Session 14
MORE THAN A FEELING
By jak981125
Dedicated to aj's girl1 and to my cousin Brian. Hang in there Space Cowboy.
Note: This story is part of a series. It will make more sense if you read the earlier sessions.
Lau woke up on the couch with a newspaper covering his face. For a moment he was confused. He had been reading the paper there after dinner and must have dozed off. He checked his watch. It was 4 AM. Lau headed off to his bedroom. But when he got there, he found Ed sleeping on his side of the bed curled up next to Faye. Ein was sleeping at the foot of the bed. Ed was lying on her back with her limbs flailing in the air. Lau couldn't possibly guess what she was dreaming about but she looked like a hound-dog chasing a rabbit. Had he been in a better mood, he would have chuckled over that. But today was not a day for chuckling. It was after midnight, which signified it was now a new day. It was the anniversary of Talia's death.
Ironically, the Bebop was orbiting Callisto, the moon where she had died of tuberculosis. The two had only been married for ten months when she got sick. She had been the most precious thing in Lau's life and her death crushed him. Lau decided not to go back to bed. He boarded the Swordfish and took off for Callisto.
Callisto is a cold and lonely place at any time, but at four in the morning, it's almost unbearable. Lau walked the cold and empty streets, stopping only momentarily at an all-night shop to buy some flowers. He headed over to the cemetery. He hadn't been there in a couple of years, so it took him a while to find her grave. Finally he found the right headstone: Talia Xiang Beloved Wife 2045-2067. Such simple words to sum up such a beautiful life. Lau fell to his knees and cried. I don't know how most people who have remarried after losing a spouse feel. In Lau's case, he felt a little guilty mourning for Talia while he was married to Faye. But he ignored those feelings, and wrapping his arms around the headstone, he wept. You would have too if you had known her.
When he got back to the ship, it was 6 AM. Still, no one had woken up yet. Lau decided to keep his outing to himself. His wife and shipmates had enough sadness to deal with in their own lives. He knew he couldn't fall back asleep, so he decided to access the bounty database to see if there was any hot action. The biggest bounty that morning was only five million and it was all the way on Venus. He was about to shut down the computer when something told him to check the John Doe bounties. Once again, it was just a pile of small fries. And then he saw it. An arsonist was wanted for ten million in San Francisco for torching a contractor's house. What? Again?
The contractor who had built the domes over the city had cheated Lau's father and his co-workers out of their pensions. A while later, his mansion was burned down and somehow, rumors were started to the effect that Lau's father had done it. He wasn't there to defend himself from the accusation because he died shortly afterward. Nevertheless, a bounty was put out on him but with Lau's photo on the profile (due to police error). Jet and Faye had failed to check if the information was accurate and arrested Lau just weeks after Spike's death. I suppose it was the most fortunate mistake they ever made. Had they not arrested him, its possible Faye never would have found the one man she could truly love.
Lau felt a sense of relief reading this bounty. Then he hated himself for it. You see, this meant that his father couldn't be the arsonist. Lau never believed it but a small part of him was unsure because he never had a chance to talk to his father about it. The computer said that this arsonist had torched the home of another contractor involved in the demolition of the domes. Lau remembered hearing that there had been some conflict over benefits for the workers on that project. So it seemed the firebug decided to strike again. Lau suddenly wanted to catch this guy so badly he could taste it.
"Have you been crying?" Lau looked up to see Faye standing nearby. "Your eyes are all red. What's wrong?"
"Nothing...aw crap!"
"What?"
"I promised myself I wouldn't lie to you like I used to with my last wife," replied Lau. "Today was the sixth anniversary of her death and oddly enough we're orbiting the place where she died."
Faye said nothing. She always felt a little uncomfortable when he would bring up the subject of Talia. She didn't know what to say or how to feel. "You used to lie to her?" she finally asked. "Wait, never mind, I should be saying something comforting."
"I used to make her think I wasn't really that deeply involved in syndicate stuff so she wouldn't worry," said Lau. "It backfired. And you don't need to say something comforting, though I appreciate the sentiment. It's just something I have to deal with."
Faye desperately wanted to change the subject. She looked over at the computer. "Looking at the John Does?" she asked. "Those are a lot more work to catch. Anyone here you have in mind?"
Lau pointed at the arsonist's profile. "Look familiar?"
Faye looked at the screen. "You mean they still haven't taken that thing down? Wait, this is a new one. You think this is the same guy from the first time?"
Lau nodded. "I want this guy. I want him bad. Although I don't know whether to hit him for making my dad look bad or shake his hand for indirectly causing us to meet. But one thing's for sure, he's going down."
"Who's going down?" asked a sleepy Jet who had just entered.
"You explain it to him," Lau said to Faye. "I'm going to go take a shower."
While Lau was in the shower, Ed emerged from Faye and Lau's bedroom in a sleepy state. She headed off towards the lavatory. No sooner had she flushed the toilet than you could hear screams coming from the shower-room. The plumbing on the Bebop wasn't exactly state of the art and Lau had been scalded. When Lau finally emerged he found Ed walking on her hands. "Why'd you scream?" she asked. "Did you see a mouse or something? Edward will catch it."
He headed back towards the living room where Jet and Faye were looking over the bounty profile. "Well, I guess they can't blame this one on your old man," said Jet. "I wouldn't mind grabbing this guy myself. The only problem is that arson can be a tough crime to investigate. I should know. It was one of my earlier detective assignments."
"Jet, this one is a matter of principle," replied Lau. "Are you saying we can't find this guy even with the infamous black dog on the case?"
