Author's Note: Hehe, many of you sent reviews on the last chapter and I just want to say, I'M SORRY for leaving you guys on a cliffhanger but that makes it all the more interesting wouldn't you say? Anyway, here's the next chapter and keep up with the reviews! They inspire me to write more.
Chapter 8: Past and Present
"That monster took him! He took my baby!" Faye screamed through her sobs as Spike held her. He continued to hold her as the three of them sat there in shock. Her sobs gradually reduced to pitiful whimpers. "He was only four. He didn't deserve this." She whispered brokenly as Spike continued to rub her back soothingly. "We'll get him back Faye, I promise." Spike whispered fiercely, determination set in his brown eyes.
"Faye, you have to tell us how you know him. Otherwise there's no way we can track him down." Jet said grimly as Faye turned to him, tears staining her alabaster cheeks. Sniffing, she slowly nodded and got up. "Find Ed, she might be hurt." She commanded as she began walking towards the back of this ship. Spike and Jet found Ed under a bit of rubble. They checked for wounds and only found minor cuts and bruises. After placing her in her bed they returned to the living room where Faye was now sorting through a worn out looking box.
"What's in there?" Spike asked as he sat across from her. "My past." She answered simply as she pulled out old Polaroid's and a mini disc. "How'd Ed?" "She'll be fine. She got a few cuts and bruises but nothing major. She's in her room resting right now. I think she tried to protect Gabriel." Jet replied as he sat down across from them. Faye just nodded as she continued to empty the contents of the box onto the table.
When the box was finally empty she looked at the two men with solemn eyes. Handing the two men a picture she sat back while they examined it. Finally, the two looked up with confused expressions. "What exactly is this?" Spike asked. The picture showed Faye as a small girl hugging a boy the same age. "Look closer." The two looked back down at the picture. Something about the boy was familiar. "That's the guy that took Gabriel!" Spike gasped. Faye nodded.
Jet looked at Faye, still bewildered. "But Faye, how is that possible? He should be well past dead now. When we saw him he was looking pretty alive. Not to mention that he looked about yours and Spike's age. This can't be him, unless-" "Yes, he was frozen like me. His name is Julien Roux. He was my best friend when I younger. Around the same time I got in my accident, he was flying to Aruba with his family. And as you're probably already thinking, their plane crashed leaving him as the sole survivor. He, like me, was put in a cryogenic state until he was revived. To pay off his debt he started doing illegal dealings. Only the stuff he got into was a lot worse than me, and I mean A LOT worse." "Ok, so what kind of stuff did he get into?" Spike asked irritably.
"A syndicate like yours, except the one he was in did things you couldn't imagine. They stole, killed innocent people, and raped women. Selling drugs was one of their main enterprises but the worst was the child prostitution. It still makes me sick of the things they did to children. While yours specialized in assassinations his was dirty dealings all over. Before I met you guys I ran into him at the gambling ring in one of the casinos I worked at. He recognized me but I didn't recognize him. We went out for a few drinks and then I started dating him." Faye explained, taking a deep breath to steady her quaking voice. Spike's heart clenched in fear when the words 'child prostitution' were mentioned. Dear god what if that monster did that to his son?
"But then I got to see the real monster. One day he took me to his headquarters. When I had met him he had already climbed the ladder so he was at the top, running the entire ring. By the time I realized what he was really into he had me chained and locked up. I don't know how many times I was raped. I don't know how many men raped me. All I could think of was that I had to get out. I eventually escaped but he wasn't about to let me go so easily. I was still on the run from him when I met you guys. Since then it seemed that he disappeared. I've always felt guilty for being one of the lucky ones, one of the ones who was actually able to escape successfully. I've always wanted to go back and destroy the syndicate but I've been terrified to. He's the only man I've ever truly been afraid of." She whispered, terror reverberating in her voice.
Spike and Jet were quiet as they absorbed the information. "So what you're saying is, he wants you back." Jet said slowly. Faye looked away from them, "He never lets go of something he wants, not willingly. He'll never stop. Like I said before, he's a monster. And he has my son. God, how could I have let this happen?" she cried as she broke down into tears once more. She suddenly felt two strong hands grip her shoulders and then her chin being thrust upward to meet two brown eyes, each a different shade.
