-
Meryl stared at the empty chair across the table from her. She'd been quiet for the last five minutes, ever since Wolfwood finished telling her the whole story about the crashed spaceship and its crew. They couldn't just be lost, they had to be from the past, too, didn't they? Now, even if they did fix their ship, they had nowhere to go. Everything they knew was on the other side of the universe, a part of history.
Groaning, she let her head drop. "What do we do?" she murmured, unfazed by her forehead's contact with the table. "This is terrible. No, it's beyond terrible. It's a catastrophe waiting to happen!"
"No wonder they're scared," Milly sadly commented. "I feel so sorry for them."
"Do you realize how this complicates our job, Milly?" Meryl lifted her head, looking to her. "They're never leaving. They have the means to follow Vash anywhere he goes!" She buried her face in the palms of her hands. "I don't even want to imagine the damage they'll bring."
"You shouldn't think like that, ma'am," Milly said, patting Meryl's shoulder in a comforting manner. She offered a smile when the other woman lowered her hands from her face. "You should be more positive!"
"Well, they do know what city he's in," Wolfwood reminded them.
Meryl groaned again. "We were sent out here to minimize the destruction, not be the cause of it!"
"We go back to Illinois City and tell Mr. Vash he has to leave as soon as possible," Milly replied with a simple shrug. "Then they don't know where he is and the town is safe."
Meryl considered Milly's idea. Really, it was the only hope they had. The bounty hunters didn't know where Illinois City itself was, or so she prayed. That gave them some time to avert impending disaster.
"If we leave first thing in the morning, we'll be back in town by noon."
"That means we'll have to find a room for the night," Meryl sighed.
"There's a hotel on the other side of town, near the church," Wolfwood informed her.
"We should settle in, then," Meryl replied as she stood up. "We'll be back in a bit." She wasn't finished asking Wolfwood questions about Spike Spiegel and Faye Valentine.
As Meryl and Milly left, a man entered the saloon. He sat down at the counter and slouched. "Ali ... give us a bottle of whatever's strongest," he grumbled to the blonde.
Will, conscious once again, lifted his head and turned to the man who'd entered. He chuckled. "Didn't expect to see you back so soon, Bob," he greeted.
The other man muttered as he snatched the bottle from Ali.
"You find any aliens out there?"
Talbert took a long swig then clanked it on the counter. "I found plenty, Harman." His fingers tightened around the bottleneck. "Nice ship's out there. Only one guy and a kid on board. Woulda laid claim to it, too, if it hadn't been for that interfering asshole." His gaze slid over to Will. "What the hell happened to you?"
Will absently brushed his fingers over his right eye, which was now black and blue from being punched out by Faye. "Some two bit whore took a cheap shot at me," he tightly replied.
Wolfwood laughed quietly when he heard that. Yes, she did, didn't she?
Talbert snorted. "Some woman did that?" He tipped his head back, taking a long drink.
"Never did get her name," Will said. He moved his hand away from his eye as he looked to Talbert. "Wasn't from around here, though. Never seen any woman dressed that way." He laughed. "Who wasn't a whore, that is."
"A whore who gave you a black eye," Talbert said with a laugh.
Will frowned. "She was stronger than she looked. Had some smart-assed guy with her too."
"You're lucky he didn't knock you on your ass, pal. Where'd they go?"
Will shrugged. "Dunno." He half-turned in his seat to see Wolfwood still in the place. "He was the last one I saw'em with."
"They aren't from around here," Ali quietly said as she looked from Talbert to Will.
"Huh? What d'you mean by that?" Talbert asked, his attention on her now.
"I overheard some of what they told the priest," she continued, keeping her voice hushed. She leaned forward. "They're from another planet. Off of that ship you found out in the desert," she said to Talbert. "They're lost."
Wolfwood looked over his shoulder nonchalantly when the two mens' discussion became very quiet. He eyed Ali between them, the woman was confiding something and he didn't like the way it looked.
As Ali moved away, Talbert and Will exchanged a look. "If they're stuck here ..." Will said, his voice a little louder.
