A/N: 02.10.2020

Guys, I am so so so sorry! If you only knew the amount of crap I've had to deal with the past month! Oh, Lord! I thought I would never get this done!

But, FINALLY! Session XX is here!

There is a scene in here inspired by the excellent film, The Raid 2. Can you find it? There's no prize but I'm just curious who else has seen that movie besides me. That movie and the first Raid are two of my all-time favorite movies.

Enjoy!

Session XX: Killing Strangers

"We're killin' strangers, so we don't kill the ones that we love" ~ Marilyn Manson, "Killing Strangers", 2014

A few days after the meeting at the restaurant, Spike took notice how the Red Dragons and the Europeans began dealing with their enemies, within and outside of the syndicate. The affairs hadn't gotten too bloody, as most of the effort was just identifying who was betraying them and where they were located.

The assailants from the first night were identified as just a group of hired guns. Spike knew Vega suspected and had a solid idea of who was behind it on the Red Dragons' side but Vega needed more evidence before he accused anyone. To do so would lead to a challenge of power within the syndicate, and that was the last thing Vega needed or wanted. After all, this would be the third challenge to the leadership of the Red Dragons within the span of a year.

Spike was listening to a message in the common room when Faye walked in.

"Any news?" she asked, sitting down next to him.

"Not yet," Spike answered.

"What about your other friends?"

"We'll call 'em when we know for sure what we're doing."

"You sure we can trust them?" Faye asked.

"This might surprise you," Spike replied, "but… yeah, I am."

Jet was going over the information on his computer when heard a beep and an alert that video call was coming through. He opened the video to…

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ed screamed.

Jet jerked his head back. "Ed?!"

Ed gasped. Then smiled. "JET-PERSON!"

"You got my message?"

"Eeeeeyup! Edward saw a message and traced it back to Bebop-Bebop!"

Jet scoffed, "Never thought I'd say this but it's good to see you, kid!"

"You, too! You, too!"

"Yeah," Jet smiled. He sighed. "I've really missed ya, kid."

Ed stared at Jet in shock but then gave one of her classic smiles. "I miss you, too!"

"Edward, we need a favor."

"Sure-sure!"

"Billix industries have been helping the Red Dragons make Bloody Eye," Jet explained. "We need you to hack into their systems and find anything and everything you can."

"Aye-aye, Captain!" Ed sang.

"Edward, whatever they've got will be hidden under a lot of protection. You're gonna have to dig deep, okay?"

"Roger that, Roger!"

Jet saw he was getting another call. "Uh, Ed? Hold on a second."

"Okaaaaaaaaaaaay!" Ed shouted.

Jet put Ed on hold and answered the other call. It answered to show Bob's face on the screen.

"Bob?" Jet asked.

"Jet, you'll wanna hear this," Bob said. "Sorry to call out of the blue but this is big! We got wind that Europa is starting to expand operations and their taking out some of the old guard. They think some of them have it out for the new leader."

"Yeah, I think they're right."

"We got word that they're looking for your old snitch, Madhava. Remember him?"

Jet set his jaw and exhaled. "All too well. Any news on where he might be?"

"The word is he's still on Europa," Bob answered. "But there was a tip that he might be hiding on Callisto."

Jet nodded. "Thanks, Bob."

"Jet, be careful. Europa may not consider you a threat anymore but don't chance it. Stay out of their way."

"Got it. Thanks again."

Bob nodded and cut the feed.

Jet resumed the call with Ed, told her to dig into Billix more, then ended the call. Jet stared at the blank screen, considering a course of action in his mind. He looked up, surprised when he saw Elektra staring at him.

"How long…" Jet began.

"Right when you got that call from Bob," Elektra interrupted. "I'm guessing we're not staying out their way."

"Madhava might have something we can use against Europa. I have to talk to him before they get to him."

"Okay. I'm going with you."

"You don't have to."

"I wasn't suggesting it or giving you an option. Let's go."

