COWBOY BEBOP- Amnesia Girl Blues pt.2
Spike raced out of the hangar ahead of Jet, as he began to understand why Faye
had run off so suddenly. Jet was right behind him, asking time and again
what was going on and why Spike had insisted they come back to the ship, instead
of going after Faye. Spike heard every question, but didn't want to answer until
he knew more. Edward was in the rec room, balancing Ein on her head as she stood
on one foot. The other was stretched out in front of her, slightly below eye
level. "Spikey look! Ed is practicing!" She exclaimed, fishing for compliments.
Spike rushed past her, jumping into Jet's chair as he booted up the computer.
"That's great Ed." Spike assured her, searching through the database as Jet watched
over his shoulder. "Spike, what the hell are we doing back here?" Jet asked
for what seemed like the hundreth time. Spike remained silent, as he found what he was
looking for. "Shit!" He shouted, resisting his urge to punch the monitor.
The information they needed was heavily encrypted, way beyond Spike's knowledge
of computers. "We need to get into this file Jet, and fast!" Spike said, looking at
Edward. Jet picked Spike up and hoisted him out of the seat, grumbling all the while.
"Let me handle this, it's too much for a kid like you Spike." Jet smirked as he
finished the sentence, knowing Spike was desperate enough to let it go.
Spike did let it go, and lit a cigarette as he watched Jet plow through the
file's security. "This guy doesn't even exist anymore, Spike." Jet said at last,
reading through the file. Spike blew smoke in frustration as he read over Jet's
shoulder. "Find a picture, I need to see what he looks like." Spike insisted,
tapping his foot impatiently. If his hunch was right, they didn't have much time.
And since Faye had left her comm. unit in the Redtail, there was no way to warn her.
"Hold on, I'm getting it." Jet growled back, barely holding his temper about Spike's
sudden insanity. Spike leaned closer to the screen, as an image began to download.
Jet read from the file, as the image neared completion. " John Moses Bretely,
age 24. Notorious arms dealer, suspect on multiple counts of terorism, three arrests but
no convictions. Heavy suspicion of syndicate connections, no evidence though. Believed
dead, no body recovered." Spike's eyes widened as the image finished loading,
the scar was there just has he'd remembered it. Along the back of the right hand, in the
shape of a cross. "Someone you knew Spike?" Jet asked suspiciously, giving Spike
a sarcastic look. "Way before my time Jet, but not Faye's." Spike replied,
narrowing his eyes. "Remember what the the manager of that diner said? The guy Faye left
with had a scar just like that, exactly the same." Jet lit a smoke himself, raising his
brow in surprise. "Spike, it's impossible." Jet coutered, shaking his head. "This guy
was big in the 20th century, he bit the dust a long time ago." Spike smirked, looking
at Jet critically. "They never found the body, Jet. How many times have I pulled the same
gag?" Jet's brow rasied even more, as he saw Spike had a point. Before Jet could say
anything in response, Spike decided to start explaining. "I'm telling you Jet, it's him.
When I was with the Red Dragons, we had a really good source on Ganymede. Someone inside
the police. We'd order weapons, drugs you name it. And he always delievered. He even let
our guys slip in a few times when there were witnesses being protected."
Jet was giving Spike a completely diferent look now, one that said he should hurry up and
get to the point, so they could find Faye. "His name, was Detective John Moses Brentely."
Spike finished, as Jet caught the connection. The same detective Faye had run off with.
"But, how Spike? How could a guy that old still be alive? Let alone the amount of stuff
he's wanted for. I know the ISSP is slow, but even they would've caught him by now."
"Not if they forgot him." Spike countered, his eyes gleaming with excitement. This
was going to be a challenge, the kind of bounty Spike liked best. "It would be a simple
matter to have someone erase your records, while you faked your death and laid low for
about fourty years." Jet admitted, trying to find a plausible solution.
Spiek nodded his agreement, slapping a fresh clip into his Jehrico and twirling it with
his finger. "The trick would be staying under that long, wtihout anyone knowing."
Jet continued. Spike nodded again, seeing that Jet almost had the whole picture now.
"And let's not forget, Faye led us right to him." Spike concluded, holstering the Jehrico.