"My gosh, you guys are overlooking the obvious," scoffed Faye. "Didn't it occur to you that our best bet is to trace the rumors? Whoever it was that started that rumor that Lau's dad was responsible was probably the arsonist covering his tracks."
"It's possible," replied Jet. "That's not exactly a sure fire thing though (pun intended)."
"Well it wouldn't kill us to ask around," said Faye. "There's more than money riding on this one."
"I'm not saying no," said Jet. "I'm just warning you guys we may be in for one frustrating experience. I never had much luck catching firebugs." He headed to the control room and punched in coordinates for Earth. Then he headed back to the living room and took out a book on arson investigation to brush up on the subject.
It had been a long time since Lau had been to San Francisco and his last experience there hadn't exactly been a friendly one. It had marked the first time (certainly not the last time) that Faye saved his life. Upon the ship's descending into the San Francisco Bay, Lau could see the domes partly demolished. It seemed a waste. The blood, sweat, and tears of hundreds of workers who loved their city were in those things. Without the domes, you could see the moon more clearly than ever. It looked horrible after the explosion, something to frighten small children at night.
If you think it's a wee bit confusing to the sleep cycle to move from time zone to time zone, try traveling from planet to planet. Here it was night but it was only early afternoon in Tharsis time.
"The first person I want to see is my mom," announced Lau. "Maybe she'll know something, maybe she won't. It couldn't hurt."
"You go ahead," replied Faye with a yawn.
"Faye, I would think she would want to see her daughter-in-law," said Lau.
"Look, I'm feeling tired," said Faye. "I'm going to go take a nap."
"Are you OK?" asked Lau. "You look a little pale."
"I'm fine, I'm just worn out," she replied as she headed off for the bedroom. Lau remembered something she had told him once about Ed. She said Ed looked tired, probably from being dragged all over the place both on the Bebop and with her dad. Lau was starting to wonder if Faye had also been speaking about herself.
Laverne was surprised to get a knock on her door at that hour of night. She was thrilled to open the door and find her youngest son outside. "Hey ma!"
"Lau, gees, what are you doin' here, sweetie?" she cried as she hugged him. "Wait, don't tell me, that woman of yours threw you out, eh?"
"No ma, it's nothing like that," replied Lau with a grin. "Actually I'm in town on business."
"And you took the time out of you busy fugitive schedule to visit your mom?" she asked. "I'm going to go call your brothers right now and tell them you're my favorite. The bums never call me anymore."
"Ma, there was another arson," said Lau. "I want to nail whoever did this so my father's name never gets dragged through the mud again."
Laverne sat down in a recliner. "I'm sure your pop would appreciate that if he were here, but are you sure it's the same guy? I mean, these crooked contractors aren't exactly real popular, you know."
"I'm pretty sure it was the same guy," he replied. "I can see more than one person taking revenge on a contractor. But more than one firebug? No. That takes a certain type of mentality. More likely than not, it's the same guy. Ma, what I need to know is if you ever found out who started those rumors about pop."
"Lau, you know if I knew that I'd have strangled the SOB a long time ago," said Laverne. "I think your father kept a company directory around somewhere. You could talk to his old buddies and see if they know anything." She came over and took his face in her hands. "So when are you and Faye gonna give me some grandkids here? Come on, what are you waiting for?"
She said that partially to tease him. She knew nothing embarrassed him more than her saying something like that.
"Ma!"
"Oh don't you 'Ma!' me mister," said Laverne teasingly. "OK, I won't push the issue. But what I will tell you is that I was never happier in my life than when you and your brothers were born. Don't deprive yourself of that happiness, kiddo. I'll fax you that directory when I find it." Lau kissed his mother good-night and left. That woman never failed to put him in a good mood.
The next day, Lau and Jet divided the names on the list and started talking to people. Both of them were suffering jet-lag now. It was day time in San Francisco but it would have been night in Tharsis. It would have been better if Lau had taken the entire list by himself but that would have been too much for him. People were more willing to talk to the son of their old friend and co-worker than to some bounty hunter they didn't know. Lau asked Faye to go over to the police and see what information on the case was available to the public. Had that been a police station on Tharsis, they probably would have gladly shown her all the facts they had and invited her to talk to the investigating detective. Earth police, on the other hand, were often times less friendly to bounty hunters. She found the police in San Francisco to be far less cooperative than the ones from New York. They wouldn't tell her anything.
Around noon, Jet and Lau met by the Transamerica Pyramid. Both of them were ready to drop dead from exhaustion. "Well, I hope you did better than me," said Jet. "Most of these guys didn't even want to talk to me."
"Nobody I talked to knew exactly who started the rumors," replied Lau. "They just remember who spread them and who they first heard them from."
"Well, that's a start," replied Jet. "How many names did they give you?"
"Five."
"Even better," said Jet. "There's a good chance that one of those five is our man. We have an arsonist who punishes people who offend him with fire. We check out these people and who they know. If we find an unusual occurrence of fires, we have our guy."
"Would it make any difference if I told you one of the guys used to work for the Fresno Fire Department?" asked Lau.
"Make a difference?! Lau, that makes a huge difference, especially if he was terminated for reasons of conduct."
Back on the Bebop, Jet was far less optimistic when he heard from Faye about the cold shoulder the police gave her. "The evidence they picked up is essential," groaned Jet. "Why did they bother putting a bounty on this guy if they won't cooperate with the bounty hunters? If I were to be much help, I would really need to know about starting devices and accelerants used."
