Author's Notes - Sumimasen, minna-san! I am so, so sorry for keeping
you guys waiting for so long! I'm sure you guys weren't ripping your
hair out in anticipation, but I am sincerely sorry for slacking off. Y'see...
Miss Chang Po - All right, let's hear her excuse...
It's not an excuse! Y'see, I took a break from writing on my birthday
to go shopping (I bought a Cowboy Bebop manga! Very funny, I suggest
you get it ^_^) and I just sorta slacked off on my updates. Not ot mention
I got serious writer's block for chapter 15... (why's it always the odd
chapters??) Oh yeah, thanks for sending such great reviews! (I even got
one on my b-day! Fancy that!)
Miss Chang Po - Stop babbling and start writing!
Oh yeah... sorry. Here we go, the next installment of Cowboy Bebop.
Enjoy!
Chapter 15 - Artificial Sweetener
"You really deserve love
I want to love you
But I can't seem to find myself"
Jet nearly swallowed the cigar he was smoking. Tossing it in the
ashtray on the table, he coughed and hacked, trying to clear the smoke
out of his lungs. Tears formed in his eyes as he stared at Spike in
disbelief. "You did what?" he sputtered.
"I told her," Spike answered simply, a slightly despondent look on his
face. He glanced up at the ex-cop. "You okay?"
"Yeah," Jet replied hoarsely, patting himself on the chest. "I just don't
believe it… You told Faye, Faye Valentine that you loved her?"
"Yeah."
"And you meant it?"
Spike frowned. "Why would I say it if I didn't mean it?"
Jet frowned slightly. "I don't know, Spike," he replied. "You can be
kinda tricky sometimes."
Spike blinked in disbelief, rising out of his seat. "You think I'm playing
some sort of sick game with her, Jet? Is that it?" he demanded. "You
know what, I don't even know why I even bother. I thought you'd be
able to help me out here, but you're still too damned busy playing 'Daddy
Dearest' to give a shit."
"Hey, now, Spike!" Jet replied, frowning up at him. "You're out a line.
I told you before that I don't treat Faye any differently than I treat
anybody else."
"Yeah?" Spike frowned. "Seems like you guys have become good
friends, old chums moping around here seeking comfort from each
other after my so called death."
"Spike!" Jet rose out of his seat, grabbing the lanky bounty hunter by the
collar with his robotic hand. "You don't know shit about what happened,
so just shut the hell up!"
"How am I supposed to know jack shit when everyone's skulking
round here with their secrets, like I'm a damn ghost not even here!"
Spike yelled back.
"For all I know, you are a ghost!" Jet replied. "You show up out the
blue, not even bothering to tell anyone where you've been or what the
hell happened to you. People need time to adjust, Spike - you can't just
expect things to be just like they used to be!" He paused, looking at
Spike, whose anger had already faded away, replaced with his 'I'm upset,
but I don't want anyone to know it' look. He let go, taking a step back.
"She told you the same thing, didn't she?"
Spike looked away, sitting back down on the couch. "She didn't believe
me."
Jet sighed, looking down at the floor. "She probably thinks you still love
Julia." he suggested.
"Of course I still love Julia." Spike replied. "But I can't grieve over her
forever, that's what got me killed last time." He looked down at his hands.
"I've already put those demons to rest… I'm ready to move on with my
life."
Jet remained quiet for some time. "You're really serious about this."
It wasn't really a question.
Spike nodded. "I wasn't gonna lie to her, Jet." he replied. "A piece of
me still belongs to Julia - a piece of me I'll probably never get back. It's
different with Faye though, not like Julia at all."
Jet sat down on the couch, lighting another cigarette. "Think of it like
this," he replied. "You told me about the tiger-striped cat that died a
million times, right?"
Spike ran his hand over his eyes. "Jet…"
"No, no, no," Jet waved his hand. "Just hear me out." He took a few
drags on the cigarette. "The tiger-striped cat dies only to be reborn
again. Though he believed he died a million times, it turns out he'd
miscounted - he still had a few lives left up his sleeve. He roams the
land, trying to find his niche in life. In his travels, he finds himself back
at the home of one of his previous owners."
Spike looked up at him skeptically.
"He expects to find everything as he had left it, but it turns out things
have changed - a lot. He feels out of place, out of the loop so to speak.
