Chapter 7 - Bouncing Off the Walls
"I'm bouncing off the walls again
I'm looking like a fool again
Waking up on the bathroom floor
Pull myself together just to fall once more"
He could hear it again. A feminine voice was humming a soft tune
somewhere off in the distance. When he opened his eyes, what he saw
was not an angel or a shrew, but a pair of brown eyes and a large pink
tongue.
Spike groaned, yanking his pillow over his head. "Would someone please
tell me why Ein is in my bed?" he yelled, only the sound of his voice came
out muffled.
As his pillow was yanked away, Spike looked up to see Ed standing over
him. He blinked, noticing how much different she looked. Granted, she
was still as skinny as a beanpole, but with her height, physique, and hair,
you could actually tell she was a girl. A really strange looking girl, wearing
black biker shorts, and a black tank top underneath a gray long-sleeved,
over-sized sweatshirt cut off at the cuffs so that the sleeves wouldn't be
too long.
Still, despite everything, that insane grin of hers was still there. "Edward."
"Yes, Spike-person?"
"Why are you in here?"
Amber eyes blinked at him curiously. "Oh, that's easy!" she exclaimed.
"Edward came to make sure Spike-person wasn't dead."
Spike rolled his eyes and smirked. "Well, as you can see, Edward," he
replied. "I'm still here."
"Spike-person was tipsy." Edward explained, grinning like a Cheshire cat.
"Tipsy dipsy doozy. He went into Faye-Faye's room by mistake and passed
out. Slept all day long."
'Damn…' He looked over at the young hacker. "You guys moved me,
didn't you?"
That insufferable grin was still there. Spike jumped up like someone who
realized they were lying on a bed of hot coals. His mismatched eyes
quickly scanned the room. No gun rack, no Bruce Lee posters, no nothing;
this wasn't his room!
Edward giggled, rolling off of the bed onto the floor. "Spike-person is
Faye-Faye now!" she exclaimed.
Spike growled slightly. Though he did like the kid, her weird little antics
were starting to piss him off. "Get out here, Ed!"
Edward jumped up, scooping Ein up in one arm and saluting him with the
other. "Okie dokie," she replied. She grinned again. "Faye-Faye!"
====
Jet blinked at the sudden symphony of colorful metaphors mixed with the
sound of things being knocked over. He looked up from his bonsai trees
just in time to see Ed screeching by, Ein barking at her heels.
He chuckled to himself. Those two made quite the pair.
"Tell me something, Jet," Spike stood in the open doorway, wearing the
same clothing he had the night before, and looking like he fell out of a
laundry hamper.
"Yeah?" Jet asked, trying to hold back a grin.
"Did I make a mistake by getting everybody back together?"
Jet chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "Nah, Spike." he replied, standing
up. "You did good. I hate to admit it, but it hasn't been the same with all
you nut-jobs running around here, making my life Hell."
Spike 'hmph'ed. "I guess." he replied.
Jet walked out of the room. "By the way," he replied. "If I would've
known you were gonna go bar-hopping last night, I would have joined you." He glanced back at him. "It's been a long time since we had a drink together."
Spike plopped down on the couch. "Yeah, it has." he agreed. "Though
next time, I'm just going to stick with just a beer. Some of that shit they
got out there just isn't good for you."
"By that I assume you mean Arubian Moonshine?" A plate of food was set
in front of him. Faye, wearing Jet's apron - which was way too big - gave
him a 'laugh and you die' look before setting down Jet's plate and going to
fetch her own. Underneath the apron, Spike could tell she was wearing a
tight fitting yellow blouse and a pair of jeans. He also noted she was
wearing the white high-heeled boots she always wore.
"Unfortunately," he answered, looking back and forth between Faye and
Jet as if he had stepped into the Twilight Zone. He glanced back up at her.
"I thought you said you didn't drink?"
"I don't anymore." Faye replied. "I had a little incident with that stuff
myself once."
"Really?" Jet asked, having not yet heard this story.
"Yes, really." Faye said patiently. "I was out with a friend and drank half a
bottle of that stuff." Spike raised an eyebrow; this story sounded a bit
familiar. "I woke up in a cathedral with close to 1 million woolongs."
"You don't say?" Jet laughed. "How long were you out?"
Faye shrugged, sitting down in a chair with her own plate. "I'm not too
sure." she answered. "I don't even know where the money came from."
"Bounty heads." Spike said a matter-of-factly, earning questioning glances
from the other two. "I'm sure the local casinos were more than happy to
receive your patronage that day."
Faye shot him a cold glare. "More like the debt collectors had one less
excuse to put another bounty on my head." she replied coolly. "Ass."
Jet cleared his throat slightly. "Ed! Come eat!" A loud squeal could be
heard in the background as Ed rushed in, grabbed her food and rushed out
again.
Silence hung heavy in the air once again.
Spike absently forked through the food on his plate. "I didn't know you
could cook, Faye." he replied.
Faye didn't look up at him. "Well, now you do." She remained silent, taking
a sip from a glass of water.
"She didn't have much of a choice," Jet added, trying to ward away any
chances of an argument. "Macy's cooking is worse than mine."
Faye glanced up at him. "Macy's sends his regards by the way." Jet paled
slightly.
