Cursed
Chapter 4: Comrades and Casualties
So this is how it begins. Not with a bang or a flashy entrance theme, but with the quiet slap of bare feet on a wet dock.
Edward had never been one to follow orders, nor had she been one to see the danger of a situation, instead she had always done impulsive and usually stupid things. Tonight, she continued on her trend of oddball choices, and did it with a sense of total glee. There was something very freeing about doing things this way; about not really considering all the repercussions of a decision. This was actually something Ed had learned from the crew of the Bebop. She learned quickly from the people on that ship, that even if you planned every move there was always something waiting to surprise you in the end. And those surprises weren't always fun, in fact most times those surprises got you killed or damn near close to it.
But that was life, and life was an adventure to be enjoyed at every turn, which is why Ed now found herself skipping down the wet docks on Ganymede against the strict orders of all three of her comrades on the Bebop.
"Hee hee," Ed chanted as she continued her dance like steps down the deserted dock. She then gave a big smile to Ein and did a quick one-handed cartwheel, making sure to keep a tight grip on Tomato. "All Ed needs is a good place to connect Ein, so keep your eyes open."
Beside her Ein rolled his eyes, and continued down the docks. The dog was a genius; the dog was smarter than any of the members of the Bebop crew, yet here he was following the barefoot hacker lunatic. Sometimes you choose your friends, and sometimes they choose you, and then sometimes you are just a dog with an inexplicable attraction to adventure and the need for a safe place to live. Ein let his eyes wander over the darkened docks, his paws slipping slightly on the wet wood below him. He once again looked up at Ed who looked utterly pleased and completely oblivious to the danger they had placed themselves in. The girl was smarter than any other human he had met; this was something he was positive of. Hell, she didn't go out on to the docks alone now did she? No, she took the genius dog along with her, and that was a pretty smart thing to do. Ein just hoped she wouldn't throw him at anyone tonight.
"Ooooo, Ein look over here," Ed said in her most awe-inspired voice. "I think we hit the jackpot." Ed skipped quickly over to the darkened corner of the dock where an abandoned phone booth stood. The glass was broken in all of the windows, and the vid-screen along with all of the buttons was smashed to oblivion. But as Ed stuck her head into the dirt and grime covered booth she smiled widely. The port connecting the booth to the Internet and the communications satellites was still in perfect condition. Edward padded her bare feet into the booth and sat down on the dirty ground, placing Tomato on top of her crossed legs. "This is perfect Ein. Now you keep an eye out for danger, while Ed works her magic." Ed plugged Tomato into the outlet, and put her goggles over her eyes. She positioned her fingers above the keyboard and as a bright yellow light flashed in front of her eyes, she set her fingers a flying over the plastic keys.
Vic Healy hunched his shoulders and rubbed at the back of his neck, as he stood at the cracked glass windowpane of his door. For the past 66 years he had lived in a shack of a house that had more wear and tear than one of the old whorehouses in downtown. For the past 49 years he had done odd jobs for both sides of the great battle between cops and robbers, and through it all he felt he lived a relatively good life. He'd never done anything too bad; he'd never killed anyone, which is more than most people that played both sides could say. And now as Vic Healy watched the headlights of three cars swerve in the darkness and finally extinguish in the small parking lot outside of his small shop, he wondered if his relatively good life would be enough to sneak him past old Saint Peter.
Vic slowly moved away from his door and backed towards the counter behind him. He reached a long varicose veined arm over the cluttered wooden counter and placed his hand on the gun that he always regretted buying. For the past 33 years he had been the sole proprietor of a small gadget shop on the North Shore docks of Ganymede. Ten years after his wonderful grand opening, a young beat cop named Black had walked into his shop a slick smile on his clean-shaven face. It was strange that even then Jet Black had been a good cop, even though the kid had only been with ISSP for about four months he had pegged the ever-elusive Video Vic. Their friendship had started with a deal; a deal that ended up saving Vic's life time and again over the years. Jet Black had saved his life once, taken a bullet for him.
Vic raised the dusty gun from behind the counter, his eyes focused intently on the three dark figures standing outside his door. His old hand clenched on the gun as he held it behind his back. Sweat formed on his upper lip and forehead, as the knock rattled the glass of his door.