Jet stroked his beard thoughtfully, as Spike deciced to put it all together for him.
"And when she took off this morning, it was during a news broadcast about that ship
explosion. I'll give you one guess at who the detective in charge was." Jet's eyes went
wide as he finally understood. "She knew him, didn't she Spike? Way back when she was a
kid?" Spike looked stoic, frowning slightly. "Dunno, could've just been someone
she saw out of the corner of her eye on the street. The point is, Faye is the only one
that knows he was even around back then. That makes her more dangerous to him than anyone
in the solar system." Jet showed his agreement by standing up and grabbing his gun,
plotting a new course for Ganymede.
Faye slowly came back into the world, feeling sick and lightheaded. Her mind began
recalling what had happened and she remembered realizing who it was she'd actually
shared a cup of coffee with, if that's even what it had been. She sat up all at once,
causing her head to seize in pain. Her gun was gone, her comm. unit still in her ship,
and there was a good chance Brentely planned to kill her. But Faye was still far from
defenseless. As her vision cleared, she obsevered her surroundings and looked for a
weapon. The room was large and very spacious, due to a complete lack of furniture save
the small bed she was on. No chairs, no tables, nothing she could break or swing at all.
Brentely may have left her alone, but not carelessly for sure. Her hope was still with
Spike and Jet, knowing that by now at least one of them would be searching for her.
If it was Spike, she was sure he'd be here soon. The door's handle rattled, as the lock
was undone fron the other side. Faye quitely hopped off the bed, pressing herself up
against the wall to the right of the doorway. If it was one of the guys, she could just
apologize once they were all back on the ship. The door swung open, and Faye saw her
own gun being slowly pointed into the room. She grabbed for Brentely's arm as he
moved forward, and sucessfully threw him to the floor. The gun bounced along the soft
carpeting, stopping just outside the room. "Faye, you don't disapoint." Brentely chuckled,
apparentely amused at Faye's actions. Faye bent down, straddling Brentely as she socked
him forcefully in the jaw. "You're a disapointment to the whole human race." Faye shot
back, squeezing with her thighs as she pressed her elbow into his chest. "I know who you
are, and what you did." She continued, feeling the adreneline peak as she pressed down
harder. Faye now knew he'd never worked on that ship, maybe he was never even a mechanic at
all. "John Moses Brentely, one of the most wanted terrorists of the 20th century."
Faye hissed, she was so angry she wanted to kill him more than anything in the world.
"It was you, wasn't it? You blew up that spaceship, and killed all those people!" She
screamed at him, pressing her elbow into him as hard as she could. Brentely grinned
slightly, his eyes betraying the truth. They were killer's eyes, the eyes of someone
who sees human life as nothing. She hated those eyes, as she remembered his weasely face
from all those years ago. His appearance had bothered her, it was probably the only reason
she'd recalled him at all. He had the eyes of a murderer, even back then.
Brentely showed no sign of pain, and suddenly Faye was thrown across the room. She
hit the wall hard and saw stars, the dizzyness returning. "A very good deduction, just
what I'd expect from a bounty hunter. Now let me try." Brentely said, retrieving her gun
and standing over her. The barrel was only inches from her head, and if Brentely was in
any kind of pain from Faye's attack he was hiding it extremely well.
"Faye Valentine, twenty three years old. Though it's more like seventy isn't it Faye?
Come on now, be honest. I must say you look ravishing for your age, a beautiful woman
in any century eh?" Faye scowled at him through squinted eyes, putting a hand behind her
head as it ached. "How." She asked finally, getting slowly to her feet. Brentely kept her
gun trained on her as she stood, watching her every move. "You mean you haven't figured
it out? Shame on you Faye, you of all people should know what cryogenics can do for the
aging process. Though in my case it was more of a disappearing act really, you can't
become the world's most popular criminal without catching someone's attention."
Faye's eyes went wide with shock, as she cursed herself for not realizing that he must
have had to hide out for a long time. Cryogenic freezing was the best way to make
everyone forget about you, for sure. "So you couldn't take the heat, and put yourself
to sleep for about 40 years, then started over as a rookie cop am I right?"