He tries to adjust, to live his life without the events of his other past
lives plaguing him - like the white cat, for instance." Jet let out a puff
of smoke, watching the little tendrils rise in the air.
Spike watched him intently. "Go on." he replied.
Jet glances at him calmly. "Anyway, the tiger-striped cat misses the
white cat, trying to keep a place for her in his heart while trying to move
on with his life. As he does this, he meets a black cat."
"A black cat, Jet?"
"Yes, a black cat, Spike." Jet answers. "It was said that black cats
were owned by witches, they rode on the back of their broomsticks as
they flew through the skies on All Hallow's Eve." He paused. "To
superstitious people, black cats became a sign of bad luck - especially if
they happened to cross your path. So you see, with this bad rep, black
cats were often subject to mistreatment and abuse.
This particular black cat was no exception. So used to being beaten,
abused, and neglected, the black cat found it very hard to trust people,
leading her to a life of solitude. However, when she came upon the tiger
striped cat and his owner, she thought things were going to be different.
You see… she had come across the tiger striped cat in another life, when
he was with the white cat. The black cat knew what it was like to lose
something important, so she tried to help him as discreetly as she could -
after all, she was still afraid of getting to close in case things didn't
work out."
"So, you're saying this black cat had feelings for the tiger striped cat,
but was afraid of getting hurt?" Spike suggested.
"That remains to be said," Jet answered. "Though it's a possibility, it
really doesn't matter. Should anything have happened between the
two cats, the black cat would forever remain in the shadow of the
white cat in the tiger striped cat's heart."
Spike frowned. "You mean to say that Faye feels threatened by Julia,
even though she's dead?"
Jet lit another cigar. "I didn't say anything about Faye." he replied. "I
was talking about cats." He took a few puffs. "But after all, you hate
cats, remember?"
With a snort, Spike leaned back on the couch. "So, what's the moral of
this story?"
Popping up behind him with her goggles and Tomato in hand, Edward
replied. "Edward thinks the tiger striped cat should have handled the
situation a bit differently."
"What situation?" Spike asked.
"Telling the black cat that he loved her." Edward answered.
"Wait a sec… that wasn't in the story…"
Edward continued, "The black cat knows that the white cat still holds
a piece of the tiger striped cat's heart, even though she is long gone.
By telling the black cat that he loved her, the tiger striped cat has the
black cat believing she is only second best. She does not believe the
tiger striped cat's feelings are true because he has never shown her
that he felt anything for her. She feels like he is directing the love of
the white cat towards her. It's almost like she's a-"
"A substitution?" Spike and Jet exchanged glances. This kid was
definitely a lot sharper than they had given her credit.
"Right." Edward answered, nodding sagely. "Edward thinks it is similar
to Murphy's Law."
"Yeah… right." Spike frowned absently, although he was deep in
thought.
"So…" Jet began. "Ed, you said earlier that you knew who the
bounty was."
"That's right, Jet-person." Edward replied. "Edward knows exactly
who the bounty-person is."
"By all means then, tell us." Jet replied. "Oh, wait, go get Faye first."
"No need… Edward already told Faye-Faye." Edward replied.
== Flash back ==
"Go, go, go! Me, me, me! Do your best, do your best, don't give up!
…No matter what, I'll always be cheering for you right here…"
With a resigned sigh, Faye turned away from the old Beta player,
falling back into a laying position on her bed. Her legs dangling over
the side of the bed, she stared up at the ceiling for a few moments,
saying and taking in nothing.
"Faye-Faye?"
Faye looked up, two amber eyes staring down at her in sympathy.
Sympathy? That was something new… "What's up, Ed?"
"Edward was wondering where you went." the young hacker sat
down next to her casually, fingering strands of Faye's violet hair.
Normally Faye would have told her to stop, but this time she didn't
seem to mind. Edward, with her innocent antics and childish
enthusiasm, often reminded her of someone's little kid sister. Did
Edward have any siblings? Idly she wondered if she herself had had
any after she was placed in cryo-freeze.
"Is Faye-Faye sad about the beta-box?" Edward asked, watching the
warbled image on the old machine.
"Sad?" Faye sat up, gazing over at it. "No, not really."
"Oh." Edward replied. She glanced back over at her. "But Faye-Faye
is sad about something, right?"
"What makes you say that?"
