Neither Jet nor Spike spoke to Obsidian the entire way back to the ship. Sid snorted, as she finally found the part of her that didn't care. If the cold shoulder routine was there method for getting even for rude comments then she just wasn't going to pay attention to them either. Two can play at this game, and Sid was an expert at ignoring reality. She walked through the front door of the ship with all of the grace and charm of every surly indignant teen. She dropped onto the couch to sulk at what she saw as their bullshit attitude problem, when it came to sulking Sid was gold medal material.
"Are you going to help put away the groceries?" Jet asked, speaking to her for the first time since leaving the store.
Obsidian feigned surprise, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Oh my god, have I been relegated to the status of human again? Be still my beating heart!"
Spike poked he's head out from the kitchen as Jet slowly counted to ten. "If you're just gonna be a bitch about it, then do it in your room." Spike growled, "Christ you're a drama queen."
"Oh and I've had such a long list of wonderful role models." She spit out at Spike.
Spike's eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth to comment but Jet stepped in by simply picking up Sid. She panicked for a moment, eyes wide and kicking wildly. Jet deftly kept out of the way of her small sneakers as he walked out of the room. "Let me go!" She shrieked with a fearful edge to her voice as Jet walked toward the room she'd been sleeping in. Jet sighed tiredly as he dropped her to her feet inside her room. Obsidian spun around and jumped back several feet dropping into a familiar martial arts stance.
"When are you going to understand that nobody here is going to hurt you?" His expression spoke volumes about the pain he felt being shoved into the same category as whoever had hurt her. "Just stay in here until we take off. We should be gone in about an hour."
With that Jet turned and walked out back toward the kitchen. Sid reached a hand out, as if to stop him, but honestly didn't know what to say. She knew somewhere deep inside that nobody would do anything to hurt her here. The fear rode inside her skin, someplace deep and afraid that couldn't be soothed yet though. A small voice deep in her mind said that she didn't deserve to be here, that she didn't deserve to be warm and safe. She was used trash, worthless and thrown to the side. All of the bitter nasty things Joseph had ever said to her played in the back of her mind as she sat down on the floor by the bed. Obsidian hugged her knees and fought back tears.
***
Joseph paced the room the pain from his broken ribs almost as blinding as his anger. How dare that little lackey bitch hit him. He had done his job; he feed the little worthless bitch and gave her a roof over her head. So what if he smacked her around when she mouthed off or disobeyed? He'd done so much for her, and she should be kissing his ass not making excuses. It's her fault he had to hit her, it's not like he could let her think she was in charge of this house, his house. Joseph kicked a chair angrily. They had no right to come take the kids out of the house and put them into different homes. How did they think he was going to get the money to eat and pay the bills? They'd stolen his means of survival. It was going to take months to train new kids, he wasn't even sure he could grab more kids anyway. Joseph kicked the couch scowling down at the junkie he'd picked up earlier.
"Get up!" He yelled then winced from the broken ribs. "Get dressed and for god sakes, put on the clothes I got for you. You need to look and act like a mother damnnit."
She rolled over and looked at him through bleary eyes. "What are we doing this for again?"
"If you're too stupid to figure it out then you're even dumber than I thought. Just do as you're told and you can have all the fucking drugs your worthless ass can handle."
She nodded, already jonesing for another fix. "Yeah, whatever."
After she had showered and put on the matronly dress and flats, the two of them walked down to the pier and into the territory of the White Tiger Syndicate. They hadn't gone far when she started to complain about the walk, the shoes, and the fact that she was hungry. Joseph sneered his contempt, he didn't care in the least what she felt as long as she did her job and got the damn kid back. His rat-faced informant had told him the pier number and gave him a description of the ship where this Jet guy could be found. The concerned parents would just rescue their daughter and take her back to the safety and comfort of her loving home. That was the plan, and it would work. Joseph was sure of it.
They drew nearer to their goal as the pier drew closer. Joseph straightened his tie as he walked down the pier, the woman dragged her feet like some worn out old whore and he found himself repulsed by her again. If he didn't need her so much right now, he'd just strangle the pitiful life out of her right now instead of when he was done. He looked up at the ship that held the girl he would have again. Nothing could stop him now and he smirked, secure in that knowledge. His gaze slid across the deck, drawn to the movement at the edge of his vision. It was as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water down his back. How had he survived? The man had been blown up by a grenade for fuck sake! He must be indestructible! Joseph panicked slightly and he grabbed the arm of the woman and dragged her into the shadows.
