Where am I going? Well if that isn't the 100,000 woolong question. If I knew where I was going I wouldn't be sitting in this cramped hunk-of-junk floating through space. There's nothing I really have to do other than destroy a multi-planetary conspiracy that is currently trying to destroy my life because I killed my ex-best friend because he killed the love of my life. And you thought soap operas weren't real.
Julia…you didn't deserve all of this, I didn't even deserve you…but girls always seemed to have this completely arbitrary way of deciding that you're the right guy for them.
I wish I could see you now…I don't even know where you're at. I just want to say…well, goodbye at the very least. But I'm not even sure how to do that! Why didn't you come with me? I just wish this all didn't need to happen.
This is giving me a headache…I need a drink…
…A neon sign over a pair of wooden doors; it didn't seem like much, but back when the Red Dragon Syndicate's influence extended this far, they used this bar as a hang-out. It wasn't actually a bar per se, it was a jazz club, pool hall, and bar; everything you need all rolled right into one. And it was here, in Steamer's, that Spike met Julia.
Spike was playing pool, using his God-given ability for hitting the ball and making it go in the hole to double his weekly payday when he saw her. He didn't even see her come in, he just saw her across the table looking the opposite direction. As if she felt his presence, she turned and glanced over her shoulder, and her eyes caught sight of the then matching brown eyes. She gave him a smile and he felt daring. Deciding to take his chances, he offered to buy her a drink. They had fun, they talked and laughed and then Vicious showed up.
Apparently they were an item and had been for a few months. The feeling of betrayal came to surface when Spike found that his best friend had had a girl for nearly half a year without telling him. They're friendship seemed to go down hill from that point on. It's easy to blame Julia for the deteriorating friendship and it might actually have been true that if she didn't come along Spike would still be in the Red Dragon Syndicate and he and Vicious would still be friends, but it's also human nature to look for someone else to blame. But to Spike, it didn't even matter then that the friendship was going down hill, all that mattered was Julia…and this bar was the last place I saw her before I asked her to come with me.
Spike walked into the building and quickly found an empty seat at the bar. He ordered a drink, Scotch, and after one glass it all started to come back to him…
The doors swung open, Spike and Julia wandered into Steamer's looking for somewhere they could just find a nice, quiet drink. He felt her arms wrap around his body and draw him closer. He felt the contours of her body touch his back and even allowed himself a small smile. This was it…this was what he wanted. Not this life of running and gunning, always looking behind your back so you can shoot them before they shoot you. He wanted to be with her. To be in love and be with the person he loved.
They decided to skip the drinks and make there way out into the night. They spent most of the time whispering between themselves the way lovers do, occasionally breaking into fits of laughter as they walked down the sidewalks enjoying the other's embrace.
After about an hour of not paying attention to where they were going, they finally came to their senses when it started to rain and as they took note of their surroundings, they realized that they were in a cemetery; the same cemetery I told her later to meet me at on that fateful day…
Spike snapped back to his senses and realized he was standing in that same cemetery. Reasoning that he must have walked out of the bar while his mind was focused on the past. He glanced to his side, hoping out of the slightest possibilities there existed the chance that she might be there. But she wasn't. She wasn't standing next to him. "She" was no longer there.
"I miss you."
"This is Rooftop 1.1, I have visual confirmation of the package. Requesting orders. Over," the radio fell silent for a brief second before the static cleared and a voice returned.
"Rooftop 1.1, this is CentCom [Central Command], hold position until Downtown 1.1 and 1.2 are in position. Repeat; do not engage until Downtown 1.1 and 1.2 are in position. Over," the voice squawked over the headset worn by the sniper.
"I copy CentCom, will await further instructions."
Being six stories off the ground has its advantages, as far as military strategy goes; he with the higher ground always wins. But that doesn't always work in a snatch. John Masters almost felt sorry for the guy with the poofy green hair whose profile was currently filling his telescopic sights. He had seen the guy's lips move a few moments before and was curious as to why he was talking to himself, but decided to just resign himself to the job at hand.
