In the morning on Ganymede there was a group of police cars at the dry docks that set up a perimeter. Joel was setting up the yellow tape around the scene while the detectives took photographs of the ashes left behind and the area surrounding it. A paramedic in a blue uniform was checking on Bob while he sat on the trunk of a police car. The Major and Captain of the division were there assessing the situation as well. Their serious manner and tone created a strict atmosphere. Donna was talking to Sergeant Durant at the top of the dry docks. Her hair was wet and in ponytail while she had a towel hanging around her neck.
"I'm telling you Sarge I saw him running down there!" explained Donna.
"Donna there's a lot of moving parts this, it could've been anyone," said Durant, "You couldn't identify his face so until the detectives find evidence that he was here we can't start looking for him aimlessly."
"Well that's just a waste of time! Based on Demetri's method of operation it had to be him!"
"I believe you Donna, but we can't get hasty with the Major around."
Donna looked down at the Major and the Captain as they were on their phones. "Yeah I would sure love to tell him to start get his lazy ass in gear." she said with her arms crossed.
The paramedic closed her first-aid kit that was sitting on the trunk of the car and then shook Bob's hand. Bob had a gauze bandage over the bridge of his nose and his right eye was bruised with a scar under it. He walked away from the police car to approach Donna and Sergeant Durant.
"Hey Sarge any news?" asked Bob as he halted next to Donna.
"They're still assessing the scene." said the Sergeant.
Donna turned to look at Bob. Her expression became surprised as she uncrossed her arms. "Holy crap Bob, your face." she said.
"Yeah the medic said my nose is slightly fractured." said Bob.
"That canister hit you head-on." said Donna.
"At least I'm the one getting compensated, right Sarge?" said Bob.
Sergeant Durant became uneasy and had a single drop of sweat beading down his forehead. "Uh… yeah Bob we'll talk about that later." said Durant unenthusiastically.
The three of them turned to see the Major and the Captain approaching them from the bottom of the dry docks. Major Fine is an older Caucasian male with gray hair and thick-rimmed glasses. Captain Hudson is a middle-aged black male with a goatee and a scar on his left cheek. They arrived to the top Sergeant Durant nodded and shook their hands.
Major Fine spoke, "Officers. The detectives found a footprint in the gravel. The depth and size matches the weight and body type of Demetrius Bardon. The canister that was shot into the police car had a faded manufacturing number that came from Basque Industries. And based on Officer Shapiro's description of the figure that was running we have enough evidence."
"Okay that's good." said Donna with bright eyes.
"But after careful consideration with Commissioner Miller we've decided to give it up to the bounty hunters." said the Major.
"The bounty hunters?!" angrily asked Donna.
Sergeant Durant put his hand on her shoulder and quietly said "Donna, relax if you want to keep your job." Durant turned his attention back to the Major and the Captain. "Okay Major we'll clear out of here."
"Thank you Sergeant." said Major Fine. He shook hands with Durant and Captain Hudson. He then tipped his hat to Donna and Bob and left with two officers.
"Okay Sergeant I'll have a different case for your unit soon. As for now I'm urging all of you to avoid any news outlets, Bardon is a high profile case and everyone in the solar system is going to want to know." said Captain Hudson.
"Okay Captain we'll see you back at headquarters." said Durant.
Captain Hudson turned to Bob. "Oh and Bob I'll see what we can compensate you for your injuries." he said with a smirk.
"Thanks Captain." said Bob.
Captain Hudson then left the scene as well with the officers from headquarters and Joel. Donna sighed with exasperation and crossed her arms.
"Donna you're upset, but you heard the Captain we'll have another case soon." said the Sergeant.
"It's like I'm the only who gives a damn." said Donna.
"We have to listen to the Major, rules are rules." said the Sergeant.
"Yeah, but cowboys? They're going to tear Ganymede apart looking for Demetrius. And I know for a fact they'll be sniffing around us for information." said Donna.
"I'm sorry, there's nothing else we can do." said Sergeant Durant. He slowly turned around and walked back to his car.
Bob looked at Donna's disappointed expression. "Hey, if it makes you feel any better I know a few bounty hunters we can give it over to." said Bob.
"Who?" asked Donna curiously as she looked up at Bob.
"Jet Black and his crew." said Bob.
