You've caught me... I'd been mulling this story over for several months, and I was ready for this chapter to be over. I'm sorry I rushed things the first time around, but this chapter has now been revised.
Corbin raised his manacled hands, giving the cuffs a skeptical look. "Explain to me again why I have to wear these things?" He asked, his voice thick with apprehension.
"Payback." Faye absently replied, as she brought her ship down on the grassy field in the park to the west of the Lansing-Medcalf building.
"Huh?"
"Uh, you want it to look convincing, don't you?" She said with an innocent smile. "They'll be here any moment, so lets go over this one more time. There'll be an exchange, you'll stand in front of me, hands cuffed behind your back. John will be standing across from us, on Dimitri's left. Irma will be on the right. On either side of them is one armed guard, there's another behind them, at the door of Dimitri's ship, plus the pilot, that makes four."
"Right"
"I'll send you forward, and Dimitri will send John forward. He has snipers in the tower to the west, and a few men on the ground on the other side of that hill," she said, indicating a low rise on the west. "I already have both structures rigged to blow in my signal, and when the two of you reach the center of the clearing, I'll detonate the charges, You'll get the goon on the left, I'll take the one on the right, Irma and John will take off in the Shadow Wolf, and head to the Bebop. That will leave Dimitri the pilot, and the guard on the door... are you listening to me?"
Corbin flashed her that crooked smile. "Not really, we've been over this a thousand times already."
"This is a tricky operation, and I've never worked with you before, I don't know if I can depend on you." `You' she said with a bitterness that she'd meant to try to hide, but she failed.
"I could say the same of you," he said, still smiling, but his voice was chilly.
Faye cast a glare at him, and their eyes locked. There was a tense electric crackle in the air, you could almost smell the ozone. The temperature inside the ship seemed to rise steadily to boiling, as they eyed each other. Faye leaned imperceptibly closer to him, suddenly longing to close the distance between them, as she'd never been able to close the distance between herself and...
Then, suddenly, he was looking past her, over her shoulder.
"They're here."
There was an awful taste in her mouth, must be self-disgust, she had made the mistake of forgetting, even for a moment, what Corbin was... nothing but an inadequate substitute.
"Show time," She said, but what she really wanted to do was use some mouth wash.
The gun Irma had given him was really a `just in case' item, and with any luck, it wouldn't be used, but John had it strapped to his inner thigh, near his groin anyway. He wasn't used to carrying such items tough, so when the got off the ship, and took his place next to Dimitri, he walked slightly stiffly. Irma stood stock still, except for the wind in her long black hair; hoping Dimitri wouldn't notice John's awkwardness, or discover her betrayal, but with Dimitri between them, they dared not risk a glance at each other. Instead, they both looked straight ahead, at the two figures on the opposite end of the field.
It was Faye, that much John had expected, but the man standing next to her... he looked familiar...
It was a second before John remembered a picture, taken a long time ago with Faye, Jet and that kid, Ed,... and another man that Faye never talked about... refused to talk about. John felt a twinge of jealousy as it sank in. This was Spike. This was the man who held Faye's heart, the reason why she'd never be happy with him, as, deep down, he'd always known she wouldn't... or couldn't.
No... no, Spike was dead, he remembered the one time he'd asked her about it, she'd said he was dead... perhaps John was mistaken.
"I have what you want, Slime Ball, and you have what I want, so lets get this thing over with." Faye called across the grass.
"You give me Corbin first," Dimitri answered.
"I don't think so," Faye's said, smiling, "same time."
Dimitri turned to John, "get moving." he said, dangerously, and John complied, trying his best to walk normally.
The trip across the field seemed to take forever. It was almost as though time had stopped altogether. He had time to memorize the details of every blade of grass he passed, and the exact tune that a sparrow was singing in the distance. That was, until he and Corbin were drew closer to the center. Two paces away, Corbin caught his eye, and winked, and as they drew next to he whispered one word to John.
"Duck."
And it was like someone hit the fast forward button. There was an explosion on either side of the field, and John hit the deck. He saw Dimitri's shoes retreat back up into his ship, a moment later, Faye went thundering past him, and then, suddenly, he was being yanked off of the ground by his shirt collar.
