A/N: I mentioned in my summary that I was adding a few details. I didn't change much but the two big changes I made were: 1. I thought Roy's fate was too harsh so in chapters 2&3 I changed it up so Roy goes missing, so he's still alive. 2. In chapter 5 I made it sound like Jet wasn't a bounty hunter before he met Spike so I tweaked the dialogue to make it so. But the whole story remains intact, so you can keep on reading or backtrack if you like!
"It's the worst part of seeing old friends: when your rose-colored memories become undone by reality." – Brad Meltzer
Spike returned to The Bebop at the docks. His Swordfish landed on the runway and entered in the ship bay hangar. Jet and Faye had already returned with the bounty they had caught.
"Spike?! What the hell did you do?!" shouted Jet as he observed Spike's damaged Swordfish in the hangar.
Spike chucked nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "Umm, yeah he was a little slippery, but at least I got him." he said.
"And another thing, I don't appreciate you going behind my back and leaving the ship!" said Jet.
Spike focused Jet's direction to the floor where Durango lied unconscious and handcuffed.
Jet scratched his bald head. "Geez Spike what'd you do to the poor guy?" he asked.
"I didn't knock him unconscious, he fell." said Spike.
"Well at least you got him without the police getting involved... and at least your ship is still able to fly." said Jet, putting his hands on his hips. The Swordfish's right wing then collapsed and smashed onto the floor. Jet groaned in a groggy tone.
Spike took a deep breath and exhaled forcefully. "Look I might as well get this out of the way too, he stole a ship and I may have shot it down…" he said fretfully.
"What?!" shouted Jet.
"And he may have also taken down a bridge too…" said Spike.
"Huh?!" questioned Jet once again. "Anything else Spike?! What, did you crash into skyscraper? Or maybe you capsized a luxury boat? Or maybe you injured some pedestrian?! Getting into trouble like you always do!" barked Jet.
Spike was taken aback; he put his hands in the air. "No Jet, I swear that's all. Okay? Look at it this way your and Faye's 500 thousand turns into one million plus woolongs." said Spike.
Jet relaxed and sighed calmly. "Okay Spike, it's fine." he said.
The small ship bay door opened and in came Faye, ducking down to fit through the small entrance. She leaned on the railing of the second floor and looked down at Spike and Jet. "So Spike, looks like you caught him huh?" she said with enthusiasm. Spike and Jet turned to look up at her. "So that makes it 1.3 million woolongs… finally, cash! I thought I was going to die in here!" she said, smiling with her hands clasped together against her face.
"Yeah we'll see after we pay for damages." said Jet as he walked away from Spike.
"Damages?" whined Faye as she slumped her shoulders.
"Jet, I thought you said it was fine?" asked Spike.
Jet turned around to face Spike. "Yeah it's fine that we get to keep some of it, but let's be realistic Spike how much of it is going to be left after we pay for the whole disaster it took to earn it? And after we pay for that scrap we got into, which if you remember was the whole damn point of this bounty." he said. He continued and walked up the staircase.
Spike sighed and took out a pack of cigarettes from pocket. Jet reached the second floor of the hangar and passed Faye.
"C'mon Faye help me bring out the other one so I drop them off at the police station." said Jet as he went back inside The Bebop through the tiny door.
Faye shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever you say." she said as she followed Jet inside.
Spike lit the cigarette between his lips. He then closed the lid to his lighter with his thumb and shoved it back in his pocket. He looked down at Durango and gazed at him. Spike exhaled smoke and removed the cigarette from his lips. He tapped the cigarette and dumped the ashes onto the unconscious bounty.
Jet was inside the police station. He had Kaarlo and Durango in handcuffs and was heading toward the front desk. Jet handcuffed the two bounties to a bench. He then put his elbows up on the front desk. He leaned in through the window to see if there was anyone to assist to him. "Hello?" he asked. Jet backed up and rang the service bell. It dinged once and no one appeared. He rang the service bell again and again no answer. Jet rang the bell a couple times more and eventually an officer came out from the back.
"Finally." said Jet as the officer sat down in the office chair.
"Mr. Jet Black?" asked the officer.
Jet stared curiously. "Huh? Oh yeah I remember you, you're that kid- I mean officer at the command tower umm what was it…" he said.
"Joel!" said the young officer with a wide smile.
"Oh yeah, that's right." said Jet.