"Well I tried Jet," she replied.
"Hey, I'm not blaming you," said Jet. "I'm blaming the cops. Maybe they would talk to a former cop."
Jet couldn't have been more mistaken. The police turned him away just as harshly as they had with Faye. He came back to Bebop in a very bad mood. "I could only get the Fire Department to talk to me," he grumbled. "They haven't heard anything from the cops. How is this city supposed to run if the agencies don't cooperate with one another?"
"We'll just have to play our trump card," said Faye.
Within minutes, they had Ed hack into the San Francisco PD's mainframe. The problem was that cases are organized by code numbers. It took a few minutes to find the right folder. "Ed found it! Can Ed go back to bed now?"
"Not just yet," replied Jet. Ed collapsed on the floor and started sleeping right there. Jet looked at the file. "Wow, this guy apparently used alcohol as an accelerant. That means he knows a thing or two about what he's doing. If anyone smells a petroleum product when a fire is being put out, they know it's arson right away. Not only that, the fireplace was the point of origin. He dropped an incendiary device down the chimney. The only reason they knew it was arson was because of the burn marks from the alcohol. And he got in and out of these houses without any sign of a break-in. This guy's a pro. We are definitely looking at our former fire fighter here. Ed, wake up!"
"Edward go sleep now. No talk to Edward."
"Ed I need you to hack into the personnel files for the Fresno Fire Department," said Jet. Ed didn't respond.
"I know how to wake her up," said Faye. She grabbed Ed and blew air into her mouth. It once again did the trick.
"OK, OK, Edward's up already!" she scowled. She got back onto the computer and hacked into the files as she was told. "There. Is Ed done now?"
"Yes, Ed."
"Nighty night!" She immediately fell back to the floor and dozed off again.
Jet typed through the personnel file until he found the one he wanted. "Well what do you know?" said Jet. "This guy got dismissed for stalking his own supervisor. Apparently, he didn't believe her when she said she was gay. I'll bet you anything that he tried to torch some property of hers. Hey Lau…"
Lau was asleep on the floor next to Ed. He hadn't slept much lately. Jet continued to search through the police and fire databases. "Bingo, there's a report here that her car was set on fire," said Jet.
Faye looked over his shoulder. "Isn't that what you guys in the criminal justice system call circumstantial evidence?" she asked.
"Yup," replied Jet. "They never found any physical evidence at any of these fires I've looked up that would link this guy or anyone else to the scene. That's why I warned you guys we might be in for a frustrating time. Stuff like fingerprints gets burned more often than not."
A couple of hours later, Lau woke up. He was always stiff after sleeping on the floor. No sooner had he gotten to his feet than Jet jammed a bunch of papers in his face. "Dennis Robinson. Age: 52 Employed by various fire departments all over the state of California for nearly twenty years. Lau, did your dad ever mention this guy?"
"The name doesn't ring any bells," replied Lau. "Is there any coffee left?"
"Only decaf," replied Jet.
"What possible reason could there be for the existence of decaffeinated coffee?" grumbled Lau.
"Everything we have so far is circumstantial," said Jet. "This guy was one of the people you talked to." Jet showed Lau a picture of a fat red-headed guy with glasses. "What did he tell you?"
"He said he never heard any rumors about the fire one way or another," replied Lau.
"How did he act when you talked to him?"
"Very friendly, very hospitable," said Lau. "Couldn't stop talking about what a great guy my dad was."
"And yet your father never mentioned this guy?" asked Jet. "Never said anything good or bad about him?"
"Not that I can recall," replied Lau. "But pop had a personal policy to avoid bad-mouthing other people. He wouldn't even gripe about some of the crooks he worked for over the years. My mom on the other hand, she had a few colorful words to say about anyone who made my dad suffer."
"So maybe he said something to her about this guy," replied Jet. "You don't just drag a man's reputation through the mud just for the hell of it. He had to have had a reason."
Lau sighed. "Maybe this time you should go talk to her."
"What's the matter?" asked Jet. "Don't tell me you're afraid to talk to your own mama? I thought you two saw each other yesterday."
"You wouldn't understand," replied Lau as he headed out.
Lau sat in his car outside his mother's house for nearly an hour but he couldn't make himself go in. He heard the passenger door open and his mother entered and sat down next to him. "Well ain't you coming in, sweetie?" she asked.
"What's the point?" replied Lau. "I'd just be talking business again. I saw your eyes light up when I showed up at your door. You thought your little boy was coming home to visit his mama but I just wanted to discuss a bounty head. I'm sorry."
Once again, Laverne took Lau's face in her hands and made him look her in the eyes. "I love a visit from any of my sons regardless of the reason. And this case is about more than business. You're just trying to be a dutiful son and exonerate your father."
"And in the meantime I've done nothing for my mother," he replied. "Some dutiful son I am."
Laverne sighed. "Baby, I don't know what it's going to take but one way or another you are going to have to stop carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. It's not healthy, son. Believe me, you have made me happy, happier than you probably realize. You always get this way this time of year. Right around the time of year Talia died."
Lau clenched the steering wheel. Now why did she have to go and say that? Laverne hugged him. "I know, I know. I miss her too. She was a sweet girl and they don't come no sweeter. But you have a wonderful wife back on your ship who's gonna love you till the day you die. That girl, I've seen her eyes, the way she looks at you. She'll never get you out of her system, not if she lived for a thousand years. She's got wonderful taste in men."
Lau was amazed at how his mother always knew the right thing to say to him at just the right time. "So what did you want to talk about, Lau?"
