See You L8er Space Cowboy

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Cowboy Bebop in any way. The only thing that belongs to me are the ideas used in this story.

See You L8r Space Cowboy

Session 9: Aquitted

"Mao knew I wouldn't last long."

"These are serious accusations put against you, Spike. Luci Contreas' family believes this is some sort of 'crime of passion' or 'love of money' case, saying you wanted Luci's control over her estate and her assets. Now, I have the perfect excuse for this. Wait, Spike...stop trying to make those smoke rings. They'll kill you one of these days. Anyways! Please, Spike sit down. All right, prosecutors are trying to link you to get some time over the fact that you own the Red Dragon Syndicate, but I've finally convinced McRoberts to come down on that. I mean, Mao's will did claim that you didn't own it until you married Luci, and his little motive stops there. Now, about the murder. I can make a story that you just happened to show up as Luci was commiting sucide in your office! Yes, I am a genius. Well, Spike, what do you say? Shall we get to work?"

I looked at him, and walked over to the window overlooking the city skyline. Mars...a planet of great beauty, my home. Beautiful on the outside, but within...

"I am goin to plea 'guilty', Johnny." A glass of vodka cracks on the floor, and if you had listened just a little harder, you could hear Johnny's world crash around him.

"Spike, you can't be serious. You are going to plead guilty to this? Spike, my client and friend, please, don't do this to us."

I rolled my eyes as Johnny rattled on. Jonathan Barentino, a man with a family legacy and his own little activities that are enough to make you quiver. Johnny, as we affectionally called him, was the Syndicate's own dirty defense attorney, filled a million and one reasons as to why his clients were innocent. Johnny won many cases, mainly because of Mao and of course, he's family history. His great grandfather, Mario Barentino, founded one of the first galaxy gates from earth with blood money. It was a dirty little secret the people at the gates wanted to confine, but of course Mario was one to brag. He'd kill any man who got in his way, used the wives as prostitutes for more money, and exploited the kids until they were 18 and either killed them if they were men or used them as prostitutes if they were women. Johnny, of course, wanted to get away from the family legacy and became a lawyer. But of course, you can't fall too far from the tree.

"Why are you so worried, Johnny? Who's the judge?"

He grew pale when I asked him that question, and it was then that i knew. Son of a bitch.

"Merriland, isn't it? Let me guess, it's been 4 years and he still doesn't know."

"Damnit Spike shut up. Look, Lily and I are nothing. Story was she consented, but of course her father wouldn't believe me now that-"

"Mao's dead," I finished. Lily Merriland was a beautiful little thing; she was raped when she was sixteen about four years ago by Johnny. He was drunk, and she was heading out her grandmother's house. When word got around the Red Syndicate that Johnny had raped a judge's daughter, mainly the one that backed up the Red Syndicate because it had provided income for not-so-well-off families, Mao had no choice but to go over to Lily's school and 'convince' her using a 9mm to keep her mouth shut. Mao hated it; she looked just like Luci. We would talk late into the night about what he had done, and he hated Johnny with all his guts. Johnny still sees Lily time to time, when he demands for sex with a weapon. Now, I was willing to give up all that Mao had worked for to avenge everything for that girl.

"Please, Spike, don't do this. C'mon you son of a bitch don't do this to me!" He threw me that bottle of vodka; it missed. I took him by the collar and backed him up against a wall.

"You raped that girl, had your ass covered up by Mao. Now, you still harrass her, and don't you know that she's pregnant," I whispered in his ear. The world crashing around him became as loud as a whistle now; he's a father. "That's right you self-righteous, pompus, vindicated, son of a bitch. That girl is pregnant with your child, and to top it off, isn't Marie pregnant too?" There was that little factor that Johnny was already married to his high school sweetheart, Marie. She used to be a Syndicate secretary, around my age.

"Spike, please, don't do this to your comrades at the Syndicate. Don't do this to me...Spike don't." I let him go, and went back to the window. He kept calling me back as I took out a cigarrette. "Spike, please...don't." As I lighted it, flashbacks of my life, the Syndicate, passed me by. I closed my eyes as I told myself something that I knew all along since I returned.

"Mao knew I wouldn't last long."

[4 Months Later]

I had given up the Syndicate to the authorities, and Johnny was given the electric chair. The media was in a frenzy; a crooked defense lawyer was being executed for the rape and torture of a judge's daughter. I was there, comforting Lily as she watched, tears of joy strolling down her face. But I was also comforting Marie as she watched with tears of sadness and betrayl trailed down her pale face. Both their stomachs were swelling; Lily's expecting a girl and Marie is expecting twin boys. Judge Merriland had ordered that whatever money owed to Johnny in the last 3 years were to be given to his daughter as child support payments. He also ordered that 25 percent of the Syndicate's earnings for last year (totaled about 65 million Woolongs) be given to Marie as well for child support. She wasn't arrested like the rest of my compadres for working at the Syndicate, since she had only worked there for less than twenty four hours because Mao fired her the first day. She gave him decaf, and he loved black coffee.

As for me? I was acquitted of all charges. It was revealed that I didn't kill Luci; I had no motive. Everyone's looking all over the galaxy for that person who did. I didn't tell them that it was Jet. Instead, I gave them the story that the room was very dim because of the candles, so I couldn't see him. Jet I saved your ass when you left me to dry...almost some things don't change. Miss Faye Valentine, the last time I saw you...you were as beautiful as I remembered. I hope though, you're resting up there with Mao and everyone else that left me. One thing, however, stuck to my mind. Luci whispered something to me, that still scares me till this day.
"I don't care if you didn't love me Spike. I still love you. I swear, Spike Spiegel, I will haunt you till the day you die. Every woman you see, you'll see an image of me. I will never leave your mind. I will never leave you alone. Until the day you die, Spike, until the day you die.

...See You L8r Space Cowboy

AN- Hey people! It's been awhile since I last worked on any of my stories! Anyways, please R/R. I'm planning updates on 'Newfound Glory' and 'To Never Know', but right now biggest concern is this story. I just recently got off a writers block. anywais! take care readers. check out my xanga some time: xXAnGeLiKbibiXx or my friendster 'Bianca Nguyen'. So anywais, take cares and l8rs

AngelikNikole