A/N: To enhance the last section of this chapter I suggest playing The Real Man on Cowboy Bebop OST 3 Blue on repeat.
Enjoy!
"The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances." -Aristotle
Jet and Spike were inside a convience store standing in front of shelves of products and foods. Jet was gathering the groceries in his arms as Spike stood back with his arms crossed. A gang of four men walked into the convenience store; they were rowdy and lewd. The girl at the register had an annoyed look on her face. The men pushed Jet out of the way "Watch it grandpa!" said one of the men. Jet stared at them with a scowl. They began grabbing food off the shelves and unwrapping them while laughing amongst themselves. One of them accidentally stepped on Spike's shoe. "Whoa sorry buddy." said the man sarcastically. This made Spike angry and clench his fist. Spike motioned his fist but Jet stopped him and said "No Spike, just let it go."
The men went up to the register, left some money, made a perverted comment about the female clerk, and left the store. "What is it about a group of men that make them think they own the world?" said Jet. "I don't know either." said Spike. The two of them went up to the register and paid for the groceries and cigarettes.
Spike and Jet headed out of the store. Spike threw the door open, accidentally knocking over one of the rowdy men that were in the store earlier. "Asshole!" exclaimed the man as he stood up from the floor. He faced Spike and they stared each other down. Spike readied his fists as the other three men stanced with their fists in the air.
"Look pal, we're not looking for any trouble." said Jet.
"Well you found it!" said the man as he swung at Spike. Spike side-stepped, making him miss. Spike came back and kneed him in the stomach. The man was winded; he held his stomach and fell to the floor. "Damn it Spike!" exclaimed Jet. The other men went in after Spike, Jet dropped the groceries and intervened.
Shiro was sitting across from Lee inside his office. The two of them were looking over documents on Lee's desk.
"So now you understand why I think there's something else going on with that meeting?" asked Shiro.
"Yes." said Lee.
Suddenly a door slammed open on the ground floor and group of Red Dragon members piled in while carrying a bloodied man in their arms. "Shit! He's dying!" said one man.
Shiro and Lee took notice and stood out of their chairs. They exited out of Lee's office and stared downstairs as the men placed the injured man on top of a table. "Gerrit, get me some sulfa !" said one man as held the injured man down.
Gerrit, a main enforcer, brought out a first aid kid and placed it on the table. The men tried to hold the injured man down as he went into shock. Gerrit rummaged through the kit. The injured man began to slow down and shake; he breathed heavily as he sweat profusely. He labored a breath and painfully coughed. He turned over on his side and died. "Damn it." said Gerrit. He closed the first aid kit.
One man kicked a chair over in anger. "Son of a bitch Blue Snake!" angrily yelled a man. "I can't believe this keeps happening!" interjected another.
Lee and Shiro walked down the staircase onto the ground floor. "What happened this time?" asked Lee.
"Routine drug run sir, we got attacked... again." said Gerrit.
"We'll get ours soon."said Shiro .
"Yeah when is that plan of yours by the way? This can't keep happening!" said Gerrit.
"Very soon, I told you not to hesitate to fight back." said Lee.
"We don't hesitate, but these guys keep attacking when we're not looking. Lee, our guys want blood." said Gerrit.
"I assure you we'll have vengance, and perhaps even more." said Lee.
Jet and Spike entered through the ship bay door. The two were scuffed up and limping while leaning against each other.
Faye was sitting on the couch and looked up to see them walk in. "Where the hell have you two been?!" she exclaimed. Her scowl quickly turned to curiosity. "Huh? What happened to you two?" asked Faye.
"We got into a fight." said Jet.
"A fight? With who?" asked Faye as she stood up.
"Just a couple of idiots, all thanks to Spike." said Jet.
"Stop griping Jet, I didn't even start it! He was the one who swung first." said Spike.
"You ever hear of turning the other cheek?" asked Jet. Jet and Spike sat down on the couch and sighed. Faye sat on the coffee table with her leg up.
