On Board the Bebop
Docked at Rei - crater city on Mars
"Mm, yeah?" Spike's husky lust driven voice murmuring in her ear was certainly a pleasant sound in the morning. The anticipation in his tone as he sought permission to drive her wild with his talented tongue and hands brought her own ardor to life.
She was still so tired she could barely open her eyes, but an indulgent smile crept across her lips. "Mm, yes please," She purred at him. It turned her on every time he checked in with her - it was both considerate and empowering. No matter how he might be straining at the seams, if she said no he'd respect it. Not that she had ever been inclined to say no!
It wasn't long before Spike's ministrations brought her fully awake and when he didn't try to catch her increasingly loud noises with his own mouth - often he needed to kiss her into a semblance of silence - she realized they must be the only two on the ship.
He was as respectful as possible when it came to keeping their bedroom antics confined to 'out of sight, out of hearing, out of mind' for Jet and Ed's sake. That didn't mean that they kept everything confined to the bedroom… shit, Jet would be pissed if he knew all the places they'd hooked up on the ship. But they tried to keep it private.
Faye was shit at that because she couldn't help being a vocal person. But that's where Spike had come up with devouring her lips and mouth and every peep she emitted. Normally this was easy to accomplish but given how…otherwise occupied his mouth was… Faye let herself be as loud as she needed to be.
Later, laying sprawled in a sweaty heap on Spike's chest, she pressed a kiss to the hollow of his throat between panting breaths, and then rose shakily from the bed.
"Well good morning to you too," She said warmly, finding one of his shirts to throw on. "I take it we're unloading on Mars?"
Spike had a satisfied smirk on his face as he watched her steal his shirt to wear and slowly button it up. "Yup," He told her. "Jet brought Ed along. Probably not the best move but I figured that gave us freedom to make some noise."
The smug tone in his voice was turning her on all over again. He was so cocky and confident - it drove her mad with frustration half the time and mad with desire the rest of the time.
"Hmm well… I'm gonna go take a shower… but I might need some help washing my back…" She teased as she slipped out the door. Hearing him scramble to follow afterwards was pretty damn pleasant too.
xxx
On Board the Bebop
Smoking on the Deck
Faye and Spike were lounging on the deck of the Bebop later, waiting for Jet and Ed to return from the shiitake delivery to the restaurant, and alternating between smoking cigarettes and smoking joints. They were both sitting on the deck itself, legs hanging over the edge, and Faye was pointing out a school of colorful fish that were darting around the hull, when a familiar figure began walking down the dock towards their vessel.
"Spike?" The trenchcoat wearing man called.
Spike squinted at the newcomer. "Bob?"
The other man chuckled. "In the flesh. Jet inside?"
"Nah, should be back soon though."
Bob nodded, making the hop from dock to deck. "Well, no rush on this at least."
Faye waved at the cop. "Hi Bob,"
"Guess I can acknowledge you exist, now that your bounty is null and void." Bob said to her. "Hello, Miss Valentine. Glad to hear you made it through all that nonsense. Jet was keeping me in the loop in case ISSP had any jurisdiction to intercede."
She gave him a level stare. "You'd think kidnapping would be something the cops could investigate."
He flushed. "Yes, well, given the location of the situation and… er, well, there were other issues…"
"You mean someone bribing the cops to stay out of it?" Spike asked casually. He climbed to his feet. "Standard policy, isn't it?"
Bob sighed. "There's not a lot I could do myself but I tried."
Spike shrugged. "We all do the best we can. I've been stuck in a system before too."
An uncomfortable silence descended on the trio until, minutes later, the sounds of the Hammerhead making its return met their ears and eventually their eyes as Jet piloted the vessel to land solidly on the dock. Edward was jumping from the pod before the landing gear had even locked into place. She had a chef's hat on her head and a cloth bundle in her hands that was leaking what looked like custard.
