I'm quite proud of this fic although I'm suddenly insecure in how it reads. There were many ways I wanted to play around with it but this is what I ended up writing.

Lowkey inspired by a plot point by the fic Cat and Mouse on FFN but it's my own take.

I wasn't sure how well the title fits the fic but I was spent for ideas and wanted to post the fic so don't be surprised if it changes later.

"Spike! Are you listening to me?"

"What?" Spike snapped. Shin huffed in annoyance. He'd just finished updating Spike on this week's syndicate reports but it seemed Spike hadn't been listening. Again. This was getting out of hand. The Red Dragons couldn't afford a leader who was spaced out in every single brief meeting.

"I just told you the White Tigers are planning to topple us. They're not being discreet about it either. Word from our intelligence is the other syndicates may be helping."

Shin waited for a reaction to disappointment.

"So? Let the Red Dragons topple!" was Spike's brilliant response. Shin gaped at the syndicate elder.

"Are you hearing yourself? What kind of syndicate leader says that!"

"I never wanted to lead the Red Dragons," Spike shrugged. He very much believed what he was saying to the soldier in front of him. "Not my problem." He pulled out a cigarette and lit it with his old beat up lighter despite the shiny new one sitting on the coffee table right in front of him. He took a long drag then turned to stare back then turned to look out of the giant glass wall to the city of Tharsis far below. "You should have let me die if all you were going to do was rope me back into a life I was miserable in." He added bitterly.

Shin ran his hand through his hair in aggravation. This wasn't the first time he'd had this discussion with Spike.

"We never planned to trap you. But you defeated Vicious and the syndicate needed a leader."

"I fought Vicious for my own reasons!" Spike said sharply. It was true. He didn't give a damn if the Van had called for Vicious' head when Spike had gotten to him. He hadn't killed Vicious due to any misaligned loyalties there. "The syndicate power had nothing to do with it," he spelled it to Shin out as if he was dumb.

"We still needed a leader to keep the power vacuum from toppling the organization," the soldier turned capo replied stubbornly.

"And you had to pick me?" Spike raised his voice this time, finally turning away from the windows and towards Shin. "So many people fighting to be boss of this fucking crime ring, yet you chose me? The one person who didn't want it?"

"Since you defeated Vicious who defeated Mao, yes! You know how this works Spike!" Shin sighed. He was tired at this point. He'd had this discussion with Spike so many times before and every time it ended the same way. With no resolution.

"Then let it topple again! I know how it works and you can't make me a willing participant. After 8 months you should have figured out I have no skin in this game!" Spike was red in the face at this point and Shin had just about had it with him.

In all the months working for Spike loyally since the man healed, Shin had held back aware that the older man was going through grief and trauma from his still recovering injuries and missing the people who he had been partners with for years despite Spike's denial. But Spike had been insensitive ever since waking up. The moment he realized the conditions to this new life his gratitude and relief at being alive had withered into bitter resentment and he refused to lead the Dragons voluntarily, causing more casualties than there had been in years. No wonder the other syndicates though the Red Dragons had become easy prey.

"You're a selfish asshole Spike!" Shin spat. "The minute the Red Dragons collapse you'll go running off to your little fishing ship in space with the people you call family-"

"Don't you dare bring them-"

"Shut up!" Shin bellowed. Spike shut up, taken aback. The soft-spoken mercenary rarely raised his voice and never towards him. "You may be my superior but you owe me! So listen! You'll go running off the minute the Dragons are over but what about the rest of us who don't have bounty hunting alter egos we can run off to be? What about the rest of us with our families and homes on Mars that we've been supporting by being in the syndicate since we were children! You're so ignorant to your own privilege Spike!"

"Privilege? What privilege?" Spike scoffed. From the moment he was born he'd seen one misery after the next. His mother and father had died during his early childhood and he'd only known blood and bitterness and resentment ever since. From the time he grew up on the streets until he met Doohan who taught him hard work, and then ever after since he'd been played into becoming an assassin for the Dragons.

"This is exactly it! You're so blind!" Shin almost laughed in frustration. "Don't you get it? Not all of us were adopted by Mao and treated like princes! You and Vicious had that leg up. To be adopted by the head of an entire syndicate, trained to lead it one day and then be able to fake your death and leave it?"

"I didn't choose." Spike hissed bitterly, disgusted that Shin would call that kind of uprbinging as privilege. Not a day didn't go by that Spike didn't wish he'd died on the streets instead of living with the weight of all his actions. "You may have chosen this life, but I didn't! And I thought it's what I wanted because it gave me a bed and roof. I was indebted to Mao! It brought nothing but misery! A bed and a roof aren't worth it!"

