A/N: To start off, Happy New Year everyone! This is the longest I've gone without updating but hey, better late than never. This is the longest chapter I've written too so I hope you all enjoy it. See you space cowboys and cowgirls!

"When I was young I thought that money was the most important thing in life; now that I am old I know that it is." – Oscar Wilde

Faye and Jet sat in the main room of The Bebop. Faye filed her nails while she sat on the couch with her legs up, calmly stretched along it with one knee folded up. Faye moved the file back and forth across her nails with her fingers folded; then she sharply exhaled on her nails to blow away the debris.
Jet sat in the chair while he laid out his Walther P99 in separate parts on the coffee table. He cleaned the exposed gun with a white towel and wiped away the grime with his thumb as he carefully observed it in his hand. As an extra measure he blew into it to clear the residue inside of the gun.
Spike was up in the main bridge as he gazed at the clear sky through the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows. He had his left hand inside of his pocket while the fingers of his right hand supported a cigarette between his lips. He sighed and exhaled a cloud of smoke with a bored inflection.
Back in the main room Faye sat up and set her feet on the floor. She groaned and said "Are you done already Jet?"
Jet continued to focus on cleaning his gun and said "Hold on, you have the patience of a child."
"I wouldn't get impatient if you weren't such a sloth." said Faye.
"Are you even doing anything to get ready Faye? Keeping up your appearance isn't exactly the best way to prepare for a bounty." said Jet.
"You would too if you actually had something to keep up." said Faye with her arms crossed.
Jet sighed and put down his gun. He slid his computer toward himself and turned the screen to Faye. "Here take a good look at their faces again." said Jet as his focus returned to cleaning his gun. On the screen two profiles were displayed.

WANTED CRIMINAL/

W 500,000

DURANGO PONTHIEX

\HEIGHT: 6 FEET 2 INCHES

\WEIGHT : 174

\AGE : 23

\DOML: GANYMEDE

WANTED CRIMINAL/

W 500,000

KAARLO ALDCROFT

\HEIGHT: 5 FEET 10 INCHES

\WEIGHT : 159

\AGE : 21

\DOML : GANYMEDE

CRIMINAL RECORD(S)

GRAND THEFT

ROBBER

BODILY INJURY

"Oh come on Jet I've seen their faces a hundred times already." said Faye.

"It won't kill you to look again Faye!" shouted Jet.

"You're taking this too seriously, they're just a couple of hacker punks." said Faye.
"We have to take this seriously Faye, you don't know what they're capable of… something could go wrong." said Jet.
"I just want to get this over with quick and with no hassle."
"Then stay focused on capturing them rather than how you're going to spend the money afterward."
"Don't focus on the money? That's the whole point isn't it?"
"Well then there's your first problem." said Jet with a smirk. He put his gun together and slid a clip into the bottom. Jet stood up from the yellow upholstered chair. "Come on let's go." he said.
Faye stood up from the couch and grabbed her gun. "Finally." she said.

Spike walked down the stairs from the main bridge to the main room. He stood on the last step and stared at Faye and Jet as they headed toward the ship bay door.
Jet and Faye stopped to turn and look at Spike. They all stayed silent for a moment.
"There better be some food around here when you get back." said Spike with spite.
"Just don't go wrecking the place." said Jet.
"Yeah we all know how you get when you're bored." said Faye.
"Yeah, whatever." said Spike.
Jet flew off the runway in his Hammerhead and Faye followed suit in her Redtail. Spike stayed up in the main bridge as he watched the two ships set off into the sky.

It was the afternoon on Mars; Dodge was standing under a towering metal arch that supported the monorail above. He was wearing his civilian clothes that consisted of a pair of jeans, brown boots, and a tattered jacket. The metallic clanking sound of the train above whooshed by as Dodge shook the carton of cigarettes in his hand. He pulled out an exposed cigarette from the container and placed it between his lips. Another man with his hands inside of his jacket pockets approached Dodge from the sidewalk. Dodge leaned against the arch and extended out his hand to offer the man a cigarette. The man pulled one of his hands out from the pocket and took a cigarette from the carton. Dodge lit the cigarette in his own mouth then lit the man's cigarette. The man was a key enforcer of the Red Dragon syndicate named Taro.

Taro blew out a cloud of smoke and spoke. "Where the hell is everyone Dodge?" he asked.

Dodge held the cigarette between his fingers and drooped his arms down. He took a deep sigh and replied. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"It's been awhile, no one's said anything." said Taro.

"Lee hasn't told me anything so do you think any of your grunts are gonna know?" said Dodge in an exasperated tone.

