"Not if the cops are around. Now get moving."

Rei sighed and placed her gun back into her holster. "If her husband didn't come, I would have saved her."

Luna walked with Rei. "You would have lost your job if you intervened. We bounty hunters only arrest and execute wanted criminals. We are not cops or heroes. We are hunters."

Rei doesn't know what to think. She thought bounty hunters were cops too, sort of. And they were supposed to help people too. Was everything she learned at the academy was wrong?

"Next time you try to disobey me, I will report you," Luna warned.

Rei kept glared at her partner as she continued to follow her. Igeos-eun heos-soliibnida!

*****

"The Black Dog?" Rei asked, standing in front of a black-painted house between tall buildings. A blinking red neon sign, shaped like a dog, hung over the doorway. The windows sparkled like red diamonds, reflecting the light from inside the circular structure.

“My snitch works there,” Luna explained. “Lots of criminals like to hide in there from the law. Hackers, murderers, drug dealers, assassins, corrupt cops, you name it. They share a lot of secrets like school girls gossiping. You can learn everything about the underworld in there.”

Rei never been to a ghetto bar before, which she never intended to go in the first place. She preferred hanging out at nightclubs with her friends because the clubs were safe and full of beautiful people. “Do we have to go in there?”

Luna smirked. “You can stay out here if you want. I won’t take long.”

Rei looked back at the street. Nobody else was walking around in the mist. She got a feeling if she stayed alone, someone might come after her from nowhere. Even if she has a weapon, she doesn’t know what else could live in the Underbelly. “I’llllllllll come with you. It won’t be a totally big deal.”

Luna shrugged. “Stay with me and don’t talk to anyone. The guys in there will eat you alive if they get the chance. They won’t screw with me.”

“Why not you?”

Luna laughed. “I busted up a few guys once. They also don’t care about bounty hunters unless they are wanted.”

“They can’t hurt me too, right?”

“Just stick with me, and you will be fine.” Luna walked into the bar first.

When Rei entered, she smelled stale beer and cigarettes in the blurry air. Red lights shined around the red-painted circular walls that crumbled to the marble floor.

Large shadows sat around the tables, drinking and chatting. And smoke rose above the crowd. From a corner, a jukebox played electronic guitar music with techno beats. Toward the back was the bar counter where bottles of beer stood on a shelf.

"Remember to stay close," Luna whispered.

Rei gulped and followed Luna.

They passed a table with two bulldogs arm wrestling while wearing leather jackets. An octopus man in a tank top held up eight bottles in his long tentacle arms and poured each beer into his beaked mouth. At a pool table, a turtle man hit the white ball with his stick, watching it knock two balls into one hole.

Nobody looked friendly, but all of them kept their peace to themselves.

Near the bar counter, Luna approached two cockroaches in biker suit, talking quickly to each other. She cleared her throat loudly, catching their attention. Without a word, the cockroaches slid off their stools and rushed out of the bar. They must have seen how dangerous Luna was when she fought against two men at the bar.

Luna sat down and padded the stool near her. "Sit."

Rei glared as she sat down. "I am not a dog!"

"Sssh!" Luna knocked on the counter. "Cheego! Yo, Cheego!"

From beneath the counter, a dwarf size chihuahua popped up and smiled at Luna. "Hey! Hey! What's up, mujer soltera! How you're doing?"

The Mexican mutt has two mechanic arms and a metal plate on his left face with a red camera eye on it. He wore a white tank top, covered in grease, and small shorts. He would look adorable if it wasn't for his shady cyborg parts.

"Hola amigo," Luna replied, "how is business?"

Cheego laughed like a little hyena. "Business is always good here, belleza. But sometimes-"

A loud roar echoed behind the catgirls. Rei turned and saw the bulldogs punching each other on the table. One of them tackled his opponent, crashing into the next table. Everyone spread out to watch the conflict.

"Oh mine," Rei gasped.

Cheego growled and pulled out a double-barrel shotgun. "Excuse me, senoras."

He jumped onto the counter and blasted his shotgun at the ceiling.

Everyone paused and glanced at him with wide, speechless eyes.

Cheego pointed his gun at the two bulldogs. "I said no fighting in my bar, pendejos! Get out before I blow off your testiculos! Out now! Vamos! Vamos!"

The bulldogs grimed and strolled out, leaving the table broken. The others continued their own doing.

Cheego jumped back behind the counter and placed his shotgun down. "Sorry, senoras. Can I get you anything?"

"It's too early for me to drink," said Luna, "and my partner is only sixteen."

Cheego stared at Rei and smiled. "Oooooooh, she's a sweet thing. New novia?"

Luna laughed and shook her head. "Teenage girls are not my type. She is my new partner."

Rei's left ear twitched when Luna said that. Sorry, but I'm straight!

Cheego scanned Rei from his rotating red eyes. "What's your name, nina?"

"You can talk to him," Luna whispered.

Rei forced herself to smile a bit. "Yeoboseyo, I'm Rei Young."

"Korean? I recognize your language."

Rei smiled with satisfaction. "Gamsahabnida!"

"De nada!"

Luna cleared her throat. "Hey! No time for introductions. Cheego, I need your help."

"Certainly, what do you need?"

Luna pulled up a plastic card and placed it on the counter. It has Gonzo's photo and his profile. "Have you seen this hyena?"

Cheego picked up the card and stared closer at it. "Mmmmmmmmmh….. Oh yeah! I have seen this bicho raro."

"When?"

"Last night. He arrived with some amigos. While drinking, they planned to party at the Pink Panther Lounge tonight."

"What is the pink panther?" Rei asked.

"Oh, a fantastic night club full of beautiful gogo dancers. Caliente! Caliente! Caliente! No stripping, but they do private dances for their clients in skimpy outfits. Super caliente!"

Luna giggled. "You're a pervert, Cheego."

The chihuahua glared at her. "Hey! A perrito can dream! I was working my culo off for weeks here! And the senoras can dig me."

"Do you know when tonight?"

Cheego placed the card down. "Not a clue. The paquete said any time at night."

Luna leaned forward. "What else did he say?"

Cheego shook his head. "Nothing much, just tonto cosas."

"Tonto cosas?" Rei asked.

"Dumb stuff. Nothing worth mentioning."

Luna grabbed the card. "Thank you for the help, Cheego. We will check it out."

"Hey! Hey! Hey! How about a drink? You can't come in here without a cerveza!"

Luna rolled her eyes. "Can I take one for the road?"

"I can give you a small shot. No la carretera."

"Fine. One hit."

"Gracias!" Cheego placed a small glass on the counter and poured brown whiskey into the cup. "Buenas cosas picantes!"

Luna took the cup and drank it in one gulp. She slammed the cup and burped. "De nada!"

Cheego laughed. "That is on the house unless your amiga wants one."

"She's underage."

"Ehhh, eso apesta."

Luna rose and saluted to the chihuahua. "Thank you, Cheego. I will see you next time."

Cheego held out his arms with an enormous smile. "No hay problema! Have a good hunt, senoras!"

After the catgirls stepped outside the bar, Luna glanced at Rei. "Can you dance?"