Gunshot Serenade
A/N: Well, this chapter took a LONG time! I'm so sorry! I was going to post it yesterday, but decided to change it... and yet here I am, with the original chapter! Lol. this wasn't as violent or entertaining as I originally hoped it would be, but the climax is coming soon. Well, I love you all, and thanx for the reviews!
Disclaimer: Who told you?
Chapter Seventeen:
Bang Bang You're Dead
It makes my stomach turn
And it tears my flesh from bone
How we turn a dream to stone
And we all die young
-Steel Dragon
Gabi fluttered her eyelashes. Gabi smiled attractively. Gabi popped her gum.
That was hot.
Letting out a cute little sigh, she snapped her compact closed. He would be down for lunch soon. She pattered her long dark hair, trying to make it more attractive.
Like that was even possible.
She popped her gum again, drumming pink acrylic nails on the desk top. Gabi couldn't help but think what a cake job she had. Just answering phones and giving directions to visitors. Plus, the receptionist desk faced the giant lobby, so she was in on all the gossip.
Gabi sighed and reapplied lipstick, leaning forward as she watched a woman push through one of the two glass doors and into the building. An eyebrow went up. She was sure pretty.
And she was moving towards the desk, obviously trying to be inconspicuous.
Gabi stood up and blew a quick bubble before the woman, dressed in tight jeans and a red sweater over a black wife beater, reached her. Green eyes, tense and driven, burned into Gabi's brown.
The young woman smiled.
"Welcome to Red Dragon Incorporated. How may I help you today?" Gabi tilted her head to the side, letting her hair swing across her back.
"I'm here to see someone," The woman murmured.
"Alright. Would you like directions? Or should I call up and have them meet you?" Gabi asked politely. Her eyes moved past the woman, searching the crowd for a face.
It was getting late.
Where was he?
"Just give me directions." The woman was saying.
"Okay. Who ware you here to see?" Came the automatic response.
"Spike Spiegel."
Gabi suddenly snapped to attention, shocked. "Excuse me?" She stuttered.
The woman cocked an eyebrow. She said it again, annunciating to the point of rude sarcasm. "Spike Spiegel."
A few moments of silence passed. Gabi blinked twice. Spike? Her stomach was sinking. She opened her mouth, then closed it again, considering what to say. That Spike was HER man and everyone knew it? Yeah right. And loose her job. Besides, this woman was probably just his sister. Gabi squinted, searching for any resemblance.
Before she could find any, the woman cleared her throat.
Snapping back to reality, Gabi smiled automatically. "I'm sorry. I'm going to have to call up," Her voice was hardly working. "Mr. Spiegel is very busy. He may not want to see you." She smirked. Just a little white lie.
"He'll want to see me," The woman shot back immediately, not the slightest hint of insecurity in her voice.
As Gabi picked up her phone, she glanced at the other woman from under thick, mostly real eyelashes. "That's what all the other women say, too," She said smugly. Hurt and a little bit of shock flickered across the woman's face, but it was gone almost as soon as it came. Gabi couldn't help but smirk as she turned slightly away from the visitor and dialed a number she knew by heart.
There were no other women. But only Gabi needed to know that.
The other line picked up.
"Spike Speigel's office. This is Jillian. How may I help you?" A bored feminine voice greeted automatically.
"Hey, Jill, baby. What's up?" Gabi smiled and twisted the telephone cord around her finger.
"Hey Gabi! Not much right now. Sorry about Spike not coming down, he's in there with Amber…"
"How is she?" Gabi asked, not really caring. She had heard all the rumors about Luke's death and Amber's leaving already.
"I don't know. Not good. But she really is leaving."
"I hate to say I told you so…" Gabi replied smugly. She popped her gum again, glancing back quickly t the woman behind the desk. She was tapping her feet impatiently. Gabi wanted to make her squirm. She shot her a sweet smile.
"Yeah, well. We can't all be born winners. So what can I do for ya, Gabi?"
"Oh… Well, Spike has a visitor."
"A what?" Jill obviously didn't believe her.
"Totally. I know. A visitor. A woman."
"A WHAT?"
"I told you. A woman. I mean, you didn't think he was… you know… Did you?"
"NO! I mean, you heard those stories… And besides. You two are made for each other…" Jill trailed off.
"Oh, yeah!" Gabi turned back to the visiting woman, smiling. "That woman. Julia."
The young receptionist was surprised when the visitor's eyes widened, recognition and pain flooding them. Gabi's brow furrowed as she looked the other woman over, close to concern.
But as things stood, the woman was competition. And Gabi wasn't about to fraternize with the enemy.
Jill on the other end of the connection seemed uncomfortable. "Um… Yeah, I think that was her name. Anyway, I'll tell Spike about the girl down there. What was her name again?"