"Come on, we haven't much time." He heard Irma say as she drug him in the direction of Faye's ship.
"But... Faye?"
"Don't you worry about those two, they'll be fine, as long as we get out of the way." She was pushing him through the door then, and shutting it behind her. "We're supposed to meet back up with them later, but for now..." she was saying, as she pushed him down the short hall onto the bridge. "It's time to go." She sat down in Faye's chair, and punched in her codes. A second later, they were airborne. John stared dumbly out the window, watching what was unfolding below. Faye and Corbin had just taken out the door guard, and were heading into the ship... and then, they were too small to see.
"Where is he?"
The pilot was staring down the 6 ½ barrel of an AMT Automag V. The thought of lying never even occurred to him.
"He's gone... took off back to Lansing in a speeder."
"Shit," Corbin said through clenched teeth. Faye dispatched of the pilot by rapping him smartly on the head with the butt of her gun. "Call Jet for the pick up, we're dropping in on Dimitri."
"Where are you going?" John's voice came to her from across the hangar. She looked up, into his eyes, but it was like looking at a stranger.
"I'm going to help Corbin," she answered.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
Faye avoided John's eyes as she powered up the RedTail.
"You can't expect him to go without back up," she said, as the glass settled down over her. She felt like she was safe in a bubble looking at him. A world away. She didn't think they'd ever be close again, and as he mouthed `goodbye,' she believed he knew it too.
She sighed, then shook her head and focused on the controls.
It felt good to be back here again. Not that she didn't love the Shadow Wolf, but Flying the RedTail was a different sort of piloting all together. She breathed deeply as everyone cleared the deck, and exhaled sharply as the hangar doors opened.
"Time to play." came Corbin's voice over the radio.
"I couldn't have said it better myself."
Faye accelerated, pushing in the throttle, and savoring the thrill that shot through her body as velocity pressed her back against her seat, and her hands moved with calculated speed over the controls. Brilliance. Flying was like dancing, she felt like a shooting star, catapulting into infinity. Oh yes, she'd missed this.
She saw a red blur pass her on the right, as Corbin maneuvered the Swordfish II past her, accelerating into a hairpin turn, then shooting back toward her, over her, around her, before coming to rest next to her. Faye's throat went dry. He even flew like Spike.
"Doing well, I see," Faye's voice cracked, slightly, she doubted he would even notice.
"Yeah."
"Hey, listen, about what I said earlier, about not trusting you..."
"Don't worry about it."
They entered the atmosphere side by side, and descended until they were just skimming the surface of the road. They passed over the park, which was now blanketed in night, and headed to were Dimitri was. Third floor from the top, Lansing-Medcalf building... they were going straight through the window. So much for subtlety, Faye thought, wryly.
Dimitri paced the length of his empty bedroom. She'd turned on him. That ungrateful bitch had turned on him, and after he'd made her... molded her out of the genetic material of another, after he'd made her to love him.
"It's that Faye's fault." He said aloud, "I never should have let Irma speak to her."
And suddenly, he was slammed against the wall, as shockwave rocked the whole building. He sunk to the floor, unconscious.
Corbin leapt from the cockpit of the Swordfish II.
"You okay."
"Ble l'in Ife," Faye said, jokingly, as she shook her head.
"Huh?"
"I'll be fine."
"Right," Corbin said, sounding unconvinced. " Okay, this place is going to be crawling with syndicate security in about five minutes, to be on your guard. We have a lot of ground to cover, so lets split up."
Faye pulled her pistol loose of its holster, "Gotcha."
"Remember, when you leave, use the remote to activate the RedTail, and get it to come to you, you don't want to have to fight your way back into this room."
"I'm not stupid, Corbin," she snapped, "but how are you getting out?"
He gave her a wolfish grin.
Faye went cold. The whole floor was going to be overrun with armed guards, but no place would they be thicker than right here. Certain death. Just like...
He was out the door and into the hall before she could finish the thought, and when she stepped into the corridor, he was already out of sight. She sighed, they's just have to work fast.