Joel leaned out through the window and stared at the two bounties that were handcuffed to the bench. "Oh, I see you're turning in two bounties." said Joel with a smile.
"Yeah, can you help me out with that?" asked Jet.
"Sure thing! I just need your fingerprint and then I can process them in." said Joel.
"All right, I know the drill." said Jet as he put his thumb in the scanner.
The scanner beeped and Joel typed away at the computer. "Okay you're all set! Collect your reward at the machine and have a nice day!" he said.
"Thanks." said Jet.
"Hey, you catch those two guys yourself?" asked Joel.
"Uh… yeah it was me." said Jet.
"Man you still got it!" said Joel.
Jet chuckled weakly and walked away from the front desk. Two officers came and picked up Kaarlo and Durango so they could be processed. Jet made his way to the machine to collect the reward. Jet input his money card into slot and typed on the keyboard. The machine processed it the screen displayed: Thank YOU for YOUR capture. See YOU next time! Jet snatched his card from the machine and put it in his pocket. Suddenly he heard shouting behind him. He turned to see a female officer pushing down a handcuffed criminal. "I said stand still!" said the officer as she grabbed the criminal from the shoulders and threw him against the wall and held him down.
"Donna? Is that you?" asked Jet.
"Who wants to know?!" said the officer with a scowl as the she turned around to face Jet.
Jet stood there shocked at first, but then realizing she probably didn't recognize him he smirked. "That'd be me." he said.
Donna's scowl quickly turned to astonishment as the criminal pinned under her continued to struggle against the wall. "J-Jet?" she asked in an amazed tone. The criminal then made a break for it and ran a few feet forward. Donna turned her focus back to the criminal and then stomped the back of leg as he ran. The criminal fell down on the tile floor and Donna put her knee on his neck. "What part of 'still' didn't you get through your thick skull?!" she shouted angrily. Then two officers came and grabbed the criminal. "Hey Shapiro, it's okay we got this." said one of the officers as they dragged him away. "Thanks guys." said Donna as she dusted her uniform.
Jet approached her and tapped her shoulder. Donna turned around to face him. She looked up to get a good look at him, as it had been years since she had seen him. "Jet Black… I never thought I'd see you in a police station again." said Donna with a smirk. She extended out her hand.
Jet reached out and they shook hands. "I'm just here to drop off something." said Jet.
"What you dropping off a bounty or something?" she said jokingly.
Jet's face became serious.
Donna stared at him curiously. "Oh my God! You're a bounty hunter, aren't you?!" she asked.
Jet cleared his throat. "Well… yeah." he said.
Donna scoffed lightly with a smile. "Geez, I always told myself 'that'd be the day'." she said.
"Well you might be surprised to know that I'm not half bad at it." said Jet with a smirk.
Spike lounged on the couch in The Bebop with his hands supporting his head and his eyes closed. Faye sat in the chair across from him, with a cigarette in one hand and a magazine in the other. They had been waiting for Jet to return from the police station, but he had been taking long. Spike slowly opened his eyes and groggily sighed. He sat up on the couch and planted his feet on the floor. Spike stretched his arms up in the air and lowly growled. His arms fell back down and he lifted his head to look at Faye.
"What's taking Jet so long?" asked Spike.
"I don't know, he said he was coming straight back from the police station." said Faye as her focused remained on the magazine.
"Well he'd better hurry." said Spike as he reclined back.
"Why so he can bark at you some more?" said Faye sarcastically.
"Yeah, right. So we can get the money for those stupid bounties and get some food around the place." said Spike.
"Even counting our losses?" asked Faye as she blew a cloud of smoke.
"It can't be that much, I'm sure Jet's just blowing it out proportion." said Spike.
"That's wishful thinking if you ask me." said Faye.
"I'm not really one for that." said Spike.
"So, it'll actually be enough?" asked Faye as she put down the magazine.
"Whatever happens…" said Spike, implying the rest of his motto.
Faye leaned over and put out her cigarette in the ashtray on the coffee table. She sat back against the chair and cleared her throat. "Spike…" she began.
Spike glanced over at Faye with a curious expression.
Faye took a deep breath. "For what it's worth, I think you did a good job." she said.
Spike raised his eyebrow; he looked confused. "Umm… thanks?" he said.