Spike shoved a forkful of food into his mouth. He wasn't sure what it was,
but it tasted okay. Faye wasn't that bad of a cook. He thought about
making a comment, but judging the way she was acting, it didn't seem like
a good idea. He hadn't expected the remark about the casinos to upset her,
and he didn't want her any even angrier with him.
'Since when have I started caring about what Faye thinks of me?' he asked
himself, watching her as she continued eating her food.
"And now you're leaving… just like that! Where are you going? Why are
you going? What are you going to do?"
Spike sighed inwardly, setting his plate down. Why couldn't he get her out
of his mind?
Jet looked up at him. Though he hadn't seen Spike in a while, Jet still knew
him well enough to know that something was bothering him. He rubbed his
beard thoughtfully; that very something just so happened to be seated in the
chair next to him. 'Well, I'll be damned…'
At that moment, Edward decided to reappear. Goggles strapped on and her
Tomato precariously balanced on top of her red head, she brought her hands
to her mouth, making a trumpet-like sound. Everyone looked up at her like
she had grown a third arm.
"Attention, Bebop crew!" she exclaimed. "Edward would like to make
announcement!"
"Go ahead, Ed," Spike replied. "We're listening."
Edward nodded her head. "Edward wanted everyone to know that Edward
has been working very, very hard." she replied. "Edward has been surfing
the Web for any information on the bounty head."
"Did you find anything?" Faye asked.
Again, Edward nodded her head, her red hair spilling over her goggles.
Blowing it away, Edward turned to Ein. "Lights please."
Ein barked, and the rest of the Bebop crew turned their attention to the
vid-screen as information on their bounty popped up.
"There's no picture." Jet pointed out.
"Nope," Edward replied. "Edward searched far and wide, but could not
find picture. It seems no one has ever seen this person."
Faye leaned closer to the screen. "Hm… a mystery bounty head we all
have something in common with." she mused. "Their real name is
unknown but they sometimes go by the aliases Ragnarok or Thanatos."
Spike scoffed slightly.
"I've never heard of either of those names," Jet replied.
"Well…" Edward replied. "According to Edward's Tomato, Ragnarok is a
term from Norse Mythology that means the day of doom."
"And Thanatos?"
"The Greek name for Death." Edward waved her hands in a ghost-like
gesture. "The Roman's called him Orcus."
"Right…" Jet scratched his head. "So, what we've got on our hand is
someone who thinks they are the personification of Death, with the sole
purpose to bring about the end of all life."
"What're the charges against him, Ed?" Spike asked.
"Let Edward see." The young hacker whipped out her Tomato, typing
madly as words, codes, and numbers flashed by over her goggles.
"According to Tomato, Death the Doomsday-bringer is wanted on many,
many numerous offences."
"Like…?"
"On Venus - mail fraud, computer fraud, smuggling of illegal contraband.
On Mars - illegal contraband, grand theft auto, arson, 4 accounts of
2nd-degree murder, 5 of 3rd degree, manslaughter. On Ganymede -
grand theft auto, possession of red-eye, blackmail, 15 counts of 2nd and
3rd degree murder. Also, Tomato says he is the prime suspect in many
accounts of kidnapping, along with numerous rapes," Faye frowned. "7
on Ganymede, 4 on Venus, 2 on Earth, 11 on Callisto, and on Mars…"
"That's enough, Ed." Faye interrupted, shutting off the Tomato.
"Okay…" she replied, uncertain. "All Edward was going to say was that
the bounty went up to 160."
"When?" Jet asked.
"This morning." Edward answered. "The ISSP tracked him to Earth, but
they got there too late. He was too tricky. He took out a bunch of people
in a small town in the US region. The estimate population was 30… but
now it's 17." Edward pulled off her goggles, pouting slightly. "Edward
thinks this bounty-person is bad."
"Yeah, but…" Jet frowned, his brows furrowed in thought. "Don't worry,
though, I'm pretty sure we can bust this guy. Do we have any leads?"
"He's a rookie hacker," Edward answered. "He goes to Earth periodically
looking for new programs to hone his skills with."
"Any ideas where he goes afterwards?"
"Probably to Mars." Everyone looked up at Faye. "No doubt to refuel and
pick up supplies."
"But there's a lot of places he can hide on Mars," Jet replied. "There's got
to be a way to narrow it down."
"Edward has already done that." Everyone turned back to the young
hacker, who was busy waving her arms, bowing to her Tomato. "Tomato
tells Edward that Death, the Doomsday bringer--"
"Could you please stop calling him that--?"
"Can be found in Aruba City. He has contacts there that hide him out
when the police and bounty hunters get too close."
"Well then, all we hafta do is go out and look for information on him." Spike
replied, rising out of his seat. "Each of us take a corner of the city and
meet up in the middle."
"Hold on a minute, Spike," Jet replied. "It'd be best if just you and Faye
went together."
"Huh?" they both replied in unison.
"Think about it." Jet replied. "There's still a lot about this guy we don't
know, so it'd be best if Ed stuck around in scrounged for more info."
"Okie dokie!"
Spike glance at Jet warily. "And what about you?" The ex-cop was up to
something and he knew it.
Jet didn't flinch. "The Bebop isn't ready for the hunt just yet." he answered.