Shin shook his head sadly no longer shouting at the man he called his friend even if Spike didn't see him as the same. Spike saw him as a jailer, and Shin wished things didn't have to be this way. Spike was the most stubborn person Shin had ever met. His ability to stand his ground was why the Van had thought him worthy of becoming the new leader of the syndicate. But they were long dead now, and Shin knew Spike would burn the syndicate down himself to leave if he had to. They were at a crossroads and all the new capo could do was negotiate. Learning on the job as one might call it.

"None of us choose this life, Spike." Shin sighed, weary and sad. "Some are born into it and others do what we do to survive. You know this better than anyone. If the syndicate is destroyed it'll make more than just people like you miserable. Their entire livelihood is this life whether they like it or not. Their family's livelihood is this life! For their sake fix this mess up and…" Shin paused, "I promise you can leave." He hated to promise Spike this. The Red Dragons would be losing their greatest asset, but Shin couldn't make Spike stay, and keeping him was never a part of the permanent plan anyway. Shin knew that from the start.

Spike turned back to the window silently stewing over everything Shin had said. He watched the younger man through the glass as smoke from his forgotten cigarette drifted around his face. He breathed it in, feeling relief in the clarity it provided. Spike hated it but the mercenary was right. These were all truths he knew but hated to acknowledge. Finally, he spoke, "If I fix this mess you promise me you'll never contact me again."

"I'll never contact you again." Shin vowed. "Once the syndicate is on its feet, you've taught me all you can about running it, anything that happens is my responsibility. But I need you to be leader until then. Once it's done, you'll be free to live as you want on that ship of yours with that woman you have me get updates on and the crew you care about so much. You'll be dead to us again. Or under our protection. Whatever you want. It's the most I can offer for your trouble. But fix this first."

Shin didn't look pleased at the idea of running the syndicate on his own and going by the grimace on his face Spike didn't look very pleased by the idea of the Red Dragons hovering over his crew either but he didn't say anything. Shin could see the change in Spike's posture at hearing an update on the Bebop.

Ever since waking up, Shin had dutifully given the older man updates about the ship's condition and docking points but nothing lifted Spike quite as much as information regarding the only woman aboard the ship. The first order of business Spike had given in his miserable state as leader of the Dragons was to fill in her substantial debts as an anonymous tip. Surprisingly, they were already gone which confused the former bounty hunter to this day but Shin knew if Spike wasn't opposing syndicate protection for the Bebop it was because of her and the worry that debt collectors or other heinous criminals would come her way again. He wanted to sever ties with the Red Dragons forever, but if there was anything he had learnt from his past, it was that he could never be free of it. He could never escape it. The most he could hope for was to accept the benefits it provided and pretend it didn't exist for as long as it hovered out of sight.

The room was silent for another few seconds before, "Fine... Set up the parley with the White Tigers."

"Thank you for meeting me Mr. Zhao," Spike smiled what he hoped was an amiable smile but was probably a grimace as the leader of the White Tigers entered flanked by two bodyguards while two of his men remained at the door. He knew how to play the role of syndicate prince very well but he hated it. It wasn't him.

"Can't say it's a pleasure, Mr. Spiegel. I know your intentions for this parley but I'm here to warn you it will be unsuccessful." Mr. Zhao took a seat opposite of Spike. He didn't wait for an invitation and that rankled Spike. The man in front of him was his age, possibly younger, but he was acting like he had already won.

"You'd be surprised at how persuasive I can be." Spike smiled before getting straight down to business. "I understand this is in retribution for killing the last person to come strike a deal with the Red Dragons but you should understand that it was a rogue who caused that unfortunate accident, not us."

"You understand wrong Mr. Spiegel." Mr. Zhao replied. If Spike was surprised he didn't show it. "While Carlos Zhao was a respected and important capo for the Tigers, this is just how things are in our line of business. I have no reason to hold a personal grudge and I'm aware the man who killed him is long dead. No, this ambition to take the Dragons down is a request."

"And why would the White Tigers give in to the request of just anyone?" Spike questioned.

It seemed that was exactly the question the White Tigers' leader had hoped Spike would ask. He sat back in his chair; fingers pressed together as he looked at Spike in eased contemplation. "You are aware that the elders hold quite a sway over the matters of syndicates, more so if their roots emerge from Earth's Eastern cultures."

"I am aware." Spike knew this very well. Vicious killing off the Red Dragons' elders had led to the entire mess of him becoming syndicate leader in the first place. "Which elder of yours have the Dragons pissed off?"

