Jet reclined comfortably on Sasha's white sofa, resting a nice hot mug of coffee on his knee. He looked around at the cheerful, yellow walls as he and his hostess talked. "Where did you say you were from, Jet?" Sasha asked politely, taking a sip from her own mug.

"I was born and raised on Ganymede," he replied. "It's a pretty nice place. Lots of water, really quite peaceful." Sasha nodded with interest.

"Ganymede… that's a moon of Jupiter, am I right?" she asked.

"Mmhm," the man replied, inhaling the warm aroma wafting from his mug. Suddenly, the comm. at his hip began to beep, startling him. "Uh, excuse me for a sec," he said, lurching to his feet. Sasha obliged with a nod and a wave. Jet's heavy boots carried him to the edge of the room. Pressing the button, he answered. "Yeah?"

"Ahoy, Jet-person!" came Ed's fuzzed voice.

"Ed?" asked Jet. "Where did you go?"

"Ed is downstairs! Downstairs with Nikki-Moose!" she sang cheerfully. Jet's heart jumped and a startled look sprang to his face. He knew where she was, but never really thought about any implications until just now. "Ed gets to see Nikki's computer!" Just then he heard another voice.

"I wanna see, I wanna see!" came the voice of a six-year-old boy. Jet breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, okay, Il'ya!" said Ed. The girl's comm. panned down to show the little kid's face.

"Hi, Jet-person!" Il'ya shouted excitedly, waving a sporadic hand. Jet chuckled nervously.

"Hi there," he answered. Soon he saw Edward's smiling face again.

"Silly boy!" she said, laughing. "If he really wanted to meet you he could have gone upstairs to see you in person!"

"That is a good option," Jet replied, rubbing his neck with his cool metal hand.

"Fare thee well, Papa Jet! Ed will see you soon!"

"Wait--" Jet called, but the crazy girl had already disconnected. Sighing, he put his comm. away again. When he turned back into the living room, Sasha was sipping her warm coffee. She looked up at him, giving a sympathetic smile.

"Ah, kids," she said laughingly. "My Nikolai is like that sometimes too." Jet walked back to his seat, resuming his cup of coffee. "So whimsical and adventurous," she continued. "Sometimes you worry about them, you know?" Jet gave her an empathetic grin.

"I think I know what you mean," he replied.

Spike and Faye traveled back down to the 22nd floor of the Palatz. Having allowed the elevator to travel at its regular speed, the two stepped out of the lift. They turned to the right, following the direction of the conveniently placed directory sign.

They walked swiftly, Faye ahead and Spike one step behind her. "If McDavitt's in there, we'll keep him company until Gu gets back," she said with a smile. Spike nodded, although she couldn't see him behind her. Finally they rounded one last corner and found themselves at their destination.

"Here we are," Spike sighed as they reached the door marked 2218. Faye's eyes twinkled with excitement.

"We need a way to get inside," she said, looking around for ideas. Coming up short, she whipped out her trusty Glock and aimed it at the doorknob.

"Hold it," Spike said, grabbing her wrist. "Let's not get too hasty." Faye watched as he reached into his pocket, pulling out one card key.

"Where did you…?" Faye questioned, looking up at Spike. He piqued an eyebrow cockily as he popped the card into the slot. "You little sneak, you!" Faye grinned. "You know, you should play poker more often." Spike shook his head, fishing out his Jericho.

"I don't cheat, Faye," he murmured.

"No, but you steal," Faye replied cynically. Spike sighed, rolling his dark eyes.

"Ready?" he asked her, cocking the safety.

"Born that way," replied Faye, holding her gun in an upright position.

The two of them burst through the door, guns aimed and ready to shoot. Spike was high and to the right while Faye was low and to the left. Looking around cautiously, they found themselves in a little foyer; a watercolor painting of a colorful Russian palace hung behind polished glass on one wall. Moving out into the open, they scanned the room for occupants. There was no one. Swiftly they crept about, peeking beyond the doors of bedrooms, bathrooms and closets. There was no one. The couple lowered their weapons, at ease.

"This place is amazing!" Faye said finally. They were in a grand suite with a dining room, living room, kitchen, and a master and secondary bed and bath. "I told you they'd be loaded," she smirked.

Spike made his way to the fridge. Opening the door, he found only four cans of Pippu cola and one expensive bottle of Pinot Grigio. "Apparently they didn't order room service yet," he drawled, picking up a can of soda. He popped the top as Faye wandered into the master bedroom.

"Bingo!" she whispered as she spotted a black, wheeled suitcase sitting in the corner of the room. Lifting up the top she sifted through the clothes and found wads of neatly strapped wulongs lining the bottom. "Oh! Jackpot!" she squealed. Spike poked his head through the door curiously.

"Hmm?" he said looking over at the excited woman.

"Hey, Spike! Check this out!" she smiled, waving him over.

"What, that dirty money?" he said, standing over her sipping his soda.

"At least it's money," Faye replied, greedily handling a wad of bills. Spike sat down on the edge of the big bed, scratching his head. She looked at him as he returned a stern look. "Come on, it's not like they stole it! They earned it fair and square," Faye explained.

"Yeah," said Spike, "by sneaking into private mines and selling rare gems."

"Oh, come on, Spike!" Faye pleaded. "Who are they gonna pay it back to?" she said, playing devil's advocate. Spike didn't answer. He knew he didn't have to. He only looked at her with a smirk. She walked on her knees to where he sat, scooting up between his thighs, pressing herself against him as she reached up to plant kisses on his neck. Spike smiled, reveling in her affection. She looked up into his mismatched eyes, entreating of him. "Please?" she cooed.

"No," said Spike.

"Ugh!" Faye growled. "Why not?"

"Faye, we have twenty four million fat wulongs about to walk right into our grasp! Isn't that enough?"

"There's no such thing as enough money," she smiled. Spike sighed, handing Faye his can of soda. She glared at him indignantly as he fished out a cigarette and a lighter.

Another chapter concludes! Not too much going on here though. It'll continue reall soon! Please enjoy!

Cowboy Bebop is not mine, but it is Sunrise Inc.'s.