Bebop Blues - Chapter 5
Forever Broke
Finding the Swordfish had been an interesting task; rows and rows of doors leading to separate "garages" as it were, all seemed the same.
But the blue door stood out.
With a cocky smile, Spike leaned down and yanked the door up.
She looked beautiful.
He walked around the ship, inspecting every nook and cranny, but there was no flaw to be found.
She was even better than when he'd last seen her.
The paint has been redone, the rods and gears had been oiled; even the ammo had been restocked.
The plasma cannon had been upgraded, too.
'Don't know if it was her or Jet, but I won't look the gift horse in the mouth.'
He hopped in and revved her up, practically beaming when he heard the purr. 'Really outdone themselves. It's practically new.'
"Suppose it's time for tea."
The Swordfish rolled forward and took off, flying and soaring so superbly, Spike may have gotten giddy.
He had broken the atmosphere when his vidcom sounded. "Glad to see you're alive, m'boy."
"Doohan! You've outdone yourself. This baby works just like new."
Doohan chuckled beside himself. "Real looker, that one; always thought her to be a real class-act. It was easier to repair with her repertoire of funds and parts at my disposal. Even got you a new paint job, and she flew me out to save you the hassle of bringing it to me."
"So it was her, then."
"Keep that one in your crosshairs, boy."
Spike closed his eyes and smirked. "Married women aren't my type."
The mechanic roared with laughter. "You have a type?"
A cocky half-grin. "Yeah, classy, good taste in machinery, and capable of kicking my ass."
Doohan laughed again. "Watch out then, boy. The one she's running with seems that type, too."
"And who is she running with?"
"Mai always chooses the ones with attitude, but this one-" he whistled "legs for days and fire in her eyes."
"Well, I'll just have to see for myself."
"And Spike?"
"Yeah?"
"Just wait 'till you see the ship Mai's packing. Might even put that Swordfish to shame."
"You doubt your abilities, Doohan? That's not like you."
"I made hers with these two hands."
Another half-grin. "I suppose I'll have to give it a run for its money, then."
The vidcom blacked out as Doohan laughed.
It was full blast to Venus; he may even get there in time for tea.
The ship ran faster than ever, and even though Mai had left before him, he was sure he'd be catching up soon. As he soared past a large biodome, three ships in the distance caught his eye.
The Hammerhead and Red Tail looked as though they had been overhauled. It brought to him a flood of memories. He guessed he really did miss them.
He whistled when the third ship came into view.
A black mono-racer, similar to his own but with definite difference, zoomed from the biodome, zipping and twirling as though it were alive.
"A real class act. That's one hell of a ship."
He thought to follow, but if she was running with Faye, it may be better to lay low until the timing was proper.
And Spike Spiegel prided himself on his expert timing.
He drifted back to let them zoom out of sight. He'd have to ask Mai about that dome; her assets seemed to keep piling up.
They left his sight fairly quickly, and he followed suit in landing not too long after.
He popped helium pills as he landed on a parking garage close to the local bank, his gut telling him Mai was after a very particular bounty-head who had run-ins with the Syndicate some lifetime ago.
Big Shots had recently advertised him, and that all but confirmed it for Spike.
Caleb Morrison. His ISSP rap sheet was pretty thin, but he was heavily wanted by anyone who had an interest in keeping old Syndicate work under wraps.
He had been a hired hand to Vicious.
It was brutal, really; he had been an accomplice in Vicious' final coup, taking down low-level Red Dragon members as well as those of rival Syndicates.
He had caused more internal problems than any investigation could have unearthed.
It was strange how concrete everything was becoming to Spike.
He shook off his thoughts and exited the ship, pulling his binoculars to his eyes almost immediately upon stepping onto the roof. Scanning the crowd, he searched for the face of this remarkably pricey bounty.
That's the part he found weird.
Considering the lack of background on the guy, he and his gang were worth a pretty hefty sum. He wondered if Mai had an inkling as to why.
Spike focused on a shifty man walking into the bank. His tousled brown hair and his crooked eyes were the giveaway.
He called Mai.
A few seconds of ringing, and she then picked up the phone.
"You're late for tea."
Spike smirked. "Actually, you're the late one. I just watched Caleb enter the bank."
"We're just a block away!"
"We're? I thought what we had something special, but you went off and replaced me." His voice was thick with sarcasm and suavity.
She scoffed. "We're headed over."
"Just you."
She raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"I don't like crowds," he lied. He couldn't tell her he knew. It would make up her mind to bring the crew.