"I would've turned the other cheek if he could even hit it." said Spike.
"It's that kind of attitude that gets you into trouble in the first place. Some grunt barely looks at you and he wants to fight." said Faye.
"Yeah well he got into big trouble this time, we have a bill." said Jet.
"A bill?" asked Faye.
"A bill for the damage to the convenience store, a bill for causing a supply truck to crash, and the bill for the bodily injury inflicted on the guys." said Jet.
"Oh God, how are we supposed to pay for of all of that? What about the emergency money?" asked Faye.
"That's what I was using to buy the food." said Jet.
"Then where's the food?!" asked Faye.
"I dropped it!" shouted Jet angrily.
"Well that's your mistake, you can't pin that one on me." said Spike.
Jet grumbled, stood up from the couch and walked toward the yellow chair. He pulled his computer closer as he sat down and began typing on the keyboard.
"What are you doing?" asked Faye.
Jet stayed silent and kept on typing.
"Jet?" asked Spike.
"Hello?! Jet how are we going to get the money?!" asked Faye demandingly.
"I didn't want to do this... but a bounty is our best bet. Take a look." said Jet as he turned his screen toward Faye.
Spike shot up from the couch and smirked. "Ah that's more like it Jet, so who we going after?" asked Spike with enthusiasm.
"Not you Spike, Faye and I are going to tackle this one." said Jet.
"What? Come on Jet." whined Spike.
"Enough! I'm not going to argue about this anymore, going after a bounty isn't the same thing as going out and getting a drink. There's a risk to it, especially if the police have to get involved." said Jet.
Spike sat back down on the couch and sighed in disappointment. He crossed his arms kicked his feet up onto the coffee table.
"I'm not sorry about it either Spike, I told you need to keep a low profile and that little incident today didn't help." said Jet as he pointed his finged at Spike.
"Doesn't matter to me that you're sorry about it." said Spike.
"Two bounties huh? What's their story?" asked Faye as she leaned in and stared at the screen.
"They're both hackers, they hack into vehicles and steal them. Then they use them for parts or illegal racing. Sometimes they're not careful and hurt some pedestrians while doing so. We can catch either one of them for 500 thousand woolongs but if we bring them in together they'll 1.3 million; the extra 300 is there because we spared the cops some time." said Jet.
"Hmm not bad, when do we go after them?" asked Faye.
"Soon, they say that they the punks like to hang out around the fisherman's market by the Siena port." said Jet.
"So we're going to have to stick around some smelly market to find two hackers?" said Faye.
"It's the best one we got right now, besides hackers shouldn't be too hard to catch." said Jet.
"If it's going to be so easy then how come I'm not allowed to go?" said Spike.
"Spike." said Jet gruffly.
"I thought you said hackers were boring Spike?" asked Faye.
"At this point I'll take anything." said Spike.
After weeks of waiting for their plan, the time had finally come. It was night on Mars, Dodge and the main enforcers stood in front of their men. "Okay this is your last briefing." said Dodge. Gerrit spoke "Listen to your higher-level enforcers, we're not positive on what Blue Snake is doing inside the building but it is important. We're in there for two reasons only: to get information and payback." he said. Lee came down the metal staircase from his office and onto the ground floor. All the men paid close attention.
"Blue Snake has been halting our enterprise. We've obviously been putting this off for too long. This is a big opportunity to strike back. But it's not as simple as that as Gerrit has noted. Shiro has investigated more and it would seem that they are doing more than unassuming meeting. There's something else brewing, it's our chance to discover it." said Lee.
Dodge stared at Shiro who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "Why didn't they tell us this before?" whispered one low-level enforcer to another.
Lee continued "Now go." he said.