"Change of plans. We need more planning on this." He stared in awe of the angry looking man who was smoking on the bow of the ship. Joseph wrote down the ID tag number on the side of the ship then pulled the woman back to the house as she complained. Joseph wasn't paying any attention to her whining, his mind was on one person only. Spike.
***
Spike flicked his cigarette into the water and took one last look at the horizon before wandering back into the ship. Jet was in the cockpit getting the ship ready to take off. Spike walked up behind the pilot chair and casually glanced out the window. Jet paused in the preflight checks and looked at his partner with a curious expression.
"Sometimes I think I'm actually sad to leave this shithole." The soft words uttered from Spike were so low that Jet almost thought he imagined it.
"I know what you mean." Jet stated flatly. "We'll see it again soon enough though."
Spike didn't comment, just stared across the bay as the water lapped gently against the side of the old barge. The sun was starting to set and the brilliant light danced a multitude of colors across the water and sky. If it weren't for the waves, you could blur your vision enough so that they both looked like there was no border separating the two. Jet looked thoughtful as he stared out across the water with Spike. Neither of their minds was on the beauty of the view, but both thought of faraway things. When Jet spoke next his voice carried with the patience that he had been showing with everyone lately.
"You know, I've been hearing a name a lot over the past week or so." Jet paused and looked to Spike who had tensed slightly. "I've heard this name before and it just seems to bring with it pain and trouble."
"Drop it Jet. Just leave it alone." Spike warned his partner and friend.
"I wish I could Spike-o, but if there is a chance he may get involved, then I need to know what the hell I can…"
"I said drop it!" Spike's voice was deceptively low and dangerous as he interrupted Jet.
Spike turned on his heel and stalked out with lethal grace. Jet slammed his fist down on the console. "Damn it Spike! I deserve an answer on this!" He yelled after his partner.
***
Bob sat at his desk at the ISSP on Ganymede. He was bored and sifting through reports as they came in, mostly off world bullshit that he could care less about. He flicked through the reports listlessly. Sometimes he wished he was still working the beat, but a life could end in a second from a stray bullet. Bob intended to live long enough to retire and left the risk taking hero antics to the rookies. His screen blipped with a new report and he flicked it open with a keystroke only to spit his room temperature coffee all over the screen.
"What the fuck?" He muttered as he read the report that included a grainy photo, a bounty of 10 million wulongs and a warrant for the arrest of his old friend Jet Black. Lucky for Jet all they had was a first name for right now, but with a bounty of 10 mil in today's money crunch was going to pull hunters from all over.
"Shit" Bob muttered as he dialed the number he knew from memory. He needed to warn Jet. "Pick up you stubborn bastard."
Bob gave up, frustrated, after the fifth ring, and began reading the report in detail. Kidnapping a little girl, that wasn't Jet's style. What the fuck had pushed him over the edge, or was this a set up? Did Jet have a stowaway he didn't know about? Could this just be an honest mistake? Hundreds of scenarios ran through Bob's mind as he read the details of the crime.
***
Jet steered the old rusted ship through hyperspace ignoring the ringing of the communicator, more than likely it was just Faye wanting to know where the ship was. She was more than likely broke, hungry, and half drunk. She was a hornet's nest he just didn't want to deal with today. Jet knew that he could easily flip on the autopilot function and do something else, but he was still seething about being left out of the loop. Damn it, Spike knew how important it was to be prepared and information was king to good preparations. Jet felt a small hand touch his right arm and he looked into the eyes of the only person on the ship more out of the loop than him. Ed seemed so small and fragile standing there as if she had been waiting for him to notice her. Jet flipped on the autopilot and turned the chair to look at her.
"What's on your mind Ed?" He spoke softly, she seemed so serious right now, and that worried him a little.
"Jet-person? Is Sid-girl a cowgirl?" Ed asked him seriously.
"No Ed, she's just a little girl like you." Jet smiled reassuringly.