Faye cleared her throat. Her stomach growled extremely loud, and her eyes opened wide with embarrassment. She stood up from the chair with a scowl. "Umm, just tell Jet to hurry the hell up, I'm starving here! I'll be in the shower." she said. Faye walked away from the main room.
Spike continued to have a confused look on his face. "She's an odd girl." he said as he shrugged his shoulders. Then as he closed his eyes his stomach growled noisily as well. Spike opened his eyes again and frowned. He grumbled to himself.
The room was dark; Shiro and other Red Dragon members sat around a huge round table, silently and still. Most of them were smoking, but Shiro lightly tapped his fingers on the wood-top of the table. Taro was huddled around the table as well; he sighed and rubbed his eyes. The anticipation of the room drowned out as Lee opened the door and entered the room with two Red Dragon members on each side. Lee set down the briefcase in his hand onto the floor and then they all took the empty seats and sat down.
"What'd he give us?" asked one of the men.
"The lieutenant didn't give me much, but I think he may have told me about a gentleman that holds the key to everything." said Lee.
"Who?" asked Shiro.
"A lawyer, Gene Kleinman." said Lee as he put his elbows on the table.
"Lee, you called us here and all you got is the name of his lawyer?" said the man.
Lee gave a cold look. "It's not just his lawyer. Kleinman is the lawyer for the entire Blue Snake operation. He helps run the whole enterprise and handles clients, money, people of interest, business negotiations and deals, you name it." he said.
"If he's so important, how come we haven't heard of him?" asked Taro.
"He's a specialized business lawyer, he only handles one client. Blue Snake does a very good job at keeping him under wraps. To me, it seems as though Kleinman maybe their strongest asset but I'm willing to bet that he could also be their weakest link." said Lee.
"Well where does this guy operate?" asked one of the men.
"Here in Mars, I have an address." said Lee.
"So you do have a plan then." said Taro.
"I say we pay Mr. Kleinman a visit." said Lee.
"I'm all for it, but what's the end result?" asked one of the men.
"When Shiro and I were shifting through those documents we found a fake holding company and corporation that paid for weapons. Kleinman runs that company, if we can 'persuade' him to give us a way to cut off Blue Snake, we'll hang the whole syndicate dry and only then we'll be able to starting running the streets." said Lee.
"Is it really going to be that easy?" asked Shiro.
"We'll see. We have their documents and files, I say we use it against Kleinman." said Lee.
"Okay I can see where this going now." said Taro.
Lee planted a manila folder on the table and opened it. He slid a pile of papers to the center of the table. "Here, I was able to pull up a file on Kleinman. Take a look and I'll get back to you." said Lee. The men took the sheets of paper and spread it amongst themselves. Lee stood up and grabbed a briefcase that was on his side. He walked out of the building and saw Dodge leaning against the wall with a cigarette between his lips.
"So how'd your little meeting go?" asked Dodge as he removed the cigarette from his mouth.
"I know you're not a fan of the new system but don't worry, I'm going to tell you what I told them." said Lee.
"Why?" asked Dodge.
"They're… what you would call a 'discussion group'. But I'm not entrusting them with performing the actual task." said Lee
"So where do I come in?"
"As I said you're the main enforcer, I need you as support."
"So I'm going to help you with another plan of yours? What do I need to do?"
"This one will be fairly easy but very important. I only need you and a few other men to help me make a visit."
Dodge nodded his in agreement. "Okay sir, you got it." he said.
Jet and Donna were at the top of the staircase on the outside of the police station. Jet leaned his back against the wall with his arms crossed while Donna leaned on the railing of the staircase, with her arms propping her up.
"So how ya been?" asked Jet.
"I get along fine." said Donna with a smirk.
"Are you still living in the upper islands?" asked Jet.
"Nah, I've moved a couple times but now I'm living in a house right smack in the mid-sector." said Donna.
"Well you live in a house now that's good." said Jet.
"Well I had to upgrade from an apartment, I have a kid now you know." said Donna.
"A kid? Wow it has been long." said Jet with a sneer.
"Oh don't act like you don't know, Bob already told me that he talked to you." said Donna, crossing her arms with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh umm… well yeah he did tell me." said Jet.
"Jet loosen up a bit." said Donna with a smile.
Jet chuckled. "Come on you know me well enough to know I'm always gonna be some hard-ass" he said.
Donna laughed. "My mistake. So, you're a bounty hunter huh? You work alone?" she asked.
