“Where do you get these guys?” the deep voice chuckled. But his employer knew it was fear that made him chuckle, not curiosity. They watched the footage over and over, the boy entering their smog trap, collapsing, then somehow- against all odds AND what all the researchers, doctors, and scientists said- did the impossible and got up and left. HOW WAS THAT POSSIBLE!?! The employer was furious, but he knew not to let it show through. Sighing deeply and steepling his fingers, he turned to his hunter. “So where you saving the best for last or something?” The hunter asked, his tall and lean figure silhouetted by the light from the computer screen in the dark room.
He leaned back against the desk, nervous but refusing to show it. There was something different about this one, different from all the other virused he’d hunted down. This one had spirit, fight, purpose. Hunting the virused had been fun for a while, a challenge, an exercise, a job. But the last few had been getting harder and harder. Plus he didn’t even know why he was hunting them. All he knew was his employer was at some sort of war with the Virused and their leader; they were both trying to get the most Virused on their side. Both for different reasons and in different ways.
“When I first hired you there was no way you’d be ready for what this target can do. I needed you to train hunting the child’s weaker brethren. This boy is the key to my success. If we can keep him from the Den, then we will easily win the war. You don’t need to know what the war is over. Also, this Virused has the largest bounty on his head, far larger than the others. He is the most dangerous, uncontrollable, and is just the plain wildest thing you will ever hunt. He has a bag of tricks larger than Santa’s bag of toys for the world’s children. He has cunning, wits, and worst of all: knowledge. His movements suggest he knows he’s being followed, and though this was our first attempt to catch him we have reason to believe the Den is already hot on his trail. And their leader: Kristopher Karason, will attack us to get the target if we capture him first. Karason will forget all the dignities and politeness of the prewar set up for this one boy. Do you understand how important this one Virused is to us? We don’t need any wild card Virused running rampant, they all need to have a side, especially this one! Do you understand that? Do you understand that when hunting this boy you may not come back, or that you could be taken by the Den just for looking him in a way they don’t like? Do you understand that this is the most dangerous thing you will ever do? And the most profitable thing also? Finally, do you understand that the Den will stop at nothing to keep you, US, from getting him, and that Jack will stop at nothing- NOTHING- to keep his freedom from us or the Den even if it costs him his life and how carefully this must be played?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good,” the employer purred, relaxing slightly. “Gather what you need and be gone before noon.”