Lau returned to the Bebop a while later. "Jet, what would it take to nail this guy?" he asked.
"Without any physical evidence it would probably take a confession," he replied.
"Oh, I'll get a confession out of him all right!" said Lau with a clenched fist.
"Now hold on there, killer," replied Jet. "A confession's no good if you beat it out of someone. First of all, what did your mom have to say about Robinson?"
"That he was probably about the closest thing my dad had to an enemy on that work-crew," said Lau. "It's not like they really were enemies, but he was the only guy on that crew who ever had something nasty to say about my dad and wasn't shy about saying it to his face."
"What did he say?" asked Faye who was lying on the couch nearby.
"Something to the effect that it was sinful for my dad to marry outside his race and that me and my brothers were mongrels," replied Lau.
"And you don't consider him to be an enemy?" asked Faye in surprise.
"He only said it a couple of times and when my dad didn't react he dropped it. That was just pop's way. If my mom had been there though..."
"I'm sure she would have turned him into lasagna," smirked Faye. "Your mom is so cool."
"Cooler than you know," said Lau more to himself than anyone else.
"So we have a serial arsonist, he always gets back at his enemies by burning their property, and this time when he really needs a scapegoat he blames it on someone he doesn't hate but doesn't particularly like either," said Jet. "I've dealt with his type plenty of times. I think I could get something out of him."
"You?" asked Lau. "It was my dad."
"Yeah but it should be me who talks to him," replied Jet. "I'm not emotionally involved, I'm an experienced investigator, and he wouldn't recognize me." Jet copied down Robinson's address. "This guy won't even know he's being interrogated. He'll just think he's having a friendly conversation with a former volunteer fireman who remembers him from his Fresno days."
"Hey Jet!" called Lau.
"Yeah?"
"After he does give it up and there's no way the confession can get tossed out, could you do me a favor? Kick his ass."
Jet grinned. "I'll pistol whip him for you." He walked off to the hangar. Lau went to the window and watched him take off.
"Maybe we should take some time off," he said to Faye as soon as Jet was gone. "You look awfully pale and you seem a little worn out lately."
"I'll be fine," she replied with a smile.
"You sure?"
Faye walked over to Lau very slowly and gave him the most passionate kiss he'd ever had in his entire life. "Whoah! What was that for?"
"I'm pregnant," replied Faye.
"What?! Are you sure?"
"The test turned pink," said Faye. "Hm, your face is turning a little pink too."
For a moment Lau couldn't even speak. But when he did find his voice... "YIPPEEEE!"
"You don't need to wake the dead Lau," said Faye. To be perfectly honest, it took every ounce of self-control she had not to yell out herself. She had really come to the conclusion years ago that she would never have a family. She tried to convince herself that she was too independent for that, but deep down, it bothered her. After having known Ed, it bothered her more than ever.
Ed popped into the room, having heard Lau's shouts. "What? Did Lau see another mouse?"
"No silly, we're gonna have a baby," replied Faye.
Ed couldn't wrap her arms around Faye quickly enough. "Yay! Edward's going to be an auntie!"
Faye held her close. "Sweetie, I know I've acted like you bother me sometimes, and…well… you do. But I want you to know that you're the reason I wanted to have a child of my own in the first place. I hope this kid turns out just like you. Well, maybe not JUST like you, but you get the idea."
"Oh man," replied Lau. "When my mom hears about this, we'll have to nail her feet to the floor so she doesn't leap into orbit."
"Up, up, and away!" shouted Ed as she began leaping as high as she could. Ein had to leap out of the way so she wouldn't land on his tail.
When Jet finally reached his destination, he found Robinson's apartment door open just a crack. With a slight push it opened all the way revealing a man hanging by his neck. A few hours later, Jet returned. When he walked in, he was surprised to see Laverne seated on the couch with Lau and Faye. He walked over and shook her hand.
"It's Laverne, isn't it?" he asked. She nodded. "Well you're certainly an honored guest aboard the Bebop anytime."
"Did you get Robinson to confess?" asked Faye.
"Well I did technically get a confession," replied Jet. "Unfortunately, it was in the form of a suicide note I found around his neck. He hung himself."
"At least we have the truth now," replied Lau.
"I'm sorry I don't have better news to give you," said Jet as he headed off towards the kitchen.
Laverne followed him. "Oh Mr. Black, I have enough good news to make up for that. Wait'll you hear this..."
Faye looked over at Lau. "We have got to celebrate. Tomorrow, I'm taking you out on the town all day long. Sky's the limit."
"You think we could do that the day after tomorrow?" asked Lau. "I'd like to spend the day with my mom tomorrow. I think I've been neglecting her."
"No, she can take one more day of neglect," replied Faye with a grin. "If she were here right now she'd tell you to go out and spend some time with your wife. You know she would."
Lau grinned. "She probably would. OK, but I'm definitely giving her a day of my time before we leave town."
Jet walked back in shaking his head and giggling. "Well Faye, I'll bet you're glad now that you couldn't return that maternity dress."
"Jet?"
"Yes Faye?
"Go away."
"Sure thing."
Jet walked back into the kitchen while Faye and Lau resumed their old habit of snuggling up on the couch together and turning on the TV.
There are only two sessions of COWBOY BEBOP: THE LAU SAGA left. The two-part series finale will be some of my best work yet so be sure to read it.
SEE YOU SPACE COWBOY
(c) 2004 Joseph Kerner
jak981125@catholic.org
Disclaimer: I did not create Cowboy Bebop. I wish I had, but I didn't. This is just fanfiction
MORE THAN A FEELING
By jak981125
Dedicated to aj's girl1 and to my cousin Brian. Hang in there Space Cowboy.
