A:N// Guys, i'm so sorry that it took me this long to come up with a new chapter. I've been really busy (for once n my life!) and I haven't had time to get to this like i wanted to. But trust me, i got so many ideas that they're almost pouring from my ears, so i haven't gave up on this!! I hope you like this new chapter

~~~~ Mission Canceled.

I flipped my wet hair over my shoulder and began to adjust the straps to my bra. Actually it wasn't my bra exactly, it was the one Christina had given me. What a nine year old is doing with a bra is beyond me, but I know it fit me perfectly. I slipped on a pair of tight black shorts and picked up the matching black spegghetti string top. At that moment, Spike opened through my door. His yellow shirt only had 3 buttons done, it looked as if he had just thrown it on. His pants in the same condition. My heart fluttered a little at the sight of his face, and I could feel my emotions flip back and forth between uncontroable anger, and love, then hope. Was he about to apologize?! But who gave a shit if he was sorry, I still hadn't forgave him.

I turned my head and looked down at my shirt in my hands, then remembered that I was standing half naked in front of the man I wanted to Kill/love and put on the rest of my clothes. Usually, I wouldn't have minded all that much. But he had already seen enough of me, he didn't need to see anymore. Besides, to him I wasn't even a woman so he wasn't even trying to look at me in that kind of way.

"Have you seen Ed and Ein?" he asked after a moment. I reached over and grabbed a black bandana off my dresser.

"No," I said, wishing he would leave. I picked up a brush and started to run it over my hair as I walked past Spike and out the door. We both turned sideways, and he watched my every move with a raised eyebrow as if to say "What the hell is your problem?". I slide past him, wishing I had held my breath so I wouldn't have smelled his cologne and the soap he uses. My heart fluttered in my chest and i had to deny legs their urge to run. That just wouldn't be to dignified.

That 'Anne' girl was still sitting on the couch. Our couch. Eating OUR leftovers. I didn' like that girl, she was a bit to..I don't know what exactly it was but I didn't like her. I stuck my brush into the waist-band of my shorts and started to put my bandana on, never letting my eyes waver from her fuzzy brown head. She slowly turned around and looked over her shoulder at me, then turned back around. After a moment or so, she stood up and walked over to me. My heart dropped into my loud splash, and my eye began to twitch. She was wearing a very familiar yellow shirt with a very large collar.

"Hey," she said in a soft-tone. I reached up and touched the edge of her collar, then my hand dropped like a anvil to my side. "Oh," she laughed, smoothing down the shirt. "Spike let me wear it since my dress is in the washer machine," she quieted down. As if expecting me to say something or laugh myself. I nodded in understanding, and leaned against the cold metal wall. "Well anyway, I figured since we're the ladies on this mission we should ya know, get aquainted? Get to know eachother?"

"We're not the only one's," I replied nonchantly, picking my fingernails.

"There's another girl?"

"Eh..something like that."

"Well, where is she?"

"Ya know what...I really don't know." I titled my head and let my eyes grow wide in a mockery of confusion, you know that dumb blonde sort of look. Then it dawned on me, I DIDN'T know where the brat was. I noticed things were a little quiet around here.. "Excuse me," I said quickly. "JET WHERE IS EDWARD?!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. Just then Spike walked passed and narrowed his eyes at me. I gave him the same glance back until he walked head and would have to break his neck to continue to glare at me.

"I WAS ABOUT TO ASK YOU THE SAME THING! WHY DON'T YOU GO LOOK FOR HER?"

"WHY ME?!" I shouted back at him. He was probably in the cock-pit.

"I'M BUSY!"

"WELL ASK SPIKE!" as soon as I said that, Jet walk into the room, wiping grease from his hands. He turned towards Spike.

"Hell no," He said out out flaty and pronouncing each syllable. I knew he was only saying no because I asked Jet to send him. He turned towards me and shrugged. I let out a sigh, then turned towards Annie.

"Sorry babe. Maybe another time," I said, lifting myself from the wall. She went over to sit near Spike, I slipped on some black flip-flops and made myway towards the door, making sure to give Jet the "I'm gonna kill you." look as I passed by.

"Get aquainted. Get to know eachother," I said to myself in a squeaky voice that sounded abosultly nothing like Annie while making an overly innocent face, if that was even possible. It was warm out, not like the other day. Hot humid, sticky. I walked aimlessly for about an hour, thinking about how not to think about Spike and Annie until a sharp pain in my foot enterupted my thoughts. Glancing down at my feet, I instantly noticed a small, sharp rock rolling in my shoe. As I bent over to pick it out, a car drove past and the cat call I recieved seemed awfully familiar. I stood back up and felt my heart flutter when I found myself starring into a pair of cyrstal clear green eyes.

