Within the hour I had another computer set up, practically identical to Tomato. I got to work straight away, trying to find out who the casino was associated with. As expected, it was slightly difficult hacking into their system. A good and bad thing. On one hand, it could be because the gang who owns it inexperienced enough that they don't know it arouses suspicion with the ISSP if a system is hard to hack. On the other hand though, it could mean that they are so confident that they can deal with the ISSP, that they don't even bother to hide it. Either way though, this casino was not on the up and up, something I had known since first walking into the place. Black suits, nervous glances from people going into back rooms, and the well dressed people with guns do not a law-abiding business make. Shaking my head once to clear my head, I got back to business. It turned out that the casino was indeed owned by a local Martian gang. As I dug deeper I found that that gang was owned by a bigger one, and that was owned by another gang as well. Dread worked it's way through my body like an ice injection as I saw that the gang that owned the others, was owned by someone as well.
Up it climbed, and again, the systems got harder and harder to hack. When I reached the seventh in line I came across an encryption web I knew well, and why wouldn't I? After all, I had been the one to make it. They knew. The syndicate knew it was me who had hacked them and now they were messing with me, no doubt aware of me even as I hung on the outskirts of the web, wary of the spider I would find deep within. The spider that I would not know was creeping up on me from behind until it was too late. I was tempted to crash the entire thing, to wreak havoc on their systems until they would be easy picking for the ISSP. But even as I imagined it, I knew it could be nothing but a daydream. They would expect me to do that, and would have made the necessary measures to prevent it. This was doubtless only the first of many webs they had set up, knowing that I would come again sooner or later. Did they know then that I was here? Did they see me at the casino? I nearly smacked my head at my idiocy. They would still have me in their systems. Anything with my picture or information would be sent directly to HQ. I froze.
"How long have we been on Mars?" I asked myself aloud. It had at least been a week, and if we were going after a bounty, I didn't know about it. I shot up without another thought, and ran to the common room. No one was there but I could hear small snips coming from the bonsai room.
'Jet!' I bounded over, nearly overshooting the room and saw jet sitting there, trimming his bonsais.
"Jet! Where are Spike and Faye?" I demanded, nearly shouting in my panic. He was too shocked to answer for a moment, so I repeated the question.
"I don't know. Last I heard Faye was going out shopping and Spike was out of cigar-" I cut him off.
"Call Faye, tell her to come back, she took her zip craft didn't she?" he nodded, picking up his handheld receiver and began to call her. I cursed, thinking fast, no doubt Spike had walked. That meant the Swordfish was still here. I made a quick decision, just as Faye picked up. I grabbed the receiver from Jet.
"Faye, come back now, you're in danger. Jet is going to take off, meet him by Io." I told her, and hung up without waiting for a response. I whipped out a cell phone and dialed Spike's number. After a moment I heard his ring tone from the other room. He had left his phone behind. I turned back to Jet.
"I'm taking the Swordfish and going to find Spike. As soon as I'm clear I want you to take off, and drift near Io. Faye will meet you there." He didn't move. I dragged him up.
"Go!" I pleaded, but he didn't budge.
"Tell me what's going on Ed, what happened? Whose after us?" he demanded to know, the unspoken threat that he wouldn't take off until I explained hung in the air.
"The past has caught up with me. There are people coming after us, maybe even as we speak, who are capable of things you can't even imagine. So are you just going to sit there and ask questions best asked later while they get closer, or will you do what I ask and get us all out of danger" I asked, meeting his gaze squarely.
When I was sure he was going to do as I had said, I grabbed Spike's phone and a gun from my room, and went to the hangar. There was the Swordfish in all it's glory. The keys were in the ignition, as always. It was odd to be the only one in the pilot seat but as soon as the hangar doors opened I discarded all thoughts on the matter and focused on take off. It was a little shaky, the controls in my hands unfamiliar, but I managed not to hit anything. This wasn't my first time piloting a ship but I sure wasn't an expert, that's for sure. The hangar doors closed beneath me and I was off to the nearest bar. Knowing Spike he had bought his cigarettes and plunked down at the best bar he could find with a whiskey on the rocks and cigarette in hand. I landed outside and locked the Swordfish before going inside, searching the room for Spike. No luck. The bartender, after a bit of persuasion told me that he hadn't seen anyone matching Spike's description that day. Feeling that I had wasted valuable time I took off again at a sprint, searching the streets for the green headed man. I searched for what seemed like an eternity before I finally found him. He was in a bar half way across town, smoking and listening to a band play the best jazz I'd heard in a while. It was no wonder he picked that bar. Deciding not to draw any more attention to myself than I already had, I caught my breath quickly, wiped the sweat off my brow, and sat next to him calmly. He glanced at me from the corner of his eye and rose a brow.