As Jet and Elektra were preparing their ships to leave, Spike was standing in the hangar, observing them.

"You guys gonna be okay?" Spike asked.

"We'll manage," Jet answered, punching in a few commands into the Hammerhead's computer.

"And you don't need us to come with you?"

"Spike, stay here." Jet got out of the cockpit of the Hammerhead. "We need you here in case Ed calls back or if anything else happens. We should be right back."

"Well," Spike sighed. "If you're sure."

"Don't worry, Spike," Elektra said. "I'll be there to watch his back. It's what I do."

Spike nodded. He shifted his stance. "Watch yourselves."

Jet looked at Spike, then nodded.

Callisto. Three Hours Later.

Getting more information from Bob, despite the cop's protest, Jet and Elektra walked up to the Granite Arms when they heard gunshots and saw people running out of the complex. Jet and Elektra looked at each other, briefly, before rushing inside. They took the back entrance of the complex, drew their guns, and made their way up the stairs; it was around the ninth floor where they started seeing bodies. They couldn't tell if they were current Europa soldiers or former. But, at this point, it hardly mattered.

They hurried up the stairs, making it to the twelfth floor. They looked up and down the hallway, finding more dead bodies along the way.

Jet and Elektra both had a feeling of dread as they approached Madhava's apartment.

Jet entered into the apartment while Elektra kept her gun aimed up and down the hallway. She backed into the apartment and closed what was left on the door behind them. Jet looked around the apartment and walked into the bedroom. He found Madhava lying on the floor next to the bed, bleeding from the side of his abdomen.

"Oh, hell," Jet groaned. He holstered his gun and hurried over to Madhava.

Elektra entered the room next and saw Madhava's condition. She knew, without a doubt, there was no way to save him.

Madhava looked up at Jet and groaned, "Ohhhh, you're the last person I thought I'd see." He chuckled, "Poetic, I guess."

"Madhava, what the hell happened?" Jet asked.

"Hanan. That bitch! She's… decided to remove all of the opposition."

"Probably because you tried to kill her first," Jet pointed out.

Madhava gave a shrug, conceding, "Yeah, that probably did it." He scoffed, "I thought using a third party would keep her guessing. So much for that plan." He narrowed his eyes, "I know what might." He reached behind his nightstand, hitting a small button, revealing a hidden nook. He pulled a small disc from the nook, "They're coming after anyone they consider an enemy. They have more backing now."

"The Red Dragons."

"Yeah." Madhava presented the disc and chuckled, blood coming out of his mouth. "It's so funny… how easy it is to get in this life… be seduced by the bad guys… to become one." He put the disc in Jet's hand then stared at him, "I was just like you once, black dog. Except… I became like… Fad… in the end."

Jet stared at Madhava in disbelief. "You… you were a cop?"

Madhava let out a bitter chuckle, "What a world we live in, eh, black dog?"

Madhava's smile fell away as his face became rigid. Jet swore he could almost see remorse in Madhava's eyes.

"You wanna be done with them?" Madhava asked. "You want out of this game?" He grabbed Jet by his coat, "They're mad dogs, Jet! You want out? You put them all down. Every. Single! One of them!"

Elektra almost felt her breath catch at hearing that. Something about Madhava's voice almost left her afraid.

Madhava's breathing became heavier and he released his grip on Jet's coat. "Watch your… back… Jet." He slowly fell back against the wall and exhaled one last time, closing his eyes as he did so.

Jet grunted and shook his head. He stared at the disc. "A cop." He put the disc in his pocket. "Let's get outta here."

They heard tires screeching to a stop outside.

"Oh, hell," Elektra said.

"Ready?" Jet asked.

"Yeah."

They headed back to the stairs and, after going down a few flights, ran across two members of Europa. The Europeans were in no mood to ask questions; clearly in a 'shoot-first' mentality by the fact that they had their guns drawn. Jet and Elektra were more than willing to answer in kind. Jet and Elektra gunned down the two before Elektra took out a third starting to head up the stairs. When they came to the door to the next floor, the door flew open but Jet tackled the Europa soldier, got up quickly, and shot him in the chest.