Gabi scowled. "Hold on," She moved the receiver from her mouth. "What's your name?" She asked the woman.
"Faye Valentine," Was the quiet reply.
Gabi cocked a skeptical eyebrow and blew a quick bubble before repeating the name into the phone.
"Faye Valentine. Right. Back in a second." Jill said. Gabi could here herself being put on hold. She used the momentary pause to untangle her finger from the phone cord and blow another quick bubble. As it popped, Jill picked up the phone again.
"Hey," She greeted quickly.
"Hey," Gabi replied, "What did Spike say?"
"It was weird. He said to keep her down there until Jinn comes down to get her. He said don't let her leave, and don't let her make a scene."
"What?"
"I know. Weird, huh?"
"Yeah. Really weird."
"But I would do what he says," Jill warned. "He sounded serious."
Gabi furrowed her brow and agreed, hanging up the phone. She popped her gum once more, looking Faye Valentine over.
Something wasn't kosher.
Jinn tucked his hands into his pockets as he pounded down the back staircase. His footsteps echoed off the cement, thundering louder than he would have thought possible. In the back of his mind, he knew what he was doing was stupid.
Two of his brothers had died in service to the Dragons. And Jinn had more at stake than either of them.
Celia was eight and a half months pregnant. Their wedding was in three weeks. He was starting his life with her. Happily ever after.
Was Spike worth it? Jinn grinned. Absolutely. Anything who had got his family off the streets after the first Dragon catastrophe. Besides. If all went according to plan, there would be no danger. Jinn would get Faye Valentine to Spike. Spike would sneak her out; send her to Callisto to wait it out. They would be back in time for the wedding.
Perfect.
Right?
Right.
It had taken Faye about three minutes to figure out that she hated the receptionist with a passion. Her plastic nametag read Gabriella, and she was a bitch. At the moment? A stare down.
"So someone is coming to take me there?" Faye asked coldly, not the slightest hint of a smile on her face.
"Yes," Was the frigid reply.
"Do you know who?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because it's not my job. Look, lady," Gabi blew a bubble. "They'll be here soon. Just chill out, okay?"
Annoying little slut. Faye narrowed her eyes. "I'll do whatever the hell I want." She spat.
"Spike said not to make a scene. So shut up, alright?"
"Don't you mean Mr. Spiegel?"
"No," Gabi said, her voice snotty, "I mean Spike."
Faye raised an eyebrow. Wow. She was getting pissed.
"That's nice," She drawled. "I see you two are close."
Gabi smirked, "Yes. In fact, we are."
Faye fumed. The receptionist smiled and blew another bubble.
It popped, startling Faye.
"You know," Gabi said, smirking as she sucked the gum back into her mouth, "Most of the girls that come to see Spike are so much prettier than you. I'm surprised he agreed to see you at all…"
Faye's eyebrows twitched. Her hands balled into fists.
Stupid little slut.
"Look, Gabriella," Faye spat, reading Gabi's nametag again. "I don't care if you're fucking Spike or what. I don't even care if he's planning to whisk you away to Venus and marry you. But Spike wants to see me. Maybe you should give me some directions."
Gabi's eyes flashed, then narrowed. "How about not?" She said slowly.
Faye scoffed. Who the hell did this girl think she was?
"Alright then. I'll just find it on my own." She flashed a grin and turned away languidly, beginning the long walk towards the escalators on the other side of the room.
"Hey!" Gabi cried across the lobby, "You cant go by yourself! He said so!"
Faye turned around to face the desk. "I'm sure he'll understand once you explain it to him!" She called back. As she twirled back towards her destination, she stumbled back.
A man with green eyes and brown hair was standing directly infront of her, grinning.
"She's right you know," He said, his voice deep and kind, "You really shouldn't go alone."
Faye Valentine's eyes widened as his strong hand tightened around her wrist.
Amber sat quietly in Spike's office. It was like a tomb. He was leaning back in his chair, russet eyes hazy and unfocused, directed at the desk top.
Silence was pressing Ambers brain out of her ears. It had to be broken.
"Jinn is going to get her here alright. You know that, don't you?"
All she got was a grunt in reply.
Amber tried again. "Are you sure you want to take her to Callisto? That's a pretty rough town for a single girl…" She trailed off. Spike was standing.
He moved to the window, looking down the street once more, even thought Faye Valentine was already in the building.
This time, Amber let the silence remain. A clock struck noon from somewhere. Spike turned back to her.
"I don't' know why I'm doing this," He said quietly.
Amber considered for a moment, then replied, "Doe you really need a reason?"
He shrugged and turned back to the window. The weak light played with his features, making his angular features soft.
Amber smiled.
Everything would be alright.