"There's still some repair work that needs to be done before we go into deep
space-"
"How did it manage before then?"
"I've been using it for its original purpose." Jet answered. Spike gave him
a 'which is?' look. "Fishing."
"Oh, for crying out loud…"
"Not only that," Jet continued. "We need to stock up on food. The way
you guys eat and we'll be out even before we leave Mars' orbit."
"Okay then," Spike grumbled. "You and Ed do what you gotta do. Faye
and I will head out and try to track this guy down." He turned to Faye.
"Let's get going."
Faye sighed, tossing Jet's apron down on the chair. "Gee, thanks a lot."
She deadpanned, following the lanky bounty hunter out of the room.
Edward blinked at her curiously, then up to Jet. "Was Faye-Faye talking to
Spike-person or to Jet-person?"
Jet chuckled. "Does it really matter?"
Edward paused, deep in thought. "Faye-Faye and Spike are having issues,
aren't they?"
Jet blinked at her in surprise. The girl had more insight than he had given
her credit. "Yeah, I guess you could say that." he answered. "But, they're
going to have to come to some sorta resolution if they want to catch this
bounty."
"Yeah…" Edward raised her arms over her head, stretching. "Edward
hopes they get it together."
Jet smirked to himself. 'You're not the only one…'
=====
"Hey, Faye."
"Hm?" Faye looked down at her console to see Spike on her monitor. He
almost looked as though he was worried about something. "What is it,
Spike?" she asked.
Spike paused a moment. Her tone hadn't been rude or demanding, but it
bothered him nonetheless. "What's on your mind?"
She blinked in confusion. Why would he want to know?
"You haven't said a word since we left the ship." He replied, answering
her unspoken question. Apparently her expression had given it away.
She'd have to be more careful.
"Nothing's wrong," she replied as nonchalant as she could manage. "I was
just thinking about the bounty."
Oh, she was thinking about it all right. Faye wouldn't normally credit
herself to having a sixth sense about certain things (well, things not
concerning gambling), but something just didn't seem right. By the list of
offenses rattled off by Edward, Faye had a sneaking suspicion that what
Spike had told her about the bounty head was right. She didn't like it one
bit.
"You know the guy, don't you?" Faye looked up in surprise. The
Swordfish II was flying right alongside her Red Tail. She could see Spike
looking over at her.
"Shouldn't you be watching where you're going?"
"You didn't answer my question."
"Just because I agreed to help you on this bounty doesn't mean I have to
answer to you." she replied curtly, avoiding his gaze.
"Faye," His voice sounded slightly chiding. "Unless we have information
on this guy we're never going to catch him."
Faye bit her lip, as the two ships passed through a cloud bank, hoping he
couldn't see her. "There are other bounties."
There was silence on the other end. "The bounty is 160 million woolongs."
Faye closed her eyes. Too much for a sick bastard like him, if you asked
her.
"Which is why we have to catch him." Faye looked up again. Had she said
that out loud. "So, I ask you again. Do you know the guy or not?"
Faye let out a small growl. "Damnit!" She yanked down on the controls,
sending the Red Tail flying downwards through the clouds towards their
destination - to Aruba City.
=====
Spike adjusted his sunglasses slightly. Sitting on a park bench, the lanky
bounty hunter watched with detached interest as numerous people passed
him by. By the way he sat with his legs kicked out and his arms hanging
back over the bench, one would have thought he was completely oblivious
to everything going on around him.
On the contrary, his undivided attention was focused on the bench's other
occupant. His original question still hung in the air, as he waited for her to
begin.
"I already told you," Faye said impatiently. "I'm not sure if it's him or not."
"How old was he?"
"I don't know."
"Well, what'd he look like?"
"I don't remember."
"Where'd you see him."
"I don't remember."
"This wasn't by chance around the time you got blitzed on that moonshine was it?"
"Damnit, Spike, I told you I don't know!"
Spike let his sunglasses slide down to the end of his nose. Looking up at
her, he could tell that the subject of their discussion wasn't something she
really wanted to talk about. Still, he had no other choice but to press the
issue. This guy was a pervert sicko and needed to be caught.
"It was long before I left the Bebop." Her voice was barely audible.
Looking over at her, Spike could see that Faye's eyes were closed, as if
she were trying to remember some event in her head. "Some friend of
Jet's e-mailed him about a prospective bounty on Mars. The bounty itself
wasn't a lot, but at that point we were willing to take anything; we really
needed the money. Unfortunately, Jet's leg was still in pretty bad shape, so
he couldn't take it."
"So, you went instead?" Spike replied, his focus on a leaf currently being
blown down the street.
"Yeah," Faye answered. "I really hadn't been that much help in the past…
I wanted to somehow make it up to Jet, so I decided to take on the bounty
myself."
"Did he know about it?"
"No, I didn't tell him." she answered. "I didn't want to get his hopes up in
case I screwed it up - as I was so warrant to do."
Spike felt a brief pang of guilt run through him. He frowned slightly.
'Where did that come from?'
"So, anyway, I went to Mars, gathering sources and information as I went
along," Faye continued. "The guy was a small-time crook it seemed;
wanted for hitting a couple national banks and all that - nothing serious."
She paused. "Or that's what I thought."
"What happened?" Spike asked.
