A/N: HAPPY NEW YEAR!

How else to ring in 2020? Time for another session!

Session XIX: Para Bellum

Prepare for War.

Tharsis City, Mars. One Week Later.

Spike was in an alley across the street from the restaurant known as Mereen's. It was after midnight and the restaurant was closed but it was about to have some late-night occupants. Elektra was in one of higher floors of a nearby building, keeping a watchful eye on things. Jet and Faye were sitting in a car, parked a mile-and-a-half away. Spike couldn't help but think about the number of times Faye screamed at him how bad of an idea this was.

He really hated how much he agreed with her.

Bebop. Two Days Ago.

Spike managed to intercept some coded messages from the Red Dragon and learned of another meeting between Vega and the Europa leader, Hanan.

Spike conceived a plan where he would go, get a listening device in the restaurant, and listen in on the conversation. Spike figured Jet and Elektra wouldn't like it but they would understand. The problem was telling Faye.

And, sadly, she reacted exactly like Spike expected she would. And he still wasn't sure she was wrong.

"I swear I'm gonna kill you!" Faye screamed right after Spike explained the plan to her, Jet, and Elektra.

"But…" Spike said.

"Shut up!" Faye shouted. "You wanna go right where Vega is and just listen to him talk?! Where he might see you?! Are you kidding me! You're an idiot! And this is a stupid idea!"

Elektra looked around, nervously, then meekly raised her hand, "Uhhhh…"

"What?!" Faye asked, angrily.

"I… hate to play devil's advocate… but…"

"Oh, no!" Faye said, immediately. "No, no, no, no! Don't you dare! Don't you do it!"

Elektra shrugged. "I really get where you're coming from Faye. Buuuuuut… it's a good idea."

"You're supposed to be on my side!"

"Because we're both women?"

"YES!"

Elektra shrugged, "I mean, just because we're both…"

"You bring logic into this argument and I'm gonna slap the hell outta you!" Faye declared.

Elektra put her hands up in defense.

"You tried," Jet said to Elektra.

Faye growled. "So, everyone thinks we should do this but me?"

Spike, Jet, and Elektra looked at each other, unsure.

"Fine! That makes me smart and the rest of you idiots. There's a sentence I never thought I'd say!" Faye looked at Spike, "Whatever. Let's do it, then. It's a stupid idea but let's do it. But if you get shot, they better kill you this time. Or I'm gonna do it!" She turned and left the room.

Spike, Jet, and Elektra sat still for a few seconds, waiting until the sound of Faye's footsteps were out of range.

"Your wedding is gonna be fantastic," Elektra said to Spike.

"Oh, shut up!" Spike replied.

Tharsis City. Present Day.

Spike groaned. He really knew Faye had a point. One day, he'd have to actually listen to her advice.

Today wasn't that day, but some day.

Spike saw a long, black limousine drive past a restaurant and Spike crouched further down behind trash cans. He saw three more cars drive by ten minutes later. He put in an ear-piece and listened in to a listening device that Elektra planted in the restaurant yesterday. He hoped this would give them something against the Red Dragons or the Europa.

Because if this turned up another dead end, Spike was beginning to think cutting their losses and running wouldn't be the worst of ideas. He heard that Pluto was lovely if you didn't mind the complete nothingness that direction. And every direction.

Mereen's.

"Milady Hanan!" Vega greeted as he stood up from the table where he, Olivia, and Kaito were sitting at.

Hagen was at the bar with Pearl and Tristan, watching as Hanan walked in with Jamil and Pierce in tow. Pierce walked over to the bar to sit near Hagen, Pearl, and Tristan. Hanan and Jamil sat at the table with Vega, Olivia, and Kaito.

"Mr. Vega," Hanan greeted. "Miss… Olivia, was it?"

"Yes, ma'am," Olivia nodded.

Hanan looked at Kaito, "And Mr. Kaito."

"Ma'am," Kaito nodded.

"Well, then," Vega said, in a pleasant tone, "shall we begin with our business?"

"We shall," Hanan answered. "How are things going on your end?"

"Just fine." Vega held his hand out and Kaito handed him a folder. "Here's a… rather large, vacant warehouse in Alba City. A friend of mine owned it and he wasn't doing much with it."

"A friend?"

"Semantics." Vega presented the folder to Hanan. "A… business relationship is the best way to describe it."