"Ahoy mateys!" She called jubilantly. "Ed brought treats!" She held up the bundle and then realized it was making a mess and darted into the ship with her treasures.
Spike reached down to take Faye's hand and pulled her to her feet. He gestured to Bob then, "Lead the way, Bob."
Eyeing their linked hands, Bob turned to walk towards the main access hatch of the Bebop, giving a nod of greeting to Jet as he emerged from the pod and jumped to the deck to follow everyone else inside.
The cloth bundle was unwrapped on the table with more pastries spread out. Faye had taken one and was trying not to make a mess as she ate it on the couch. Spike was next to her, mouth stuffed full of the deliciousness. Jet was seated on the chair and giving his full attention to Bob - who was leaning against the flat platform between the stairs. Ed had taken her usual spot on the floor with Ein and her computer, a half eaten and super smushed pastry still oozing custardy goodness next to her on the floor. Ein had sniffed at it but was not especially interested.
Bob wasted no time once they'd all settled into the living room.
"I didn't want to say anything outside or over the comms," The cop began. "This is a bit of odd business, honestly. I was approached privately due to concerns over there being a mole in the ISSP. I met the mother, Mallory Alden, years ago, she'd been a mugging victim that turned into a hostage situation once they found out who she was. Now she's got some kids who are being threatened so she wants to protect them but doesn't trust the cops."
"Perfectly reasonable," Faye put in.
Ignoring her, Bob went on. "So here's the thing. This is most likely a family issue. See, the Aldens are a super old lineage and they've amassed considerable wealth since their family fled Earth and made their home here on Mars. There's about to be a pretty big struggle over who inherits the bulk of the fortune now that the Grandfather, Walden Alden, has passed. It's an old fashioned family and they don't put women in positions of power, they're to be seen and enjoyed but that's about it. So, there's three sons in line for the money, Archibald Alden, Benedict Alden, and Clarence Alden, and two daughters but again with women being disregarded they don't stand to inherit a dime, and then a few grandchildren as contenders as well."
Faye opened her mouth and Spike stuffed a pastry inside before she could speak. Bob gave him an appreciative nod.
"So, the mother who I met before isn't a blood relation - she married into the family. Her husband is a bore but the oldest son and normally the wealth would fall to him. He's in a coma under ISSP watch after an assassination attempt. If he should die, his own sons would inherit the wealth, bypassing all the other children that Grandfather Alden had. Naturally, none of them are keen to see this happen. We haven't been able to prove who made the attempt on Archibald, the father, and our hands are full trying to keep him safe and alive. There's only so many officers who can be trusted with his protection, after all."
"You don't need us to protect Archie?" Jet asked.
"No, your mission is more important - at least to Mallory. She is the one who reached out to me hoping to find some bodyguards for their children. There have been some threats made towards them, though nothing has come to fruition yet. But the kids are fairly old - teens I think - and not inclined to sit around waiting for someone to try killing them when they have lives to lead. One is a big name in graphic design and video game creation, he's supposed to be participating in some kind of tech convention in a few days. The other is considerably less well known, but that's because for some reason the family has been trying to hide the fact that there's two of 'em in the first place. For the longest time, they tried to play it off like they only had one child: Cornelius Thomas Alden. Turns out, they had twins and named one Cornelius and the other Thomas. Hardly anyone outside of the family knows this - in fact, not even all the family is aware. It was a very tightly guarded secret."
"Thomas means twin!" Ed announced. "Not the best way to hide the truth."
"Huh. Well, anyway, I figured between the three...four… of you," Bob seemed reluctant at first to include Ed in their number but the glare she fixed on him made him add her in before going on. "We can split up the work. Some of you can concentrate on keeping them safe while we also see if we can track down the folks who made the threats in the first place. Maybe they were behind the assassination attempt on Archibald. You won't be paid through ISSP for this. No one at ISSP is going to know you guys are on the scene at all. The family will be handling the payout once the dust settles and we know the kids are as safe as they'll probably ever be. Mallory is seeking out actual protection agencies right now but until she can get some folks she feels confident using, she is willing to entrust her babies to me and the people I trust."