Brentely said nothing, but nodded slyly as a reply. "And since then, I've become twice
the popular fellow I was before. Being a chief detective is a wonderful cover for
criminal activity, especially here on Ganymede. The ISSP has gotten so bad that even if
someone did find me out, I could simply cut them in for a profit and arrest them later.
I'm not the most decorated officer in the force because I do my job Faye, it's all
politics now." Faye judged from his speech that Brentely was definetely going to kill her.
He hadn't survived so long by revealing things to people and then letting them go.
Brentely picked up on Faye's thoughs, and grinned wider. "Yes, I guess you're right Faye.
I can't exactly let you go after telling you all that, can I?" Brentely cocked back the
gun's hammer, as Faye searched frantically for some way out of the mess.
Spike milked the thrusters for all they were worth, as the Swordfish roared only inches
above Ganymede's surface. Jet had reached the ISSP and given him Brentely's address,
as well as calling every officer in the area into action. The city would be swarming with
police, which meant he and Faye would have to escape quickly. As Spike spotted the house,
he threw the ship into a dangerously fast turn, and landed a few yards away. He knew Faye
could handle herself, but Brentely was a big leaguer and hadn't come so far by being
stupid. He was certain that Faye would need his help. Sprinting onto the lawn, Spike
reached the house and kicked the door down heavily. The Jehrico in his hand, he quickly
made his way through the first floor and up the stairs. A gunshot rang out as Spike
ran faster, reaching the second floor in three steps.
Faye cringed as a smoking hole appeared in the wall beside her. Brentely had
intentionally missed, and Faye knew it wouldn't happen again. "You bounty hunters
are so full of shit." Brentely growled, sneering at her. "You capture people for money,
though you seem to kill them more often then not before you can collect. The only
difference between someone like you and me, is that I get paid more."
Faye scowled at him hatefully, standing tall as she faced him. "I'm nothing like you."
She countered, clenching her fists. They had both heard Spike's entrance, she
had to keep him talking just a little longer. "Oh please Faye." Brentely spat back,
the gun coming even closer to her head. "We're exactly alike! We use people's lives
to make a living, but that's just the tip of the iceburg. We're both foreigners to this
century, hell we even disappeared for the same reason! How can you think we're at all
different?" Brentely seemed angry, angry enough not to notice Spike as he appeared
behind the burly man. "The difference, is that you're going to jail Johhny boy."
Spike's wiseass voice answered, as Brentely was taken off his feet. Spike grabbed his
gun hand and twisted it brutally, sending the gun back towards Faye as Brentely crashed
to the ground. Spike kicked the man's ribs for good measure, then looked over at Faye.
She nodded back at Spike, reclaiming her gun as she rubbed her head delicately.
"Did he hurt you?" Spike asked stoically, frowning. Faye shook her head, removing her
hand. "It's not bad." She replied, holding the gun on Brentely. "After all these years,
you should know better than to hurt a lady." Spike growled, burying his knuckles into
Brentely's skull. To Spike and Faye's surprise the man didn't budge, but stood himself
up and sneered at Spike evily. Spike had put men twice Brentely's size down with a
blow like that, but he didn't even seem to feel it. "Oh yes, one other thing Faye."
Brentely said, as he swung his right arm into Spike's gut. He buckled against the wall
but remained standing, the jehrico uneasy in his grip. "We're also alike, because
you had an accident that caused you to be frozen. I on the other hand had an accident
during cryosleep, my nervous system was damaged and now I can't feel pain." Faye blinked,
aghast as Spike approached Brentely again. That explained him getting up so quickly,
after they both severly injured him. Spike threw a kick combination into Brentely's gut,
which the man only grinned at. He caught Spike's leg and threw him against the wall
hard enough to crack his skull. "Spike!" Faye shouted, running over to him.
Spike was still conscious, and slowly rose once more. "This is could get interesting."
