Chapter 4 - Words That We Couldn't Say
"Funny ain't it
Games people play
Scratch it, paint it
One in the same"

Jet Black's P.O.V -

Have you ever looked back on your life and wondered, 'Damn,
when did things get to be so complicated?' If you have, then you're
certainly not alone. That's something I find myself to be doing, almost
every single day. Granted, it didn't always used to be this way. In fact,
I lived a pretty normal, somewhat fulfilling life. I had a steady job, was in
a pretty decent relationship, too. Everything had been fine. Then things
had to go and get ugly.

I never expected anything spectacular out of being a cop. I was perfectly
aware of the hazards involved in my line of duty. Working for the ISSP
wasn't a luxury. You didn't get rewarded for being a hero. There were all
types of low-lives walking around all over the galaxy - you could pretty
much expect to die any day of the week. Still, it was my job and I was
proud of it - for a time.

I'm a proud man; or at least I was when I was a cop. To 'protect and serve'
was my job and I took it very seriously. I guess I could've been considered
a bit naïve - to me there were perps and their victims. I didn't realize that
there was a gray area between good and bad. Well, I sure as hell learned
it the hard way. My left arm is proof enough of that.

It came as a shock to realize some of the bad guys were standing on the
same side of the law as I did. These people, who were supposed to uphold
the law were merely hiding behind it, bending it, misusing, and sometimes
downright ignoring it just to suit their own selfish needs. Jerks like those
make me sick. That's why I quit.

At this point, my life sucked. My girlfriend had left me, for reasons
unknown to me at that particular time. I had quit the service, not without
earning a few enemies of course. So, with no girlfriend and no job, what
was an ex-lawman to do to not only survive, but keep his sanity?

Bounty hunting.

The solution might seem weird to you, but it was perfect for me. I may
have well said fly-fishing, or professional wrestling. Ex-ISSP officer might
have looked good on somebody else's resume, but not on mine - especially
after the fuss I stirred up before I left. So, using up a good deal of my
pension, I bought a ship, dubbing it the Bebop for reasons I can't really
remember. With the skills that had earned me the nickname Black Dog, I
took it upon myself to pursue my career of a Bounty hunter. That's when
I met Spike.

Despite what you might think, things didn't really get weird until the number
Bebop's crew started to increase. I won't lie; working with Spike could be
bizarre - he seemed so laid-back, just watching the world pass him by. It
was almost like he didn't care whether he lived or died. There were even
times that with the stunts he often pulled, I thought the kid was perpetually
stoned!

There really isn't much I can say about Spike simply because there's a lot
about him I don't know. I'll admit I was a bit suspicious of him, being that
he was an ex-Syndicate member and all, but he seemed harmless enough,
so I didn't make a fuss. He's a pretty easy-going guy, but there were times
that trying to get to know him was just frustrating. The guy was just so
cryptic! So, for the most part, I pretty much left him alone. After all, why
poke around in someone else's business when you're trying to guard your
own?

So, respecting each other's privacy, we actually came to be good friends -
not that either of us would ever admit it.

Even when Ein came around, things managed to stay pretty much
normal. Only when the women decided to come aboard did things
start to get funky. I mean, after all, Spike nearly had his head blown off
that time he walked in on Faye in the shower. Still, despite all the troubles
they brought along with them, Faye and Edward managed to be useful -
most of the time. Ed was pretty handy with a computer (she was a
hacker after all) and though a bit weird, she brought a little color to the
ship with her fiery red hair and amber eyes, not to mention her singing and
bizarre mannerisms. Faye, though a terrible gambler, was a pretty good
bounty huntress; she could hold her own in a fight, and possessed
excellent marksmanship. Not only that, but she kept Spike from getting
himself killed - most of the time.

======

The whole thing had happened in such a rush; getting shot in the leg, the
Bebop getting totaled, Spike's 'death'. Now that I think about it, I really
didn't have time to react to anything. We got sidetracked on Earth, Ed
left with Ein, Faye left and then came back, and we somehow managed to
get mixed up with the Syndicate. In the end, all I was left with was an
injured leg, a busted ship, and one Faye Valentine.

I remember her, sitting on the yellow couch with her back facing me as I
entered the ship. I was surprised to find that she was still aboard the ship,
almost as surprised as she was to find me empty-handed. After all, I had
always dragged Spike back to Bebop bandaged and beat up after one of
his solo escapades. Not this time, though.

