"I'm serious, sir. These guys are bounty hunters and they're coming for ya. Any big sum is enough for those kind of guys to get even to the Sun" the guy confirmed.
"Okay" Aldebaran said and them he pushed one of the buttons of his intercomm, "Sergio, we got some... unwelcomed guests that are gonna arrive soon. Could you and your guys be kind enough to send them away?"
A man laughed at the other side of the chat. "Yes, Mr. Aldebaran, we will take care of that problem in no time, sir".
"I like hearin' that" he said, then he pushed another button on the telcomm.
"What can I do for you, sir?" a sweet-voiced secretary asked.
"If anydoby needs me, I'll be at Room 3" he informed her, then he finally hanged. He turned to see the bum. "Are you still here? Don't know your way out of the room, son?"
"Yes... but. Ain't you gonna give me anything for this information."
"What do you want? You owe me quite a sum for the damage you've done to my business for fooling around with drugs. Now you work here, got nothing to pay to you. Now get out before you lose something".
Spike loaded his gun and placed a few replacements on his pocket, but he also loaded a second gun just in case. Jet got his pistol ready for action and weared his heavy coat for the introduction. The plan was going to be simple: They would try to get in with disguises until they could make it to Aldebaran. If the thing didn't work, guns out. If the thing did work and they got to see Aldebaran, guns out too.
"This is not going to work" Spike said, "how do you expect to get inside a gangter's office dressed like gangsters?"
"Lower guys will think we're here for a meeting" Jet explained.
"Aren't meetings supposed to be in neutral places were no gang has the upper hand?"
"That's what the want the cops to think, so they will always look at the wrong place. Besides, who's gonna think I don't have the upper hand with Ikki by my side, huh?" he insisted giving a gentle hit on Spike arm.
"Have you been drinking coffee lately, Jet?"
"No, just getting in my character."
"It seems to be worse than drinking coffee."
Jet finished loading himself and getting dressed with a fine suit and a mosdest hat. Spike just got some dark glasses, bodyguard outfit wasn't so complicated. Then they finally left the BeBop and got back to the main street.
The welcoming comitee was already there. Sergio walked up to the front of 5 men in black suits with different kinds of SMGs or pistols. "Hi, gentlemen. Any business for the time?"
"We're here to so see Mr. Aldebaran, if you care" Jet said.
"I'm so sorry, gentlemen. You see, in a few minutes the employees are gonna start coming to set up the party, also people will come a bit latter. He asked not to be bothered now that business is starting again."
"Sorry" Spike grinned, "we just don't seem to have time to come another day, so why don't we make the try?"
"Well, you damned bounty hunters, you're gonna have to walk over me to do that."
"Sounds fair to me" said Spike.
Before anythig else could be said, Spike and Jet dashed through the street for cover from the various shppting of the bad guys. Jet got a good shock, possibly, he would never sleep again. Spike got behind a turned table, shooting every now and then. After a few seconds, two of Sergio's boys were down.
"Spike!" Jet called, "get going! I'll take care of the rest!"
Spike didn't question. He started rolling the table the tableto the side so that he could move and have cover at the same time. When he was by the right side of the road, where Jet was, he rolled it at the other guys, to give the distraction needed to go ahead.
Spike took quite a dash and blasted another henchman in the run. He wondered how would Jet take care of the three guys, Sergio included, he left behind. Then he heard a grenade explote. Just when he thought Jet's coat seemed a bit too heavy...
The main door of the nightclub busted open. Several employees cleaning the place turned their attention to the intruder and shouted for security. Two guys got from upstairs to shoot the intruder, other two runned to the floor itself to catch him.
From the window of the VIP Room 3, Aldebaran put his cigar down. "Confuse him" he commanded.
"Sorry?" the only guard remaining asked.
"Show him why this is the Zodiac Nightclub. Make the Aurora glow over him, that will confuse him."
"And how shall I do that?"
"Get the the DJ working, turn off the 1st floor lights, turn on the dancefloor lights, and them spinning, boy! Hey, you're dumb, fella!"
"Sorry, sir, I'll get right on it"
Just when Jet finally made it to the nightclub and Spike could get to the guys on the floor while Jet took the snipers, everything went a bit harder.
Lights went off. Strange Disco and dancefloor lights started flashing and the Dj started scratching some dense rock music. Everything seemed to be going on slow motion. That would centainly make it more interesting.
"Just what I needed" Spike said out loud before running his fist to a guard's face. The first guard went to the floor. While shooting addressed the dense rock music scratched by the DJ, Spike went from kicks to jabs to kicks on the second guard's body. He finally knocked him out with a blowing kick right on the face. Suddently, the first guard woke up again, but as soon as got on his feet and noticed Spike, he was getting tripped back to it. Then, a body fell from above and landed near the other unconcious ones. The body of the first snipper.
The second sniper got sick and jumped down to the first floor. Spike gladly received him, but this guy was better than the other two rookies, because he blocked Spike's opening move quite well. The third guard tried to punch Spike, but he mauneuvered his fist out of order by picking it and twisting it hard. The third guard backed off a few steps trying to break loose, and that was the moment that Spike chose to let him free, make a jump-kick on the guard's jaw, and head to Aldebaran's office.
Spike stopped and backed aside of the door. He then blasted it open and checked inside, crosshair on anything that moved. Empty. He heard a scream coming from behind him. He turned himself with a low kick, sent it upper and sent to right the last guard.
The music went dead. Spike heard a few claps coming down the hall from which the guard came. Aldebaran came walking, carrying no guns, no items, nothing at all he could use for defense.
"You know why I'm almost never in my office but in Room 3? I always like to look at the show from one of those big windows above the party, rather than zapping security cameras at my office. I saw it all. Up to now" Aldebaran said, "you've done quite well. Maybe I should just give up, let you take me to the Police Station and get your stinkin' cash for the bounty on my head".
"But then you wouldn't be the Aldebaran I'm looking for, would you?" Spike complemented.
"Ha, ha! You got it!" Aldebaran laughed. Spike drew out his second pistol with the left arm, but almost as quick, Aldebaran sent his right arm against it and snapped the pistol out of reach for both. Spike grabbed weapons real hard, Aldebaran didn't snap his hand off for true luck.
"You were gonna point that thing at me without me having any defense? Man, that's rude! That's no way of treating someone. How about a good old, clean fight like you had with my guys. They look like they enjoyed."
"If getting their ass kicked is fun for them..."
"They've reiceived worse from me. Now, how about getting started?"
"Be my guest."
"The funny thing is... you're my guest"
-
This scene is based on the Cowboy BeBop Manga chapter called "She's a
Rainbow", in which we get to know that Jet is really lousy trying to act
like gangters, either chinese or russian, in an attempt to hide his
identity. The outfit Spike uses is also from that scene.