"What? Bob no, not Jet." said Donna.
"Why not? Who else is actually going to take this case as seriously as you?"
"Well… you do have a point."
"And I'm sure he'll be more than happy to include you."
"You think so?"
"Yeah, don't hate the guy just because of his line of work."
"I don't hate him… it's just a surprise that he could ever put himself alongside those scumbag hunters."
"Why don't you send him the files in a couple of days when they announce the bounty and Bardon will be behind bars in no time."
Donna nodded, agreeing with Bob's proposition. "All right." she said.
Dodge drove with Gene Kleinman in the passenger's seat. They were both silent and didn't even look at each other. The car decreased its speed and made a left turn into a narrow street with buildings on both sides. As the car drove slowly Dodge looked out the window at the houses and apartment complexes reminiscent of old French architecture with stone and crests.
"All right which one?" asked Dodge as his focus was fixed outside the car window.
Gene Kleinman pointed and said "That one at the end of the street."
The car halted in front a house before the corner turn. Dodge turned off the car and pulled keys from the ignition. He put the keys in his pants pocket and opened the car door. Kleinman opened the door and trailed after Dodge. Dodge was looking on both ways repeatedly with his hands in pockets as they walked up to the entrance. Dodge stopped in front of the door and waited for Kleinman. Once he got to the door Kleinman took out his keys from his suit pocket and unlocked the door.
"Whatever you need to get, get it fast." demanded Dodge.
"Yeah, yeah." said Kleinman unenthusiastically.
They entered the home and shut the door. Gene passed the living room into the hallway while Dodge stayed behind and stared out the window through the blinds. Dodge looked outside for a moment and then removed his fingers from the blinds. He dug inside his pocket to reach for his phone. He dialed a number and put the phone to his ear. It rang four times when Taro answered.
"Yeah?" asked Taro on the other end.
"Are you and Kenji keeping an eye on the office building like I told you?" asked Dodge.
"Yeah so far there's nothing." said Taro.
"What do you mean by nothing?" asked Dodge.
"Nothing, there's normal people in suits walking around; there's no suspicious guys or cars. Everything's calm."
"Did you look at the profiles of the low-level enforcers Shiro gave you?"
"Yeah they all look a bunch of duds. But I don't see any of them."
"All right that's good they probably haven't noticed that Kleinman's missing."
"Are you with him right now?"
"Yeah we're in his house, he's getting his junk."
"No Snakes around there, right?"
"Yeah it's silent, there's no one in the street."
"Okay my guys are at the hide-outs and none of them have reported any activity."
"All right everything seems quiet; we'll make hay while sun's still shining."
"Yeah I have a feeling things aren't gonna be quiet for long too."
"Okay, contact me if you absolutely see or hear anything suspicious."
"All right."
Dodge hung up and put the phone back in his pocket. He looked out the blinds once again. His eyes switched from side to side to scan the area. He closed the blinds, turned around, and called out for Kleinman.
"Hey you ready to go?" he asked.
There was silence. Dodge called out again, "Kleinman?" he said. Dodge slowly walked out of the room into the hallway. He pressed against the wall. He saw a door half open. He moved forward when Kleinman opened the door all the way. He had duffel bags and two briefcases underneath each arm. Dodge grabbed the suitcases from him to help him.
"Geez man why didn't answer when I called out to you?" asked Dodge.
"Sorry I was having trouble carrying all this stuff." said Kleinman.
"C'mon let's get out of here." said Dodge.
They headed to the front door and opened it. Dodge walked out as Gene locked the door. They walked back to the car. Dodge opened the trunk and threw the suitcases inside, and then Kleinman placed his duffel bags in the trunk. Dodge slammed the trunk and walked to the driver's side. He unlocked the car and Gene opened the door and sat in the passenger's side. They both closed the car doors and Dodge put the keys in the ignition. The car started and he let it idle. Dodge reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a carton of cigarettes. He shook the carton and neared them to Kleinman.
"Want one?" asked Dodge.
Kleinman nodded his head and took out one cigarette. Dodge pulled a cigarette out with his teeth and put the carton back in his pocket and then pulled out a lighter. He shifted the gear and the car drove off.