Jet and Elektra continued down the staircase. They almost made to the ground level when the door to the back alley burst open. And an Europa gunman rushed inside.

Elektra didn't see the gunman in time to line up a shot. She looked up right as the gunman aimed at her.

Before the gunman could pull the trigger, a gunshot exploded from behind Elektra, ripping into the gunman's chest, followed by another. Elektra let out a shaken breath and saw Jet had fired the shots.

"I think this one of the few times I need to thank someone else for saving my life," Elektra said.

"Only fair. I owe you more than a few." Jet heard more tires cars speeding. "Let's get outta here."

Io. Bebop. That Night.

"He was a cop?" Faye asked. She and Spike were sitting in the common room where Elektra had just finished recounting the ordeal on Callisto.

Jet hadn't said a word since they got back.

"Yeah," Elektra nodded. "That's… that's what he said, anyway."

"Jeez!" Faye threw her back against the couch. "Why are we lookin' like the good guys in this?"

Jet sat with his fingers interlocked, as he stared blankly.

"Jet?" Spike asked, causing everyone to look at Jet.

"Yeah?" Jet asked, never focusing on them.

"You okay?"

Jet looked at them then stood up, "When Ed calls back, have her go over whatever's on that disc." He left the room.

Faye rolled her eyes and groaned, "Oh, God!" She looked at Spike. "I can't deal with both of you like this!"

"Hey!" Spike said. "I'm not moody. Right now."

"Yeah, for this current five minutes!"

Spike rolled his eyes.

"I just don't think he ever really dealt with that Europa crap," Elektra pointed out.

"He's in good company," Faye declared.

"Worse to find out a guy like Madhava was a cop once," Spike added.

"You think he'll be okay?" Elektra asked.

Spike and Faye looked at each other, concerned, but didn't respond.

At their silence, Elektra exhaled. "Well, that makes me feel better."

"We're all in really new territory here," Spike said. "Honestly, the fact that we even know about Jet's arm and his connection to Europa is a lot."

"Ain't that the truth," Faye agreed.

The computer beeped. Spike hit the button and Ed appeared on screen, "HEEEEELLLLLLLOOOOOOO!"

Spike jerked his head back, "Ed?"

"ED?!" Faye shoved Spike out of the way.

"Faye-Faye?" Ed asked. "Edward thought you left Bebop?"

"Yeah, I… came back. I… I-I never should've left."

"Ohhhhhhhh! Okay!"

Ein barked.

"Ein says hi, too!"

"Hey, Ein," Faye said, shaking her head.

Spike pushed his way back into frame, "Ed, you got something for us?"

"Yes!" Ed replied. A series of images appeared on the screen. "Billy-Billy tried to hide a lot of money inside fake accounts!"

"Why?" Faye asked.

"So no one would know about it, silly Faye-Faye!"

"You know you asked for that, right?" Spike said to Faye.

"Bite me," Faye replied. "I mean, why are they hiding the money?" she asked Ed. "Like… why kept it a secret?"

"Shhhh!" Ed said. "Myyyyyysteryyyy! Myyyyyyyyyyyysteryyyyyyyyyyyy!"

"Ed!" Spike and Faye said at the same.

Ed laughed. "Money for producing illegal drug! Hidden 'cause Red-Red Eye-Eye takes a lot to make! Money come back! But it has to leave first! Better if no one knows it's gone!"

"And how do they explain making a profit?" Spike asked.

"Lies! Liieees! Liiiiiiieeeeeeess!" Ed sent a series of other images up, "Fake companies buy stock in Billy-Billy! Make up the money!"

"Those must be Red Dragon fronts," Faye stated.

"We had a couple," Spike said. "Probably some older ones from even before I was there. Maybe before I was even born."

