On Tharsis was an old motel near the deserts of Mars. It was past midnight; the area was near empty, it almost went out to the middle of nowhere. But if someone did venture any further out they would find themselves in the un-terraformed parts of the red planet and oxygen would disappear quickly. The motel had a flickering neon sign that read "PLANET MOTEL #108" and it still had plenty of vacancy. Inside one of the dimly lit rooms was Dodge; he was nervously scanning the outside from the blinds. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand which was holding his firearm. One of the chairs in the gloomy room was occupied by Gene Kleinman. He was sweating from the heat and growing restless. He began looking at the pattern of lines made by the light outside passing through the blinds. Kleinman sighed and rubbed his neck.
"Look, instead of running around why don't you just give me up to them." said Kleinman.
"Yeah right, I know you'll squeal the first moment you get." said Dodge, keeping his focus out the window.
"I promise I won't, I just want to go home."
"I can't okay. Whatever Lee's has in store, Blue Snake can't know."
"But why me? Why do I have to suffer? If I'm not that important then why don't you just kill me already?"
Dodge slipped his fingers away from the blinds and turned around to face Kleinman. "For whatever reason, Red Dragons are supposed to show loyalty to allies. Lee disagreed a lot with the Van on how we should've dealt with our enemies but he always liked the way we kept honor amongst ourselves. You're technically an ally now so when this war between us and Blue Snake explodes because you helped us they'll find out… and they'll kill you the first chance they get. So be a little a grateful Gene, okay?" he said.
"Yeah that's funny, 'crime' syndicates just radiate honor."
"You really think we're going to kill you?"
"I am being held here against my will!"
"For your and our protection!"
"Well that's messed up. You and your boss are really twisted in the head y'know. 'Honor'," scoffed Kleinman, "that's just a word we all throw around to justify ourselves. There's no honor in what we do."
"You really think so?"
"We move drugs, steal, and murder for cash. Wake up Dodge. You really think the way Lee tortures his enemies in honorable? You think just because someone's a traitor or a rat or standing in your way that gives you the right to do what you want? It doesn't. And that goes for Blue Snake too, we've had our fair share of that."
"Man, you've really been doing some thinking haven't you?"
"What else is there to do?"
"Here's my advice Gene, think about how you should be-
Suddenly a car door opened and slammed shut outside of the motel room. Kleinman and Dodge both turned their attention to the window as they heard footsteps on concrete and gravel approaching the room. Kleinman stood out of his chair and backed up behind a desk. He poked his head out from behind the desk to stare at the window. Dodge ran away from the window and passed the door. He went on the other side of the door frame and put his back against the wall and stared at the door with his head turned sideways. He shifted his feet and readied his weapon; he curled his fingers around the gun and pointed it at the door.
The footsteps stopped. There were three loud and slow knocks on the door. Sweat dripped down Dodge's forehead and he began breathing irregularly. Then there was silence. Then came rapid knocking at the door; Kleinman and Dodge became startled. Dodge shifted his feet again and pointed the gun up higher. The knocking stopped and three figures outside the room walked toward the window. One of them put their face close to the window and cupped their hands around their eyes to get a better look inside. Kleinman and Dodge looked at the shadowy figure on the blinds in suspense. Then someone outside spoke, Dodge couldn't make out what they were saying. The figure on the window slowly removed their hands off the glass and turned around to walk away. The car outside started up and idled for a moment. Dodge heard the sound of the wheels turning on the gravel and the car driving away. Dodge slowly moved his back off the wall and stared at the door as he made his way across the room to the window. He hesitated for a moment and slowly but surely stared through the blinds to see if anyone was out there. As he saw that there was no one inside the parking lot Dodge breathed a sigh of relief and wiped his sweat with his sleeve. "Damn it Lee you better hurry up." he said under his breath.
It was day on Ganymede; Lee, Shiro, Andre, and three other Red Dragon members were walking on a port by the sea. Shiro was leading the way as he read the coordinates on his device. The group stopped and created a circle around a rusted metal hatch door protruding out of the floor.
"Hey kid, you sure he's in there?" asked Andre.
"It's one of many of possible hideouts." said Shiro.
"It's been days man, this one better be it." said Andre.
"We can't just skip over any, if we miss one then there's always the possibility we missed him." said Lee.
"Sir, it's okay. Andre we don't pay you to run off your mouth every chance you get so I suggest you man up and grow some backbone." said Shiro.
