You Can't Catch Me Chapter Seven, a cowboy bebop fanfic

Chapter Seven

Come out, come out wherever you are, Spike thought maliciously, as he casually walked down the streets of Poseidon City. He had followed James all the way over here without so much as breaking a sweat, and he knew he was close by the footsteps in the snow. The kid wasn't smart. Instead of running on back streets or on rooftops, he decided to go straight, on Main Street, without even attempting to cover his tracks. How the hell did he last so long? It must be some kind of miracle that he didn't wander into a police station by accident. Spike almost laughed at the image of a confused bounty head walking into a police station, mistaking it for refuge.

Spike followed the footsteps for several blocks before they turned into an alley. He smiled to himself, thinking about all the stuff he was going to buy with his reward money. Real food, cigarettes, more food…Spike was practically drooling when he realized that he was in an empty alley.

"Oh, shit!" he cried out, searching frantically. "He cannot be smart! Where the hell did he go?" Spike kicked over snow-covered boxes and trashcans, hoping that one would reveal a cowering Drake James. No such luck. I did this to myself. I'm fucking stupid sometimes.

Spike was about to turn around when he heard the telltale cocking of a gun. This time he did laugh.

"It seems that the bounty hunter is in quite a situation," James said sarcastically. Spike kept his back to him.

"It would seem that way to you. To me, it seems as though I'm about to have a pretty full bank account." Spike chuckled again.

"Having a gun to your head amuses you?"

"Naw. It's the person holding the gun that's amusing. You may have had the guts to steal an ISSP ship and crash it, but you don't have the guts to shoot a man. I saw how you reacted when you heard how many people you killed."

"Don't underestimate me. Even the tamest of animals responds violently when backed into a corner."

"Yes, but all animals have to deal with survival of the fittest." Spike faced Drake. The bounty head was clutching the gun tightly, trying to look tough while fighting his growing fear. Spike might have felt sorry for him, had his bounty not been millions of woolongs. The kid looks scared, holding the gun like an amateur. How has he lasted so long? "Give it up man. I don't want to have to hurt you. If you're dead, I can't claim the cash."

"Well then, I guess you really do have a situation, because I don't plan on giving up without a fight," Drake replied with false bravado. Spike rolled his eyes in exasperation. It's really too cold to be dealing with this fool.

"Why doesn't anyone ever like to do things the easy way?" Spike muttered. "If I kill you, Jet's gonna murder me."

"You seem to be forgetting who has the gun here."

"Damn, kid, you really are new at this." In one lightning fast move, Spike managed to take the gun away from Drake and pull out his own. Drake didn't even have time to blink. When he realized what happened, though, he looked ready to wet himself. He slowly raised his arms over his head.

"Was that easy enough for you?" Drake remarked sardonically, still trying to act brave while facing the barrels of two guns, one of which being his own.

"Just about." Visions of food were again dancing around Spike's mind as he moved to handcuff his cash in.

"I don't know what possessed me to rob that damned docking port," Drake mumbled as Spike led him along.

"Stupidity." Spike supposed. Drake glared at Spike for this comment.

"Actually, I was sort of sick of being an upstanding citizen. Murderer wasn't what I intended, of course, it was just one bad thing leading to another. Like failure was following me."

"Don't blame failure on your dumbass mistakes," Spike said as he led Drake out of the alley.

"Good point." They walked in silence, Spike thinking about being warm finally, and never being hungry again. These thoughts were slowly cheering Spike up as he held onto Drake as tightly as possible. What he hadn't anticipated was Drake getting clever and kicking him when he was distracted. Kicking him where most men do not want to be kicked. As a reflex, Spike whipped out his gun and fired a shot before he even thought about it.

"Shit, no!" he cried when he realized what he did and he watched Drake fall into the snow in a heap. "No, no, no! Don't be dead!" Spike ignored the pain between his legs and hurried over to his bounty head. All the snow around the guy was red, making Spike's heart sink. Fuck no! Fuck you for running! Spike turned over Drake's body and discovered that he hit the guy straight in the neck. Spike closed his eyes and groaned. 700 million woolongs down the drain, all because they guy was stupid enough to test Spike's reflexes.

Spike stared down at the blood soaked body of his former bounty for a moment longer before he turned around, taking out a cigarette for comfort. As he walked back to his ship, he heard the distant sounds of panic from the city dwellers who had just realized that there was a dead man on their snow-covered sidewalk. 700 million—it's almost funny in a depressingly cosmic sort of way. A derisive snort was all Spike could manage to let out, though. He was still in a mild form of shock.

"Faye is never going to let me hear the end of this," Spike muttered as he hoped into the Swordfish II's cockpit. The ship took off when Spike finished his cigarette, so he lit another as he called the Bebop. Edward's perky face appeared on the screen.

"Spike-person!" she cried. Ein barked in the background. "Did Spike-person catch the eeevil bounty man?" She made wavy motions with her hands. Spike sighed.

"No, Ed. He got away." Ed frowned slightly, then quickly regained her trademark smile.

"Is Spike-person coming back to Bebop Bebop?"

"Yeah, Spike-person is coming back," Spike grumbled. "Find me another bounty before I get there, okay?"

"Hai!" Spike cut off the communication and piloted the Swordfish II silently for a while. Then he burst out in a fit of raucous laughter, that didn't subside until he had almost reached the Bebop. Wiping away tears of amusement, he heaved another sigh. 700 million woolongs, now lying dead on the streets of Poseidon City. Yeah, it was funny. It was about as funny as a kick in the balls.

*****

Ah, so that was it. Sorry that I didn't give you any warning, but honestly I knew as much about how the story was going to go as all of you. I probably shouldn't admit that, but it's the truth. Anyway, here's the moment you've all been waiting for: reviewer recognition. Enjoy.

Ichimu: What a loyal reader you are. I greatly appreciate your encouragement as I went on my freaky Bebop fan fiction journey. You have been dragged into my little world, now. *Evil laughter ensues* I'm glad you liked the story and I hope (if I happen to publish anything else) you will continue to read and like my work. It takes a special person to get recognition on this site, what with the millions of stories out there. Heh, straight A's in English? I wish. Thanks again.

pimpin satan: I don't know why your penname amuses me so much, but it does. Lol. Anyway, you're another one who stuck by YYCM to the end. I hope your fidelity paid off, in your opinion. I'm a strong advocate for originality, so I was very glad that the changing point of view concept worked out. Like I said, I'm new to writing Bebop fiction (though I have been a fan of the show for years and I have read my fair share of stories from other people) and I'm glad that this story turned out as well as it did. Hey, not everyone can say they've gotten over ten reviews (I have seen some with over three hundred, however. That's insane.) As I told Ichimu, I'm glad you liked the story. Thanks for your support.

Kit: Well, I hope someone up there likes me. I haven't been struck by lightning yet so I must be doing something right. Thanks for reading the story. I'm happy you enjoyed it.

Trisiana: You only reviewed once, but I'll acknowledge you anyway. Thanks for reading.

Sanima: All right, perfect grammar! Take that English teacher!

lizangel22222: Score another for original point of view. Gasp! A plot! Lol. Gracias for the complements. I tried my best.

DarkSnake: I hope no one steals my idea with the point of view thing. Or at least, I hope I didn't steal it from someone else. Hm. Glad you liked it.

Lady Razorsharp: Now, praise from you is just about getting praise from Mr. Watanabe himself. Well, maybe not that ultimate, but it's up there. I've seen you review the best Bebop stories out there (and write a damn good one, too) so I'm honored that you noticed my little niche in ff.net. Thanks for the review.

And that's it. See you space cowboys.