"Geez Dodge, take it easy I just wanna see where everyone's been keeping themselves." said Taro.

"All Lee said was to lay low in the meantime so stop looking."

Taro rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "This is idiotic, when we attacked Blue Snake Lee never mentioned that we were going to have to lay low and stop selling." he said.

"You aren't selling right?" asked Dodge.

"No way, the cops have been sniffing around us for information." said Taro.

"Good. Keep it that way until Lee gets us a way out of it." said Dodge.

"It can't wait, there are pounds of red-eye sitting inside of my apartment that I need to move or else I don't get paid!" said Taro angrily.

Dodge looked around and shushed Taro. "Are you crazy?! You don't know who's listening!" said Dodge.

"Look, just ask Lee to get this mess straight. ISSP wasn't all over us until we stuck our heads a little too far. Not even our guys in the inside can protect us right now." said Taro.

"Okay fine, I'll go see Lee about it. If you contact any of your guys tell them sit tight, I'm sure all of this is leading to something else that'll be worth the waiting." said Dodge. He threw his cigarette to the concrete and stomped his boot on it.

After Jet and Faye left, Spike was remained inside The Bebop. He was laying down on the couch with his eyes closed and his hands behind his head. He opened his eyes slowly and stared the whirring ceiling fan above. Spike sighed and sat up on the couch. He wiped his face and stood up. With boredom gnawing away at him he began searching through The Bebop.

Spike was up in the main bridge as he observed the navigation console. He opened a compartment on the side of it and rummaged through all the game pieces that were in there. He snatched one of the shogi pieces that were in there and observed it. Spike bit the piece to test its resiliency and it broke in two. He spit in disgust and wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

Spike was back downstairs on the couch again; his hand supported his head as he pondered for a second. He stood up and stretched. He walked toward the circle-shaped hallway. Spike poked his head into Faye's room looked inside. He saw the television and the beta-deck next to each other, but he decided to leave it alone. Then Spike poked his head into Jet's room; he saw the bonsai trees resting on the two-level table top. He sat down on the bench and curiously stared at the bonsai trees. Spike looked to his left and saw the pair of shears beside the trees. He picked it up and slid a bonsai tree toward himself. Spike carefully observed it and slowly moved in the shears to cut the tree. He cut once and a huge chunk of the bonsai tree fell off. Spike had a look of nervous guilt all over his face. He put the shears and the tree back into place and growled angrily. He stood up from the bench went into the ship bay hangar. Spike started up his Swordfish and blasted off the runway into the sky.

Jet and Faye were sitting at a table in the fisherman's market. The outdoor marketplace was bustling with people and stands selling all types of items and foods. Jet had his arms crossed on top of the table while staring straight ahead with his tech glasses on. The glasses mechanically whirred as it focused on a group of loitering hoodlums that were wrestling each other. The glasses tried to pick up on facial recognition as they moved about.

Faye leaned back in her chair with her hands on top of her head. She sighed with a hint of boredom. "So, are any of those our guys?" she asked.

Jet remained focused behind the glasses. "No I don't think so. But they should show up, those guys are a part of their crew." she said.

"Well I'm getting tired of waiting, I say we go look for them somewhere else." said Faye.

"This place is pretty big and there's a lot of people here what with all the cheap prices… we'll never find them in this mess." said Jet.

"Then let's do something other sitting around."

"What you got any ideas?"

"How about we go up to them and ask if they've seen them?"

"That'd totally be suspicious, they'd make a run for it."

"Well I don't mean ask just like that. They sell parts remember? Why don't you approach them for a deal or something and then ask for the bounties like you're old buddies or something."

"I don't know…"

"C'mon Jet its better than staring at some delinquents for a couple of hours." said Faye with a scowl.

Jet took the glasses off his face and put them away. "All right fine, but if they run it's on you." he said. Jet stood up from his chair and walked toward the crowds of people.

Faye scanned the area to make sure nothing dangerous was looming around. She stared at the people and the merchants selling seafood to customers facing the display shelves.

"You guys are going to blow your cover." said Spike.

Faye quickly turned to look at Spike and was shocked. "Spike! What the hell?!" she shouted.

"What?" asked Spike.

"What are you doing here? Jet told you to stay away!" said Faye.

"Jet's overreacting, nothing's gonna happen." said Spike.

"You're going to ruin this bounty Spike!"

"I'll just stand back and watch you two, there's no harm in that."

"You better stay put, you have a habit of causing trouble and that can go terribly wrong in crowded areas like this."

Spike put his hands in the air, imitating a surrendering pose. "All right Faye, like I said I'm just going to stand back." he said.