"What'd you say you little punk?" said Andre offensively, "That's pretty high and mighty for some whiny little brat who gets tired after riding around in the car for a few hours."
"Both of you know that this isn't going anywhere so take this chance to shut up and open the hatch before I get really upset. And I mean upset." said Lee. He glared back and forth at them.
Andre and Shiro turned their attention away from each other. Andre twisted the circular handle on the hatch a few times and put his hands under the door. He flung it open and dust rose around everywhere. The men covered their faces from the dust. A moment later the dust cleared and they began to climb down the ladder into the sewer system. Shiro was the first one to reach the bottom. He felt around the brick floor with his shoes and looked straight down the long and narrow corridor. It was completely dark inside except for the sun light shining through the open hatch. Lee and Andre touched down inside the sewer. The last man on the ladder closed the hatch and made his way down. All the men reached inside their pockets and put on night-vision goggles and gasmasks, given to them by Leandro Russ. Shiro scanned the area through the lens that created a green picture of the dark corridor.
"Jeez it smells like crap in here." commented one of the men. Shiro continued walking through the sewer access way. The access way was so narrow they all had to walk in a single-file line. Shiro came to an intersection and looked both directions. He made a left and continued following the hallway.
"Hey how do you even know where you're going?" asked Andre through the muffled gasmask.
"I uploaded the sewer layout onto my device. I pinpointed some of the areas I think Bardon would stay at and locked them in." said Shiro.
"Oh, on top of everything you're one of those geek-kids too." said Andre.
"Not all of us can be brain dead." said Shiro.
"What you think I'm some kind of dumbass?"
Shiro stopped and turned to face Andre. "Yeah because the hardest part of your job is simply passing down information, an ape with a pencil and paper could do the same thing." he said.
"Damn! What is with you?!" shouted Andre.
"Guys like you who think they can just push me around!" shouted back Shiro. Suddenly Lee hit Shiro and Andre on the side of their heads.
"NOW I'M UPSET! Shiro keep on moving or I will knock BOTH of you down to the ground!" shouted Lee.
Shiro rubbed his head and angrily glared at Andre and Lee. He said nothing and continued walking. Andre followed suit.
"Man, the kid's worse with Andre than he is with Dodge." said one Red Dragon member to another under his breath.
The group continued through the narrow halls. They made turns, climbed down stairs and ladders, and retraced their steps through the sewers. At some points Shiro had to cross out areas in the sewer coordinates where they found no one inside. The men began growing restless and nauseated from the heat and smell. Lee kept his calm demeanor even with the inconvenient surroundings. The group followed a small stream that headed down a circular opening into a waterfall. Shiro stopped at the opening and looked down into the area below. There was a ladder beside the waterfall that he decided to take. The men behind him followed suit down the ladder and into the area below. Above it were multiple openings like the one they followed that collected streams of water. There was a river of murky water in the middle and brick platforms on the sides to walk around it. On the top of the walls were rectangular openings with metal bars that let in minimal sunlight. The Red Dragons followed the platforms as Shiro followed his device. Shiro stopped and looked around. It was quiet; the only sounds were the low hums of running water from the sewers and the stifled breathing through their gasmasks. Lee noticed the breathing of someone else's gasmask from further away he turned around to look in the dark corners of the sewers.
Behind them a figure suddenly leapt out of the shade and grabbed two men by their heads. The figure forced their heads together, generating a cracking sound, and they fell onto the floor unconsciously. The rest scrambled away and then came back to surround the figure. Andre, Shiro, Lee and the other member stood in a circle around him. The figure looked at all sides and motioned back and forth to make sure none of them sneaked up on him. Shiro put a shell casing with fingerprints, given to him by Leandro Russ, into the scanner, pressed a button on his device and held it down. He pointed the device at the figure and it began beeping.
"Lee! That is definitely Demetrius!" shouted Shiro.
As Shiro stared down at the device, Demetrius quickly turned to face Shiro and rushed him with his body faced sideways. Demetrius leaned back and threw a heel kick at Shiro's chest. Shiro flinched and stumbled backwards. With his leg still in the air Demetrius quickly kicked Shiro again and it sent him soaring into the water. Shiro splashed down into the dirty water and floated back up. He took off his goggles and gasmask to keep them from filling up with water and began gagging. Demetrius turned around and was cornered by the rest of the men.
"Demetrius calm down, we're not here to arrest you." said Lee.