"Listen to me Faye because I'm only going to say this once. YOU ARE NOT TO BLAME." He said sternly. "But-" "No, stop right there. You were a victim just like them. You have nothing to be ashamed of. You're only once person, you can't take on an entire syndicate yourself."
At this comment Faye raised an eyebrow. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I do believe that YOU took on your entire syndicate alone, Spike Spiegel." She said mockingly. "Ok I'm the exception but from what you've said it sounds like this one is ten times worse. Think of it this way, blaming yourself for what happened is not going to help get Gabriel back. We have to concentrate on how to get him back safely." He said, voice calms but stern.
"YOU THINK I DON'T REALIZE THAT?!" Faye suddenly screamed, pushing him away as hard as she could. "THAT MONSTER HAS MY SON! I KNOW WHAT HE'LL DO TO HIM IF WE DON'T GET HIM BACK QUICKLY! YOU TELLING ME ISN'T GOING TO HELP MAKE IT HAPPEN ANY QUICKER! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL YOU'RE DEALING WITH!" All rational thoughts went flying the window as she screamed, not caring that she was only making matters worse.
"HEY! YELLING AT ME ISN'T MAKING MATTERS ANY BETTER! STOP TAKING YOUR ANGER OUT ON ME AND DIRECT IT TOWARDS THE MAN THAT CAUSED THIS WHOLE THING!" Spike yelled back, his anger getting the better of him. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THIS MAN IS CAPABLE OF! I DO! I'VE SEEN IT FIRST HAND!" "THEN STOP YELLING AT ME SO WE CAN COME UP WITH A PLAN! GET IT THROUGH YOUR FUCKING THICK HEAD THAT WE'RE NOT FUCKING GETTING ANYWHERE!"
"Both of you SHUT UP!" Spike and Faye both stopped and looked over at Jet who was glaring angrily at both of them. "While you two were busy yelling at each other we could've come up with a plan by now. You both want to get Gabriel back, so do I. So we need to work together if we want to have any chance of getting him back, unharmed." He said angrily. Both adults hung their heads in shame.
"You're right Jet. I can't believe I just spent the last ten minutes screaming at someone who isn't even to blame." Faye said apologetically. Her lip started to quiver. "I just want him back!" she sobbed as she broke down once more. Spike gathered her up into his arms again. "Shhhh, we're going to get him back. I'll do whatever it takes, I promise." He whispered. The sound of an incoming message immediately got their attention. They all turned to the message screen as Juliens face appeared. "YOU!" Spike snarled. The man just smirked, amused by Spike's apparent reaction. "Give my son back, you son of a bitch!" Faye yelled angrily.
"Ah, ah, ah, ma cherie. Patience is a virtue. Now, I think there's someone here that might want to talk to you." He said tauntingly. Suddenly Gabriel came into view. Spike and Faye gasped. "Gabriel!" she cried. "Mommy! I want to come home! I'm scared!" he cried as tears streamed down his face, fear reflecting from his eyes. "Shhh baby, we're gonna get you back. You have to be brave for me, ok?" she said as tears streamed down her own face. "Don't worry buddy, we'll be there soon. Just hang in there." Spike said encouragingly.
The small boy sniffed. "Ok. I'll try." Suddenly he was pulled away from the screen. They heard him scream for Faye. "Mommy! Mommy!" "NO! Gabriel!" Juliens face once more appeared on the screen. "I swear to God if you hurt him, I'll kill you!" she screamed. Julien just smiled cordially. "In good time, ma cherie. Now, you know what I want. And you know what my requirements are so don't disappoint me. I'd hate to see anything unfortunate happen to that darling son of yours. Jupiter, Quasars district. You have two days." And with that the screen went black.
Faye sat back, trying to stifle the sobs. "I'll kill him." She whispered as she wiped the tears away. "Faye, we have to have a plan. If we're going to get him back in one piece we have to have a plan." Jet said, getting straight down to business. "Ok," she said as she regained her control on her raging emotions. For the next three hours they laid out plans to rescue Gabriel.
