Black Widow Session 7

Lonesome, Lovesick

/thoughts/

"speech"

~^~ time passed

Last time…

They were silent for a while before Faye rested her head on Spike's chest. His heart almost stopped beating. He stroked her hair for a while, enjoying the unique feeling of being so close to her. "I enjoyed our vacation Faye." Spike said, staring into the sky. "I did too. I only wish we could have gotten some more money. Jet'll probably make us pay him back for all the repairs he's done in the past." She replied, chuckling slightly. Spike sat up, wrapping an arm around Faye as he did so. They stared at each other briefly, before Spike leaned down and touched Faye's lips with his own. Faye's eyes widened slightly, then closed, wrapping an arm around Spike's neck, pulling his body tighter against her own.

And now:

As the two pulled away from each other, there was an awkward silence. "We better get back to the ship." Spike said, nonchalantly climbing up onto his feet. Faye sat still for a moment before nodding and following him back to the Bebop. "You hungry?" Spike asked. Faye shook her head. "Me neither." Spike continued. "I'm just gonna go to my room. See ya tomorrow, Faye." She watched him retreat to his room, as if nothing had happened. A dark fear grew in the pit of Faye's stomach. Something seemed wrong.

She went to her own room and changed into more comfortable clothes that were soft, cotton pajamas. She sat on her bed and thought long and hard. She came to the decision that Spike was still in love with Julia, and that he always would. /It was stupid of me to ever think he could forget about her. I only wish he could. Then that kiss…was an apology..for leading me on, I guess/. Faye climbed under the covers, and didn't even bother having her before bed cigarette. All she could do was worry about what Spike would tell her the next day.

~^~

The next morning, Faye didn't feel like getting out of bed. Spike came and knocked on her door at around noon. "Are you feeling alright, Faye?" he asked, his voice slightly muffled. "Yeah." Faye replied, pulling her blanked tighter against her body. "Are you going to stay in there all day?" Spike continued. "Yeah." Faye repeated, just hoping he'd go away. "All right. I'll be back later." Spike said before walking off. He didn't know what was up with Faye. She was probably just nervous about seeing him, due to the previous night's occurrences.

Spike groaned slightly as he stepped out into the pouring rain. He didn't really have a reason to go out that day, but he made up an excuse for himself, and for Faye. He was getting gifts for Ed and Jet. And maybe Faye, although she would hate him for a while, assuming he would go through with his plans. He found a cheap gift shop and bought some crap for Ed. One of those brain teasers where you have to get a bunch of small plastic sea shells and coins into a treasure chest by moving the toy around so the water inside would thus move the pieces. She'd enjoy that.

Jet was a little harder to shop for. Spike had no idea what to get him, so he bought a bonsai plant that looked desperate for repairing. He brought up the trees ill care with the vendor. "I should get a discount for this thing. It's practically dead." He said, holding up the browning tree. "No, it's healthy! I take good care of all my plants!" The vendor argued. "Well, I happen to be a expert on many things, and bonsai is one of them. You shouldn't sell such crappy merchandise to unsuspecting buyers. Give me a discount or I'll shut you down." Spike said, loading a bunch of professional bullshit.

The vendor narrowed his eyes and took a few woolong off the price. Sighing, Spike went to another store. A jewelry store. He wasn't sure about getting a gift for Faye, but he saw the shop and figured it couldn't hurt. When he thought about it, Faye didn't really wear much jewelry…in fact, she didn't wear any. Turning out of the store, Spike wandered back to the Bebop. He tossed the gifts onto a table and flopped onto the couch. Big Shot was on, and the hosts were talking about the millionaire robber again.

Spike realized that they hadn't gathered any more money for the Black Widow bounty. He turned off the t.v. and went to Faye's room. "Hey Faye, open up." He said, knocking loudly on the door. "What do you want?" Faye asked. Spike sighed and pushed the door open. "I'm going to go out and collect some more money for the Black Widow bounty. You coming?" he asked impatiently. Faye sighed and pulled the covers back. "Yeah, sure. Why the hell not?" She muttered, pulling out a cigarette.

