Disclaimer – I DON'T FREAKING OWN COWBOY BEBOP!!! *twitches until she turns bllllue*

Overall Content – A little suspense, weirdness (Duh, the story's about Ed mostly), POV changes, some betrayal, lurking shadows, heavy sarcasm, and some other stuff. Maybe fluff. *eats the fluff*

Chapter Content – Okay, as an author, I decided this fic needed a little work. And, to disappoint my readers, the mystery of Blue is not included in this chapter. *Dodges the frying pans and popcorn being thrown at her* I KNOW!! I know I promised Blue would be in this chapter! But I needed to expand my POV range, therefore taking on Jet. I did this because the reader needs to know the thoughts of Jet during a "crisis" aboard the Bebop. You'll find out later… trust me, it'll be good. Be assured, Blue will come in during chapter 5, whoever or whatever Blue is ^_~ *proceeds to pick the popcorn out of her hair*

Dancing in the Dark

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Chapter 4

The Black Dog's Jive

I glanced at the guy, making sure he didn't see me. He hadn't seen me as of yet, but I had been following him for the past hour, so he would probably catch on sooner or later. I wasn't going to waste my time, either. He seemed the type who would be friends with a local terrorist, especially one like our bounty, Lester Hernandez. He took on the appearance of a street bum in a sombrero well, stench included, but I could tell by the bulges at his side and chest that he was loaded.

And these weren't water pistols either.

I drew my own gun carefully, silently approaching and making sure as hell to dull my sense of smell.

"Hey, buddy… What's happenin' in this part of town?"

I cocked my gun with a grin. He knew this sound. He knew it as a love, a protector, and a painful fear. He whirled around quickly, tipping back his large-brimmed hat to see me… and the weapon I held.

"You see, I'm just your average tourist a—"

Inside my vest, my radio crackled. It took both of us by surprise. My surprise, however, was taken advantage of. My future-convict reached under his jacket for his gun. I sighed. "Oh great," I muttered. With my false arm, I grabbed the guy by the shirt, knocking his big hat off. Radio still crackling in my pocket, signaling an urgent message, I gun whipped the poor sucker. He limply flopped, unconscious now, onto my arm. I let him fall to the concrete. There was no way in hell I was getting his stink on me. Angrily, I pulled the radio out of my vest. "What the hell do you want?!" I barked. I expected our dear sweet Faye to be lost, or broke. Or maybe Spike needed directions to the local strip bar. Both of them bothered me, nearly tormented me, with their immaturity.

"We've got him."

I raised an eyebrow. It was Spike.

"What are you talking about? Got who?"

The radio crackled again.

"Lester Hernandez. The bounty, Jet."

"You're sure you've got the right guy?"

"Well, he's a little drunk, my shoes know all about that…"

I smirked.

"… but he's Lester all right. How far are you from the local station?"

I closed my eyes, estimating the distance it had been nearly half an hour ago when I had given up trying to get into Ed's files and decided to get the bounty information from the local police station.

"About half a mile…"

"We'll meet you there soon."

"We?"

"Yeah, Faye's with me. Out."

Great, I thought sarcastically. I glanced down at the man who was now drooling unconscious on the ground, the dribble spilling out of his lips in streams of silver. I just left him there and began walking.

----

"Twenty-five million divided by four is…" I began as I deposited the money in our "family" account with my tiny computer. I hit the keys and the procedure was done. But, behind me, I heard protest.

"Hey! Wait a minute! What do you mean dividing it by four?" Spike growled, taking up speed and walking beside me. I didn't answer him, figuring the reason behind his questions. "You and Ed didn't do anything. You shouldn't get a share, and besides, Faye was leaving the bar when I walked in. I should get the money," he said.

"We all get 6,250,000 woolongs each, if the bounty's divided by four. Besides, it was Ed that woke us all up and I'm the only one who even considers buying food around here, so I should get some damn money once and a while," I stated calmly. I pressed a few more buttons on my computer, re-activating the transfer in our account. "And, just so you won't spend Ed's share, I'm transferring the correct amount into the everyone's individual sub-accounts, which requires a password for access," I pressed a few more buttons before switching the computer off. All three of us didn't talk for a while until we came up to a grocery store.

"We can stop here. You guys can pick up whatever you please. I'm getting the food, but if I hear no reasonable requests, I don't want to hear any complaints of what I fix. Got it?" I said, looking at the two. They both just shrugged and then stampeded, if a party of only two can stampede, towards the back counter that held cartons and cartons of their precious Marlboros. As for me, I went down the aisles with a tiny cart, searching for food that might survive the fridge in the ship.