"... imagine how much money we could make offa that ship," Talbert told him. His eyes gleamed with the possibilities. "People would pay big for that lost technology." His hands rubbed together. "We'll make a fortune."
"What's standing in our way? Two guys, a woman and a kid?" Will laughed, banging a fist on the counter. "We do this right and we'll own this town!"
"Forget the town, we'll rule the planet!" The grin left Talbert's face then he swore loudly. "Shit. I forgot about that asshole in the red coat! He's probably still with them, the nosy bastard."
Wolfwood casually glanced back at them when he heard Talbert mention a man in a red coat. Apparently Vash was no longer in Illinois City, and he'd foiled this guy's attempt to pillage Faye and Spike's ship. He found a smile on his face again.
"We'll get rid of him, too. We'd have to cut someone else it, but we can make it worth our while."
"I know a guy," he said then paused, glancing around to see if anyone was listening in. "Silas MacGruder. We'll have to give him an equal share, but he has the means to do something about our problem. We can contact him tonight."
"Now you're thinkin'!" Will clapped Talbert on the back. The name Talbert had given failed to register in the young, drunk man's mind. "No one'll miss a couple of guys and a kid, anyway. Consider it population control." He laughed and finished up his last drink. "That works."
Talbert lifted an eyebrow. "Didn't you say they had a woman with'em too?"
"Yeah. I did." His bruised eye twitched as his jaw clenched. "I have plans of my own for that bitch." He looked over to Talbert, a sadistic gleam in his eyes. She'd be sorry that she wasn't more receptive of him when he'd offered to keep her company. "Don't concern yourself with it, all right?"
Talbert shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me what you do with her. I'm only interested in one thing." He grinned at his new business partner. "Lemme introduce you to this friend of mine."
Wolfwood watched the two men, one much more intoxicated than the other, stumble out of the saloon. Their scheme was low enough when they'd planned to just steal the ship. Now these two had graduated to murder and something equally as vile and repulsive. If Vash was still near that ship, he had to know. Faye had to know.
"Going already?" Ali asked as the priest, his cross hefted over his shoulder, headed for the door. She followed him to the end of the counter. "What about your friends? Aren't they coming back? The two women?"
He stopped and looked to her. "When they come back, tell them I'll try to return by tomorrow afternoon."
"Are you leaving town?"
He simply turned and walked out.
-
Jet clicked through the sketchy maps and mission logs Ed had discovered in the computer of the other semi-working spaceship on Gunsmoke. Spike sat beside him, watching. For the last two hours, they'd learned quite a bit about the origins of the people living there. Since their ships had crashed over one hundred and thirty years ago, they'd scratched out a meager existence, establishing towns where - or somewhere near - one of the ships had landed on the surface.
"One computer glitch did all of this?" Spike murmured as Jet scrolled through the list of ships that weren't so lucky.
"So it appears." He clicked over to a rough map and pointed to the monitor. "These bigger cities, Vash said we might find material suitable for structural damage repair." He looked to Spike. "But it's going to cost. A lot more than what your priest friend gave you."
Spike bowed his head, laughing a little. "Even halfway across the universe, a thousand years out of our own time, we're just as broke as we always are." He ran the fingers of one hand through his hair before sitting up straight. "We'll do what we do at home, then. Faye and I yanked a couple of the sheets posted outside of the sheriff's office in April City. That should be more than enough."
"Gonna be a tougher job here, Spike," Jet reminded him. "The ISSP or whoever issued the bounty in our own time had plenty of information on the person they were after. We're lucky to get hair color and clothing type from the locals. And that's not even reliable."
"We're in for a learning experience, then."
"If we expect to do this, we'll need someone familiar with the place and its cities." Jet glanced at Spike. "Maybe somebody already acquainted with every possible hiding spot this rock has to offer?"
"You're not seriously suggesting ... him, are you?" It was bad enough Vash was onboard the ship, now Jet proposed to make him a business partner? No. Just ... no.
"We don't have a lot of options left." He shut down Ed's computer. "We've only been here half a day and we've made a few enemies. Who knows if that dumbass from this afternoon won't come back again? Or someone else, with more of a spine?" He saw the expression on Spike's face. "We can only do so much."
