The Lucky Ones - 11 - Wicked

"Everything is empty, and everything is so messed up." - Puddle of Mudd

I've seen movies of individuals on earth. Romance movies. The kind where they wake up next to each other, with the sun shining through yellow window curtains, as the camera trails from a floor scattered with clothes, to a bed with two lovers sprawled out on it. They awake and smile at each other. Pull each other close for a good morning kiss and send each other back to dreams.

The air conditioning of the Bebop was turned onto high, and I did not awake to warm sun rays infecting the room. We were in space, what was I to expect? I did find something worth seeing though.

My eyelids fluttered open slowly. The ship was traveling at its slow speed, and from the chamber windowpane I saw tiny stars whizzing past us. The room was cold, but Spike's body heat was enough to keep me alive through the harshest winters. I turned and looked at him, careful not to make a sound. Air passed into his lungs and escaped just as quickly. He was at peace, and I wondered what the world would be like to him if he never had to wake up. A look of satisfaction was on his face, and I smiled. He really did stay here with me, spent the night with me, held me and grinned.

It was 5:00, and I realized that Jet would be awake to make breakfast soon. What was I to do? Stay in bed and wait 'til Spike wakes up? Explain to Jet what was going on between us? Should I run back to my room quickly, and pretend it was just a normal day? No, I couldn't. I woke up still hating the world, but this time I was next to Spike and I loved it.

-

Looking down at my scrambled breakfast, I almost gagged. Ed ate it quickly, as if it was the best tasting thing in the world. Spike ate it too, but not as eagerly. Everytime he looked at me and smiled, he made me blind and I was able to scarf down the mixture. We had already caught a bounty that brought us the woolongs we needed, but Jet wasn't satisfied and we were after yet another.

After breakfast, Ed ran to her Tomato and brought up a picture of the shady couple we were after. It was a male and a female, and I wasn't too pleased when I saw that this girl resembled Julia. Spike stared at the picture longer than anyone else had, a cigarette in his hands, standing behind Ed's small body, blowing smoke down to the screen. I knew from the start, I'd have problems with this bitch.

-

We were to go undercover. Spike was to lure this woman in, and I had the goatee sporting murderer to catch. These people were lounging on Mars' scorching hot dirt. Inside a nearby club called the "Rizzo Box", dancers pounded against each other, their sweaty bodies rubbing skin against skin. They had the intent to go home and die in lust. All in all, this place was disgusting. A lost sex world, underground, which no one would leave alone.

Spike wandered off to the corner of the room and sat on a bar stool. Women payed no attention to him and that pleased me. Pulling my purse strap higher on my shoulders, I patted the bag to make sure my loaded gun was still inside of it. When the weapon check was confirmed, I walked into the crowd of people, where I saw a man dressed in a black suit scoping out the nearby singles. I made sure this man noticed me.

-

"So, do you come here often?"

I shuddered at the thought that this asshole used this line everynight before killing innocent women. He had plans to make me his next pleading schoolgirl, but I had other ideas. Turning my back to him and smiling, I wondered how Spike was doing with his bounty.

"I'm a regular here, honey. I'm surprised you haven't noticed." Reaching for his cold hand, I led him out of the dancing circle to a less crowded area where I had a nice view of the bar.

The lanky man handed a couple bills to the bartender, turned around and innocently handed this Julia look-alike a drink. She smiled and took a sip from the glass, satisfied that as her tongue rolled across her lips, Spike gave her a craving look of lust. Suddenly, I couldn't tell whether or not he was faking it, or if she had reeled HIM in.

"I said can I buy you a drink?"

Snapping out of my state of jealousy and confusion, I nodded and we walked to the bar. I sat down calmy, but slammed my purse against the counter making sure I got Spike's attention. I did, however he just looked at me and away. Either he was really good at playing the role of a single guy, or he's got me in a crazed box of questions again.

It was getting late, but the club seemed like it didn't close this soon. I set my glass down next to three others I had finished and slapped the hand that was placed on my thigh. The man had given up on me and walked back to the dancefloor searching for another victim. I didn't care, just continued watching the love show happening right in front of me. I thought that this mission would be easy, we'd go in, catch them, boom...we're buried in woolongs. That wasn't the case. Everytime I saw this woman run her fingers down the same face I had touched, I grew angrier.

By the time I was seeing the room spin, Spike was ready to leave with this woman. I couldn't let that happen. Did he forget about the emotional moments we had together? Was I just being crazy, too drunk to see he's following Jet's orders? I don't know. The liquids did get the best of me, and as they walked from the bar I followed them.

"Excuse me."

I tapped the blonde on the shoulder. My balance wasn't great and my vision was a little blurry.

"He's not really a single guy. We're both bounty hunters, and we're here to take you down."

Spike watched me in disbelief. I pulled my gun from my bag quickly and pressed it against her forehead. Someone screamed I had a gun, and the crowd began to scamper away like roaches frightened from human footsteps. I was so dizzy, the only thing I remembered was two gunshots being fired. One. The woman fell to the ground. Two. Spike fell next.