When Alex came from the shower totally dressed and practically ready to go, the broken bottle of Bailey's was cleaned up and so was the mess of glass and the bullet from the shot to the picture. Even the pillow was replaced. She picked up some things like her cell phone, the money Jet had left her, and her handgun. She put the gun in a purse with the money and the phone. As she came out of her room, she put on a pair of sunglasses and came face to face with Jet.
"I'm going out, I don't know when I'll be back, call me if you hear from Spike." She said as she walked past him. She didn't sound her happy self, nor did she sound sad. It was a dull and monotone, emotionless voice coming from her.
"Just do me a favor?" he asked. She turned and looked at him. "Take Ed with you. She's been wanting to go out and hang out with you for a while." Alex thought for a moment.
"Ed! Get your ass out here before I leave without you!" She yelled. Ed bounced out of her room and smiled at Alex.
"Alex-san, you sounded like Faye-Faye!" she said as she pulled the goggles off and looked at Alex goofily. She couldn't help but crack a smile despite her bad mood.
"C'mon goofball, let's go." She said as she dragged her out the door. Ed shot Jet two thumbs up as she disappeared through the doorway. He hoped that all Alex needed to cheer up was an outing with Ed, after all, laughter is supposed to be the best medicine.
"Alex-san? Can we get some ice-cream?" Ed asked her. Alex eyed her.
"It's nine in the morning and you want ice cream? How's about closer to lunch?" she said trying to reason with the young girl. Ed shook her head.
"But I want to get some now!"
"I'll tell ya what, if you wait until lunchtime for ice cream, I'll buy you plenty of ice cream." She said as they walked off the docks and into the city.
"Okie-day!" she said as they wandered through the streets. They spent most of the morning window shopping, occasionally making a small purchase or two. When they finally stopped for lunch, Ed had a bunch of computer games and programs and Alex had a few graphic novels, a sketchpad, and some art supplies as well as some sheet music paper. They got lunch at a small café on the street and sat out in the sun while eating. Ed's happiness was working on Alex; she was in a much better mood than this morning. There was a man at the restaurant playing an acoustic guitar just like Alex had while they ate to promote the soothing and calm atmosphere.
"Wow, he's playing some pretty good Frank Sinatra on acoustic." Alex said to herself as she sipped her vanilla milkshake. Ed was having a good time with her banana split.
"Alex, you should ask him if you could play for a little while!" Ed suggested just loud enough for the other guitarist to hear.
"You know how to play?" he asked her. She nodded sheepishly and tried to hide behind her sunglasses. He smiled and stood, removing the strap from his back. "Play us a tune then!" he said. The people dining seemed to agree, so she took the guitar and checked it to see if it was in tune or not. Ed recognized it when she strummed the strings the first time.
"I wanna sing too!!" she exclaimed as she dashed to stand by Alex's side. Alex played and started to sing. It was the same song her and Ed sang back on the ship yesterday before Pidge and Jordan showed up; Fukai Mori. They sang the whole song in time, on tune, and overall perfectly, which made Alex cry since it made her think of Spike a little. As Alex ended the song, she received a standing ovation from all that heard her. Not only from the people sitting around and eating, but the people who were inside the restaurant and the people who were walking by on the street who stopped to listen. She took a brief bow and then returned to her table to finish her milkshake.
"Thank you miss! That was really great!" The original guitarist complimented as he took it back and played it himself.
"Wow Alex-san! That was really cool, your first time playing for a real audience!" Ed said excitedly. Alex shrugged her shoulders and sipped some more of the smooth, thick beverage.
"Not really. When I used to be out on the streets I played for money in front of people who were walking past. More than this." She explained as she set the glass down on the table suddenly the sound of gunshots and explosions rang out up the street. Everyone began to panic and get under their tables, but Alex only reached for her gun. She saw two figures running in their direction, one being chased by the other. The one leading the other turned and took a few shots, producing a cloud of dust before the other and gaining a little time for himself. He continued to run down the street and as he drew closer, Alex's eyes grew wider. She saw the tousled brown mass of hair, the blue suit that was stained with blood and turned crimson in some places.
"Alex-san, is that…" Ed began. Alex finished her sentence for her as he ran through the street almost passing her without noticing.
"SPIKE!" She called out at the top of her lungs, wanting him to hear her no matter how far from her he was. He slowed to a limp and looked over to see her. He saw her eyes beginning to tear as he realized she was seeing him covered in his own blood.