Faye glanced over at him. "Did you know that only 29% of bounty hunters
are female?" she asked. Spike shook his head. "Neither did I until he told
me."
"Who?"
"Aeolis…" Her voice took on a bitterness that was uncommon even for
Faye. "At least that's what he called himself. It turns out the small-time
crook was just a cover." She glanced over at him for a brief moment with
fear in her eyes. "This guy was a freak, Spike. It was terrible. He liked to
prey on those he felt were weaker than him - animals, children, women…"
She paused. "All the things you hate."
Spike didn't reply. He knew she was trying to get a rise out of him so that
he would change the subject. It wasn't going to happen.
Faye frowned, clenching her fists in her lap. "He'd pick a target,"
she continued. "Found out any information he could on them… like a
stalker. He'd follow them around, keeping track of their every move, just
waiting for the moment when he would strike. When he did strike…" she
trailed off, not wanting to finish that thought.
"How do you know all of this?" Spike asked.
"He told me," she answered quietly. "After I caught him finishing off one
of his victims."
== Flashback ==
Faye had seen a lot of things in her life, some she couldn't remember,
others she wished she could forget. Still, as she stared in horror at the
sight before her, she couldn't believe her eyes. She felt sick to her
stomach. If she hadn't been so mortified she would have turned and run
away.
"You're shaking." Faye whipped out her gun, aiming it at her target.
'Or am I his target?' her mind wondered, too shocked to really focus on
anything. She tried her best to keep her cool. "Drop your weapon, dirt bag.
And keep your hands where I can see them."
Two blood stained hands rose slowly into the air. Though the rest of his
body was shrouded in the darkness of the room, Faye could tell he was
grinning. "As you can see, my dear," he replied softly. "I'm unarmed."
"Very good." Faye replied with a sneer. "But if you think I'm gonna drop
my gun just to be fair, you're out of your damn mind."
"Oh, no, no, Miss Huntress." he replied. "I never play fair. It takes away
all the fun of the kill." His gaze wandered to a young woman sprawled out
in the corner.
Faye forced herself not too look. She cursed herself a thousand times on
the inside for not getting to her in time. Keeping her gaze on her target,
she snarled fiercely. "All right, Aeolis," she replied. "I'm turning you in."
"Oh really?" he asked. "What's the bounty on my head this time?"
Faye blinked. 'This time?' She lowered her gun slightly. Who was this
guy?
Unfortunately, lowering her gun had been a grave error. Just as she did
so, Aeolis rushed forward, his elbow aimed towards her abdomen. At the
force of the blow, Faye slammed into the wall. Stunned, she slid down to
the floor. Before she could do anything to defend herself, he was already
upon her.
== End of Flashback ==
Spike watched Faye carefully. Her body had not changed its position, but
by looking at her eyes, he could tell she was miles away. He looked down
at the ground, slowly unclenching his hands.
"Did he…?" Faye snapped out of her trance, looking over at him. "He
didn't…"
Faye shook her head. "No, he didn't." she replied. "I wasn't his target."
Unnoticed by her, Spike seemed very relieved. "He did however, leave
me with this." She pulled down the collar of her blouse, revealing a scar
in the shape of a thin line right next to her left shoulder. "Stab wound…
he just left me there with his victim… both of us… just left us there to
die."
"But you didn't." Spike replied, hoping that would somehow reassure her.
He noted the scar was in the same place Vicious had stabbed him in their
final battle. However, he forced his thoughts away from that, focusing
them on Faye. Something told her she needed to get this all out.
"The girl died." she replied. "I think she was dead before I got there. Her
name was Valerie Caldor. She was only 19." Spike gave her a look of
confusion. "I checked her wallet. I felt responsible for her death
somehow… I couldn't just leave her there."
Spike's eyes widened. "You didn't…"
"I carried her back to her apartment… It wasn't that far from where it all
happened." Faye replied. "I told her brother it was my fault that she died."
"But, it wasn't…"
"Her dad and sister had died from Venus sickness and her mother lived on
Venus, too." she went on. "Macy was all she had."
"Macy? The same Macy."
"Yeah," Faye answered. "He forgave me though… he said it wasn't my
fault. He even cared for me until I was strong enough to go back to the
Bebop."
Spike searched the pockets of his jacket for a cigarette, only to find that he
had none. "This Macy friend of yours sounds like a good guy." he offered.
"Yeah," she replied. "He and Jet kept me sane." Spike opened his mouth
to speak when she reached into her pocket and pulled out a packet of
cigarettes.
"I thought you didn't smoke." Spike replied, taking the pack.
"I don't." she answered. "You left them in my bed." She could have
almost sworn she saw him blush.
"Sorry," he murmured, lifting his lighter to his cigarette. He stopped
halfway, his eyes focusing on something a few yards away.
"What is it?" Faye asked.
"Shh." Spike tilted his sunglasses upward, using the special telescopic
lenses to zoom in on a figure in a gray trench coat. He frowned slightly.
"I know that guy."
"What?" Faye blinked as Spike rose from he seat, heading towards the
street in purposeful strides. She rose, following quickly behind him. "Are
you sure?" she asked. "Where do you know him from?"
Spike yanked off his glasses, although he did not look back at her. An
angry smirk crossed his features. "He used to work for the Syndicate."
