Episode 5: You're not my friend…

"I don't wanna be a player no more…" Oz was listening to Incubus/Big Pun song "Still not a Player." (Oh and for those who are fans of rap, and Big Pun, don't worry I've heard the original and yes it's cool, but I'm the writer here, so he's listening to the remix). He was getting into the song when he saw Ryoko dancing around. And that was certainly something that took priority over the song, especially since she was in her skimpy lounge-around outfit. Her lounge-around outfit consisted of well, not much, which is why Oz noticed it right away; she had on a tight shirt that was cut at the mid-riff, and some small short-shorts that were the kind you'd where if you were going to the gym. Of course if she wore this particular outfit at the gym more guys would be gawking than working out. Oz sat up from the couch and simply enjoyed the view as she enjoyed her music.

"Do you want to looove me, underneath it all…" Ryoko caught Oz staring at her and she turned down her CD player and looked over at him. She simply smiled and put her hands on her waist, in a mock scold-stance. She began to levitate and hovered towards him, "And just what are you staring at she asked?"

"I'm just watching a cutie get down," Oz answered in a half-dazed stare and caught himself answering Ryoko's chest instead of Ryoko herself.

Apparently Ryoko caught that too, "My face is up here babe."

"Hmm?" Oz snapped out of it, "Oh sorry, you just do that to me," he smiled in an attempt to appear innocent.

"Well I guess you're right." And with that Ryoko was about to turn up the music again when a beeping noise caught her attention. "Hmm?"

"Foooouuuuunnnnd hiimm!" Ed shouted. She punched a few more keys and then stopped.

"Excellent," Oz jumped off the couch and headed towards the Ed and her computer.

"Found who?" Ryoko wasn't sure of what was going on, she teleported next to Ed to see what was going on.

"Our next cash-in." Oz responded.

"Cool, who is he?" Ryoko leaned in and looked at the screen.

"HECTOOR Rodriguez, wanted for assault, blllackmail, FRAud, annnndd illllegal trafficking of drugs. He's a meanie." Ed was uncannily enthusiastic about everything she did, and answering questions was no exception.

"Right, thanks Ed," Ryoko acknowledged the answer the same way she acknowledged everything Ed did. Ryoko realized that Ed was very odd and purely took everything she did as a side-effect of her oddness. Ed wasn't annoying to her, just, odd.

"No problemo," Ed resumed her work(which was really nothing now) left it at that.

"Now that we've confirmed where he is," Oz went on, "It's time to get this guy."

"So where to?" Ryoko inquired.

"We're headed for the Omega System, planet Omega 5, Ring City."

"You know I hear that's a hang-out for the rich." Ryoko commented.

Oz looked over at her, "Yeah it is. Lots of crooks live there." Oz punched in the numbers and set the course. "I'm firing up the Newton Drives now." Oz pulled down different levers and flipped some switches, the gauges read "GO" and turned green. "WE jump in 5…4…3…2…1." Everything went white for an instant while the ship accelerated beyond the speed of light.

Orbit, Omega 5…

"Well here we are." Oz announced.

"Ed is hungry," Ed announced, then fell back on to the floor of the living room and stared at the ceiling in sadness.

Oz and Ryoko both looked over at Ed and sighed. They were hungry too but didn't have anything on board. This wasn't because of a lack of funds mind you, it was well within their means to buy more food, they just hadn't thought of doing it until they realized they had none left.

With the $10 million from their last catch the three had enjoyed a good few months on one of the tropical planets in the Oberon System. It was money very well spent, since Oz and Ryoko hadn't enjoyed a vacation like that in, well, never. They enjoyed tropical days everyday and some of the best food they had ever eaten; the best part was that it was all you could eat. As far as they were concerned, it was a challenge. And so they enjoyed the relaxing days of Planet Hawaii for weeks. Even with this splurge and the costs of repairing miscellaneous damages and improvements on the Viajero Bandido, and new paint jobs for their jets as well as some up-grades in equipment they were still sitting pretty. In fact they still had enough money for everyone to go on shopping sprees, of course they all bought their own vast food supply. Oz purchased some hard-to-find caster shells, and even went to a castersmith to have the cylinders and turbines in his casters replaced. A castersmith mind you was not cheap in the least. This being for a few reasons; one: he had be apprenticed by a sorcerer who was capable of making caster shells, so that he could truly understand the inner workings of a caster. Two: save for Oz's two casters, no caster was exactly the same, each was a custom job. True they all functioned the same, but their construction was slightly different. Some were shaped differently, or the way they fired wasn't always the same. Some incorporated magazines; others were single shot, some pump-action. Except for the turbines that allowed for the caster shell to fire its spell, every other part had to be made from scratch if it needed to be repaired or replaced. Also, in order for the part to work within the caster, a special incantation had to be placed on it, so that its energy field was in sync with that of the casters. So in effect a castersmith was also a wizard, hence the required apprenticeship. And finding one wasn't easy either. All these things combined made the caster a wonder, an incredible hybrid of magic and science. Oz had spent a small fortune finding a castersmith and then paying for the expenses of repairing the two casters. To further deplete their account Oz stocked up on spare parts, new tools and extra ammunition(missiles, bullets, guns, weapons system upgrade). Ryoko on the other hand spared no expense in finding new clothes and accessories, and other items such as CD's and a new CD player for herself. And Ed being Ed spent a large portion of money on food, but also made sure to get a large quantity of new computer parts and upgrades for her super laptop. She now had double the hard-drive space, three times the accessories, and four times the speed that she once had. She also bought an advanced electronics repair kit to boot.