"Hello Faye," Christina said smiling. This time her long hair was put into long plaits that hung from her head like purple ropes.

"Uh..hey," I studdered, wondering how in the hell I ended up in this part of town. She tilted her head and cheesed harder.

"Look, I lost a tooth today," she said proudly, stretching her mouth over to the side so I could see the gaping hole in her gum. She ran over the space with her tounge and let go of her mouth. "It's starting to hurt again, I'm goin' to go get some ice." she turned around and nodded towards the ice-cream store.

"Your brother working today?" I asked, looking down at her as she opened the door for me. Christina glanced over to the counter then back ahead of her. Acually nobody was working behind the register

"Nah, he's doin' something else." she said in a final tone. Christina turned around and Faye eyed her back with a cocked eyebrow. What was it about James that Christina was so touchy about?? She came back down a few moments later, a cube of ice making the side of her cheek prutude. "Did you like the things in the bag?"

"Yeah-" I started up, suddenly remembering the present she gave me. Christina moitioned for me to go up the steps hidden behind the door. I got and looked over my shouler and wondered if it was smart to leave the cash register unattended. Hell, God knows if I saw unattended money laying there free for the taking, I'll go for it.

"There's a servalence camera up here, so I can see everything that's going on. Besides nobody steals around here, at least not from this store." My mouth opened and closed serveral times in disbelieve as I walked up the narrow orange-red stairway. It was so narrow that I could touch each wall with both of my hands and my elbows would still bend at a 90 degree angle.Thank goodness I wasn't fat, or Christina would have to get butter and a fork lift to get me up there.

The room that the stair case lead to was spacious, with powder blue walls and white couches here and there. There was some pictures hung up. Ex-employees, friends of the family. But the one that caught my eye was a woman, holding a precious little baby, a young boy by her side, right next to a handsome man. I stood in front of the portait admiring how soft and silky the lady's dress looked. How perfect her dark hair was twisted up onto her head and wavy tendrils framed her face. The man and the young boy shared the same pericing crystal green eyes and beautiful gold, almost platinum hair. "This your mother?" I asked pointing to the picture and looked at Christina. She walked over to me and stood by my side, also looking at the picture.

"Yeah, that's me, James and my Dad. Mom.." She said smiling. Her tongue reached up and ran across the space where her tooth was missing. I stole a glance at Christina from the corner of my eye, and wondered what had happened to her father. A stretch of silence followed Christina's last words.

"Ho-" I started up, but she cut me off.

"She died some years back," she said in her normal adult voice. Chirstina cleared her throat, then started back up. "Soon afterwards, my father died too. My Daddy orginally left this store to me, in his will, but since James is over 18, he takes care of it for me." She turned and walked over to a chair placed infront of a plasma screen TV hanging on the hall. At first I thought it was a built in fishtank, because of the image of bubbles and fish floating around on the screen, but once she pressed the remote, it blinked off.

"James told me you're the assiant manager," I said raising an eyebrow. The young girl rolled her eyes and made a displeased sound.

"Yeah right," she spat out. I couldn't help but to laugh and take a seat in a chair next to her. A woman and man looked into the camera seriously, the News channel theme song slowly dieing out in the background.

"Hello and welcome to CBB, channel 4 news," The woman said mechaincally. "I am Linda Schwaslski."

"And I am Larry Marlonelly." The man's eyebrow raised up as he said his name. My guess was he was trying to look good, but in the process, ended up looking confused.

"Today, the Top Story about the well known bounty out for Rink Van Hoosen," the woman paused for emphasize, "Has come to a end."

"SHIT!" I shouted standed up in the chair. Christina didn't flinch, her eyes where glued to the screen.

"Dave Rooker has more. Dave?"

I didn't wait for Dave Rooker to come on TV and tell me the news, I was already on my way back to the Bebop. I could hear the news-reportman as I raced down across the room and down the stairs.

"ISSP has called off the case. Un-named officals has declared Van Hoosen to much of a threat to have as a bounty." I was rushing past a TV store with televisions lined up window.

" 'We don't even know that much about the man. He's been on the run for years now, but we're afraid that if a bountyhunter does infact find Van Hoosen that it will create some sort of all out war. And we don't want to put people's life in danger like that.'" it switched off the man standing in a blue uniform back to the reporter.

"Officer O'Malley could be referring to the killings in a small town near Savvanna Gorgeia. The 'Kings Massacare', where over 50 people was murdered. The officals does not OFFICALLY know if Rink Van Hoosen had anything to do with it, but they suspect that he does."