Part Three

The Captain and The Monorail

When I returned to the Bebop, I felt something different in the air. It wasn't the warm, welcoming arms of home that I felt; no, there was something new. Something bad.

I strolled into the living room to see Ed messing around on her computer, and Jet and Spike looking almost as if they had been betrayed.

I took a closer look at what was on Ed's screen. There were pictures of various people, all dressed in uniforms, and text below each picture. On one of the pictures was the young Vincent I had known; another contained the same photo of Electra that I had kept amongst my military gear for years.

Oh, dammit, they found my service records.

I cleared my throat, to attract their attention.

"Uh... what's up, guys?" I said.

"I don't know." Jet replied. "What is up, Captain?"

I sighed, and ran my fingers through my hair.

Spike was very quiet. He looked a bit sad.

"Okay, so I didn't exactly tell you everything about me." I said. "Come on, how does this change anything?"

"This changes a lot, Jack!" Spike said, standing straight up. "I promised that I wouldn't tell anyone that you had been in the Titan wars; I didn't know you were the damn poster boy for the super-soldier program!"

"The program... look, Spike, I didn't want to be a part of that. I joined the army, true. But in the middle of my training, they took me and Vicious out and what happened for the next six months is still unknown to me. All I do know is that when I came out, they promoted us both to Captain and put us in charge of a squad. And that whatever the hell they had done to me, it had made me-"

"...superhuman?" Jet suggested.

"Yeah." I replied. "I was forced into experiments that I may never understand, and I was forced to be responsible for the lives of people I didn't know! I didn't want any of that, Spike! You have to believe me!"

"Jack, when you introduced me to Vicious, you said he was a 'war buddy'." Spike said.

"He was a war buddy." I said.

"Jack, you had the highest body count of anyone in that war." Jet said. "You killed-"

"Six hundred and eighty one people." I breathed. "I know. Believe me, I know."

"How much of what you've done has been based off of your super-soldier abilities?" Spike asked. He was calmer now; he was seeing the way it had all really happened.

"None of it." I replied. "After coming back home, I swore to never pull from any of my abilities, ever again. That's why I was so eager to train with you; I wanted to have natural abilities, not ones that I had received from a test tube."

Spike nodded. "Well, alright." he said. "Then I guess it's okay. But is there anything else you're hiding from us?"

I nodded. "There is." I said. "But I can't tell you now. There's someone else you have to hear it from."

"Who?" Jet asked.

I pointed to the screen. "Colonel Electra Ovirowa."

"She's a pretty young thing." Spike remarked. "Did you-"

"It's complicated." I said. "She was at Cherious. I didn't find out what they were doing there, but whatever it is, they're prepared for war. Electra said she was an agent of the company. If they're using her, they mean business; the girl was my second-in-command. After Spike, she's the person I'd want to be in a foxhole with."

"I can see why." Jet remarked, looking at Electra's picture.

"Oh, shut up." I said. "I planted a bug on her, so I'll be monitoring that until something good happens."

I took a pair of headphones off the table, and flicked them on. Electra appeared to be just going through her day.

"Hey," I asked, "where's Faye?"

"Don't know." Jet replied. "Last I heard, she was lookin' for that nerd bountyhead. I think it's gotten personal for her."

"Then we may wind up with a corpse instead of a bounty." I remarked, and headed off to my room.

I spent an hour and a half playing guitar, listening to Electra, and thinking.

I thought mainly about Electra and Faye. Out of the two? I had no idea which girl I loved more.

Electra and I had a very mature relationship, albeit one that had fallen apart because of the environment in which it bloomed. Faye and I had a playful relationship, though out of the two I felt hers was the more caring. I liked protecting Faye, however mad that made her; and our personalities got along very well. Plus, Faye and I kept our relationship going in the real world, where it would be for the majority of our lives. Electra and I had fallen in love on a battlefield.

"I think I've located Vincent." a voice said. "He's heading to Central Station."

"Excellent." Electra replied. "No one lay a hand on him." I heard her start running.

I slipped the microphone in my pocket, grabbed some ammo for my pistol, and my trenchcoat.

I ran through the living room, shouting for Spike to get in his ship and follow me.

Mere minutes later, we were soaring towards Central Station. There was no time to lose; Vincent would be efficient in his task.

I flew low, and programmed my ship to fly back to the Bebop. I opened up the cockpit and jumped out, landing on the roof of Central Station.

Spike found a spot to land, and started running in.

I found a stairwell and ran down to the entrance hall. I spotted Vincent in a long, black coat, with his long, black hair and unkempt beard almost hiding his identity.

I followed him, sprinting through the crowd. Vincent went into one of the monorails. I got in after the man, slowing down and trying to keep a low profile.

After a few tense moments, the monorail pretty much emptied out and took off. It sped out of the station, going along a track hovering entirely over the New York bay.

I brought up my Jericho pistol. Vincent heard me pull back the hammer.

"You..." Vincent said, turning on me. "You do not understand the situation you are in."

"I understand it just fine." I said. "You're releasing biochemical weapons in a populated city. I'm merely here to collect your bounty."

"No... you don't understand this at all." he replied.

I squinted a little, making sure this was the Vincent I knew. He didn't seem to recognize me.

"Vincent, it's me." I said. "Remember? Your Captain?"

I saw his eyes go wide. The man pulled out a pistol and fired wildly in my direction.

I dived to the right, hoping the seats would block the bullets until Vincent ran out of ammo. I heard the click of an empty magazine, and came up firing.

Five bullets left my pistol; five connected. Considering how fast Vincent was moving, that was quite a feat.

Let the animal take over.

I felt my abilities... strengthening.

You will need him.

The abilities that I had left on Titan were coming back to me. I fell to the ground, as a searing pain entering my system. My eyes were open, but a blinding light stopped me from seeing anything. A minute later, I felt better than ever.

Something about Vincent triggered the abilities.

I followed him into another monorail carriage; but suddenly, I heard a voice from behind me.

"Vincent." Electra said, stepping in front of me. She had a gun in her right hand, but she wasn't pointing it at him. "Vincent, don't you remember me?"

Just as he had done with me, Vincent turned and fired. But Electra didn't have my reflexes, and I knew it. I dived in front of the shot. The bullet nailed me in the chest.

Vincent turned around to run again, but Spike was right behind him. Spike and Vincent fought, and I knew who would be the victor.

"Spike!" I tried to shout. "Spike, run!"

"Run?" Spike said. "No way, I've got this thug."

Electra got down on one knee and started checking out my wound. "Jack, why did you do that?" she asked.

"I told you, Electra... I still love you." I said.

She closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, her eyes were wet, but she wasn't crying.

"Do you have a knife?" Electra asked, all business.

I handed her one. Just as I had taught the squad all those years ago, she performed a perfect incision, found the exact spot where the bullet was lodged, and pulled it out in no time. She had some bandages of her own, and wrapped them around the wound.

"Well done." I remarked, sitting up.

When I looked up, I saw Vincent holding a beaten and bloodied Spike out the monorail window. Without thinking about it, I rushed over and put my gun against Vincent's back.

He threw Spike anyway.

I fired a few shots into Vincent, shots he didn't appear to feel. I then threw him against the opposite wall of the monorail, and jumped out after Spike.