Celaeno, Crater Colony of Almathea - Jupiter's Fifth Largest Moon
Early April
Spike leaned his head back against the wall he was sitting against. The brick facade of the building emanated warmth from the sun beaming against the side of it for hours. The wooden bench was equally warm, but perhaps warmest of all was Faye's cheek where it was pressing into his left shoulder. His arm was still broken, though healing well, and while having Faye use it as a pillow was moderately painful it was still preferable to having her on his other side and therefore impeding his dominant hand. Who knows when he might need to pull out his gun in a flash?
They'd been sitting on the bench for over an hour now, waiting for their bounty to leave the doctor's office across the street. Jet had gotten a heads-up from the secretary inside - a former ISSP patrolman who'd gotten tired of having her life in danger every day and had opted to change professions. She worked now for a man well known in the criminal world for removing fingerprints and prison tattoos. Fortunately, Jet had saved the woman's life on a handful of occasions while he'd still been in the ISSP and so she felt an obligation to help him whenever the opportunity arose.
In fact this was not the first time that Spike had been able to pursue an ex-convict bounty thanks to her information. Before he'd had Jet's assistance though and Jet should have been the one sitting in the blazing sun right now, but he was busy scratching up a storm back on the Bebop. Somehow - and Spike suspected the children of the convent she'd visited a few times - Ed had contracted an Old Earth ailment commonly known as the chicken pox despite having nothing to do with chickens. Spike had experienced the horrible itchiness in his own childhood and clearly Faye must have undergone the aggravation herself in her past life because she'd managed to avoid catching it also. Only Jet had broken out in the spots and discomfort that were also plaguing the young hacker.
Ed had been improving over the past few days though Spike had caught her trying to convince Ein to scratch her legs with puppy claws before he had taken off with Faye on their current bounty mission. Jet thankfully hadn't gotten too sick which was a relief as the doctor they'd gone to see on Europa before leaving that moon had stressed how dangerous it was for adults to get chicken pox compared to the risk posed to children. He'd also claimed there was a cure, though that was a moot point now to everyone on the Bebop. Apparently it wasn't an illness that had cropped up on Jupiter's moons very often compared to Mars for example because Mars had a vaccination for it that Spike just hadn't been in a position to receive, whereas Jet - whose parents had been on top of his vaccinations - hadn't needed one as a kid on Ganymede.
Jet and Ed would both be fine in time and were currently utilizing every method in existence to alleviate their symptoms. Spike wasn't worried about the pair, he was just frustrated by spending so much time wilting in the heat when it could have been Jet boiling up under the sun's rays.
The heat was making the air shimmer and had knocked Faye out not long ago. Spike had observed out of the corner of his eye as she'd slumped further and further over until she was flat out resting against his shoulder, nowhere near conscious. Not that it mattered since they were stuck in the purgatory of the stake-out until their target finally made a move.
The vague pain of his arm was well beneath his notice except to acknowledge its existence in order to change up his own physical responses to whatever situation arose. He was trying not to baby the limb too badly but also didn't want to setback his own healing process. Having two good arms was far better than one and as long as he was careful his arm should be fine again in a few more weeks. It was not the first time Spike had broken a bone, though the last time had been when he was just a kid. Bullet holes, sprains and strains and scrapes and bruises, those were all things he'd had plenty of as an adult, but somehow he'd managed to avoid breaking bones until that drunken bull ride Faye had informed him about. He still had no memory of the damn thing but he had asked Ed to pull up some images of bucking bulls and had been duly impressed by the sheer size of those beasts. He'd really been on one that night to take up that sort of challenge.
The weight of Faye's head on his shoulder was a welcome one. He privately adored any opportunity to be in close proximity to her. Somehow - probably due to her frequent showering - she always smelled pleasant. Never one for strong perfumes or excessively fragrant hair products, she nonetheless emitted a soft aroma that was like an aphrodisiac to him. He couldn't feel the softness of her hair through the fabric of his shirt, but he knew it well from hours spent trailing his hands through the short dark length. As much as she delighted in toying with his tangle of hair, he was a glutton for letting the violet strands of her hair sift through his own hands.
Maybe he had time to do so now, actually…
Shifting slightly to turn a bit towards her so he could press his right hand against her sun-toasted left cheek, he scooched his hand further up into her hair as she stirred against him. He eased his hand over her headband so he could thread through the hair on the back of her head and elicited a soft yet appreciative moan from the slowly waking woman.
Maybe he had time for a kiss too…
Twisting more, he cradled the back of her head and tilted her face up towards his own, leaning in quick as lightning to smack a kiss against her lips before she could topple over from his change in position leaving her no longer supported by his left arm. He was grinning and chuckling as she swayed and then straightened up, blinking in confusion at him and bringing her left arm up to shield her eyes from the sun's rays.
"Wha…" Faye mumbled intelligently. Blinking a bit more, she yawned and then seemed to collect her senses. "He moving?"
"Nah babe, just couldn't behave myself when you were sitting here looking so pretty and utterly kissable," He replied easily.
She blushed - quite a feat considering how red her cheeks were from sun exposure - and gripped his left leg just above the knee with a warm palm. She squeezed very briefly, making him stiffen up in alarm, and then she sent him a smirk.
"Sorry, darling, couldn't resist tickling you," She sassed back. Her hand crept further up his thigh making him tense in a new way. His breath caught in his throat at the gleam in her eyes. "What do you say we… stake out the alley over there?" Her gaze darted to the narrow space between the one story medical building and the carpet shop that was next door on that block. Aside from their man in the doctor's office, there really wasn't much sign of life out here on the street of Celaeno. They'd landed their ships in a sprawling parking lot for the carnival on the other end of town and had walked over from there without encountering more than a dozen people altogether.
Perhaps they did have time to sneak into the alley… certainly that would be a more entertaining way to pass the time than merely melting here under the radiance of the sun and the powerful reflection of Jupiter. It wasn't often that they were directly under the sphere of influence of that gas giant, regardless of what moon of Jupiter they were on, but when it happened it was like the heat doubled up thanks to that additional "light" source shining at them.