End of Chapter 7
"I'm bouncing off the walls again
I'm looking like a fool again
Waking up on the bathroom floor
Pull myself together just to fall once more"
He could hear it again. A feminine voice was humming a soft tune
somewhere off in the distance. When he opened his eyes, what he saw
was not an angel or a shrew, but a pair of brown eyes and a large pink
tongue.
Spike groaned, yanking his pillow over his head. "Would someone please
tell me why Ein is in my bed?" he yelled, only the sound of his voice came
out muffled.
As his pillow was yanked away, Spike looked up to see Ed standing over
him. He blinked, noticing how much different she looked. Granted, she
was still as skinny as a beanpole, but with her height, physique, and hair,
you could actually tell she was a girl. A really strange looking girl, wearing
black biker shorts, and a black tank top underneath a gray long-sleeved,
over-sized sweatshirt cut off at the cuffs so that the sleeves wouldn't be
too long.
Still, despite everything, that insane grin of hers was still there. "Edward."
"Yes, Spike-person?"
"Why are you in here?"
Amber eyes blinked at him curiously. "Oh, that's easy!" she exclaimed.
"Edward came to make sure Spike-person wasn't dead."
Spike rolled his eyes and smirked. "Well, as you can see, Edward," he
replied. "I'm still here."
"Spike-person was tipsy." Edward explained, grinning like a Cheshire cat.
"Tipsy dipsy doozy. He went into Faye-Faye's room by mistake and passed
out. Slept all day long."
'Damn…' He looked over at the young hacker. "You guys moved me,
didn't you?"
That insufferable grin was still there. Spike jumped up like someone who
realized they were lying on a bed of hot coals. His mismatched eyes
quickly scanned the room. No gun rack, no Bruce Lee posters, no nothing;
this wasn't his room!
Edward giggled, rolling off of the bed onto the floor. "Spike-person is
Faye-Faye now!" she exclaimed.
Spike growled slightly. Though he did like the kid, her weird little antics
were starting to piss him off. "Get out here, Ed!"
Edward jumped up, scooping Ein up in one arm and saluting him with the
other. "Okie dokie," she replied. She grinned again. "Faye-Faye!"
====
Jet blinked at the sudden symphony of colorful metaphors mixed with the
sound of things being knocked over. He looked up from his bonsai trees
just in time to see Ed screeching by, Ein barking at her heels.
He chuckled to himself. Those two made quite the pair.
"Tell me something, Jet," Spike stood in the open doorway, wearing the
same clothing he had the night before, and looking like he fell out of a
laundry hamper.
"Yeah?" Jet asked, trying to hold back a grin.
"Did I make a mistake by getting everybody back together?"
Jet chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "Nah, Spike." he replied, standing
up. "You did good. I hate to admit it, but it hasn't been the same with all
you nut-jobs running around here, making my life Hell."
Spike 'hmph'ed. "I guess." he replied.
Jet walked out of the room. "By the way," he replied. "If I would've
known you were gonna go bar-hopping last night, I would have joined you." He glanced back at him. "It's been a long time since we had a drink together."
Spike plopped down on the couch. "Yeah, it has." he agreed. "Though
next time, I'm just going to stick with just a beer. Some of that shit they
got out there just isn't good for you."
"By that I assume you mean Arubian Moonshine?" A plate of food was set
in front of him. Faye, wearing Jet's apron - which was way too big - gave
him a 'laugh and you die' look before setting down Jet's plate and going to
fetch her own. Underneath the apron, Spike could tell she was wearing a
tight fitting yellow blouse and a pair of jeans. He also noted she was
wearing the white high-heeled boots she always wore.
"Unfortunately," he answered, looking back and forth between Faye and
Jet as if he had stepped into the Twilight Zone. He glanced back up at her.
"I thought you said you didn't drink?"
"I don't anymore." Faye replied. "I had a little incident with that stuff
myself once."
"Really?" Jet asked, having not yet heard this story.
"Yes, really." Faye said patiently. "I was out with a friend and drank half a
bottle of that stuff." Spike raised an eyebrow; this story sounded a bit
familiar. "I woke up in a cathedral with close to 1 million woolongs."
"You don't say?" Jet laughed. "How long were you out?"
Faye shrugged, sitting down in a chair with her own plate. "I'm not too
sure." she answered. "I don't even know where the money came from."
"Bounty heads." Spike said a matter-of-factly, earning questioning glances
from the other two. "I'm sure the local casinos were more than happy to
receive your patronage that day."
Faye shot him a cold glare. "More like the debt collectors had one less
excuse to put another bounty on my head." she replied coolly. "Ass."
Jet cleared his throat slightly. "Ed! Come eat!" A loud squeal could be
heard in the background as Ed rushed in, grabbed her food and rushed out
again.
Silence hung heavy in the air once again.
Spike absently forked through the food on his plate. "I didn't know you
could cook, Faye." he replied.
Faye didn't look up at him. "Well, now you do." She remained silent, taking
a sip from a glass of water.
"She didn't have much of a choice," Jet added, trying to ward away any
chances of an argument. "Macy's cooking is worse than mine."
Faye glanced up at him. "Macy's sends his regards by the way." Jet paled
slightly.
