Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 497: A hot reward.
Janet had stayed back to eavesdrop, her hands were steady even as her heart raced, because she had heard everything. Every word about bounties and Quinn territory and once the room was empty, she returned under the pretense of clearing glasses, her movements smooth and practiced, fingers brushing the desk just long enough to snatch a flyer. She folded it quickly and hid it beneath the tray.
No one was stopping her, not that anyone was interested in servant activities, and once she was safely in a quiet corridor, she unfolded it.
Her eyes scanned the generous promise of wealth and protection and accommodation. A slow smile spread across her face as she thought about Eden and its upper rich side full of people kissing the asses of the wealthy while calling it loyalty, about Finch’s temper tantrums and the way she had to hide her superpowers to avoid being claimed or used.
Her fists clenched, laughing softly to herself as she whispered, "Four years of never lacking in the apocalypse sounds just about right." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞
She folded the flyer carefully and tucked it into her clothes, already planning her exit, already feeling lighter, because Eden had nothing to offer to her.
****
The flyers traveled faster because the drones spread them day and night. They slipped through hands, markets, camps, and guarded gates until even places that claimed isolation felt the itch of bounty.
That was how they reached the Rainhounds Mountain, where Ceaser now sat beneath borrowed shelter pretending to be a miracle in human temperature. He boasted softly but persistently about superpowers he did not have while carefully never demonstrating them.
He had told Zadok with a straight face that at full potential he could freeze a man solid or burn him alive with just a touch, adding humbly that he was still "learning this ability"
His words had earned him a long stare from Zadok, a man who trusted supplies more than stories. And yet Ceaser was allowed temporary accommodation, not because Zadok believed him, but because Ceasar claimed the military would be picking him up soon and those who helped him would be rewarded.
Lugard had given him one week, which was all Ceaser needed, because the moment he was let into the Rainhounds base, his ears sharpened and his hunger focused on one name, Moon Raine.
A name that made old residents stiffen and look away whenever he brought her up. It was because speaking of Moon was forbidden, an order Zadok enforced with a cold efficiency and the new residents that were being allowed in knew nothing except whispers and half-stories that contradicted themselves. A woman who could tell the future, a traitor, a saintess, a prophetess, depending on who spoke and how afraid they were.
Ceaser smiled through it all, patient, observant, filing away reactions rather than answers, until fortune bent slightly in his favor when Zadok himself began asking questions about Moon.
Zadok had seen the flyer, and he wanted the bounty, he wanted the leverage, wanted the power that came with delivering Moon or Fiona Quinn. Two wealthy twin siblings who once took temporary shelter at Greenland Academy had already claimed to have met a man named Dustin Raine there, but they had not seen Moon Raine.
The twins had stammered through their story, explaining they had stayed in the academy for only one night at the guest house under strict supervision, that they had paid and left by morning.
Zadok had scoffed at their ignorance. "If Dustin is there then Moon has to be nearby, they are family and they wouldn’t separate unless forced." He had brought a whole squad of superhumans to rescue her from Pastor Salem’s clutches. If it was not to protect her, why do all that?
Within hours a team was formed, orders barked, routes drawn, Greenland Academy and Burton City were marked for searching.
When Ceaser volunteered to join the team Zadok barely hesitated, clapping him on the shoulder and saying, "Let’s see those powers of yours in action."
Ceaser smiled thinly and replied, "If the situation requires it," because he didn’t care about the bounty, not truly, Moon was worth more than paper promises and numbers, she knew the future.
He refused to have useless teammates again or be buried underground without hope for survival.
*******
Meanwhile, in Burton city at the Greenland Academy, life had been deceptively calm. They were making money by letting travelers rest at the place in exchange for money, supplies and information. Dustin had almost convinced himself that maybe he could live happily, that maybe Linda Bing could give him a child. That maybe he could start afresh.
Until a few minutes ago when he found the flyers hidden beneath their bed, folded and creased like secrets. He stood there staring at them as if they might explain themselves, his chest tightening, his hands shaking slightly, because you didn’t hide things under the bed unless you thought they were important.
His wife used to keep birth certificates, banking information, passwords, education documents and the like under the bed. Linda had a similar habit. But in her case, she was hiding a secret as well.
He was still frowning at the flyers when Linda emerged from the shower, towel wrapped around her hair, humming the school anthem of her academy.
When she saw the flyers in his hands, she stopped cold but continued to hum, not panicking, not scrambling for excuses. She was calm, infuriatingly calm. Dustin raised the papers, his voice sharp with disbelief. "What is this? Why the hell do you have these and why do I not know about this bounty!"
Linda shrugged lightly and said, "Because they could be valuable someday. I did not know what to do with them just yet, so I kept it all to myself."
Her response made something inside him crack, he could sense the lies, so he pressed on. "How long have you known? Who else knows?"
She sighed like he was being unreasonable. "I don’t know Dustin. Some guests left them here, all I did was keep them. Don’t turn this into a fight, I am tired."
Dustin laughed once, a hollow sound, then sank onto the bed as if his bones had given up, because he knew what that meant, that she had already moved pieces without him. "Those men you have been sending out since she left were to find her, right!"
She didn’t deny it, just tilted her head and said, "Don’t look at me like that, Dustin, is it not better that we find her instead of others? We are her parents after all."
But Dustin pressed on, demanding the truth behind her motives.
Linda gave it bluntly. "Moon is not exactly a moral compass! From what you have told me; the girl is wicked. The Quinns didn’t put a bounty on her for no reason. Moon must have done something unforgivable. If we find her and turn her in, we can get supplies and money. Even you have to admit that it is a good deal."
Dustin blinked slowly, hurt giving way to clarity, because he knew the Quinns, knew their faults and loyalties. Perhaps, they had found out what Moon had done to Cassius, or maybe she had done something worse. If it was the old days, he could plead for his daughter.
But times had changed, Sunshine was Mrs. Quinn. Given the bad blood between her and Moon, this bounty was likely to end in a death sentence. As much as he was angry with his daughter, he would not allow Sunshine to kill her. Maybe, their family could even reunite. He would not have to please a woman in order to keep a roof over his head.
Without another word he began packing his things frantically, shoving clothes into a bag with shaking hands, and Linda stared at him in disbelief, "What do you think you are doing?"
"I am going to Fortress four." He answered simply.
"To get the bounty without me!" Linda scoffed loudly, mocking him even as she began packing as well, "Don’t dream of it. That thirty million is mine." she declared, then corrected herself with a smile, "Ours,"
Dustin laughed at the audacity, because he had his own plans forming fast and sharp, plans that involved using Linda’s men to help him search and then discarding them the moment he and Moon were safe.