Spike grabbed her left hand with his right hand as he hopped up eagerly. "You're damn lucky you're in a miniskirt today - wouldn't wanna have the bounty exit the side door just to catch you with your pants down," He jested.
She rolled her eyes and gave him a half smirk. "You mean you're damn lucky I'm in a miniskirt today - if I had pants on I wouldn't have even made that offer!"
He impatiently tugged her across the street and pushed her up against the wall of the medical building as soon as they'd gone far enough into the alley to be out of direct view from the street. The side exit of the building was about ten feet further down and if opened they'd be hidden by the door itself while any occupants left into the blinding sunlight. Even in this narrow space there wasn't much for shadows thanks to the combined efforts of the sun and Jupiter itself.
Faye had his pants undone and her hands delving inside within no time while Spike occupied himself with kissing her senseless. He thought he could probably kiss her for hours if she'd let him - but she always grew too eager and escalated things before he could test his theory. Not that he had any qualms with her pace, to be honest. It was thrilling to be with a woman so assured of what she wanted and so willing to ask for it - or demand it if he was toying with her too much.
Anyway they didn't have much time to be leisurely and indulge in foreplay today - their target had already been inside for over an hour now and it couldn't possibly take much longer for whatever cosmetic coverup work he was getting done.
They'd had to change up their lovemaking a bit thanks to his injured left arm - it was just impossible for him to wrap both arms around her to hoist her up. So Faye simply wrapped her own arms around his neck as she hopped up to wrap her legs around his hips and sink herself down down down to that point of bliss for them both. And the way she could move her lower body while having basically no leverage was incredible. For how slim she was, her core strength was impressive as all hell. All he had to do was manage to keep standing, with his good arm anchored around her trim waist and his right hand splayed against the fabric of her shirt, bunching it periodically as she made him twitch and groan.
He was just about to his peak, pulling his mouth from hers to gasp as she convulsed on him in the throes of her own ecstasy, when he noticed the side door starting to swing open. Oh fuck. Of all the rotten times… But Faye, oblivious to the door given the stars in her eyes, sank her teeth into his earlobe gently, tugging on it, as her fingernails dug roughly into his back through his shirt, and the combination of assorted feels and her own residual quaking threw him into a near-blinded state of euphoria.
"Yeesh! Get a room!" A voice hollered from down the alley.
Faye yelped, launching herself up and off Spike's body, automatically smoothing out her skirt as she landed on her feet to glare at the speaker. Spike, still shuddering, half collapsed against the medical building on his bad arm. Before he had even come back to his senses, Faye had pulled her gun and was holding it pointed directly at their bounty.
"You move and I shoot," She snapped at the man. "Don't think I won't either, Rankin Grue. I don't need you fully intact to claim your bounty - just alive, and that means I can mess you up plenty,"
"Bounty hunters!" Rankin shouted, ignoring her warning and leaping forward in a wild attack.
Faye immediately shot his right kneecap, bringing the bounty howling to the dirt.
"Did I stutter? Sheesh," Faye muttered.
"Cuffs -" Spike started, still winded from their exertions and landing on his injured arm. "Pocket-"
"Yeah yeah, I know exactly where your cuffs are," Faye replied in a saucy tone. She reached unnecessarily into both his front pockets, palming him discreetly as she found the cuffs and retrieved them to restrain the wounded and bawling bounty. She eyed Spike critically afterwards. "You alright there, cowboy?"
Spike nodded, pushing off the wall with his good arm and then using it to wipe the sweat from his brow before zipping his pants shut. "Don't think I fucked it up much."
"Good. I'm gonna wrap up his knee before he bleeds out and then I'll call over the RedTail to load his ass up. You should go get the Swordfish and…maybe a couple tickets to that carnival? I think Ed would appreciate a little fun after the week she's had."
Smiling, Spike reached out and yanked her over before she could head to the bounty. "You're such a pushover for that kid," He murmured before kissing her soundly.
Faye snorted. "Yeah and you aren't? Don't think I didn't notice you eyeing up the window of the candy store we walked past… unless… maybe you were thinking of picking up something for yourself?"
"What can I say, Faye? It's good to take advantage of opportunity when it presents itself. And… well, fuck it, Ed's a good kid. She deserves surprise presents."
"Exactly, you lunkhead," She replied. "Oh, for that matter… wanna pick up some whiskey for Jet too? If we can get him to pass out he'll stop scratching himself up. Bet that'll work better than any oatmeal bath," He gave her a jaunty salute and she playfully shoved him away. "Hurry up hey? I've got an itch myself that needs to be scratched… after we turn this asshole in." She turned back to the bounty, intent on the rest of the mission. "Stop your caterwauling, jeez! It's only a flesh wound."
"Bitch! You shattered my kneecap!" Rankin wailed.
Spike walked backwards down the alley for a moment to keep watching the scene. Faye didn't usually take kindly to being called a bitch. Sure enough, as soon as she got to Rankin she cocked her arm back and smashed him in the nose with a powerful punch. Turning around to walk properly, Spike shook his head and started to whistle.
All in all, not a bad takedown and he hadn't really had to lift a finger to help. These small fries were hardly worth the hassle, but it all added up eventually… and it was a lot offun to team up with Faye even though they could handle these little targets just fine on their own.
xxx
On Board the Bebop En Route to the Junkyard
Mid April
"Ah fuck!"
Spike appeared in the doorway before Faye finished yelling. He gave her a curious look and then saw the blood dripping off her left hand - which she was clutching with her other hand. He stepped over to her side and glanced down at the sink where she'd dropped a large knife along with the onion she'd clearly been cutting.
"Lemme see," He reached for her hands.
"It's nothing. I just sliced my knuckle a little - no missing tips, don't worry." She was blushing. "Don't tell Jet."
He snorted. "Worried you won't be allowed in the kitchen?" He continued trying to grasp her hands even as she twisted away. "Dammit, Faye, come on. Let me see!"
"I'm fine!" She shouted.
This approach was getting him nowhere. He let his hands drop to his sides. "You're being ridiculous. You should be more considerate - I don't often get to patch you up… normally it's me bleeding."
Jet appeared in the entrance to the kitchen a moment later, concern etched on his features. "What the fuck is going on in here?"