"Just let me get changed and washed up. I'll meet you outside." Faye said grumpily. Spike grinned and headed outside with an umbrella. He hadn't had a smoke all day. A new record. Resisting the urge to light up, Spike whistled the same old tune he had in the past. Venus was very depressing when it rained, he mused. The day was dark and gray. No one was on the streets or anything. Eventually, Faye came outside, toting her own umbrella. "So where's this person live?" She asked. Spike pulled out a paper. "On the other side of Venus. I guess we should have checked before we came outside." He said, stuffing the paper back into his pocket.

They headed back into the Bebop and started off. They sat in the "cockpit" together in silence. Spike finally pulled out a cigarette but snapped it in half. "So where'd you go before?" Faye asked, her chin resting in her hand. "Out. I got gifts for Jet and Ed. Mostly junk." Spike replied, sucking in all the nicotine-air his lungs could hold. Faye nodded and sighed. "Get me anything?" She asked kind of snidely. "Nope." Spike retorted, resting his feet on the control panel. Faye snorted. "I should have known."

They were silent until they arrived at the mansion of Heptune Grenet. Her brother was one of the Widow's victims. They were welcomed inside and offered tea. "No thanks, it's strictly business." Spike answered, crossing his arms. A short while later, Heptune Grenet appeared. "How can I help you?" She asked, sounding as if she thought she was above both Faye and Spike. "Ma'me, we're here about the bounty offered for the capture of the Black Widow." Spike began.

"Yes. What about?" Heptune asked. "We're the ones that caught the Black Widow, and were told we had to visit the relatives to collect our bounty." Faye answered for Spike. "So you want me to pay you?" Heptune asked. "The bounty was 60 million woolong. We've received 3 so far." Spike said. "I don't want to pay. I hated my brother and didn't want to offer any money for the arrest of that woman. She did me a favor." Heptune answered snidely. "We can have you arrested for conspiracy Ms. Grenet. I doubt you want to spend your years locked up in a cell, or do you?" Faye asked, leaning forward.

Heptune blinked her eyes quite slowly. "No, I don't. Yet I still don't see a reason why I should pay you." She said. Both Spike and Faye pulled out their guns and aimed them at Heptune's head. "Now do you?" they asked simultaneously. Within seconds, two men burst into the room to subdue Spike and Faye. One held Faye with his arm around her neck and knocked the gun from her hand. Spike, on the other hand wasn't as cooperative. He elbowed the man that grabbed him and hit him in the side of his head with his gun.

The man staggered back slightly but grabbed the hand Spike was holding his gun in, twisted it and aimed the gun at Spike's back while looping his other arm around Spike's neck. "We didn't come here asking for trouble." Faye said angrily as the man pulled her arms behind her back tightly. "And yet you gave it. I have half a mind to call the police right now." Heptune sneered. Spike grinned cockily. "Does that half a mind remember what we said earlier? You could be arrested for conspiracy. We've already gone over this but you still refuse to pay." He said.

"You seem to be occupied for the moment. Gentlemen, take them to the holding quarters until I decide what to do with them." Heptune ordered to the two men holding Spike and Faye. "What!? Let me go you asshole!" Faye exclaimed, attempting to break free from the man's tight grip. Spike now wished he hadn't decided to not make a scene. The two were brought to a cold room with two wooden chairs. The men tossed them in, slamming the door shut before either could react. "Christ, it's freezing in here." Faye shivered. Spike nodded and tried to get the door open.

Faye sat in a chair and tried to warm up. "What's with this woman? Is she some sort of syndicate boss or something?" she asked as Spike gave up on the door. "I have no idea. It seems pretty weird for a regular billionaire to have a room made entirely out of steel though." He retorted, sitting in the other chair. Faye sighed impatiently. "This sucks! Hey, lady! I want out, you hear me?!" Faye exclaimed, looking around frantically for a camera or something.  "I wish I had eaten something this morning. I'm starving." Faye moaned, tilting back in her chair.

