Chapter Seven:
"Karma's Payment"

Faye stood in the darkened room, the same one Spike was in the day before, and gazed out of the window at the stars passing by. They were almost to Mars, their trip through the hypergate neared its end. She couldn't imagine what they may find on the other end. Would Mars still be there? Or would it be completely destroyed by Vash's brother?

She hugged her upper torso as she let her head bow. She couldn't believe the mess Vash had brought with him. What irritated her the most about it was how he'd expected them to help. This wasn't her problem, it wasn't Jet's or Spike's; it was his. The moron had made it theirs by showing up where he shouldn't have been.

Vash came to a halt in the doorway and watched the young woman stare out of the window. Faye hadn't spoken to him since they'd left the orphanage. From what Meryl said, Faye held him responsible for what had happened to Wolfwood. Maybe he was responsible. If that were true, then every other person who'd died because of his or her association with Vash was on his head, too. After decades of living, the number added up.

Maybe I should say something ... He lifted a foot to step into the room. A hand clamped down on his shoulder and stopped him. He looked over his shoulder to find Spike.

"Don't, Vash," he quietly said then glanced at Faye, who apparently hadn't heard them.

Vash planted his foot down on the floor and shifted his gaze to Faye. "I ... I don't know what to say to her," he murmured. He hadn't witnessed Wolfwood's death, but it didn't change the fact that it had happened. The man was gone before he even knew ...

Spike's hand slid from Vash's shoulder. "Don't say anything." He looked to Faye. "It won't help." For once, he could empathize with her. He knew how she felt inside, to lose someone very important and not have been there to try to keep it from happening.

"I want to let her know ... it was ... I ..." He couldn't find the words to say what he wanted to Spike, how could he possibly tell her anything? "If I'd have known ... it wouldn't have -"

"You don't have to explain yourself to her," Spike interrupted. "She'll realize soon enough that it wasn't about you. It was about him."

"It shouldn't have happened."

"You can't save everybody, Vash. Especially those who don't want to be saved."

"Don't want to be ... or refuse to be?" Vash asked as he looked to Spike.

"What do you mean, 'refuse to be'?"

"There's more than one way to save a person's life. Sometimes, it's physical or it's emotional. Others, it's mental or even spiritual. Most of the time, though... it's emotional." He couldn't believe that after almost two years, Spike still had not realized Faye loved him. He couldn't possibly be that stupid, could he?

"What're you saying, then? Wolfwood needed emotional salvation?"

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe Faye isn't so much upset over Wolfwood as someone else?"

Spike stared at him. "A minute ago, you wanted to tell her you were sorry about him. Now, she's upset over something else?" He laughed. "You're more screwed up than I originally thought, Vash."

"I never said it was something else, I said someone." With that, he headed down the corridor, leaving a confused Spike standing in the doorway.

"What the hell is he talking about?" Spike muttered. He turned his attention back to the woman in the room.

You could always ask ... he thought. But do you really even care?

"Faye?"

She turned suddenly when she heard Spike's voice behind her. "What?" she asked, flatly. She scowled in the hopes that, if she were nasty enough, he would leave. She couldn't deal with him right now. Not with all of this other crap going on. "What is it? Can't you see that I'd like to be left alone?"

Spike stepped back, sorry that he'd taken a moment of his time to try to give a damn about whatever bothered her. She wanted to be a bitch and he preferred not to be subjected to it. He turned on his heel but stopped before he moved one inch towards the door. No. He wouldn't let her have her way.

"Didn't I tell you -" she began when she saw his reflection in the window. He was coming toward her.

"What's the problem?" Off of her surprised look, he went on. "Ever since we came back, you've gone out of your way to piss me off. Why? Are you taking your anger out on me because Vash couldn't get us to where we exactly belong?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" she snapped as she whirled around, her hands clutched into fists at her sides. "I'm going out of my way to piss you off? Let's run through the list of things you've done over the last two years, Spike, that were solely to aggravate me!"

"Me? Who started that bullshit over the bounty the other day?"

She humorlessly laughed. "Is that the only thing you can come up with? I have more. It'll take the rest of the day to say it all." She pointed to the nearby chair. "Sit down and we'll begin."