"Sid-girl is not like Ed. She is very different. Something inside is different then Ed. Sid-girl," Ed looked around almost cautiously then seemed to decide that no one was listening in and resumed speaking. "She cries at night. Ed can hear her. Sometimes she looks at nothing like you and Spike-Spike."
"Ed, Obsidian is used to being alone, and I think that sometimes it's hard for her to be around so many people." Jet picked up Ed and sat her on his lap as he spoke what he knew to be a lie.
"Jet, how come Sid-girl looked like Spike when she got here? If she's not a cowgirl then why did she look like one?" Ed wasn't buying the earlier explanation and Jet knew it.
"Sometimes," Jet paused to get what he was going to say straight. He didn't want to explain this. He didn't want to put a hole in the fabric of Ed's naïve reality. He drew on the explanation he had been given when he had seen his first bloody domestic disturbance. "Sometimes really good people find really bad people. They can get hurt really bad when that happens, and it doesn't mean that they aren't still good, but sometimes the good people don't know anymore. Sid is scared and confused because she got hurt by a bad man and she doesn't know why."
Jet knew he was making a mess out of this little speech and stopped to try and find a way to reword it so Ed would understand. Before he could continue, Ed asked a question that Jet found difficult to answer. "If a bad man hurt her, how come Sid-girl didn't go tell the police-people?"
"I don't know Ed, I just don't know." Jet replied sadly.
"Did Sid-girl used to be on the ship before Ed?" It almost seemed that Ed was afraid that she was being replaced.
"No Ed, you were the first kid on board that I know of." Jet tried to smile reassuringly.
"How come her and Spike-Spike fight like Spike-Spike and Faye-Faye?" Ed's eyes blinked a bit at that.
"Spike used to take care of her years ago I think. I don't really know Ed, but I think that Obsidian is mad at Spike sometimes for going away. I think she's afraid he'll go away again."
Ed nodded and smiled brightly, hopped off Jet's lap and ran out of the room arms outstretched like a superhero and yelling something about Cosmic Warrior Ed. Jet shook his head, relived that he'd gotten off lightly as he saw it. There were so many questions that she could have asked that would have left him in a bind to answer. Jet stood and walked to the kitchen to start making dinner, grumbling half-heartedly about the fact that nobody else in this creaking tub seemed to be able to cook.
"Are you going to help put away the groceries?" Jet asked, speaking to her for the first time since leaving the store.
Obsidian feigned surprise, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Oh my god, have I been relegated to the status of human again? Be still my beating heart!"
Spike poked he's head out from the kitchen as Jet slowly counted to ten. "If you're just gonna be a bitch about it, then do it in your room." Spike growled, "Christ you're a drama queen."
"Oh and I've had such a long list of wonderful role models." She spit out at Spike.
Spike's eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth to comment but Jet stepped in by simply picking up Sid. She panicked for a moment, eyes wide and kicking wildly. Jet deftly kept out of the way of her small sneakers as he walked out of the room. "Let me go!" She shrieked with a fearful edge to her voice as Jet walked toward the room she'd been sleeping in. Jet sighed tiredly as he dropped her to her feet inside her room. Obsidian spun around and jumped back several feet dropping into a familiar martial arts stance.
"When are you going to understand that nobody here is going to hurt you?" His expression spoke volumes about the pain he felt being shoved into the same category as whoever had hurt her. "Just stay in here until we take off. We should be gone in about an hour."
With that Jet turned and walked out back toward the kitchen. Sid reached a hand out, as if to stop him, but honestly didn't know what to say. She knew somewhere deep inside that nobody would do anything to hurt her here. The fear rode inside her skin, someplace deep and afraid that couldn't be soothed yet though. A small voice deep in her mind said that she didn't deserve to be here, that she didn't deserve to be warm and safe. She was used trash, worthless and thrown to the side. All of the bitter nasty things Joseph had ever said to her played in the back of her mind as she sat down on the floor by the bed. Obsidian hugged her knees and fought back tears.
