Heart of Innocence
Chapter 2: The Meeting
AN: Thanks everyone for the wonderful reviews and I'm sorry I for taking so long to upgrade this chapter. I just wanted to pinpoint and explain things before staring.
1) I want to let you know that I'm not a sexist. This chapter was done from Faye's POV and hers alone. I don't think the same way she does in this chapter, I actually had a rather hard time writing it. Please do not think otherwise. Remember that Faye after all was betrayed several times by men (remember Whitney, Vicious and Spike) so she may have resentment against them.
2) And this is not a Faye-exploding story like one of the reviews said. This story might be a little strong at first and it might seem to be heading that way, but it will not. So far I'm trying to portray Faye to be the type of woman with a really strong will, independent and with a mind on revenge. How can she do that if she's the soft type? And yes, this is and will continue to be a F/S romance story so don't worry. :)
3) Epiletica is just a name of a liquor I made up that's known to be the strongest in Mars and all the galaxy. It's illegal, yet some bar still has them hidden.
The music blasted throughout the club as the heat and sweat combined with strong liquor and cigarettes filled the small amount of oxygen inside. Strippers danced on stage, unless otherwise called by the hungry, sex-freaked men. If one wouldn't know any better, one would have thought that the place was more of a zoo filled with wild beasts than a nightclub. As I looked around my surroundings, I found Jet having fun with one of the dancers while he held a bottle of alcohol in his robotic hand. I felt a little grudge against him for flirting and not helping out in the mission like he should have, but I decided to let him be. After all, he was a man and these girls weren't ugly, and besides, I can use that excuse as the reason for keeping all the bounty money to myself.
I continued dancing to the rhythm of the music played as I kept an eyeful watch on the crowd of salvage animals in search of my victim. So far, I haven't had the chance to spot the bounty because of those who called themselves gentlemen of high society calling out to me and offering money for just a feel of my skin. It was sickening; nonetheless I had to do it to stop any suspicion that might have come my way.
As the night kept on, the humidity of the air became heavier. I was growing somewhat tired of all the dancing and my throat got dried. I remembered the bartender telling me when I applied for the job that every employee had the right for a little break, so I decided to take mine now. I slowly climbed off the stage and headed to an empty desk. A few men called me to join them but I refused waving my hands and giving them my thanks, though that wasn't what I really wanted to give them. A whack in the head was too good for what they really deserved. I sat all the way to the bottom corner of the nightclub as I waved over a young waiter who was across from where I was sited. He nodded nervously and went to offer his services.
"Ye…yes Ms. Reing. May…may I be of any…any help to you?" Okay, so I lied about my name. But what can I say? I am an expert bounty hunter and like one, I have to take many personalities and names.
"Mike, can you bring me a glass of Epiletica if you please. I'm quite thirsty" he nodded lightly as he stumbled and bumped into several desk and fellow waiters. Despise my annoyance for being here in the first place, I couldn't help but to chuckle lightly. I took a cigarette out of my purse and lighted it. This club was supposed make people enjoy themselves, but it seemed that I wasn't having the same luck the others were having. I sighed in boredom as I exhaled the toxic smoke into the plain nothingness. To tell the truth, I doubted this mission. It's been over four hours now and still, no signs of him. I moaned loudly once again until my emerald eyes finally caught sight of my prey. A small grin formed at the corner of my lips…it was him alright.
I made my way through the multitude of men as I headed toward the bounty. Unknowably to myself, I shivered lightly, but I decided to push it aside. I slowly pulled out the gun that was hidden in my purse but still kept it low enough for no one to see. The last thing I wanted to do was to make these mediocre of people panicking and running around like horses. I slightly looked to my left for any signs of Jet watching and waiting for me to make my move, but I sighted heavily as I saw him distractedly talking to one of the girls. I shrugged it off and kept following the bounty when I saw him sitting down on one of the stools in the front counter. He waved the bartender over and ordered a drink. The bartender nodded in acceptance and headed to get my prey's drink. I cautiously moved toward him and placed my gun against his hard back.