"I am unable to disclose it." Mr. Zhao seemed to enjoy withholding that piece of information but how green he was to this business was revealed to Spike in how directly he said it. Spike almost scoffed at the kid's inexperience but then relaxed. He hadn't expected getting an answer to be that easy anyway. That didn't stop the young upstart from playing games though and Spike was too lazy to try and ruin the fun. He knew he'd get to the answer eventually.

"You see," Zhao continued, "the elder in question is not actually syndicate."

"And yet you have no trouble doing their bidding. Or disclosing all this to me." Spike pointed out. He leaned back against the cushions comfortably. He would have set his feet up on the coffee table too if he hadn't felt Shin's glare on his backside from where the man was acting as his bodyguard. The fear that if this meeting didn't go well he'd never be able to leave the Dragons was the only thing keeping him from playing his own games but just barely. Shin was a loyal mercenary, but the minute Spike turned against the Dragons, Spike was certain Shin would come after him with all the manpower he had if the Dragons suffered any casualties. Still, he couldn't resist a quip or two towards the Tigers' leader: "Since when does a syndicate operate under the orders of someone not directly in the hierarchy."

"Once again you misunderstand, Mr. Spiegel." Mr. Zhao gave a double-edged smirk, clearly intending on drawing this out and Spike almost groaned. This was leading to nowhere and he really did not care a bit about the White Tigers' internal politics or whatever upper hand Zhao seemed to think he was getting by talking in circles. He wanted to get to the point already, sign whatever outrageous demands would lead to an agreement and then leave. Mr. Zhao didn't care for what Spike wanted though, for he continued, "The elder in question is the top of our hierarchy, she just isn't a part of the operations. As such, she's liable to make requests. As her great nephew I comply out of respect. I have no trouble disclosing all this to you, because like I said, the downfall of the Red Dragons is nothing personal to me. Consider this a show of goodwill on my part, a warning or a justification, since you all will be dead within the week."

Spike raised his brow at the man's confidence, leaned forward, then smirked. "I'd like to meet this woman," he declared. It was the natural conclusion. "If you have no personal grudge I'd like to meet the person that does. She seems like an interesting conversation."

"That simply isn't possible."

"Then you tell me," Spike shrugged. "What grudge does an old woman have against an already weakened syndicate."

He wanted a smoke. Spike had no idea what old biddy someone in the Red Dragons had pissed off but it was just his luck he'd have to deal with it. Old people could be notoriously stubborn. Spike knew. He had to deal with Jet… and Faye. He almost chuckled out loud remembering the kind of reaction she'd have if she were here if he were to call her old to her face. The way her eyes sparkled in fury before she pretended to school her composure always captivated him. Its why he loved bugging her so much. Her anger was stunning though he would never admit it. He was brought back to the present by Mr. Zhao's answer and he realized in disappointment he was still in the darned meeting and not, in fact, looking at Faye's passionate eyes and dealing with her dramatic outrage. That would be far more entertaining than negotiating with Zhao though, who's eyes, Spike realized, began look startlingly familiar for some reason.

"She's surprisingly spry for her age," the grandnephew mused almost as if he knew a secret about his grandmother that Spike didn't. Considering they were related it could be anything and Spike didn't really care how easily the old woman got along as long as he could strike a deal and be done with the Dragons. Mr. Zhao must have sensed Spike's impatience or he got bored with Spike's lack of interest because he sighed and revealed, "Very well. The Red Dragons took something from her."

"We'll replace it." Spike promised instantly. Anything to get this meeting over with. He didn't care what the Dragons stole but if it was valuable it was possibly still in the vault and he could be done with this business within the month. 'Then you can go back to the Bebop, back to her', his traitorous heart whispered. He pushed it back down to focus on what Mr. Zhao said next since the parley was seemingly winding down now. Fucking finally!

"It's not the kind of thing that can be replaced."

Or not…

"We'll bring her the next best thing." Spike almost yelled, frustration finally bubbling. He didn't care if the old lady had lost 12 national treasures from each of the interstellar nations across the galaxy. He was willing to comply.

"Mr. Spiegel," Zhao said slowly, enunciating each word as if speaking to a child, "the Red Dragons killed someone my grandmother was very attached to. Bringing men back from the dead is something even your formerly grand establishment can't accomplish."

Spike ignored the jab about the Red Dragons and felt a lump in his throat. This was why he had left the syndicate. The cycle of hate and hurt which led to more hate and hurt never ended. So, the old woman had lost someone… possibly a husband or a brother if taking down the entire Red Dragons was the only appease to the intensity of her rage.