A few days passed; on Ganymede The Bebop lightly waved back and forth on the water of the harbor. Inside Jet was in his quarters sitting on the bench. He was clipping one of his bonsai trees on the desk when he turned it around to the back side. He noticed that a huge clump was missing from it. Jet scratched his head as Spike passed by the doorway. Jet turned around to call out for Spike.
"Hey Spike, come here." said Jet.
Spike backed up and stood at the doorway to face Jet. "Yeah?" he asked.
"You didn't happen to trim my bonsai trees did you?" asked Jet.
Spike cleared his throat. "Umm no, why?" he said craftily.
Jet turned the bonsai tree to its uneven side to show Spike. "Because I keep very careful track of my trees and there's a big clump missing from this side." he said.
"What, you think I did it?" asked Spike with an offended tone.
"Who else? You're the only one who's always on the ship."
"So that doesn't mean-
"I know when you're lying Spike, your bluff might work on someone else but I've known you for too long." said Jet with a smirk.
Spike stared at him seriously for a moment and then he sighed. "Yeah fine it was me, I got bored alright?" he said.
"That's all I wanted to hear." said Jet with the smirk still on his face.
Jet and Spike shifted their attention when Faye called out from the main room. "Hey! Come over here and see what's on the TV." she said.
Jet stood up from the bench and walked out of his quarters along with Spike. They reached the main room to see Faye sitting straight up on the couch, staring intently at the television. On the television there was a mug shot of Demetrius Bardon. Spike and Jet stood behind the couch and watched the television with Faye. The news anchor spoke "… suspect for assassinating Senator Moore. Demetrius Bardon is considered to be armed and dangerous with a background in military training. He was reportedly last seen at the dry docks in the mid-sector where an anonymous informant told Ganymede police he was hiding. ISSP has set the bounty to 25 million woolongs."
The trio's eyebrows were all raised. Faye turned around to face Jet and Spike.
"Sounds like our kind of job." said Faye with a smirk.
"No Faye he's too dangerous; Bob told me about all about him." said Jet.
"Oh yeah I remember you told me about this guy, he's connected to Marius Basque, right?" asked Spike.
"Well… I only know little details." said Jet.
"Then why didn't you start preparing?! What good are all your police connections if you're not going to use them properly?!" asked Faye.
"Because I didn't want to get in the thick of it with some madman and corrupt bureaucrats." said Jet.
Faye stood up and put her hands on her hips. "It's 25 million Jet! Think about how long we can last on that!" she said.
"We can get along fine on small-time criminals." said Jet gesturing with his hands.
"You know we can't. Look at our last job, all the money is gone already!" shouted Faye.
"She's got a point you know." said Spike.
"Well I'm not going after him! You two can do whatever the hell you like!" shouted Jet. Jet angrily stomped away from the main room. He headed into his quarters and the door slid shut.
Spike and Faye watched Jet as he left. Once his door closed Faye turned her attention to Spike. Spike turned around to look back at her. She turned her body away in a coy manner and brushed her back as she looked at floor. Spike fretfully scratched the back of his head and stared at the ceiling.
Jet sat on the bench in his quarters. He looked at his cell phone sitting on the desk. He lifted it up and dialed a number. It rang a few times and then Bob's face showed up on the screen when he answered.
"Bob what happened with Bardon?" asked Jet. His expression became surprised when he noticed Bob's injuries. "What the hell happened to your face?" he asked.
"Good to see you too Jet," said Bob sarcastically, "Remember when I said I was on stakeout? Well he showed up and shot a gas canister in my face."
"You saw him?" asked Jet curiously.
"No I passed out right away, Donna caught a quick look at him though." said Bob.
"Is she okay?"
"Yeah she's fine, whatever gas was in there knocked her out right away too."
"So you guys have no idea where he is then?"
"No he burned down his hideout and ran on foot. Why do you wanna know so bad? You finally thought it over?"
"Well I'm thinking about it… the bounty was announced on the news."
"Oh was that today? Took them long enough."
"Yeah, 25 million woolongs."
"Yeah he's pretty high profile. Did you want some info on him?"
"I just need to be sure he won't be too much of hassle if I go through with it."
"He's not some convenience store crook I can tell you that much. But Donna really wanted turn him in she seemed disappointed when they took us off the case. So I told her to give you the information when the bounty went live."
"All right when is she going to send it?"
