Code: Vendetta
-(-
"Vicious…please don't…" I breathlessly murmur as his figure plummets with an eagle's grace from the third story window. Yet he didn't just jump, he launched a javelin at the syndicate lackey next to me, impaling him through the chest, blood splattering onto my new red dress. I feel an overwhelming sense of foreboding, Vicious is playing right into his hand…right into his sick trap, and I am the worst of it all!
I'm the damn bait.
As he dives onto the asphalt into a crunching, rolling dive; I notice
He winces the slightest bit…his leg wounds aren't healed yet! I muster my voice to scream to him, he needs to get out of here!
"Run Vicious it's a fucking trap!" I belt at the top of my lungs, which is pretty loud; Jet can vouch for me. Vicious hears me, but he makes no move to run, or hide, or any moves of panic; he just stands. By this time, another of the numerous Syndicate lackeys hired to guard me, points a gun to my head, daring me to speak another word. Yet, my eyes widen to see Daemon, with Vicious' katana, walk to me with a fuzzy stick thing in his other hand….electroshock…oh shit.
"Vicious so nice of you to drop by. You are the long awaited guest." Daemon sneers as he runs a long finger around my chin. I would have punched him if I wasn't so preoccupied with getting out of my handcuffs. The syndicate ones are harder than usual.
"Get the hell away from her. Julia is dead, you have no use for her or me. Let her go." Vicious stated coldly. He is now surrounded by numerous armed syndicate members while the only weapons Vicious has on him are his throwing knives, and he only has three! I frown; things are not looking good, if only Vicious knew of Daemon's and his plan!
If only Vicious knew the truth behind Julia and Daemon.
--- (flash back)---
"Vicious will tear you apart Daemon!" I hiss as he pushes me into what looks like an office room, but instead of it being empty, it has two people in it, one is a man in his early to mid forties with graying, curly dark brown hair, and wearing a business suit. His hard are eyes focusing on the floor. The next person is Julia, only something is amiss with her appearance, she has light brown eyes instead of her blue ones, and now that I think about it, her hair isn't quite the right color, it's beige. Then Daemon behind me begins to talk in a low tone.
'Your friend Vicious is clever; he broke into our security systems, so now we can't use our cameras without being spied on. So you are going to have to be in on this elaborate little secret as well.' Daemon took a seat next to a long table where Julia was sitting. Then I saw something, Julia took off her blonde wig! She isn't Julia at all! The 'imposter' Julia was a brunette with light brown eyes and a long nose, but looks very similar. I was fooled.
'What in the hell is going on? Where is Julia, and who in the hell is that!? And what do you mean secret?' I yell at Daemon, his cold eyes flicker an amused look before he opens his mouth to respond
'Julia is dead, has been for three years. This woman is a paid actress; we needed to hire her after Vicious killed Blade almost a year ago.' Daemon replies
'The name's Lita.' She whips out a cigarette and puffs on it silently while reading a book.
-(end flashback)---
"You are right Vicious, Julia is dead, and has been for three years." Daemon smiles. I figure out how I was conned into thinking Lita was Julia. When I review the facts, I only met Julia once, and Vicious never met Lita in person until the fight…which was just his bad case of eyesight because they purposely placed her in front of the rising sun. Lita was partially silhouetted, making it almost impossible to decipher if she was a fake or not.
"So that wasn't Julia…" Vicious mutters lowly. What would give Vicious a reason to think that Julia was fake? He didn't have one, and that's what pisses me off the most, we didn't even think twice before falling into his trap. Not Daemon's trap, but someone else's more elaborate one to seal his previous vendetta.
I look as Vicious stands and assesses the situation; he fell, literally, into a trap of spiders. The syndicate men revealing themselves from their hiding places as my stomach ties up in knots. This could be the end.
"Vicious so glad of you to drop by. I know we don't have to value your paycheck since it will be needed for your casket." Mr. Kaze steps from behind Vicious with an uzi in his hand. I could tell automatically that Vicious' knew that his hitman job was too good to be true, that all of those events were too well synchronized; that everything was like clockwork. Now I bet he is thinking- 'syndicate clockwork.'
---(flashback)---
'The man over there is the renowned Mr. Kaze, Vicious' hitman employer, He is the one of the men who made it all possible. Vicious getting the hitman job, the bounties on you and Shin, even the clever showdown between Vincent and Vicious was cleverly, flawlessly orchestrated by him.' I feel nauseous; this was all a set up? Julia isn't alive, and those bounties were just for fun? Vicious is just a pawn, and Shin is dead because of this man's sick, twisted humor?
'You mean to tell me that the 'Julia' that kidnapped me isn't real, she is just an actress, and Vicious' employer has been out to kill him and set him up this entire time?! What about you? Who are you?! This doesn't make any sense!'
'What I said about myself is true, I am Bruce's brother, and the Red Dragons are going to be the only Syndicate in Tharsis. I will be the greatest Syndicate leader Mars has ever seen! I will simply take over the only rival the Red Dragons has, the Black Falcons, and make it look like a daring act of bravery. But in all reality, the Syndicate is going to be given to me like candy to a baby.' Daemon cackled.