"Nothing!" Faye insisted.
Spike rolled his eyes and looked over at Jet, immediately ratting Faye out. "She nicked herself cutting up an onion. Being a baby about accepting any help for it now."
Jet snorted. "Yo, Faye. All digits intact and mobile?"
She scowled at them both before looking down at her hands and tentatively giving them all a twitch.
"Yeah, nothing missing except a hunk of my skin."
The ex-cop nodded at her explanation. "Good, now let Spike bandage you up because you're getting blood all over MY KITCHEN!"
"Geez, no thanks for trying to help I suppose? See if I volunteer myself for vegetable duty ever again!" Faye exclaimed in response. She finally extended her hands towards Spike though, keeping her face averted and her nose held high. "You may attend to my wound," She announced imperiously.
"Why certainly, your majesty," Spike muttered, taking a wad of paper towel and wrapping it around her bloodied hand. "Let's get outta Jet's way. You've made enough of a mess in here for one night."
"It's just a scratch!" She pouted.
Jet sighed. "Faye, you're cut off from knife duties for the foreseeable future. I'm putting Ed back in charge of that stuff."
"ED!" Faye shouted incredulously.
The hacker appeared in the doorway. "Edward was summoned?" The younger girl inquired with a grin.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Faye moaned.
Snickering, Jet set the freshly washed blade onto the prep table. "She's already proved she can handle a knife without incident, Faye. We'll let you try again in a few weeks,"
"Haha! Yes! Ed will slice and dice and chop and lop!" Ed exclaimed, moving to the prep table.
"You know the rules, Ed. Calm down or clear out - I'm not about to have two of you getting bloodied up in here," Jet grumbled as Spike led Faye, still fuming, from the crowded kitchen.
Ed gave an exhausted sigh. "Yesssss Papa Jet. Calm as a cucumber. Slow and steady wins the race."
xxx
Aboard the Bebop
The Next Morning
Edward slipped from the heating shaft with a worried expression as she made her way through the living room and up to where Spike-person lay unmoving on the floor of the bridge of the Bebop. She sighed and looked about expectantly for a moment. "Ein? Ein cow-woof-woof! Ein, where are you?" The fifteen-year old called.
There was a long stretch of silence and Ed's expression darkened. "Ein is not here. They took Ein from the Bebop Bebop!" With a look of determination, she sat down beside Spike and eyed him critically, gently pressing his ribs and then his left shoulder where his clothes were stained by blood. "This might need more than a band-aid," She murmured to herself when Spike did not wake to her prodding his knife wound.
With a frown, she vaulted to her feet and scurried swiftly to the nearest computer console. They had been en route to the Junkyard on a bounty lead and delivery mission anyway so Ed was confident she'd be able to get help for Spike soon. Despite the collision that the ship had suffered just an hour or so earlier, when a rogue asteroid had impacted against the hull, nothing had been damaged in terms of the ship's functions as far as she could tell once she checked the system readouts. The oxygen, the gravity, the heat, the propulsion, the radio transmitter, the scanners - everything was a go, thankfully. No significant damage to the hull either, which was frankly surprising. There was also no sign of the errant asteroid and that set off alarm bells in her head.
Knowing the ship was relatively fine was a relief. Ed was clever and she'd certainly helped with some repairs here and there over the many months she'd been on board, but she was by no means as capable as Jet or Doohan. More concerning was whatever had happened to the others on board, how and why the asteroid had vanished, and on top of the list: Spike-person's oozing injury.
Cracking her knuckles, she set to her task of getting help for the lanky cowboy.
xxx
Spike groaned and slowly opened his eyes to see Ed hovering over him. Moaning in both pain and exasperation, he mumbled, "Ed …I'm not in the mood to play games …" He shut his eyes and breathed laboriously for a time, and then his brow furrowed as he opened his eyes again and pulled himself into a sitting position on the floor with only a little help from Ed. "Kid, where's Ein?" And why was he in so much agony?
"Where, where?" Ed replied. "Where is Faye-Faye and Jet-person? Where, where?"
"Ugh." Spike rose to his feet and swayed dangerously. "I need a medical kit, Ed …and I need to know what happened." He tenderly patted himself down, wincing often. "I'd also like the number of the asteroid that hit me."
As Ed scampered off, Spike frowned again and clutched his wounded side with his wounded arm, doubling his pain at once. "Asteroid …abductions? …ouch, shit …there was an asteroid we were going to hit and then …that guy, the shadow thing …ugh," He growled out an epithet under his breath. Fuck, he wasreally starting to hate asteroids.
"Whoever or whatever kidnapped Jet, Faye and Ein... fuck, they messed me up good …I'd almost respect that in a person, except for the fact that I had no chance to fight back." He nodded decisively. "Well then, I guess I'll just have to make up for that when I find this prick."
"Talking to yourself is okay - but let me know if you ever start arguing, hey?" A new voice remarked blandly.
Spike whirled around - immediately regretting the speed of the movement - and stared in bewilderment at Doc. The older man was carrying a case, no doubt full of medical gear and equipment, and eyeing him critically.
"Where'd you come from, Doc?" Spike asked, dropping onto a nearby chair with a painful exhalation.
"Well, pulling you out of the wreckage of the syndicate wasn't the most subtle thing I've ever done in life. Your crewmates let me hitch a ride to the Junkyard. Figured Mars was too much stress anyway, might as well do some good elsewhere in the universe for a while, so that's where I've been. Yet somehow, no matter where I go, I always seem to end up piecing you back together."
Ed came dashing back into the room and slid across the floor on her knees to present the ship's med kit to Doc with a flourish. "For you, good sir!" She exclaimed proudly.
He favored her with a smile. "Thanks, little miss. You'll make a great nurse today. Care to help me with the patient?"
Spike groaned. "All right, just don't take for-fucking-ever showing her the ropes, Doc. And I don't want Ed stitching me up!"
Ed stuck her tongue out at him. "Needlework is tricky - soldering stuff is much more fun! Will you need any blood, Doc?"
Eyeing Spike up, Doc nodded thoughtfully. "What's your blood type, little lady? Spike's got the right stuff to donate to others but it can be tricky finding a match for him."