He quiped, locking eyes with Brentely. "Yes. It could." Came a gruff voice from
the doorway. Brentely whirled around, the jehrico in his grip. Spike saw the opening
and threw himself into a flying kick, sending Brentely into the waiting arms of
Jet Black. Jet caught Brentely in a sleeper hold, choking the man as the jehrico fell
from his grip. Jet kicked it to Spike, who picked it up without taking his eyes off
Brentely for a second. "There a bounty on this one?" Jet asked suddenly, as Brentely
gasped for air. Pain or no pain, no one could stay standing without oxygen.
Faye looked at Spike, who returned her blank look. "Guess not." Spike said,
shrugging his shoulders. Jet grinned at Brentely viciously, tightening his grip.
"Then there's no reason not to kill him." Jet concluded, as something in Brentely's
neck began to crunch. He grunted and struggled for all he was worth, but Jet
didn't let up. Faye suddenly stepped forward, motioning for Jet to stop. "He's got
files in his computer, everything he's done must be in there. At least enough to skip
the court system." She informed them, glaring at Brentely. Killing him just wouldn't do,
Faye wanted him destroyed, utterly broken down so that all he could do was sit in his
cell and sulk. Spike saw the way she looked at Brentely, understanding that there
was indeed something personal between them. "I'm sure the ISSP would give us a wad of
wulongs for rooting this guy out of their midst." He agreed, nodding to Jet.
Jet looked thoughful, then released his grip on Brentely. The man fell to his knees,
coughing and vomiting. Spike held the jehrico an inch from Brentely's face,
as Jet broke into his computer. "You guys wouldn't believe the shit he's been pulling!"
Jet exclaimed, as the printer began spitting out documents. Brentely faced the floor
in defeat, as Faye walked up to him. She forcefully brought his head up to meet her
glare, griting her teeth. "Did you feel that?" She asked, pushing his head back down.
Jet cam back into the room, a folder full of papers in his hand. "That's your ass,
scumbag." Jet told Brentely, holding the folder out for him to see. Brentely was silent,
even as the ISSP officers escorted him to a cruiser. The shackles cut his wrists, as
a shocked and enraged officer pushed his body further in, slamming the door behind him.
The folder was in his hand, as he stoically read each page inside. The mystery
captors were nowhere to be found, but as he continued flipping through pages the officer
saw a single piece of paper fall out. As he bent down to pick it up, he saw that it
had something written on it. In large bold letters, it read "Keep it clean, or else.
Signed The Black Dog." The officer smiled to himself, pocketing the note. He remembered
a story or two about the black dog from way back, and the young cop found it comforting
to know he was still around.
Faye roused dreamily from sleep, as she heard a knock at her door. She made her way
out of bed, realizing she was almost topless. The Bebop was unusally hot, and Jet
had said that it could wait until morning. She shielded herself with the door as she
opened it, and there was Spike. Two steaming mugs occupied his hands, as he smirked
widely. Even with the door in front of her, he could see her bare shoulder quite clearly.
"Up for some more therapy?" He ventured, as Faye smiled and let him in. Spike couldn't
help but take a glance at her as he walked by, her full breasts only partially hidden
by the red bra. He understood why she was dressed that way, he was shirtless himself.
The Bebop was ungodly warm, and Jet had told him that if they couldn't handle it for one
night, they could damn well fix it themselves. "Looking good Spike." Faye commented
slyly, eyeing his naked chest. "You too." Spike answered, handing one of the mugs
to her. Faye took it, and his mug too. She put them down on the floor and embraced
Spike tightly. "I'm already burning up, Spike." She explained, as he held her close.
Spike smiled at her, kissing her lips. She returned the kiss hungrily, as if they'd been
apart for months. "So, did you find what you were looking for?" He asked, cocking an
eyebrow at her. Faye nodded slightly, resting her head on his bare skin.
"As soon as I met you, Spike Spiegel." She said softly, closing the door as he
kissed her neck gently. She was a complete woman now, not because she'd found the
person responsible for her accident and brought him to justice. She was complete
in Spike's arms, where she wished to stay for eternity.
ARE YOU COMPLETE?................................
SPIKE: Oh man, count me out of this one.
JET: What's the problem Spike?
SPIKE: This is beneath me.
FAYE: It is pretty low.
JET: Come on people, a job is a job.
SPIKE: Yeah, but...
FAYE: Next Episode, the crew hits rock bottom.
