Stray Cat Samba
(Somewhere high over Jupiter...)
"It's been hell with you, but it's all gonna to be worth it!" Spike yelled over the roar of his ship's engines. High over Jupiter, bursting through a cloud bank, he broke hard and high right as a missile and machine gun fire barely misses him and the city below.
"Is that all you've got?!" And there it was, that same cocky grin that he always had on his face at times like this. In moments, they had left the city behind and were shooting it out high over a barren wasteland. He dipped the nose of The Swordfish down and dove, heading straight for the surface of the planet. At the last second he pulled up and laughs as another barrage of twin missiles slams harmlessly into the rocky desert below. But his celebration is short lived as a stream of bullets shred into the body of his beloved ship. He growled and the anger welled up,
"Asshole! That's it! No more screwing around!" He screamed at the top of his lungs,
"You're going down Baker!" He suddenly broke hard left, his craft screaming in a sharp circle to come up behind his bounty's ship. It was over in a matter of seconds; A single ion beam blast right to the engines and that was that.
"Yeah!" He rejoiced as he watched the canopy of the other ship pop and the pilot came blasting out on the ejection seat.
He was on the ground way before Baker. Slightly smoking but victorious, The Swordfish sat parked on a slight hill. And standing just beneath her left wing, Spike Spiegel. Arms crossed with his pistol in hand and that same cocky grin, now wider than ever. As Baker's seat came crashing down onto the dirt, it only took a single shot into the air to erase all hopes of escape for him,
"Going somewhere friend?" His voice was calm, smooth now as Spike came walking up to claim his bounty.
"If I could. I gave you a good run though back there Spiegel, hahaha!" Baker's rough and low pitched voice burned like a flame into Spike's pride.
"Yeah, you did. Too bad about yours though." He said as he motioned off into the distance with a quick nod at the now flaming wreckage of Nate Baker's ship.
"It's not like I'll be needing to replace that for a long while." He glanced over to Spike's precious however and began cackling like mad,
"Unlike you, right? Hahahaha!" He laughed loud, raucously.
Spike growled and a grimace crossed his face,
"Yeah, you're right." Were the only words spoken as he holstered his weapon. It came like lightning and must have felt like it too; Spike launched a spinning kick right into Nate's left cheek, knocking him cold where he sat,
"At least I won't have to worry about any dental work." Cooly, he closed his eyes and reached into his pockets, producing a small silver lighter and a pack of smokes. He lit up and took a long, sweet drag and exhaled sharply as he looked back to his ship. He slapped a pair of cuffs on the unconscious Nate Baker, unbuckled him from the chair and dragged his limp body over to the shadow that The Swordfish was casting on the ground.
"Damn it's hot." He said, sticking his finger into one of the bullet holes in the hull of his pride and joy.
"Jackass." Said Spike, looking down on his mark.
(On a cold, rainy Ganymede night. We join another hero...)
Jett Black. Now here was a man to reckon with. Almost four years later, and he still hadn't changed a single bit. He sat, hunched on his bar stool nursing a scotch on the rocks. He sighed to himself, extinguishing his smoke, only to quickly light another while his eyes sat transfixed into the slowly emptying glass. It was just another typical night, the same as always. He'd never left his old routine after...that day. After Faye had walked out of the lobby that evening, he'd never seen her again. Or even heard from her for that matter. Nothing. When he had finally gone back to The Bebop, all of Faye's stuff was gone, her ship no longer in the hangar. He was alone with no sign of Ed or Ein either. Just like when this whole bounty hunter business first began. So just like this, night after night, here he sat. The same barstool, maybe a different bar and nursing the same drink night after night after night. Hoping to get some leads and get back on his feet. He figured there was no sense in just letting things slip away and allow himself to fall into a state where depression wouldn't give him the freedom to continue his life. With a small sip of that rich dark amber and a chaser drag of his cigarette, he listened intently to the world around him in the bar. People's slight whispers, happy conversations...everything. So far though, it was turning out to be a shitty night. Not a single bite or lead. Nothing! He was starting to get frustrated really. His last bounty sure, had brought him in a nice whopping fourteen million wulongs, but after damaging his Hammerhead, repairs to The Bebop and a few minor...okay, major, accidents to cover from damages done to public property, he was only left with a few hundred thousand. It was time to refill the bank and start making profits. But how the hell could he when there was nothing going on?! Was all crime taking a freaking break or something? He huffed and gave up. He slammed down the rest of his drink in a single shot, put out this last cigarette and was about to walk out when he heard something come from the far back corner of the bar:
"Let. Me. Go." It was a woman's voice, low and menacing. The hope of the threat she made should take its effect and grant her freedom. Yah, right. No such luck.
"Let you go? Sorry, but no. You did some pretty shady things to our boss, tricking him like that. Now because of you, he's rotting in jail. Bounty Hunter bitch, all your kind makes me sick!" The man tightened his grip around her arm, and at the same time the sound of a hammer clicking back on a pistol reached Jett's ears,
"Let's go sweetheart. We're gonna take a little walk. Now move if you know what's good for ya."
"You're gonna regret this." Came her voice once again, in the same tone as before.
That was his cue. Slowly, he stood up off the stool, tipped the bartender and walked to the back of the bar, giving the other two ample time to make it out. As he emerged out into the pouring Ganymede rain, he watched as the pair made their way down the alley, dissappearing into a nearby warehouse. He dug his hands into his pockets and followed slowly, no sense in rushing in just yet. Wait for it.
"Any last words sweety?" Came the guy's voice, echoing just slightly from inside the warehouse's docking bay.