He waved a hand in a dismissive gesture. "This is pointless. I don't know what possessed me to come in here." He started to leave the room, but came to an abrupt halt when Faye blocked his path. "Get out of the way."

She placed each hand on either side of the doorway. "No. It's time we cleared up a few things, Spike. I'm going to talk -"

"Ha! Like that's anything new," he interjected.

"And you're going to listen," she finished. Her hands gripped the doorway so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She wanted to put a fist into the middle of his face, it took every ounce of her self-control not to do it.

"Not if it's more of your 'everything-you-do-is-to-piss-me-off' bitching and moaning, I won't." He took a step forward. He found himself shoved back into the room by her.

"You've been impossible since Gunsmoke. You were only difficult before." She put her hands on her hips as she watched him bring out his pack of cigarettes. She was even more irritated that he seemed disinterested in what she had to say. Didn't even care enough to look her in the eye. "I can't take it anymore."

"Fine, then." He lit his cigarette, took a drag and stuffed the pack into his jacket pocket. "Leave. No one's forcing you to stay here, Faye. I never did understand that. Despite all of your bitching about how bad I treat you, you stay. It's your own fault you're so goddamn miserable."

"I have as much right to be here as you do!"

He shrugged. "I'm not the one wailing about how awful she has it, am I? If you hate me and hate it here so much -" He made a sweeping gesture. " - there's the door. Goodbye. Frankly, I've had it with your shit."

Her body trembled. Why was he so stupid? Why was she so stupid? "You know ... maybe you're right. Maybe I should leave. Obviously, I was an idiot for believing that this situation would change."

Situation? Spike wondered. What 'situation' is she talking about?

"I've wasted two years of my life here." On you, she added in her head. And for what? Nothing! "It might be time that I do move on. People have the ability to do that, Spike, except for you."

It was his turn to restrain the urge to punch someone. He only took a long drag from his cigarette, slowly exhaled the smoke.

"You shouldn't have any trouble there," he coolly replied. He held the smoldering cigarette between his fore and middle fingers, studying it for a moment before he looked to her and continued. "If, by moving on, you mean sleeping with a guy you met only a few hours before. You did a stellar job of that on Gunsmoke."

She wasn't sure how it happened. She didn't remember her arm moving, or her hand opening, but the loud, resounding "SMACK!" proved that she'd actually done it. Once she dared to lift her gaze from her palm, she looked at Spike.

He hadn't seen it coming, either. The sting, the span of which was roughly the size of her hand, grew ever more annoying across his left cheek as his body reacted to the hit. Slowly, his free hand brushed over his face then he met Faye's eyes.

She stared back without any real expression on her face. No shock, no anger, no rage, just ... something devoid of classification. And Spike's own face mirrored hers. For a split second, she thought he would return her the favor. Until he finally dropped his hand to his side, Faye had braced herself for it.

"You ..." Her voice was low and icy cold as she spoke. "Don't have any idea what you're talking about. What happened between us is none of your goddamned business. Never say another word to me about Nicholas Wolfwood ever again."

In the corridor, Vash leaned back against the wall, his heart sinking in his chest. This wasn't what he'd hoped would happen as a result of them talking. He'd certainly never intended for that to happen.

Why do they keep doing this? he warily wondered. He wanted to do one good thing for Faye during this trip. Something, anything, to begin making it up to her.

He stood straight when the woman came into the corridor. She had an unreadable expression on her face as she looked at him. Desperately, he pretended as though he hadn't been eavesdropping on the entire conversation. When she stepped in front of him, he tried to smile. That didn't last long, however. She promptly delivered a (less violent) slap across Vash's face, too.

"That's for letting him die," she hissed. With one final glare, she stormed down the corridor, headed for her quarters.

Hand resting on his cheek, Vash felt even worse as he watched Faye vanish into the darkness. Maybe I deserved that ... His head turned when Spike joined him.

Casually, Spike finished off his cigarette, dropped the butt to the floor, snuffed it out with his shoe then shoved his hands in his pockets. "You were right for once, Vash," he quietly said as he walked by the blond. "She was upset over someone else. Seems that it was me."

"Have you ever wondered why that is?" Vash called out to the retreating figure. He frowned when he received nothing in the way of a response.