"No. I have some partners, but they're a real pain in the neckt most of the time."
"What are they like?"
"They're a couple of weirdoes… I don't think you'd believe me if I told what they were like." said Jet.
"Yeah, I work with a couple weirdoes here myself." said Donna with a smile.
Jet chuckled.
"What's the difference between a being a bounty hunter and a cop?" asked Donna
"There's less rules I guess. It's free-lance so I'm never sure when the next paycheck is actually coming." said Jet.
"But it all adds up eventually, right?"
"I couldn't tell you, bounty hunting is as random as the universe."
"Well, there's food on the table at least?"
"If I'm being completely honest, I'm lucky if I ever see a crumb lying around." said Jet with a smirk.
"Based on that, I guess the pay of bounty hunters and cops are about the same." said Donna sarcastically.
Jet chuckled. "That about sums it up… but when I first started it was never about the pay." he said.
"What, was it for the real 'justice' that couldn't be accomplished through ISSP?" said Donna.
"C'mon Donna, don't act like there isn't problems."
"Well, it's not perfect but it's a good profession. It's a noble profession here I am busting bastards left and right so the streets are safer, so I can support my family Jet."
"Yeah… you always were different."
"How do you mean?"
"All those other guys in here, they're not there for a noble cause. I've worked with them I've seen guys cut deals with gangs and the scum all over the place. It's how I lost my arm, it's how I lost my faith in the system."
Donna put her hands on her hips and smirked with her eyes closed. "Same ol' Dog." she said.
For a while Donna and Jet stayed quiet; they fixed their gaze at the sun setting on the sea. The sky was turning into that odd mix of orange and purple hue. The birds called and sang, creating a tranquil scene.
"I'm surprised that you never left Ganymede." said Jet.
"I did. Well for a while at least." said Donna as her gaze remained fixed upon the sea.
"You did? When?" asked Jet.
"I don't remember exactly. It was a while after you left, I know that for sure."
"Where did you go?"
"I asked ISSP if I could be relocated. They put me in Venus of all the damned places."
"The air there… it's different, huh?"
"I don't know I still liked it though… all I wanted was to get away from Ganymede, I wanted to see different places."
"Then why'd you come back?"
Donna took a deep breath and exhaled anxiously. "Umm… I had this partner that they stuck me with. He was a real jackass." she said with a sore laugh. "But he grew on me, you know? When you're stuck with someone in a patrol car for so long you get used to them, to the point where you… value their being. One day we're out working, investigating some gang activity. I move in first with my pistol in hand, as always. Knowing me I constantly had to be the first one in the thick of it, carelessly pointing my gun everywhere. I get shot in the waist and my partner moves me out of the open behind some wall. He turns back to the car to get first aid and then… boom. Just like that our patrol car explodes and my partner dies." Donna sighed and scratched the side of her head. "I hated being in that hospital… it was miserable and all I felt was the pain that I had failed him. I only stayed on Venus for another year and I decided that I didn't want to be there anymore, so I came back here."
Jet took a while to process her story. There was sadness in his eyes and his long face. "But you could've gone anywhere else… why'd you come back here?" he asked.
Donna stared at the last glimmers of the sun on the water. "The sea kept calling me back… don't you hear it? It sounds like it's singing…" she said.
Jet gazed at her with his arms crossed.
Donna turned around to face him. "Umm, look my shift's almost over and I gotta get home pretty soon." she said.
"No you don't have to explain, I get it." said Jet.
"Are going to be staying in Ganymede for a while or are heading out?" asked Donna
"No, I'm… going to be here for quite a while." said Jet.
Donna smiled. "Well that's good to hear. It was really nice seeing you Jet." she said.
"Same here." said Jet said Jet with a smirk. He extended out his hand to shake Donna's hand.
Donna reached out and shook his hand. She then threw her arms around Jet and embraced him. Jet stood there awkwardly and didn't know how to respond, but he slowly put arms around her and hugged her back. They each let go; Donna smiled and nodded her head. "Okay Jet see you around." she said.
Jet nodded his head accordingly. Donna walked away and down the staircase. Jet watched her go and thought about the difference between her now and a few years ago. She wasn't inexperienced or hesitant anymore. Donna was more determined; an unwavering soul. Jet stared at the sea again. The night had descended upon Ganymede so he decided to back to The Bebop.