"I don't know she hasn't come into work yet. Let me call her and I'll call you back as soon as I hear from her."
"Okay thanks Bob."
The call hung up. Jet put the phone down on the desk once again. He sighed and stared blankly at the bonsai tree with the missing clump.
Donna was in her home putting her uniform together. She was staring into a dresser mirror as she put her hair into a ponytail. She lifted her badge off the dresser and pinned it to her vest. She then lifted her firearm and a clip. Donna slid the clip inside and put the gun in the holster on her thigh. She stared at herself in the mirror in the full police uniform.
Donna turned to a crib that was against the wall of the room. She bent over to look inside. There was her son, sleeping soundly and hugging his pillow tightly. Donna smiled as she gazed upon him. She softly stroked his hair. Then her phone began to ring. She snarled at the thought the noise might wake him up. Donna lifted the phone from her bed and answered.
"Hello?" said Donna.
"Donna it's me." said Bob.
"What do you want Bob? I'm on my way right now." said Donna.
"It's about Jet, he wants the information on Demetrius Bardon."
"Was the bounty announced already?"
"Yeah just this morning."
"Huh. Well okay tell him I'll give it to him later today."
"Okay then."
Donna hung up the call. She put the phone away in her pocket and put on her police cap. She turned to look at her son in his crib one more time before she left.
On Mars Dodge was with his enforcers and Gene Kleinman. They were in the abandoned bar in Tharsis. Dodge waited behind the front door. He impatiently rolled up his sleeve and checked his watch. He observed the hands as they ticked for a few seconds and then his hands reached inside his pocket. He took out a cigarette and put it on the side of his mouth.
"Hey Sam, when did Taro last call in?" asked Dodge.
"Hmm, a little bit over an hour ago boss." said Sam.
"Idiot said he'd be here in 30 minutes." said Dodge as he lit his cigarette.
Dodge put his lighter away. Gene Kleinman was sitting on a stool at the bar counter. He put his fist to his mouth and cleared his throat. He turned to look at Dodge.
"Can I have something to drink? I'm getting really thirsty." said Gene.
Dodge and all of his enforcers turned to look at Kleinman. The enforcers then looked at Dodge to see his reaction.
Dodge scoffed and then smirked. "If you're thirsty don't hesitate to ask, we can't have you keeling over." he said. Dodge walked behind the bar and rummaged around the shelves. He took out a glass and a half-empty bottle of scotch. Dodge poured the scotch into the glass and slid it to Gene.
Gene had a disappointed look on his face. He looked up at Dodge and asked "D… don't you have any water or anything?"
Dodge blew out smoke with a bothered expression. "You're an ungrateful bastard y'know?" he said.
A car's brakes lightly screeched outside the bar. Dodge and all of the enforcers looked at the front door. Dodge took out his gun and walked forward. At the door there was distinctive knock that hit the door four times. Dodge slid off the lock and opened the door. Taro, Kenji, and three other enforcers were standing there.
"What took you long Taro?" asked Dodge angrily.
Taro and his men walked into the bar. "We saw something at the office building." said Taro.
Dodge closed the door and put the lock back. He walked with Taro to the bar counter.
"What'd you see?" asked Dodge.
"Blue Snakes snooping around the building." said Taro.
Dodge exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Did your other guys see them leaving the hideouts?" he asked.
"Yeah they called me to say that they were moving out, and twenty minutes later they showed up at the building." said Taro.
"What were they doing?"
"They kept walking in and out the front, talking into small microphones under their sleeves."
"Were you able to identify them?"
"Yeah Kenji got a few photographs of 'em."
"All right I'll look at those later."
"Dodge two of them were lieutenants."
Dodge sighed and blew smoke at the same time. "Damn it, they caught on already, they know Kleinman's missing." he said.
"What do we do?"
"We gotta move around, make sure not to stay in one place for too long."
"Have you heard from Lee?"
"Nah, but he'll call me once they land in Ganymede."
"Tell me again, what's he working on over there?"
"All he says is that he wants to cut a deal with Basque."
"Weapons shouldn't be the priority, we need a plan."
"He's got one; I don't think he just wants to be another one of Basque's clients, we have enough people to pay off."
"You better be right." said Taro. He then looked at Kleinman's drink on the counter. He lifted it up and gulped the scotch down.