"So, are you going to give up, or do I have to take drastic measures?" I asked. He gave a small chuckle as I felt my breath being caught half way to my respiratory system. I was expecting him to shiver, I was expecting him to sweat nervously, I was expecting him to raise his hands and give up, but never, ever, to laugh. Was he taking me for granted because I was a girl or was he being a total fool?
"I don't think you'll do that Ms. Valentine. I know you too well."
I held my breath as I gasped in total astonishment. This couldn't be! It couldn't possible be…
"…Vicious…"
"Glad you remembered me, Ms. Valentine, or should I call you Ms. Reing instead?"
I held the trigger harder as I found myself breathing heavily. I've always been waiting for the moment when I would meet Vicious again and finally finish what Spike stared off, but for some reason…I didn't feel ready. It was like my mind and soul were having a war inside of me; one was sure of what it wanted to do, the other hesitated, and for a reason unknown to my knowledge I found myself siding with hesitation.
But why was I unsure? Wasn't this what I have been waiting for over two years? For the day to finally avenge Spike? Why couldn't I do it? Why was I growing so weak all of the sudden? Was the wave of aura he was sending intimidating me?
Preposterous!
This must be a trick of the mind! That must be it! After all, I've been dancing on stage for quite a while. The heat and tiredness must be overwhelming me.
"Don't try anything funny, or I'll shoot"
He looked at me mischievously, raised a cocky eyebrow and snidely remarked, "Will you?"
"Of course I will! I'll avenge Spike's death! You will pay for all you have done you…"
"Spike isn't dead"
"He what!?" that came out more of a statement than a question. He seemed to have enjoyed my reaction for a small smirk played on his lips. He huffed as he repeated:
"Spike is not dead"
"You are lying!" I shouted angrily. How dare him!
"Why would I lie?"
"As a pathetic attempt to save your sorry ass"
"You see those men on the table those tables near by?"
I don't know why I did it, but I obeyed. I looked around my surroundings as I saw about half of the men in the club staring at me cynically. If looks killed, I would've been dead, brought back to life only to be killed a hundred more times. I quivered under their icy-cold stares but decided not to let them know. After a while of silence, Vicious spoke up.
"If you even try to shoot me, you'll be covered in holes before you even have the chance to press that trigger."
"I hate you..."
"So do I"
"You do realize you have a big bounty on you, right?"
"Yeah, and...?"
"I'm a bounty hunter." He didn't say anything then, as if waiting for me to continue whatever I wanted to tell him. I could tell by the way his body twitched that he was getting quite irritated by the wait. I moved slowly to his ears and whispered:
"I'm not afraid of death...are you?" I didn't give him enough time to react as I shot him on the shoulders. You might be wondering why, if I was so desperate to kill him, did I shoot him there instead of the back or the chest. Well, to tell the truth I don't quite know myself. Probably I didn't want it to end like this. Most likely I wanted to first torture him then kill him slowly and painfully. Like I said, I don't really know.
Soon after, a wave of shooting broke out. The sound of shattering glasses, the piercing screams of the strippers and the howling voices of the viewers replaced the music that was being played. The scent of sweat soon disappeared, and now only blood could be smelt. I ran as fast as I could and found a table nearby. I kicked it to the floor, and used it as a cover. I stared shooting the gang but soon found myself overwhelmed by their army. It was too many of them and only one of me. Which reminds me, where the heck can Jet possibly be? Probably ran away with his women.
As I backed toward the exit, the cold, yet unmistakable feeling of a gun was pressed on my back. Reluctantly, a half smile escaped from my lips. If they think they got me...they are wrong.
"Lower your weapon and raise your hands, now!" the man demanded. I just stood there, the smile never escaping me.