Demetrius threw off his gasmask and then kicked the Red Dragon member next to him in the leg with his heel; with Demetrius's back turned Andre grabbed him from behind. Andre squeezed him like an anaconda. Demetrius struggled and then dropped down. Bringing Andre forward to loosen his gripDemetrius then elbowed him in the stomach. Andre was winded and released him. The other member limped forward to try and attack, but then Demetrius grabbed Andre from the wrist and flipped him forward into each other. Lee then took off his gasmask and goggles to intervene.
"I didn't want to have to do this, but you forced me." said Lee.
Lee threw two punches at Demetrius which grazed him as he dodged the attack. As Demetrius was suspended in the air Lee pierced him in the chest with his finger knuckles. Demetrius recoiled and fell backwards; Lee readied himself. Demetrius knelt for a moment and then rushed Lee with his hand like a claw. Demetrius jumped in the air with his hand about to come down on Lee. Lee covered his face with his arms crossed and pushed back Demetrius. The man that was knocked down with Andre stood up and saw Lee and Demetrius fighting. He reached into his holster and took out his pistol. He began loading the gun with a clip. Demetrius heard the click of the gun quickly turned. He pulled back the hammer of the gun when Demetrius came up from under and grabbed his wrists with both hands. Demetrius forced the gun up in the air and in a panic the Red Dragon squeezed the trigger and fired the gun. The sound of the bullet stung their ears but they merely winced. Demetrius let go of one of his hands and punched the man in the abdomen. He twisted the gun out his hand and it flew into into the water. Demetrius then used his shoulder to slam him into the water as well. Lee ran up from behind with his hands clasped, jumped up and smashed Demetrius in the back. Demetrius stumbled forward and returned it with a backward kick. Lee pushed the leg away and grabbed it with both hands. Demetrius used his other leg to kick but Lee blocked it too. Lee then threw Demetrius against the wall. Demetrius fell onto the floor and began trying to get back up. Lee ran toward him with his fist readied. Demetrius regained his balance and blocked Lee's punch by grabbing his fist. Demetrius chopped Lee in the neck with the side of his palm. Demetrius then turned his hand into a fist and was about to strike downward on Lee but he blocked it. They shifted their feet and glared at each other with their hands both held down in a struggle.
"Why… why the hell are all of you down here?" asked Demetrius through his teeth.
"We're looking for you." said Lee.
"I thought you said you weren't here to arrest me?"
"We're not ISSP."
"Then why look for me? Did Basque send more thugs after me?"
"Why would Basque be looking for you? I thought you were working for him?"
"Whatever you think you know about me is wrong. Basque framed me for that assassination; he's been sending guys after that to shut me down."
"I thought Russ was the one after you?"
"I know, he was too, he wanted me to help him turn in Basque for the assassination but he doesn't know that I'm not the one who did it. I can't help him."
"So everyone is looking for you."
"Basque, Russ, cops, and now you. Whoever the hell you are."
"I'm not here to turn you in; I'm here to help you."
"Who are you?"
"Red. Dragon."
Demetrius began to calm down and glared at Lee. Lee scoffed and smirked. "I bet you're wondering what we want with you, huh?" said Lee.
"Yeah." said Demetrius.
"Let go and I'll tell you." said Lee.
Demetrius slowly relaxed and let go. Lee stood straight and fixed his suit. Demetrius was still cautious but he was willing to hear what Lee had to say.
"You can get me out of this mess with Basque?" asked Demetrius.
"Both of us will get him off his throne." said Lee.
On The Bebop Spike was in the main bridge. Hardly anyone else was ever in there and the consoles inside the room never seemed to be on anymore. Only natural sunlight came in through the windows. That's where Spike trained with only his grey sweat pants on, that's where he could be alone, and that's where he was able to think about things that were troubling him. Spike did his usual routine of push-ups, kicks, shadow punches, and so on. After he got tired Spike took a break and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the towel around his neck. He walked over to a console and snatched the glass of water that was sitting on it. He drank from it and gulped it all down. Once he set the glass back down Spike began stretching when he heard Faye calling out for Jet down the stairs. "Jet! Hello? Is anyone here?!" shouted Faye.
Spike groaned to himself and had a distressed look on his face. Then Faye began walking up the stairs to the main bridge. She poked her head in and said "Jet?" She was surprised when she saw Spike standing there. Faye's expression then became uninterested. "Oh it's only you Spike." she said.
"Yeah it's only me." said Spike flatly.
"Where's Jet?" she asked.
"He left."
"Then why's his ship still in the hangar?"
"I think he went with Bob, I saw a cop car earlier."
"Where'd they go?"