Edward rubbed her chin thoughtfully, staring at the screen in front
of her. "Because Edward looks at the old Faye-Faye and does not
think she is as happy as the young Faye-Faye was."
"Maybe," Faye frowned slightly, turning off the beta-player. "But she
and I are two completely different people."
"But the young Faye-Faye said that she was a part of Faye-Faye."
"Maybe it's time for me to throw that thing out."
Edward remained quiet for a moment, staring at her booted feet.
"Edward has a question."
"Shoot, Ed."
"Can Edward keep the clothes?"
Faye blinked a moment, before breaking out into gales of laughter.
When she managed to calm herself down, she ruffled the young
hacker's hair slightly. "Sure thing." she replied. She smiled, chuckling
softly. "Thanks, Ed."
"No problem, Faye-Faye." Edward smiled back, though she had no
idea why Faye was thanking her.
== End of Flashback ==
"Hang on a sec," Spike replied, a little irritable due to the whole
situation. "That doesn't explain anything about the bounty."
"Spike," Jet frowned disapprovingly. The younger bounty hunter only
snorted in response.
"Edward was getting there," Edward replied. "But Edward just so
happened to be rudely interrupted by the tiger-striped
Spike-cat-person--"
"Ed…"
"Okie-dokie, cue the next flashback, Ein!"
"Bark! Bark!"
== Flashback ==
He was screwed. No, scratch that - he was oh-so-screwed. The
mission was a bust; he had been shot, and his partner was lying on the
ground a few feet away - dead no doubt. To make matters worse, he
had been busted by a bunch of nutty bounty hunters. First, there was a
feral, gun-toting shrew woman who used 20th century music in
psychological warfare (AN - think of "Flight of the Valkyries" and you'll
understand). Next came an one-armed gunslinger that shot first and
asked questions later. Last, but certainly not least, there was a
hermaphroditic demon-child with violent animalistic tendencies.
What did he do to get into these messes?
"Hey, there!" Arnold felt the cold steel of Faye's gun barrel being
pressed against his throat. "You're not talking." She smiled sweetly.
"That wasn't part of our deal."
Arnold swallowed. "Deal?"
"Yes," Jet answered. "You tell us all you know, and we don't hurt
you."
"B-b-but…"
"Cut it out," Faye said with a frown, growing impatient. "Grown men
don't stutter."
"I already told you," Arnold protested. "With your boyfriend, I don't
know anything about anything!"
"Obviously," Faye replied, rolling her eyes.
"Cut the game," Jet growled. "We know you're hiding important
information from us - information we need."
"Information that will keep bad-man healthy!" Edward added.
"What is it you wanna know?" Arnold asked meekly.
"We want you to tell us about your boss," Faye answered. "We want
to know all about them. Name, age, address, phone numbers -
everything! We want to know why they hired you and what it is
they're after!"
"But…"
"Damnit!" A fire was shot, leaving a gaping hole in the brick wall next
to Arnold's head. Faye was ablaze with fury. "Listen here, pal… I
don't have time to deal with your crap! I've got enough shit to deal
with now… So just tell us who Thanatos Ragnorok is before I have to
blow your freaking head off!"
Jet took a step back. "Whoa."
Arnold was in tears. What was it about this woman that reduced him
to tears so easily? Granted, he was no Arnold Swarzcheneggar, but
this chick scared him!
"Okay, okay, I'll talk!" he sobbed. "I got a call a few months back, a
guy said he was looking for somebody familiar with Syndicate procedure
and protocol… he was looking into launching a big selling of Bloody Eye
in the Mars area."
"We want names, weasel." Jet growled.
"He called himself Thanatos… I don't know about the Ragnorok part,"
Arnold answered. "As far as I know, Thanatos is his real name. He's
got a big mob underground set up on Europa."
"So, let me get this straight," Faye murmured. "He hired you to look for
potential dealers and buyers here and Mars."
"That's right!" Arnold exclaimed. "I was used to it, so I pretty much
had a knack for it - I was the best man for the job."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Faye interrupted. "And what about Aeolis?
What was his part in all this?"
"He was my back up." he answered. "He knew how to get us out any
scrapes if the cops got involved." Jet scowled. "Not only that, but he
was a decoy."
"A decoy?"
