Spike Spiegel stood outside the door of a ritzy hotel, wondering what he had gotten himself into. When he had received a v-mail from an unknown source, he had opened it with trepidation.
Inside, a disguised voice told him that he would be paid 5 billion woolongs to act as a bodyguard and private bounty hunter for a Mrs. Hart.
Due to the fact that Spike's back account was nearly empty, and the Swordfish II needed heavy repairs, he had accepted.
Now he stood looking up at 'Le Maximilien', the most posh hotel on Mars, where his new job awaited.
Taking a deep breath, he strode inside.
"Monsieur!" a prissy looking attendant bustled up to him. "May I help you?"
Spike took a drag on his cigarette, and blew a trail of smoke into the man's face. "Yeah. I'm Mr. Spiegel, here to see Mrs. Hart. She's expecting me."
The attendant coughed. "May I see your ID card?" he carefully examined Spike's card, before grudgingly handing it back to him. "Very well. Mrs. Hart is in Flat C on floor six."
Spike nodded his thanks, and stepped into the carpeted elevator. As the elevator began to move, 'The Blue Danube' hummed from a speaker in the upper corner, as Spike looked at his watch.
The elevator came to a gentle stop, and the glistening doors slid open to reveal a silent hall, with new carpets, and wet paint on the walls. Puzzled, Spike walked to the mahogany door labeled 'C', and knocked once.
"Coming…" a gentle female voice drifted through the door, and Spike could hear some rustling coming from the room beyond.
Mrs. Hart. Hmm… Must be some old lady worried about her money. This is going to be boring, but it's easy money…
There was a fumbling with the door latch, and Spike could hear the sound of bolts being shot back. Yup. Definitely some paranoid old crone.
The door opened to revealing not a crone, but a lady a few years younger than Spike himself.
She wore a Chinese-style dress, black silk embroidered with dragons, with red lining. It had short sleeves, and reached to the floor, slit up to the thigh, exposing gorgeous legs, and high-heeled lace-up black shoes.
The lady had fiery emerald eyes, ruby lips, and dark amethyst hair pulled back in a diamond clip in the shape of a dragon.
But those eyes held his attention. They seemed… familiar.
Then a realization hit him like fireworks on New Year's. "Faye?"