"So, if we can expose them, that might help put him heat on Billix to stop working with them."

"Maybe but Vega's a hard one to crack. That might put him on the run. Maybe." Spike looked back the screen, "Ed," he put the disc in the computer, "I'm sending you something and we need to you figure out everything on it. And keep looking into Billix, the Red Dragons, Europa, everything. Find everything you can. Okay?"

"Aye-ayyyyyyyye!" Ed saluted.

"Call us back when you can."

"And…" Faye said, "we… miss you, Ed."

Ed smiled. "Edward misses Bebop and friends! Edward will call back soon! I am ooooooooon the mission! 'Kay-Byyyyyyyyyye!" She cut the transmission.

Spike looked at Faye and raised an eyebrow, "'We… miss you'?"

"Oh, shut up," Faye replied.

"Just… 'we'."

"I said shut up."

"So, what now?" Elektra asked.

"We're back to waiting," Spike shrugged.

"Again," Faye huffed.

"Better than being shot at."

"I feel like that was directed at me," Elektra mused.

Spike looked at her and chuckled. "It wasn't."

"If it anything, it was directed at himself," Faye pointed out.

"It really is scary you know me this well," Spike replied.

"And Jet?" Elektra asked.

"I'd say leave him alone for now."

"But…"

"But…" Faye said, "if anyone can make anyone talk around here, it's you."

Elektra smiled a bit. "Feels weird, still. Being someone people count on."

Spike took a deep breath. "Well!" He exhaled. "Considering we'd have a lot more bullet holes in us if it wasn't for you, I'd say you should get used to it."

Elektra laughed, quietly.

Late That Night.

Jet was in his room, sitting on his bed and staring blankly at the wall. He hadn't been able to focus much after learning Madhava was a cop once. He knew plenty of bad guys, plenty of bad cops, and he even knew that there were some who were both. But for some reason, this was unnerving. Between Fad and now Madhava, something just shook him.

Then again, he remembered that this kind of thing was the very thing that made him leave the ISSP to begin with.

He rubbed his forehead. It was almost too much to relive again.

Suddenly, Jet understood all over again exactly how Spike felt about not talking or discussing his past. Not that he didn't understand before, but, now, the reasons seemed even more clear than they did before.

He heard a knock at his door. He sighed and got up.

He opened the door to find Elektra standing there. She was wearing less than he was accustomed to.

"Oh," Jet said, surprised.

"It was a long… dangerous day," Elektra said. "I really don't like getting shot at. And… I know today has been hard for you, too. A really bad day. Really, we've both been dealing with a lot of stress. I thought we could… relieve some of the tension." She closed the door behind her.

"Uh…" Jet swallowed, nervously.

"We've been… getting really close lately. And… I like it." She paused for a while. "And… all cards on the table? This… this isn't just about today." She stared into his eyes, "This is about… all that's been happening between us."

Jet let out a silent exhale.

"I want this," Elektra whispered. "But, if you don't, you can tell me. You can say 'no', Jet. I'm a big girl. I can handle it."

Jet looked her up and down. A small part of him thought this was a bad idea, but it was quickly silenced by the rest of him. "I… don't think I have it in me to say no. And, even if I did…" he looked her in the eyes, "I really don't want to."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, "Didn't think you would."

Good Night Space Cowboy…

A/N: WELL! WHAT HAVE WE HERE?!

I'm not gonna lie: when I first planned this story, I went back and forth about Jet and Elektra. But let's see what happens next.

Now, then, just so you guys know, we are now racing toward the finish. Soon, all accounts will be settled. But who will be left standing?

Next Session:

Spike and Jet have a talk about where their lives have ended up and the recent relationships that have formed. And, Elektra confides her own hopes and fears to Faye while Ed begins to decrypt Madhava's files. Elsewhere, Vega plans to remove all of the opposition from the chessboard once for and all.

Next Session ~ Cowboy's Cadence