"Guess you weren't kidding about drinking." he commented, somewhat amused. I gave a non-committal sound and searched the room discreetly. No one was watching us. I breathed a sigh of relief and stood up, motioning for him to do the same.
"Spike. We have to go now, we're in dan-" Just then all the noise in the bar died and the sound of a door closing echoed through the room. I turned quickly only to see the last person I would have expected. His eyes met mine, turning me into stone as people fled from the bar.
"Vicious." I whispered, not knowing I had said it aloud until a cold grin split his face.
"Edward, you remember me? You always were a smart girl, and obedient, always 'willing' to do whatever I said." he praised mockingly, emphasizing my willingness. This was true of course, I had always obeyed him. He was the one person who had been unfailingly kind to me in the hell that was the Red Dragon Crime Syndicate. This taunt meant nothing to me and I didn't understand why he had made it until I heard Spike shift behind me. It hit me then that it had been a taunt meant for Spike and not myself. Not only did it reveal to him that I had been working for Vicious at one point, but also that I was 'willing' to do 'whatever' he wanted had a double meaning, one that Spike would catch immediately since his hatred for Vicious stemmed from a betrayal over a woman who had been Vicious's lover. The connection snapped me out of my paralyzed state and into one much like the one I had been in when working for the Syndicate.
"You realize that by insinuating that there was something between us when I was only eleven makes you look like a pedophile right?" I mocked back with a slight smirk that I had tried my best to fight off. I was terrified, furious, and…excited. It had been years since I had last seen Vicious and I could tell that he had been through an enormous change, yet he looked as if he hadn't aged a day. It was as though I had just seen him yesterday, yet at the same times it felt like decades had past. I didn't know what to think, how to feel, how to act. I felt like a little kid again, lost and waiting for a guiding hand to steer me in the right direction. He looked surprised by my comeback, so alike to what I would have said all those years ago. Then he laughed, low and dark. Just as I remembered.
"You really haven't changed at all, have you Ed?" He asked rhetorically. I snorted
"Like you're one to talk Mr. Still 21." My retort was weak I knew but I couldn't help making it. Vicious stepped back sarcastically, as if in shock, and Spike chose that moment to snap out of whatever daze he had been in. He grabbed my arm tightly and shot off to the back door, dragging me, wide eyed, with him. Not caught off guard a bit, Vicious called out after us
"Meet me there tomorrow Ed, it will be just you and me. You'll be safe until then, and after, I swear it." Then we were outside, racing back towards the Bebop. It wasn't until three streets over that I remembered that it was gone.
"Take a right." I told Spike, who did so without questioning me. That he did so hurt worse than anything else I had felt in my entire life, including the years I had spent in the Syndicate. He knew now that I was a part of it once, that I had been close to Vicious and bore the man no personal grudge, and yet he trusted me enough still to lead him safely out of a dangerous situation. Tears streaked down my cheeks, something I hadn't felt in years. We arrived at the Swordfish and I handed him the keys without another word. He jumped in, pulling me up behind him and closing the cockpit quickly before taking off. He flew up and up until we were out of Mars' atmosphere and then cut the engine, and let us drift in space. For a moment all was still, and silent. Then his arms were around me, strong arms, comforting arms. For a long time he just held me there. No words were spoken, no questions were asked. The tears that had stopped falling, started up again as the terrible feeling from before filled me. I turned without thinking, hugging Spike back, and cried. Not silently as before, but really crying.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I got out through sobs. I couldn't stop crying long enough to explain, but I needed him to know somehow that I was sorry. Sorry for not telling him, sorry for joking with the enemy, sorry for not getting us off Mars fast enough, sorry for not figuring it our before it was too late, sorry for everything. He tightened his hold and shushed me, calming me. My tears slowed, and he began to hum a tune softly, one I recognized from my time in the Syndicate.
'It was called Julia' I remembered finally as I drifted off to sleep.
'Julia….'
A/N: Thanks for reading everyone! This is just a reminder that I will be doing interviews for the characters, so if you have any questions, just PM me with the question using the story they are from in the subject line.