"Sheesh, Bob, you really made an impression on this gal way back when, hey?" Jet noted.
Bob flushed. "So that's it in a nutshell. However you wanna do it is fine with me."
Spike sighed. "This seems like an overly complicated babysitting gig."
Jet gave him a steady look. "You're not thinking along the right lines. You'll be a bodyguard for this mission."
"Bodyguards, babysitters - same damn thing."
"Anyway," Bob interrupted. "You said you wanted a change of pace for a minute, Jet. This is what I have for ya. And, it would be a huge help to me, honestly. I don't have a lot of resources for something like this and there's not many folks I'd be able to trust here. The other family members are all fairly wealthy and that makes them dangerous, there's a good chance that one or more is behind all this."
"So you're saying if we do this for you… you'll owe us a favor or two, hey?" Faye surmised shrewdly.
"Well, ah," Bob hedged.
"Twins, you said?" Jet asked. "Seems worth a couple favors, I'd say."
Bob sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I'll owe you guys."
"Favors in our back pocket and eventual cash from mommy dearest for spending a few hours or days babysitting teenagers? Hmm…" Spike made a face.
"Ed says yes sir! We shall undertake this mission post haste! Ed has always wanted to meet Tommy!" She had hearts in her eyes. "He's one of the best video gamers in the system! Phenomenal programming, superb storytelling, he's got value not just to the family but to the world at large! He's been a game changer in the online world." She explained, not that any of the adults really understood her points.
Spike sighed. Faye looked amused. Ein gave no readable response.
"Well, I guess we're in then," Jet acknowledged, giving Ed a hard look. She blushed and settled back down at her computer.
"I appreciate it, Jet." Bob told him plainly. "I'll give you all the files I have on the family members - I've got some printouts that you can't find online." At this, Ed laughed quietly to herself. "I don't know if I should come by again - not sure if there are eyes on me. We can meet at a diner later - someplace we haven't been yet. Maybe the Greasy Spoon over on Ares Avenue. I know I said there's no rush but it'd be best if we got started today. Mallory has kept the kids with her in Archie's hospital room and they've been getting real antsy to get back to a semblance of normal life. I'll get some passes for your crew here."
On that note, Bob made his way from the ship, leaving the Bebop crew to digest what he'd said and to sort out a plan for themselves.
"Cornelius and Tommy huh? So how are we supposed to prevent this kidnapping? Find who tried to snuff out Archie-boy and take 'em out before they have a chance at the kids?" Fate asked.
"Think Bob is gonna keep us in the loop about Archie-boy?" Spike mused. "It probably is the same person behind it all. Wonder if he'll be able to get us any details about how they went for Archie in the first place. You should find that out, Jet."
"Oh don't worry I plan to. I'm gonna work with Bob on this one. I was thinking of sending you both with one of the twins each. Keep 'em separated and don't let anyone know where we're keeping 'em. If they're split up and hidden it should be harder for any assassins to strike. Spike, you can take Tommy and bring Ed with ya. Faye, you'll be in charge of Cornelius."
Faye frowned. "Okay, fine, but what if… instead of hiding… we use the kids as bait? We can put them in a safe spot in their own house or here on the ship and then let the bad guys come to us and just take 'em out, wham bam." She replied flippantly.
"You want to use the kids as bait?" Jet asked, incredulous.
Spike looked thoughtful. "Well, she may be onto something there. We can do that without putting the kids in any risk. What's the plan otherwise, Jet? Follow the kids around through their normal day and hope we spot an attack before it hits? I'd rather set the stage so they're playing on our turf. You and Bob can research all you want, but this makes sense to me."