Shaking her head in the negative, Ed spoke again. "Ed is AB, so no go. But not to worry! Papa Jet keeps a store of all our blood types in the blood bank freezer - Ed can get a bag or two for lunkhead. Be right back!"
Doc shook his head in bewilderment. "Every time I think I have your lot pegged, I learn something new that impresses me. Keeping your blood type on hand has probably been a life saver over the years," He judged astutely.
Spike grimaced. "Yeah, it's come in handy a few times that's for sure. We usually trade it out for some fresh stuff every other month, whenever we're near medical outposts that are likely in need. It's… actually become a pretty regular part of our rounds of the galaxy." He eyed the Doc up. "Speaking of… I wonder why we haven't added the Junkyard to our route."
Doc chuckled. "Oh we could always use blood there, that's for sure, but there's not many folks who are willing or… well, it's more that there's not many folks that are able to donate. But yeah, if any of your stock is getting towards the end of its shelf life I'd be happy to take some back with me. I can set you up with a few nurses back on Mars who run some of the mobile donation sites, they'd be willing to help restock the Bebop whenever you're in that area."
Ed returned wearing a pair of oven mitts and cradling a chilly bag of blood marked O+ which she handed off to Doc. He beamed at her. "Perfect! Jet has clearly taught you well. It's for the best, I'm sure, this ship could use an entire medical team, truthfully."
"All right, cut me some slack here, Doc - I haven't needed to be patched up that much lately." Spike tried to avoid cradling his still-broken arm, not wanting to call attention to that previous injury.
Doc gave him a stern look, not missing for a second the tender way Spike was holding his left arm. "Kid, the amount of times you've managed to crawl back from the brink of death is frankly astounding. Now shut up so I can focus on my work."
xxx
Elsewhere
(on the faux asteroid ship)
Faye felt awareness return slowly. Straining her ears, she kept her eyes closed and her breathing steady to mimic sleeping as she tried to analyze her situation. Something quite disturbing registered on her after a moment and she had to take several deep, calming breaths to keep from leaping up and tearing someone to shreds.
She was naked.
She was naked and therefore unarmed and therefore vulnerable and she did not like to be in vulnerable situations.
Furthermore, there were voices speaking in low, earnest tones not very far from wherever she was and the voices sounded anything but familiar.
"…From Mars …good body, they could be fake though …" A pause as attention was directed elsewhere. "…This guy …weird arm …quality work …but why not just get a new one entirely? Must be a bunch of broke-asses, no wonder there wasn't much in their safe."
And then, "Woof!" Finally a voice Faye recognized.
"Well, hello doggy, how the hell did you get out here?" The speaker asked, not unkindly.
"Can't we let the doggy stay out? He ain't doing nobody no 'arm and he's a cute little fella …can't I keep 'im?" A second voice piped in. "He's just a doggy, Max, please?"
The first voice - Max? - sighed with exasperation but acquiesced without any further begging from the other individual. "Fine, the dumb mutt is all yours. Just keep him out of my way."
"He ain't dumb, Max, he's a smart pup, he'll stay outta yer way." There was a pause and Faye could practically feel their eyes on her. "Why'd we 'ave to strip 'er, Max? She don't look dangerous …and you know Masrie wouldn't be liking this. She's just a woman anyway, she can't do not'ing to us."
There was the scraping of chair legs on the floor and Faye heard someone pacing. "Bree, you're my kid brother and so I got to protect you and keep you safe from the lies and filth in the world like what they got on the radio shows and on the news clips. I understand that you don't know who this woman is, or the man for that matter, but they are trouble and they aren't to be underestimated. We couldn't have her aboard with weapons, now could we?"
There was a pause as the second man, Bree, seemed to digest this. "I 'pose not, Max …but why did we leave the ot'er fella then? Bangin' 'im up when 'e was knocked out ain't right neither. We coulda take des two wit'out 'urting that one."
The pacing stopped and Faye envisioned a stare-down. "The man we roughed up …had we brought him aboard, we wouldn't have been able to handle him. These two will be trouble enough, but the price is worth it …that woman …she's not just a beauty, she'll bring us quite a few woolongs from the old man. We had to make sure that other guy wouldn't come after us …if I reckon right, he should be dead by now."
"But, Max, you said we weren't gonna kill nobody …des ain't right, we s'ouldn't 'ave killed 'im."
Max's voice grew complacent. "Why, we killed no one, dear brother - we just roughed him up a little. It's entirely up to him whether or not he survives. We dealt no killing blow, Bree."
"Well, I 'pose that's okay …but can we at least dress the woman? She ain't done not'ing to us, she deserves some dignity. 'Sides, Masrie won't be liking to come in and finding 'er like that. You know 'ow she gets."
Max growled softly. "Ugh, boy do I ever …Masrie ought to be waking soon and I'll have to inform her of our guests arrival. That's strange," A note of suspicion made its way into his voice. "The knock-out drug should have worn off by now …I don't like this, Bree, for all we know those two could have been listening to our conversation. Go and wake them, Bree, I've got to get back to the cockpit to check our position. And dress the slut while you're at it. Wouldn't want Masrie getting jealous or nothing." There was the sound of receding steps in one direction and then heavy stomping approaching her. A few buttons were pressed and she heard a door open and the stomping came nearer.
Suddenly the stench of Bree filled the air around her. It was a rancid odor somewhat akin to the smell of Ein's slobber, Spike's pitiful attempts at cooking and a rotting corpse all rolled into one.
Faye gagged and sat up, coughing hard and struggling to catch a breath without catching the scent of Bree. Through watery eyes, she finally got a look at the man who had taken a liking to the data dog.
Bree was almost entirely made of muscle. He towered over Faye sitting on her rump and she had the uneasy feeling that he would have stood taller than even Jet. He had a brutish face with small, dull murky brown eyes, and a petulant expression tugging at thin lips.