"I do things my way, and you do things yours."
He groaned, feigning annoyance. "If that's how it's gotta be."
She winked as the screen went black.
He pocketed the com and proceeded down the stairs. He was determined to catch Caleb first; he couldn't let Mai win 'em all.
As he walked into the bank, he realized he couldn't have had better timing.
"You let us go with our cash, or the whole building goes to pieces!" he heard from Caleb, his hand holding the intercom button.
The moment he crossed the threshold, two of Morrison's cronies blocked the door, the third pushing Spike forward with the tip of his rifle.
"Line up with the rest of 'em."
"I just came to make a deposit."
"A wise guy? Get in line!"
Spike chuckled, but complied walking slowly, eventually halting in line.
He heard footsteps behind him. The heaviness sounded like Jet (he really thought he would have fixed that light clink in his metal leg by now), but the other one moved so lightly, that it could only be Mai. He always thought Faye too impulsive to move so stealthily.
"Line up!" Morrison commanded the group.
Spike turned sideways to face the goon next to him.
"You! Get back in line!"
With a smirk, he leaned forward as though to trip, throwing his leg out at the last second, tripping the man where he stood. "I am in line."
Before the thugs could retaliate, however, that earthy voice he hoped to hear behind him sounded from the balcony. "Checkmate, Morrison."
That meant the soft steps behind him were Faye's. Damn. Didn't see that coming. His cover might have been blown.
"And who are you?"
"She's with me," Spike mused, but only Morrison and his men could hear him.
"Depends."
He grinned despite himself. She had balls of steel.
"That ain't no answer!" Morrison shot.
Assuming Mai had things taken care of from here, especially with back up, Spike began slinking towards the side entrance, the attention of thugs on Mai. He saw her standing at the bottom of the stairs, grinning like a woman crazed. "Stay still, bitch!"
"Okay."
And Spike was beside himself again when some invisible giant fell through the ceiling and pinned Morrison so perfectly that the he was unharmed.
He dipped out the side entrance into the alleyway and grinned. A woman after his own soul indeed.
Judging by the whir, he assumed the "invisible giant" to he her ship. He shook his head with a twinge of impressiveness: that was one hell of a ship.
He lit his hippie cig and laid low in the alley, watching the Bebop crew walk away some fair time later (he assumed it had been a while; he was halfway through his second cigarette) He took note of Mai's wink and farewell. He couldn't hear her, but judging by her body language, she seemed impressed. Once the ISSP cleared the area, Spike followed suit, locating a nearby diner for some grub before heading to the nearest motel.
It was midnight when he saw them from his window, Jet and Mai pink from alcohol, and Faye asleep on Jet's back.
She looked impeccably serene.
The dynamic between all three seemed incredibly fluid considering the short timeframe of their traveling together. Spike felt a pang of jealousy.
Wow. That was new.
'I actually miss them,' he concluded. The thought resounded in his head like some new rebirth, another originating moment of Spike Spiegel: the realization that he had some kind of heart.
A concept he had long forgotten, even with Julia close by.
He had never drawn the correlation between a heart and love, but at this exact moment, he finally understood friendship.
Not partnership, not camaraderie, not association.
But a feeling of wanted self-obligation to protect others.
'Must be going soft.'
Deciding it best to take this epiphany at a slower pace, he decided on katas and a shower.
Not too long after, his vidcom rang.
A smirk. "Not too shabby for a dead man."
"Oh? I like your style. Some ship you got there."
"I got pops to thank for that."
They shared a brief moment of respectful silence.
"We never did get tea. You had to crash the party."
She raised her eyebrow.
'Damn eyebrow.'
"Then you'll have to join me for dinner on Earth."
"Earth? No hot shots there."
"I've got some cargo to pick up."
"For that mobile planet of yours? That another gift from pops?"
It was a different silence this time.
"Ah. Sorry I asked." He lit up to keep his hands busy. It spooked him to see her shaken.
"The Mezzo was built from the ground up with these two hands. And his."
She wouldn't say the name.
He didn't have to guess.
"Well, it's a hell of a ship."
"It's its own private world of green and blue."
"There's something about blue."
She grinned. "Well then, find the desert flower, and you'll know where I'll be next," and with a wink, the signal went black.
He shook his head at her clue with a smug smile. Earth, huh? She was Earth. Or did she sing like it? Or was that the song she sang? He couldn't remember.
Faye was from Earth.
That was strangely random. It was this "missing them" bit again.
He shook it off to retire to bed.
He had a flower to find.