It wasn't until several hours later that two men entered the room. "Ms. Grenet would like to speak to you now." One of them said. "Finally." Faye sighed, getting up from her chair. "There." The same man said, pointing to a screen that seemed to appear from within the wall. "So have you made up your mind?" Spike asked impatiently. "I'm not sure what to do with you two. I could just kick you out and be done with you, or you can be punished. Seeing how you bothered me, I'd much rather punish you." Heptune said.

Spike growled. "And how do you propose to do that?" He asked lowly. "You're bounty hunters and I despise bounty hunters. I'd be much better off if I got rid of you, would you agree?" Heptune said evilly. "I suppose you would. But there's no need for that now is there?" Spike asked. "Explain yourself." Heptune ordered. Spike cleared his throat and sighed deeply. "The only reason we've bothered you today Ms. Grenet is because of a bounty. I suppose we could just leave you alone and collect the money elsewhere, but that wouldn't be too fair would it?" Spike asked. "You offered part of the bounty and we were only here to collect it."

Heptune narrowed her eyes. "I only offered it to get the cops off my back. The sum I offered was chump change compared to what the other relatives were offering. Why did you have to come after me?" she asked snidely. Spike chuckled. "We were in the neighborhood." He replied. Faye rolled her eyes at Spike's attempt at compromise. "Listen lady, how about you let me and my partner go. If you do, we promise never to bother you again."

"But I've already been bothered." Heptune argued. Faye groaned and had a feeling they wouldn't be going home anytime soon. Spike pulled out the gun he kept hidden and shot the screen before shooting the two men that were still in the room. "Come on, we're getting out of here." He said, grabbing Faye's arm and running over to the two men. "Find the key." Spike said, frantically searching their pockets. "Found it! Ooh, nice gun." Faye said taking a small silver gun from the inner jacket pocket. "Let's go." Spike said, opening the door. The hallway was empty, so the two ran down to the nearest door. There were voices on the other side.

"Dammit." Faye spat. The door was pushed open and a group of men carrying machine guns charged through. Hiding behind a sofa, Spike and Faye managed to shoot them all. "Dammit, out of ammo." Faye cursed, sticking her gun into her pants. "Take some of theirs." Spike said, running through the door, grabbing a machine gun. Faye took two, one for each hand and followed Spike. "Who the hell is this woman!?" Faye exclaimed as another barrage of men attacked. Tossing a grenade that was on one of the men, Spike plugged his ears with his fingers. "I have no idea. Some syndicate scum." He said before running down another hallway. They finally got to the main hall of the mansion.


A shot rang through the air and Faye clutched her shoulder before staggering back a few steps. Spike's eyes widened and he went to catch her falling body. Heptune stood at the top of a large flight of stairs. "Now you've made me mad!" Heptune exclaimed, shooting the gun wildly. Spike grabbed Faye and ran behind the stairs where she'd be safe. "You had the chance to let us go, Heptune. You should have taken it!" Spike said, running to behind a marble column. Heptune made her way down the stairs, still shooting her gun off.

Poking out from behind the column, Spike shot her in the kneecap. She screamed out in pain but managed to keep walking. "I had my orders from Vicious. And if I don't kill you, he'll kill you and then kill me. I can't let that happen." Heptune said, still advancing towards Spike. /Vicious!?/ Faye groaned and tried to see what was happening. Heptune Grenet was walking towards Spike, and she wasn't going to stop. Spike turned to shoot Heptune again. The bullet grazed her temple. Spike shot again, but he was empty. "Now you die." She said, aiming her gun for Spike's head. Before she had a chance to pull the trigger, Faye managed to stand herself up and shoot at Heptune's back with a barrage of bullets.

Sighing deeply, Spike holstered his gun and ran over to Faye. "You saved my ass." He said thankfully, helping Faye stand up. "I know. You owe me." Faye chuckled. Spike picked Faye up and said, "We better get out of here before any syndicate members show up." He grabbed Heptune's gun and ran out of the mansion towards the Bebop. "What happened? Who was she, Spike?" Faye asked. Spike remained silent until they got to the Bebop. He set the autopilot to Earth and started to tend Faye's wound. "Spike, tell me!" Faye said, groaned as Spike pressed on her injury.