"Interesting," Hanan replied, as she took the folder. She read the contents then handed the folder to Jamil. "Well, on my end… we've begun to make small movements of sale on Red Eye in Europa."

"And how is that going?" Vega asked.

"Profitable. Your drug is… quite lucrative. The five trucks you have gave us? We only have one truck left."

"Excellent!"

Hanan studied Vega, "I must say, you're much more… agreeable than I was expecting."

"In what way?" Vega asked.

"Rumor had it that were…" Hanan searched for the right word, "…on the more unreasonable side."

"That depends on who you ask."

"True enough. Same could be said for me."

"I'm sure it could," Vega said. "But I don't deal with rumors. I deal in facts."

"I like to do the same," Hanan said.

Outside of Mereen's.

Elektra looked up and down the street. She stopped when she noticed something. She got on her communicator, "Uhhhhh… everyone? I think we have a problem."

"What do you mean?" Spike asked.

"I see some cars stopping down the street. And by stopping… I mean, that I saw them driving earlier. After having another look, there's one car that's been sitting for a while."

"Oh, crap."

Mereen's.

After ending a call on his cell phone, Pierce walked over to Hanan and whispered in her ear. She looked at him, quickly, with an enraged look in her eyes.

"Are you sure?" Hanan asked.

Pierce nodded.

She growled.

"Problem?" Vega asked.

"Unfortunately," Hanan answered. "With great regret, Mr. Vega, it seems there those that aren't happy with this meeting and they're coming to do something about it."

"Hm. Do you believe they're from your camp or mine?"

"Sadly, I highly suspect they're associated with mine."

"I see. Anything we can do to help?"

Hanan straightened up.

"We're in a partnership, Ms. Hanan," Vega reminded. "That goes beyond just territory."

"Hmm. Very well, Mr. Vega. Your help would be most appreciated."

Outside of Mereen's.

Hearing the conversation, Spike's eyes widened, "That ain't good."

"What's the plan?" Elektra asked.

"Well…" Spike looked up when he heard cars skidding. He looked to see two white cars, speeding down the street.

"Oh, hell!" Spike growled.

The cars stopped abruptly in the front of the restaurant and eight men jumped out immediately and rushed inside.

The eight men rushed inside of Mereen's and opened fire with machineguns. They ceased fire and realized that no one was in their firing range. They slowly moved advanced in the restaurant. After taking a few more steps, Hagen, Kaito, Pierce, and Tristan emerged from the kitchen and opened fire, killing three of assailants instantly.

With the returning gunfire, the other car that was waiting sped down the street toward the restaurant. It was joined by three more cars.

"Yeah, let's get the hell outta here!" Spike ordered.

He ran out on to the opposite street and saw a car coming toward him. The car stopped and Spike could clearly see two gunmen inside.

"SHIT!" Spike took off running.

The car started following him. Spike realized that he picked the exact the wrong time to make himself known. Anyone remotely fleeing the scene could be seen as a threat.

"Spike, what the hell did you do?!" Faye screamed.

"Gimme a minute!" Spike shouted back.

Spike headed for another alley, hoping to lose the car. The car stopped and the two occupants got out, opening fire into the alley.

A cannister rolled out toward them. Both of the assailants fell back as the cannister exploded into a dense cloud of grey smoke.

With that distraction, Spike ran out of the alley, down the street, and ducked inside the stairwell of a parking garage, waiting until he was safe. Once he was sure he was in the clear, he let out an exhale. He did a body check to make sure that he wasn't shot. For once, he made it out without a scratch.

Spike exhaled and leaned his head back against the wall.

"Spike?!" Jet asked. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Spike replied, breathlessly. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Elektra, what do you see?"

"Looks like the firefighting died down," Elektra replied. "Some of the cars driving off in a hurry. Looks like they weren't prepared for finish this job. We should probably get the hell outta here, though."

Spike looked around. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea."

Mereen's.

With all of their opponents dead or having escaped, Vega, Hanan, and their soldiers walked back into the open of the restaurant.

Vega looked at Kaito, "Olivia?"

"She's fine," Kaito replied. "In the kitchen."

Vega looked at Hagen, "Make sure she stays safe. I'll be right there."

Hagen nodded and left.

Hanan looked the aftermath of the attack and growled. "Fools. I'll have their heads for this." She looked at the Red Dragons, "Apologies. It seems my enemies are becoming more brazen."

"I know the dilemma." Vega looked at the bodies, "I may be dealing with something similar sooner or later. The problem is, are these outside enemies… or inside?"