"All right, don't attract any attention to yourself." said Faye.

Suddenly someone started shouting and people were pushed out of the way. Faye and Spike turned to look with a confused expression. The crowds of people began separating and moving back as the group of hoodlums ran through them. One of the hoodlums began pushing tables and chairs down as Jet ran up to Spike and Faye.

"Jet what the hell did you say?!" asked Faye.

"All I asked for is parts!" growled Jet.

"You didn't ask it all formal did you?" asked Spike.

"Spike?! What the hell are you doing here?! Oh never mind, go before they get away!" shouted Jet.

Jet and Faye began running straight, to catch up with the gang. Spike went in a different direction, pushing through crowds of people.

The gang of hoodlums ran hurriedly out through the exit gate. There they turned to gather around two men that were lugging boxes of supplies. The men were the two bounties: Kaarlo Aldcroft and Durango Ponthiex. One of the hoodlums ran up to Durango and said "Yo, we gotta get out here!"

"What happened?" asked Durango.

"There's some cop looking for us!" said the hoodlum.

"Cop? How do you know?" asked Kaarlo.

"I don't know, he asked for parts but the way he looked made him suspicious." said the hoodlum.

"How did he look?" asked Durango.

"Old, grumpy… oh, y'know how cops have that look!" shouted the hoodlum.

There was crash from inside the fisherman's market. Durango and Kaarlo immediately dropped the supplies. Durango looked in multiple directions to see if the coast was clear. "C'mon let's go." he said. He waved his hand and moved forward.

Jet growled angrily as he rubbed his leg. He and Faye stopped for a moment inside of the fisherman's market.

"Watch where you're going next time Jet!" said Faye with hands on her hips.

"I was too busy watching where they were going!" shouted Jet.

"Well you're not doing a great job at it, we lost them!" shouted Faye.

Outside of the fisherman's market the gang made their way to a corner of the fisherman's market. They leaned on the metal-wire fence and waited for second. Durango shushed the gang as they panicked. He peeked around the corner and saw no one in the parking lot. He turned back around to his gang and said "Okay I don't see anyone there, let's make a run for it." They went around the corner only to see Spike standing in front of them. They all stood still as Spike stared back at them curiously.

"Whoa where's the fire?" asked Spike sarcastically.

"Uh… nowhere, we're just leaving." said Durango.

"What, leaving to go live on the lam?" said Spike with a smirk.

The gang stood back and with a shocked expression. "You a cop?!" shouted Kaarlo.

"Nope, but they'll deal with you two after I'm done." said Spike as he readied his fist.

"Oh shit guys, it's a bounty hunter!" shouted one of the hoodlums.

Durango swung at Spike as the gang and Kaarlo began to run away. Spike slapped Durango's fist out of the way and countered with an upper-cut to his face. Durango staggered back and shook his head. He growled angrily and rushed Spike; Spike tripped him and Durango rolled onto the floor. Durango stood up again and threw two punches at Spike's face and missed. Spike focused two sharp punches back to Durango's abdomen, stepped back and kicked his leg in. Durango slumped down from the kick and Spike elbowed downward onto his head. The blow sprung Durango back up, with his arms flailing; Spike, with a self-assured smirk, round-house kicked Durango onto the hard concrete. "C'mon you can make this easier if you just let me take you to the police right now." said Spike with a smirk. Durango groaned in pain and propped himself up onto his knees. He lifted up his shirt to expose a keyboard and device that hung off his belt. He started clicking away and a ship turned on in the parking lot. "Huh?" said Spike as he turned to stare at the ship when it elevated up into the air. The ship flew forward and came directly at Spike. "Whoa!" shouted Spike as he jumped out of the way. Durango approached the ship and climbed aboard into the seat. He closed the hatch with a smug grin and flew off. "Damn it!" said Spike as he began running. He reached to his Swordfish and opened up the hatch. He climbed inside and turned on the ship. The Swordfish blasted off and went in the same direction as Durango.

Inside the fisherman's market Kaarlo and the gang ran once again through crowds of people. Jet and Faye took notice and went after them. The gang kept on running pushing person after person until they were blocked by a supply truck that was dropping off fish. From behind Jet grappled Kaarlo and locked him in a choke-hold. The gang looked back to see Jet's metallic arm around Kaarlo's neck. "Oh crap that's the guy!" said one of the hoodlums as he pointed. The gang took out their guns and pointed them at Jet. "I didn't want to do this!" shouted one of the hoodlums as his finger was about to squeeze the trigger. There were two shots that rang out; none of them from the hoodlums' guns. They all turned their right when a fluorescent tube lamp snapped from the tent ceiling and swung right into them. The long, heavy lamp crashed and they all feel to the floor. Faye stood there with the smoking gun and a hand her hip.

