What you lookin' at, punk? Yeah, you, with your eye in your ear.

Back off, big guy, I'm not talking to you. But you should really ditch that soul patch and go with a mustache. Your upper lip is freaking me out. Like it goes right up into your brain!

Mmm? "Reapers", you say?

And Zeroth was never heard from again.

Hey Z

Interesting take. I was thinking they are intergalactic bounty hunters (reapers) searching for an exile who took up residence in Manhattan posing as a yoga instructor.

Hmmmm..............

Jake and Barney made good partners. While Jake was the nominal brains, Barney was good at tracking people down. Made no difference what planet they were from; Barney, being a Kleptor, no one was ever aware of precisely where he was looking at any given moment. Hell, mirrors were known to crack, just being in his presence. He also possessed a Kleptor's keen sense of smell.

Although not strictly in law enforcement, Jake and Barney provided society with a valuable function. Those arrested could post bail prior to their trail. If they couldn't come up with the cash, they'd seek out a bail- bonds man who would post the bail, charging the person 10% of the total bond. Of course, if the person 'jumped' and didn't show for trail, the bail- bonds man would be out the money posted. AND decidedly unhappy. That's where Jake and Barney came in. Colloquially called "reapers", they'd search out the jumper and bring him/her into court, thus saving the bonds man a financial loss. Depending out the amount of bail, it could be a lucrative business. Provided you stayed smart and stayed safe. 'Reapers' was not a class taught in a trade school. It helped immensely that the cops and the courts didn't question the condition that jumpers were in when they did appear in court.

SAY G

Yeah, baby. Now that sets up a conflict Barney has to bring in his MOTHER, who skipped Kleptor with a digital images that implicated a Kleptor tribunal....

GF:

You had the Barney Right!

Andy and Barny on a days patrol!

'I got my bullet', says Barney!

Andy, 'Barney, Mrs. McAlister just ran a stop light; take it easy'

Barney: 'OH Andy!'

Oh, THAT kind of "reaper". Phew! Zeroth shall be heard from again, just with his nose displaced a few microns to the left.

Alas, poor yoga instructor! I know her, Barney. A supposed woman of infinite flexibility; of most excellent smell; she hath bended her back a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is, that she is actually a kleptor. My gorge rises at it (no offense, Barney). Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft. Where be her now?