Chapter Four: Reunion

Angel sneezed as she turned on the TV to Big Shot. The two stars of the show, a bonde named Judy and an black man named Punch where on the screen.
"How are all you bounty hunters doing out there?" Punch said over-enthusiastically.
"You're tuned into Big Shot where we give you the latest information on all those wanted criminals out there." Judy added.
"The big story today is the mysterious bounty worth 100 million woolongs."
"Wow, Punch. No one's caught this criminal yet?"
"No way. No body has a clue about what he looks like. But."
"Oo, there's a but." Judy leaned in to Punch as he leaned towards the screen.
"But word is that this criminal isn't even a 'he'. People are starting to spread the word that it's a woman their after."
"That's some juicy information, Punch."
"You're telling me." A hand reached out and Punch took the paper it held. As soon as he read it his eyes went wide. "This just in! It is a woman, and not just any woman. This girl is only 18 years old! Narrow your search bounty hunters."
"An 18 year old girl is the one you're looking for. But don't underestimate her, boys. She knows how to use any kind of weapon or ship."
"And she's skilled in every kind of fightint style, from boxing to karate."
Angel turned off the TV and sniffed loudly. Spike walked in with a cup of some sort of steaming liquid in his hand.
"Now drink this and you'll be all better."
"I'm not drinking that." She studied the liquid. "Is that a lizard tail?"
Angel sneezed again and Spike forced the cup into her hands. "Drink it."
"No." She pushed the cup back to him. Jet walked in and Angel quickly jumped up and ran to him before Spike could make her drink the disgusting liquid.
"Jet, tell her to drink this. It's a remedy that will make her cold go away."
Jet looked at Angel. "You should drink it. All Spike's remedies work, no matter who you are. It may be disgusting, but it's worth it."
"Shut up, Jet." She glanced at Spike but kept her attention on Jet. "You know what I just saw on Big Shot? They know that I'm 18, and they know that I'm a girl."
"Yeah, I heard." Jet turned to Spike as he handed him the drink and then Jet handed it to Angel. "Drink this, then we'll talk about it. And I want to see you drink it."
Angel growled a little and glared angrily at Spike. She plugged her nose and drank the remedy then tossed the cup at Spike.
Spike caught it and turned, whistling, to go back into the kitchen.
"Now about that information, Jet."
"Listen. I don't know how their figuring all this out, but we need to know why the bounty is on your head in the first place."
"I told you before. I don't know what I did."
"I know that. But what do they think you did?"
Angel sighed and sat down on the sofa. "Better bring everyone in here, I'm only telling the story once."

"When I was little I lived with my mother and father and my little brother. My mother worked for the ISSP while my father secretly worked for the Blue Snake syndicate. When mom found out about dad's job they split and my father took my brother while I lived with my mom. She wanted me to be a strong woman just like her so she had me trianed in every fighting style. I caught on fast and before I knew it, I was an expert. Then I was taught how to handle all sorts of guns and ships. By the time I was 16 I was working for the ISSP. I had heard about the Black Dog. Once he bites down he doesn't let go. I wanted to meet you for a long time, Jet. When I was you in the street I thought I was dreaming. But since I was in a little bit of trouble there was no time for autographs... I stole from you because that was the only thing I could think of doing. By that time I'd been out of the ISSP since I turned 17."
"So you were with the ISSP for a year. Why aren't you in it anymore? What happened?" Jet asked.
"I don't know. They just started acting strange towards me, like I didn't belong. I was assigned to a lot of different places before I finally decided that there wasn't a reason to do it anymore, so I left. I didn't say anything, I just left. I went to Venus and got a job, but I couldn't catch on quick enough and I was fired. Then I resorted to stealing. No one could stop me, I was stronger then everyone I stole from."
Spike lit a cigarette. "Maybe that's why there's a bounty on your head."
"There has to be a different reason. They wouldn't put a 100 million woolong bounty on me just for stealing... I can't think of anything else though."
Faye stood up and started out of the room.
"Where are you going?" Jet asked.
"I don't buy any of this." Faye said as she left the room.
Jet turned back to Angel. "What else..."
"Visitor! Visitor!"
He was interrupted by the sudden yelling of Ed and then the beeping of the satellite. A man appeared on the TV screen and everyone in the room looked at him.
"This is the ISSP. We're running a check on all ships that pass through this area."
Angel had already ducked out of the room and into the hanger where her ship was. She didn't plan on leaving yet, but if the ISSP came on the Bebop and found her she wanted to be ready to escape.
Jet nodded. "Okay, but why the check?"
"As you may have heard there is a girl with a 100 million woolong bounty on her head. We have reason to believe that she is stowing away on a ship headed for Earth."
Jet stood and went into the cockpit to prepare the Bebop for boarding.

A man with silver hair and a large bird on his shoulder sat on the fake ISSP ship, waiting to board the Bebop. He knew exactly who was on the ship. He knew about Faye, Ed, Ein, Jet, and Spike. He wasn't sure if Angel was with them or not, but if she was he intented to find her and bring her back to him.

Angel stayed in the hanger as she listened for anyone approaching. It had probably been about 20 minutes and she knew that the ISSP was still searching the ship. Spike walked into the hanger and dodged her quickly when she went to attack him.
"Sorry, Spike. I thought you were one of the ISSP guys."
"I'm not. But they're making their way here right now. Have you been in here the whole time?"
"Yeah. If they find me, I'm taking the SharkShift."
Spike walked over and leaned against the Swordfish and lit a cigarette. "There's something weird about these guys."
"Something weird? Like what?"
"Don't know."
He took a drag from his cigarette when the doors opened and five men dressed in ISSP uniforms walked in and spread out. Angel didn't have a lot of time to hide and she was about to climb into the SharkShift when Spike grabbed her and pulled her behind some crates. It was a tight squeeze, and lucky for her it was pitch black. They wouldn't find her there. When the men's footsteps came closer, Spike's grip around her tightened and he pushed her farther into the darkness. She was up against his warm body and she could here his slow and steady heartbeat through his chest. Angel felt safe in Spike's arms. She knew he would keep her safe.
The silver haired man stood at the entrance of the hanger and looked around as the men searched it.
Another man walked up to him. "She isn't here, sir."
The silver haired man said nothing as he pushed past him and walked over to the crates. He noticed how small the crack between the crates and the wall was. Angel and Spike could hear his footsteps as he looked in the crack.
It didn't take long before Spike and Angel were out of the crack and standing before Viscious.