Spike was sitting in the main bridge. He was shuffling a deck of cards in his hands. His attention wasn't on the cards and the deck ended up spilling out onto the floor. He sighed and reached down to pick them up. When he looked outside through the windows he saw a police car in the concrete dockyard and an officer walking across The Bebop's runway. Spike's eyebrow was raised. Then his expression quickly turned to panic and he ran out of the main bridge.
Downstairs in the main room Jet was on his computer. Spike came running down the stairs and Jet curiously asked "Whoa what's wrong?"
Spike stopped near the coffee table. "Jet, there's a cop outside." he said.
"A cop?" asked Jet.
"Yeah, walking up the runway." said Spike.
"Well what'd he look like?"
"It wasn't a guy it was a woman."
"A woman?"
Then there was a loud knock on the hangar gate. Jet turned around to look at the source of the knock. Jet stood from the chair and said "You can breathe Spike I don't think she's here to arrest you."
"Then what's she doing here?" asked Spike.
Jet didn't address Spike's question as he walked toward the ship bay entrance.
"Jet?" asked Spike to no avail.
In the hangar Jet opened the gate halfway and saw Donna standing on the runway. He smirked as he saw her walk in.
Donna was sitting in the main room at the coffee table. She spread out files across the table as Jet walked up to her and offered her a mug with steaming coffee.
"Thanks." said Donna with a smile as she took the coffee from Jet.
Jet sat down in the chair across from Donna and set his coffee down on the table. "You know when Bob said you were going to give me this stuff I didn't think you'd come all the way over here, I thought you'd just send it." said Jet with a smirk.
"I like to do things a little old-fashioned, if you don't mind." said Donna with a smirk.
"Of course I don't mind, it's been ages since the ship has seen a new face." said Jet.
"Well alright then." said Donna.
They both chuckled lightly. Spike was waiting in the hallway to the shower room. He had his back pressed against the wall and his head turned to hear the conversation on the other side of the wall. His eyes were suspicious as he wondered if it was a good idea to show his face to a police officer. The sound of water running from the shower room then shut off. Spike spun his head around to face the door. After a moment the door slid open and out came Faye in her bathrobe and a towel wrapped around her head. Faye looked up and was spooked by Spike standing in front of the doorway. Impulsively she smacked him across the face causing Spike to yell out in pain.
Jet and Donna turned their attention to the hallway after they heard Spike's yell.
"What the hell are you trying to pull Spike?!" shouted Faye as Spike rubbed his face. Faye angrily stormed out of the hallway. When she arrived to the main room she saw Donna and Jet sitting around the table. Her angry expression quickly shifted to curiosity.
"Umm hi? Jet who's this?" asked Faye.
Donna was a little worried at first to see a woman walking around in a bathrobe. But she stood up anyways and extended out her hand to greet Faye. "Hi I'm Donna, I'm a friend of Jet's." she said with a wide smile. Faye shook her hand.
"Faye, this Donna she's an old friend from ISSP. Donna, this Faye… she's umm one of my partners." said Jet. Then Spike exited out of the hallway and they all turned to look at him.
"And that's my other partner, Spike." said Jet.
Donna made her way to greet Spike. "Spike huh? Hi I'm Donna." she said with a smile again.
They began shaking hands. "Umm hey Donna, nice to meet you." said Spike. After they stopped Donna took a closer look at him. She couldn't shake her feeling of déjà vu.
"Have I seen you somewhere before?" asked Donna.
Jet and Faye's expression became nervous. Spike looked uneasy. "What do you mean?" asked Spike.
"Yeah you look really familiar, there's something about you." said Donna.
"Hmm I'm not sure, maybe it's the hair? Usually people see something that stands out and confuse it for familiarity." said Spike.
"Hmm maybe, your hair's pretty distinct." said Donna said with a smirk.
"Yeah I get that a lot." said Spike smiling as he rubbed his neck.
Later on Jet and Donna had been looking through the police files. Jet was staring at a picture of a young Demetrius Bardon when he first entered the military.
"How long was he in the military?" asked Jet.
"About nine years after he turned eighteen." said Donna.
"And before that he'd been through boot camp most of his teen years?"
"That's right."
"A whole life spent fighting and training."