Dodge, the main enforcers, and the men arrived to the lower business district in Tharsis; the BMI building was in the far right. It was a tall skyscaper with huge windows and garden area in front. There were vans and cars filled with Red Dragon men that stopped in the front of the building. Some of the Red Dragons and Gerrit off-loaded from a MONO carrier that landed on the roof. Dodge and some men entered through the main entrance of the building. Dodge pointed his gun in the air and shot once. The civilians inside began screaming and ducking for cover. "Everyone get out!" said Dodge. As people began crowding out through the main entrance the Red Dragons headed toward the stairwell and the elevators. Dodge led a team up the stairwell while another team headed toward the elevator.
The team in the elevator went up to the second floor. On the second floor the men lowered the elevators back down to the first floor and opened the doors. They put C4 on the cables of some of the elevators and closed the doors.
On the roof Gerrit and his men stood with assault rifles and protective gear. Gerrit took out a radio from his pocket and contacted Dodge. "Okay we're ready." said Gerrit. Dodge and his men stood along the steps of the stairwell with guns prepared. "Do it." said Dodge.
Gerrit pointed his index finger in the air and then made a fist and nodded to his men. The men nodded and tied ropes to the roof ledges. The jumped down and planted their feet on the top floor window. The Blue Snake members inside the top floor looked at the windows confused with their guns pointed. There were two men of importance inside: Jack, the officer, and a Blue Snake leader in a suit. The Red Dragon men pushed back off the window and with the momentum they shot their weapons, breaking the windows and rolling inside. The Blue Snake men began firing back and immediately a shootout ensued between them and the Red Dragons. The Blue Snake leader in the suit ducked under the desk and pushed a button on his phone that called out for help.
Blue Snake members drove up to the main entrance of the building. They ran inside toward the elevators and the stairwell. Inside the elevators the Blue Snake men awaited their arrival to the top floor but then the C4 exploded and the cables dropped the elevators. There was a huge crash at the first floor as the elevators impacted. All the men inside the elevators either died or were severely injured.
The Blue Snake members that went up the stairwell were running up each step only to meet Dodge and his men. With a smirk Dodge fired and his men did the same.
Up on the top floor Gerrit grabbed the leader in the suit from the shoulder and pointed a gun at his head. "What are you guys doing up here huh?!" he shouted. "I'm not at liberty to discuss it!" said the leader nervously. "Grab all of the hard drives and documents!" said Gerrit. A few of Gerrit's men pulled hard drives and disks out the computers and others grabbed documents out of the filing cabinets. While keeping his gun pointed at the Blue Snake leader Gerrit called Lee "Sir, we got some hard drives and physical copies we're getting out of here." he said. All of the Red Dragons walked out of the large entrance of the office, some pointing weapons at Blue Snake members who had surrendered with their hands in the air. Gerrit was pushing the leader forward while the gun was pointed straight at his head. Blue Snake members came down the hallway and pointed their weapons. The Red Dragon members pointed back, some threw the hostages they had at gun point onto the floor. Another shoot out ensued.
In the front of the building Shiro, Lee, and a few other men arrived in a black car. They walked through the main entrance and into one of the unbroken elevators.
On the top floor some of the Red Dragon members had been slain as the Blue Snake members pressed forward. Gerrit and his remaining men were taking cover behind trashcans and doors while shooting back. Dodge and his team opened the door to the top floor from the stairwell and began shooting the Blue Snake formation from behind. "Were these guys already up here?!" asked Dodge as he took cover behind a statue. The Blue Snake formation had been decreasing as the Red Dragons trapped them from both sides in the hallway. Some surrendered and put down their weapons. The Red Dragons had their guns pointed at the men and told them to move as they headed toward the stairwell and the elevators.