Note: This story is part of a series. It will make more sense if you read the earlier sessions.
Lau woke up on the couch with a newspaper covering his face. For a moment he was confused. He had been reading the paper there after dinner and must have dozed off. He checked his watch. It was 4 AM. Lau headed off to his bedroom. But when he got there, he found Ed sleeping on his side of the bed curled up next to Faye. Ein was sleeping at the foot of the bed. Ed was lying on her back with her limbs flailing in the air. Lau couldn't possibly guess what she was dreaming about but she looked like a hound-dog chasing a rabbit. Had he been in a better mood, he would have chuckled over that. But today was not a day for chuckling. It was after midnight, which signified it was now a new day. It was the anniversary of Talia's death.
Ironically, the Bebop was orbiting Callisto, the moon where she had died of tuberculosis. The two had only been married for ten months when she got sick. She had been the most precious thing in Lau's life and her death crushed him. Lau decided not to go back to bed. He boarded the Swordfish and took off for Callisto.
Callisto is a cold and lonely place at any time, but at four in the morning, it's almost unbearable. Lau walked the cold and empty streets, stopping only momentarily at an all-night shop to buy some flowers. He headed over to the cemetery. He hadn't been there in a couple of years, so it took him a while to find her grave. Finally he found the right headstone: Talia Xiang Beloved Wife 2045-2067. Such simple words to sum up such a beautiful life. Lau fell to his knees and cried. I don't know how most people who have remarried after losing a spouse feel. In Lau's case, he felt a little guilty mourning for Talia while he was married to Faye. But he ignored those feelings, and wrapping his arms around the headstone, he wept. You would have too if you had known her.
When he got back to the ship, it was 6 AM. Still, no one had woken up yet. Lau decided to keep his outing to himself. His wife and shipmates had enough sadness to deal with in their own lives. He knew he couldn't fall back asleep, so he decided to access the bounty database to see if there was any hot action. The biggest bounty that morning was only five million and it was all the way on Venus. He was about to shut down the computer when something told him to check the John Doe bounties. Once again, it was just a pile of small fries. And then he saw it. An arsonist was wanted for ten million in San Francisco for torching a contractor's house. What? Again?
The contractor who had built the domes over the city had cheated Lau's father and his co-workers out of their pensions. A while later, his mansion was burned down and somehow, rumors were started to the effect that Lau's father had done it. He wasn't there to defend himself from the accusation because he died shortly afterward. Nevertheless, a bounty was put out on him but with Lau's photo on the profile (due to police error). Jet and Faye had failed to check if the information was accurate and arrested Lau just weeks after Spike's death. I suppose it was the most fortunate mistake they ever made. Had they not arrested him, its possible Faye never would have found the one man she could truly love.
Lau felt a sense of relief reading this bounty. Then he hated himself for it. You see, this meant that his father couldn't be the arsonist. Lau never believed it but a small part of him was unsure because he never had a chance to talk to his father about it. The computer said that this arsonist had torched the home of another contractor involved in the demolition of the domes. Lau remembered hearing that there had been some conflict over benefits for the workers on that project. So it seemed the firebug decided to strike again. Lau suddenly wanted to catch this guy so badly he could taste it.
"Have you been crying?" Lau looked up to see Faye standing nearby. "Your eyes are all red. What's wrong?"
"Nothing...aw crap!"
"What?"
"I promised myself I wouldn't lie to you like I used to with my last wife," replied Lau. "Today was the sixth anniversary of her death and oddly enough we're orbiting the place where she died."
Faye said nothing. She always felt a little uncomfortable when he would bring up the subject of Talia. She didn't know what to say or how to feel. "You used to lie to her?" she finally asked. "Wait, never mind, I should be saying something comforting."
"I used to make her think I wasn't really that deeply involved in syndicate stuff so she wouldn't worry," said Lau. "It backfired. And you don't need to say something comforting, though I appreciate the sentiment. It's just something I have to deal with."
Faye desperately wanted to change the subject. She looked over at the computer. "Looking at the John Does?" she asked. "Those are a lot more work to catch. Anyone here you have in mind?"
Lau pointed at the arsonist's profile. "Look familiar?"
Faye looked at the screen. "You mean they still haven't taken that thing down? Wait, this is a new one. You think this is the same guy from the first time?"
Lau nodded. "I want this guy. I want him bad. Although I don't know whether to hit him for making my dad look bad or shake his hand for indirectly causing us to meet. But one thing's for sure, he's going down."
"Who's going down?" asked a sleepy Jet who had just entered.
"You explain it to him," Lau said to Faye. "I'm going to go take a shower."
While Lau was in the shower, Ed emerged from Faye and Lau's bedroom in a sleepy state. She headed off towards the lavatory. No sooner had she flushed the toilet than you could hear screams coming from the shower-room. The plumbing on the Bebop wasn't exactly state of the art and Lau had been scalded. When Lau finally emerged he found Ed walking on her hands. "Why'd you scream?" she asked. "Did you see a mouse or something? Edward will catch it."
He headed back towards the living room where Jet and Faye were looking over the bounty profile. "Well, I guess they can't blame this one on your old man," said Jet. "I wouldn't mind grabbing this guy myself. The only problem is that arson can be a tough crime to investigate. I should know. It was one of my earlier detective assignments."
"Jet, this one is a matter of principle," replied Lau. "Are you saying we can't find this guy even with the infamous black dog on the case?"