"Of course you'd want to encourage an altercation," Jet grumped. "Still, that might be the best way to go about it honestly. The kids would probably be more comfortable in their own home anyway. The family probably has multiple properties - maybe we can stash them at a summer house and then pretend like we brought them back to their usual domicile. Get word out that the kids are safe at home and see who comes chomping at the bit. Okay, yeah, I'll pitch that to Bob."
xxx
Aboard the Bebop
Rei City, Mars
"Grandpapa? The world is better off without him," Tommy said with a shrug. "His views on women were...old fashioned to put it politely. Intolerable and untenable. I am glad he's gone."
It was the first Spike had heard the kid speak all day so far. The pickup at the hospital had gone off without a hitch, though they'd decided to change the plan up a bit after all. Well, the mother had insisted that the children be separated. Wailing on about needing to know at least one of her babies would survive if anyone attacked the house like the threats had mentioned. So, he had taken Tommy - a very timid and shy young lad - to sequester the kid on the Bebop while Faye had taken off with Cornelius to bunker down at the summer home.
The initial plan, which Bob and Mallory and Jet still assumed was the one in play, involved bringing Tommy to the summer home in Montdenier and having Cornelius locked up safe and sound in the Alden House in Rei City, which had been fortified over the years to be reputedly impenetrable. Spike had suggested to Faye that they switch things up in case any listening ears had cottoned onto that plan.
Thomas Alden had been silent from the time they'd been introduced in Archibald's hospital room - which was a suite taking up an entire floor of the super fancy private hospital - until just now, hours later, when something Ed said finally got through to the kid. She'd been prattling on endlessly but until she mentioned the grandfather, the boy had seemed shut in on himself.
"How do you feel about the rest of your clan, kid? Aunt and Uncles cool?" Spike ventured.
The boy glanced over at him. He had very blue eyes and very blond hair that was cut very close to his head. The other boy had looked literally the exact same, so Spike wasn't entirely positive which was which and had gone based solely on what the kids chose to tell him.
After a long moment, the kid finally answered him. "We don't know our aunt or uncles very well. Mother and Father kept us quite sheltered. We never even met Grandpapa, but we heard enough. Actually, I based several villains off his ideals and philosophies." He looked somewhat ashamed.
"Ed has played those games!" The young hacker exclaimed. "Utilizing the inception method of forcible insight was not what was expected."
Thomas's eyes lit up. "Oh! That was my intent! Trying to put a new spin on a classic tale is rather difficult, I've found."
Spike sensed the conversation was about to veer wildly from anything he understood. "You keep an eye on these cameras, hey? Don't open the door for anyone except me. I'm gonna go check in with Faye."
He waited until both teens nodded at him before slipping from the room and making his way to the hangar. He locked the main access hatch from the outside before making his way to the Swordfish to try and raise Faye on the ship-to-ship comms.
There was something decidedly off about everything so far. He went over everything he'd learned so far trying to puzzle out what the issue could be. The father had been poisoned, which had ensured the entire wait staff was currently being held by the ISSP until they could determine which of them, if any, was responsible. The other Alden siblings that stood a chance to inherit were almost certainly behind the assassination attempt, but trying to figure out who had thrown money around to get the job done was not an easy one. None of the wait staff had come forward to throw their employer under the bus.
And everything he'd gleaned so far about the lives these kids had led was absurd. They'd been purposefully kept from society in nearly every way. They had tutors, sure, but they were forbidden from getting an education at any school system, whether public or private. The only real contact either of the kids seemed to have with the outside world was the online persona that Tommy maintained which was necessary for his programming and coding. Even that online access was rigorously controlled.
It was a bizarre way to live, if you asked Spike. The kid had been made the face of the family and the ostensible heir, though in actuality it was his slightly older twin brother Cornelius who was the true heir. Bob had indeed been able to offer up some information that Ed hadn't been able to glean from the internet. Seeing in print the children referred to as "the heir" and "the spare" had been disturbing. He wondered if the twins themselves knew which order they'd been born. It also made him wonder about a few other things, such as the mother's insistence on keeping the kids apart. He had a very bad feeling about this entire setup and he wanted to touch base with Faye to see if she'd picked up any bad vibes. He didn't feel comfortable reaching out to Jet while he was still with the mother and Bob. Something about Mallory just did not sit right with him.
