"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." ― Helen Keller
It was night; Lee was reviewing papers in his office with a new mahogany wood desk. He had an angry expression on his face as he shuffled through page after page of documents. The warehouse was quiet; there were only a couple of men on the bottom floor playing poker and drinking. Dodge landed his Great White on the outside of the warehouse and walked in through the back door.
"Hey Dodge! How'd the run go?" said one drunken man.
"C'mon you know me! The best always gets the job done." said Dodge with a smug look.
"Hey where's Ren at?" asked one of the men.
"Oh you know the lazy bum went home after we were done dropping off the red-eye." said Dodge. He continued "Is Lee up in his office?"
"Yeah I think he's waiting for you up there." said another drunken man.
Dodge walked up the metal staircase and knocked on the door of Lee's office. Lee walked to the door, unlocked it and opened it slightly. Dodge opened the door the rest of the way as Lee walked back to his desk and sat back in the chair. Dodge closed the door behind him and pulled up a chair. He set it in front of Lee's desk and sat down. The two of them sat in silence for a moment; the small office had no windows and had only one light with a ceiling fan making it feel completely isolated. Dodge reached in his coat pocket, took out the ISSP badge he found on the man and set it down on Lee's desk.
"Did you identify the man?" asked Lee.
"Yeah his name was Harvey. But I looked up a different identification and he had another name, Joseph. Joseph was the one who worked for ISSP." said Dodge.
"So he was an undercover officer for a gang? Not the other way around?"
"Yep."
"What about Ren?"
"They killed him while he was keeping watch."
"What were you doing? Was there nothing you could've done to stop it?"
"I was putting the briefcase down."
"Hmm… Did any of the other assailants have badges too?"
"No they didn't have any badges. The way they were dressed… I think they might be Blue Snake."
"I wouldn't be surprised. That syndicate has been attempting to take charge ever since we've lost our assets and gone underground."
"What about White Tiger?"
"They've been a sleeping beast ever since comrade Vicious killed their leader and put the blame on Mao."
"Maybe they woke up already, y'know?"
"It's possible."
"Well one thing's for sure, we ain't the only ones that got guys in ISSP."
"I imagine their motive would be to keep us off the streets."
"If we keep doing drug runs, it's gonna be a war out there."
"They want an execution. We combat them and then it turns into war." Lee stood up and put his hands behind his back. "In the long history of war it is common that neither side wants one to begin with. But not me, I crave the idea of war." said Lee.
"Why?"
"They decided to attack from the shadows, they want no altercation. If that's how they want to play, I'll do the same and let the situation escalate. This is an opportunity to defeat them and take charge." Lee took a pause for a moment. He continued "There was once a man I knew, he was addicted to gambling. He was great at it, maybe too great. Most of the regular clientele stopped showing up because they knew they would lose to him or they got superstitious that he took all the luck away. The mob boss that owned the casino didn't take it too well that they were losing so much money to one man. One night as the man was walking home, the owner of the casino sent a group of men to threaten him to stop playing at the casino. He didn't listen; he went back every night but played a little poorly so he wouldn't arouse suspicion from the management. But they knew he was still playing, so they broke his arm and told him to leave the establishment. The man was stubborn and prideful so he didn't leave; then the owner murdered his girlfriend. She was a beautiful thing, black hair and big brown eyes. It was devastating; the man was filled with so much rage and guilt that he confronted the mob boss and killed him. But it all felt empty."
"So you're saying that the man should've left the casino after they threatened him?" asked Dodge.
"No the man should've handled them after they threatened him." said Lee
Dodge had a troubled look in his eyes. "What exactly are you planning to do?" he said.
"We're going to clean house." Lee grabbed his coat that was hanging on his chair and put it on. He pushed his chair in as Dodge stood up. Lee stared directly at Dodge "Now go home, get some rest. We have much ahead of us." he said with a grin. Dodge exited the office while Lee turned off the lights and exited behind him. They walked down the stairs while the drunken men were still playing poker.
"Hey boss why don't you play a game with us?" asked one of the men.
Lee didn't say a word as he went out the back door and drove away. Dodge pulled up a chair and said "I'll play and I'll take all of you drunk losers down.
One man interjected "Hey… just 'cause… I'm drunk doesn't mean…" he vomited on the floor and passed out.
"Dammit, Yuto get a mop and clean this shit up." said Dodge
The Bebop had been soaring through space for about a week; Jet and Faye were still asleep while Spike went up to the main bridge and exercised. He thought about Julia again, having much regret. Spike came to the conclusion that he should have never loved Julia; she never would have died if it he hadn't. But he tried to deny his guilt; he thought that because Julia loved him back then it was mutual, either one of them could have died at any point and felt remorse over their lover's death. It just happened to be her. Maybe that was selfish thinking though, a way to try and ease his mind. His only wish was that he could've spent more time with her; it was never much of a relationship, she just came and went. He would've been able to discover more about her; her insecurities, her anxieties, her imperfections. But in essence Julia was just like a reoccurring dream.
