Children's Games: Part 5

Rated PG for rampant bad language and some rather explicit violence.

Summary: Five years after Spike's death, Faye and Jet find an old friend and new trouble, and the beginning of a new adventure.

Jet answered the call on the comm unit. He grinned as Ed's face came on the screen. "Hey, Ed! Nice move with the transponder. I've been teasing Faye about it all morning."

"Jet! No time to talk! Coming there with Alex. The Children are after us. If you want your bounty, I suggest you guys get your butts in gear!"

Jet jumped to his feet. "Gotcha. How many?"

"They're probably mobilizing the full fleet," a male blonde head poked into the screen. "Expect at least two dozen headed your way."

"We're about 5 minutes out," Ed added. "Hurry."

"We'll be ready." Jet killed the link. "Faye! They're coming!"

Faye shouldered her rifle. "I heard! Let's rock and roll!"

Faye spotted the scooter in the distance, followed closely by a bunch of other light mini-transports. They were already within shooting distance, so Alex was firing shots back to fend them off. Faye counted 11 mini-transports, with a pilot and shooter in each. A larger one was hanging back a bit, and Faye could only assume someone more important was hiding back there.

Faye started taking pot shots at the transports, shooting to disable the vehicles and protect her bounty. She disabled two quickly, and watched as their riders hit the sand. Four down already.

Faye nailed two more, before one of the enemy shots hit the scooter, and Ed and Alex took a dive. Faye swore and changed her aim. "Forget the bounty. Ed! Watch out!"

The guns on the ship suddenly roared to life and started firing. Faye dove to the deck at the tremendous noise coming from beneath her. "Isn't that a little overkill, Jet?" she screamed out.

"Ed is in trouble!" was Jet's only reply.

When the smoke cleared, there was little movement. Faye could see people moving around, but nothing was charging at them. She slung her rifle, and climbed down the side of the ship. Time to see how many millions they had lost in that exchange.

Ed and Alex shot through the plain as they saw the Bebop growing closer. "They're right up ahead!" Ed shouted. "We're going to be fine."

"I'll hold them off!" Alex started firing shots back at the transports, to try to disable something until the cavalry arrived.

He saw two cycle crash without his firing, and he gave a sigh of relief. They were going to make it. He raised his gun for another shot.

One bullet sound seemed to stand out from the rest, and Alex was pitched from the scooter as it swerved. He turned just in time to see Ed fall forward, blood pumping from her side.

"Ed!" He crawled towards the wreckage of the scooter. "Ed! Can you hear me?"

If Ed replied, Alex couldn't hear it as the exchange suddenly got a lot louder. Someone activated the ship's main deck guns. Alex threw his body over Ed, then pulled the metal of the scooter over both of them, ducked his head, and started praying.

The silence seemed to echo louder than the gun fire. Alex threw the scooter off, and looked down at Ed. "Ed? Ed, tell me you're all right?"

The woman from the space port appeared at Alex's side. "Ed! Oh, crap." She knelt down beside the girl and gently placed her hands on her. "She's okay. The bullet got her in the side, and she got knocked out, but she's breathing. Take her inside, up that ladder there. Jet can take care of her. I'll cover you."

Alex nodded his thanks as he picked up the frail girl. Ed was skinnier than he thought, and so light! How had she been able to muster so much power against Harold, then?

"Don't die, Ed," he whispered. "If you don't want to let someone else die, that means you can't let yourself die, either."

Jet rushed down to the main room just in time to meet Alex. He gestured to the couch. "Lay her there." Jet snatched the emergency first aid kit from the wall.

Alex gently put Ed down on the couch, then stepped back. He knew if he offered to help, he would just get in the way.

Jet neatly worked with a pair of scissors to cut away Ed's overflowing hoodie, already drenched in blood. Ed's frail figure was highlighted by her undershirt clinging tightly to her form with sweat and blood.

This enigmatic girl, this great mystery, just seemed so weak and vulnerable, lying on the couch, breathing heavily. She was a child, just barely a woman, sucked into this dangerous world. Alex clenched and unclenched his fists in helplessness. He wanted to protect her, but it was all up to Jet now.

Jet gently wiped all the blood away from her side, and breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the wound. "Winged her," he called out so Alex could relax, too. "I'll tape it up, and she'll be fine."

Alex let out the breath that he had been holding. "Thank you."

Jet held a pad against Ed's side. "Come here. Sit her up and hold her while I tape this around her ribs. This'll help, just in case the bullet grazed the bone."

Alex took Ed's shoulders ever so gently, and forced Ed's body to sit up. She groaned lightly as she was moved, and Alex cringed, but held her in place as Jet worked.

Jet chuckled. "She's not made of glass, you know."

Alex sighed. "She sure showed me that earlier. I wouldn't have made it out of there alive if it weren't for her."

Jet perked an eyebrow. "Really now? Maybe she really was watching Spike a lot."

Faye walked into the room with a big smile. "Good news, Jet! Your little tirade only took out three of them! The others are still alive, kicking, and rounded up in the hold! Add in David, and that makes a big 20 million woolongs for the lot of them! How's Ed?"

Jet motioned for Alex to lay her back down. "She's all right. We should let her sleep."

Almost on cue, Ed jolted awake and sat up. "Ein!"

All three other people in the room looked at her strangely. "Ein?" Jet asked.

Alex's eyes widened. "The hideout! The hackers are still there! And they have Ein!"

Faye's eyebrows raised. "Hackers? There are more?" Jet could almost see the money signs in her eyes.

Ed tried to stand up. "Ein! I'm comin…" Ed fell back down. "Dizzy."

"You probably bumped your head in that crash," Alex told her. "Take it easy. We'll go."

Ed shook her head. "Ed must go and get Ein."

"Fine, then I'm going with you," Alex affirmed.

Jet moved to the controls. "Hey, don't worry about it. Let's pick up your scooter, and we'll take the ship over. We'll all go. Wouldn't want you guys to steal all the bounty yourselves."

Ed smiled. "Thank you. We should hurry, before they realize that no one is coming back."