EDWARD: Ed wants ice cream!
Spike raced out of the hangar ahead of Jet, as he began to understand why Faye
had run off so suddenly. Jet was right behind him, asking time and again
what was going on and why Spike had insisted they come back to the ship, instead
of going after Faye. Spike heard every question, but didn't want to answer until
he knew more. Edward was in the rec room, balancing Ein on her head as she stood
on one foot. The other was stretched out in front of her, slightly below eye
level. "Spikey look! Ed is practicing!" She exclaimed, fishing for compliments.
Spike rushed past her, jumping into Jet's chair as he booted up the computer.
"That's great Ed." Spike assured her, searching through the database as Jet watched
over his shoulder. "Spike, what the hell are we doing back here?" Jet asked
for what seemed like the hundreth time. Spike remained silent, as he found what he was
looking for. "Shit!" He shouted, resisting his urge to punch the monitor.
The information they needed was heavily encrypted, way beyond Spike's knowledge
of computers. "We need to get into this file Jet, and fast!" Spike said, looking at
Edward. Jet picked Spike up and hoisted him out of the seat, grumbling all the while.
"Let me handle this, it's too much for a kid like you Spike." Jet smirked as he
finished the sentence, knowing Spike was desperate enough to let it go.
Spike did let it go, and lit a cigarette as he watched Jet plow through the
file's security. "This guy doesn't even exist anymore, Spike." Jet said at last,
reading through the file. Spike blew smoke in frustration as he read over Jet's
shoulder. "Find a picture, I need to see what he looks like." Spike insisted,
tapping his foot impatiently. If his hunch was right, they didn't have much time.
And since Faye had left her comm. unit in the Redtail, there was no way to warn her.
"Hold on, I'm getting it." Jet growled back, barely holding his temper about Spike's
sudden insanity. Spike leaned closer to the screen, as an image began to download.
Jet read from the file, as the image neared completion. " John Moses Bretely,
age 24. Notorious arms dealer, suspect on multiple counts of terorism, three arrests but
no convictions. Heavy suspicion of syndicate connections, no evidence though. Believed
dead, no body recovered." Spike's eyes widened as the image finished loading,
the scar was there just has he'd remembered it. Along the back of the right hand, in the
shape of a cross. "Someone you knew Spike?" Jet asked suspiciously, giving Spike
a sarcastic look. "Way before my time Jet, but not Faye's." Spike replied,
narrowing his eyes. "Remember what the the manager of that diner said? The guy Faye left
with had a scar just like that, exactly the same." Jet lit a smoke himself, raising his
brow in surprise. "Spike, it's impossible." Jet coutered, shaking his head. "This guy
was big in the 20th century, he bit the dust a long time ago." Spike smirked, looking
at Jet critically. "They never found the body, Jet. How many times have I pulled the same
gag?" Jet's brow rasied even more, as he saw Spike had a point. Before Jet could say
anything in response, Spike decided to start explaining. "I'm telling you Jet, it's him.
When I was with the Red Dragons, we had a really good source on Ganymede. Someone inside
the police. We'd order weapons, drugs you name it. And he always delievered. He even let
our guys slip in a few times when there were witnesses being protected."
Jet was giving Spike a completely diferent look now, one that said he should hurry up and
get to the point, so they could find Faye. "His name, was Detective John Moses Brentely."
Spike finished, as Jet caught the connection. The same detective Faye had run off with.
"But, how Spike? How could a guy that old still be alive? Let alone the amount of stuff
he's wanted for. I know the ISSP is slow, but even they would've caught him by now."
"Not if they forgot him." Spike countered, his eyes gleaming with excitement. This
was going to be a challenge, the kind of bounty Spike liked best. "It would be a simple
matter to have someone erase your records, while you faked your death and laid low for
about fourty years." Jet admitted, trying to find a plausible solution.
Spiek nodded his agreement, slapping a fresh clip into his Jehrico and twirling it with
his finger. "The trick would be staying under that long, wtihout anyone knowing."
Jet continued. Spike nodded again, seeing that Jet almost had the whole picture now.
"And let's not forget, Faye led us right to him." Spike concluded, holstering the Jehrico.