The 'other man back on the ship' was obviously Spike and it sounded as though he was in a bad way. After overhearing her captors discussion she was extremely worried about him. She should be worrying about herself and Jet …maybe even Ed and Ein if she was willing to go out on such a limb, but Spike I-Can-Survive-Anything Spiegel? But, that's what happened when you loved someone, so, worry she did and it was not a comfortable feeling. He'd lived through so many beatdowns though, surely this would have been nothing he couldn't shake off. Still, it was imperative to find her way to freedom so she could get back to her man and make sure for herself that he was gonna be okay.
Bree was watching her while trying not to look at her at the same time and Faye remembered her nakedness in a flash.
"Er …hello there, my name is Fa – Faith …what's yours?" She asked. If Max hadn't seen fit to tell Bree exactly who they were, well, she certainly wasn't going to take away the only advantage she might have.
"Tits get dressed. Tits clot'es in the corner. Bree don't like to see Tits like des." Bree replied, talking in a voice more childish than Ed's. He seemed even more uncomfortable with her being undressed than she herself was …hmm, another potential advantage to press, but perhaps at a different time because Jet, lying not far away, was beginning to stir.
Nodding her thanks to Bree, she dressed quickly, watching over her shoulder to make sure that Jet wasn't awake and that Bree wasn't eyeing her.
Feeling much more secure once back in her clothes - which today had consisted of black Capri leggings under a bright yellow sundress and her standard white boots - she squatted down and looked over at Jet who was still prone on the floor. A short dog with tawny fur peeked out from behind Bree. It *was* Ein!
The dog scampered over to Jet and began licking the ex-ISSP officer's face, soon rewarded with a groan and a mumbled curse as Jet pushed the dog from him and blinked as though to clear his vision.
"What in the …damn, and here I thought it was just a bad, really bizarre dream." Jet muttered, lying back down. "Where are we? Where's–"
"Spencer? I don't know, just you and me, Jazz. What's the matter, don't like being stuck in a cell with Faith?" Faye interrupted, not wanting Jet to reveal their identities to this oaf prematurely.
"Does doggy 'ave a name?" Bree asked, ignoring Jet's question about their location.
"Um …er, no, Bree, feel free to name the dumb dog whatever you like." Faye replied quickly. "So …where is Spencer then, Bree?"
Bree glared at her, eyes darkening in anger. "Doggy isn't stupid, Tits is stupid. Apologize to doggy." Bree ordered.
"Erm …of course …my sincerest apologies, doggy," Faye answered, her right eyebrow twitching. Great, just great, not only am I stuck with Jet and Ein and this beast of a man, but the dog gets more respect than I do? What is it about that stupid dog?!
"Tits, eh?" Jet whispered to Faye in a conspiratorial voice.
"Shut up, Mr. Metal Arm." She growled.
Bree grinned and gave Ein a hearty pat that made the dog quiver. "Fluffy-'air is Spencer? Fluffy-'air isn't doing so hot. Maybe dead, maybe not. Dunno fer sure."
Jet's eyes widened but he gave no other sign of surprise or alarm. "Well …why are we here? Where are we? What do you want with us?" Jet demanded.
"Now, now, now, you ought to know that in situations such as these, the questions are asked by those in charge," A new voice said from the door. In walked a tall, leggy woman with a bust only moderately less impressive than Faye's and frizzy maroon hair.
The new arrival had her crimson eyes fixed on Faye and Jet, appraising them in a long look, cool and calculating. Her eerie gaze fell once to Ein and her lips curled back in disgust before she looked past the mutt.
This must be Masrie …ugh, what on earth is she wearing? A fur trimmed leather skirt and snakeskin boots? With a leopard-print tube top?! Faye shuddered inwardly. This woman has obviously no fashion sense. Man, I think Bree smells better than she looks! A tentative sniff of the air quickly convinced her otherwise.
"Well, if you're the one in charge, let's get this inquisition on the road!" Faye demanded, glaring at the other woman. "C'mon, Tits has got better things to do than to sit around and wait for you dolts to get this over! Whaddaya want from us?"
Jet cleared his throat meaningfully and shot Faye a dark look. "If you haven't noticed, we're the prisoners here. I don't think insulting them is a wise move."
Faye frowned. "I don't like being in situations like this. I don't like the smell of this at all." Both automatically glanced over to Bree at that, but the large oaf seemed deaf to their words. Masrie, however, was anything but.
"Quit the small talk there, you two," She ordered, her crimson eyes riveted intently on the pair. "Miss Tits," She started, with a scornful look cast briefly at Bree, "you're worth quite the pretty penny to somebody back home on Venus, and the price on your head goes up for each accomplice you've got. Unfortunately, we couldn't risk bringing the kung-fu guy, the little boy wasn't on the ship, and naturally the mutt isn't worth a woolong to anybody. Fortunately we'll be getting enough reward from just bringing in you and Mr. Roboto there."
Faye's mind whirled. Venus? Fucking Venus! Who would want her on Venus? Or perhaps the better question, who did she piss off on Venus? She quickly thought back.
The first time she'd been on the planet she had made friends with a stripper named Sherri and she had also gotten herself permanently banned from the majority of the casinos there and a few racetracks as well. Certainly she was still wanted by some of those places.
The second time she had taken care of a few gang - or was it mafia? - bounty heads with help from Spike and Jet and blew her money at one of the racetracks she was still allowed in. The ponies just weren't her thing. Maybe one of the gang was out of jail and looking for revenge?
The third time. Ouch. Never mind the third time. Between stripping for horny men and nearly dying because some insane old guy wanted to dissect her to steal her heart, she wasn't too eager to touch back on that memory.
Then there was the time she'd infiltrated the lifestyle of the rich and famous with Spike when they'd pretended he was a famous movie director. Granted, she'd blacked out during that mission but she didn't think she'd stepped on any toes beforehand.
And most recently she'd been there to help Stella Bonnaro relocate several shipping containers that had been converted to hydroponics bays so Grey Ash could be grown and harvested all around the galaxy. There was no way Stella would be after them - but… shit. What if Stella's efforts had been discovered by the mafia? What if she'd been attacked or taken hostage?
"Who wants us?" Faye demanded, pleased that her voice was full of anger and steady. "Who the hell do you think you are anyway? We're bounty hunters, not bounties!"