Spike shrugged. "I don't know he just said he was leaving." he said.
"Well thanks you're a big help." said Faye sarcastically.
Spike didn't respond.
"Well if you see him, tell him I picked up that equipment he asked me to get for him. It's sitting in a box on the table downstairs." said Faye.
"Okay fine." said Spike indifferently.
Faye then turned around and went back down the stairs. Spike turned to face the window and returned to his exercises. He listened for Faye and heard her go into the hangar and turn on her ship. He continued staring out the window as the garage opened up and the Redtail floated across the runway. He watched as the thrusters propelled it into the air and it flew away. It had been a while since she said anything to him; she had been acting distant and gave Spike the cold shoulder every time. Ever since that night there was always an uncomfortable air between them, and Spike felt trapped by it. He didn't know how he had truly felt about her; he was too preoccupied with the thought of existing with the knowledge that life was not a dream.
Bob and Jet were sitting in an ISSP car in the middle of an alley. Jet lit Bob's cigarette for him with the lighter and then he lit his own that was between his lips. Bob switched down the windows to let the smoke out. Jet inhaled the smoke and blew it outside.
"So you got anything on Bardon?" asked Bob.
"No... we haven't really been looking for him. At least not yet." said Jet.
"What? The bounty was placed on him days ago; someone else could've already gotten to him."
"I know that's what I'm a little worried about. But I have a plan."
"What is it?"
"Marius Basque."
"Oh, what you're gonna go have one of your 'little chats' with him."
"If it's possible, but from what I've learned he's too heavily guarded. I'm probably going to have to try a different approach."
"Like what?"
"Surveillance; I got some equipment from this crazy tech hermit out in the marketplace, I'm hoping Basque can show me a trail straight to Demetrius. If they're working together then he's obviously hiding him."
"Huh sounds like a better plan than most of the bounty hunters that just go out there and turn over stones to find him."
"Any word on the street?"
"Nothing. No one's seen hide nor hair of him."
"Then I've got nothing to worry to about." said Jet with a smirk.
"Whoa Jet, don't get too smug I know no one's showing up with any sign of him but if you wait too long next thing you know someone else is stashing that $25 million in their pockets." said Bob.
"I've been the game long enough to know that bounties don't just come up all of a sudden, it takes effort. That's what all these amateur cowboys think; it's a quick buck without having to do any work for it."
"Yeah well I guess I can't argue with you there." Bob blew a cloud of cigarette smoke and took off his police cap.
Inside a dusty room with wood paneling and floorboards Lee and Demetrius sat across from each other at an old wood table. Demetrius had his long hair slicked back and his beard still unkempt. He wore a ragged and torn dark green coat with stains. His muddy boots had their soles worn down with the laces frayed. Demetrius was a walking mess of tattered textiles; after Marius Basque had framed him Demetrius had been living in the streets, hiding out in sewers, alleys, empty housing, etc. He had a partnership with him but after years of being a hitman he decided to give the life up at the same time Basque wanted the senator dead. When Basque found out Demetrius was leaving he was fuming mad; so he got a different hitman but left traces of Demetrius as an act of revenge for leaving. Demetrius couldn't leave Ganymede; he had no money or a home. All he could think about was taking his revenge on Basque for ruining him.
Lee had his arms crossed as he sat across from Demetrius. Demetrius was tapping his finger on the table and shaking his leg.
"I can't just speak in front of ISSP, I'll be turned in too even if I give them Basque." said Demetrius.
"What else can you think of, can you convince him to step down?" asked Lee.
"Yeah right like that'd ever happen."
"Well the whole point was to get you to turn him in; if you don't want to do that then I'll have to turn you in."
"How about… how about I work for you then?"
"Doing what?"
"What my prior job title entailed."
"An assassin?"
"That's right."
"What will that do… wait a minute... a coup d'état?"
"Exactly. I assassinate Basque, I get my revenge and your syndicate and Russ take the business over from there."
"You really want to do that?"
"I want to, I have to do it. Basque needs a taste of his own medicine; all the years of running a criminal empire will have finally turned on him."
"But you don't want to get turned in?"
"You have the police power can't you come up with something?"
"It's not that easy. I'd have to set up here and establish more power."
"What about a place to live in the meantime?"
"What you want me to buy you a house?"
"I don't want to be out in the streets again."
Lee scoffed and smirked with his teeth. "You want to play this really close to the vest don't you?" he said.
"You can go ask someone else if you want to, but good luck." said Demetrius.
