Disclaimer: Cowboy Bebop is the rightful property of Sunrise, Inc. No profit is intended from this fanfic.

Many thanks to Kya Lorne, Moonwhisper, Ahsayuni (there's a clue in the 2nd paragraph of the 3rd chapter), eponine, setchan, Jixer n Sybil, Kawaii Kokkei Tsuita no Neko, and Eisha for the reviews!!

Chapter 4

Tracking her to the casino was a piece of cake. Finding her in there was a whole other matter. The place was huge, with people crawling all over its multiple levels. It was hard to believe from the interior that it was bright and sunny outside. The people inside were gambling with un-abating fervor, no matter if it was 11 a.m. or 11p.m. It was as if time didn't exist in this place.

Wandering aimlessly until he spotted Faye was going to get him nowhere. He spent fifteen minutes asking around for her, to no avail. Spike had no intention of giving up though. He was going to find her and keep an eye on her 'til the bounty money was safely deposited into all of their accounts.

Coming up to the entrance of one of the casino's many restaurants, he leaned against a wall and lit up a cigarette. Just as he was finishing up and about to depart, he spotted a gangly teen in a waiter's uniform near him.

"Hey kid, do you know Poker Alice?"

"Sure do. Everyone around here knows about Miss Valentine. They should anyways…," he finished with a light blush tinting his face. Heh. He had to remember to tease Faye about her admirer later.

"Where is she?"

"She's on the top floor in one of the private areas."

"Thanks kid."

"Wait mister! You can't go in there, there's a private game going on! The boss wouldn't like to be interrupted--," he yelled out but Spike had already entered the elevator. "Oh man, I'm gonna get in trouble…"

***

When the elevator doors opened, Spike stepped into a large space lined with many doors. In front of one of the rooms were standing two large men, wearing the uniforms of security personnel and clearly twins from their identical faces. Quickly he sized the men up; they were at least a foot taller than him. If it came down to a fight, he could take these guys easy.

Spotting him they told him to halt. "What are you doing up here?"

He hoped the bluff he was about to make would work. "I'm looking for Poker Alice. I'm here for the game." She better be in there.

"You're not on the list. What do you want with Poker Alice?" Suspicion was undisguised in the man's voice.

"You didn't even check," Spike said pointing to the small laptop next to the man.

"You're not on the list," the man replied stonily. "This is the last time I'm going to ask before beating you to a bloody pulp: Who are you and what do you want with Poker Alice?"

"She's expecting me. I'm her man." Where the hell did that come from?

"You hear this bro? This guy says he's Poker Alice's man." There was amusement in his voice. "Funny, you don't look like her type. In fact, I've seen her man and you look nothing like him."

Faye has a man…

"She got herself a new one," there was an edge to his voice that he didn't like when the words came out. "She invited me here."

"We'll see about that." And with that the man turned and spoke into his ear-piece, too low for Spike to hear.

A minute later the doors opened and two men with semi-automatic weapons stepped out. "Put your hands up. Slowly."

Spike decided to play along for the time being. They patted him down and took his Jericho, telling him to step inside.

Faye was in there, behind a blackjack table; before her were seated a number of men in suits. Standing next to her was a white-haired and bearded man, with a scar over his right eye that ran down from his forehead to his jaw. All eyes were on Spike, dissecting every aspect of his figure. Faye had a look of confusion on her face, and -- was that worry?

The man with the scar turned to Faye and spoke: "My dear, this man says that he knows you, that you're his woman in fact."

"It's true."

Spike couldn't tell if the man believed her or not; his poker face revealed nothing. Turning a piercing eye on Spike, the man asked for his name.

"Spiegel. Spike."

"Perhaps this is a good time to take a break. Won't you join me for some Cognac, gentleman? 2033 was an excellent year."

The men murmured their assent and made their way to the bar area of the room. The owner then turned to Spike.

"Will you be so kind as to wait out on the balcony Mr. Spiegel?" The words were polite but there was an underlying command to them.

Once outside he leaned against the stone railing, so he could get a look inside. Faye and the owner talked for some time. He wondered what Faye was saying. She looked different from this vantage point, composed and elegant.

He really didn't know anything about Faye.

The words of the guard came back to him, and he wondered what kind of man Faye would be interested in. Somehow he couldn't imagine her with anyone. Images of different types of men next to Faye ran through his mind. None of them fit. It's not that he cared. It was just that he was slightly curious what kind of man it was. Hell, he'd even take the guy out for a drink. Any man that could put up with the shrew deserved to get plastered for free.

Before he could think any more on the subject, the doors opened and Faye stepped outside. Her face was completely stoic.

"What do you think you're doing here?"

"To help you ID the bounty-head of course," he tried to keep a note of levity, but it was hollow.

"I sincerely doubt that."

He didn't know what to say now. Silence was growing between them, becoming more uncomfortable with each passing moment. Spike was the first to break the deceptive calm, as he tentatively began to speak .

"Look Faye… I didn't intend to cause any trouble for you with your boss. I only said that shit about being your man at the spur of the moment so I could get in." What was that look on her face? Shit, he was going about this the wrong way. He could really use a drink right about now.

She didn't answer him but instead turned and headed for the doors, stopping with her hand on the handle. She didn't turn around when she spoke again.

"You shouldn't have come here."

Faye quickly crossed the threshold. He too headed for the doors. Nothing today was turning out the way he had planned.

A/N: Sorry about the slow pace. I promise they'll be searching for the bounty-head next update.