Coria laughed lightly raising her glass to man across from her. It appeared that luck had been on her side so far. Vicious had still been alive by the time he'd reached the hospital to have death records written up. How? She didn't care. Why? She didn't know. The point was, he was still alive. It was a impossibility to such an ends she was positive there was some kind of drug involved. Upon further investigation her suspicious had been proven correct.
His entire body had not stopped functions entirely, but only a level that anyone doing a quick check would believe so. Had it not been for the doctor she dined with now, Vicious would have been buried alive. This particular doctor was the best for the job, and often worked with various syndicates in private. Everything was paid up front, and no record were kept of the work he did.
"What of this Spike though?" He asked drawing her focus away from how lucky she had been for once.
"He is a minor problem, and so long as he continues on under the impression Vicious is dead all is well." She paused to sip at the red wine, savored its taste, and then locked eyes with doctor. "I want a full record written up that Vicious is indeed dead, and then a grave stone made."
"It seems you have everything covered than. He could not have chosen a more faithful student. I believe I will be on my way. It was good to speak with you on such casual terms for once." The doctor bowed and left. He was average on all accounts and easily blended in to a crowd. His description could fit a thousand different individuals, and was a perfect cover. For that attribute she envied him.
But even as the man left her eyes quickly settled on the real reason for being here, Spike. It was amazing how quickly he had recovered after leaving the hospital. Since his departure from the hospital she'd taken it into her own hands to keep track of him. There wasn't anyone else she'd trust the job to. It was foolish to trust something so personal to someone who thought it was merely business.
That may have been the reason she'd never really understood why Vicious had original given her orders to keep an eye on the strange green-haired bounty hunter. Back then she had not understood the past history between the two at all. She had been even more puzzled when Vicious had ordered her to keep an eye on the hunters back from a distance as well.
Spike laughed with Faye, a subtle attraction between the two made her heart clench painfully as she tried to at least look like she was enjoying her meal. The food went down as tasteless while her mind focused on a many other things. She needed to find a new place to center the syndicate around, a head quarters. She had her eye on a large office building on Venus but the air posed a problem she wasn't ready to deal with. It would be ridiculous to have ever visiting member talking in high pitched volume that would only serve to annoy her.
Faye stood tearing her attention away from the housing issues again, and as the seemingly happy couple moved to leave she was vaguely aware of their bounty making a rushed exit. It was amazing how the hunter had turned to prey without ever even knowing. She laughed to herself, paid the bill, and made to leave when she realized the Spike was looking at her instead of his bounty.
Coria quickly diverted her attention as if she didn't notice his existence, and walked right passed him out the door. Their bounty was quickly making his way down the street with Faye hot on his heels, but Spike did not pursue them. He was following her as she stood and hailed a taxi. It was looking to be a long wait as the firs tone didn't stop, and the second one already carried a customer.
"Do I know you?" She jumped at the closeness of his voice, and turned quickly acting more surprised than she was.
She bowed her head and blushed lightly holding her purse close to her chest. "To be honest I attend so many business parties and such that I we may have before. I'm Karia." She lied easily and held out a gloved hand to him as she dropped her purse to her side. As he took her hand shaking it lightly she was instantly grateful that she'd chosen to dress casually.
"I think you might know who I am."
"I'm sorry sir. Are you with Carrigan Corps?" Stepping back a pace she eyed him warily hoping that he was believing her. "Perhaps a private firm?"
He grinned rubbing the back of his skull and shifted his stance to a more casual one, and the defensive one he'd been holding. "Sorry, name's Spike Spiegel. You looked like someone I knew through mutual friends. I guess I'll see you around."
As he turned to leave she let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding until was actually gone. Her heart pounded in her chest as a taxi finally stopped, and she all but leapt into it. In the past two years she'd followed him around he'd never once noticed her presence. Perhaps she'd been wrong to visit him while he'd been in the hospital, but he'd been so drugged up at the time she hadn't thought he'd notice. Perhaps it had only been an unconscious thought that had caused him to approach her.