Arnold smirked a little. "Yeah, that's what I said." he said, regaining a
little of his confidence. "You guys are bounty hunters, right? I thought
you would've realized that by now."
Jet scowled, clenching and unclenching his robotic hand. "You've got
jokes, huh?" he replied. "Let's see how much you're laughing when the
cops find you stuffed in a trashcan."
"No, wait!" Arnold exclaimed. "I wasn't finished!"
"Explain how Aeolis was a decoy."
"I don't really know that much about Thanatos to tell you the truth,"
Arnold replied. "You see, I've never actually met him face to face."
Faye and Jet scowled. "All I know is that the guy is tricky. He picked
Aeolis to be my back-up because he had a criminal record pretty close
to matching his own."
Faye scowled bitterly.
"People say he's a criminal mastermind… hatching all these schemes
and sending guys like us to go and carry'em out. When his lackeys
get busted, their records show up with all these felonies and
misdemeanors on them, even if they didn't commit them."
"So, this Thanatos-person is a hacker, too?" Edward mused.
"Wait a sec'," Faye replied. "If what you're saying is true, why'd you
agree to work for him?"
"He's a dangerous guy," Arnold replied. "Nobody's ever been able to
bust'im… I figured it was an easy deal - I mean, the guy's loaded; he
pretty much runs Red Mafia."
"The Red Mafia?"
Arnold scoffed. "The Red Mafia is made up of the remnants of the old
Syndicate." he replied. "Didn't Spike tell you about that?" Jet and Faye
exchanged glances. "Man, you guys don't know anything!"
"Shut up!" Jet growled, yanking him to his feet. "I think we've heard all
we needed to hear."
Faye glared at Arnold. "Thanatos - where can we find him?"
Arnold winced in pain. "I told you, I don't know much about him." he
replied. "Your best bet is Europa seeing since that's where his base is."
He frowned. "I wouldn't recommend it though, a lot of hunters have
tried tracking him down and failed. You go up against him and he'll
kill you for sure."
"Well, I'm sure I really don't care much for your concern," Faye
drawled, holding her rifle over head as she stretched. "I'm pretty sure
it isn't necessary." She winked at him coyly. "We're gonna bust this
guy, no matter what it takes."
End of Chapter 15
you guys waiting for so long! I'm sure you guys weren't ripping your
hair out in anticipation, but I am sincerely sorry for slacking off. Y'see...
Miss Chang Po - All right, let's hear her excuse...
It's not an excuse! Y'see, I took a break from writing on my birthday
to go shopping (I bought a Cowboy Bebop manga! Very funny, I suggest
you get it ^_^) and I just sorta slacked off on my updates. Not ot mention
I got serious writer's block for chapter 15... (why's it always the odd
chapters??) Oh yeah, thanks for sending such great reviews! (I even got
one on my b-day! Fancy that!)
Miss Chang Po - Stop babbling and start writing!
Oh yeah... sorry. Here we go, the next installment of Cowboy Bebop.
Enjoy!
Chapter 15 - Artificial Sweetener
"You really deserve love
I want to love you
But I can't seem to find myself"
Jet nearly swallowed the cigar he was smoking. Tossing it in the
ashtray on the table, he coughed and hacked, trying to clear the smoke
out of his lungs. Tears formed in his eyes as he stared at Spike in
disbelief. "You did what?" he sputtered.
"I told her," Spike answered simply, a slightly despondent look on his
face. He glanced up at the ex-cop. "You okay?"
"Yeah," Jet replied hoarsely, patting himself on the chest. "I just don't
believe it… You told Faye, Faye Valentine that you loved her?"
"Yeah."
"And you meant it?"
Spike frowned. "Why would I say it if I didn't mean it?"
Jet frowned slightly. "I don't know, Spike," he replied. "You can be
kinda tricky sometimes."
Spike blinked in disbelief, rising out of his seat. "You think I'm playing
some sort of sick game with her, Jet? Is that it?" he demanded. "You
know what, I don't even know why I even bother. I thought you'd be
able to help me out here, but you're still too damned busy playing 'Daddy
Dearest' to give a shit."
"Hey, now, Spike!" Jet replied, frowning up at him. "You're out a line.
I told you before that I don't treat Faye any differently than I treat
anybody else."
"Yeah?" Spike frowned. "Seems like you guys have become good
friends, old chums moping around here seeking comfort from each
other after my so called death."