"Alex, get away from here! He'll kill you and Ed, just run!" He demanded with tears beginning to well in his eyes as well, he wished she didn't see him like this. Despite the warning, Alex jumped over the small fence and went to run for him. A gun fired and the next thing Alex saw was a bullet shooting straight through Spike's back.
"NO!" She screamed as she ran to him. His body went limp and he fell to the ground. Blood slowly began to pool beneath him. She got to his side and turned him over to face her. blood was streaming from the corners of his mouth as his eyes slowly opened and saw her face.
"Get out of here, he's after me and if he sees you, he'll come after you." He warned her. she put her hand over his mouth to hush him. The tears flowed heavily from her eyes now.
"Shhh, don't speak. You'll be alright, okay? We'll get a doctor and have you fixed up in no time I promise!" she told him. The blood was really gushing from the bullet-hole, so she ripped off the enough of her shirt to use as something to stop the blood. She reached into the purse and pulled out her phone quickly and dialed the ship. It rang once and then someone picked up.
"Hello?"
"Jet! Come to the Shining Star Café on West 62nd street! I found Spike and if he doesn't get to a hospital soon, he'll die!" she screamed as she dust cloud finally cleared and a tall lanky figure emerged holding a very large gun. She didn't have to say anything else; Jet was already on his way. The tall man laughed as he sauntered closer.
"Well, it looks like I nailed my target, but what's this, a pretty girl coming to his aide? This will not do if he lives!" he said as he came within 20 feet of Spike and Alex. She gave Spike a kiss on his warm lips and took one of the larger guns from inside of his coat. She stood with an angry grimace on her face and held her gun up and aimed it dead at him, arm straight and not the slightest shake.
"I don't care who the hell you are or if you're famous or not. All I know is that you shot my love and I can't let you live now. If he dies I will hunt your family down and kill every last one of them. I swear by my father's grave I will." She bellowed angrily. The man only laughed at her as he came to only 10 feet in front of her.
"And what makes you think you can hit me?" he asked her. He now stood right in front of her, her gun to his forehead, right between the eyes. "After all, you're nothing but a weak, good-for-nothing, slu-" he spat before she had enough of him. She squeezed the trigger and blew his brains out of his head. The people in the café screamed.
"I'm not a weak good-for-nothing slut as you say. I am proud to be a mentally and physically strong female bounty hunter that can keep guys like you out of the picture and make the world a safer place without scumbags like you ruining it for everyone." She said as she stood over the body. After a few seconds, she let the gun fall from her hands and ran back to Spike. "Spike! Are you okay? Stay with me hun, don't leave me!" she begged and pleaded, trying to keep him conscious. His eyes opened slowly, she was losing him.
"There was something I wanted to ask you last night when we went out, but…when this came up I decided to put it off until after I came back." he said with a cough. The blood was still streaming from his lips.
"What is it Spike?" she asked as she leaned in close to kiss his cheek The roar of an engine sounded above as Jet's Hammerhead touched down on the street not too far from where they were on the ground. Spike couldn't say it loud enough and Alex couldn't hear the words coming out of his mouth.
"Alex! I called an ambulance they should be here soon. How is the crazy bastard?" he asked as he ran over. He took one look at Spike and cringed. When Vincent ripped a hole in his chest back some time ago that looked like nothing compared to how he looked now. Spike looked like he had been through a meat grinder several times over. He was bloody, bruised, and beaten.
"The guy you just killed, Alex, was the big bounty I went after last night." Spike told her. "I can't believe you took him out with one shot. Maybe I should leave these things up to you from now on, huh?" A loud siren drew close and an ambulance appeared. Jet flagged them down and called them over. They ran and brought a stretcher. One man spoke with Jet the entire time while three others loaded Spike onto the stretcher and into the ambulance. Spike quickly tossed Alex the keys to the Swordfish II.
"I want to go with Spike!" Alex demanded.
"We're sorry ma'am, but we only have enough room for the three of us. We can't let you come with us." One of the men told her as they shut the door on her. They drove off and left Jet and Alex standing on the street by themselves.
"The hospital they're taking him to is only about five miles from here. He'll go into the ER as soon as he gets there and then they'll see what's going on." Jet explained as he took the keys from Alex and pushed a tiny button before handing them back to her. Ed bounded out from the restaurant.
"Alex-san? What happened to Spi-Spi?" She asked her curiously. Tears silently slid down Alex's cheeks as she watched the ambulance disappear around a corner.
"He got hurt. Let's get you back to the ship." She said to her placing a hand on the young girl's shoulder before speaking to Jet without looking at him. "I'm taking Ed back to the ship, I'll meet you back at the hospital." She said as the Swordfish II came around a corner. Ed Ran and picked up their bags from their table and jumped into the ship behind Alex. The cockpit shut and they flew off to the ship. No sooner than the two of them left, Jet took off in the Hammerhead and raced to the hospital.