'The Black Falcons is a real syndicate, their leader has been missing, so we took it, and we hired Alisa. Poor Alisa, she thought she was an informant, but in all reality she was just a pawn.' I snarl as Daemon denounces Alisa, she wasn't evil; She needed money.
'But what about this woman Lita? And the communication with Vicious while you had me by his katana! She was serious!' I protested
'Acting. Though, her portrayal as the 'soft-toned Julia' failed miserably because Lita was too angry; it worked out in the end. We figured that Vicious would just draw his own conclusions of 'Julia's' out-of-character speech. Lita also really didn't know what 'Ti amo anche' meant, but we now know that the real Julia did know because Vicious said it to her in the past.' Daemon pauses; I feel my blood boil even more, know I know why he was so apathetic during the whole communication, Daemon can really care less about Vicious!
'And for that little comment after the whole communication, about her love, I felt that would just add a little flavor.' Daemon is smirking; he thinks he has already won this.
'So, the bounties were fake too?!' I ask angrily, Mr kaze turns to me with a grin.
'Yes, unfortunately for Vicious, the entire hitman thing was a big scheme, he was supposed to get the job, I knew all along who he was, I just had to feign ignorance until I was had to tell him why he never told me who he was, and that 'Julia' was the leader of the Black Falcons.' Mr Kaze speaks in a harsh clipped tone, devoid of all politeness.
'Vincent was in on it too!' I yell back
'Vincent didn't follow procedure. He was supposed to send you to the Red Dragons and collect the bounty. Then Vicious would come to the Red Dragon complex as my men would surround and apprehend him.' Mr Kaze chuckles demonically. 'But Vincent didn't like capturing Vicious; he knew Vicious was better off dead then a tortured soul. So he fucked things up and waited to long to come find you. So I had to come up with a new plan: Julia would be the perfect lure for Vicious. So with my acting skills, I pretended to be outraged that I didn't know Vicious' past, and plugged in the hook about "Julia". After the confrontation with Vincent, I used my technology I gave Vicious to track Shin to find you near Venus.' Mr Kaze smirks straightening his three piece suit.
I can't believe this, it was all a game to them! These last couple of weeks has been one big charade! I am just a fucking pawn! I don't understand; why would anyone go out of their way to lure Vicious here like this? Why go through all the trouble?
---(end flashback)—
"I should have known….it was all too simple wasn't it?" Vicious whipped his cold titanium eyes back towards Mr. Kaze. I suddenly felt guilty. If it wasn't for me, Vicious would have looked at the subtle details, the oh-so-conveniently placed phone call when Mr. Kaze informed him of Vincent just minutes before he struck…that had to have been orchestrated…I continue to think as I struggle out of my handcuffs, looking over my shoulder every few seconds when he will arrive.
"A simple plan for the simple minded." Mr Kaze retorts. Vicious could have seen the conflicting reasons why Daemon wanted to go after Vicious in the first place…he told his syndicate that he would hunting for him to keep him out of the Black Falcons hands, when he contradicted himself and said he'd be after Vicious for his own personal gain…
"No a simple plan made by arrogant men." Or even the fact that the Red Dragons knew that we were on Venus when they attacked and almost killed Shin in the zip crafts! They couldn't have known even though it was explained to me there was a mafia port there…they wouldn't have known in so little time! And the only technology of fast tracking was Mr. Kaze's!
Or perhaps even the simple fact that believed that Julia was alive; and we didn't even confirm it?! I know why we didn't even bother to examine the slight details…the subtle hints of a plan…I was too blinded; my mind was always occupied…
With Vicious.
"Vicious, leader of the Red Dragon Syndicate my fucking ass! You fell for every trap we set for you like a puppy! Sure you got inventive towards the end, but creativity never got anyone anywhere! You call yourself a man of honor…hell you are so gullible I guess you believe it!" Mr Kaze sneers and spit on the ground near Vicious, but the lines of Syndicate men behind him told Vicious he better not strike back. Then it hit me…Vicious is unarmed!
Damnit, all he has on him are his throwing knives! I feel the knuckles of my fingers tug slowly out of my handcuffs as I grumble that this could have all been avoided.
We didn't even bother to put the pieces together! None of us even bothered to look at the big picture…to even bother to see that the puzzle pieces fit together too carefully…we all backed up the facts with other assumptions…I can't even describe how stupid I feel, yet I feel most of all confused…because of him.
"Mr Kaze, the lower realms of hell are waiting for you." Vicious acidly spit back, his words cutting through Mr Kaze like a rusted blade. Mr Kaze, though, had an arrogant expression on his face, even though he knew that Vicious might be able to kill the horde of half-devoted soldiers surrounding him, and that if he got help that he might be able to wound Daemon severely….Mr Kaze has a trump card that makes my whole body split in two…I can't believe it's coming down to this…again.
---(flashback)---
'I don't get it, if you want to confront Vicious so bad, why not just contact him and fight him?!' I glare at Daemon ' Why go through all the trouble of giving him a fake job, creating fake bounties and duels, hiring an actress to play Julia, and then kidnap me?!' Daemon smirks.