It was a standard op, one man would approach from the front and ask a harmless question and while the package was distracted, another would rush him from the back. After subduing the package, they'd move to an extraction point and throw the poor bastard in a van and we'd never see him again. They never even need a sniper, just in case the guy manages to do something pretty amazing in order to break free from the two guys on the ground…plus the second team waiting in the surrounding areas.
"This is Downtown 1.1 holding in position."
"This is Downtown 1.2 we're ready."
"Acknowledged Downtown 1, Downtown 2, this is CentCom are you in position?"
"Rodger CentCom, Downtown 2 is in position."
"Acknowledged, Rooftop 1.1 is the package still in position?"
"Rodger, the package is stationary."
"Acknowledged Rooftop 1.1. All teams, this is CentCom; we are green for the snatch. Repeat, we are green."
Masters watched through his scope as Downtown 1.1 walked by the package, he glanced towards the package and then moved in closer. Something stupid like: "Do you have a light?" or "Do you have the time?" was probably exchanged. He watched as the man shook his head no before he was slammed forward and pinned to the concrete by Downtown 1.2. The poor guy didn't even know what hit him. Within seconds, they had his hands and feet tied together. The Downtown 2 team moved in to help get him to the van, but all and all it was by the book. Masters followed the group carrying the package through his scope as they moved towards the van and watched as they threw him in the back through the open doors. After the doors were shut and locked, one of the men hit the back doors twice and the van took off down the street.
"This is CentCom, the package has been wrapped, move to extraction. Repeat, the package has been wrapped, move to extraction."
"I copy CentCom, who's buying the drinks?"
Poor guy.
"Don't tell me there's nothing we can do, there's always something we can do!" Faye's voice was on the verge of hysterics. Ever since she found the note in Spike's room she had been insistent on finding a way to get the impulsive, poofy-haired bounty hunter back on the ship. It never really made sense to Jet. But questioning either of them about it took you even further away from the truth; it was easier to just leave them be and let them act like elementary school kids.
"Look, he said don't follow so don't you think it might actually be a good thing to, god forbid, listen to what he said for once?" Jet answered from the chair opposite the couch Faye was stressing out on.
"What if he's in trouble?"
"Then he'll handle it."
"What if the Brotherhood goons show up?"
"Then he'll handle it."
Faye leapt to her feet. "What the hell is wrong with men? Is this 'code of honor' bullshit so engrained in your narrow little minds that you can't possibly consider the idea that he might need help?"
"He left for a reason Faye. Don't you get that?" Jet's eyes followed Faye as she paced back and forth before him. The woman just doesn't get it. "He left because he knows he's a target for the Brotherhood and he didn't want us to get involved. If you go after him, you'll negate everything he did here."
"But…what if they catch him?" Faye's voice faltered for the first time in the last twenty minutes of cursing Spike's idiocy for running out.
"You don't have to worry about the Brotherhood catching him," Seraph's voice echoed through the room. Both bounty hunters turned to look at the eavesdropper.
"Why do you say that?" Jet asked tentatively. He, like Spike, never fully trusted the mercenary.
"Because they already have him."
"No…they can't already have him, he hasn't even been gone for a day," Faye returned to her seat, her eyes betraying her somewhat calm exterior.
"They tracked you down from the bar, what makes you think they wouldn't be able to track a ship?" the harsh reality of Seraph's statement began to fall into place. Faye shook her head, refusing to accept what he had said or merely following deductive logic. "Faye, they already have him. I'm I willing to bet that they have him in their Aruba City building."
Faye's head snapped around, "You know where they have him?"
"Where they might have him, it's a really big 'if'."
"How do we get there?" Faye's logic became rapidly apparent to Jet.
"Now hold on Faye, you can't be thinking what I think you're thinking." I don't like the way this is going…
"Why not? We know where he's at."
"Faye," Seraph began slowly, attempting to explain the entire situation that they were facing. "You are talking about breaking into a highly secured facility, dealing with the security setup and trained personnel, and breaking out a man who killed one of their most elite officials if he's even there!"
"What would it take?" Faye looked back at her brother, her determination apparent.
"A miracle."
Author's Note: Guys, I'm sincerely sorry for my delay. Believe me, if I had figured out what the issue with this chapter was months ago, I would have posted it in seconds. Once again, I apologize.