"I'm going out, I don't know when I'll be back, call me if you hear from Spike." She said as she walked past him. She didn't sound her happy self, nor did she sound sad. It was a dull and monotone, emotionless voice coming from her.
"Just do me a favor?" he asked. She turned and looked at him. "Take Ed with you. She's been wanting to go out and hang out with you for a while." Alex thought for a moment.
"Ed! Get your ass out here before I leave without you!" She yelled. Ed bounced out of her room and smiled at Alex.
"Alex-san, you sounded like Faye-Faye!" she said as she pulled the goggles off and looked at Alex goofily. She couldn't help but crack a smile despite her bad mood.
"C'mon goofball, let's go." She said as she dragged her out the door. Ed shot Jet two thumbs up as she disappeared through the doorway. He hoped that all Alex needed to cheer up was an outing with Ed, after all, laughter is supposed to be the best medicine.
"Alex-san? Can we get some ice-cream?" Ed asked her. Alex eyed her.
"It's nine in the morning and you want ice cream? How's about closer to lunch?" she said trying to reason with the young girl. Ed shook her head.
"But I want to get some now!"
"I'll tell ya what, if you wait until lunchtime for ice cream, I'll buy you plenty of ice cream." She said as they walked off the docks and into the city.
"Okie-day!" she said as they wandered through the streets. They spent most of the morning window shopping, occasionally making a small purchase or two. When they finally stopped for lunch, Ed had a bunch of computer games and programs and Alex had a few graphic novels, a sketchpad, and some art supplies as well as some sheet music paper. They got lunch at a small café on the street and sat out in the sun while eating. Ed's happiness was working on Alex; she was in a much better mood than this morning. There was a man at the restaurant playing an acoustic guitar just like Alex had while they ate to promote the soothing and calm atmosphere.
"Wow, he's playing some pretty good Frank Sinatra on acoustic." Alex said to herself as she sipped her vanilla milkshake. Ed was having a good time with her banana split.
"Alex, you should ask him if you could play for a little while!" Ed suggested just loud enough for the other guitarist to hear.
"You know how to play?" he asked her. She nodded sheepishly and tried to hide behind her sunglasses. He smiled and stood, removing the strap from his back. "Play us a tune then!" he said. The people dining seemed to agree, so she took the guitar and checked it to see if it was in tune or not. Ed recognized it when she strummed the strings the first time.
"I wanna sing too!!" she exclaimed as she dashed to stand by Alex's side. Alex played and started to sing. It was the same song her and Ed sang back on the ship yesterday before Pidge and Jordan showed up; Fukai Mori. They sang the whole song in time, on tune, and overall perfectly, which made Alex cry since it made her think of Spike a little. As Alex ended the song, she received a standing ovation from all that heard her. Not only from the people sitting around and eating, but the people who were inside the restaurant and the people who were walking by on the street who stopped to listen. She took a brief bow and then returned to her table to finish her milkshake.
"Thank you miss! That was really great!" The original guitarist complimented as he took it back and played it himself.
"Wow Alex-san! That was really cool, your first time playing for a real audience!" Ed said excitedly. Alex shrugged her shoulders and sipped some more of the smooth, thick beverage.
"Not really. When I used to be out on the streets I played for money in front of people who were walking past. More than this." She explained as she set the glass down on the table suddenly the sound of gunshots and explosions rang out up the street. Everyone began to panic and get under their tables, but Alex only reached for her gun. She saw two figures running in their direction, one being chased by the other. The one leading the other turned and took a few shots, producing a cloud of dust before the other and gaining a little time for himself. He continued to run down the street and as he drew closer, Alex's eyes grew wider. She saw the tousled brown mass of hair, the blue suit that was stained with blood and turned crimson in some places.
"Alex-san, is that…" Ed began. Alex finished her sentence for her as he ran through the street almost passing her without noticing.
"SPIKE!" She called out at the top of her lungs, wanting him to hear her no matter how far from her he was. He slowed to a limp and looked over to see her. He saw her eyes beginning to tear as he realized she was seeing him covered in his own blood.
"Alex, get away from here! He'll kill you and Ed, just run!" He demanded with tears beginning to well in his eyes as well, he wished she didn't see him like this. Despite the warning, Alex jumped over the small fence and went to run for him. A gun fired and the next thing Alex saw was a bullet shooting straight through Spike's back.
