Disclaimer: I don't own Cowboy Bebop or "Ry Ry's Song" by Glassjaw.

A/N: Enough emotion for now. Time to get back to the plot.

Session 7:

Cowboy's Song

He would stay forever just to say he saw you leave,

And maybe things wouldn't be this way.

Yeah, the lady seemed shady. Doesn't matter though. It's been too long since I've had a bounty this intriguing. And I don't think I ever had a bounty that paid this much. So, shady lady or not, I went. A nice little run-down hotel in the nasty section of Mars - the Syndicate section. No. A Syndicate snob would never be caught dead in a place like this. This was the area just outside of the Syndicate's home - a place too dangerous for any respectable business to open up.

I had a feeling I might find this guy in this part of town. That bar I picked, which name I won't mention for irony's sake, is only around the corner. It's taken me a few hours to get here - I had to hit another bar before I came. A coffee bar. With some of the fear just this guy's nickname brought up, I had the feeling I better be pretty damn sober before I go after him.

She's here, too. That blonde bombshell from the bar. That's another reason I waited. I had a hunch she'd come over afterwards to see how successful I was. It'd be a hell of a lot easier to just follow her straight into his room than it would be finding it on my own way. She hasn't seen me yet. At least I don't think she has.

There's a man who's sitting in a hotel rooming

Waiting for a hooker that he never applied for

Is it even her?

A long, slender finger, bearing bright red nails, buzzed in. The static from the old speaker only intensified the tire in the voice - a voice that came from someone who didn't sounded pleased with her disturbance. "What do you want?"

The deadpan voice did nothing to dampen hers. She spoke happily, not phased by the less than warm welcome. "I'm just someone looking to give you a good time. A man named Shin said you needed it."

A long silence followed. Jet could see the women become steadily nervous. She reached up to ring in her disturbance once again before the man let out a ring of his own. The loud, annoying buzzing let the women know she was free to open the door.

Jet watched as the long blonde hair trailed after its owner. She walked with an abundant amount of confidence - leaving the door to swing open a bit too far in her confident wake. She was already around a corner by the time Jet snuck a foot in the closing door. He loved confident women sometimes.

He retrieved his hanging hand-held communicator from the awning. Ed constantly spying on him through that thing proved useful at time. "Ed! What room did she call?"

Ed's young, jovial face materialized on the screen, goggles pushed up over her forehead - leaving her hair in a mess hovering above her face. She pushed Ein's muzzle out of the screen as she leaned her face in closer for a full screen view. "More, floor, four!"

Without a blink of an eye, Jet entered the room with a bit of speed, heading for the stairs. "What about the room number?"

"Teen...team.... three!"

Over the past few months, Jet had come to realize that deciphering Ed's ramblings weren't all that hard. The lady had called up to room 413. If that was the voice of an angry bounty, Jet was only 4 floors away from real beef.

And he can't believe a damn thing you'll say.

"We're going no where."

and "Fair is fair."

A soft rap at his room's door brought 'Wrath' to his feet. "Why does everyone think I need to get laid?" he mumbled as he turned the knob. The face on the other side brought him to a dead stop. Could it be?

He didn't bother to introduce himself. He cut straight to the questions. "Who are you? What's your name?"

The nameless bombshell paid the man no head. She slipped through the small space between him and the door frame, their body's brushing the whole way through. After making her entrance, she sauntered her way to a worn out, comfortable looking armchair. She sat, turning herself to face him while crossing her legs, her dress falling a bit, allowing a bit of leg to peak through the slit in the business-like covering. She certainly didn't look like a prostitute.

"Tonight, I'm whoever you want me to be, baby." She sounded like one, though.

Jet watched as the woman squeezed her way into the door. He caught a glimpse of the man on the other side. He didn't see much - only a tuft of brown hair and the lens of some goofy looking sunglasses. He certainly didn't look like a killer to him.

But then again, neither do I. As he reached down to pick up his communicator, he paused to look at his fake arm and leg. No, he looked more like a geriatric than a killer. "Ed, no more watching. I'm turning you off."

The small screen went blank before the child had a chance to respond. If this guy really was as dangerous as everyone seemed to think he was, the last thing Jet needed was a random outburst from Ed, yapping about something Ein just ate, to blow his cover.

He gave the knob a soft turn. It didn't budge. The man must've locked the door after the girl entered. It didn't matter much to Jet as he pulled out a thin pick from one of his pockets. With the look in that blonde's eyes, Jet was fairly sure they were already to the bedroom and out of ear shot of anything going on near the door.

There's a woman sitting in a motel room,

Counting minutes, seconds,

Adding to her list of "one hour loves."

As she watched him close the door, the blonde couldn't help but find him attractive. His messy, and quite fluffy brown hair gave him a certain friendly quality. His tall, lanky stature gave him a very harmless look. But she knew better. She might not have held much stock in the rumors on the street, but she trusted every word her boss told her - especially when he talked with such passion. He always talked about Wrath with an extra bit of emotion. From emotionless to almost emotionless is a pretty big change for a guy like him.

He pulled up a wooden, less inviting chair to sit across from her. With his hands folded in his lap and sunglasses blocking his eyes from the rest of the world - no matter how dimly lit his room was - he looked all business. Another thing she found appealing.