"She was hired by Vicious to kill me." Spike answered shortly, grabbing a pair of medical tweezers, gauze and whatnot. "What?!" Faye hissed, balling her hands into fists as Spike began to retrieve the bullet. Faye whimpered slightly and squeezed her eyes shut. "Almost there.." Spike said reassuringly. She could feel the warm blood practically pouring out of her shoulder. Finally, Spike pulled the bullet out and put the tweezers down. "You should really go to a doctor." Spike said, pressing gauze down on the bullet hole.

Faye snorted. "No way. Vicious is after you…and I guess me too. I can't trust anyone now." She said. Spike did a half decent job of stitching up Faye's wound. He covered it up with some gauze and said, "Try to keep pressure on it until it stops bleeding. We have to get Jet and Ed before Vicious finds them too." Though he did a good job of hiding it, Spike was really worried that Jet and Ed would be dead when they arrived.

Back on Earth..

Jet and Ed waited at the hotel for a call from Spike and Faye. /They agreed to pick us up today, so why haven't they called?!/ Jet thought worriedly. /What am I worried about? I could careless if anything happened to those two/. But he couldn't help but wonder what kind of trouble they'd gotten themselves into. Just as he was about to call the Bebop, the Bebop called him. "Spike!? What the hell is going on?" Jet exclaimed, noticing the blood on Spike's jacket. "Don't worry about that now. We'll be there soon. Grab a gun and be ready." Spike ordered before turning off the com.

"Grab a gun..shit. Must be the syndicate again." Jet spat angrily. "Ed, you ready to go?" He asked, going towards his bag, which held a few select guns. Ed nodded and grinned. "Are Spike Spike and Faye Faye picking you and Edward up?" She asked, balancing Tomato on her head. "Yeah. I think the syndicate's after Spike again, so be careful and don't go anywhere, understand? Just stay put until they get here." Jet said, loading a new magazine into his gun. He had a bad feeling about this.

Spike and Faye finally landed on Earth, right in front of the hotel. "Stay here. I'll go get Jet and Ed." Spike said, tossing Faye a gun. "Be careful." Faye called. Spike nodded and ran out of the Bebop and into the hotel. Jet and Ed were still in their room so Spike ran up a few flights of stairs and pounded on the door. "Jet, it's me. Let's go!" he called through the door. The door flew open and Jet, Ed and Ein ran out. "What's wrong Spike-person?" Ed asked, still carrying Tomato atop her head.

"We're not safe here, Ed." Spike replied as they ran towards the Bebop. It was unlikely, but not impossible that there were syndicate members already searching for Spike and Faye. They couldn't take any chances now. Not until they were in hyperspace did Jet finally find out what was going on. "..So, it turns out that this woman was hired by Vicious to kill me." Spike concluded, taking a deep sigh. Jet ran a hand over his head. "Shit. That's freaking fantastic. So did you kill her?" he asked.

Spike nodded. Jet looked over at the wounded Faye and shook his head. "I had a feeling you two'd get into trouble. I just didn't think it'd be this serious." He said. Sitting back on the couch, Spike lit up a cigarette. "Now it has to end, once and for all." He said, inhaling deeply. Faye drew in a deep breath. She didn't want Spike to go after Vicious, but then again, she didn't want Vicious to come after them either. "What are you gonna do?" Faye asked worriedly. Spike shrugged. "I'm not sure yet. I don't want to be hunted by him, so I'll have to kill him while I'm still alive."

Jet sighed deeply. Faye was in no condition to help Spike, and he didn't know whether or not it was worth the risk. Spike was too hotheaded, and sometimes you just have to let them learn their lesson in due time. But deep down, he didn't want to see Spike hurt. They were partners….and friends.

SEE YOU SPACE COWBOY…