Author's Note: Despite my dislike for breaking up the story with these notes, I would just like to thank the reviews I got for this story. After a brief hiatus from FF, due to writer's block (which I have a chronic case of), I had to finish this after rereading the reviews. It isn't that great of a chapter, but it is one of those bridge chapters we have to read to get to the good stuff. Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter Two: That Knucklehead…

I was on the bridge, still wiping the damn windows, when I got a call. It was from Bob at the I.S.S.P, but my damn leg kept me from getting all chummy with him. That and Spike was still out. I didn't expect him to come back, except in a body bag. After the initial pleasantries, he paused for what seemed to be an eternity. My arm buzzed slightly, short-circuiting and sending a shock through the nerves.

"God damn it!" I said in my most calm, Zen voice. Needless to say, it scared the crap out of Bob. "Sorry… P.O.S. arm. What were you saying?"

"It's your partner, Jet. Spike." My blood turned cold. "The Red Dragon Coup? He was the cause of it. And now he's dying; blood loss, concussions, near hemorrhaging. All in all, it doesn't look good. He's being moved to the St. Mary's. You know where it is, by the…"

"I know. Thanks Bob."
"Uh, Jet I know this is a bad time and all, but… well."
"Get to the damn point."
"Spike could face jail time. And your crew could be implicated as accomplices."
"What?" I stared at the receiver in my hand, stunned. "He just wiped out a buncha

hard ass gangsters, doing you guys a favor, and we're gettin' busted?" He sighed sadly,

which just got me more pissed. "What now?"

"Like I told you a while back, during the truck incident, the majority of ISSP cops are giving the Syndicate tips on raids and insider trading in exchange for cuts. Crooked bastards. With the Syndicate gone, there is going to be a serious decrease in more than one bank account."

"Always incorruptible." I chuckled. "But I still don't understand why we'd have charges pushed on us."

"Obviously, cops aren't the only ones on the payroll. And a suit could be fined for first degree murder and manslaughter. Spike has killed about twenty-four of the Syndicate."

"But they were the bad guys."

"That's debatable. When someone breaks into your ship and kills nearly all of your crew, doesn't that sound more like the bad guy?" The silence that followed hurt my ears. Finally, I sighed, and winced as a new shock went up my arm.

"I told you to get that fixed." Faye. I kept forgetting she was on my ship. She hadn't made a peep ever since she had spent all the rounds in her pistol. I'm just glad that she didn't hit anything important. I think. I looked over to the door, where she was just leaning against the frame, arms crossed. She wasn't looking at me. She was looking past me, at the stars. She didn't look the same. I mean, she looked like she always did, but there was an air about her that was… different. I put my hand over the receiver.

"You okay?"

"Hm? Oh, sure. Is that Spike?"

"Uh… no…" I couldn't bring myself to say anything about the coup. "I'm sure he'll be calling in a little while."

"Not if he's dead." She walked away. Her shoulders shook a little.

"Jet? Hey, Jet!" Oh, yeah, the phone.

"Sorry, had some business to attend to."

"Yeah, well, do you know what you're going to do now?" I chuckled at that remark.

"Bob, when the hell did I ever know what I was doing?"

"Always."

"Bull. I just was really good at pulling the wool over your eyes."
"Jet…"

"…You always were a good buzz-kill, Bob. The most I can do now is go to the hospital. We can figure out what to do when and if the lawsuits come."

"I'll be watching for anything involving you guys. You'll know what I know within minutes. It's a promise."

"You're too good to me, Bob."

"Eh, what are friends for? Besides, by now you owe me. Big time." He laughed. I laughed. I prayed he was joking.