"Spike!" Jet rose out of his seat, grabbing the lanky bounty hunter by the
collar with his robotic hand. "You don't know shit about what happened,
so just shut the hell up!"
"How am I supposed to know jack shit when everyone's skulking
round here with their secrets, like I'm a damn ghost not even here!"
Spike yelled back.
"For all I know, you are a ghost!" Jet replied. "You show up out the
blue, not even bothering to tell anyone where you've been or what the
hell happened to you. People need time to adjust, Spike - you can't just
expect things to be just like they used to be!" He paused, looking at
Spike, whose anger had already faded away, replaced with his 'I'm upset,
but I don't want anyone to know it' look. He let go, taking a step back.
"She told you the same thing, didn't she?"
Spike looked away, sitting back down on the couch. "She didn't believe
me."
Jet sighed, looking down at the floor. "She probably thinks you still love
Julia." he suggested.
"Of course I still love Julia." Spike replied. "But I can't grieve over her
forever, that's what got me killed last time." He looked down at his hands.
"I've already put those demons to rest… I'm ready to move on with my
life."
Jet remained quiet for some time. "You're really serious about this."
It wasn't really a question.
Spike nodded. "I wasn't gonna lie to her, Jet." he replied. "A piece of
me still belongs to Julia - a piece of me I'll probably never get back. It's
different with Faye though, not like Julia at all."
Jet sat down on the couch, lighting another cigarette. "Think of it like
this," he replied. "You told me about the tiger-striped cat that died a
million times, right?"
Spike ran his hand over his eyes. "Jet…"
"No, no, no," Jet waved his hand. "Just hear me out." He took a few
drags on the cigarette. "The tiger-striped cat dies only to be reborn
again. Though he believed he died a million times, it turns out he'd
miscounted - he still had a few lives left up his sleeve. He roams the
land, trying to find his niche in life. In his travels, he finds himself back
at the home of one of his previous owners."
Spike looked up at him skeptically.
"He expects to find everything as he had left it, but it turns out things
have changed - a lot. He feels out of place, out of the loop so to speak.
He tries to adjust, to live his life without the events of his other past
lives plaguing him - like the white cat, for instance." Jet let out a puff
of smoke, watching the little tendrils rise in the air.
Spike watched him intently. "Go on." he replied.
Jet glances at him calmly. "Anyway, the tiger-striped cat misses the
white cat, trying to keep a place for her in his heart while trying to move
on with his life. As he does this, he meets a black cat."
"A black cat, Jet?"
"Yes, a black cat, Spike." Jet answers. "It was said that black cats
were owned by witches, they rode on the back of their broomsticks as
they flew through the skies on All Hallow's Eve." He paused. "To
superstitious people, black cats became a sign of bad luck - especially if
they happened to cross your path. So you see, with this bad rep, black
cats were often subject to mistreatment and abuse.
This particular black cat was no exception. So used to being beaten,
abused, and neglected, the black cat found it very hard to trust people,
leading her to a life of solitude. However, when she came upon the tiger
striped cat and his owner, she thought things were going to be different.
You see… she had come across the tiger striped cat in another life, when
he was with the white cat. The black cat knew what it was like to lose
something important, so she tried to help him as discreetly as she could -
after all, she was still afraid of getting to close in case things didn't
work out."
"So, you're saying this black cat had feelings for the tiger striped cat,
but was afraid of getting hurt?" Spike suggested.
"That remains to be said," Jet answered. "Though it's a possibility, it
really doesn't matter. Should anything have happened between the
two cats, the black cat would forever remain in the shadow of the
white cat in the tiger striped cat's heart."
Spike frowned. "You mean to say that Faye feels threatened by Julia,
even though she's dead?"
Jet lit another cigar. "I didn't say anything about Faye." he replied. "I
was talking about cats." He took a few puffs. "But after all, you hate
cats, remember?"
With a snort, Spike leaned back on the couch. "So, what's the moral of
this story?"
Popping up behind him with her goggles and Tomato in hand, Edward
replied. "Edward thinks the tiger striped cat should have handled the
situation a bit differently."
"What situation?" Spike asked.
"Telling the black cat that he loved her." Edward answered.