That was Spike Spiegel's fundamental problem - he did nothing.


"We've wasted almost two hours scouring the streets, Boss," one of Lao's men complained as he lit up a cigarette. He looked to the man feared second only to Vicious himself. "It's late. We're not gonna find this asshole. He's long gone."

"Am I?"

The man turned when he heard a new voice speak. Lao scanned the darkness (most of the streetlights were out in this area) around them. A hand slipped underneath his coat and rested on the handle of the gun nestled in its holster. He glanced at the rest of his men. They'd actually drawn their weapons and aimed them at various points.

Lao turned when he heard the stranger laugh. "How long have you been following us?"

"Long enough." From the shadows, Knives studied the humans closely. He could tell they were terrified of him; they knew what he could do.

"Then you should know why we're looking for you." Lao pulled his gun from the holster. He stepped back, casually, in the direction from which Knives's voice originated. "We lost a valuable asset. And I lost good men."

"You tell me as though I should care," Knives simply said. He took aim on Lao with his own gun, but refrained from firing. He wanted to toy with them a while longer before he made his move. He needed these disgusting creatures if he hoped to make his new plan work.

"You have any idea what happens to people who fuck with us?" another of the men shouted. He kept his weapon pointed at a spot nowhere near Knives.

"Not much, obviously." Knives watched Lao continue to edge closer to his position. At least one of them isn't a complete waste, he thought.

"And who's the one hiding?" Suddenly, Lao turned and pointed his gun into the darkness. His smug grin faded when he felt cold metal press into the center of his forehead. As he stepped back, Knives emerged into the light, with Lao's gun in the exact same position against his own head. However, he kept grinning.

"Sir!"

The rest of the men turned their guns on Knives. None dared to fire, though.

Knives pushed the barrel of his gun deeper into Lao's forehead. "You have loyal servants," he said. "I know the value of loyalty. They'll do anything, even give their worthless lives, to protect you. Do yours feel that strongly about you?"

Lao glanced at his them then looked back to Knives. "If they're smart, they'll only show that kind of loyalty to one man - Lord Vicious."

"So ... you answer to someone else?" He used his other hand to grab Lao's gun hand by the wrist and jerk it away from his head. He forced the man's arm down, and in just enough time that the shot Lao fired went straight into the ground by Knives' feet. "Tell your trash to back off ..." He tilted his head to one side as he studied the human before him. "Or you're the first to die."

Lao only glared. This was the bastard who was responsible for the deaths of half his crew. They'd been waiting by that spaceport for Spiegel. The bay was a regular hangout/parking spot for the universe's bounty hunters. If Spike returned to Mars, he would surely be there. Now, the place was in shambles. And some of his most trusted, talented soldiers ... dead.

Knives was almost impressed with the idiot's willingness to defy his order. He decided to grant him a little more life before he eventually killed him. "We're on the same side."

"How?"

"Spike Spiegel ..." He smiled wider at the reaction the name brought forth from Lao. "I want him. And anyone else currently associated with him. If you can do this for me, I may spare your lives. Plus, the life of your Lord Vicious."

Spike? How does he know him? Lao wondered. It could be anything with Spiegel. He managed to make more enemies than friends, no matter where he went. The psycho before him obviously wanted to settle an old score.

He glanced at his men. Their orders were to kill Knives on sight. But things were different now. Their target shared a common enemy. What was that old adage? "The enemy of my enemy is my friend". If he passed up the opportunity to allow Vicious to forge an alliance with a man of Knives' apparent considerable power, he might as well let the other man put a bullet in his head. It would be kinder than what Vicious would do to him.


On the other side of the ruins, MacGruder poked at the heap of rock and twisted steel with the barrel of his shotgun. He rested it on his shoulder as he sighed. Nothin'. Not a goddamn clue as to what caused the mass destruction they'd spent the last two hours scouring through. If it was a military weapon, it was something that he and Linares hadn't laid eyes on.

He scanned the area. They weren't that far from ground zero, maybe five blocks. Damage here was bad. At least something was left behind, unlike the spaceport, which was just a crater. "What the hell's goin' on here?" he muttered.