"No one tells me what I have to do"
"Lower it now or I'll kill you!"he wrapped his free hand tightly around my waist but still, I didn't obey. If Spike would have been alive, he probably would have been laughing at me for being so stubborn when my life was at stake. But after all, he had no right to talk since I know that in my place he would have done practically the same thing I'm doing now. I felt his body tensing as the holding of my waist becoming stronger. He was having a hard time breathing, or at least composing himself, for I felt his heavy breath on my nuke. He was obviously hesitating if he was going to shoot me or not for the tension was apparent by his sweat cascading from his forehead to my skin.
I heard the soft tick of the trigger when the man suddenly fell unconscious on top of me. I dropped his heavy body to the fall as a smirk appeared when I looked behind.
It was Jet.
And for once, I was grateful that he was there.
"Took you long enough" I said coolly. He just stared at me and laughed.
"I had distractions"
"So I saw..."
He laughed harder then as he placed his robotic hand on top of his head. I smiled lightly only to hear the sound of more shooting braking out.
"We better get the heck away from here, or we'll be dead before we know it"
I nodded slightly and followed Jet to our ship.
The trip to the Bebop went smoother than Jet and I expected. I know Jet wanted to ask me what happened back there to start the shooting, but he was too tired to ask and I wasn't going to push it. Somehow, throughout the trip, I couldn't help but to think of what Vicious told me before I shot him. Spike was dead. He couldn't be alive, right? But why was I so unsure of the answer myself? Sure we never found his body, but why didn't he return if he was truly alive? Was he ashamed by the fact that he couldn't kill Vicious?
This is ridiculous!
He is dead! There's nothing I could have done about it? Or was there? I could have shot his dammed leg! I could have made him stay! It was all my fault! God, why am I feeling so guilty?! He would've gone to him even if I shot both legs! He is as stubborn as I am and I know that he would stop at nothing or anyone to achieve his goals. But why if this sense of guiltiness inside of me?
"Because you never told him"
Huh? Who's there? I must be driving myself crazy. All this thinking isn't helping me at all! I can't believe this.
"You never told him..."
"Who's there?!" I asked loudly this time. I really must be going insane. I mean, here I am in the middle of space hearing things. The excitement of the night must be getting to me. I mean, what could I possibly needed to tell Spike that I never did and ended up regretting it now? Not a thing that I'm aware of.
I sighed heavily as I ran a hand through my purple hair that was for once, in such a long time, annoying me. Most likely I'll be cutting it tomorrow. I never understood why I let my hair grow to shoulder-length, but I never really stop to ponder it. I was so preoccupied bounty hunting and training that I didn't paid attention to it at all. Oh well, tomorrow they are going down, that's for sure.
As we landed our ships in the Bebop hangar, a very hyper Ed came running towards us. She jumped on top of a very tired-looking Jet and made him carry her all the way inside like cowboy and horse. Jet moaned sleepily, showing that he really wasn't in the mood, but Ed didn't seem to mind, for she kept clinging to him. Inside, he took Ed to her room and told her that he was really tired and he needed his rest. She nodded happily and felt immediately to sleep. Jet smiled and made his way towards his room.
"Jet"
"Hmmm...?" he asked sleepily. I hesitated a bit, but I really needed to ask him about that strange voice. I wanted to see if Jet also heard it, or if it was just me imagining things.
"When we were coming here... to the Bebop... did you hear any strange voices?"
He raised an skeptical eyebrow and answered, "No I didn't, why?"
"No reason, don't worry."
He just shrugged it off and entered his room.
"Good night Faye"
"Night"
I yawned as I locked the door to my room. It was just my imagination and Jet just proved it so. If by some strange reason that voice was real, he would of heard it too. It's not like if it was coming from my communicating radio or anything. It was like if I heard it outside...or maybe inside? I shook my head violently and pulled the sheets over my entire body. Tomorrow was going to be a new day and all this will be forgotten...
...Or will it?...