Lee and Shiro arrived to the top floor in the hallway. Dodge was surprised. "Sir… what are you doing here? We're handling this!" he said. Lee ignored him and headed toward the Blue Snake leader that Gerrit seized. Lee put his hands around the leader's neck and threw him to the floor. Lee threw a ball onto the floor that exploded and tied a cable around the leader's ankles. Lee dragged the leader back into the office as Dodge, Gerrit, Shiro, and some of the Red Dragon members followed. Lee went toward one of the shattered windows and broke the protruding shards of glass with his foot. He propped up the Blue Snake leader, tied the other end of the cable to the frame of the window and kicked him out. The leader dropped downward, the cable jerked him back and he hit the window of the floor beneath them. "Dodge, there's more Blue Snake men coming inside the building go take care of it." said Lee. "I'm on it sir, some of you stay up here and protect the boss he is all of our main priority!" said Dodge. Dodge and his team went down the stairwell to combat the other Blue Snake members that were coming up.
Shiro and Gerrit stood inside the office as Lee suspended the Blue Snake leader off the side of the building. "What do you want from me?! Who are you guys?!" asked the leader as he raised his voice to be heard over the wind outside. "Those documents! I know they're data is encrypted! They have no use for us until you tell us the passcodes!" shouted Lee as he shook the cable and threw the man against the window. "Okay! Okay! Please don't let me fall!" pleaded the leader.
Dodge and him team exited out of the stairwell on the first floor. Blue Snake members entered in through the main entrance. Dodge took cover behind the concierge desk and began shooting back.
"Here's the encryption codes!" said the dangling Blue Snake leader as he threw a disc to Lee. Lee looked at the disc and put it in his pocket. "Now pull me back up!" said the leader.
"This theatrical method was for intimidation. If I was only here to get information I would let you live, but..." said Lee.
"But what?!" asked the leader nervously.
"On behalf of my men that you have killed, I'm also here for revenge." said Lee with a grimace. Lee backed up, kicked the window frame and broke it in. The frame collapsed and the leader plummeted to his death. "Okay, let's leave." said Lee as he headed toward the office entrance.
Gerrit, Shiro, and the other Red Dragons left with the hard drives and documents. They arrived to the first floor where Dodge and his men cleared out the main hall. "You got what you came here for?" asked Dodge. "Yes." said Shiro. "I wasn't asking you!" said Dodge.
"Quiet, both of you." said Lee. They all exited out of the main entrance and entered into their cars and vans. Gerrit called down the MONO carrier to the street. The ship was hovering a few feet above the floor as Gerrit and his men entered in it. Then a few shots rang out that hit the ship. "It's a sniper! Gerrit get the hell out of here!" said Dodge as he entered the driver's side of a car. As the MONO carrier flew up another ship flew by and fired a machine gun at it. The MONO carrier that contained Gerrit and his men exploded in the air and the debris fell onto the street.
Lee stared at the wreckage angrily. "Get in sir!" said Shiro as he opened the car door. Lee stepped inside the car and the Red Dragons drove off as Blue Snake began approaching.
A ship was chasing down Dodge as he drove with another Red Dragon member. Thde ship fired its machine gun and Dodge began to lose control of the car. "Take over!" said Dodge to the passanger as he reached for an assault rifle in the back seat. They switched sides; Dodge lowered the window and put his upper body outside. He aimed the weapon at the ship and began shooting. It barely did any damage; the ship began shooting back and the car sped up. When it ceased fire the car slowed down and the ship tilted downward to slow down along with the car. As the cockpit was exposed Dodge fired again and killed the pilot. The ship made a hard left and crashed into the street.
Shiro was driving as Lee sat in the passenger's side. Two cars were tailing them; Lee had a pistol in his hand and loaded a clip into it. He cocked the gun and pointed his finger. "Turn here." he said. Shiro made the sharp turn, making Lee's side face the cars that were behind them. Lee pointed his weapon at the the cars and fired. The windshields shattered, the cars screeched and spun out and crashed into each. The two cars drove straight into a building. The cars were destroyed as Shiro and Lee drove off. "I don't think I've ever seen you in action like this before sir." said Shiro. Lee stayed silent and continued to stare at the road ahead. At the building ISSP arrived only to clean up the mess left in the wake of the Red Dragon syndicate.