Spike smoked a cigarette as he gazed at the navigation console. The console began beeping and The Bebop's course line shifted as there was a screeching noise on the back of the ship. The main computer then began to freeze up and beep as well. "Huh?" said Spike. All of a sudden The Bebop began to tilt over; Spike lost his balance and fell to the ground. In their quarters Jet and Faye rolled off their beds and slammed onto the floor, promptly waking them up. Faye said "Oww!" stood up and angrily yelled "Jet what the hell is going on?!" Jet rubbed his head and groaned in pain. He stood up and said "I don't know! Something must've hit the ship!" Jet ran out of his room and up to the main bridge; Faye followed after him. Inside the bridge Spike was standing up as Jet and Faye entered the room.
"Spike! What the hell happened?" said Jet. "I don't know! The navigation console started beeping and the ship turned over!" said Spike. Jet sat in the captain's chair and assessed the damage. "Something hit us on the south side!" said Jet. He tried to steer The Bebop back onto its set course, but the thrusters were off. Spike and Faye ran down to the living room. "Did in an asteroid hit us or something?!" asked Faye. An alarm sounded off; the ship's connecting passage opened up and two thieves with masks ran inside. "I don't think asteroids break into ships!" said Spike. One of the thieves held up a gun at Spike "Don't move! This is a hold up!" he said. Spike swiftly kicked the gun out of the thief's hand and brought down his foot on his head. Spike then spin kicked him unconscious. The other man tried to attack Spike with a crowbar, but he fought him back. Another thief came inside and went after Faye as she ran toward her room. He poked his head in her room but he didn't find her "Come on out sweetheart." he said with a smile. The thief walked in the room, scratching his head. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around only to feel the force of Faye's kick break his nose. She grabbed her Austria 45, pointed it straight and ran into hallway. The living room was empty except the one man lying unconscious on the floor; she cautiously walked through hallway when someone jumped out from behind the wall. It was Spike and she breathed a sigh of relief. "That's the second time you've pointed a gun at me since I've been back." said Spike with a smile. "Be careful cowboy, or next time I won't hesitate to fire." said Faye.
Jet was trying to put the ship back online but it kept freezing up. Jet angrily kicked the computer "Ohh, this kind of stuff was easier when Ed was here." he said. More men broke into the storage room and it sounded another alarm. "That's it!" said Jet. He took out his radio and contacted the other ship.
"Hey what the hell do you think you're doing?!" said Jet.
The captain of the other ship answered and said "Just trying to make a quick score pal! Don't try any funny business like getting away!" He laughed eccentrically.
"Weasels!" said Jet. His jaw dropped as he stared at one of the computer screens "Oh damn they're transferring out all of our money!" said Jet. The gravity began to decrease and soon everyone was floating around the ship. Spike and Faye took the opportunity to float the unconscious thieves through the connecting passage. But the other ship disconnected from The Bebop, hurling their own men into space. "Huh. Oh well." said Spike as he shrugged.
Jet came floating down the stairs from the main bridge. "Spike they're cleaning out the rest of the ship and our credit cards!" he said.
"How the hell are supposed to stop them?! We can't get down there!" said Faye.
"Forget that it's too late. Just try and get to the ship bay and launch off, we gotta get back what's ours' before their ship gets away!" said Jet.
Spike and Faye floated through the small door and into the ship bay. Jet floated back up the stairs into the main bridge and sat in the captain's chair. He stared out the window as the thieves' ship flew away and came to a sudden realization. He picked up the radio and called them "I know who you guys are, you're the Apaches. You guys clean out every part of the ship you rob and leave them hanging them dry. Buddy just you wait, you messed with the wrong ship this time." said Jet with a smug look. "Not bad! Sorry we have to cut our introduction so short! Have fun drifting off to your death pal!" said the other captain.
Inside the ship bay Faye put on her space suit, opened up the pod to her Redtail and climbed in. She flew across the runway and into space after the ship. Spike put on his spacesuit accordingly and opened the pod to the Swordfish. He dusted off the seat and said "Did you miss me?" Spike climbed in and blasted off the runway. Jet called in on Faye. "Okay Faye the ship is trying to head toward the hyper-space gate, stop it before it gets away!" he said. "I'll try." said Faye. She called Spike "Spike, use your cannon to hit its main thrusters while I get in front of it."
she said.
"All right sounds simple enough." said Spike. Jet gasped and called Faye "Wait Faye what if ISSP is tracing our calls?" he said. Spike called in "Then it's a risk we'll have to take." he said with a self-assured smile on his face. Faye flew above the thieves' ship and shot her machine gun at the front, doing minimal damage. Spike got in closer to main thrusters and aimed his plasma cannon. All of a sudden a heavy machine gun exposed itself in the back and began firing at the Swordfish. Spike maneuvered his ship around the gun fire while shooting back. He turned the Swordfish on its side and flew away from the gunfire. He came back around and flew down at 70 degrees for a few thousand feet and came straight up at the ship. Spike charged his plasma cannon while the thieves' ship made a sharp left turn. Spike fired, hitting the left thruster and the ship started to slow down. He charged it again and fired but the ship maneuvered and evaded the blast. The thieves' ship shot guided missiles at the Redtail; Faye slowed down and flew backwards. The patterns of the cheap missiles changed and they hit a group of asteroids, accidentally hurling a huge asteroid directly at the main bridge. The bridge's hull was completely destroyed by it and the ship came to a stop as the captain drifted off into space. Spike stopped his ship near the wreck; he jumped out of the Swordfish and floated into the gaping hole that the asteroid left. He took out his gun and cautiously proceeded though the ship. Faye did the same and floated in behind Spike.
