After what seemed to be an eternity, the train finally arrived at St. Browning, much to the relief of the anxious passengers.

The train doors opening to reveal the station with the waiting medics and officers were a sight for sore eyes to them who barely escaped death in what was supposed to be a normal daily commute. Some even went as far as to kiss the station floor in delight.

Medics began to assist the injured, while the officers helped usher out the passengers in an orderly manner to contain the chaos. Most were concerned about their valuables getting lost, while some wanted to use the station phones to contact their families to let them know that they are safe.

Amidst the sea of people, Diether went on with his business and made for the station exit.

Or at least he tried to.

A group of uniformed people, led by a woman with short black hair, barred his path.

Without saying a word, she smugly beckoned a defeated looking Diether to follow them.

Their office, a three story building made out of white stone, was only a short distance away from the station. Inside was spacious, and had a number of people running to and fro either carrying a stack of documents or running some sort of errand. Some of them would stop and greet the group and even Diether, to which he’d just respond with a tired smile and a wave.

Finally, they made it to the woman’s office. There wasn’t much that made it stand out from a typical office, save for a large couch with several pillows on it which meant it was more of an improvised bed rather than something for guests to sit on.

“Nice try, Diether.” she said as she sat down behind her desk. Diether meanwhile just crashed and sank into the couch after resting his luggage against the wall.

“How’d you find me, Hilda?”

“You’d think after 3 times that you slipped past us that we won’t learn? Besides, you’re easy to spot with that thing on your back.” she replied, pointing towards Diether’s luggage.

Diether tilted his head lazily, in an attempt following her finger point.

“Oh, yeah, now that you mention it, I do stand out a bit with this on my back.”

“You’re carrying a big, black coffin like a backpack. There’s no “a bit” about it; you’re sticking out like a sore thumb.”

“People lug around bigger swords and such and no one bats an eye. How am I different from them?”

“The difference is that those are weapons people are accustomed to seeing ever since. You, on the other hand, are carrying a casket.”

“Hm. Good point.”

“If you’re done arguing semantics with me, then it’s time we start the usual procedures. I promise, we won’t take long.”

“Can I get some food while we’re at it?”

“Sure. Roast beef sandwich, right? I’ll have the rookies bring ‘em over.”

“Sweet.”

“Anyways, let’s start while we’re waiting for the food to arrive.” She opened a folder that was lying on her desk, going over it with a furrowed brow.

Debriefs like this are mandatory for bounty hunters in order to claim their rewards, and also as a means for the authorities to keep them in check by making sure that they did not go overboard. Infractions such as collateral damage will deduct from their rewards, and extreme cases like civilian casualties will lead to a warrant or their very own bounty.

Evading debrief sessions can also lead to arrest, but it didn't stop Diether from ducking them all the same. Eventually most people just gave up since they can’t be bothered to spare manpower to look for him, and a lot of reputable people in the field vouched for his work anyways.

“...An entire train car’s worth of dead people, just because he needed to work out the kinks of his fancy new toy. Rarely do you see that kind of unhinged criminal nowadays, and frankly I want it to stay that way. We can’t afford having more of his kind running around, and just going over his rap sheet makes me sick.”

“Sadly, those types are not as uncommon as you think, Hilda. They’re just more of the “behind-the-scenes”, scheming kind, compared to the wild bastard that McKay was.” Diether replied while adjusting the pillow he was resting his head on.

“”Wild” is an understatement. Just the thought of having to explain to the pencil pushers upstairs as to why we weren’t able to nab him sooner and having to face the families of the deceased is making my head spin.”

“Just do what your bosses do best and pin the blame on yours truly. Spare yourself the headache.”

Hilda just stared at him in disbelief.

“I can’t do that in good conscience, and you know that.”

“You sure? I mean, it’s not really a big deal to me–”

“It is to me, damn it!” Hilda slammed her desk hard with her fists as she stood up in rage, to the shock of Diether who sprang up from the couch and to the officers that brought in the food she requested for Diether, who just came through the door.

Hilda sighed as she sat back down.

“Look, just please never suggest that to me again, ok? It’s still my responsibility since I’m on the case, and I’d never throw a good friend under the bus just to save my hide."

“Right, sorry. I promise not to bring it up ever again.” 

“Anyways, back on the subject. Everything seems to be in order with your testimony and the evidence we’ve gathered on-site, so you should be able to claim the bounty without any deductions whatsoever.”

Diether paused for a bit to finish the rest of his food before responding.

“No deductions, huh? That’s great. I need to restock on bullets since I used up more than I should have in that fight.”

“I figured, since normally it wouldn’t take you that long had you used something other than your revolvers.”

Hilda stood up once more, this time extending a hand towards Diether.

“I don’t get to do this often since you’re quick to leave the scene, but on behalf of the force and the people of St. Browning, thank you for bagging that bastard.”

A pained expression was written all over Diether’s face, and he tried his best to hide it with a wry smile.

“Thank me for what, exactly? That I blew my chance to kill him the first time?” There was a hint of regret in his tone as he adjusted his hat while looking away from Hilda.

“Look, you never knew that was gonna happen–”

“I could have prevented it at least, had I not missed a shot that I’m supposed to make. There’s only so much room in my mind for people that I let down, and it’s getting a bit crowded lately back there.”

Realizing that he dampened the mood, he quickly switched back to a lighter tone.

“Hey, if anything else, now I have more reasons to not miss my shots. Chip on my shoulder and all that jazz."

Hilda’s worried look turned into a smile.


“I’ll never not be impressed by how quickly you keep your emotions in check.”

“I had to learn how to.”

“Just take it easy, yeah? Remember, bottling up your emotions is similar to holding in your bowel; you’re only making it harder for yourself if you don’t let it out. Find some time to release it all and you’ll feel much better.”

Diether roared in laughter.

“That’s both the best advice and, at the same time, the worst analogy I ever heard.”

Diether shook her hand firmly.

“Thanks for always having my back.”

“Someone has to look after your sorry ass. Are you heading over to the bar?”

“Where else am I to go besides there?”

Hilda handed over a piece of paper towards Diether.

“Let’s just say a friend recommended your services to a damsel in distress. Just be sure to keep yourself sober enough to listen to her request.”

Diether gave the paper a quick glance before pocketing it.

“I’m a professional. I’ll have time to drink my regrets away later once the job is done.”

“I trust you. Now, don’t keep your client waiting.”

“Yeah, yeah. See you around.”

Bidding farewell, Diether headed out the door.