"Wait a sec… that wasn't in the story…"
Edward continued, "The black cat knows that the white cat still holds
a piece of the tiger striped cat's heart, even though she is long gone.
By telling the black cat that he loved her, the tiger striped cat has the
black cat believing she is only second best. She does not believe the
tiger striped cat's feelings are true because he has never shown her
that he felt anything for her. She feels like he is directing the love of
the white cat towards her. It's almost like she's a-"
"A substitution?" Spike and Jet exchanged glances. This kid was
definitely a lot sharper than they had given her credit.
"Right." Edward answered, nodding sagely. "Edward thinks it is similar
to Murphy's Law."
"Yeah… right." Spike frowned absently, although he was deep in
thought.
"So…" Jet began. "Ed, you said earlier that you knew who the
bounty was."
"That's right, Jet-person." Edward replied. "Edward knows exactly
who the bounty-person is."
"By all means then, tell us." Jet replied. "Oh, wait, go get Faye first."
"No need… Edward already told Faye-Faye." Edward replied.
== Flash back ==
"Go, go, go! Me, me, me! Do your best, do your best, don't give up!
…No matter what, I'll always be cheering for you right here…"
With a resigned sigh, Faye turned away from the old Beta player,
falling back into a laying position on her bed. Her legs dangling over
the side of the bed, she stared up at the ceiling for a few moments,
saying and taking in nothing.
"Faye-Faye?"
Faye looked up, two amber eyes staring down at her in sympathy.
Sympathy? That was something new… "What's up, Ed?"
"Edward was wondering where you went." the young hacker sat
down next to her casually, fingering strands of Faye's violet hair.
Normally Faye would have told her to stop, but this time she didn't
seem to mind. Edward, with her innocent antics and childish
enthusiasm, often reminded her of someone's little kid sister. Did
Edward have any siblings? Idly she wondered if she herself had had
any after she was placed in cryo-freeze.
"Is Faye-Faye sad about the beta-box?" Edward asked, watching the
warbled image on the old machine.
"Sad?" Faye sat up, gazing over at it. "No, not really."
"Oh." Edward replied. She glanced back over at her. "But Faye-Faye
is sad about something, right?"
"What makes you say that?"
Edward rubbed her chin thoughtfully, staring at the screen in front
of her. "Because Edward looks at the old Faye-Faye and does not
think she is as happy as the young Faye-Faye was."
"Maybe," Faye frowned slightly, turning off the beta-player. "But she
and I are two completely different people."
"But the young Faye-Faye said that she was a part of Faye-Faye."
"Maybe it's time for me to throw that thing out."
Edward remained quiet for a moment, staring at her booted feet.
"Edward has a question."
"Shoot, Ed."
"Can Edward keep the clothes?"
Faye blinked a moment, before breaking out into gales of laughter.
When she managed to calm herself down, she ruffled the young
hacker's hair slightly. "Sure thing." she replied. She smiled, chuckling
softly. "Thanks, Ed."
"No problem, Faye-Faye." Edward smiled back, though she had no
idea why Faye was thanking her.
== End of Flashback ==
"Hang on a sec," Spike replied, a little irritable due to the whole
situation. "That doesn't explain anything about the bounty."
"Spike," Jet frowned disapprovingly. The younger bounty hunter only
snorted in response.
"Edward was getting there," Edward replied. "But Edward just so
happened to be rudely interrupted by the tiger-striped
Spike-cat-person--"
"Ed…"
"Okie-dokie, cue the next flashback, Ein!"
"Bark! Bark!"
== Flashback ==
He was screwed. No, scratch that - he was oh-so-screwed. The
mission was a bust; he had been shot, and his partner was lying on the
ground a few feet away - dead no doubt. To make matters worse, he
had been busted by a bunch of nutty bounty hunters. First, there was a
feral, gun-toting shrew woman who used 20th century music in
psychological warfare (AN - think of "Flight of the Valkyries" and you'll
understand). Next came an one-armed gunslinger that shot first and
asked questions later. Last, but certainly not least, there was a
hermaphroditic demon-child with violent animalistic tendencies.
What did he do to get into these messes?
"Hey, there!" Arnold felt the cold steel of Faye's gun barrel being
pressed against his throat. "You're not talking." She smiled sweetly.
"That wasn't part of our deal."
Arnold swallowed. "Deal?"
"Yes," Jet answered. "You tell us all you know, and we don't hurt
you."