"He doesn't even need it, he knows how to wait and sneak in at the right moment. That's how he knocked Bob and me unconscious without laying a finger on either of us."
"Well he did use a sleep-gas."
"True, but that means a gun isn't the only thing he's got on him."
"Basque weapons right?"
"That's what we're assuming."
"What about Basque? How's he connected to the senator?"
"We're suspicious of Basque and that he's involved in syndicate activity, but none of it's official. The senator was a big promoter for the decrease in criminal activity and blamed it on how easy it was for syndicates to obtain weapons and launder their dirty money through businesses, somewhat implying Basque. The senator was working on laws that would restrict and put a bigger eye on big companies like Basque's."
"But Basque is careful, why would he assassinate the senator if it'd only bring him attention?"
"Well he couldn't have the senator enact these laws or else everyone would find out about his criminal enterprise and it would land him in jail, so it was a risk he had to take. Now the senator's dead and everyone is too afraid to take over his place to enact the law."
"That's where Demetrius came in?"
"Yes Demetrius's DNA was found at the vantage point."
"And Demetrius is careful too, why would he get sloppy now?"
"He's the fall guy; since evidence of him was found at the scene, we're only allowed to look for him. Basque most likely knew that Demetrius would be able to hide effectively and even if we did find him he would never testify against Basque, it's part of how he's trained."
"So where do I start investigating then?"
"Marius Basque is in Ganymede right now, he's throwing a private event soon."
"Probably to throw off the public's distrust."
"He's been visiting his company's factories out here in Ganymede as a publicity stunt. He has them all here because of the recession, which means he can hire labor for much less money than if it were on Mars."
"So you want me to start with Basque huh?"
"It's the last thing he wanted." said Donna with a smirk.
"How am I supposed to get into the event?" asked Jet.
"Headquarters has a few invitations; Basque likes to include ISSP so he doesn't cause suspicion. I can hand some over to you and your crew." said Donna.
"Hmm." said Jet as he stared at a photo of Marius Basque, waving to the paparazzi.
After they had finished talking Jet let out Donna through the hangar gate. Before she exited she shook Jet's hand.
"I'll keep in contact with you." said Jet.
"Okay, I'm looking forward to hearing from you." said Donna with a smirk. She slightly ducked her head under the gate and exited out of The Bebop. Jet closed the hangar door and looked up to see Faye sticking her head out of the octagon-shaped doorway.
"I know what you're thinking and no I still haven't made up my mind." said Jet.
Faye shrugged her shoulders and went back inside. Jet went back inside too and retreated to his room.
Spike was up in the main bridge, sitting in the front seat. He stared out through the windows at the city. Faye walked in with her regular attire on and stood behind Spike.
"Is she gone?" asked Spike.
"Yeah, Jet seemed like he didn't want her to leave." said Faye whimsically.
"What were they talking about?"
"About that bounty that was on the TV earlier."
Spike turned around to look at her. "The bounty? I thought Jet wanted to stay away from it?" asked Spike curiously.
"Looks like she might have changed his mind." said Faye.
"Huh." said Spike. He turned his attention back to the city and drowsily closed his eyes.
Faye swallowed nervously and sighed. Although they were able to talk normally to each other, Faye was continually bothered that Spike almost kissed her. So she decided to finally speak up about it. "You're not even going to mention what happened the other day?" she asked.
"Nothing happened." said Spike with his eyes still closed.
"What do you mean nothing happened?! You were about to… well you know." said Faye as she crossed her arms.
"But I didn't. If it never happened that means it's not important."
"I can't believe you Spike! You're the most insensitive bastard I've ever known! And that's saying a lot by the way because I've known my fair share of 'em!"
Spike didn't respond. He kept his eyes closed with a straight face.
"Spike?!" shouted Faye. Her expression slowly turned into disappointment. Faye didn't say anything else as she stared at the back of his head. She left the main bridge reeling from Spike's emotionless response.
Spike slowly opened his eyes after Faye had left. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. He had a guilty expression on his face because he knew how he handling the situation was wrong.
A/N: Looks like The Bebop crew is considering going after Demetrius Bardon's bounty. All the while Spike and Faye are having an uncomfortable spat. And Dodge is working on his first job as head enforcer as Lee goes to Ganymede. Circumstances are going to drastically change! Hope you all enjoyed the chapter!