Oz thought about all this and then looked at Ed, "Good idea Ed, lets go out to dinner, my treat." With that he then added, "And I know just the place."

Just the place…

Ryoko, Oz, and Ed walked into the restaurant. Ryoko was wearing a low-cut black dress with a golden chain belt that fit loosely around her waist; once again she had high slits that went up teasing the eyes with a glimpse of her legs. Oz was wearing a suit with red pants and jacket and a solid black shirt. Anyone glancing at Ed was witnessing a rare sight, since she too was wearing a dress. She wasn't wearing her usual outfit of short white t-shirt, and beige short-shorts with her quasi-utility belt and her goggles. Instead she was wearing a blue slip-dress that was somewhat short. Ed may be an odd person, but at 17 she also had a body to be admired.

As they walked in Ryoko thought to ask Oz a question, "So why did you pick this place anyways?"

Oz looked ahead as he answered her inquiry, "It was on the report," He responded, "It said that this place was his favorite place to eat." And had chosen to leave it at that.

Of course Ryoko wouldn't let that happen, "No it wasn't," she replied.

Oz appeared to shrug it off as if it were a minor mistake on his, "Well I read it somewhere, what so what's it matter?"

Ryoko found his reaction slightly odd, for the most part he seemed truthful, but he also seemed to be hiding something, but what she wasn't sure. It was something that bothered her about Oz, she couldn't always tell what he was thinking, and there were things about his past she just didn't know. Was this one of them? She couldn't be sure, maybe, maybe not. It was frustrating for her to know that she had no choice but to wait until the day he decided to tell her everything about himself, little by little he would tell her what she wanted to know, in his own time. Although she had to admit it did add a mysterious aura to him. She also knew that if she criticized him about his unwillingness to delve into his past she would be a hypocrite, since she didn't give details all the time. That was just the way they were. Ryoko looked at him with a bit of a grin, "Just curious, no need to get snippy." And she dismissed the whole thing.

They all walked up to the host and he acknowledged them, "May I help you?" he asked.

"Yeah," Oz said as he out his hand on Ryoko's waist, "Table for three please, under Cortez."

The host looked at him in an odd manner, "I'm sorry sir but we don't have anyone under that name."

Oz pulled out a fifty-dollar bill and palmed it. He let it stick out just enough to let the host see the 50 on it and slid his finger down the list of names, "It's right here."

The host saw the bill and reacted accordingly, "Oh yes of course sir, I must have missed it." The man slipped the bill into the palm of his hand and pulled three menus for them. "Right this way," he announced, and began leading them towards a table.

"Actually," Oz interjected, "Could we get that booth over there?" He pulled out a twenty and held it close to his body, "It's a little more private and has a better view."

The man saw the bill and smiled again, it was his lucky night, "Of course sir," he answered, and proceeded to lead them to the booth Oz requested.

At the dinner table…

They all sat at the booth and were eating the salads that the ordered as part of their appetizers. It was during this time that Oz saw him, the one they were after. He was the only that knew the man, personally. Hector, he thought, finally I can take you out and cash in on it at the same time. Oz had been scanning the restaurant the entire time that they were eating and didn't notice anyone else that he knew. Which gave him evermore reason to be cautious. It meant one of two things; one: he really was on his own and it was a legitimate bounty, or two: it was a set-up. So far he had no indications of it. The fact that he here tonight wasn't anything hugely significant as far as raising suspicion went; Hector went to this restaurant almost every night anyways, he was a regular here. "There he is," said nonchalantly to Ryoko and Ed.

Ed looked at Oz, "Can we get him after dinner?" She had a juvenile beg-look on her face.

"I'm with Ed on this one," Ryoko agreed, "lets eat first."

