Tyrant. Scrapper. Part 5. Damantha Makarova

exchanged glances with Laneth and sighed heavily again:

      «Fine. I guess you’re right. I could use a bit of… entertainment.»

      «Yay!» Kayla jumped up, happy to hear the Captain agree to her little plan. «Can we go shopping first? Laneth said we can buy some new clothes!»

      Serena shrugged, smiling at the girl. Buying some new clothes could be useful and relaxing. Perhaps, she’d be able to find herself something interesting. Or, maybe, she’ll get her crew something as well – as a thank you for all the hard work they’ve done while they were chasing Falana.

      Chapter 3. Entertainment

      Elijah was bored.

      Even though he owned Essara and had the best spots to have his vacation, there was nothing that excited him there any longer. He grew bored with the women that hung themselves onto him. He felt the drinks becoming sour. He no longer wanted to bask in the sun or gamble his money away in the casinos around the planet.

      It was, of course, a great investment, but not a single establishment offered the necessary excitement any more.

      Elijah wandered the streets of the Entertainment Centre – the city he build especially for the people on vacation, so that they could find every possible way to spend their money and lift their spirits before returning to whatever dull lives they had outside of their vacations.

      He glanced back at the couple of bodyguards following him inconspicuously, but closely, and thought if he could ever escape them to find some kind of excitement in the simple attempt to keep them elsewhere.

      The man sighed, realising that he couldn’t do that – the tracking chip, implanted into his body, would signal them his location.

      A couple of beautiful women passed him and Elijah suddenly froze in awe – he was looking at a strange sight in this expensive place. It was a woman – a beautiful silver-haired young woman, who was wearing an eyepatch. He studied her lean, well-trained body and wandered who she was and what she was doing on Essara.

      She was obviously on vacation – with her friend, or partner, and a child walking by her side – but he never thought someone, who could afford a vacation on Essara, wouldn’t be able to afford a cybernetic eye or a specially grown replacement.

      Intrigued, Elijah slipped into the crowd, following the woman and feeling his heart filling with excitement for the first time in a long time.

      He followed them from one establishment to another, watching them purchasing things with ease, as if they didn’t have to bother themselves about money, and this made him even more intrigued to see them there – something didn’t add up.

      When Elijah saw the amount they spent in one of the clothes shops, he was beginning to feel himself a hunter out on a prowl. He watched the women and the child, and at some point began to question his first impression about the trio. The women did not, in fact, act like a couple. Instead, they seemed to be good friends – at least, that’s how it looked from his perspective.

      Even stranger was the girl – if before Elijah thought the women adopted her, now his thoughts turned to them being either her nannies or, perhaps, distant relatives?

      Elijah had too many questions and so little answers.

      And then he began noticing some details that made him shiver from excitement even more.

      The white-silver haired woman kept glancing around – inconspicuously, but definitely for a reason. And though she was smiling, he knew – she was attentive to her surroundings.

      She acted like she was a bodyguard of sorts.

      But she definitely didn’t earn like the bodyguards he ever encountered – even his own.

      Even more intriguing was the patch that covered her eye – if she had so much money to spend, why hadn’t she acquired services of a surgeon to grow herself a new eye? Or make a cybernetic implant she could definitely afford?

      When the women sat down at an open-space cafeteria to enjoy some drinks, Elijah was already eager to approach them. He spent a bit of time contemplating how to do that without raising suspicion.

      Finally, he ran his fingers through his neatly-styled hair and walked up, watching them all closely, noting how cheerful the little girl was. The man caught himself on a thought that in her age he was already denied being a child and was forced to be a young man, who was always taught and never allowed to be carefree.

      «I am so sorry to intrude, ladies…» Elijah bowed gracefully to the trio. «But I couldn’t help it. Allow me to introduce myself. Elijah Winchester.»

      «Good day to you sir. What brings you to our little table?» Serena twitched her brow, noting the expensive fabric of his clothes and a few tastefully chosen pieces of jewellery that adorned this handsome man.

      «I beg your pardon, miss, for the rude inquiry… But I couldn’t help notice your eye…» Elijah touched his left cheekbone. «Can I ask what happened?»

      «A job related injury.» Serena smirked.

      «If you are looking to fix it, allow me to recommend a medical facility right here on Essara. The doctors there can take care of it within a day, I promise you.»

      «Thank you, but we’re fine.» Kayla answered instead.

      The man glanced at the girl, then looked at the silent, but attentive olive-skinned woman, and returned his eyes to Serena.

      «I’m sorry if I overstepped.» he said.

      «Don’t worry, Mister Winchester. My eye will be fine in just a couple of days. Nothing to worry about.» Serena smirked again and sent a very harsh gaze to Kayla.

      «Please, call me Elijah.» the man bowed again. «I am sorry, if I only knew how to call you…»

      «Serena.»

      «Captain Serena to you!» Kayla said.

      Serena glanced her way again, tilting her head.

      «Captain? Are you, by any chance, a captain of a space ship?» Elijah asked.

      «What of it? I’m on vacation with my crew.» Serena replied, meeting the man’s gaze again.

      «Can I ask what kind of a captain are you? Of a passenger ship?»

      «We’re mercenaries.» Kayla intruded again.

      Laneth grabbed the girl’s wrist and hissed at her. Serena took a very deep breath:

      «I am terribly sorry, Mister Winchester. We are here on vacation.»

      «Please, Serena, I must ask you…» Elijah stepped closer. «Would you be willing to take a contract? Not immediately, by any means, have your vacation and start after you’ve done resting. If you are mercenaries and can afford Essara, then you must be good mercenaries. I am looking for someone trustworthy to take a contract to find someone. I will pay handsomely for this job.»

      Serena slowly stood from her seat, crossing her arms on her chest:

      «I don’t like discussing business on vacation, Mister Winchester.» she said.

      «I assure you, it will be worth your while.» Elijah said with a charming smile. «I own this vacation planet. I can pay handsomely for your time and skills.»

      Serena scoffed:

      «Then as an owner you’ll be able to find where I’m staying on the planet and send me a proper invitation with the time and place where we could meet to discuss business. But for the moment, farewell, Mister Winchester.» she turned to Laneth and Kayla and nodded aside. «We’re leaving, girls.»

      Both stood and hurried after the woman as she headed elsewhere.

      Elijah smiled. Finally, he met someone intriguing and worth his time.

      Perhaps,