"I'm closed," Vic yelled back at the door. His voice was a gravely and harsh, no shred of fear or discomfort to be found. He smiled at himself as a bead of sweat traveled down from his puffy white hairline to the tip of his nose. After so many years of playing both sides he had become one hell of an actor.
"This won't take long," A deep voice came back as the handle from the door turned. The door slowly opened, allowing light from the near-by street lamps to filter in over the dirty wooden floor. Vic's eyes widened as he saw who stood at his door. The man grinned, and Vic's hand tightened around the gun behind his back. "I promise, Mr. Healy, this won't take up much of your time at all. I only need information."
"Mr. Tang," Vic said as the man stepped further into the small shop. The two men with Frankie Tang stepped slowly into the shop and shut the door. The click of the door rang in Vic's ears like a bell. Vic smiled at Frankie Tang who stood in all of his evil glory not six feet in front of him. "I don't think I have ever heard of you making personal inquiries into your business. This is quite the honor." Vic slowly began to move his gun from behind his back. "I'm sorry to tell you that I don't think I have any information for you. I'm sorry you had to waste a trip to the slums."
"I'm sure you can help me Mr. Healy. In fact, I'd be willing to bet my life on it." Frankie Tang said smoothly.
In a second the dimly lit shop was brightly illuminated by a gunshot. Vic Healy stared at Frankie Tang's face, his gun raised. He stared at Frankie Tang's face, the image of it so shockingly lit by the firing of the gun burned into his memory forever. His eyes slowly slid from that face to the smoking barrel of the gun still held in the firm grasp of Tang's right hand.
Jet Black had taken a bullet for Vic a long time ago, and now Vic had repaid the debt. Vic fell slowly to his knees, his gun dropping from his hand, as he put the hand to the wound in his stomach. His eyes stayed on Frankie Tang as the tall man walked slowly towards him, gun still raised and still smoking. Vic had now taken a bullet for Jet; however, it looked like that bullet wouldn't be his last. And it seemed as though Vic's act of friendship and camaraderie would be in vain. Jet Black was going to follow Vic to the grave; Vic knew that there was a bullet in that gun with the Black Dog's name written all over it. But the least Vic could do was buy his old friend some time.
"Now, Mr. Healy," Tang said in that smooth deep voice of his as he smiled down on the fallen and bleeding old man. "About that information I needed."
"I can't believe you two." Jet yelled into the video link. He sat in his Hammerhead, white cowboy hat sitting on the console, and the split link of Faye and Spike on his screen. "You were supposed to make sure she stayed put."
"I hope you aren't blaming me," Faye said quickly. "I'm the one who noticed she was gone you know. Lunkhead here was the one not keeping his eyes on the brat."
"Don't even start, Faye." Spike said glaring at Faye on his own communicator.
"Enough, I'm not in the mood for this shit." Jet barked. "Just find her. I'm going to head back to the Bebop. I don't like carrying this hat and those pieces around with me. Find her quick and get her back. I've got a bad feeling."
"Right." Spike and Faye said quickly and then both disconnected. Jet let out a sigh and ran his metal hand down his face. That kid was going to be the death of him. He opened his eyes and stared at the white cowboy hat sitting on top of his console.
He'd always figured that Spike or Faye would be the death of him, he'd never really factored in Edward. But now that Ed had "grown-up" (he used the term lightly), she was just as dangerous as the other two. Not really as physically dangerous as or as mentally taxing as the older two idiots, but dangerous in another way. That kid had no sense of consequences, it was like she didn't really believe in them. Jet let out another sigh, as the incoming call warning beeped on his console. Aggravated and expecting it to be Spike or Faye, Jet rammed his finger into the answer button.
"What now?" he said running his hand over his face again.
"Jet?" A woman's voice filled the empty space of the Hammerhead. Jet kept his hand on his face, his eyes wide behind his fingers. The voice stopped his heart, stopped his breathing, it stopped the world. He knew that voice, the silky beautiful bells of it's high and low pitches, the intoxicating sound of its laughter. He knew that voice so well he could even recognize it now, after ten years of it being gone.