But, that was also why he'd suggested to Faye that they switch destinations. Mallory had wanted Cornelius in the main house. Instead, Cornelius was on his way to the summer house with Faye. Even with all the extra security at the main house, Spike hadn't wanted to stay there with Tommy. It would be much easier to guard the kid here on the Bebop where Spike knew the ins and outs much better. And this way no one except Spike and Faye truly knew what was going on with the kids. It was the best they could come up with on the fly.
Spike had mentioned his suspicions to Faye very quietly under the guise of getting a kiss before going their own separate ways. She'd be able to protect herself and keep Cornelius safe, of that he was confident, but he'd still feel better after checking in.
xxx
En Route to Alden Summer House
Near Montdenier City on Mars
"So, no offense kid but… what kind of a name is Cornelius?" Faye was trying to make conversation as she flew the kid in her RedTail to the family's summer house in Montdenier. She didn't have much experience talking to kids - Ed didn't count - so she was at a loss for topics and the name was truly bothering her. It was just such a mouthful to have to say!
Cornelius sighed heavily. He looked out the glass windows on the lower portion of the craft, watching the world speed by below them. "It's the worst. I hate it. Tommy's isn't bad, but he only got named that because he was the twin. I got the brunt of everything because I was first. My family is so old fashioned and it's awful."
"Why not change it then?"
"I can't just change my name, my parents would be so upset." Cornelius whined.
"Kid, fuck your parents. They saddled you with a name you hate - a name that makes you upset. That's bull. Hey, that redhead from the hospital room earlier? You know what her name is?"
Cornelius blinked in surprise. "That was a girl?"
Faye rolled her eyes. "Girls can wear shorts and have short hair, you know."
But Cornelius shook his head. "No, in our family women were required to wear dresses and not permitted to cut their hair. Women are only to cook or clean or bear babies. They may entertain by playing music or lifting their voice in song. They are not to speak out of turn and must always seek to be modest."
"Fuck, kid, that's… really old fashioned." Faye shook her head. "First off, none of that is true. I mean, gender is fairly immaterial these days anyway but, okay lemme break it down for you. Women can dress however they like and do anything they want to their hair. They can have a career if they want, they don't need to run a household to have value. Women can do anything a man can do and more."
"If father had been awake, you might have put him in a coma with just your presence." Cornelius told her. "Mother was aghast at your attire. It was good you didn't speak until we left the room. She might have changed her mind about letting you folks keep an eye on us."
"Never mind your stuffy parents for now, kid. Back to my point, that girl you saw? Her father named her François. She decided she didn't like François. So, she changed her name to Edward Wong… uh… shit there's so much more. The important thing is… she didn't feel like her name was appropriate for her. So she made the decision to have a name that fit her better. You can do that too, kid. At least think about it, hey? Cornelius is a lot for anyone to have to carry."
They were passing over the outskirts of the town of Montdenier now. Faye brought the zipcraft lower to get a better look at the little town and the bustling people. Cornelius seemed mesmerized by all the activity going on below.
"You haven't had a chance to get out much, have you?" Faye asked.
Cornelius shook his head. "We've got properties all over, but we've never been allowed to leave. It's not so bad, we can do anything we want. Horseback riding, archery, badminton, croquet…"
"Yeesh. All the space in the world but no freedom. No wonder your brother spends so much time in the virtual world."
"Oh yes, Tommy loves it. He's got so many friends out there and he has accomplished so much! I'm very proud of my brother." Cornelius smiled. "I've never been any good at coding or computer stuff. That's why I've spent all my time outdoors whenever possible. But Tommy gets nervous outside, he doesn't like it at all. We're the same but we're nothing alike. It frustrates our parents but we're happy when we can do our own thing. Just because we're identical doesn't mean our hobbies have to be the same."