Jet stroked his beard thoughtfully, as Spike deciced to put it all together for him.
"And when she took off this morning, it was during a news broadcast about that ship
explosion. I'll give you one guess at who the detective in charge was." Jet's eyes went
wide as he finally understood. "She knew him, didn't she Spike? Way back when she was a
kid?" Spike looked stoic, frowning slightly. "Dunno, could've just been someone
she saw out of the corner of her eye on the street. The point is, Faye is the only one
that knows he was even around back then. That makes her more dangerous to him than anyone
in the solar system." Jet showed his agreement by standing up and grabbing his gun,
plotting a new course for Ganymede.
Faye slowly came back into the world, feeling sick and lightheaded. Her mind began
recalling what had happened and she remembered realizing who it was she'd actually
shared a cup of coffee with, if that's even what it had been. She sat up all at once,
causing her head to seize in pain. Her gun was gone, her comm. unit still in her ship,
and there was a good chance Brentely planned to kill her. But Faye was still far from
defenseless. As her vision cleared, she obsevered her surroundings and looked for a
weapon. The room was large and very spacious, due to a complete lack of furniture save
the small bed she was on. No chairs, no tables, nothing she could break or swing at all.
Brentely may have left her alone, but not carelessly for sure. Her hope was still with
Spike and Jet, knowing that by now at least one of them would be searching for her.
If it was Spike, she was sure he'd be here soon. The door's handle rattled, as the lock
was undone fron the other side. Faye quitely hopped off the bed, pressing herself up
against the wall to the right of the doorway. If it was one of the guys, she could just
apologize once they were all back on the ship. The door swung open, and Faye saw her
own gun being slowly pointed into the room. She grabbed for Brentely's arm as he
moved forward, and sucessfully threw him to the floor. The gun bounced along the soft
carpeting, stopping just outside the room. "Faye, you don't disapoint." Brentely chuckled,
apparentely amused at Faye's actions. Faye bent down, straddling Brentely as she socked
him forcefully in the jaw. "You're a disapointment to the whole human race." Faye shot
back, squeezing with her thighs as she pressed her elbow into his chest. "I know who you
are, and what you did." She continued, feeling the adreneline peak as she pressed down
harder. Faye now knew he'd never worked on that ship, maybe he was never even a mechanic at
all. "John Moses Brentely, one of the most wanted terrorists of the 20th century."
Faye hissed, she was so angry she wanted to kill him more than anything in the world.
"It was you, wasn't it? You blew up that spaceship, and killed all those people!" She
screamed at him, pressing her elbow into him as hard as she could. Brentely grinned
slightly, his eyes betraying the truth. They were killer's eyes, the eyes of someone
who sees human life as nothing. She hated those eyes, as she remembered his weasely face
from all those years ago. His appearance had bothered her, it was probably the only reason
she'd recalled him at all. He had the eyes of a murderer, even back then.
Brentely showed no sign of pain, and suddenly Faye was thrown across the room. She
hit the wall hard and saw stars, the dizzyness returning. "A very good deduction, just
what I'd expect from a bounty hunter. Now let me try." Brentely said, retrieving her gun
and standing over her. The barrel was only inches from her head, and if Brentely was in
any kind of pain from Faye's attack he was hiding it extremely well.
"Faye Valentine, twenty three years old. Though it's more like seventy isn't it Faye?
Come on now, be honest. I must say you look ravishing for your age, a beautiful woman
in any century eh?" Faye scowled at him through squinted eyes, putting a hand behind her
head as it ached. "How." She asked finally, getting slowly to her feet. Brentely kept her
gun trained on her as she stood, watching her every move. "You mean you haven't figured
it out? Shame on you Faye, you of all people should know what cryogenics can do for the
aging process. Though in my case it was more of a disappearing act really, you can't
become the world's most popular criminal without catching someone's attention."
Faye's eyes went wide with shock, as she cursed herself for not realizing that he must
have had to hide out for a long time. Cryogenic freezing was the best way to make
everyone forget about you, for sure. "So you couldn't take the heat, and put yourself
to sleep for about 40 years, then started over as a rookie cop am I right?"