She tried the knob on the door across the hall. Locked. Easily handled, though, she thought, shooting it open. With a kick, it swung in on it's hinges. The light from the hall sent a narrow shaft of illumination into the room. Faye gasped. The failed copies...
Dimitri came to moments after he was knocked out, and stood up. He could feel the headache beginning to rise in his temples, but pushed it down. He didn't need a security report to tell him what had just happened. The prey was trying to become the predator. Well, he'd just have to see about that.
If Corbin was in the building to exact revenge, Dimitri knew just where he'd go.
Faye swallowed the lump in her throat, and it obediently went down her esophagus, and came to rest in the pit of her stomach. She was staring at a sea of familiar eyes. She put her hand on the door way to steady herself, and fought the wave of nausea that threatened to drown her. She waited for it to pass, before moving on into the room.
These suspended animation units were specially made for Dimitri to display his `collection.' They looked more like glass coffins than anything else. It was hard for Faye to move when 25 sets of eyes watched sightlessly, immersed in fluid. 25 men in fish tanks. She closed her eyes, and moved forward along the row, shutting them out.
She would have to take one of them with her, Kataki needed his evidence. She opened her eyes again, and felt her heart skip a beat. She was standing directly in front of one of the stasis units.
She cleared her throat, and with a lot more bravery than she felt, she said, "I suppose you'll do." God, she felt sick.
With a command into her wrist remote, her ship powered up, and moved forward into the room, heedless of the wood and plaster it tore through. It was quite a task, getting the unit inside, and once that was accomplished, Faye found that she couldn't concentrate when those eyes stared over her shoulder. She took a sheet out of the back and threw it over him, covering his face, closing his eyes.
She sighed, and tried to ignore the glass box behind her.
"Hey Jet, I'm heading back to the ship," she started, but her transmission was cut half way through, as Ed's face came to replace Jet's.
"Faye, I've been using the building surveillance to monitor your guys activity, and you might want to go help Corbin."
Faye felt her heart leap from her chest. "Where is he?"
Corbin could tell by the look on her face that Faye didn't think he'd get out of this alive. And he might not, but it was his best chance at freedom. A life without running.
He came to the end of the hall, to a door marked `authorized personnel only,' the lab. It stood ajar, Dimitri'd beaten him there. He gave the door a mighty shove, and jumped to the side as a hail of bullets rained through the doorway.
"Oh, Come on Dimitri, how stupid do you think I am?"
"Just stupid enough."
Corbin heard the click of an empty magazine, and ran through the door. He kicked over a table, and ducked behind it just as a bullet was whizzing past his ear. He peaked around the corner of the table and saw that Dimitri was in a similar position.
"It seems we're at an impasse," Corbin called over his shoulder.
"I think not." Dimitri sounded positively gleeful. "You see, you've forgotten my friends."
As if on cue, Corbin heard muted footsteps down the hall. Of course, the Syndicate guard would find him a sitting duck. He cursed his stupidity as the footsteps drew nearer.
"The intruder's in here," Dimitri called, and the footsteps rushed forward. But as the guards reached the door, there was an explosion behind him, and the next thing he knew, the two guards that had been making their way down the hall were ripped to shreds by machine gum fire.
"Hurry up!" Faye called, and Cobin stood up from behind his make-shift shelter. Faye had blown a hole in the wall, killing Dimitri in the blast, what's more, she was towing the Swordfish II. He could already hear another, larger detachment of guards thundering toward him, and decided there was no time to waste, not even time to ask about the large object Faye had wrapped in a sheet and sitting behind the seat of the RedTail. Plenty of time later, when they were safe on the Bebop. Plenty of time now that he didn't have to run anymore.
"You're leaving?"
John jumped, Irma had caught him packing his stuff out of the Shadow Wolf. "Yes."
"I don't understand... why? Miss Valentine is a wonderful woman, and she's your fiancé, why
would you want to leave her now that you two have finally been re-united?"
The last thing he'd wanted to do was to have to explain his actions, that's why he wasn't waiting for Faye. He didn't want to admit what he knew to be true. Faye didn't love him, and she never had.