***
Joseph paced the room the pain from his broken ribs almost as blinding as his anger. How dare that little lackey bitch hit him. He had done his job; he feed the little worthless bitch and gave her a roof over her head. So what if he smacked her around when she mouthed off or disobeyed? He'd done so much for her, and she should be kissing his ass not making excuses. It's her fault he had to hit her, it's not like he could let her think she was in charge of this house, his house. Joseph kicked a chair angrily. They had no right to come take the kids out of the house and put them into different homes. How did they think he was going to get the money to eat and pay the bills? They'd stolen his means of survival. It was going to take months to train new kids, he wasn't even sure he could grab more kids anyway. Joseph kicked the couch scowling down at the junkie he'd picked up earlier.
"Get up!" He yelled then winced from the broken ribs. "Get dressed and for god sakes, put on the clothes I got for you. You need to look and act like a mother damnnit."
She rolled over and looked at him through bleary eyes. "What are we doing this for again?"
"If you're too stupid to figure it out then you're even dumber than I thought. Just do as you're told and you can have all the fucking drugs your worthless ass can handle."
She nodded, already jonesing for another fix. "Yeah, whatever."
After she had showered and put on the matronly dress and flats, the two of them walked down to the pier and into the territory of the White Tiger Syndicate. They hadn't gone far when she started to complain about the walk, the shoes, and the fact that she was hungry. Joseph sneered his contempt, he didn't care in the least what she felt as long as she did her job and got the damn kid back. His rat-faced informant had told him the pier number and gave him a description of the ship where this Jet guy could be found. The concerned parents would just rescue their daughter and take her back to the safety and comfort of her loving home. That was the plan, and it would work. Joseph was sure of it.
They drew nearer to their goal as the pier drew closer. Joseph straightened his tie as he walked down the pier, the woman dragged her feet like some worn out old whore and he found himself repulsed by her again. If he didn't need her so much right now, he'd just strangle the pitiful life out of her right now instead of when he was done. He looked up at the ship that held the girl he would have again. Nothing could stop him now and he smirked, secure in that knowledge. His gaze slid across the deck, drawn to the movement at the edge of his vision. It was as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water down his back. How had he survived? The man had been blown up by a grenade for fuck sake! He must be indestructible! Joseph panicked slightly and he grabbed the arm of the woman and dragged her into the shadows.
"Change of plans. We need more planning on this." He stared in awe of the angry looking man who was smoking on the bow of the ship. Joseph wrote down the ID tag number on the side of the ship then pulled the woman back to the house as she complained. Joseph wasn't paying any attention to her whining, his mind was on one person only. Spike.
***
Spike flicked his cigarette into the water and took one last look at the horizon before wandering back into the ship. Jet was in the cockpit getting the ship ready to take off. Spike walked up behind the pilot chair and casually glanced out the window. Jet paused in the preflight checks and looked at his partner with a curious expression.
"Sometimes I think I'm actually sad to leave this shithole." The soft words uttered from Spike were so low that Jet almost thought he imagined it.
"I know what you mean." Jet stated flatly. "We'll see it again soon enough though."
Spike didn't comment, just stared across the bay as the water lapped gently against the side of the old barge. The sun was starting to set and the brilliant light danced a multitude of colors across the water and sky. If it weren't for the waves, you could blur your vision enough so that they both looked like there was no border separating the two. Jet looked thoughtful as he stared out across the water with Spike. Neither of their minds was on the beauty of the view, but both thought of faraway things. When Jet spoke next his voice carried with the patience that he had been showing with everyone lately.
"You know, I've been hearing a name a lot over the past week or so." Jet paused and looked to Spike who had tensed slightly. "I've heard this name before and it just seems to bring with it pain and trouble."
"Drop it Jet. Just leave it alone." Spike warned his partner and friend.
"I wish I could Spike-o, but if there is a chance he may get involved, then I need to know what the hell I can…"
"I said drop it!" Spike's voice was deceptively low and dangerous as he interrupted Jet.
Spike turned on his heel and stalked out with lethal grace. Jet slammed his fist down on the console. "Damn it Spike! I deserve an answer on this!" He yelled after his partner.