Hanan looked around, "I fear the answer may lead my leadership down a bloody road."

"As long as it's not your blood, I don't see a problem. Besides, it could be a bloody road but a cleansing one, you could say."

Hanan considered that. "Cleansing." She gave a small shrug, "Interesting perspective. You may have a point."

"Maybe," Vega said, "we could come to another business agreement."

"Hmm. I'm listening."

Io. Bebop. Hours Later.

The crew sat in silence, letting their mind dwell on the situation. Faye's anger, however, was hard to contain.

Soon, she stopped trying.

"So…" Faye said, "that went well!"

Spike had ice pressed to his neck, "Not so loud, Faye."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Faye said, mockingly. "I'm sorry if I'm as loud as the GUNFIRE THAT WENT OFF!"

Spike winced.

"And you!" Faye shouted at Elektra.

Elektra shifted in her seat.

"Ya couldn't have mentioned the car a little sooner?! Really?!"

Elektra looked around, nervously, before she looked back at Faye. "Umm… sorry?"

Faye groaned and rolled her eyes. "Whatever!" She looked at Spike, "You! All you were supposed to do was listen in, you moron! And you can't even do that without getting shot at!"

"Hey, I didn't start shooting! That wasn't my fault! Ya know. For once."

"I…" Faye stopped. "Huh. That's… wow, okay, that's a good point."

"Apology accepted," Spike smirked.

"Oh, shut the hell up." She managed to stop a small smile from forming on her face.

"Well, if nothing else, we know that Europa and the Red Dragons are doing a lot of business together," Jet pointed out.

"Anyone else thinking that Billix is the reason Europa is getting their own building?" Elektra asked.

"Yup," the rest of the crew said.

"It's been a little hard to hack into Billix's system," Jet explained. "Probably upped their security after the hotel shootout and the Red Eye deal. So… to get a better look into them, I sent out a message to find Ed."

Spike blinked. "You? Reached out to Ed?"

Jet shrugged.

Spike jerked his head back, "Wow."

"Yeah, desperate times."

Faye tried not to smile but she didn't succeed. She didn't want to admit out loud, but she did miss her. She wasn't alone. "Any word from the kid?" Faye asked.

"Not yet." Jet checked his email, "But I'm sure she'll find it soon."

"What are we doing in the meantime?" Elektra asked.

"From the looks of things, the Red Dragons and Europa got bigger problems than us," Spike answered.

"Unless they take care of those problems," Faye said. "Then it's right back to us!"

"Maybe it's time to go ahead and take the offensive."

"I was afraid you were gonna say something like that," Jet grumbled.

Spike stood up, "Yeah." He started to walk off.

"Spike," Faye said, quietly.

Spike stopped and everyone looked at Faye.

"If we go down that road… fighting them head-on… stopping all this sneaking around and just… just going after them… it only leads to one place: either they die… or we do. There's no in-between."

Spike scratched the back of his head. "I know."

"I…" Faye shook her head. "I don't want it to go like last time. I…" She paused when an image of Spike lying at death's door flashed in her mind. "…I can't have it go like last time, Spike."

Jet and Elektra fell contemplatively still as they stared at this scene.

"It won't be like last time, Faye," Spike declared. "I promise."

"How can you promise that?" Faye asked.

He walked over and knelt down in front of her. "I'm not going anywhere to die this time. For the first time in my life… I've got too much to live for. This isn't me trying to figure out if I'm alive or not. This is me… wanting to live. Because…" He smiled a bit. "…because I know, for a fact, I'm alive. Thanks to you."

She stared into his eyes and she could tell he meant every word. She, slowly, shook her head, "Don't you dare pick now to be romantic, you asshole."

Spike scoffed and smiled. "Sorry. Kinda."

"I'm gonna hold you to that promise. And, if you don't come through? Vega will be the least of your problems."

"That's fair."

Elektra blinked. "That was… actually sweet."

"Yeah," Jet agreed. "How the hell did that happen?"

"Shut up," Spike and Faye said, simultaneously.

Si vis pacem, para bellum ~ If you want peace, prepare for war

A/N: Well. Let's see what comes next.

Next Session:

Jet gets word back from Ed but, at the same time, he also learns that Europa has decided to go on the offensive. To that end, Jet and Elektra go to meet with Madhava before the Europa can get to him.

Next Session ~ Killing Strangers