"At least you kids understand that much," Faye muttered. What truly horrible parents.
"I just want to be able to do my own thing, the way Tommy gets to. Instead I'm supposed to have all these responsibilities. Our parents are super strict with me but let Tommy get away with more because he's not the first born. But… they won't even let him go to school! That's one thing we both want more than anything else, but they don't permit either of us to actually socialize. They claim it's for our safety." Cornelius huffed. "Tommy's lucky he's able to make online friends but I know they still regulate what he's allowed to say or do there too. He's got to maintain a polite and proper persona no matter what. The family name must not be tarnished."
"Fuck all that, kid. I'm gonna tell you this and you can tell your brother yourself. Be your own damn self, it's a hard path but it'll be yours. If your family can't handle that, you'll find others who suit you better. Family doesn't gotta be blood. And family like yours that's so restrictive and controlling? That's not healthy and that's not right. You'd both do better standing up for yourselves."
Suddenly, she spotted a very furtive looking fellow hustling along the street below them. A face she'd familiarized herself with when she and Spike had tried to apprehend him months back though the man - Antov - had managed to escape at the time. As far as she knew, the bounty for him was still on and of a sizable amount. How perfect that he should be here now!
Making a split second decision, Faye altered course to land in a parking lot a block or two ahead of Antov and along the path he seemed to be taking. Cornelius looked around in confusion as she brought the craft towards the ground.
"You must be pretty good at staying put since that's all you've done with your life," Faye said to the kid. "I'm gonna handle some shit real quick and you're gonna sit here while I do it, okay?"
Bewildered, Cornelius nodded. His eyes got huge when he watched her take out and check her gun and then slip a pair of brass knuckles over one hand.
Her comm activated as she was about halfway out of the vehicle.
"Faye, what the fuck?" Spike's image and voice came through on the ship-to-ship comm as she was preparing to disembark from the craft. He could no doubt see her, the kid sitting in her vessel's only seat, and the fact that she was not parked on the lawn of the summer house like she was supposed to be.
"Something came up!" She blurted. "I saw Antov - we've been looking for that ass for so long now and he finally shows up here in Montdenier? I figured it was a sign!"
"A sign of what? Stop being brash! You don't even have backup and what the fuck are you gonna do with the kid while you chase him down?"
"Don't worry about it! I've got this. We've got this. I'm leaving the kid in my craft, he'll be fine. But I've got to go! He'll be gone again if I don't hurry!" She launched herself from the vehicle and hit the ground running. It's not like Spike wouldn't be doing the exact same thing if he were in her position - and anyway the kid was safe in the ship so it'd be fine.
xxx
At Grandfather Walden's Estate
Rei City Mars
"I dunno, Bob. This seems a little off," Jet said as he and the other man and Ein sifted through various files and folders on the massive mahogany desk that dominated the room they were in.
"You're telling me." Bob replied with a sigh. "The brothers both have pretty airtight alibis. They could have easily hired someone to take out Archibald, but if that was the case I would have expected it to work. You don't just have an assassin poison your brother but botch the job. None of the staff have come forward to admit to being hired for that either."
"I'm not seeing anything here that helps us at all." Jet gave up with a groan. "I say let's go stake out the Alden House and see if we can't catch 'em in the attack. Faye's supposed to be there with one of the twins and we were careful to leak that information out. I don't like leaving them out there like sitting ducks."
"You're right, there's nothing here. I don't know why Mallory thought there would be to begin with."
Ein trotted to the door and looked back at both men, clearly ready to leave as well.
"That cinches it, there's no clues to be found here. Let's go to the Alden House."
Bob's comm chirped at him for attention. "Bob here,"
"There's been another attack. Benedict was involved in a fatal zipcraft accident just a bit ago."
Bob and Jet exchanged troubled looks. "Well, there's one suspect we can cross off."