"Helena?" Jet said, letting his hand drop from his face. He was greeted with the static covered picture of a beautiful brunette. The static grew some, but Jet could still see that it was her; he could still see those intelligent hazel eyes staring back at him. Helena Winters.
"Jet, I..." Helena began but stopped, her eyes darting around. Jet could see the blue and red lights flashing behind her, and he could hear the murmured voices. "We need to talk, Jet."
"What's going on?" Jet asked, his body inching forward in his seat a bit.
"We need to talk, Jet." Helena repeated, her eyes narrowing a bit on his face. "Vic Healy is dead."
"What?" Jet yelled back. "That's not possible." Jet's eyes went from the screen to the white cowboy hat above it. He remembered Vic telling him that he had bitten off more than he could chew. Jet's hands clenched and his eyes went back to those orbs of vivid hazel that were still narrowed at him through the static of the communicator. "Frankie Tang."
"We need to talk, Black." Helena said, a bit more forceful this time.
"Officially or unofficially, Winters?" Jet shot back, narrowing his eyes.
"That's a stupid question, and you know it." Helena returned, her eyes narrowed to small slits.
"Tomorrow morning, I've got something I need to do." Jet said back slowly. His eyes again went to the white cowboy hat above the console. Frankie Tang had gotten to Vic in no time, Jet had only left Vic an hour ago. "8 am sharp, Jet." Helena said, her voice losing some of its edge. Jet's eyes went back to hers, and remained there for a few moments. "At Dock 6, don't be late." Helena then disconnected and left Jet with a black screen. He stared at that screen for a few seconds. Getting romantically involved with ISSP Investigator Helena Winters had been the best and worst mistake of his life, and it looked like that mistake was going to stay with him for the rest of his life.
Jet shook his head, sped up his Hammerhead, and quickly pushed the buttons to link him to Spike.
"What's up?" Spike said over the comm. Channel.
"We've got a problem." Jet said.
Edward sat hunched over her keyboard, staring into the bright screen of Tomato. Her fingers had stopped flying over the keyboard, and now she was busy just reading all of the information she had successfully hacked into. Beside her Ein yawned and laid his head on his paws, silently keeping watch and eagerly awaiting the return home.
Edward had downloaded as many of the files as she possibly could on the ECHO. She had come up with news articles on the ship from the early stages of construction, to the mysterious disappearance of the ship. She had also downloaded schematics for the ship, and was right now busy marveling at the intricacy of the construction. Ed's head was so far into the tiny details of the hull design that she didn't hear the footsteps come up behind her.
There was a small scuff of gravel, and Ein's head popped up. He turned and saw the figure just as it placed an angry hand to Edward's shoulder.
"I've got you, you little brat." Faye said as she yanked Ed back a bit from the computer screen.
"Faye-Faye!" Ed yelled as she jumped up from her seated position. Ed put her arms in the air and began jumping in the air a large grin on her still goggled face. "Faye-Faye came for Edward."
"Of course, I did. Jet screamed at us. Do you know how much trouble you are in? Hell, do you know how much trouble you got Spike and me in?" Faye grabbed her communicator from her pocket and dialed Spike, her eyes going to Ein at her feet. "And you. You let her go out. I'm very disappointed." Ein whined and placed his head back on his paws, while Ed continued to dance around still connected by the goggles to Tomato. "Spike, I found the little imp. I'm at Pier 14. Where are you?"
"Not far, stay put." Spike said quickly over the static filled channel.
"Stay put?" Faye said raising a brow. "Hell no. It's getting dark, and it's probably going to start raining any minute. We'll just meet you at the ship." Faye went to disconnect the communication.
"No." Spike's voice yelled back. He was angry, Faye could tell that just from the voice. She furrowed her brow and looked back at the communicator. "Faye, just stay put and wait for me. I'll be there in a minute."
"What's going on?" Faye said, narrowing her eyes at the communicator. She could tell that Spike was worried, and she could also see that he was running. "Damn it, what's going on?"
"Hey, Edward knows you." Ed's voice broke Faye's thoughts and she looked to the young girl beside her. Ed stood holding her Tomato, a large grin on her face, and a hand pointing in front of her. Suddenly Ed's face changed and her grin turned into an excited grimace. "Shit."