"I just feel there's too much in our way," he lied. "I think it's best if we spend some time apart," forever.
Irma tilted her head to one side, her soft curls falling across her alabaster skin. "I'm sorry to see you go, you're one of the only people who's treated me with any kind of respect." She smiled sweetly, "I want you to know that you'll always have a friend if you need one."
He couldn't help but return that smile, "thank you, Irma, thank you. He leaned over to kiss her on the forehead, then turned away. Off to Europa... off to home.
"Mister Kataki," Faye bowed deeply. "I have recovered what you have asked for, Dimitri of the Russian Mafia was cloning Spike, trying to make the Red Dragon defeat itself with another civil war. We, that is... My, uh, partner and I, destroyed their facilities, which were full of failed clones. I recovered the original without my partner's knowledge though... very quiet, like you asked."
Kataki smiled, "I knew you would. Thank you for helping me to control this situation." he said with a knowing smile.
Faye's eyes widened. "You knew all along, didn't you?"
He shook his head as though he were a much wiser adult dealing with a child. "Of course."
Faye stood staring at him in wide eyed shock. She felt used. She re-adjusted the strap on the duffle bag that contained her pay, uncomfortably before turning to leave without a dismissal. "Last time I'm ever dealing with the syndicate..." she muttered.
Corbin nestled himself into the all too familiar bed. He hated this nagging feeling of memory. Jet had made it obvious that he was welcome to stay as long as he liked, but he knew that this place, which had been Spike's home, could never be his. Things were just too confusing here. He wasn't sure if what he felt belonged to him, or was just a residual memory. If he stayed in Spike's room, in Spike's home, with Spike's face staring back at him in Spike's mirror while he shaved, would he bocome Spike? He hated that thought, all he wanted to be was himself.
Damn that Faye anyway, if it hadn't been for her, he wouldn't have ended up here, confusing his life with Spike's. He caught himself before he blurted out `I hate women with attitude,' and chuckled softly.
The second story in this series is already in the works, I just thought I ought to fix this one before continuing. Thanks everyone.
Corbin raised his manacled hands, giving the cuffs a skeptical look. "Explain to me again why I have to wear these things?" He asked, his voice thick with apprehension.
"Payback." Faye absently replied, as she brought her ship down on the grassy field in the park to the west of the Lansing-Medcalf building.
"Huh?"
"Uh, you want it to look convincing, don't you?" She said with an innocent smile. "They'll be here any moment, so lets go over this one more time. There'll be an exchange, you'll stand in front of me, hands cuffed behind your back. John will be standing across from us, on Dimitri's left. Irma will be on the right. On either side of them is one armed guard, there's another behind them, at the door of Dimitri's ship, plus the pilot, that makes four."
"Right"
"I'll send you forward, and Dimitri will send John forward. He has snipers in the tower to the west, and a few men on the ground on the other side of that hill," she said, indicating a low rise on the west. "I already have both structures rigged to blow in my signal, and when the two of you reach the center of the clearing, I'll detonate the charges, You'll get the goon on the left, I'll take the one on the right, Irma and John will take off in the Shadow Wolf, and head to the Bebop. That will leave Dimitri the pilot, and the guard on the door... are you listening to me?"
Corbin flashed her that crooked smile. "Not really, we've been over this a thousand times already."
"This is a tricky operation, and I've never worked with you before, I don't know if I can depend on you." `You' she said with a bitterness that she'd meant to try to hide, but she failed.
"I could say the same of you," he said, still smiling, but his voice was chilly.
Faye cast a glare at him, and their eyes locked. There was a tense electric crackle in the air, you could almost smell the ozone. The temperature inside the ship seemed to rise steadily to boiling, as they eyed each other. Faye leaned imperceptibly closer to him, suddenly longing to close the distance between them, as she'd never been able to close the distance between herself and...
Then, suddenly, he was looking past her, over her shoulder.
"They're here."
There was an awful taste in her mouth, must be self-disgust, she had made the mistake of forgetting, even for a moment, what Corbin was... nothing but an inadequate substitute.