"I'm liking this whole setup less and less, Bob. We'd better split up. I'll head to the summer house if you go to the Alden house. Feels like something is about to go down at both spots if you ask me." Jet griped. Ein yipped as if to agree.
"Yeah, I'll check in on my other agents to see what's going on at the hospital and with the other brother. Keep me posted, Jet."
xxx
En Route to Alden Summer House
"You're what?" Jet exclaimed.
"Not where we said we'd be." Spike replied calmly. "Something's fishy here, Jet. If you ask me, the mom's up to something here."
"The mom is who hired us to protect her kids!"
"I don't want to disagree with you… but I've been thinking… maybe she only wants to protect one. She's been awfully concerned with keeping them apart when it'd be a whole lot easier to keep them safe if we stuck 'em both in the storage hold of the Bebop and pretended to bring 'em to one of the properties the way we wanted to do in the first place."
"Well, shit. I'm on my way to the summer house now. If you're not here, should I even expect Faye to be?"
Spike gave him a blank look. "Your guess is as good as mine there, partner."
With a sigh, Jet shut off the comm. Spike's words had been like a splash of cold water. He was glad he was heading to the summer house now - if Spike's hunch was correct, then the kids were definitely at risk, or one of them at any rate. And if he didn't even know where Spike was with Tommy, there was a good chance no one else knew either. But they had purposefully made people think that Tommy would be at the summer house and if he was the target… that meant Faye and Cornelius would be in danger there.
Grumbling under his breath, he dialed Bob on the comm next. "Alden House is empty, just so you know. You seeing anything happening on the grounds to indicate a threat?"
"Place looks dead," Bob replied. "No lights, no movement. I've got some heat scanners that aren't showing shit either. No sign of forced entry at any of the access points on the property. No zipcraft or vehicles parked anywhere nearby either. Cornelius isn't on the property with Faye? I know the mansion itself is impervious to scans given the thickness of the building material."
Jet shook his head. "No, turns out my partners are acting on their own and making shit up as they go. Spike's got Tommy somewhere but he didn't wanna say where. Faye didn't answer when I tried hailing her so I'm booking it to the summer house as fast as I can. I don't like not knowing what's going on with my crew."
"Want me to come back you up?"
"Eh, it'll take too long for you to catch up. I'd say check again on Archie. Spike's worried the mom might be up to something."
"Mallory? But she…"
"Yeah yeah, she hired the protection in the first place. But you don't think… maybe… she had an ulterior motive in mind? I mean, sure, maybe you did leave that good of a mark on her way back when… but realistically she could have used their fortune to hire an actual security team who is used to doing this protection shit. We're not exactly trained for this after all."
Bob sighed. "All right. You take care, Jet."
"You too, Bob. If it is all tied to her… well, we'll find out soon enough I suppose." He ended the call and increased his speed even further. He was pushing the Hammerhead to its limits for speed within an atmosphere but Faye's radio silence had him extremely worried. Of course, she might be lying low due to the suspicions Spike had suggested, but Jet didn't want to bet on that.
A plume of dark smoke was rising in the distance. Jet's ill ease increased as he approached.
The summer house was engulfed in flames. Entire sections were just gone, indicating the use of a bomb or grenade. There was no way a fire had done that much damage on its own. There was no way to salvage anything from the devastation.
On the bright side, Jet couldn't see signs of the RedTail anywhere on the grounds - although, if Faye had parked on the building itself...
Swearing, Jet activated the comm again. He tried raising Faye three more times before giving up and smashing his fist on the console. The good fist, which hurt his hand considerably, but if he'd used his metal fist he would have done too much damage to his own ship to fly it back.
"Son of a bitch!" He shouted. He didn't want to contact Spike right now. He also didn't want to try reaching Bob in case he distracted him at a critical point. It was looking more and more like this was an inside family job after all, just… not the family member they'd been expecting to find responsible. How a mother could want to kill one of her children was beyond him. And sure, maybe it was the other sibling - Clarence? - or even one of the daughters but they wouldn't inherit a thing no matter what happened to the rest of the family. There just wasn't motive on their end of things, unless they just wanted to wipe out their own family.