Faye could feel the beads of sweat break out on her forehead. The man's hand was gripped tight around her writs, cutting off the circulation. He was close to running; Faye was being dragged. They were moving towards a door marked stairs.
"What's going on?" Faye snarled, planting her feet and trying to jerk away. He held fast, not even pausing to shush her.
Faye was still being dragged. A few moments later, the man was pushing thought the door, yanking her into an almost completely concrete room. Concrete walls, floors, and a twisting staircase as far as she could see. On each of the landings, a door and a bright florescent light marked another level.
The man released her wrist, giving her a warm smile.
"Sorry about that," He said, "But we had to get out of that room. Drawing too much attention to ourselves. I'm Jinn, by the way…" he stuck out his hand, his voice echoing up into the room.
Faye reached forward, taking his hand reluctantly. "Faye…" She murmured.
"Yeah, I've heard kind of a lot about you. Considering Spike was the one doing the talking…" He laughed. Faye managed a weak smile.
After a few awkward moments, Jinn turned and began up the stairs, one hand on the banister. When he realized Faye wasn't following, he paused and turned back to her. He found himself looking down the barrel of a gun.
Faye's gun.
The woman glowered at him, the click of the safely being turned off bouncing off the walls.
"Sorry," Faye said, trying hard not to look away as she contemplated killing the man on the stairs, "I just don't trust you."
"Before you kill me, can I just ask you a question?" Jinn asked, a wide smile on his face.
Faye raised an eyebrow. He asked anyway.
"Are you only seeing patches of reality? Or the whole picture?"
Jet sat quietly with his head in his hands, eyes on the picture perched in the branches of a bonsai tree. It was of two men and a woman, all grinning and roughhousing on a Ganymede street. They were young and beautiful, no more than twenty five and the best of friends.
Left to right: Jet, Alyssa, and Fad.
It had been a long time.
Alyssa had left, Fad had died, and Jet had become just a lonely old man chasing after two reckless idiots with a box of Band-Aids.
So much for the glory of his youth.
Jet sighed. Things hadn't exactly gone according to his master plan. He leaned back, regarding the photo and the shelves of bonsai plants behind it.
Things hadn't gone according to plan, but they had turned out alright. For him, at least.
"What'cha doing?" Alyssa asked from Jet's left. He turned to face her. She stood, smiling weakly, in the doorway of the small room.
"Thinking," Jet replied gruffly.
"Are you worried about them?" She asked, padding towards him and resting her hand on his shoulder.
"No," He said quickly. She quirked her head and raised an eyebrow.
"Why are you lying to me?"
"I'm not," Was Jet's defense. At her knowing look, he elaborated, "If those two idiots wanna pull a Romeo and Juliet, good for them. It's not my problem. I told Spike not to get involved. This has been out of my hands for a long time."
Jet shrugged away from Alyssa as she drew nearer. There was something too familiars about all of this. Too many moments passed were coming back to haunt him. Spike would die again, Alyssa would leave again, and honor would once more amount to nothing.
When Alyssa bent down to look him in the eye, he looked subtly away.
"Jet," She said strongly, drawing his attention. Their eyes met. He had the feeling she wasn't leaving his side anytime soon.
"This isn't your business, Alyssa. You should go home." Jet was trying to be steady, trying to make the right choice for her. But up close, Alyssa very intimidating. And very beautiful.
"I left you once because you made my choices for me, Jet. Let's not start that again."
At first, Jet thought she was joking. But it took one glance at her to realize she was very, very serious.
"I think you should go home," He insisted anyway.
Alyssa's eyes flickered down for a moment, lingering on Jet's knee, before they moved back up, stronger in their conviction than before. "I'm going after her," She said, her voice steady, "And you're coming with me."
There was only one reply Jet could think of.
"Fine."
"My girlfriend's name is Celia. We're getting married in three or so weeks, just before my daughter is born…" Jinn trailed off and turned back, pausing at a landing. Faye was panting, pulling herself up the steps with the help of the banister. Her bangs were sticking to her forehead.
"Are we almost there…?" She gasped.
Jinn quirked an eyebrow. "Um… sure." He glanced at the sign next to the door on his right. It read 19. Spike was on the twenty first floor. As he said this, Faye groaned.
"How many goddamn floors are there in this building?" She groaned, pausing to catch her breath.
Jinn didn't give her the time. He turned and continued moving.
Bad vibes.
"I don't know, actually. Somewhere around thirty."
"Why isn't Spike on the top?"
"The elevator breaks down kind of a lot." From the corner of his eye, Jinn could see Faye nod as she continued to haul herself up the stairs. The man felt a little guilty he wasn't more winded. She looked about ready to die.
It was just as he and Faye had passed the twentieth floor landing that he heard it. That heavy metallic clink.
Shit.