Oz sighed, "Fine, but if he makes a move we…" That was when he heard it. The sound was faint and almost lost in the activity of the restaurant. Oz heard the pumping of a shotgun and then heard the unmistakable sound of magazines being loaded. He heard it in a few places and assessed the sound to be coming from under the tables of diners near him. Catching that sound he waited for the next sound that would immediately follow, which was the caulking of the guns. Oz heard it. "GET DOWN!"

Ryoko knew what he meant and grabbed Ed, they both teleported behind the wall of the booth and Oz quickly jumped behind it. The moment they did so a swarm of bullets flew through the air and through the booth.

Oz lied low behind the booth and pulled out his 9mm, "Dammit! I shoulda known this was a set-up."

With bullets flying past her face Ryoko looked over at Oz, "What was that?"

"I knew this guy in another lifetime," He said, "Part of the Wild Cards."

Ryoko looked at him and gave a frown, "It figures."

"AHHHHHHHH, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, why must they shoot at Edward?" Ed covered her head from the flying debri.

Oz put his gun through one of the holes in the booth and fired away. Shots flew back, he responded it turn.

Ryoko began mocking Oz during the storm of bullets, " 'I know the just the place' he says."

Oz caught that while he was taking shots at the guy with the shotgun, "Hey! I don't need this right now so shut your mouth!"

"I'm not the one who who's got a whole gang as his enemy!" Oz retorted.

"This isn't the time Ryoko!" Just then a bullet flew past Oz's nose, "ah!" he yelled as the bullet whizzed by him. "You're the one with the powers, help out a little!" Oz took more shots and then reloaded.

Ryoko teleported towards the ceiling and began shooting spheres of energy at the different people shooting. She put up a shield to block the bullets when someone fired a rocket at her. As she blocked that one another one came at her. Ryoko hadn't expected for them to have heavy artillery, but apparently they had planned for her. She dodged the third one and teleported back behind the booth. "Things are getting really rough, we need to go."

"Yeah but before we do gimme that #5 I told you to hold for me." Oz held out his hand.

Ryoko pulled it out of her purse and tossed it Oz, in the meantime she used her powers to make a shield to protect them from the bullets and returned fire to hold them off. "What are you gonna do with that, did you bring a caster?"

"No." He answered, and help up what looked like the barrel of a caster with one turbine and a button on the side, "I brought this. A caster grenade." The grenade also had what looked like a lens on one side of it. Oz pulled out the bottom of the grenade, " Load," he said, "Lock" the grenade clicked as he did so, "Arm," he pushed the red button and the turbine began to spin, "Annnd," he stood up, "RUN LIKE HELL!"

And they were off...

Ryoko flew out, literally, Ed sprinted for a portion and then barrel-rolled through the door while Oz followed closely behind.

The grenade hit the ground and the gunmen who were starting to run after them weren't sure what to make of it, it didn't really look like a grenade, it looked more like a broken caster. But before they could figure out just how dangerous it was it was too late. The grenade went off and did its job. An immense blue light filled the building and blew a large portion of the roof off.

Oz looked back and saw this, "A caster grenade creates and uncontrolled explosion of whatever shell you put into it, so it's a bad idea to hang around when it goes off."

"Yeah I figured." Ryoko responded.

"Ed doesn't like being in explosions or being shot at!" She had a big frown on her face as she was running.

"Yeah sorry about all this Ed, I'll make it up to you two by getting us all a bunch of burgers and fries okay?"

"Okay Ed can forgive, but no want this to happen often."

"Deal." Oz said. As they were all running Oz saw a car speed past them and swerve in front of them. He pulled out his gun again and blew out the tires. "Get outta here I'll take care of this on my own!" Ryoko nodded in understanding and grabbed Ed, teleporting away.

"Long time no see huh compadre?" Hector had a smirk on his face as he leaned against the car.

Oz simply gritted his teeth and aimed his gun at him. "You're not my compadre anymore."

"Come on now you wouldn't shoot your old friend wouldja?" He seemed very confident that he wouldn't.

"I told you," Oz said as he caulked back the hammer, "Your not my friend."

Hectors smile went away and he became very serious, "Listen Oz you better just give up now, your marked for dead, and my more than just the Wild Cards." He went on, "You know just as well as I do that the Dark Guild is after you too, after all our little escapades together."

Oz knew all too well that it would all catch up with him sooner or later, he aimed and pulled the trigger, hitting Hector in the arm.

"AHHH!" He yelled in amazement and pain, "You shot me you bastard!"

"Duh stupido, your not my friend remember?" Oz had a grin as he saw Hector holding his arm in pain. He saw Hector try and pull out a gun and Oz shot him four more times.

Hector yelled in pain and hunched over against the car, there were bullets holes and blood on it from his wounds. Hector looked up at Oz, "This is far from over," he uttered.

"I know." Oz said, he turned and walked away, not staying to see whether or not Hector would live through his wounds.

Bring it on…

To be continued…