His comm crackled to life unexpectedly. Faye's image, blurry at first but then clearing up, came through. She had something green plastered all over her face and her hair was wrapped up in a towel atop her head. It looked like she was sipping on a fruity frozen beverage and one of her hands was being held by someone working on her nails.
"You have been blowing me up and it is really making it hard to relax here, Jet," She complained.
"Blowing you up?! You're damn lucky you weren't actually blown up!" He roared.
Faye visibly recoiled from her comm device. "Yeesh, don't shout! What are you talking about?"
"The summer house is destroyed, Faye. Shit, I thought you were here with one of the kids."
She blinked in surprise. "Oh, damn. Guess Spike was right. Uh… nah, we're on a little mission of our own currently." She grinned at him then. "Caught Antov finally! He was skulking around Montdenier and we ran him down. Figured we may as well treat ourselves to a little pampering. I broke a nail taking him out."
Suddenly another figure pushed into the viewscreen of the comm. Bright blue eyes, bright blond hair, and a face smeared with matching green sludge like Faye had. "It was AMAZING! She was like bam! Pow! Smack! And then the guy fought back but she was not having it! It was incredible! Like a scene straight out of Tommy's action games!"
Jet sighed heavily. "Fuck, Faye. I'm… glad you got distracted. I was real worried I'd find you and the kid in pieces."
She snorted. "Nah, I would've noticed bombs there if we'd gone - it's all good, we're fine. We'll head back to Rei City whenever we get done with our pedicures and whatnot. Don't wait up for us - you can't rush beauty!" And with that she cut the connection.
Wearily, Jet wiped a hand across his face. Ein, in his lap, licked at his beard.
"Well, that's a relief. What a fucking mess. Let's head to the hospital eh? Make sure Bob's okay."
xxx
Back Aboard the Bebop
That Evening
"So she confessed to everything then?" Spike asked.
Bob nodded. He held an ice pack to his bruised forehead. "She admitted that she'd been behind it all. Killed the grandfather because she couldn't stand his opinion on women, then tried to off her husband because he was cut from the same cloth as the old man. She wanted the fortune so she figured if she kept the heir alive she could get the money that way. Of course, first she tried to finish the job with Archibald and that's what I walked in on and so she attacked me to keep from anything getting out."
"After a lifetime of having to deal with all that patriarchy bullshit I can sort of see where she was coming from… but to try killing your own children? That's too fucked up." Faye said. "The kids weren't even that bad. That Cornelius didn't seem to understand how badass women can be, but he sure didn't look down on females the way the other men in the family apparently did."
"Tommy has always made women powerful in his games too!" Ed told them all. "He even said he was going to make a character like Ed for his next game!"
"Nice, Ed. You're gonna be famous from this hey?" Spike grinned.
"No no, just an inspiration - Ed didn't want any actual association. Edward doesn't want acclaim. Better to lay low. Famous people get into too much trouble."
"Hmm, yeah I suppose."
"So… I have a question, Bob." Jet said then. "Mallory was supposed to pay us for protecting the kids. Granted, she wanted us to either die with 'em or be unable to keep 'em alive so either way she wouldn't have to cough up the dough. Who is gonna pay us now?"
Bob got to his feet. "Well, as to that…" He started up the stairs. "I'll take it up with the father once he gets out of the hospital. At the very least… I promised favors!" He ducked out of the round door with a wave of farewell.
Faye and Spike shared an incredulous look and then both turned to glare at Jet.
"All that - and we're not getting paid?!"
"Jet, what the fuck?!"
"Money isn't everything, cowpokes!" Ed told them sagely. "We saved lives today."
Faye sweatdropped. Spike's eyebrow twitched. Jet gave an awkward laugh.
"Well, she makes a good point, you know!"