"Ya. Screw. You." She was a feisty one. Jett couldn't help but crack a smile at her quip.
Jett stumbled in then, drunk off his ass and slightly slurring his speech,
"Oh! I uh...sorry to bother you two love birds, but do either one of you know where I can get a drink around here?" His voice was slightly high pitched and and he pointed every which way with his fingers, wearing a large smile as he sized up the situation in the back of his mind.
"Piss off jack ass. This ain't none of your business. God damn drunk." The guy scoffed and returned his attention to the girl.
"Look man, I just want to know where I can get a drink is all. Is that really so hard to tell me?" Jett's voice and speech remained the same. But as the poor guy turned to face him, he found Jett's figure looming over him like the shadow of death. He could only watch in horror too, as Jett's massive fist connected with his gut, doubling him over as the air was knocked out of him. The final blow came to his chin as an uppercut knocked him completely off his feet and onto his ass.
"Wow. And here I was, thinking that the only witness to my death was going to be a drunken idiot." She smirked, her voice light now, almost cheerful. The menacing tones from before had gone completely.
"You alright?" Were the only words Jett spoke.
"I'll be fine. Thanks." She said softly.
"Don't mention it." He said as he turned to walk back out into the rain.
"Hey wait! What's your name? Can I at least know that?" She called after him.
"...Jett Black." He said, his voice low and rough floated to her as he walked out into the downpour of Ganymede.
She watched him walk away, eyes fixed intently on his retreating figure,
"Well it's nice to meet you Jett. I'll be sure to remember you." She said to herself, a small grin spreading across her soft lips. She bent down then and went to work hand cuffing the poor guy knocked out on the ground. As she clicked the cuffs closed tightly around his wrists, she glanced up just in time to see Jett round the corner and disappear into the wet night.
(We now find Ed and faithful companion Ein. Umm. They don't even know where...)
'BARK!' Ein's familiar little objecting growl followed as he tagged behind a much different looking Edward Wong Hau Peperuv Tivrusky...the Fourth. She had finally evened out. Not so much a lanky stick figure anymore. But a curvy and sexy young woman. As they marched down the street though, it was evident that neither her style or personality had changed much. She was still that little girl from long ago, made evident by the fact that she was lost in thought and paying little attention to the world around her. Ein barked again and this time she turned around,
"Einy whiney, what is it boy?" Her voice hadn't changed either. She bent down and gave him a soft pat and Ein's stomach growled.
"Oh you're hungry. Hmmm. Hungry. Ummm." She stood up and looked around, spotting a hot dog stand across the street. Edward pointed and Ein glanced, giving her an approving and cheerful 'bark!'.
"I thought so. Edward is hungry too. Let's go Einey!" She threw her arms out to sides, waited for traffic to clear and sprinted across making the sounds of an airplane along the way. The line at the stand cleared and the guy focused intently on his magazine said gruffly,
"What'll it be?"
"Two hotty dogs please?" Said Edward, digging into her pockets in an attempt to find loose change.
"Fifty Wulongs." And the guy, still intent on his magazine went about putting the food together. He set them down and held out his hand.
"Uhhh. Edward doesn't have any money Ein. I'm sorry!" The both of them looked sad and depressed as Ein's stomach growled, Edward's chiming in after.
The vendor looked up just as they started to walk away, and he called after her,
"Hey! Uh. Look. Come on back. Hehe. No charge. They're free for you 'n your little pal." He said as Edward turned, oggling her body as she stood there.
With a blank look on her face, she simply blinked, shrugged and skipped happily back to the stand,
"Thanks mister." She said with a mouthful of food. Ein on the other hand caught on quick and simply growled at the guy.
"Hey don't even mention it gorgeous. By the way uh. You single? What's your name huh?" He said, leaning onto his stand.
"Edward!" She replied as she took another big bite of her hot dog.
The vendor, now perplexed at her name shrugged himself and smiled,
"You two have a great day."
"Thanks!" Said Edward, walking away with Ein in tow.
The vendor's eyes were transfixed on her retreating figure. Watching intently until they rounded a corner and were gone.
"Man. They just don't come that hot anymore. Haha." he said to himself out loud.
"So they don't come that hot huh?" Came a voice to his side.
He glanced over in horror to see his wife standing there, arms crossed and wearing a very angry look on her face. She started yelling at him, waving her arms and reaching for the magazine to whomp him with.
The yells slowly faded away as they made their way down another street. A loud WHACK stopped Ein in his tracks and he turned. He barked happily and caught back up with his best friend.
"Ein? Ever wonder where Spike and Jett and Faye-Faye are?" She said softly. Looking up into the sky, arms crossed up and over the back of her head. Ein replied with a soft bark and a whimper.
"Yah. Me too. I hope they're okay. Edward misses them so much." Just then, high above the sky scrapers and in the clouds, the roaring of ship engines and the sounds of machine gun fire broke her concentration. A shower of brass shells pelted them from above and they ran for cover. She peeked her head out just in time to watch a silver ship fly screaming past. And right behind it, a really familiar red ship. Just like...
"Ein!" She looked straight at Ein and a huge smile crossed her face.
"BARK!"
"Let's go Ein!" Yelled Edward as they took off down the street, arms out to her sides imitating an airplane again and chanting,
"We're gonna go see Spii-ike. We're gonna go see Spii-ike! Hahahahahahaweeeeeeee!" She sang and laughed, Ein trying to keep up closely behind her.
~fin
See You, Space Cowgirl
2:44pm 25th September, 2012