Ramen…

Bread…

Milk…

Coffee… heh, better not let Ed get her hands on this. She might just think she's an incarnated deity or something…

Bell peppers…

I stopped as a glimmer of deep red caught my eye. I stared at it for a minute. Then I picked up the cold packaged item and sniffed it. It smelled fresh. So I put it in the cart, careful to put it under the other things so to surprise the others.

"Hey Jet, move it, will ya? I want to get off this planet as soon as possible… C'mon!" Faye demanded, putting an ivory hand on those pretty little hips of hers. "Ah, hush," I grumbled and took my cart's contents to the counter. The price was readily rounded and readily paid. We left quickly, me carrying everything.

As we walked, Faye poked her head over my shoulder, walking on her toes, which was quite the talent in those taut little Go-Go boots of hers. "So Jet, what mutation are we eating tonight?" she asked, still trying to look inside the brown paper bag.

"A surprise."

"Surprise?" Spike chuckled at this, and looked in the bag too, pulling the two sides apart and shoving his face in, "It's just as I had thought. He bought the peppers," he said with a small nod as if he were a doctor diagnosing a patient. Faye groaned. I raised an eyebrow. I was surprised he had seen anything. I was sure the frightening expansion of hair on his head would've blocked out any light.

----

I neatly chopped the peppers on the cutting board and then tilted it so that they fell into the hot oil, sizzling loudly as they did so. I stirred the meal until the peppers weren't crisp any longer. I then turned off the heat to the stove and separated the meal into five, instead of the regular four, because I was sure that the little Welsh Corgy that seemed wrapped around my ankles was a little hungry too. I dished his share into the little bowl with his name on it. Ein yipped as the food was put on the floor and then he began to eat it, lapping at the little bit of oil that settled near the bottom of the bowl.

"SPIKE! FAYE! FOOD!" I yelled so that my voice echoed through the corridors of the Bebop. Something didn't feel right, though. Something was out of order…

The two arrived with haste, not even remembering the ominous feeling they had felt earlier with my buying of peppers. They sat on the couch with their plates in their laps. Faye began to eat, without even glancing at what she was putting in her mouth. I could've thrown fried rats on the plate and she probably would've eaten them because she wasn't looking. Spike, however, was staring down at the food with a confused look on his face.

He took up his fork as if it was a blade and he was a knight. He poked at the food, surfacing a few chunks from his bell peppers. He then squinted at the food before him. Soon after, he speared one of the brown chunks and pulled it up to his face. He then reached across the table and shoved it under my nose.

"Just what is this?!" he demanded of me.

I grinned. "It's beef, Spike. What the hell do you think it is?" I asked.

"Beef? Since when could we afford beef?"

"Since I started handling the money around here."

He mumbled some reply through a mouthful of meat. I smiled and began eating my own food. And for a moment there was silence…

"Give me your dishes, guys," I said, donning an apron to wash them. They did, promptly. And that's when I noticed one on the table still full. Damnit, I thought.

"Spike, Faye… I need you to do something for me…"

Faye clasped her hands together. "Oh, yes, Jet. Anything for you, Jet, your highness!" she said, her eyes gazing somewhat upward. "Damnit, Faye, shut up with that sarcasm for just one minute. I need you guys to do something for me," I said, getting the soapy water ready.

"Yeah? Spill it already."

"I need you to go out and find Ed. It's getting late."

The loud groaning of a lazy couple filled my ears. "Jet, the kid can look out for herself. She's been alone before. Besides," Faye flipped her hair back, "I need to take a shower."

"And I need to follow the Sandman," Spike said, already starting to leave.

"All right, fine. But if I'm going to look for Ed, the least you can do is these dishes," I said. Faye dramatically groaned and put on a southern accent for her act, pressing the back of her hand to her forehead. "Ah, suga', but if my Pa found out my pretty little hands touched such things, why, he would whip me fa'sure," she said and then giggled before quickly exiting.

Great, I thought with a roll of my eyes.

-------

You can't start a fire

You can't start a fire without a spark

This gun's for hire

Even if we're just dancing in the dark…

Eh-heh… this chapter didn't turn out that great did it? Sorry 'bout that. I think I need to get in the habit of watching Bebop every darn chance I get. I need to be able to watch, sleep, eat, and breathe Cowboy Bebop again.

I must remind you that this was written from Jet's point of view. You have been reminded. And I'm not sure what kind of radio communications system they use, but I think a radio would get a little fuzzy on Earth, considering all that lost technology junk and such. I can't remember what kind of system they used outside of their ships, which was mostly video. I haven't seen the series in a long time, so forgive me if I'm wrong. And, I have the movie soundtrack, and in the booklet there's a picture of a cigarette pack. The brand is Marlboros, so I decided to stick that little bit in there!

I FINALLY FOUND MY NEON BALLROOM CD!! I'M SO HAPPY! AFTER 2 WHOLE YEARS I FINALLY FOUND IT!