Andre and the other men were sitting in a couch and chairs. They were attending to the injuries that Demetrius had left them. Andre put a bag of ice on his stomach to heal the bruising. Shiro had a wet rag on his forehead to soothe his pain. He sat away from the rest of the men and sat in a chair near the window. He stared outside; the room was on a high floor, giving him a slight sense of vertigo.
On the couch Andre moved around uncomfortably and leaned in to talk the guy that was icing the side of his head.
"Do you trust this guy?" asked Andre.
"Gee I don't know he just knocked me on my ass in one move." said the injured man.
"He gives me a bad vibe." Andre glared at Demetrius as he sat across from Lee with suspicion.
Lee sighed through his nose. "Okay. You win Demetrius, we'll follow through with your plan." he said.
"Only problem is I don't how to get to Basque." said Demetrius.
"Well you can't leave Ganymede and he's only here for a couple of more days."
"When do you think he'll be out of that skyscraper of his?"
"I know he's throwing an event to show support for the shareholders of his company... and some cops too."
"Some formal party?"
"Yes, you have been known to use stealth am I correct?"
"That's the way I was trained."
"If I can assess the area, sneak you into the event, and you make your way pass the guards you can get to Basque then."
"That doesn't seem as easy you make it sound… but I'll do it."
"Alright, we have a deal." Lee uncrossed his arms and extended out his hand to shake Demetrius's hand. Hunched over in his seat like a gargoyle, Demetrius smirked and shook Lee's hand.
As night descended on Ganymede Spike, Jet, and Faye sat around the table in the main room. Faye sat in the seat across the couch where Spike and Jet were sitting. The box filled with equipment was between them, Spike curiously observed the box.
"Alright I guess you two are wondering what this stuff is for." said Jet.
"Yeah the guy you told me to get it from was a total creep." said Faye with a scowl.
"Well I got it as favor he owed me; it's going to come in handy on our next bounty." said Jet.
"Next bounty?" asked Faye curiously.
Spike opened the flaps of the box and reached inside.
"Yeah… Demetrius… Bardon." said Jet.
"What?!" said Faye excitedly.
Spike acquired a tiny earpiece between his index finger and his thumb. He shook it instinctively and put it close to his ear.
"Yeah you heard me right… Spike be careful with that!" barked Jet.
"When did you decide this?" asked Faye.
"The day I said I was taking the information back…" said Jet uneasily.
Faye laughed. "So I guess the reward was too good to pass up, huh?" she said.
"Yeah, yeah look listen-
"Hey wait a minute, that was days ago." said Faye critically.
"Uh…"
"Why have we been wasting our time?! He's out there and we're letting him get away!"
"I know, but I have a different approach."
"Does it include these little 'secret agent' devices?" said Spike with the earpiece still between his fingers.
Jet nodded his head. "Yes, now I have-
Faye crossed her arms and sat back in her seat. "Your 'different approach' better make up for all the time we wasted." she said.
"It will! Now just let me talk!" shouted Jet.
Spike reached inside the box again and took out a tape recorder this time.
"We're going to use this stuff to get some information out of Marius Basque, Bardon's boss." said Jet.
"Marius Basque? How the hell do you plan to get to him, doesn't he have like a million guards around him all the time?" asked Faye.
"He has a formal event in two days, Donna was able to get us in and we're going to sneak a microphone on him so we can listen in."
"A formal event?" asked Faye.
"We're going to have to blend in with the crowd." said Jet.
"Oh good, we get to play dress up." said Spike sarcastically.
"I especially need you to blend in Spike, you're the only one shifty enough to get that that mic near him." said Jet.
"Huh, alright sounds exciting enough." said Spike.
"Faye I'm going to need you to do crowd control, be on the lookout and try to distract anyone that wises up to what we're doing." said Jet.
"Distraction? Sounds like the perfect job for me." said Faye raising her eyebrow.
"I'll be keeping an eye on Basque and his guards; we'll contact each other through these earpieces." said Jet. He reached inside the box and pulled out plastic glass case with the earpieces inside. He pulled one out and gave it to Faye.
Faye observed it and put it inside her ear to test it out.
"And please don't try to lose them." said Jet.
"Yeah, yeah alright," said Faye, "… looks like we got a plan after all."
A/N: It's been a while, as always I hoped you enjoyed this chapter! Looks like in the next chapter the bounty hunters, the police, the bureaucrats, and the crime syndicate will cross paths. See you Space Cowboys and Cowgirls!