'Ah but you see, it's not me or Mr. Kaze who want to kill Vicious that badly to drag him through that type of torture, to become what Vicious hates the most, a pawn, and to make his life like a dream.' Daemon says, but life like a dream…Vicious a pawn…who would want to make Vicious' life a dream or to make him a pawn? Who has that kind of vendetta against him?
'Who! Who wants to fight and kill Vicious?!' I scream my eyes in little slits. I am tired of being in the dark, I want some answers now! Then I hear the door creak open behind me the only man who wants to kill Vicious this badly. And I never would have expected seeing him here in a million years.
---(end flashback)---
"Hello Vicious, Long time no see." That's when I looked over my shoulder, to see the lanky, green mop-haired, garnet eyed man that I thought disappeared years ago. Apparently, I was wrong…and apparently someone inside the syndicate knew how to construct a fake death, and make everything run like clockwork… and of course didn't care about sacrificing a whole Syndicate building for his cause…Daemon.
After all, He was the successor after Blade died.
"Spike…How dare you show your face to me!" Vicious glowers as Spike passes me, on the other side of Daemon. I didn't know what to do…A part of me wanted to like the fact that Spike Spiegel, the first man who entered my life and made it meaningful is back…but I can't be happy, knowing that he is here to kill the man that I fell in love with.
I feel as if I am being pulled in different directions.
"What Vicious? Just sore that I got you? That I outsmarted you? C'mon your stupid pride can't hurt that much, can it?" Spike shines his lopsided grin, but the grin has lost some of its luster, I no longer feel magnetized to it…. I want them to put their past behind them. Why can't they just both live together?
"Pride? You are one to talk…aren't you even the bit remorseful that you hired someone to be Julia? Are you that committed to see my pride get shredded to see your lover's pride get run through the mud as well?" Vicious sneers back, his titanium eyes flicker like a firefly on a chrome marble.
"It would have never come down to this if you had just died! But no, I had to prove to you that you were the weak pawn. Life is a dream, Vicious, and I am ending it right here. You proved to me that you'd kill Julia to get your way, now it's for you to die." Spike'sc choppy dis-jointed speech ended, and I realize that Spike looks determined, yet tired, restless, angry and old. He is no longer the Spike that I knew.
---(flashback)---
"Spike…how…?Why? You are alive?!" I stutter like a fool. My mind can't even form words at the sight of him, the tall, green-topped cowboy who just waltzed back into my life like the monsoon season in India.
"You weren't supposed to be involved, I'm sorry about that. But the chips are down, ya know? And It's time to end this dream." Spike seems too look right through me, as if he is seeing someone else, and not me. Then it hit me, he sees Julia, he can never see me, I am nothing to him but that shrew who took his money.
And I don't really expect him to think of me as more…
"I don't get what you are saying! You can't do this Spike, I won't let you! Vicious has changed, it's been three years! Leave it be! Just don't…please…just back down Spike!" I nearly broke out into tears, he can't pull me into this many directions, it's not fair that he comes back into my life as the grim reaper to take Vicious from me. Not that I feel like Vicious is weaker than Spike…that scar on his forehead tells me that Vicious was that close to death before.
And easily can be again.
"Faye, put on this dress…do you remember it? It's just like the one you wore, at the pool hall…when you were with Mao and Vicious." He held up the dress that is identical to the one I wore at the OPERA! Not pool hall, he is thinking of Julia again.
"Spike, I'm not Julia! I'm Faye! Snap out of it!" I screamed as he reared back his hand as if to hit me, but never did. He let his hand fall, as well as his jaded gaze.
---(end Flashback)---
I know nothing I can say can come between those two, it's like that train question you get in the math class. It's when they will collide, not if. So, I need to make Vicious have an advantage. I exhale as I slide my hands from my handcuffs. Daemon beside me is clueless as I high-kick him in the jaw and take the katana from his belt.
"Vicious catch!" I throw the katana shakily through the air. The slow motion sinks in as Vicious catches it in a confused relief; Spike turns with a betrayed glare; and Daemon stands with a vengeful stare.
-find me in any place-
-(-
(AN) (sorry about the slow updates, im back in school and i have been a little depressed lately so i hope this chapter makes up for the wait XD)
Well, how was that for a plot twist?! More like a total 180 degree flip…but I had to do it…you just cant have a good cowboy bebop fic with out the main man Spike can ya?! Well, I hope I kinda explained things well because I think I might have a few plot holes, but overall, I think it will work. I will probably go back in and add subtle little hints even though I didn't need them.
See, since it's first person the entire time, I figured that people's minds don't always pick up on those little hints, so I didn't type them. Even though I did write the one about Vicious being confused over the bounties, why the Red Dragons would hire them…and the dreams. Besides, surprises are just so much fun!
Anyway, again, sorry about all those flashbacks! They were really annoying to write but I didn't have anyother way to do it!
Hope you enjoyed it! Please please review!
-L.O.H.