Brentely said nothing, but nodded slyly as a reply. "And since then, I've become twice
the popular fellow I was before. Being a chief detective is a wonderful cover for
criminal activity, especially here on Ganymede. The ISSP has gotten so bad that even if
someone did find me out, I could simply cut them in for a profit and arrest them later.
I'm not the most decorated officer in the force because I do my job Faye, it's all
politics now." Faye judged from his speech that Brentely was definetely going to kill her.
He hadn't survived so long by revealing things to people and then letting them go.
Brentely picked up on Faye's thoughs, and grinned wider. "Yes, I guess you're right Faye.
I can't exactly let you go after telling you all that, can I?" Brentely cocked back the
gun's hammer, as Faye searched frantically for some way out of the mess.
Spike milked the thrusters for all they were worth, as the Swordfish roared only inches
above Ganymede's surface. Jet had reached the ISSP and given him Brentely's address,
as well as calling every officer in the area into action. The city would be swarming with
police, which meant he and Faye would have to escape quickly. As Spike spotted the house,
he threw the ship into a dangerously fast turn, and landed a few yards away. He knew Faye
could handle herself, but Brentely was a big leaguer and hadn't come so far by being
stupid. He was certain that Faye would need his help. Sprinting onto the lawn, Spike
reached the house and kicked the door down heavily. The Jehrico in his hand, he quickly
made his way through the first floor and up the stairs. A gunshot rang out as Spike
ran faster, reaching the second floor in three steps.
Faye cringed as a smoking hole appeared in the wall beside her. Brentely had
intentionally missed, and Faye knew it wouldn't happen again. "You bounty hunters
are so full of shit." Brentely growled, sneering at her. "You capture people for money,
though you seem to kill them more often then not before you can collect. The only
difference between someone like you and me, is that I get paid more."
Faye scowled at him hatefully, standing tall as she faced him. "I'm nothing like you."
She countered, clenching her fists. They had both heard Spike's entrance, she
had to keep him talking just a little longer. "Oh please Faye." Brentely spat back,
the gun coming even closer to her head. "We're exactly alike! We use people's lives
to make a living, but that's just the tip of the iceburg. We're both foreigners to this
century, hell we even disappeared for the same reason! How can you think we're at all
different?" Brentely seemed angry, angry enough not to notice Spike as he appeared
behind the burly man. "The difference, is that you're going to jail Johhny boy."
Spike's wiseass voice answered, as Brentely was taken off his feet. Spike grabbed his
gun hand and twisted it brutally, sending the gun back towards Faye as Brentely crashed
to the ground. Spike kicked the man's ribs for good measure, then looked over at Faye.
She nodded back at Spike, reclaiming her gun as she rubbed her head delicately.
"Did he hurt you?" Spike asked stoically, frowning. Faye shook her head, removing her
hand. "It's not bad." She replied, holding the gun on Brentely. "After all these years,
you should know better than to hurt a lady." Spike growled, burying his knuckles into
Brentely's skull. To Spike and Faye's surprise the man didn't budge, but stood himself
up and sneered at Spike evily. Spike had put men twice Brentely's size down with a
blow like that, but he didn't even seem to feel it. "Oh yes, one other thing Faye."
Brentely said, as he swung his right arm into Spike's gut. He buckled against the wall
but remained standing, the jehrico uneasy in his grip. "We're also alike, because
you had an accident that caused you to be frozen. I on the other hand had an accident
during cryosleep, my nervous system was damaged and now I can't feel pain." Faye blinked,
aghast as Spike approached Brentely again. That explained him getting up so quickly,
after they both severly injured him. Spike threw a kick combination into Brentely's gut,
which the man only grinned at. He caught Spike's leg and threw him against the wall
hard enough to crack his skull. "Spike!" Faye shouted, running over to him.
Spike was still conscious, and slowly rose once more. "This is could get interesting."
He quiped, locking eyes with Brentely. "Yes. It could." Came a gruff voice from
the doorway. Brentely whirled around, the jehrico in his grip. Spike saw the opening
and threw himself into a flying kick, sending Brentely into the waiting arms of
Jet Black. Jet caught Brentely in a sleeper hold, choking the man as the jehrico fell
from his grip. Jet kicked it to Spike, who picked it up without taking his eyes off
Brentely for a second. "There a bounty on this one?" Jet asked suddenly, as Brentely
gasped for air. Pain or no pain, no one could stay standing without oxygen.