"Nate!" Linares called out. She gingerly stepped over the debris as she made her way to him. "You won't believe what I just heard."

"Somebody nabbed this guy?" he asked. If someone had, it was a disappointment. Especially after as much time as they'd put in crawling all over this wreckage.

"No. Just heard from Baker's guys. Guess what ship's berthed not far from here?" She waited then nodded when MacGruder realized who she meant. "Looks like we're not the only ones stupid enough to chase this."

"Figures. Doesn't take a college degree to know what they're on Mars for. Come to steal our money."

Linares eyed him. She'd hoped Spike wouldn't show up. That would make an already dangerous job even more so. Nate wasn't at his best with competition around, especially when it was that crew.

"Maybe we should drop by, say hello?"

"How about we don't?" She saw the look on his face. "Come on, we're wasting time even talking about this. If you go there, you'll burn up even more - "

MacGruder placed a finger to his lips, shushing her. He turned around and searched the area behind him. "I could've sworn I …" He stopped when he heard it again, what sounded like a kid whimpering. "I did!"

Linares watched him leap over a pile of rubble and land on the other side. "What is it?" More carefully, she stepped over the same obstacle and looked down on him. He was on his hands and knees, digging through the debris. "Nate … what is it?"

"Shut up and help me, Linares!" he ordered. He tossed aside a generously sized hunk of concrete. "I heard somebody down here," he explained as she joined him on the ground. "I'm not sure … but it might be a kid."

She watched him feverishly dig into the rubble. After all the time that had passed, he was still reliving it. That day. "Look at this place, Nate," she quietly said. "If anyone were here … "

"I heard it!" He used every ounce of his strength to yank one last piece of concrete out of his way. He froze. His eyes locked onto whatever it was he'd just unearthed. "Jesus … "

Linares eyes widened at what MacGruder had found. The body of a dark haired woman, face down, sprawled across another person – and that person was a dirty, blood-spattered child. What must have happened, Linares figured, was the woman used herself to protect the child when the buildings crumbled around them. Unfortunately, she'd given up her life in the process.

"Be careful," MacGruder murmured as they worked the move the woman's lifeless body from atop the child. Soon, the semi-conscious little girl was free. "C'mere, hon. I've got you."

"Watch it. She might have injuries that we can't see," Linares warned as her partner wrapped an arm around the girl's waist. "You have her?"

"Yeah." MacGruder tucked his shotgun into the holster for it strapped across his back. He supported the rest of the girl's weight with his other arm. "Are you awake, kid?"

"Mom?" the girl hoarsely whispered. "Is … that … you?"

"Mom?" Linares shifted her gaze to the woman still half-buried in the rubble. "Nate …"

"Don't worry about your mom," he assured the girl as he moved away from the spot before the girl could see the corpse. "Everything's gonna be just fine. We'll find her soon."

The girl lifted her head from MacGruder's shoulder. Tears streamed down her face, leaving tracks of mud along her dirty cheeks. The bright blue eyes focused on the man who held her. "Who are you?" she asked.

"My name's Nate. This is Ana." He nodded to Linares, who smiled kindly. "You ... have any other family besides your mother?"

She sniffled. "Yeah, my dad and my younger brother. Mom and I … we were supposed to meet them this afternoon." She blinked as she noticed the mess they were in the middle of. "What happened to everything?"

Linares brought out a kerchief then proceeded to wipe away the blood and dirt from the girl's face. "Don't concern yourself about that right now," she gently replied. "What's your name? If we know your name, we'll find your father and brother more quickly."

The girl wiped her fingers over her face, drying the tears that brimmed in her eyes. "Ramona."

"Ramona what?"

"Saverem." She sniffled. "But everybody calls me 'Rem', for short."

"All right, Rem for short, we're gonna take you to our ship, okay?" MacGruder explained as they left the area. "We'll find your family in no time. That's what we do – find people."

"Are you police?"

He laughed. "Nah. Nothin' bad like that. We're – "

"We're here to help," Linares cut in. She shook her head when he looked to her, confused. "You'll be with your family soon, Rem. We promise."

For the first time, Rem managed a smile. "Thank you."


End Chapter Seven

Song Title Used: "Karma's Payment" - Modest Mouse