"Show time," She said, but what she really wanted to do was use some mouth wash.
The gun Irma had given him was really a `just in case' item, and with any luck, it wouldn't be used, but John had it strapped to his inner thigh, near his groin anyway. He wasn't used to carrying such items tough, so when the got off the ship, and took his place next to Dimitri, he walked slightly stiffly. Irma stood stock still, except for the wind in her long black hair; hoping Dimitri wouldn't notice John's awkwardness, or discover her betrayal, but with Dimitri between them, they dared not risk a glance at each other. Instead, they both looked straight ahead, at the two figures on the opposite end of the field.
It was Faye, that much John had expected, but the man standing next to her... he looked familiar...
It was a second before John remembered a picture, taken a long time ago with Faye, Jet and that kid, Ed,... and another man that Faye never talked about... refused to talk about. John felt a twinge of jealousy as it sank in. This was Spike. This was the man who held Faye's heart, the reason why she'd never be happy with him, as, deep down, he'd always known she wouldn't... or couldn't.
No... no, Spike was dead, he remembered the one time he'd asked her about it, she'd said he was dead... perhaps John was mistaken.
"I have what you want, Slime Ball, and you have what I want, so lets get this thing over with." Faye called across the grass.
"You give me Corbin first," Dimitri answered.
"I don't think so," Faye's said, smiling, "same time."
Dimitri turned to John, "get moving." he said, dangerously, and John complied, trying his best to walk normally.
The trip across the field seemed to take forever. It was almost as though time had stopped altogether. He had time to memorize the details of every blade of grass he passed, and the exact tune that a sparrow was singing in the distance. That was, until he and Corbin were drew closer to the center. Two paces away, Corbin caught his eye, and winked, and as they drew next to he whispered one word to John.
"Duck."
And it was like someone hit the fast forward button. There was an explosion on either side of the field, and John hit the deck. He saw Dimitri's shoes retreat back up into his ship, a moment later, Faye went thundering past him, and then, suddenly, he was being yanked off of the ground by his shirt collar.
"Come on, we haven't much time." He heard Irma say as she drug him in the direction of Faye's ship.
"But... Faye?"
"Don't you worry about those two, they'll be fine, as long as we get out of the way." She was pushing him through the door then, and shutting it behind her. "We're supposed to meet back up with them later, but for now..." she was saying, as she pushed him down the short hall onto the bridge. "It's time to go." She sat down in Faye's chair, and punched in her codes. A second later, they were airborne. John stared dumbly out the window, watching what was unfolding below. Faye and Corbin had just taken out the door guard, and were heading into the ship... and then, they were too small to see.
"Where is he?"
The pilot was staring down the 6 ½ barrel of an AMT Automag V. The thought of lying never even occurred to him.
"He's gone... took off back to Lansing in a speeder."
"Shit," Corbin said through clenched teeth. Faye dispatched of the pilot by rapping him smartly on the head with the butt of her gun. "Call Jet for the pick up, we're dropping in on Dimitri."
"Where are you going?" John's voice came to her from across the hangar. She looked up, into his eyes, but it was like looking at a stranger.
"I'm going to help Corbin," she answered.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
Faye avoided John's eyes as she powered up the RedTail.
"You can't expect him to go without back up," she said, as the glass settled down over her. She felt like she was safe in a bubble looking at him. A world away. She didn't think they'd ever be close again, and as he mouthed `goodbye,' she believed he knew it too.
She sighed, then shook her head and focused on the controls.
It felt good to be back here again. Not that she didn't love the Shadow Wolf, but Flying the RedTail was a different sort of piloting all together. She breathed deeply as everyone cleared the deck, and exhaled sharply as the hangar doors opened.
"Time to play." came Corbin's voice over the radio.
"I couldn't have said it better myself."
Faye accelerated, pushing in the throttle, and savoring the thrill that shot through her body as velocity pressed her back against her seat, and her hands moved with calculated speed over the controls. Brilliance. Flying was like dancing, she felt like a shooting star, catapulting into infinity. Oh yes, she'd missed this.