Once more, the noise rang up. Jinn turned to face it, grabbing Faye's arm as he did so, throwing her up the stairs as the tiny object bounced into the air once more. She was running, awkward in her heels. She knew what was happening as well as he did.
Jinn was following her, passing her, gripping her wrist and dragging her. Any second now. They weren't far enough away. In a last slipshod effort, he threw her forward and dove on top of her.
There was silence for what seemed like an eternity. Faye was breathing hard, struggling to inhale with Jinn's weight on her back. As the breath was shuddering out of her body, it happened.
The grenade exploded, the sound a thousand times louder than thunder, multiplied by the echoes ricocheting off the walls, running up and down the length of the staircase. There was a flare of heat, uncomfortably close, and the moment or two of smothering smoke. When the air cleared, Jinn rolled off of Faye to survey the damage.
They were both uninjured. That was good. But there was a gaping chunk taken out of the nineteenth floor landing, making Spike's escape plan B impossible. As a shuddering breath escaped his body, Jinn stood, helping Faye up along with him.
As two pairs of green eyes surveyed the scene, silence dominated once again. Then, all at once, the both bolted, charging up the stairs as fast as they could.
"What was that?" Faye gasped as she charged up, a step in front of Jinn.
"They found out you where here. It was a grenade," He replied, wiping the sweat from his brow.
"What are they gonna do next?"
"Come out on the twentieth floor landing."
Faye shot him a glance as he caught up with her. Cool arrogance mixed with genuine fear.
Jinn could relate.
As they passed the next landing, a feeling of relief passed over him. There was no possible way they could block the pair off now. Spike was one floor up. The feeling was gone shortly as the landing door flew open, ushering the short, sharp explosions of sounds that meant gunshots.
Jinn glanced back quickly. Men in black suits were pouring out of the hallway, all of their guns aimed and cocked. Cursing, he pushed Faye forward, signaling her to run faster. She did.
The pair ran frantically, bullets nipping at their heels the whole time. The stairwell was thundering with noise: Faye's panting, gunshots, and dozens of footsteps, all echoing and mixing together madly.
They were so close. He could see it now. The door shone like the gates of heaven. A few more steps, and he would be hero in the eyes of the only person he had ever regarded as a father.
Spike Spiegel.
Faye was running ahead of him. She knew where she was going, and she was going to get there. They bother were. Just a few more seconds of the brain crushing noise and-
Pain ripped through Jinn's side. He gasped.
Suddenly, everything was silent.
To say Faye had been shocked when she felt the weight of another body on her was an understatement. It has scared the shit out of her.
Because she knew who it was.
And she knew what had happened.
Now, as she struggled to carry Jinn's almost lifeless body and run at the same time, she was still scared. Her hands were shaking and cold, sweaty under the warm blood that poured abnormally fast and thin from the young man's side.
But she was almost there. She was so close she could smell him, taste him on the air. A hand closed on the doorknob, twisted, pulled. And there it was. The twenty-first floor. Faye crossed the threshold and slammed the door closed.
She was in a hallway. Office doors lined one wall, while empty secretary desks lined the other.
Letting Jinn's limp body slide down her to the floor, she drew out her gun. There were nametags next to the doors. She began jogging down the hall, wiping her free hand on her jeans. Blood and sweat left a streak on her jeans. She felt a little bad leaving a barely alive Jinn behind, but she had to hurry.
He wasn't the one they were looking for.
Green eyes scanned names frantically. The entire office seemed empty. Silence pressed on her nerves, making her jumpy. She was nearing the end of the hallway, and she still hadn't seen his name. Nerves building in her stomach, Faye neared the last doorway.
The name read Amber Beaumont.
Faye felt ready to cry. She turned slowly around, choking on words that wouldn't come out. At the far end of the hall, she could see Jinn's dying body. He had led her on a wild goose chaise. Spike wasn't even here…
Then Faye saw it. Double doors right to her left. A corner office. She turned to it, eyes scanning the nametag.
Spike Spiegel.
Bull's-eye.
The door at the other end of the hall slammed open.
A/N: Next chapter will be up soon, since I am now on SUMMER BREAK! YEAH! lol. Got Questions? Review!
Here are answers for some of you folks from last time:
fayeS: I like to look at it like this: Since the look of the series is very unique and stylized, I came to the conclusion that they all have colors. ex: Faye is purple, Spike is green, Ed is red, and Jet is... well... black. So I just use their 'normal' hair colors, as opposed to their 'film noir' hair colors.
Souten: no, but I have seen part of the movie.
mitora jesus-freak: You'll find out later. MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH later.
Only three chapters to go! Thanx to everyone who reviewed! I love you all so much! And thankies to everyone who wished Sony and me a happy birthday. Love!
Lucy