"NO!" She screamed as she ran to him. His body went limp and he fell to the ground. Blood slowly began to pool beneath him. She got to his side and turned him over to face her. blood was streaming from the corners of his mouth as his eyes slowly opened and saw her face.
"Get out of here, he's after me and if he sees you, he'll come after you." He warned her. she put her hand over his mouth to hush him. The tears flowed heavily from her eyes now.
"Shhh, don't speak. You'll be alright, okay? We'll get a doctor and have you fixed up in no time I promise!" she told him. The blood was really gushing from the bullet-hole, so she ripped off the enough of her shirt to use as something to stop the blood. She reached into the purse and pulled out her phone quickly and dialed the ship. It rang once and then someone picked up.
"Hello?"
"Jet! Come to the Shining Star Café on West 62nd street! I found Spike and if he doesn't get to a hospital soon, he'll die!" she screamed as she dust cloud finally cleared and a tall lanky figure emerged holding a very large gun. She didn't have to say anything else; Jet was already on his way. The tall man laughed as he sauntered closer.
"Well, it looks like I nailed my target, but what's this, a pretty girl coming to his aide? This will not do if he lives!" he said as he came within 20 feet of Spike and Alex. She gave Spike a kiss on his warm lips and took one of the larger guns from inside of his coat. She stood with an angry grimace on her face and held her gun up and aimed it dead at him, arm straight and not the slightest shake.
"I don't care who the hell you are or if you're famous or not. All I know is that you shot my love and I can't let you live now. If he dies I will hunt your family down and kill every last one of them. I swear by my father's grave I will." She bellowed angrily. The man only laughed at her as he came to only 10 feet in front of her.
"And what makes you think you can hit me?" he asked her. He now stood right in front of her, her gun to his forehead, right between the eyes. "After all, you're nothing but a weak, good-for-nothing, slu-" he spat before she had enough of him. She squeezed the trigger and blew his brains out of his head. The people in the café screamed.
"I'm not a weak good-for-nothing slut as you say. I am proud to be a mentally and physically strong female bounty hunter that can keep guys like you out of the picture and make the world a safer place without scumbags like you ruining it for everyone." She said as she stood over the body. After a few seconds, she let the gun fall from her hands and ran back to Spike. "Spike! Are you okay? Stay with me hun, don't leave me!" she begged and pleaded, trying to keep him conscious. His eyes opened slowly, she was losing him.
"There was something I wanted to ask you last night when we went out, but…when this came up I decided to put it off until after I came back." he said with a cough. The blood was still streaming from his lips.
"What is it Spike?" she asked as she leaned in close to kiss his cheek The roar of an engine sounded above as Jet's Hammerhead touched down on the street not too far from where they were on the ground. Spike couldn't say it loud enough and Alex couldn't hear the words coming out of his mouth.
"Alex! I called an ambulance they should be here soon. How is the crazy bastard?" he asked as he ran over. He took one look at Spike and cringed. When Vincent ripped a hole in his chest back some time ago that looked like nothing compared to how he looked now. Spike looked like he had been through a meat grinder several times over. He was bloody, bruised, and beaten.
"The guy you just killed, Alex, was the big bounty I went after last night." Spike told her. "I can't believe you took him out with one shot. Maybe I should leave these things up to you from now on, huh?" A loud siren drew close and an ambulance appeared. Jet flagged them down and called them over. They ran and brought a stretcher. One man spoke with Jet the entire time while three others loaded Spike onto the stretcher and into the ambulance. Spike quickly tossed Alex the keys to the Swordfish II.
"I want to go with Spike!" Alex demanded.
"We're sorry ma'am, but we only have enough room for the three of us. We can't let you come with us." One of the men told her as they shut the door on her. They drove off and left Jet and Alex standing on the street by themselves.
"The hospital they're taking him to is only about five miles from here. He'll go into the ER as soon as he gets there and then they'll see what's going on." Jet explained as he took the keys from Alex and pushed a tiny button before handing them back to her. Ed bounded out from the restaurant.
"Alex-san? What happened to Spi-Spi?" She asked her curiously. Tears silently slid down Alex's cheeks as she watched the ambulance disappear around a corner.
"He got hurt. Let's get you back to the ship." She said to her placing a hand on the young girl's shoulder before speaking to Jet without looking at him. "I'm taking Ed back to the ship, I'll meet you back at the hospital." She said as the Swordfish II came around a corner. Ed Ran and picked up their bags from their table and jumped into the ship behind Alex. The cockpit shut and they flew off to the ship. No sooner than the two of them left, Jet took off in the Hammerhead and raced to the hospital.