Spike shoved a forkful of food into his mouth. He wasn't sure what it was,
but it tasted okay. Faye wasn't that bad of a cook. He thought about
making a comment, but judging the way she was acting, it didn't seem like
a good idea. He hadn't expected the remark about the casinos to upset her,
and he didn't want her any even angrier with him.
'Since when have I started caring about what Faye thinks of me?' he asked
himself, watching her as she continued eating her food.
"And now you're leaving… just like that! Where are you going? Why are
you going? What are you going to do?"
Spike sighed inwardly, setting his plate down. Why couldn't he get her out
of his mind?
Jet looked up at him. Though he hadn't seen Spike in a while, Jet still knew
him well enough to know that something was bothering him. He rubbed his
beard thoughtfully; that very something just so happened to be seated in the
chair next to him. 'Well, I'll be damned…'
At that moment, Edward decided to reappear. Goggles strapped on and her
Tomato precariously balanced on top of her red head, she brought her hands
to her mouth, making a trumpet-like sound. Everyone looked up at her like
she had grown a third arm.
"Attention, Bebop crew!" she exclaimed. "Edward would like to make
announcement!"
"Go ahead, Ed," Spike replied. "We're listening."
Edward nodded her head. "Edward wanted everyone to know that Edward
has been working very, very hard." she replied. "Edward has been surfing
the Web for any information on the bounty head."
"Did you find anything?" Faye asked.
Again, Edward nodded her head, her red hair spilling over her goggles.
Blowing it away, Edward turned to Ein. "Lights please."
Ein barked, and the rest of the Bebop crew turned their attention to the
vid-screen as information on their bounty popped up.
"There's no picture." Jet pointed out.
"Nope," Edward replied. "Edward searched far and wide, but could not
find picture. It seems no one has ever seen this person."
Faye leaned closer to the screen. "Hm… a mystery bounty head we all
have something in common with." she mused. "Their real name is
unknown but they sometimes go by the aliases Ragnarok or Thanatos."
Spike scoffed slightly.
"I've never heard of either of those names," Jet replied.
"Well…" Edward replied. "According to Edward's Tomato, Ragnarok is a
term from Norse Mythology that means the day of doom."
"And Thanatos?"
"The Greek name for Death." Edward waved her hands in a ghost-like
gesture. "The Roman's called him Orcus."
"Right…" Jet scratched his head. "So, what we've got on our hand is
someone who thinks they are the personification of Death, with the sole
purpose to bring about the end of all life."
"What're the charges against him, Ed?" Spike asked.
"Let Edward see." The young hacker whipped out her Tomato, typing
madly as words, codes, and numbers flashed by over her goggles.
"According to Tomato, Death the Doomsday-bringer is wanted on many,
many numerous offences."
"Like…?"
"On Venus - mail fraud, computer fraud, smuggling of illegal contraband.
On Mars - illegal contraband, grand theft auto, arson, 4 accounts of
2nd-degree murder, 5 of 3rd degree, manslaughter. On Ganymede -
grand theft auto, possession of red-eye, blackmail, 15 counts of 2nd and
3rd degree murder. Also, Tomato says he is the prime suspect in many
accounts of kidnapping, along with numerous rapes," Faye frowned. "7
on Ganymede, 4 on Venus, 2 on Earth, 11 on Callisto, and on Mars…"
"That's enough, Ed." Faye interrupted, shutting off the Tomato.
"Okay…" she replied, uncertain. "All Edward was going to say was that
the bounty went up to 160."
"When?" Jet asked.
"This morning." Edward answered. "The ISSP tracked him to Earth, but
they got there too late. He was too tricky. He took out a bunch of people
in a small town in the US region. The estimate population was 30… but
now it's 17." Edward pulled off her goggles, pouting slightly. "Edward
thinks this bounty-person is bad."
"Yeah, but…" Jet frowned, his brows furrowed in thought. "Don't worry,
though, I'm pretty sure we can bust this guy. Do we have any leads?"
"He's a rookie hacker," Edward answered. "He goes to Earth periodically
looking for new programs to hone his skills with."
"Any ideas where he goes afterwards?"
"Probably to Mars." Everyone looked up at Faye. "No doubt to refuel and
pick up supplies."
"But there's a lot of places he can hide on Mars," Jet replied. "There's got
to be a way to narrow it down."
"Edward has already done that." Everyone turned back to the young
hacker, who was busy waving her arms, bowing to her Tomato. "Tomato
tells Edward that Death, the Doomsday bringer--"
"Could you please stop calling him that--?"
"Can be found in Aruba City. He has contacts there that hide him out
when the police and bounty hunters get too close."
"Well then, all we hafta do is go out and look for information on him." Spike
replied, rising out of his seat. "Each of us take a corner of the city and
meet up in the middle."
"Hold on a minute, Spike," Jet replied. "It'd be best if just you and Faye
went together."
"Huh?" they both replied in unison.
"Think about it." Jet replied. "There's still a lot about this guy we don't
know, so it'd be best if Ed stuck around in scrounged for more info."
"Okie dokie!"
Spike glance at Jet warily. "And what about you?" The ex-cop was up to
something and he knew it.
Jet didn't flinch. "The Bebop isn't ready for the hunt just yet." he answered.
"There's still some repair work that needs to be done before we go into deep
space-"
"How did it manage before then?"