"Who do you work for?" His voice was deadpan. She got the impression she wasn't welcome.

"I work for myself. Most respectable women do. But Shin's the one who sent me, if that's what you're asking." She kept her seductive smile on at all times. She wouldn't let him get to her.

"What does a Syndicate member want with me?"

"Don't you know? He hasn't worked for the Syndicate for almost a year."

She was smart. He still didn't buy that Shin had sent her, but he didn't exactly buy that she was a hooker, either. Women that deal in the physical businesses like hers generally don't think too well on their feet. He smiled in respect. She had done her homework. "If you're not gonna tell me who you work for, at least tell me why you were sent here."

This was her opportunity. She leaned forward, consciously giving Wrath a good view down her blouse, while at the same time hiking up her dress a few inches more. "You don't look like a stupid man. Why else would I be here?"

As she licked her lips, he brandished his gun. With her leaning forward like that, his outstretched arm held the tip of the barrel only an inch or so from her forehead. "Cut the crap."

Staring down that long tube that held a bullet for her troubles immediately killed the blonde's resolve. After all, none of what she was hinting at was necessary - she just wanted it for fun. "I - message. I was sent here with a message." She could barely choke out the words.

Wrath was quickly getting annoyed. Maybe she wasn't as smart as he had thought. "And the message is... ?"

With a sudden shake of her head, the woman seemed to be snapped back into reality. A reality still filled with tremendous fear, but reality nonetheless. "Oh. It's from - "

"Shut up."

The man didn't raise is voice. If anything, he was quieter than before. But his voice commanded a respect that forced the woman into a confused silence. I thought he wanted me to 'cut the crap'?...

He turned, ears trained on the faint noise he was hearing. The was a soft scraping, accompanied by the occasional rattle of a door knob. Suddenly, she understood completely.

"The man who followed you here - is he a bounty hunter?"

She turned her gaze from the door back to Wrath. With his gun now lowered, she spoke again with ease. "Yes." For some reason, she wasn't too surprised that this man knew Jet had followed her.

Just when it's perfect,

It's finite,

He called it.

Piece of cake. Just open the door - sneak in through the corridor - pop in on that woman doing her job. Wulongs, here I come.

Jet smiled to himself as the lock popped open. That was easier than he thought. In fact, with the perfect image of how this would turn out already in his head, picking the lock was the hardest part.

With a smile, he opened the door slowly and quietly. Stepping into the room proved his mental image horribly wrong.

"Who the fuck are you?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Jet caught a sight of the steel barrel pointed at him. So much for stealth. "I'm the guy who'll be getting rich off the bounty of your head."

Jet spoke his words like they were fact, not opinion. It seemed there was no room for questions, but that didn't stop Wrath from asking. And he asked with a laugh, too. Jet already didn't like this guy. "Really? And how do you suppose you're going to do that?"

All Jet did was smile. He smiled to himself, as reassurance that he in fact would reel this fish in. Then, he smiled at the girl, tell her to get down. In one swift motion, Jet drew his weapon, shot out the only light in the room, and dove to the floor. As he rolled behind the chair the woman had been sitting on - the closest thing to 'cover' he could find - Jet sent a flurry of bullets in the direction of Wrath.

Wrath's pain sensors were sent into immediate action. From what he could tell, he caught three bullets. No matter. He'd taken a lot more than that at once. He had been living in his hotel room for half a year now - he knew the layout perfectly. There was no place to hide.

Jet breathed heavily, changing clips behind the weak covering the chair provided. He may not have taken a bullet, but his body certainly took a good beating from his graceless trip across the floor. I'm getting too old for this shit...

Jet's musings on the affects of age in a career such as his were cut short. A swift kick from Wrath sent Jet's own covering tumbling over him. He was left there, naked and uncovered as the day he was born, on the day that he might possibly die. From what Jet had heard, he wasn't the first bounty hunter to go after Wrath, but he hoped he would be the first to live through it. The feel of cold metal on the back of his neck hinted at his hopes not coming true.

"Hold it!"

A/N: I figured I'd cut this off here. Since it's taking me so damned long to update this, finishing it would probably delay me another week, at least. Plus, no easier way to build suspense than to cut off in the middle of an idea. And don't expect to see the return of this song - it doesn't fit at all, but it's all I could come up with.

To My Reviewers:

Kyra: Much apologies for any havoc "Cries..." has caused you. And, in your defense, I send an even weirder look in your brother's general direction. Punk. Just kidding. Unless, of course, he actually is a punk. In that case, I am as serious as a guy named Sam. And, once again, thank you for the kind words. And ramble on, my friend. Makes reading reviews even more interesting than it already is. And it gives me more stuff to write in these little bits, which is always fun.

Minty Fresh Socks: Thank you. Glad you liked it. Yeah, Gren is cool indeed. He really should've been in the show more. And if you think action is fun, wait til the next chapter. I won't say what's in it, but it'll be bloody, to say the least. And, about not posting enough - I'm sure I've fallen behind both your Fav authors and yourself. In fact, it's taken me so long, that I've had to go back and add this little bit to the comments for you, seeing how I wrote them at least 2 weeks ago. I hate ISPs.

Rashaka: Ooooo, a new reviewer! I'm glad I have you intrigued. I just hope I haven't lost you in the time it's taken me to upload this.