"Okay Jet, where'd they stash our stuff?" asked Spike.
"Seems like they put our stuff in their cargo area. Look for a container and carry it back to the ship with your Swordfish." said Jet.
"I'm on it." said Spike.
"Faye I need you to find the main computer and select their last transaction and return it back to the Bebop."
"Okay…" said Faye
"Then turn off the transmitter that's blocking The Bebop from going online."
"Oh… Jet I'm not good with computers!"
Spike floated through the ship trying to look for a staircase to the cargo area. He opened a door when one of the thieves pointed his gun and said "Eat this!" The thief lost all of the oxygen going into his lungs and his lifeless body floated away. Spike went down the staircase and found the cargo area. There was a plethora of massive containers filled with stolen items "Wow hard to imagine they've lasted this long." said Spike. He saw two containers marked Bebop "How convenient." said Spike with a smile. Then two men wearing space suits came out from behind several barrels and started shooting at Spike. Spike took cover behind The Bebop's containers. While they were shooting Spike hooked a cable to a handle on both of the containers and tied the other end to his waist. One of the men floated toward Spike and shot at him. The bullets ricocheted against the containers and grazed the man, leaving tears in his space suit. He quickly started losing air while the pressure inside of the suit built up and his head ruptured inside the helmet. Spike shuddered in disgust. The other man threw a grenade at Spike and it exploded.
Up on the main bridge Faye used the main computer to return all their money back to The Bebop.
"Okay there!" said Faye.
"Good work Faye, now look for the transmitter." said Jet.
"Okay I'm looking at it."
"Now turn it off."
"How do I do that?!"
"Just destroy it!"
"Destroying I can do."
Faye pointed her gun at the transmitter and shot it three times. She called Jet and said "All right Jet I got it."
"Okay The Bebop is starting to come back online. Did Spike come back up yet?" said Jet. "I don't see him." said Faye.
Faye heard the grenade's explosion coming from the cargo area. Faye turned and gasped "Spike…" she uttered. Faye floated toward the door and was blinded by the smoke. "Spike are you still down there?!" she asked. "Spike?!" said Jet. There was silence for a moment. The smoke had started to clear away and there no sign of him. The two held their breath and worried that Spike didn't survive the explosion. Out of the shadows Spike's hand grabbed the railing. Spike came rushing up the stairs with the containers strapped to him. "Sorry I kept you waiting." said Spike with a smile. Faye and Jet breathed a sigh of relief. "All right lets the hell out of here." said Faye. She helped Spike tug the containers out of the ship and tie them onto the Swordfish. Spike got in and Faye got in her Redtail. They flew away from the wreckage and back onto The Bebop. They landed their space crafts in the ship bay and off-loaded. Spike and Faye took off their space suits and headed toward the living room. Jet came down from the main bridge. The three of them rested in the living room and sat in silence. They each took out a cigarette and lighted them.
"Just like old times, huh?" said Spike.
"Heh-heh. You said it." said Jet
"Ugh, I need a shower." said Faye. She patted Spike's shoulder as she stood up and walked away.
It was noon on Mars; The Red Dragons' warehouse was filled with members coming and going. They had been gaining a substantial amount of money distributing red-eye. As long as ISSP was getting paid they had nothing to worry about. But when Dodge discovered that rival syndicates were trying to stop them and Lee announced it to his enforcers, problems arose. Dodge walked into the warehouse and went up the stairs into Lee's office where Lee had gathered his main enforcers.
"What the hell boss?! We're just supposed to go out there and get our asses killed?" asked one of the enforcers.
"I expect you all to be able to handle this." said Lee.
"My guys aren't going to take this well, we got a bunch of runs to do today and they're gonna be paranoid."
"Well then motivate them."
"How?"
"Intimidation." said Lee as he stared down his enforcer with a cold look.
"Okay boss. We'll be careful out there." said the enforcer as he left the room.
"You. Shiro, I want you to look up any leads on Blue Snake activity. I want you to set a trap for the slithering creatures." said Lee.
"I'm on it." said Shiro.
"The rest of you, continue distributing red-eye. If you come across any problems do not hesitate to fight back." said Lee.
The men left the room with disgruntled expressions on their faces and Dodge approached Lee. "I didn't think they'd handle the news this bad." he said.
"They're just not confident in their abilities. They'll realize that there is nothing to worry about." said Lee.
"We won't let you down sir."
"I'm positive you won't."
The ceiling fan rotated rapidly as Dodge and Lee stood silent in the office.