"Huh?" Faye said spinning, but keeping her eyes on Edward. "Hey, watch your mouth." Faye said. She then turned and noticed the group of men that Edward was pointing at standing down at the entrance to the pier. "Shit."
Spike rounded a corner, and stared at his communicator as he listened to Faye and Edward. "What's going on?" He yelled into it as he headed straight for the lamps at the entrance to Pier 14. "Faye? Damn it. What's going on?" His head then darted upward as gunshots filled the air. He heard them on the communicator and then echoing in the air of the pier. "Damn."
"Spike?" Faye's out of breath voice crackled over the communicator: the static was too bad to make out a visual of her. "Be a good partner and get your bony ass over here."
"I'm coming." Spike barked back, drawing his gun from its holster and making a mad dash onto the pier. "Where is here?"
Faye dashed into an alleyway, pushing Edward in front of her as she turned backwards and fired three shots at the two men behind her. Bullets whizzed by her face and she ducked her head and ran faster pushing Ed to go faster.
"Oh, you'll find us." She said back. "Just follow the sound of the machine guns." Another barrage of bullets went off, and a bullet ripped through Faye's communicator. "Damn it." She turned angrily and fired six more quick shots hitting one of the men in the shoulder, and hand. "Ha, bastard."
Spike slammed his communicator back into his pocket and ran full tilt toward the sound of the machine guns. This was not how he wanted to spend his evening; in fact, this was never how he wanted to spend his evening. Sure, he loved chasing bounties, but it was kind of annoying when the bounties chased you. Spike skidded around a corner and ran smack into Edward. The two of them went down to the wet wooden pier hard, Spike landing on his back, with Edward happily giggling on top of him. He grabbed the young girl by her shoulders and lifted her up slightly.
"You all right?" Spike asked looking at her smiling face. Edward nodded enthusiastically and giggled again. Suddenly Spike looked up and watched as Faye rounded another corner, firing behind her blindly. She spotted Spike on the ground but kept running, leaping over is sprawled out legs.
"Go! Go! Go!" she yelled as she ran past, grabbing Ein by the midsection as she went. It was then that Spike noticed the small ring drop from Faye's hand, and watched as she hurled a black ball down the alley.
"Shit!" Spike yelled as he lifted Edward up and carried the still giggling teenager with him as he ran. He shifted the girl quickly to his back and ran full tilt, hearing her strange cackling laughter in his ears. "What the hell are you doing?" Spike yelled up at Faye as he caught up with her.
"Getting the bad guys, Spike. Or would you rather get shot?" Faye snapped back at him. "They have high-powered machine guns, and we have three guns between us, a kid and a dog. Not good odds."
"I see your point," Spike said as they ran. The grenade ticked to ten and then an explosion lit the darkness, and sent Faye and Spike stumbling into the dark brick walls on either side of them. Spike stared back at the glowing flames behind them. Edward popped her head over Spike's and gave a long "oooooooo" to the flaming buildings behind them. Spike looked at Faye beside him, and smiled. "So just where were you hiding that?"
"We can play find the weapons later, cowboy." Faye said smiling over at him. "Right now, let's get back to the ship." She watched as Spike smirked back at her. "You going to carry her all the way back?" Faye said nodding her head Edward who was fashioned to Spike's back, with her arms wrapped around Spike's shoulders and her legs flailing at his sides.
"I'm not going to risk her running off again." Spike said simply. "Besides she weighs about the same as a sheet of paper. Unlike you."
"Don't start." Faye said as she adjusted Ein under her arm and started walking towards where the Bebop was docked. "Just don't start."
"Edward is getting a piggy-back ride?" Ed said excitedly from her perch on Spike's back. "All right! Yay! Go piggy-Spike! Go!"
Beside him, Spike heard Faye chuckle, and he turned to meet her entertained expression. "Not one word, Faye. Not one single word."
Jet, Faye, Spike, and Edward sat silently in the common room, each one staring at something different. Edward stared patiently at her Tomato, waiting for the images to become clear enough for her to show to her shipmates.