"The man is an idiot, Jet. You want us to rely on him to make the money we need?" He laughed. "The heat's gotten to you."
Jet stood. "You didn't see what happened here this afternoon," he replied, then his face took on a more thoughtful appearance. "He was a different man. The kind of man whose help we could use."
"This is insane. I'll put up with him hanging around for Ed's sake, but I'm not -"
"What's your plan?" Jet sharply interrupted. He waited and when Spike only sat there, he continued. "This isn't our world, Spike. We pride ourselves on how damn good we are ... but that's another time, another place." He allowed the words to sink into the younger man's head. "Do you understand?"
Leaning back on the couch, he sighed heavily. "I understand." His denial had taken him so far. Wishful thinking allowed him to stay who he was while trapped on Gunsmoke. Jet had to bring reality into the picture. He hated to admit they needed help, especially with a job they did professionally. "We'll ask him."
"Good."
"I hope he can stay on his feet long enough to do it," Spike grumbled. He lifted his head off of the back of the couch, then looked around the room, searching for something. "Where'd he go, anyway?"
-
Faye tightened the belt on her robe then finished wrapping the towel around her wet hair. After sweating all day, thanks mostly to Spike and his bright idea, it felt good to have a long, cool shower. She checked her reflection in the mirror, poking at the area underneath her eyes with her pinkie finger. Desert air was not good for her skin. She shut off the lights and left the room, headed down the corridor for her quarters.
Humming lightly to herself, she held up a hand before her as she walked, examining her nails. A fresh coat of polish was in order. Decking that creep in the saloon had chipped the paint job. Bastard, she thought with a scowl, remembering Will. He was lucky. Had they been back on Mars, he'd have been eating out of a tube for a couple of weeks when she'd finished with him.
Shaking her head, she rounded the next corner. Gasping loudly, she came to a sudden stop when startled by Vash. He leaned against the wall, his arms crossed and a smile on his face. "What the hell's wrong with you?" she snapped once she regained her composure. "Lurking around corners and - what are you smiling at!" A hand clutched the top of her robe closed. She'd forgotten she'd left the shower. Her eyes narrowed. The pervert.
"I knew you had to come back this way eventually," he casually replied. He side-stepped, blocking her path when she tried to pass him. "Would you like me to walk with you?"
"No. Get out of my way." She shoved him aside. She only managed two steps before he was in front of her again.
"Maybe I should," he insisted. "You never know what could be around the next corner." He looked up and down the corridor with a narrowed gaze, ready for anything.
Faye stared at him. "I'm finding that out," she muttered. She feigned moving to the left and, when he followed her, she quickly darted by him to the right. Walking fast, she inwardly grinned, satisfied with her crafty trick. One hand loosened the towel on her head and she continued to rub her hair dry. As she came around the next corner, she stopped in her tracks and the towel fell from her hair as her arm dropped.
"Those bandits could come back," Vash told her as he pushed away from the wall he leaned against.
Faye glanced over her shoulder, then looked back to him, stunned. "How did you ... "For being a klutz, he was awfully nimble on his feet.
"You'll need someone to look out for you, my fair Faye." He grasped her empty hand in both of his, placing a soft kiss on her fingers. He smiled up at her. "I will do everything in my power to keep you free from harm."
She yanked her hand out of his grasp then wiped the back of it on her robe. "If I need protection from anything, it's from you. Go away!"
"But I can't!" He leaned closer. "You've cast a spell on me with your beauty! Your very presence is intoxicating." His eyes dreamily glazed over. "I'm in love with you. If only you'd let me show you how happy I could make you."
After a moment of staring at him, unsure of whether he mocked her or truly did not get the message, she asked, "Are you learning impaired?"
He stood straight, an earnest expression on his face as he mulled it over. "I don't think so."
"Then learn this: Leave. Me. ALONE."
In a swift motion, Vash wrapped one arm around her waist and drew her next to him. "I can't. I love you!"
"Stop saying that!"
"It's the truth. What can I do to make you believe me?"