"So, that's it then," she replied, not really looking at me. "That's the end."

Not really in the mood for one of her dramatic spiels, I gave her a scowl.
"What are you talking about?"

She sat there, not moving. Her shoulders were hunched slightly and her
expression was somewhat blank. It really bothered me. "The end," she
repeated herself. "The end of the story."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "What story?"

She looked up at me sorrowfully. "The story of the tiger-striped cat." I
noticed that her hands were clenched tightly in her lap. "He won't come
back again."

It wasn't really a question. "No, he won't." Even as I said it, I still couldn't
believe it. How could he be dead? It just didn't seem right; it had to be
impossible.

Faye rose from her seat, an incredulous look upon her face. "That's all
you're going to say?" she asked. "You don't care?"

Oh, no, she didn't have the right to pull this self-righteous crap on me. "It
was his own damn fault," I told her, avoiding her disbelieving stare. "I told
him not to go. If you wanted him to stay so badly, you should've shot'im
while you had the chance!"

Something in her snapped then. Why else would she jump over the couch
and try to hit me? "You son of a--" I caught her hand before she could
connect. "You heartless asshole!" she screamed at me. "How could you
be so damned cold? Don't you get it? Spike's dead!"

"I know he's dead!" I roared at her, startling her slightly. "He's dead
because he's the only one who didn't know how to follow orders! He
couldn't keep his temper in check! He didn't know how to let go - so he's
dead and I'm out a partner."

A partner? Damn, I was such a coward.

"Just a partner?" Faye repeated. "Jet, he was your friend!"

"What the hell do you know?" I snarled back. "You forced your way in
here! What made you think you had the God-given right to say anything?
Nobody asked you!"

I guess I must've hit a sore spot because that shut her right up.

"So, you want me to leave?" she asked quietly.

I didn't know what to say to that one. Granted, we hadn't always got along,
but I didn't hate the girl. Besides, I had a pretty good idea of what her
current situation was. If she left here, she had no place to go.

She glanced down at my robotic arm, which was still clamped around her
wrist. "You're hurting me," she said quietly.

I let go of her, noticing the slight bruise forming around her wrist. "Sorry,"
I grumbled.

"I probably deserve it," I blinked in surprise. Her head was lowered as she
spoke, staring at her feet. "I know I've never been exactly welcome
here… and I haven't really shown any appreciation for what you've done
for me…" She looked up at me, her green eyes suddenly glassy. "And I'm
sorry." She looked as though the world had just ended. "Thanks, Jet."

In reality, I think it was her world that had ended. It was that exact
moment that I finally began to understand who Faye Valentine really was.
I'm not going to do some whole psychoanalysis on her because that would
be stupid. Granted, she had her secrets, but it wasn't hard to figure out
what bothered her. The only reason she seemed so mysterious was
because no one had ever really cared enough to try and figure her out.
In truth, she's really not that hard to understand, once you get past her mask.

Oh, yes, Faye wore a mask - I'm not just talking about all that makeup
either. Come to think about, Spike wore a mask, and Ed did as well.
All four of us had had to deal with a lot of crap in the past, and were still
trying to come to grips with it - Faye with her past, Ed with her father,
Spike with his Julia, and me with my arm. The funny thing is that for the
brief time we spent together on this old ship, all that stuff didn't seem to
matter. Throw in Ein, Faye and Spike arguing, my bad cooking, and Ed
running around with her Tomato, we were almost like a family. Quite
laughable, isn't it?

I looked up at Faye, who was making her way towards her room. I
realized that I needed a family - or as close as the two of us could get to
one - as much as she did. After all, becoming partners with Spike hadn't
been that hard, why should Faye be any different?

"Hey, Faye," I murmured, feeling ridiculous for even suggesting such a
thing. "You can stay if you want to."

She stopped, but didn't turn to face me. "Really?" she asked.

"Yeah," I answered. "But, only if you want to. I mean, I'm not going force
you, 'cuz it makes no difference to me…" I trailed off, hearing her start to
giggle. It sorted reminded me of that little girl we all saw on that Beta tape.
It was still hard to believe that they were the same person.

Or at least it had been. Faye turned to me, tears rimming her eyes as she
looked up at me with one of the most sincere smiles I've ever seen.
"Thanks, Jet," she replied. "I really mean it."

End of Chapter 4