Faye sat in the small yellow chair, filing her non-existent nails. Of course she wasn't really paying attention to the nails or the file, she merely used it as a way of checking out the room around her. Every so often she would sneak glances up at the people in the room with her. People she hadn't really spent time with in over a year. She was still amazed at how easy it had been for her to just rejoin her comrades on the Bebop. Tonight as she and Spike ran through that alley, or as she bickered with Jet and Spike over who was to blame for Edward's running out on them, it was as natural as breathing. She forgot how wonderful it was to be a part of this little dysfunctional family they had made.
Now as she sat, mindlessly filing her nails, she stared at the back of the one member of the crew that made the whole little family work for her. Jet Black.
Spike sat on the yellow sofa his head lying on the back, as he watched the smoke from his cigarette flow elegantly up to the ceiling fan. He had discovered over the years that this act was the most relaxing thing he could possibly ever do. Jet had his little trees, Faye had her showers, Ed the Tomato, and Spike had his cigarettes and the ceiling fan. Every once in a while he would steal a glance at Faye, who sat obviously concerned about something, filing away at her ragged nails. He followed Faye's line of sight to Jet
Jet stood at the large window, his arms crossed over his chest, and a cigarette firmly in place between his lips. He stared out at the dark night, his eyes watching the rain as it fell behind the backdrop of the streetlights. Vic Healy was dead and it was all his fault. If he hadn't needed to be so damn positive of the make of the chips, if he could have just for once gone with the flow of the situation and had an insane adventure with his wild crew, Vic Healy would still be alive.
Spike watched as Jet continued to stare out at the dark night. Now he knew why that window was always so filthy no matter how many times they washed it; because every time one of them had a problem they would stand there and smoke until they had sufficiently buried it deep in their subconscious. Tonight Jet had lost a good friend, and Spike knew that was something that the old man took very seriously. Jet was the kind of person to blame himself for everything that would go wrong. He was either too lenient, or too harsh, too early or too late, whatever the reason, Jet Black would always think there was something he could have done to prevent the inevitable. Spike smirked at Jet's back. And people though he liked to take control of situations, well, he had nothing on Jet.
"Would you rather it have been you?" Spike said simply as he returned his gaze to the ceiling fan. Faye's eyes snapped to Spike, as Jet shifted in place.
"No." Jet said simply. Faye's eyes went to Jet, and watched as he butted his cigarette out on the wall beside the window.
"If you had been there, it would have been. Frankie Tang is not someone to take lightly." Spike said still keeping his eyes on the ceiling fan.
"I know that," Jet snapped back. He turned around and glared at the lounging form of Spike on the sofa. "I know that." This time he said it softer, and Spike looked up at him and nodded his head.
Faye shifted her gaze between the two men. Spike and Jet had always had this connection that Faye just wasn't a part of, they had always been able to read each other. She didn't really mind it before; she just went with it. Those two had been together, working together, for three years prior to her meeting them. They had history; something that she wasn't a part of. She looked at the floor. She'd been gone for a year and a half, alienated them, so of course she lost her place in their lives. She had thrown away the history that the three of them had made together for greener pastures. Screw it, she thought angrily. They were still comrades, and they still had a ship of gold to find. She looked up at the two men and threw her arms up in the air. She placed her hands on her knees and stared at the people in the room with her. "Okay, if you two are done having your little moment, let's get down to business."
Spike and Jet both turned to look at her, each raised an amused eyebrow at the woman in the chair. Both of them were too stubborn to ever admit that it was nice to have her back. Though they would easily be the first to complain about the lack of quiet that came with it.
"All right." Faye said nodding. "So first off, why exactly is Frankie Tang involved in this?"
"You mean besides the fact that Ed stole from him?" Spike said leaning forward and putting his elbows on his thighs.
"Yes, Lunkhead, besides that." Faye snapped. "Iditot," she mumbled getting herself a cigarette and lighting it. "Better question, who is Frankie Tang?"
"Frankie Tang is one of those wonderful business men/criminals that are so bountiful in our line of work." Jet said moving forward. "I'm surprised you've never heard of him. I was sure he did dealings with Salvatore Diggs."
Faye's eyes snapped up to meet Jet's. Jet met her gaze with an apologetic grimace. He mentally slapped himself and watched as Faye turned her gaze to the floor. Jet had been so involved in his thoughts about Vic Healy that he wasn't thinking about what he was really saying.