"All right Faye, let's book this guy." said Jet as Kaarlo struggled.

"But where's the other one?" asked Faye. Suddenly a fast whooshing sound passed over them. Faye looked to see one ship flying away. Then another whooshing sound passed over and she saw Spike's Swordfish seizing the first one. "Damn it, Spike's going after him!" she exclaimed.

"Say what?!" shouted Jet.

Durango flew low, close to the sea. Spike brought the Swordfish down and soon both of them were striding across the water. The two ships avoided boats and fishing trawlers; Durango kicked the pedal up and the stolen ship flew up, avoiding a bridge that was above the water. Spike gazed up at the ship and continued on top of the sea. "Okay." said Spike as shrugged his shoulders. He twisted the handles of the Swordfish which zipped the ship forward under the bridge; then he kicked the pedal up and the Swordfish blasted into the air. Durango flew about thirty feet into the air and then he leveled the ship and soared straight. The Swordfish was flying straight toward Durango's ship; Durango tilted the ship to the left as Spike zoomed upward, missing the target.

Durango steered to the right and flew above an island of buildings. He maneuvered through skyscrapers and towers. Spike went after him gliding through the same skyscrapers. Durango put his ship on its side and flew through a narrow passage between two tall buildings. Spike almost entered in but it was too late; the Swordfish rolled and turned around, following the same direction of Durango's ship. Durango came out of the other end of the passage only to meet Spike's Swordfish coming around the corner of the building straight toward him. Durango made a hard left and went through the openings of a radio tower. Spike passed through the openings as well but the right wing of his Swordfish took damage as it hit the metal structure of the radio tower. Spike jerked forward in his seat and growled as he focused on Durango's space craft as they continued straight between skyscrapers. Durango's ship deployed a cable hook from its underside. He shot the cable at a bridge under construction and it latched on. He flew under the bridge and passed it; the cable reached its length and pulled down the bridge. The debris from the bridge plummeted on top of Spike's Swordfish. It banged the exterior of the ship and damaged it. Spike tilted and spun the Swordfish to knock off the debris. "That's it!" shouted Spike. The Swordfish boosted forward and reared behind Durango's ship. Spike used the Swordfish's left wing to bash the thruster of the ship. Durango's ship shook up and down; he flew downward and curved right. Spike curved right, tailing Durango once again as they both spiraled down. Durango shot the cable behind at the Swordfish and pierced the hull. "Excellent." said Spike with a smirk. Spike abruptly stopped the Swordfish and shot the machine gun at Durango's thrusters. Durango boosted forward, the cable met its length and pulled the hull off of the Swordfish and Durango's ship began to plummet down.

The two neared the end of the island to sea. Durango tried to land his ship but it crashed against the rocks at the edge of the concrete island. The ship was pushed back and forth with the current as Durango clumsily climbed out. Spike landed his Swordfish on the docks and climbed out. He ran after Durango who was stumbling onto a dock. Durango heaved and pushed onward onto the sidewalk near the docks. He slipped on a Ganymede rock lobster and fell onto the concrete. Spike stood above him with a smirk. Spike's radio began ringing in pocket; he took it out and answered it.

"Spike where the hell are you?!" barked Jet.

"Don't worry Jet, I got Durango for you guys." said Spike with a bright smile.

"What? You got him?! What happened?" asked Jet.

"Well you'll see for yourself…" said Spike nervously as he stared back at his wrecked Swordfish.

"Huh?" asked Jet.

"Umm, look why don't you and Faye meet me back at the ship? I'll explain later." said Spike.

"Fine, just get your ass back here before the police show up." said Jet.

"Okay." said Spike as he clicked the radio and hung up. He gazed at Jupiter that was so far away, feeling proud of what he had accomplished. It was a moment of bliss for Spike. Then he stared down curiously at the rock lobster and reminisced of the one he had left in the fridge a long time ago.

The sun was setting on Mars; Lee and Shiro were sitting inside a dingy and abandoned bar that was being used as a hideout. The two sat in wooden chairs with documents spread along a large desk. There were Red Dragon members that stood back against the windows, keeping lookout. Lee had his hand wrapped around his chin as he read a file. The pensive expression on his face made the room uninviting. Shiro sat across from Lee, but he had a more of a confused look on his face as he read through document after document. Someone tried to open the door; they shook the knob and hammered their fist on the door. Lee and Shiro turned their heads right away and stood out of their chairs with their weapons armed. The men that were standing back aimed their weapons as one of them unlocked the door with his gun ready. The man backed up and pointed his weapon at the entrance as the ancient door creaked open.