"My gosh, you guys are overlooking the obvious," scoffed Faye. "Didn't it occur to you that our best bet is to trace the rumors? Whoever it was that started that rumor that Lau's dad was responsible was probably the arsonist covering his tracks."
"It's possible," replied Jet. "That's not exactly a sure fire thing though (pun intended)."
"Well it wouldn't kill us to ask around," said Faye. "There's more than money riding on this one."
"I'm not saying no," said Jet. "I'm just warning you guys we may be in for one frustrating experience. I never had much luck catching firebugs." He headed to the control room and punched in coordinates for Earth. Then he headed back to the living room and took out a book on arson investigation to brush up on the subject.
It had been a long time since Lau had been to San Francisco and his last experience there hadn't exactly been a friendly one. It had marked the first time (certainly not the last time) that Faye saved his life. Upon the ship's descending into the San Francisco Bay, Lau could see the domes partly demolished. It seemed a waste. The blood, sweat, and tears of hundreds of workers who loved their city were in those things. Without the domes, you could see the moon more clearly than ever. It looked horrible after the explosion, something to frighten small children at night.
If you think it's a wee bit confusing to the sleep cycle to move from time zone to time zone, try traveling from planet to planet. Here it was night but it was only early afternoon in Tharsis time.
"The first person I want to see is my mom," announced Lau. "Maybe she'll know something, maybe she won't. It couldn't hurt."
"You go ahead," replied Faye with a yawn.
"Faye, I would think she would want to see her daughter-in-law," said Lau.
"Look, I'm feeling tired," said Faye. "I'm going to go take a nap."
"Are you OK?" asked Lau. "You look a little pale."
"I'm fine, I'm just worn out," she replied as she headed off for the bedroom. Lau remembered something she had told him once about Ed. She said Ed looked tired, probably from being dragged all over the place both on the Bebop and with her dad. Lau was starting to wonder if Faye had also been speaking about herself.
Laverne was surprised to get a knock on her door at that hour of night. She was thrilled to open the door and find her youngest son outside. "Hey ma!"
"Lau, gees, what are you doin' here, sweetie?" she cried as she hugged him. "Wait, don't tell me, that woman of yours threw you out, eh?"
"No ma, it's nothing like that," replied Lau with a grin. "Actually I'm in town on business."
"And you took the time out of you busy fugitive schedule to visit your mom?" she asked. "I'm going to go call your brothers right now and tell them you're my favorite. The bums never call me anymore."
"Ma, there was another arson," said Lau. "I want to nail whoever did this so my father's name never gets dragged through the mud again."
Laverne sat down in a recliner. "I'm sure your pop would appreciate that if he were here, but are you sure it's the same guy? I mean, these crooked contractors aren't exactly real popular, you know."
"I'm pretty sure it was the same guy," he replied. "I can see more than one person taking revenge on a contractor. But more than one firebug? No. That takes a certain type of mentality. More likely than not, it's the same guy. Ma, what I need to know is if you ever found out who started those rumors about pop."
"Lau, you know if I knew that I'd have strangled the SOB a long time ago," said Laverne. "I think your father kept a company directory around somewhere. You could talk to his old buddies and see if they know anything." She came over and took his face in her hands. "So when are you and Faye gonna give me some grandkids here? Come on, what are you waiting for?"
She said that partially to tease him. She knew nothing embarrassed him more than her saying something like that.
"Ma!"
"Oh don't you 'Ma!' me mister," said Laverne teasingly. "OK, I won't push the issue. But what I will tell you is that I was never happier in my life than when you and your brothers were born. Don't deprive yourself of that happiness, kiddo. I'll fax you that directory when I find it." Lau kissed his mother good-night and left. That woman never failed to put him in a good mood.
The next day, Lau and Jet divided the names on the list and started talking to people. Both of them were suffering jet-lag now. It was day time in San Francisco but it would have been night in Tharsis. It would have been better if Lau had taken the entire list by himself but that would have been too much for him. People were more willing to talk to the son of their old friend and co-worker than to some bounty hunter they didn't know. Lau asked Faye to go over to the police and see what information on the case was available to the public. Had that been a police station on Tharsis, they probably would have gladly shown her all the facts they had and invited her to talk to the investigating detective. Earth police, on the other hand, were often times less friendly to bounty hunters. She found the police in San Francisco to be far less cooperative than the ones from New York. They wouldn't tell her anything.
Around noon, Jet and Lau met by the Transamerica Pyramid. Both of them were ready to drop dead from exhaustion. "Well, I hope you did better than me," said Jet. "Most of these guys didn't even want to talk to me."
"Nobody I talked to knew exactly who started the rumors," replied Lau. "They just remember who spread them and who they first heard them from."
"Well, that's a start," replied Jet. "How many names did they give you?"
"Five."
"Even better," said Jet. "There's a good chance that one of those five is our man. We have an arsonist who punishes people who offend him with fire. We check out these people and who they know. If we find an unusual occurrence of fires, we have our guy."
"Would it make any difference if I told you one of the guys used to work for the Fresno Fire Department?" asked Lau.
"Make a difference?! Lau, that makes a huge difference, especially if he was terminated for reasons of conduct."
Back on the Bebop, Jet was far less optimistic when he heard from Faye about the cold shoulder the police gave her. "The evidence they picked up is essential," groaned Jet. "Why did they bother putting a bounty on this guy if they won't cooperate with the bounty hunters? If I were to be much help, I would really need to know about starting devices and accelerants used."
"Well I tried Jet," she replied.