"Oh, my dear Miss Valentine," Max drawled in a faux-sweet voice as he entered the room. "I beg to differ. You are worth quite a bit to someone very important. Actually, so was Afro-puff but he'd have been too dangerous to bring along. Alive anyway." He glanced over at Masrie. "I was coming to find you to tell you about our success."
"And a great job you did at that," Masrie rolled her eyes and considered their hostages critically. "That little brat be pleased enough with this one anyway." Masrie muttered. "A guy is a guy. There's nothing special to differentiate any of them." Max shot her a dark look at that but Masrie ignored him. "Make sure they stay here and don't cause me any trouble, I'm going to set the course. I'll send Crun and Min down to relieve you later. Bree, bring the damn dog with you and come with me. I don't trust you to be in charge of these two."
Bree ducked his head in quiet submission and scooped Ein up without much of a struggle from the currently docile Welsh corgi. Faye felt betrayed by that.
It didn't matter though, she had to work out a plan with Jet that would get them both out of this mess and back to the Bebop in time to save Spike's lunkhead life for the millionth time. And hopefully she'd get a few answers in the process. Who had she made so mad? Was it one of the collection agencies? Was Stella okay? There were too many questions...
xxx
Ein's canine nose should have made proximity to Bree exceedingly unpleasant, if not vomit inducing, but like most dogs he usually preferred nasty smells to pretty ones. They were more interesting for sure, and since hanging around Ed he'd smelled plenty of bad things. The girl had a knack for finding things only a dog would like. It was one of the things he appreciated about her.
Bree had set him down upon entering the cockpit of the ship and Masrie left the cockpit soon after plotting the course for the automatic pilot to follow.
Ein sat on his haunches on the floor a few feet in front of where Bree was kneeling. Facing one another, the man imitated the dog instead of the dog playing at being a man.
After leading Bree through a few paw shakes and roll over tricks, Ein jumped to his feet and dashed out the door, leaving Bree to clamber after him, calling out in a soft bark so as not to draw attention from Max or Masrie.
Ein led the other on a quick chase around all sections of the ship he could access and then headed off for the kitchenette. He peeled down a different corridor back to the cockpit at the last instant, leaving Bree to search for him where he wasn't.
Masrie hadn't returned to the cockpit, Max was still watching Faye and Jet, and Bree was playing hide-and-go seek with a Welsh corgi who had left the room. This was going to work out well.
xxx
Meanwhile, on the Bebop
"Spikey-lunkhead-person!" Ed called, chortling at her own ingenuity in naming people and things. "Transmission from a ship! It's Ein-woof-woof!"
Spike, knife wound patched up thanks to Doc who was munching on a chicken wing he'd found in the fridge - chose to ignore certain questions that sent up flares in his mind, such as how Ein would be able to send a transmission to them. He supposed it was possible that the mutt walked over buttons and accidentally arranged for a transmission but it seemed way too lucky that the dog would be able to reach the Bebop out of all the other possibilities in the cosmos.
"Ein-ship is the asteroid from before! Faye-Faye and Jet-person are being held hostage and taken to Venus. Ooooh the planet of looooooove. Nothing lovely about Venus." Ed said darkly. Her cheer returned with her next words though. "Ed has arranged for Bebop Bebop to follow in the wake of the space-rock-ship's flight path and then Spike-person can sneak aboard and save the day!"
The viridian-haired bounty hunter stood looking at the displays on the bridge of the Bebop. Ed was busy with the controls of the navigation panel. Relatively confident in her piloting skills, he looked around for the communication panel. Sure enough, Ein's face was visible on the tiny screen for incoming calls.
"Does Ed get to come and be a hero too like before?" Edward asked in a hopeful tone.
"No!" Spike shouted. Ed seemed taken aback by his vehemence so Spike tried to temper his tone as he continued. "This is too dangerous and these people mean business. I won't have you dragged into this." Without warning he doubled over, clenching the ledge of a control panel so tightly that his knuckles turned white as he drew in several staggered breaths.
His eyes were wide and fixed on a spot on the floor as he licked his lips hesitantly, recovering from the pain that had torn at him from within. Ed was there then, hovering at his side and watching him with worry in her eyes.
"Lunkhead? Lunkhead okay?"
"Yeah …fine, Ed." Spike replied in a controlled voice.
"You should take it easy there, kid," Doc called to him. "Aside from residual effects from the knockout gas they used to subdue you all, you've got at least one cracked rib judging from the antiquated machine Jet's got here to work with. Aside from that, if you go throwing any punches you'll open that stab wound right back up and bleed out so don't go undoing all my hard work. You're lucky the shoulder stab didn't damage that broken arm, but I wouldn't go using it."
Spike snorted. He patted his pockets and the small of his back with his good arm, making sure he had his main gun, a spare gun, and extra ammo. "Well, I guess I'm off then. Hold down the fort, Ed, I'm coming back with everyone or I'm not coming back at all." He gave Doc a sheepish look. "I… uh… might need you to patch me up again in a bit. If you don't mind sticking around."
Doc saluted him with the chicken wing and went back to munching.
Ed stood to attention and saluted him as well. "Spike-person …You're better than them. They used sleepy time drugs to get the drop on you before - but now you can get the drop on them! Turnabout is fair play, as they say! You will bring back Ein and Faye-Faye and Jet." Ed replied seriously.
Spike smiled slowly. "I sure hope so, Ed." And then he was gone to struggle into his spacesuit to make a leap through space from the Bebop to the rock-ship and find a way to sneak inside.
xxx
On the Faux Asteroid Ship
The gravity conked out in the asteroid ship and alarms began blaring. The entire ship was shuddering as if under a considerable attack. Of course, with Ein at the helm the ship could be led into any number of obstructions and the Asteroid Field between the Junkyard and Mars was full of things to crash into. All the commotion would make it much easier for the space-suited individual drifting over to the ship to gain access, which was exactly what Ein was trying to facilitate.
xxx
Max sounded less than pleased when the gravity came back on and he fell heavily to the floor.