Faye looked at Spike, who returned her blank look. "Guess not." Spike said,
shrugging his shoulders. Jet grinned at Brentely viciously, tightening his grip.
"Then there's no reason not to kill him." Jet concluded, as something in Brentely's
neck began to crunch. He grunted and struggled for all he was worth, but Jet
didn't let up. Faye suddenly stepped forward, motioning for Jet to stop. "He's got
files in his computer, everything he's done must be in there. At least enough to skip
the court system." She informed them, glaring at Brentely. Killing him just wouldn't do,
Faye wanted him destroyed, utterly broken down so that all he could do was sit in his
cell and sulk. Spike saw the way she looked at Brentely, understanding that there
was indeed something personal between them. "I'm sure the ISSP would give us a wad of
wulongs for rooting this guy out of their midst." He agreed, nodding to Jet.
Jet looked thoughful, then released his grip on Brentely. The man fell to his knees,
coughing and vomiting. Spike held the jehrico an inch from Brentely's face,
as Jet broke into his computer. "You guys wouldn't believe the shit he's been pulling!"
Jet exclaimed, as the printer began spitting out documents. Brentely faced the floor
in defeat, as Faye walked up to him. She forcefully brought his head up to meet her
glare, griting her teeth. "Did you feel that?" She asked, pushing his head back down.
Jet cam back into the room, a folder full of papers in his hand. "That's your ass,
scumbag." Jet told Brentely, holding the folder out for him to see. Brentely was silent,
even as the ISSP officers escorted him to a cruiser. The shackles cut his wrists, as
a shocked and enraged officer pushed his body further in, slamming the door behind him.
The folder was in his hand, as he stoically read each page inside. The mystery
captors were nowhere to be found, but as he continued flipping through pages the officer
saw a single piece of paper fall out. As he bent down to pick it up, he saw that it
had something written on it. In large bold letters, it read "Keep it clean, or else.
Signed The Black Dog." The officer smiled to himself, pocketing the note. He remembered
a story or two about the black dog from way back, and the young cop found it comforting
to know he was still around.
Faye roused dreamily from sleep, as she heard a knock at her door. She made her way
out of bed, realizing she was almost topless. The Bebop was unusally hot, and Jet
had said that it could wait until morning. She shielded herself with the door as she
opened it, and there was Spike. Two steaming mugs occupied his hands, as he smirked
widely. Even with the door in front of her, he could see her bare shoulder quite clearly.
"Up for some more therapy?" He ventured, as Faye smiled and let him in. Spike couldn't
help but take a glance at her as he walked by, her full breasts only partially hidden
by the red bra. He understood why she was dressed that way, he was shirtless himself.
The Bebop was ungodly warm, and Jet had told him that if they couldn't handle it for one
night, they could damn well fix it themselves. "Looking good Spike." Faye commented
slyly, eyeing his naked chest. "You too." Spike answered, handing one of the mugs
to her. Faye took it, and his mug too. She put them down on the floor and embraced
Spike tightly. "I'm already burning up, Spike." She explained, as he held her close.
Spike smiled at her, kissing her lips. She returned the kiss hungrily, as if they'd been
apart for months. "So, did you find what you were looking for?" He asked, cocking an
eyebrow at her. Faye nodded slightly, resting her head on his bare skin.
"As soon as I met you, Spike Spiegel." She said softly, closing the door as he
kissed her neck gently. She was a complete woman now, not because she'd found the
person responsible for her accident and brought him to justice. She was complete
in Spike's arms, where she wished to stay for eternity.
ARE YOU COMPLETE?................................
SPIKE: Oh man, count me out of this one.
JET: What's the problem Spike?
SPIKE: This is beneath me.
FAYE: It is pretty low.
JET: Come on people, a job is a job.
SPIKE: Yeah, but...
FAYE: Next Episode, the crew hits rock bottom.
EDWARD: Ed wants ice cream!