"I've been using it for its original purpose." Jet answered. Spike gave him
a 'which is?' look. "Fishing."
"Oh, for crying out loud…"
"Not only that," Jet continued. "We need to stock up on food. The way
you guys eat and we'll be out even before we leave Mars' orbit."
"Okay then," Spike grumbled. "You and Ed do what you gotta do. Faye
and I will head out and try to track this guy down." He turned to Faye.
"Let's get going."
Faye sighed, tossing Jet's apron down on the chair. "Gee, thanks a lot."
She deadpanned, following the lanky bounty hunter out of the room.
Edward blinked at her curiously, then up to Jet. "Was Faye-Faye talking to
Spike-person or to Jet-person?"
Jet chuckled. "Does it really matter?"
Edward paused, deep in thought. "Faye-Faye and Spike are having issues,
aren't they?"
Jet blinked at her in surprise. The girl had more insight than he had given
her credit. "Yeah, I guess you could say that." he answered. "But, they're
going to have to come to some sorta resolution if they want to catch this
bounty."
"Yeah…" Edward raised her arms over her head, stretching. "Edward
hopes they get it together."
Jet smirked to himself. 'You're not the only one…'
=====
"Hey, Faye."
"Hm?" Faye looked down at her console to see Spike on her monitor. He
almost looked as though he was worried about something. "What is it,
Spike?" she asked.
Spike paused a moment. Her tone hadn't been rude or demanding, but it
bothered him nonetheless. "What's on your mind?"
She blinked in confusion. Why would he want to know?
"You haven't said a word since we left the ship." He replied, answering
her unspoken question. Apparently her expression had given it away.
She'd have to be more careful.
"Nothing's wrong," she replied as nonchalant as she could manage. "I was
just thinking about the bounty."
Oh, she was thinking about it all right. Faye wouldn't normally credit
herself to having a sixth sense about certain things (well, things not
concerning gambling), but something just didn't seem right. By the list of
offenses rattled off by Edward, Faye had a sneaking suspicion that what
Spike had told her about the bounty head was right. She didn't like it one
bit.
"You know the guy, don't you?" Faye looked up in surprise. The
Swordfish II was flying right alongside her Red Tail. She could see Spike
looking over at her.
"Shouldn't you be watching where you're going?"
"You didn't answer my question."
"Just because I agreed to help you on this bounty doesn't mean I have to
answer to you." she replied curtly, avoiding his gaze.
"Faye," His voice sounded slightly chiding. "Unless we have information
on this guy we're never going to catch him."
Faye bit her lip, as the two ships passed through a cloud bank, hoping he
couldn't see her. "There are other bounties."
There was silence on the other end. "The bounty is 160 million woolongs."
Faye closed her eyes. Too much for a sick bastard like him, if you asked
her.
"Which is why we have to catch him." Faye looked up again. Had she said
that out loud. "So, I ask you again. Do you know the guy or not?"
Faye let out a small growl. "Damnit!" She yanked down on the controls,
sending the Red Tail flying downwards through the clouds towards their
destination - to Aruba City.
=====
Spike adjusted his sunglasses slightly. Sitting on a park bench, the lanky
bounty hunter watched with detached interest as numerous people passed
him by. By the way he sat with his legs kicked out and his arms hanging
back over the bench, one would have thought he was completely oblivious
to everything going on around him.
On the contrary, his undivided attention was focused on the bench's other
occupant. His original question still hung in the air, as he waited for her to
begin.
"I already told you," Faye said impatiently. "I'm not sure if it's him or not."
"How old was he?"
"I don't know."
"Well, what'd he look like?"
"I don't remember."
"Where'd you see him."
"I don't remember."
"This wasn't by chance around the time you got blitzed on that moonshine was it?"
"Damnit, Spike, I told you I don't know!"
Spike let his sunglasses slide down to the end of his nose. Looking up at
her, he could tell that the subject of their discussion wasn't something she
really wanted to talk about. Still, he had no other choice but to press the
issue. This guy was a pervert sicko and needed to be caught.
"It was long before I left the Bebop." Her voice was barely audible.
Looking over at her, Spike could see that Faye's eyes were closed, as if
she were trying to remember some event in her head. "Some friend of
Jet's e-mailed him about a prospective bounty on Mars. The bounty itself
wasn't a lot, but at that point we were willing to take anything; we really
needed the money. Unfortunately, Jet's leg was still in pretty bad shape, so
he couldn't take it."
"So, you went instead?" Spike replied, his focus on a leaf currently being
blown down the street.
"Yeah," Faye answered. "I really hadn't been that much help in the past…
I wanted to somehow make it up to Jet, so I decided to take on the bounty
myself."
"Did he know about it?"
"No, I didn't tell him." she answered. "I didn't want to get his hopes up in
case I screwed it up - as I was so warrant to do."
Spike felt a brief pang of guilt run through him. He frowned slightly.
'Where did that come from?'
"So, anyway, I went to Mars, gathering sources and information as I went
along," Faye continued. "The guy was a small-time crook it seemed;
wanted for hitting a couple national banks and all that - nothing serious."
She paused. "Or that's what I thought."
"What happened?" Spike asked.