She saw a red blur pass her on the right, as Corbin maneuvered the Swordfish II past her, accelerating into a hairpin turn, then shooting back toward her, over her, around her, before coming to rest next to her. Faye's throat went dry. He even flew like Spike.
"Doing well, I see," Faye's voice cracked, slightly, she doubted he would even notice.
"Yeah."
"Hey, listen, about what I said earlier, about not trusting you..."
"Don't worry about it."
They entered the atmosphere side by side, and descended until they were just skimming the surface of the road. They passed over the park, which was now blanketed in night, and headed to were Dimitri was. Third floor from the top, Lansing-Medcalf building... they were going straight through the window. So much for subtlety, Faye thought, wryly.
Dimitri paced the length of his empty bedroom. She'd turned on him. That ungrateful bitch had turned on him, and after he'd made her... molded her out of the genetic material of another, after he'd made her to love him.
"It's that Faye's fault." He said aloud, "I never should have let Irma speak to her."
And suddenly, he was slammed against the wall, as shockwave rocked the whole building. He sunk to the floor, unconscious.
Corbin leapt from the cockpit of the Swordfish II.
"You okay."
"Ble l'in Ife," Faye said, jokingly, as she shook her head.
"Huh?"
"I'll be fine."
"Right," Corbin said, sounding unconvinced. " Okay, this place is going to be crawling with syndicate security in about five minutes, to be on your guard. We have a lot of ground to cover, so lets split up."
Faye pulled her pistol loose of its holster, "Gotcha."
"Remember, when you leave, use the remote to activate the RedTail, and get it to come to you, you don't want to have to fight your way back into this room."
"I'm not stupid, Corbin," she snapped, "but how are you getting out?"
He gave her a wolfish grin.
Faye went cold. The whole floor was going to be overrun with armed guards, but no place would they be thicker than right here. Certain death. Just like...
He was out the door and into the hall before she could finish the thought, and when she stepped into the corridor, he was already out of sight. She sighed, they's just have to work fast.
She tried the knob on the door across the hall. Locked. Easily handled, though, she thought, shooting it open. With a kick, it swung in on it's hinges. The light from the hall sent a narrow shaft of illumination into the room. Faye gasped. The failed copies...
Dimitri came to moments after he was knocked out, and stood up. He could feel the headache beginning to rise in his temples, but pushed it down. He didn't need a security report to tell him what had just happened. The prey was trying to become the predator. Well, he'd just have to see about that.
If Corbin was in the building to exact revenge, Dimitri knew just where he'd go.
Faye swallowed the lump in her throat, and it obediently went down her esophagus, and came to rest in the pit of her stomach. She was staring at a sea of familiar eyes. She put her hand on the door way to steady herself, and fought the wave of nausea that threatened to drown her. She waited for it to pass, before moving on into the room.
These suspended animation units were specially made for Dimitri to display his `collection.' They looked more like glass coffins than anything else. It was hard for Faye to move when 25 sets of eyes watched sightlessly, immersed in fluid. 25 men in fish tanks. She closed her eyes, and moved forward along the row, shutting them out.
She would have to take one of them with her, Kataki needed his evidence. She opened her eyes again, and felt her heart skip a beat. She was standing directly in front of one of the stasis units.
She cleared her throat, and with a lot more bravery than she felt, she said, "I suppose you'll do." God, she felt sick.
With a command into her wrist remote, her ship powered up, and moved forward into the room, heedless of the wood and plaster it tore through. It was quite a task, getting the unit inside, and once that was accomplished, Faye found that she couldn't concentrate when those eyes stared over her shoulder. She took a sheet out of the back and threw it over him, covering his face, closing his eyes.
She sighed, and tried to ignore the glass box behind her.
"Hey Jet, I'm heading back to the ship," she started, but her transmission was cut half way through, as Ed's face came to replace Jet's.
"Faye, I've been using the building surveillance to monitor your guys activity, and you might want to go help Corbin."
Faye felt her heart leap from her chest. "Where is he?"