***
Bob sat at his desk at the ISSP on Ganymede. He was bored and sifting through reports as they came in, mostly off world bullshit that he could care less about. He flicked through the reports listlessly. Sometimes he wished he was still working the beat, but a life could end in a second from a stray bullet. Bob intended to live long enough to retire and left the risk taking hero antics to the rookies. His screen blipped with a new report and he flicked it open with a keystroke only to spit his room temperature coffee all over the screen.
"What the fuck?" He muttered as he read the report that included a grainy photo, a bounty of 10 million wulongs and a warrant for the arrest of his old friend Jet Black. Lucky for Jet all they had was a first name for right now, but with a bounty of 10 mil in today's money crunch was going to pull hunters from all over.
"Shit" Bob muttered as he dialed the number he knew from memory. He needed to warn Jet. "Pick up you stubborn bastard."
Bob gave up, frustrated, after the fifth ring, and began reading the report in detail. Kidnapping a little girl, that wasn't Jet's style. What the fuck had pushed him over the edge, or was this a set up? Did Jet have a stowaway he didn't know about? Could this just be an honest mistake? Hundreds of scenarios ran through Bob's mind as he read the details of the crime.
***
Jet steered the old rusted ship through hyperspace ignoring the ringing of the communicator, more than likely it was just Faye wanting to know where the ship was. She was more than likely broke, hungry, and half drunk. She was a hornet's nest he just didn't want to deal with today. Jet knew that he could easily flip on the autopilot function and do something else, but he was still seething about being left out of the loop. Damn it, Spike knew how important it was to be prepared and information was king to good preparations. Jet felt a small hand touch his right arm and he looked into the eyes of the only person on the ship more out of the loop than him. Ed seemed so small and fragile standing there as if she had been waiting for him to notice her. Jet flipped on the autopilot and turned the chair to look at her.
"What's on your mind Ed?" He spoke softly, she seemed so serious right now, and that worried him a little.
"Jet-person? Is Sid-girl a cowgirl?" Ed asked him seriously.
"No Ed, she's just a little girl like you." Jet smiled reassuringly.
"Sid-girl is not like Ed. She is very different. Something inside is different then Ed. Sid-girl," Ed looked around almost cautiously then seemed to decide that no one was listening in and resumed speaking. "She cries at night. Ed can hear her. Sometimes she looks at nothing like you and Spike-Spike."
"Ed, Obsidian is used to being alone, and I think that sometimes it's hard for her to be around so many people." Jet picked up Ed and sat her on his lap as he spoke what he knew to be a lie.
"Jet, how come Sid-girl looked like Spike when she got here? If she's not a cowgirl then why did she look like one?" Ed wasn't buying the earlier explanation and Jet knew it.
"Sometimes," Jet paused to get what he was going to say straight. He didn't want to explain this. He didn't want to put a hole in the fabric of Ed's naïve reality. He drew on the explanation he had been given when he had seen his first bloody domestic disturbance. "Sometimes really good people find really bad people. They can get hurt really bad when that happens, and it doesn't mean that they aren't still good, but sometimes the good people don't know anymore. Sid is scared and confused because she got hurt by a bad man and she doesn't know why."
Jet knew he was making a mess out of this little speech and stopped to try and find a way to reword it so Ed would understand. Before he could continue, Ed asked a question that Jet found difficult to answer. "If a bad man hurt her, how come Sid-girl didn't go tell the police-people?"
"I don't know Ed, I just don't know." Jet replied sadly.
"Did Sid-girl used to be on the ship before Ed?" It almost seemed that Ed was afraid that she was being replaced.
"No Ed, you were the first kid on board that I know of." Jet tried to smile reassuringly.
"How come her and Spike-Spike fight like Spike-Spike and Faye-Faye?" Ed's eyes blinked a bit at that.
"Spike used to take care of her years ago I think. I don't really know Ed, but I think that Obsidian is mad at Spike sometimes for going away. I think she's afraid he'll go away again."
Ed nodded and smiled brightly, hopped off Jet's lap and ran out of the room arms outstretched like a superhero and yelling something about Cosmic Warrior Ed. Jet shook his head, relived that he'd gotten off lightly as he saw it. There were so many questions that she could have asked that would have left him in a bind to answer. Jet stood and walked to the kitchen to start making dinner, grumbling half-heartedly about the fact that nobody else in this creaking tub seemed to be able to cook.