Faye glanced over at him. "Did you know that only 29% of bounty hunters
are female?" she asked. Spike shook his head. "Neither did I until he told
me."
"Who?"
"Aeolis…" Her voice took on a bitterness that was uncommon even for
Faye. "At least that's what he called himself. It turns out the small-time
crook was just a cover." She glanced over at him for a brief moment with
fear in her eyes. "This guy was a freak, Spike. It was terrible. He liked to
prey on those he felt were weaker than him - animals, children, women…"
She paused. "All the things you hate."
Spike didn't reply. He knew she was trying to get a rise out of him so that
he would change the subject. It wasn't going to happen.
Faye frowned, clenching her fists in her lap. "He'd pick a target,"
she continued. "Found out any information he could on them… like a
stalker. He'd follow them around, keeping track of their every move, just
waiting for the moment when he would strike. When he did strike…" she
trailed off, not wanting to finish that thought.
"How do you know all of this?" Spike asked.
"He told me," she answered quietly. "After I caught him finishing off one
of his victims."
== Flashback ==
Faye had seen a lot of things in her life, some she couldn't remember,
others she wished she could forget. Still, as she stared in horror at the
sight before her, she couldn't believe her eyes. She felt sick to her
stomach. If she hadn't been so mortified she would have turned and run
away.
"You're shaking." Faye whipped out her gun, aiming it at her target.
'Or am I his target?' her mind wondered, too shocked to really focus on
anything. She tried her best to keep her cool. "Drop your weapon, dirt bag.
And keep your hands where I can see them."
Two blood stained hands rose slowly into the air. Though the rest of his
body was shrouded in the darkness of the room, Faye could tell he was
grinning. "As you can see, my dear," he replied softly. "I'm unarmed."
"Very good." Faye replied with a sneer. "But if you think I'm gonna drop
my gun just to be fair, you're out of your damn mind."
"Oh, no, no, Miss Huntress." he replied. "I never play fair. It takes away
all the fun of the kill." His gaze wandered to a young woman sprawled out
in the corner.
Faye forced herself not too look. She cursed herself a thousand times on
the inside for not getting to her in time. Keeping her gaze on her target,
she snarled fiercely. "All right, Aeolis," she replied. "I'm turning you in."
"Oh really?" he asked. "What's the bounty on my head this time?"
Faye blinked. 'This time?' She lowered her gun slightly. Who was this
guy?
Unfortunately, lowering her gun had been a grave error. Just as she did
so, Aeolis rushed forward, his elbow aimed towards her abdomen. At the
force of the blow, Faye slammed into the wall. Stunned, she slid down to
the floor. Before she could do anything to defend herself, he was already
upon her.
== End of Flashback ==
Spike watched Faye carefully. Her body had not changed its position, but
by looking at her eyes, he could tell she was miles away. He looked down
at the ground, slowly unclenching his hands.
"Did he…?" Faye snapped out of her trance, looking over at him. "He
didn't…"
Faye shook her head. "No, he didn't." she replied. "I wasn't his target."
Unnoticed by her, Spike seemed very relieved. "He did however, leave
me with this." She pulled down the collar of her blouse, revealing a scar
in the shape of a thin line right next to her left shoulder. "Stab wound…
he just left me there with his victim… both of us… just left us there to
die."
"But you didn't." Spike replied, hoping that would somehow reassure her.
He noted the scar was in the same place Vicious had stabbed him in their
final battle. However, he forced his thoughts away from that, focusing
them on Faye. Something told her she needed to get this all out.
"The girl died." she replied. "I think she was dead before I got there. Her
name was Valerie Caldor. She was only 19." Spike gave her a look of
confusion. "I checked her wallet. I felt responsible for her death
somehow… I couldn't just leave her there."
Spike's eyes widened. "You didn't…"
"I carried her back to her apartment… It wasn't that far from where it all
happened." Faye replied. "I told her brother it was my fault that she died."
"But, it wasn't…"
"Her dad and sister had died from Venus sickness and her mother lived on
Venus, too." she went on. "Macy was all she had."
"Macy? The same Macy."
"Yeah," Faye answered. "He forgave me though… he said it wasn't my
fault. He even cared for me until I was strong enough to go back to the
Bebop."
Spike searched the pockets of his jacket for a cigarette, only to find that he
had none. "This Macy friend of yours sounds like a good guy." he offered.
"Yeah," she replied. "He and Jet kept me sane." Spike opened his mouth
to speak when she reached into her pocket and pulled out a packet of
cigarettes.
"I thought you didn't smoke." Spike replied, taking the pack.
"I don't." she answered. "You left them in my bed." She could have
almost sworn she saw him blush.
"Sorry," he murmured, lifting his lighter to his cigarette. He stopped
halfway, his eyes focusing on something a few yards away.
"What is it?" Faye asked.
"Shh." Spike tilted his sunglasses upward, using the special telescopic
lenses to zoom in on a figure in a gray trench coat. He frowned slightly.
"I know that guy."
"What?" Faye blinked as Spike rose from he seat, heading towards the
street in purposeful strides. She rose, following quickly behind him. "Are
you sure?" she asked. "Where do you know him from?"
Spike yanked off his glasses, although he did not look back at her. An
angry smirk crossed his features. "He used to work for the Syndicate."
End of Chapter 7