Author's note: First Julia has a spine, and now Vicious has reasons? ….yep this is definitely an Alternative Universe…
Disclaimer: Cowboy Bebop is owned by Bandai/Sunrise. If I had owned Cowboy Bebop, I'd be rich now, but I'm not, so don't sue me…
OTHER CHOICES (PART 2)
The rain had finally stopped, and the dusty pink Martian clouds had cleared away to reveal a rusty orange twilit sky. The bright lights of Tharsis City washed away the pale moon light of Phobos rising in the west, and Deimos up above. The cold night air made Spike glad, for once, that he wore the heavy black coat with gold trim that marked him as a Red Dragon. It was his only concession to the protocol. He hated the obviousness of the coat; it went against his instinctive habit of blending into a crowd. Tonight, however, the coat was a double blessing: it was warm, and seeing it, people went out of their way to avoid him, making an almost protective corridor around him, leaving him to his thoughts.
All too soon, he came to the imposing Dragon headquarters. As he walked through the double sliding glass doors of the Red Dragon Building he noticed that there were more people than usual in the lobby. Of course, there was always someone in the lobby; the doors were never closed, but to see so many Syndicate coats gathered in one place was a little disconcerting.
Conversations hushed around Spike as he looked for members of his cohort. Vicious, with his anomalous white hair was easy to spot. Lin, Roshi, Dylan, and Spinoza surrounded him in a tight knot. As Spike made his way toward them, Lin was the first to look up and see him. Spike watched his eyes widen in shock as he stood. The others all watched his progress through the room in various states of stunned surprise, all except Vicious, whose face betrayed nothing. Spike nodded acknowledgement toward him.
"Did someone decide to throw a party and forget to invite me?" Spike asked facetiously. Dylan grinned as Roshi and Spinoza jostled each other to get near him.
"Spike…you're alive…we had heard…" Lin began breathlessly.
"Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated." Spike smirked. "Hey, I've always wanted to say that."
"What happened?" Lin asked. "Zumi, Ryokan and Ansari are out looking for you. And we don't know where Julia is. I swear Mao was going to declare war on the Stone Dogs if they don't find you." Spike raised an eyebrow at this news.
"Then I should probably go up and see him before this gets any more out of hand," he said.
"Of course," Lin said, curbing his curiosity. "We'll come with you." Spike shook his head.
"No, I got myself into this, and I'll get myself out of it. I need you all to wait here for the others," he said as he got onto the escalator to the mezzanine level. "Vicious, you're with me," he called down coolly over his shoulder.
Vicious followed him up, taking the moving stairs two at a time to catch up to him. "So, you came back," he whispered in his river gravel voice. Spike looked askance at the man whom he had trusted with his back for all of the years he had been a member of the Dragon clan. Their friendship was such that they had long ago given up telling each other the polite lies that kept people civilized.
"So, you sent Julia to kill me," Spike mocked him quietly. Vicious raised an eyebrow, but he wasn't surprised.
"If I had wanted you dead, Spike, I wouldn't have sent Julia to kill you. Everyone knows that she couldn't hit the broadside of a barn at twenty paces." Spike had to laugh in spite of himself at the image of Julia shooting at a barn.
"What was your point then?" he asked, pushing the button for the express elevator. Vicious smiled coldly.
"I told you once not to trust her; someone who could be manipulated into trying to kill the leader of her own cohort. She has no honor."
"You're a cold bastard, Vicious."
"It takes one to know one, Spike." The elevator door opened, and they both got in. "So, did you kill her?" he asked simply, only his gray eyes hinted at the slight hope his question held. He knew that death was the only punishment for one caught in such a betrayal. Spike narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips dangerously. The doors closed, and he keyed the code that would allow them direct, nonstop access to the penthouse.
"The only thing that is keeping me from kicking you ass right here and now is that it would bring dishonor onto the Clan," Spike said coolly. No Dragon would ever do violence in his own house. Any who did would be forced by the Van to commit suicide in some extremely horrible and public manner. Spike put his hands in his pockets and leaned against the wall, watching his friend for any sign of regret. There was none. "Why did you hate her so much, Vicious? You never hated any of the others."
"I didn't hate her." Vicious said, picking up on the past tense. "She was a nice girl. . . fun in bed. . ."
"Don't push me, Vicious," Spike growled. He had known that Vicious and Julia had an affair, but that had been a long time ago.
"Spike, you're my best friend. We've watched each other's backs from the beginning. What kind of friend would I be if I let you run headlong into a dangerous situation without at least trying to warn you?" he asked, with sincerity. Spike shook his head.
"I don't understand you. What are you trying to say? How was Julia a danger to me?"
"She made you weak, Spike! You're right, I never hated any of your other girlfriends because you were never serious about any of them. But for that jade, that piece of ass," he didn't stop talking, didn't even blink, despite the fact Spike's high kick stopped just millimeters from the bridge of his nose, "you were willing to throw away years of hard work, your friends, and your life. And for what? To become a nobody whom the clan would kill at the first opportunity? And you don't think that she was a danger to you?" There was no hint of the arrogant, smug Vicious anywhere in this speech. Spike dropped out of the kick, and ran his hand through his hair, nonplussed. This morning he had had everything figured out; now, it seemed that he had a lot of thinking to do. The elevator neared the penthouse.
"I didn't kill her, Vicious. She never drew the gun on me." Spike said softly. Vicious' eyes widened in surprise.
"But, but you came back," he stammered as the door opened. Spike nodded, stepping out of the car.
"Go back down with the others, I'll be back as soon as possible," he said. Spike felt a sick dread in the pit of his stomach. He had just lied to his best friend. Not overtly, never overtly, but it was a lie just the same. He hadn't wanted to come back at all. The hole that he was digging for himself just kept getting deeper and deeper. Spike saw Vicious smile a genuine smile as the elevator door closed.