She ceased her struggling. The man had the most pathetic look of desperation on his face. Maybe I'm going about this all wrong ... she thought. I should make this work for me. Slinging the damp towel around his neck, her lips curled into a smile. "What can you do to make me believe you?" She pretended to give the matter some thought then replied, "I have one idea."
"What is it?"
Her manner became coy as she played with the ends of the towel. "If you really wanted to prove it, you'd do this." She looked at him through her lashes. "Let me turn you in, so I can collect that sixty billion double dollar bounty of yours. Yes. If you did that, I'd know you were sincere."
"I can't do that."
She frowned, her seductive air vanishing in an instant. "Why not?"
His eyes glistened as they filled with tears. "I'd never see you again!" he wailed then buried his face into Faye's shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably.
She rolled her eyes. That's the whole point, you idiot! I kill two birds with one stone: get my money and get rid of you.
"Vashy!" Ed's voice called out from the other end of the corridor. She waved when Vash turned away from Faye, any sign that he'd been crying, gone. "Hey, Faye-Faye! Someone's here to see you, Vashy-Vash."
"Me?" he said, surprised. No one knew he was out there.
"Uh huh. Some man. Dressed weird. Has a big cross with him." She sighed. "No food, though."
"Wolfwood." Faye averted her gaze when Ed and Vash looked at her.
-
"There he is!" Ed pointed as the three of them stopped at the top of the Bebop's ramp.
Faye peered around the corner. And there he was. An arm was propped on one side of the cross, using it to lean against as he spoke to Jet and Spike. Her gaze slowly traveled away from them then down to Ed, who grinned up at her. "What?" she snapped.
She locked her hands behind the back of her head, whistling a tune as she high-stepped her way down the ramp to join the others.
Faye narrowed her eyes at Ed then noticed Wolfwood looking at her. She ducked back around the corner, pressing herself against the wall.
"You stay here," Vash said as he smiled broadly at Faye. "I'll be right back!" He rushed down the ramp, catching up to Ed. "Well, if it isn't the traveling priest!" he greeted Wolfwood. "How'd you find us all the way out here?" He'd heard about what happened in April City and how Wolfwood rendered his assistance to Spike and Faye.
"A higher power," he answered, nodding to the cross with him. Actually, all the tracks Bob Talbert and his group of raiders left behind were more than sufficient in leading him to the Bebop. It was a long damn trek, especially on such a dark night.
Spike couldn't help but shake his head. How a clumsy dork like Vash could hang around a guy like Wolfwood and not end up dead, it was a mystery.
"Now that you're here, you can give us a hand. Mr. Black and his friends need money, to help in the repairs to their ship."
"Yep, yep!" Ed nodded.
Spike looked down at her. The eavesdropper, he thought. At least it saved him the trouble of swallowing his pride to ask Vash for his help.
"I'm afraid you have bigger problems on your hands," Wolfwood replied as he flicked away the still burning cigarette butt, exhaling the last of the smoke. "Could we go inside? The walk between here and April City isn't exactly what I'd call short."
-
"He what?"
"He left," Ali replied.
Meryl gritted her teeth together as she balled her hands into fists. She'd come back to the saloon to continue her chat with Wolfwood. However, when she arrived, she discovered he was gone. Now, this woman said he'd be back the next day. "When did he leave?" she asked when she'd calmed herself enough to form words.
"Maybe an hour or two ago?" She shrugged. "I didn't keep track of the time."
"He didn't give you any idea of where he was going?"
"No, ma'am. He just left."
Her teeth clenched even tighter. First the silent treatment from Vash and now Wolfwood had ditched her. "Thanks," she mumbled then turned to leave.
"Excuse me!"
She pivoted on her heel, eyes narrowing at Ali. "What?"
"You still owe for your tab."
Meryl's face dropped in shock. "He stuck me with the tab, too?"
Ali shrugged again, smiling uneasily.
I'm going to kill him. I swear, I'm going to KILL him.
More To Come ...
Song Title Used: "Dirty Deeds (Done Dirt Cheap)" by AC/DC