"Doh god dabbit!" He hollered, wiping a smear of blood from his nose, which he had landed on. "Crun! Min! In here n'dow!" He roared down the hallway. The ship couldn't be too large because in short order a pair of bulky goons appeared at the entryway. "Watch dese two and if dey make de wrong move, shoot der legs." Max ordered the pair of armed toughs. "Dere's a tidy profit to be made from dem and I won't be losing it because dey want freedom. If Masrie comes down here tell her I've gone to the cockpit to find out what the fuck is going on." With his nose smashed up the way it was he sounded a great deal like his brother Bree.
The two goons nodded and Max ran out of the room, one hand stretched to lightly brush against the wall of the corridor as if to prevent himself from rising if the gravity were to fail again.
There were only two guards and Jet had his Kolibri gun.
Not his normal choice of weapon but a small and compact little killer stashed in the heel of one of his boots. The other boot heel held some minor explosives. He had learned a thing or two in his day, perhaps the most helpful lesson - gleaned from observing Spike prepare for a rampage - being that you could never be loaded with too many weapons and that it was always good to have a few tricks or knives up your sleeves. For that matter, there was a slim compartment on the back of his metal forearm that housed a slender blade just in case of emergencies, though he didn't think he'd need to use that just yet.
The explosives made swift and smoking work of the reinforced plasti-glass wall that had kept the prisoners separate from their guards. Then, between Faye's angry yet fluid fighting style as she took out her aggression on the goons, and the threat of Jet's own gun, the pair of guards were quickly incapacitated as well.
"You try to find Masrie and get some answers outta her, I'll see if I can get Bree and watch out for Max while you're at it." Jet ordered.
Faye nodded as she quickly checked the guards for weapons and tied them fancifully with their jackets in an awkward position that put a decidedly happy gleam in her eyes.
If Jet hadn't been so pissed about the entire situation he would have laughed, but instead he ran with purpose from the room to find a certain muscle man presumably in the company of a familiar mutt. Being drugged and kidnapped did not put Jet in a very good mood and he had an injured partner back on the Bebop to check on. There wasn't time to waste!
xxx
Masrie's rush to the cockpit was slightly impeded by the unexpected presence of an irritated demon of a man with green hair, though she dodged him for the moment easily enough by smashing a door in his face before continuing on her mad dash.
That was one of the good things about the old clunker of a ship. You could actually slam the doors shut. She nearly tripped over the dog trying to escape from the cockpit once she reached that room though, and when she saw him she wanted to groan out loud.
Of course. She had left Bree in the cockpit. No wonder everything seemed to be going tits up. But it was Max she saw at the helm when she entered the bridge and it was Max that she aimed her own gun at as he whipped around to see who had entered behind him.
"You left them to escape?" Masrie demanded.
"No! I had Crun and Min watch them." Max explained.
The round she unloaded into his chest said fairly well what she thought of his explanation and she was already halfway down the hall on her way back to the holding cells when Bree appeared before her.
In the distance at her back she could hear the sounds of a now-irate green haired devil in hot pursuit and she easily willed her eyes to be tearful and her lips to quaver.
"Oh, Bree! That other man is here somehow and he's killed your brother! Bree, he killed Max!" She'd always thought of herself as a superb actress. Well now, she'd be cleaning up quite nicely here.
Max was dead, the green-haired guy would be dead, once she got to where Faye and Jet were she'd take care of Crun and Min and then she'd have a loyal Bree to help her bring in those annoying bounty hunters. It was all falling into place so nicely, even if it wasn't what she had originally intended. Uncle Ebenezer and his insane granddaughter would be delighted with her.
But a flash of bright yellow foretold a few more bumps in the road as Masrie flew back into the wall of the corridor with a startled yelp as Faye - clearly no longer held captive - advanced on her, fists raised.
xxx
Max was very much dead when Jet burst into the cockpit and the ex-ISSP officer swore heartily. He was really starting to wonder why they were on board the stupid ship. Normally, when it was their own fault for being in trouble, Jet didn't get quite so frustrated, but when it seemed as if for once they weren't at fault, well, that was just asking for it.
He programmed the ship to stop and then smashed the controls with his metal fist to ensure that they stayed in one place. A glance at another console showed that there was a large vessel nearby - a ship that Jet was extremely glad to see… his very own Bebop!
Jet left in a hurry down the hall and rounded the corner with his gun cocked and ready to confront whatever awaited him but stopped dead in his tracks. Spike was crumpled against the bulkhead, right arm wrapped around himself and the left hanging loosely at his side, dark stains on his spacesuit from where blood was clotted against the cloth on the inside and had managed to seep to the exterior. That wasn't good at all. The younger man was trembling, his eyes clenched tightly shut as he sucked in a shaky breath and haltingly rose to stand on unsteady feet.
"Spike!" Jet called in a loud whisper. The lanky cowboy spun around – apparently too quickly, for he wavered before falling heavily to one knee. "Spike, what the hell happened to you?"
Despite the obvious pain he was in, Spike managed a pale ghost of his normal grin and peered up at Jet through pain squinted eyes. Cursing under his breath, Jet moved swiftly to Spike's side and knelt, laying a hand across the other's back. Spike drew in a shuddering breath and coughed raggedly.
"Big boy caught me off guard. He was raving about justice and some Max character. He's a bit trigger-happy at the moment so I felt it prudent to take my leave and come back to finish him off later. Er, well, Ein showed up to distract him if I'm being honest. Guy's not quite sane, is he?"
"Bree, and no, not anymore, I'd assume. Someone offed his brother Max and he wants revenge." Jet replied.
"Apparently he thinks I'm the bad guy who did his brother in. Damn. Irrational men are harder to dispose of when they're looking for blood. Oh well, whatever happens-"
Jet scowled and stood, helping Spike to his feet though the younger man tried to shrug off the assistance. "I won't have you be some damned martyr here."
"What are you talking about, Jet?" Spike leaned against his partner. "Fuck, it hurts to breathe."
Frowning angrily, Jet did an about-face and hurried as quickly as he could with Spike back down the hall to where the corridor had branched off and he had split up with Faye.
The bounty hunters needn't have worried though because Faye had things quite in hand.
It looked as if Masrie wouldn't be going anywhere in a hurry. She was laid out on her stomach on the floor, arms held behind her back by Faye who was kneeling on Masrie's back to keep the other woman subdued. There were several bruises starting to form on Masrie's furious face and blood trickled from her split lip. Faye's hair was a mess and her knuckles were bloody but otherwise she was fine and seemed pleased to see Jet and Spike.