Faye glared at Spike as he finally returned to Bebop. Jet merely shrugged and gave him quick wave before disappear to tend his bonsai trees.
"Where the hell did you run off to?" She shouted angrily standing. "Don't think I'm splitting the bounty with you since you just vanish on me."
"Where's Edward?"
"What?" She puffed up and Spike could almost envision her as a small dog foaming at the mouth. He couldn't help but laugh as Edward bounded into the room with her laptop balanced precariously on her head. "Download the photos on that, and do a scan on the woman's identity."
Edward looked down at the small pen-shaped camera curiously then plopped down in the middle of the floor, and began typing rapidly on her computer. He stood watching over her shoulder and Faye soon joined him as the silver-haired woman popped up onto the screen. Her gray eyes danced happily, but beneath that glimmer they appear haunted to Spike, even a bit worried.
"As I think more and more on it I think I've seen this woman even before the hospital. Here and there, no where really specific." Spike tapped his toe as Edward started her tracking program. Faces flashed by too quickly for the eye to catch them all.
"How long is this going to take Edward?" Asked Faye leaning down only to pull up again when the faces flashing by made her slightly nauseous.
"Edward think it take hour max. Lots of faces to search, search to faces of lots!" Edward leaned her head backward making even Spike wince in thought of how much it would hurt if he tried it. The child was bendable it was almost too much to believe.
"Guess I can get something to eat then before I have to worry about anything coming up." Turning quickly on his heel, a maneuver he never tired of, he stalked off to the kitchen. More and more he found himself moving as he had when he'd been in the syndicate. His stance when approaching strangers, the way he turned, and the way he fought. All of them where things he'd purposefully trained out of his behavior. He normally slouched as he walked, and often he found himself with his spine straight, and his eyes labeling everyone as a possible enemy.
Throwing open the fridge a little harder than he meant to he growled angrily. He needed to do something about the behavior that was slipping through. As his mind traveled to the syndicate he froze suddenly.
He hadn't heard a thing about the Red Dragon Syndicate falling apart. No major break in spike in crimes, or suicides, from member desperately seeking out a new lifestyle. He all but ran back to the main room and started questioning Jet and Faye. Neither of them had heard anything about the syndicate falling out either, but neither understood why it was so strange either.
"There is no leader left. No one of high standing to keep everything together. There should have been a blood bath for the position of leader, or a sudden chaotic falling out!" He paced behind Edward now as the scan finally finished.
"There is a Coria Nikimaru, but no Karia." Faye mumbled scratching at her shoulder.
"There was no reason she gave me her real name earlier. It would be foolish to, but hopefully she believed I was dense as I acted."
"Did you really need to act to seem dense?" Faye asked still not taking the situation seriously.
"Edward, bring up her file."
They watched in anticipation as Edward typed, and the screen suddenly seemed to actually fall away and go blank. Edward squealed in rage and flopped back on the floor, a strange assortment of sounds coming from her. "Edward has been denied!" Was the only thing they could make out as she squirmed and continued on her rampage.
"Can hack passed that?" Spike practically yelled as he tried to get her attention, and jumped back narrowly having Edward slam her skull into his own as she sat straight up suddenly.
"Edward must or Edward is no longer the best! Edward will overcome the protections!" Spike gritted his teeth as he sat watching over Edward's shoulder in anticipation. Screens flew by on the computer as her arms moved strangely through the air. Her goggles flashed constantly, but his focus was on the screen.
Edward was determined to earn back her genius hacker rep, and Spike to learn what was being protect. Faye dozed off sitting on the couch, machinery hummed around them, but they continued on long into the night.
It was near 2 a.m. when Edward sprang to her feet dancing around in joy, and Faye went over the back of couch in surprise as the young teenage girl leapt onto her. "Edward has done it!"
Spike grinned as he leaned closer to the screen eager to read what had been so well protected. "Now let's see what we got . . ."
To be continued. . . . . . . .