"Hey, I'm not blaming you," said Jet. "I'm blaming the cops. Maybe they would talk to a former cop."
Jet couldn't have been more mistaken. The police turned him away just as harshly as they had with Faye. He came back to Bebop in a very bad mood. "I could only get the Fire Department to talk to me," he grumbled. "They haven't heard anything from the cops. How is this city supposed to run if the agencies don't cooperate with one another?"
"We'll just have to play our trump card," said Faye.
Within minutes, they had Ed hack into the San Francisco PD's mainframe. The problem was that cases are organized by code numbers. It took a few minutes to find the right folder. "Ed found it! Can Ed go back to bed now?"
"Not just yet," replied Jet. Ed collapsed on the floor and started sleeping right there. Jet looked at the file. "Wow, this guy apparently used alcohol as an accelerant. That means he knows a thing or two about what he's doing. If anyone smells a petroleum product when a fire is being put out, they know it's arson right away. Not only that, the fireplace was the point of origin. He dropped an incendiary device down the chimney. The only reason they knew it was arson was because of the burn marks from the alcohol. And he got in and out of these houses without any sign of a break-in. This guy's a pro. We are definitely looking at our former fire fighter here. Ed, wake up!"
"Edward go sleep now. No talk to Edward."
"Ed I need you to hack into the personnel files for the Fresno Fire Department," said Jet. Ed didn't respond.
"I know how to wake her up," said Faye. She grabbed Ed and blew air into her mouth. It once again did the trick.
"OK, OK, Edward's up already!" she scowled. She got back onto the computer and hacked into the files as she was told. "There. Is Ed done now?"
"Yes, Ed."
"Nighty night!" She immediately fell back to the floor and dozed off again.
Jet typed through the personnel file until he found the one he wanted. "Well what do you know?" said Jet. "This guy got dismissed for stalking his own supervisor. Apparently, he didn't believe her when she said she was gay. I'll bet you anything that he tried to torch some property of hers. Hey Lau…"
Lau was asleep on the floor next to Ed. He hadn't slept much lately. Jet continued to search through the police and fire databases. "Bingo, there's a report here that her car was set on fire," said Jet.
Faye looked over his shoulder. "Isn't that what you guys in the criminal justice system call circumstantial evidence?" she asked.
"Yup," replied Jet. "They never found any physical evidence at any of these fires I've looked up that would link this guy or anyone else to the scene. That's why I warned you guys we might be in for a frustrating time. Stuff like fingerprints gets burned more often than not."
A couple of hours later, Lau woke up. He was always stiff after sleeping on the floor. No sooner had he gotten to his feet than Jet jammed a bunch of papers in his face. "Dennis Robinson. Age: 52 Employed by various fire departments all over the state of California for nearly twenty years. Lau, did your dad ever mention this guy?"
"The name doesn't ring any bells," replied Lau. "Is there any coffee left?"
"Only decaf," replied Jet.
"What possible reason could there be for the existence of decaffeinated coffee?" grumbled Lau.
"Everything we have so far is circumstantial," said Jet. "This guy was one of the people you talked to." Jet showed Lau a picture of a fat red-headed guy with glasses. "What did he tell you?"
"He said he never heard any rumors about the fire one way or another," replied Lau.
"How did he act when you talked to him?"
"Very friendly, very hospitable," said Lau. "Couldn't stop talking about what a great guy my dad was."
"And yet your father never mentioned this guy?" asked Jet. "Never said anything good or bad about him?"
"Not that I can recall," replied Lau. "But pop had a personal policy to avoid bad-mouthing other people. He wouldn't even gripe about some of the crooks he worked for over the years. My mom on the other hand, she had a few colorful words to say about anyone who made my dad suffer."
"So maybe he said something to her about this guy," replied Jet. "You don't just drag a man's reputation through the mud just for the hell of it. He had to have had a reason."
Lau sighed. "Maybe this time you should go talk to her."
"What's the matter?" asked Jet. "Don't tell me you're afraid to talk to your own mama? I thought you two saw each other yesterday."
"You wouldn't understand," replied Lau as he headed out.
Lau sat in his car outside his mother's house for nearly an hour but he couldn't make himself go in. He heard the passenger door open and his mother entered and sat down next to him. "Well ain't you coming in, sweetie?" she asked.
"What's the point?" replied Lau. "I'd just be talking business again. I saw your eyes light up when I showed up at your door. You thought your little boy was coming home to visit his mama but I just wanted to discuss a bounty head. I'm sorry."
Once again, Laverne took Lau's face in her hands and made him look her in the eyes. "I love a visit from any of my sons regardless of the reason. And this case is about more than business. You're just trying to be a dutiful son and exonerate your father."
"And in the meantime I've done nothing for my mother," he replied. "Some dutiful son I am."
Laverne sighed. "Baby, I don't know what it's going to take but one way or another you are going to have to stop carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. It's not healthy, son. Believe me, you have made me happy, happier than you probably realize. You always get this way this time of year. Right around the time of year Talia died."
Lau clenched the steering wheel. Now why did she have to go and say that? Laverne hugged him. "I know, I know. I miss her too. She was a sweet girl and they don't come no sweeter. But you have a wonderful wife back on your ship who's gonna love you till the day you die. That girl, I've seen her eyes, the way she looks at you. She'll never get you out of her system, not if she lived for a thousand years. She's got wonderful taste in men."
Lau was amazed at how his mother always knew the right thing to say to him at just the right time. "So what did you want to talk about, Lau?"