There came a roar from further down the corridor. Bree came charging around the corner in hot pursuit of Ein, saw Spike half collapsed against Jet, and bellowed something unintelligible at the bounty hunters. Bree threw aside the machine gun he'd picked up from somewhere and ran at Spike, practically frothing at the mouth.
"Fluff killed Max! Max didn't do not'ing to Fluff! We wasn't going to kill, just hurt so Fluff wouldn't live!"
"I don't think I want to hear your definition of killing someone then." Spike muttered. He gingerly stepped away from Jet - despite Jet's shout and attempt to grab him back - and staggered past Faye's location still kneeling on the irate Masrie, to stand and face the murderous mountain of a man. Spike pivoted to slam Bree in the face with his shoe, but the oaf caught his leg and swung the great Spiegel, releasing him to smash into a wall some distance away.
Crumpling to the ground, Spike lay there groggily for a time while Jet did something Spike should have done from the beginning. He used his kolibri and shot Bree in a very sensitive location. Which finally proved to be enough to keep anyone down until Jet could step over to put restraints on the guy.
xxx
Back on the Bebop
That Evening
"So she finally cracked?"
"Yep. Ed should really be a questioner. Hell, I'd break." Faye replied. She was standing behind the couch, leaning both arms on the back of it. Spike was sprawled out below her in fresh bandages.
Spike pondered that for a minute. "I'm almost afraid to ask."
Faye shrugged dismissively. "Oh, it's just Ed being Ed. But with about two liters of sugary caffeine cola and seven candy bars in her."
Spike shuddered.
Faye grinned wickedly. "Precisely."
"So what's the story?" He asked then.
Faye was silent for a long time before finally saying quietly, "More trouble from Venus. That fucking planet. Good old Ebenezer wanted me. Precocious little V wanted you. Turns out Masrie is like her mom's best friend or something, maybe the brat's aunt? Friend or relative, I'm not positive. Either way, she was gonna bring us in for cash from the family. I left after hearing that much but Jet can give you the full story if he can handle being in there for Ed's entire inquisition. On the bright side, she and those goons both had bounties so at least we'll get some cash out of this bullshit. Guess they're part of a gang on Venus - maybe even that Calvino guy."
"Huh." Spike frowned at that. "Well, one things for sure... we're lucky Ed still sleeps in strange places more often than her own room. If she'd been taken with you all and I'd been left to bleed to death…" He shook his head angrily. "What the fuck is going on? Do you think that old creep is already out of jail?"
She shuddered. "Knowing our justice system," But she frowned too. "I don't think he is though. Unless he was released without them updating their files because… I've been keeping track of that asshole. I didn't want him surprising us one day down the road."
Spike sighed. "So much for that."
Faye nodded numbly and looked down at her woe-begotten partner, all wrapped up in bandages and reclining on the couch. "You know, it's pretty sad but I think I'm getting more used to you being in this get-up than you wearing that ridiculous blue suit."
"It's not ridiculous. It's comfortable. It's also got just the right amount of pockets and it isn't difficult to hide weapons in it."
"It's not in fashion." Faye argued.
"Who gives a fuck about fashion?"
Faye smirked at him and moved around the couch to sit on the table. She had an orange in her hands and had been slowly peeling the rind off in one piece. She had just gotten back from the hangar where she'd seen Doc off again after the crotchety old man finished doctoring Spike up. Doc had determined that the previously cracked rib had ultimately broken - though whether that was in the first drugged encounter with Bree or in the assault the other man had launched when he thought Spike killed his brother was unknowable since their on board x-ray machine wasn't exactly top of the line.
It was awfully handy having a doctor on call when they were in the area and in need.
On her walk back, she'd noticed the grocery bags that had been spilled the previous day when Max and Bree had snuck aboard the Bebop and gassed everyone into unconsciousness. In the commotion that had followed she had forgotten all about Jet's grocery run to TJ before they were smashed into by the faux-asteroid ship. She'd gathered up all the foodstuffs and left everything in the kitchen except a single orange. Eventually Jet would come along to put away the rest of the groceries - Faye knew he had a whole system to the kitchen that she barely understood.
In the meantime, she had a lunkhead to tease with the citric fruit she'd nearly unpeeled. Her proximity to Spike seemed to relax the lanky bounty hunter. He'd been tense when she entered but he was slowly sinking into the cushions now. She could practically see his nose twitch when the aroma of the fruit reached him.
"Faye… is that… do you have -"
"Doc says that broken rib nearly fucked up a lung," Faye said, ignoring him. "He redid the stitches you'd torn immediately on your shoulder wound, fixed up your broken arm again and wrapped your ribs. Wants you to take it easy for a while…" She trailed off and began to pluck the orange into segments.
"Please, Faye, that smells so -"
"Hmmmm yes I think we had some sort of agreement about oranges, yes? Perhaps a financial arrangement that… hasn't yet been fulfilled?"
"I don't remember anything about that," He protested with a grin. "I do recall saying if you behaved when you were roughed up that I'd be all too happy to let you and Jet nurse me back to health. We've already had the discussion about how vitamin C is reeeeeal good for that." He was eyeing the fruit ravenously.
Faye nodded thoughtfully. She licked her lips in anticipation. "Well, cowboy, you just lay back nice and easy there. Maybe I can help you with that vitamin C after all. But… you're gonna have to work for it." Her grin was fierce and wild and sent a thrill of excitement through him despite the pain radiating from quite a few portions of his body.
Without bothering to explain her plan, Faye popped one of the orange wedges into her mouth and leaned over to press her lips to Spike's. She figured this was safe enough - his face was one part of his body she knew for a fact wasn't currently in agony. No, judging by his dazed expression when she pulled back, that had been leagues from agony. And, whether she'd relinquished the bite of orange to him or whether he'd succeeded at stealing it from her mouth didn't matter - not when there were more segments to torturously feed him with.
xxx
It's easy to make enemies & earn grudges when you're out knocking heads... but someone's got to do that dangerous work, Space Cowboy!