Jet went to the cockpit and immediately began their departure for Jupiter. It would take them about a day to get there and they weren't about to waste any time. That night Faye was busy laying out the things she would need. Gun? Check. Holster? Check. Switchblade? Check. Desire to kick that pompous asshole's ass? Check. Sitting on her bed she began to clean the barrel of her 5 mm. The sound of a knock at her door caught her attention.
Spike stood there, leaning against the doorframe with a solemn expression. "Hey." Faye said softly, meeting his eyes briefly before returning to her work, scrubbing the barrel furiously. She heard him cross the floor and felt the bed give to his weight as he sat down next to her. She continued to ignore him as they sat in a comfortable silence for about ten minutes. For the first time there was absolutely no tension in the air, just absolute determination.
Finally, Spike decided that he had had enough with the Silent Game. Turning to face Faye, he was surprised to find her already looking at him. "What?" he asked, almost indignant. "What do you mean what? You're the one that came in here, not the other way around. You obviously want something so spit it out. I don't have time to waste." She said coldly as she got up to put her gun on the dresser with all her other weapons.
Spike was somewhat shocked at her sudden cold behavior. Realizing what she was doing he decided to not tolerate it anymore. "Stop it Faye. I know what you're trying to do so just stop." He said, angry at her attempt to shut him out. "Stop what, Spiegel? I'm not doing anything." She said flippantly. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. Don't shut us out. Don't shut me out." He growled. Faye sighed. "Fine, I give up. I'm too tired to do this anymore. I'm too tired to put up a wall that'll block you out. There, are you happy? I give, ok? I can't do it so you win." She said tiredly.
"Faye, I'm not trying to degrade you or win anything. I'm just trying to show you that if we're going to get Gabriel back, we have to cooperate with each other. You can't continue to fight me and expect us to be successful. If you have to hate me, fine but put it aside for the next 24 hours and then you can go back to hating me." He pointed out.
"I know. And I don't hate you. God help me I wish I did but I can't anymore. I've seen how you've interacted with Gabriel. I'm just scared that it's a dream. That tomorrow I'll wake up and find out that you're not really here, that you're just a figment of my imagination. I want Gabriel to have a father. Secretly, I've wanted that since the day he was born. But I always thought it would be impossible. But you showed up again, and he got that second chance." She said quietly, not able to meet Spike's gaze.
"Do you have any pictures of him when he was younger?" The question caught Faye off guard. She raised her head to look at Spike. Seeing that he was completely serious she nodded and went to her closet. She pulled out a large book and walked over to the bed and sat down next to Spike. Handing it to him, she watched as he silently opened it. Inside there were pages upon pages full of pictures of Gabriel along with the Bebop crew.
Spike flipped through the book, gazing at all the different photographs. He felt a pang of regret as he saw how much of his son's life he had already missed. There was one particular picture that caught his eye. It looked like it had been taken recently. Faye had Gabriel wrapped in her arms while they both had big smiles on their faces. "You look happy." Spike commented softly. "We were. But I knew that something was missing for him. Ever since you came he's seemed so much happier. Not that he was unhappy before but he's connected with you so well. He really looks up to you." "Convenient since I'm his father." He chided lightly. Faye gave him a small smile in return.
"Faye," Something in Spike's voice made her look at him. He was avoiding her gaze but continued. "I'm sorry. For everything, I'm sorry." She sat there, slightly shocked at his apology. "Spike-" Faye started but was cut off by a third voice. "Guys, we're here." Jet cut in, popping his head in quickly before leaving again. Both Spike and Faye got to their feet, all previous thoughts gone. Replaced by them were thoughts of grim determination and revenge. Faye turned to Spike. Meeting his eyes she said five words that meant the world to him. "Let's go get OUR son." The two greatest bounty hunters in the galaxy were out for blood. And there would be hell to pay for those who waited for them.
Author's Note: Another chapter finished! Hope you all like it. The way you can show that you do is REVIEWS! Thanks again for all the previous reviews and keep 'em coming!