Lau returned to the Bebop a while later. "Jet, what would it take to nail this guy?" he asked.
"Without any physical evidence it would probably take a confession," he replied.
"Oh, I'll get a confession out of him all right!" said Lau with a clenched fist.
"Now hold on there, killer," replied Jet. "A confession's no good if you beat it out of someone. First of all, what did your mom have to say about Robinson?"
"That he was probably about the closest thing my dad had to an enemy on that work-crew," said Lau. "It's not like they really were enemies, but he was the only guy on that crew who ever had something nasty to say about my dad and wasn't shy about saying it to his face."
"What did he say?" asked Faye who was lying on the couch nearby.
"Something to the effect that it was sinful for my dad to marry outside his race and that me and my brothers were mongrels," replied Lau.
"And you don't consider him to be an enemy?" asked Faye in surprise.
"He only said it a couple of times and when my dad didn't react he dropped it. That was just pop's way. If my mom had been there though..."
"I'm sure she would have turned him into lasagna," smirked Faye. "Your mom is so cool."
"Cooler than you know," said Lau more to himself than anyone else.
"So we have a serial arsonist, he always gets back at his enemies by burning their property, and this time when he really needs a scapegoat he blames it on someone he doesn't hate but doesn't particularly like either," said Jet. "I've dealt with his type plenty of times. I think I could get something out of him."
"You?" asked Lau. "It was my dad."
"Yeah but it should be me who talks to him," replied Jet. "I'm not emotionally involved, I'm an experienced investigator, and he wouldn't recognize me." Jet copied down Robinson's address. "This guy won't even know he's being interrogated. He'll just think he's having a friendly conversation with a former volunteer fireman who remembers him from his Fresno days."
"Hey Jet!" called Lau.
"Yeah?"
"After he does give it up and there's no way the confession can get tossed out, could you do me a favor? Kick his ass."
Jet grinned. "I'll pistol whip him for you." He walked off to the hangar. Lau went to the window and watched him take off.
"Maybe we should take some time off," he said to Faye as soon as Jet was gone. "You look awfully pale and you seem a little worn out lately."
"I'll be fine," she replied with a smile.
"You sure?"
Faye walked over to Lau very slowly and gave him the most passionate kiss he'd ever had in his entire life. "Whoah! What was that for?"
"I'm pregnant," replied Faye.
"What?! Are you sure?"
"The test turned pink," said Faye. "Hm, your face is turning a little pink too."
For a moment Lau couldn't even speak. But when he did find his voice... "YIPPEEEE!"
"You don't need to wake the dead Lau," said Faye. To be perfectly honest, it took every ounce of self-control she had not to yell out herself. She had really come to the conclusion years ago that she would never have a family. She tried to convince herself that she was too independent for that, but deep down, it bothered her. After having known Ed, it bothered her more than ever.
Ed popped into the room, having heard Lau's shouts. "What? Did Lau see another mouse?"
"No silly, we're gonna have a baby," replied Faye.
Ed couldn't wrap her arms around Faye quickly enough. "Yay! Edward's going to be an auntie!"
Faye held her close. "Sweetie, I know I've acted like you bother me sometimes, and…well… you do. But I want you to know that you're the reason I wanted to have a child of my own in the first place. I hope this kid turns out just like you. Well, maybe not JUST like you, but you get the idea."
"Oh man," replied Lau. "When my mom hears about this, we'll have to nail her feet to the floor so she doesn't leap into orbit."
"Up, up, and away!" shouted Ed as she began leaping as high as she could. Ein had to leap out of the way so she wouldn't land on his tail.
When Jet finally reached his destination, he found Robinson's apartment door open just a crack. With a slight push it opened all the way revealing a man hanging by his neck. A few hours later, Jet returned. When he walked in, he was surprised to see Laverne seated on the couch with Lau and Faye. He walked over and shook her hand.
"It's Laverne, isn't it?" he asked. She nodded. "Well you're certainly an honored guest aboard the Bebop anytime."
"Did you get Robinson to confess?" asked Faye.
"Well I did technically get a confession," replied Jet. "Unfortunately, it was in the form of a suicide note I found around his neck. He hung himself."
"At least we have the truth now," replied Lau.
"I'm sorry I don't have better news to give you," said Jet as he headed off towards the kitchen.
Laverne followed him. "Oh Mr. Black, I have enough good news to make up for that. Wait'll you hear this..."
Faye looked over at Lau. "We have got to celebrate. Tomorrow, I'm taking you out on the town all day long. Sky's the limit."
"You think we could do that the day after tomorrow?" asked Lau. "I'd like to spend the day with my mom tomorrow. I think I've been neglecting her."
"No, she can take one more day of neglect," replied Faye with a grin. "If she were here right now she'd tell you to go out and spend some time with your wife. You know she would."
Lau grinned. "She probably would. OK, but I'm definitely giving her a day of my time before we leave town."
Jet walked back in shaking his head and giggling. "Well Faye, I'll bet you're glad now that you couldn't return that maternity dress."
"Jet?"
"Yes Faye?
"Go away."
"Sure thing."
Jet walked back into the kitchen while Faye and Lau resumed their old habit of snuggling up on the couch together and turning on the TV.
There are only two sessions of COWBOY BEBOP: THE LAU SAGA left. The two-part series finale will be some of my best work yet so be sure to read it.
SEE YOU SPACE COWBOY
(c) 2004 Joseph Kerner
jak981125@catholic.org
Disclaimer: I did not create Cowboy Bebop. I wish I had, but I didn't. This is just fanfiction