It was Dodge, with his hands in the air. "Hey! Watch it! It's me!" he shouted.

The men inside of the room breathed a sigh of relief and went back to their posts. Lee and Shiro put their guns back in the holsters. "Dodge, I told you to stay away." said Lee with a cold look.

Dodge closed the door behind him. "Sir, you have all of us ducking down while we wait for you to do something!" he said.

"We're working on it!" said Shiro.

"We can't last long with the police snooping around!" said Dodge.

"Dodge, leave." said Lee.

"C'mon Lee, throw us a bone here!" said Dodge.

"I said I would come to you… Now leave!" shouted Lee.

"This isn't right y'know! You never mentioned that once we attacked them we would have to lay low! We gotta make a living here!" shouted Dodge.

There were footsteps on the outside of the bar; shadows were casted on the windows. Everyone inside took notice, took out their weapons, and froze. Bullets began shattering the windows as Blue Snake members from the outside shot their assault rifles straight into the building. Most of the Red Dragon men at the windows were killed instantly while the others dropped and took cover. Lee kicked over the desk, dropping all of the papers onto the floor, and concealed himself behind it. Shiro took cover next to Lee behind the desk with his hands covering his head. Dodge was curled in a corner of the room as the gunfire continued. "Damn it Dodge you led them right to us!" shouted Shiro at the top of his lungs. The gunfire ceased and all of the men inside the bar stood up with their guns aimed. Lee grunted angrily and immediately ran outside the bar. As the Blue Snake members piled into their cars Lee began shooting his handgun at them. Dodge, Shiro, and the other Red Dragon members ran outside to back up Lee. The Blue Snake members began firing back as they went inside their cars and drove off. Some of the back windshields were destroyed but they left rather intact.

Shiro turned around to see another Blue Snake member pointing his assault rifle at them. "Get down!" he shouted as he drew his weapon. The men ducked out the way and Shiro began shooting but kept missing as the man moved out of the way.

Dodge drew his weapon and aimed it straight as the man tried to take cover behind a dumpster. He shot once and hit the man directly in the forehead. "Looks like you can't hit anything unless it's point-blank huh Shiro?" said Dodge with a smug look.

"It's your fault they were here in the first place!" said Shiro.

Then the Red Dragon members heard someone moaning in pain. They all turned around to see a wounded Blue Snake member writhing on the floor. "Well, well, well." said one of the Red Dragon men as he pointed his weapon.

Lee put his hand on the gun and forced it down. "No. Don't shoot. He's what I need." said Lee. He approached the wounded man and crouched beside him. "That's Lieutenant Lombardi?" said Lee with a wicked smile. He continued "Oh yes, I remember you quite well. Now tell me, what kind of men would leave their own lieutenant behind?"

Lombardi got on his stomach and began slithering away from Lee as he panted heavily. He didn't get very far as Lee kicked him over to his back. Lee crouched over him and grabbed him by the collar "No, no you're not leaving. You're going to give me what I need, understand?" said Lee.

"You're not gonna get anything out of me, you got that?! Kill me if you have to." shouted Lombardi.

"Ah, you certainly have the loyalty of dog." said Lee whimsically. Lee punched Lombardi across the face with a huge amount of force. The lieutenant passed out and Lee let him slump back to the floor. Lee stood up and motioned his hand. "Come get him, and bring him inside." he said. Two of the Red Dragon men came and lifted the lieutenant up from the floor. Lee began walking back as they dragged him toward the bar.

Shiro walked up to Lee. "Sir, do you really think he's going to be any help?" he asked.

"He's a highly ranked enforcer, but he has to know whose handling their business." said Lee.

"What's that going to help us with?" asked Shiro.

"If we plan to dissolve Blue Snake, then we need a way into their infrastructure. Those documents have names, addresses all over them. I'm positive this lieutenant has worked with these things before." said Lee.

Dodge walked up to Lee and Shiro as they all walked inside. "Hey Lee, what the hell are you gonna do to him?" asked Dodge.

"What do you think? I'm going to make him talk, you've seen me do it a thousand a times." said Lee.

"Talk about what?" asked Dodge.

"You wanted to know how long you and the other enforcers have to wait, well he's going to give us the answer." said Lee.

The two men put the table up and placed Lombardi on top of it. He grasped for air as he lay there unconsciously.

"Okay I need someone to board up these windows, it's going to be a long evening." said Lee with a menacing smile.