"I'm sorry Faye, I didn't mean to bring up---"
"Don't worry about it." Faye said waving a hand up at him and forcing a smile onto her lips. She looked up at him and then to Spike, who was staring intently at her face. He continued to stare at her, even after she looked away. "I didn't really pay much attention to that part of him." She said couldn't even bring herself to say his name. If she did, the nightmares would probably come back, and she didn't want to deal with that right now. "I didn't pay attention to those little details. But I guess it's those details that are important huh?" She looked up at Jet and shook off the apologetic gaze he was giving her. "Stop looking at me like that. It was a year and a half ago. I'm fine."
"Liar." Spike mumbled from the sofa. She snapped her eyes back to his, and glared.
"Shut up, Spike." Faye said through clenched teeth.
"Frankie Tang has made most of his fortune by stealing ancient artifacts, and selling them to the highest bidder." Edward's matter of fact voice broke through Spike and Faye's staring match.
"That's right, Ed." Jet said quickly putting the awkward moment behind them. "And it seems one of his life long passions has been the ECHO. Not that I blame him, the Ship of Gold would probably be the end all beat all of his entire career."
"So Tang had a piece to the ship's key for how long? I mean why didn't he try and find the others?" Faye asked slowly removing her eyes from Spike's.
"Because the other pieces are very well hidden." Edward said typing on her Tomato. "Hardly anyone even knows that a key exists. But Edward does. Father-person used to tell Edward stories about it. Those were Edward's favorite stories."
"I'm sure he could have found out about it." Spike said taking a long drag from his cigarette. "A man like that, he wouldn't let something as small as that deter him from finding out what he wanted. They're good at getting answers."
"Not when the people that have the pieces don't even know what they are." Edward said smiling up at Spike. "Edward got the first piece as a gift from Father-person, who found it on a dig. Ed only stumbled upon the special-ness of the piece by mistake."
"So it stands to reason that if a computer genius like Ed doesn't know what the piece is, most people won't either." Jet said. "But how do we find the other pieces?"
"Edward knows." Ed said doing a summersault off of the table, and rolling to Jet's feet. "The pieces can find one another. Edward has connected her piece with the Tomato, and it showed her this." She flipped the Tomato around so that they could see what looked like a radar on the screen, with small flashing dots. "Isn't it beautiful!" Ed said putting her hands to Jet's arm and bringing him closer to the screen.
"What the hell?" Faye said moving in closer. "Are you telling me that each piece has a homing device imbedded in it?"
"Yep, Yep." Ed said nodding frantically.
"Why the hell didn't Tang use this to find the other pieces then?" Spike asked edging in closer.
"Because he didn't have Tomato." Ed said simply.
"Tang probably didn't have the computer skills necessary to hack into the technology of the ECHO. Not many people do. The computer design and systems created for the ship have never been replicated. It was the one of a kind wonder, almost too powerful for its own good." Jet said as he stared at the blinking dots. "Vic told me that Tang had contacted him, and asked him to try and crack the ECHO's code once before. But he couldn't." Jet looked at Edward and then back to the screen. "Looks like Ed is more of a genius than we ever gave her credit for."
"Uh huh," Ed said nodding her head eagerly.
"So are you telling me that we now have a map that will lead us directly to the different pieces necessary to finish the key?" Faye said looking up at her comrades. "That in essence we have the treasure map that will lead us to the Ship of Gold?"
"Looks like it." Jet said standing up and smiling down at the screen.
"So where's the next one?" Faye said excitedly putting her face as close to the screen as she could get.
"Right here." Ed said flatly. "Well, not here, here. Out there, here." She pointed a hand out the large window and out into the dark rainy night. "Ganymede."
Jet, Spike and Faye all looked out the window. Spike turned and met Faye's gaze, giving her a small smirk, which she quickly returned. They both then turned their smirking gazes to Jet's back.
"Well, oh fearless leader, what's it going to be?" Spike said butting out his cigarette on the table.
Jet turned around to meet the excited faces of the three members of his rag- tag troublesome crew.
"What else?" Jet said smiling. "We go get those pieces, and find our treasure."
Okay guys that's it for chapter four. I hope you're still enjoying it, and I hope you read and review. It may be a little while before I can get Chapter five up, so please be patient, and enjoy what you have thus far.