Corbin could tell by the look on her face that Faye didn't think he'd get out of this alive. And he might not, but it was his best chance at freedom. A life without running.
He came to the end of the hall, to a door marked `authorized personnel only,' the lab. It stood ajar, Dimitri'd beaten him there. He gave the door a mighty shove, and jumped to the side as a hail of bullets rained through the doorway.
"Oh, Come on Dimitri, how stupid do you think I am?"
"Just stupid enough."
Corbin heard the click of an empty magazine, and ran through the door. He kicked over a table, and ducked behind it just as a bullet was whizzing past his ear. He peaked around the corner of the table and saw that Dimitri was in a similar position.
"It seems we're at an impasse," Corbin called over his shoulder.
"I think not." Dimitri sounded positively gleeful. "You see, you've forgotten my friends."
As if on cue, Corbin heard muted footsteps down the hall. Of course, the Syndicate guard would find him a sitting duck. He cursed his stupidity as the footsteps drew nearer.
"The intruder's in here," Dimitri called, and the footsteps rushed forward. But as the guards reached the door, there was an explosion behind him, and the next thing he knew, the two guards that had been making their way down the hall were ripped to shreds by machine gum fire.
"Hurry up!" Faye called, and Cobin stood up from behind his make-shift shelter. Faye had blown a hole in the wall, killing Dimitri in the blast, what's more, she was towing the Swordfish II. He could already hear another, larger detachment of guards thundering toward him, and decided there was no time to waste, not even time to ask about the large object Faye had wrapped in a sheet and sitting behind the seat of the RedTail. Plenty of time later, when they were safe on the Bebop. Plenty of time now that he didn't have to run anymore.
"You're leaving?"
John jumped, Irma had caught him packing his stuff out of the Shadow Wolf. "Yes."
"I don't understand... why? Miss Valentine is a wonderful woman, and she's your fiancé, why
would you want to leave her now that you two have finally been re-united?"
The last thing he'd wanted to do was to have to explain his actions, that's why he wasn't waiting for Faye. He didn't want to admit what he knew to be true. Faye didn't love him, and she never had.
"I just feel there's too much in our way," he lied. "I think it's best if we spend some time apart," forever.
Irma tilted her head to one side, her soft curls falling across her alabaster skin. "I'm sorry to see you go, you're one of the only people who's treated me with any kind of respect." She smiled sweetly, "I want you to know that you'll always have a friend if you need one."
He couldn't help but return that smile, "thank you, Irma, thank you. He leaned over to kiss her on the forehead, then turned away. Off to Europa... off to home.
"Mister Kataki," Faye bowed deeply. "I have recovered what you have asked for, Dimitri of the Russian Mafia was cloning Spike, trying to make the Red Dragon defeat itself with another civil war. We, that is... My, uh, partner and I, destroyed their facilities, which were full of failed clones. I recovered the original without my partner's knowledge though... very quiet, like you asked."
Kataki smiled, "I knew you would. Thank you for helping me to control this situation." he said with a knowing smile.
Faye's eyes widened. "You knew all along, didn't you?"
He shook his head as though he were a much wiser adult dealing with a child. "Of course."
Faye stood staring at him in wide eyed shock. She felt used. She re-adjusted the strap on the duffle bag that contained her pay, uncomfortably before turning to leave without a dismissal. "Last time I'm ever dealing with the syndicate..." she muttered.
Corbin nestled himself into the all too familiar bed. He hated this nagging feeling of memory. Jet had made it obvious that he was welcome to stay as long as he liked, but he knew that this place, which had been Spike's home, could never be his. Things were just too confusing here. He wasn't sure if what he felt belonged to him, or was just a residual memory. If he stayed in Spike's room, in Spike's home, with Spike's face staring back at him in Spike's mirror while he shaved, would he bocome Spike? He hated that thought, all he wanted to be was himself.
Damn that Faye anyway, if it hadn't been for her, he wouldn't have ended up here, confusing his life with Spike's. He caught himself before he blurted out `I hate women with attitude,' and chuckled softly.
The second story in this series is already in the works, I just thought I ought to fix this one before continuing. Thanks everyone.