"I'm sure you understand it was nothing personal for us too. Just business." Spike said, calmer this time. He was genuinely apologetic. To his credit Mr. Zhao seemed to match his sentiments because most of his pretense fell away too.

"I'm aware," Zhao agreed. "But for my grandmother it is personal. You see we lost track of her for many years and only recently found her again. The life she had been living was… less than ideal, and yet she returned to it instead of coming home. Of all the requests she could have made as the new matriarch of a syndicate, the only thing she wanted was for us to demolish the Red Dragons then leave her alone."

The young man looked regretful but firm as he explained. Spike realized he was indeed telling the truth. Getting into a quarrel with the Red Dragons was not something Zhao wanted but out of respect for his grandmother he would.

"Who was he?" Spike asked at last.

He hated how subdued he sounded, even to his own ears, but he understood the old woman's grief. Understood she lost someone precious. He had once thought he'd do the same if he lost Julia, but ever since waking up from his coma he realized it wasn't Julia he'd burn down syndicates for. It was someone else. Someone who currently didn't even know he was alive all because he was a coward and couldn't face her with the blood he had on his hands once again. Was she feeling the old woman's grief too? Would she be wishing the Red Dragons be ruined as vengeance for his supposed death? He knew he was, even though he was alive. He wanted to burn it all down just to get back to her.

"She didn't say." Zhao shrugged. "And I didn't ask. All I know is a Red Dragon killed him and that the reasons they had for it were indeed personal. Quite frankly we are unaware of how she got caught up so deeply with another syndicate's business but she refuses to say anything and there's very little showing up on official records."

Spike sighed and slumped backward; weakness be damned. He didn't feel threatened by the young man in front of him and even if he did it wasn't like the parley was going too well anyway. He didn't believe the young man had investigated the case thoroughly though. Spike knew the White Tigers took respect of their elders more seriously than any other syndicate. They were very traditional in some ways, more than the Dragons, and if Zhao's grandmother had demanded no one pry, it was likely no one would out of respect since she was an elder. Even if anyone had, they would act as if they hadn't.

"Tell me who killed your grandmother's partner then," Spike negotiated. So far he had very little information to work on and sympathy for the old biddy wouldn't get him anywhere, especially not out of the Dragons. He really needed that cigarette. "We can at least promise to discipline the man who so personally offended her."

"It's my understanding he's already dead. She just wants the syndicate eradicated because it was the cause."

Spike went silent, unsure of how to proceed next but not wanting to show it. Zhao must have known though because his next words were an apology in his own fashion.

"I genuinely do not mean harm, Mr. Spiegel. It's just the way the cards have fallen." Zhao genuinely did look to believe his words and if Spike weren't well versed in reading faces he would have thought it a lie but it wasn't.

"You have to get me a meeting with your elder," Spike insisted finally.

"I don't have to do anything."

"Would you rather I seek her out myself?" Spike demanded, losing his patience, "you said it yourself. She's a figurehead. Can't be too hard to track her down and threaten her till she backs off."

"The Bebop is under Tiger's protection. If you do this, Mr. Spiegel, this will become official syndicate business." It was a testament either to how little a threat Zhao thought of Spike and the Red Dragons or how stupid he was with how easily he revealed the name of the ship but neither the slight nor Zhao's stupidity nor the easy information was Spike's focus.

"The Bebop?" the former cowboy said incredulously. "The small fishing vessel Bebop? The owner of that ship isn't syndicate! He's ISSP!"

"How do you know the Bebop?" Zhao suddenly stiffened. He hadn't expected Spike to be so well acquainted with the ship he mentioned already. After research, sure, by which point the vessel would have been well protected but not instantly.

"Look if Jet Black's grandmother or aunt or whatever is somehow involved in the syndicate, I will handle it." Spike insisted, more than a little flabbergasted, speaking without thinking. "I have no grudge against a ship of well-known bounty hunters!"

"I wasn't referring to any relation of Mr. Black's, Mr. Spiegel."

"Then…" Spike trailed off, his heart suddenly leaping to his throat as a sinking feeling simultaneously settled in his stomach.

Zhao looked at Spike, face grim. He seemed to be re-evaluating everything he knew about Spike but at the same time wasn't on the defense just yet. He must have seen something worthwhile in the leader in front of him because his next words held no trace of falsehood or fear.

"Faye Zhao, my grandmother from my mother's side, or as you probably know her from her bounty records: Faye Valentine."

Please leave comments with your thoughts and how you like it! Especially your thoughts on what will happen next or the premise in general. I'm unsure of how well this turned out despite my initial pride so any reviews would be much appreciated.

Updates will be weekly!

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