"B-b-but…"
"Cut it out," Faye said with a frown, growing impatient. "Grown men
don't stutter."
"I already told you," Arnold protested. "With your boyfriend, I don't
know anything about anything!"
"Obviously," Faye replied, rolling her eyes.
"Cut the game," Jet growled. "We know you're hiding important
information from us - information we need."
"Information that will keep bad-man healthy!" Edward added.
"What is it you wanna know?" Arnold asked meekly.
"We want you to tell us about your boss," Faye answered. "We want
to know all about them. Name, age, address, phone numbers -
everything! We want to know why they hired you and what it is
they're after!"
"But…"
"Damnit!" A fire was shot, leaving a gaping hole in the brick wall next
to Arnold's head. Faye was ablaze with fury. "Listen here, pal… I
don't have time to deal with your crap! I've got enough shit to deal
with now… So just tell us who Thanatos Ragnorok is before I have to
blow your freaking head off!"
Jet took a step back. "Whoa."
Arnold was in tears. What was it about this woman that reduced him
to tears so easily? Granted, he was no Arnold Swarzcheneggar, but
this chick scared him!
"Okay, okay, I'll talk!" he sobbed. "I got a call a few months back, a
guy said he was looking for somebody familiar with Syndicate procedure
and protocol… he was looking into launching a big selling of Bloody Eye
in the Mars area."
"We want names, weasel." Jet growled.
"He called himself Thanatos… I don't know about the Ragnorok part,"
Arnold answered. "As far as I know, Thanatos is his real name. He's
got a big mob underground set up on Europa."
"So, let me get this straight," Faye murmured. "He hired you to look for
potential dealers and buyers here and Mars."
"That's right!" Arnold exclaimed. "I was used to it, so I pretty much
had a knack for it - I was the best man for the job."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Faye interrupted. "And what about Aeolis?
What was his part in all this?"
"He was my back up." he answered. "He knew how to get us out any
scrapes if the cops got involved." Jet scowled. "Not only that, but he
was a decoy."
"A decoy?"
Arnold smirked a little. "Yeah, that's what I said." he said, regaining a
little of his confidence. "You guys are bounty hunters, right? I thought
you would've realized that by now."
Jet scowled, clenching and unclenching his robotic hand. "You've got
jokes, huh?" he replied. "Let's see how much you're laughing when the
cops find you stuffed in a trashcan."
"No, wait!" Arnold exclaimed. "I wasn't finished!"
"Explain how Aeolis was a decoy."
"I don't really know that much about Thanatos to tell you the truth,"
Arnold replied. "You see, I've never actually met him face to face."
Faye and Jet scowled. "All I know is that the guy is tricky. He picked
Aeolis to be my back-up because he had a criminal record pretty close
to matching his own."
Faye scowled bitterly.
"People say he's a criminal mastermind… hatching all these schemes
and sending guys like us to go and carry'em out. When his lackeys
get busted, their records show up with all these felonies and
misdemeanors on them, even if they didn't commit them."
"So, this Thanatos-person is a hacker, too?" Edward mused.
"Wait a sec'," Faye replied. "If what you're saying is true, why'd you
agree to work for him?"
"He's a dangerous guy," Arnold replied. "Nobody's ever been able to
bust'im… I figured it was an easy deal - I mean, the guy's loaded; he
pretty much runs Red Mafia."
"The Red Mafia?"
Arnold scoffed. "The Red Mafia is made up of the remnants of the old
Syndicate." he replied. "Didn't Spike tell you about that?" Jet and Faye
exchanged glances. "Man, you guys don't know anything!"
"Shut up!" Jet growled, yanking him to his feet. "I think we've heard all
we needed to hear."
Faye glared at Arnold. "Thanatos - where can we find him?"
Arnold winced in pain. "I told you, I don't know much about him." he
replied. "Your best bet is Europa seeing since that's where his base is."
He frowned. "I wouldn't recommend it though, a lot of hunters have
tried tracking him down and failed. You go up against him and he'll
kill you for sure."
"Well, I'm sure I really don't care much for your concern," Faye
drawled, holding her rifle over head as she stretched. "I'm pretty sure
it isn't necessary." She winked at him coyly. "We're gonna bust this
guy, no matter what it takes."
End of Chapter 15