Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction ❯ A Leap of Faith ❯ A Leap of Faith ( One-Shot )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Author's note: The following is a Cowboy Bebop story, set sometime after Faye joins up with Spike and Jet, but before the arrival of Ed.

A LEAP OF FAITH
by Shinobu

The call came at 4:15- 4:15 AM. It seemed like he had just gone to bed, but in fact he had been asleep a few hours. As the buzzer rang, he hauled himself upright. Best to have a clear head. Syndicate business was conducted whenever necessary. This was not a nine to five operation, so whoever was calling would not settle for a "call me in the morning." Lucky he was a light sleeper. Well, one learned to be in this line of work.

He leaned toward the nightstand and punched the vidphone on. "Hello."

"It's me," spoke a voice on the other side of the connection. A voice only- they had chosen to make a 'blank screen' call. Didn't matter- he knew this voice. It always sent a chill up his spine.

"Yes sir."

"We need a job done. Miles Carter. You know the situation," the steely voice stated, not asked.

"Yes. As soon as possible?"

"Exactly so. Who can we contract to do the job?"

He hesitated for a moment, then replied "I'll get Crescent, if that's okay with you..."

"I don't like using people I've not met," the voice said.

The man carefully pressed on. "If I may point out sir, Crescent has never failed us and the technique has been quite impressive. All previous targets have been eliminated without any suspicion the organization was involved."

"That's the part I don't like. We shouldn't be old women about such things. Everyone should know there was foul play, and that we were responsible. Terror is a useful tool." The voice paused and the awakened man started to worry. Finally... "Do it," the obsidian voice commanded and the channel went dead.

He punched his phone off, fell back into bed and closed his eyes. Probably have nightmares now, he thought as he drifted back to sleep.

*** *** ***

"A-mi-go! Welcome to Big Shot, the program for all cowboys..." bellowed Punch.

"and cowgirls!" interjected Judy.

Punch continued with his trademark wide grin in place. "The show that brings all you bounty hunters information about fugitives! Well Judy, who's up first today?"

The perky, buxom girl raised an index finger. "Well Punch, number one on today's menu" giggling at what she thought was a clever lead-in "is Miles Carter."

As a picture of a large mid-thirties man with a smooth shaven head flashed on the screen, Judy continued the narrative. "This hombre is wanted for dealing in a variety of illegal drugs on Mars and Phobos Dome..."

"Hey, that's Les Kelby!" thundered Faye Valentine as she walked by. A rather bored Spike Spiegel and Jet Black almost moved at the revelation. They sat on the couch in the living area of their spaceship, the Bebop, smoking and drinking coffee. Watching Big Shot had become something of a morning ritual for the two bounty hunters. Faye on the other hand usually just siphoned off information from one of them after the fact- or replayed the show later at her convenience. Like a school child who never does their own homework, thought Spike. Always copying off someone else...

Jet did manage to shift forward a bit, take another sip of coffee, and say "Who?"

"Les Kelby." She waited a bit, as if this should elicit some sort of reaction from the two men.

"Oh... Never heard of him" Spike finally spoke, cigarette hanging out of the side of his mouth.

"Before I wound up with you two dismal specimens of manhood, I was traveling around the area on eh, a tour of the local gambling establishments. Kelby was the manager of a casino over on the Gideon asteroid colony. Say, that's pretty close to here, isn't it?"

"Says here he's a drug dealer named Carter, Miles Carter," Jet said. "He's worth- twenty thousand woolong. Hey, that's not bad."

Faye stood behind the couch and studied the wanted man's picture until it went off the screen. "When I knew him, he had hair, but I'm sure that's him. Didn't know him well, thankfully. He was a real creepy guy."

"Hair or not, he's still worth twenty thousand woolongs," the older man proclaimed. "Trouble is, if I don't do some work on the Bebop, we won't be going to Gideon or anywhere else. She badly needs a bit of engine maintenance. What about you Spike?"

"Can't. Not right now anyway. I've got to tie up some loose ends on the Yamane situation or we won't get our money for that job. Got to meet with the Ganymede cops tomorrow." The green haired man drew in a long last draft on his cigarette.

"Too bad." Faye beamed and leaned down to rub it in. "Looks like I'll be going after this one all by myself. And note the word 'myself', as in that's the person who will pocket the reward."

"Why does this not surprise me, eh Spike?" Jet groused. "He's not wanted on Gideon, so you'll have to bring him back here for transport to Mars, you know."

Faye walked to position herself behind the ex-cop. "But there's a small ISSP sub-station on Gideon- they'll cash the reward for me. I'll take the Redtail over to Gideon, nab him, and be back by the time you've done the repairs on the ship. Besides, it'll be easier for me to catch him, since I'm the only one here who's actually seen him."

Jet rolled his eyes. "You think I couldn't ID someone if I haven't seen him? The picture's on file in the database," he declared.

"Yeah, the one with his head shaved. He may have grown his hair out again." She placed an index finger on the top of Jet's head and dragged it over his barren scalp. "Some men can do that, you know."

As Faye left the room, Jet was making another grumbling sound. He looked over at Spiegel. "Hey, you walked right into that one," Spike said, then leaned back on the couch, yelling down the corridor at Faye "and when you come back, use some of that reward money to bring home some food!"

*** *** ***

Most asteroid settlements were mining colonies, but Gideon had carved out a special niche for itself; it had established itself as a recreational colony. Located near settlements far away from the "civilization" of Mars, Gideon offered entertainment and leisure activities- mostly legal, many not. Local authorities tended to turn a blind eye to much of the illegal- closing down the area's bordellos or gambling halls was bad for the tourist trade.

The Peacock Resort was one of the larger casino hotels on Gideon, with a rather upscale clientele for this floating rock. It wasn't Tally's of Mars or Neo Vegas, but it wasn't shabby either.

Sitting at the blackjack table smoking a thin cigar, Faye Valentine wore a red strapless evening gown. Strapless gowns weren't any trouble for Faye. Neither was blackjack, especially for an accomplished cheat such as herself. Winning fast and big, she was attracting a crowd: the curious who enjoyed living vicariously through a winner, the men (and women) with an eye for a beautiful face and a hot body, and of course, House Security. Well, that was the idea wasn't it?

For show, she looked intently down at the card before her, then rapped her knuckles on the table. The nervous dealer slid a card her way, past the huge stack of chips she had accumulated. Bending it up, a thin smile crossed her face and the dealer's heart sank yet again. She flipped the cards one at a time. "Ace. Ten. Blackjack," she purred. The crowd reacted- gasps, laughter, applause.

"The crowd always loves a winner," said the man sitting beside her. "But the House doesn't." He was a handsome man dressed in an expensive black evening suit. Make that "very handsome" Faye thought. The smiling face was topped by dark slicked-back hair. He had incredibly seductive almond shaped eyes- those eyes, those wonderful eyes...

Leaning forward to her, he spoke in a register so only she could hear. "I know you have no reason to trust me, but this is getting very dangerous for you, miss. Why don't you quit for a while and let me buy you dinner? You can always return later."

Those handsome eyes pleaded with her. "Who is this guy?" Faye thought. "I don't peg him for a gigolo on the prowl. He's sure as hell not House Security- they wouldn't be this polite before they beat me up. And I haven't eaten since..." This was a gut call, and all her guts said to check this guy out. So did other parts of her body. "Focus Faye, focus..." she said to herself.

She gave him a long leisurely look, took a final puff on her cigar, then smiled. "Maybe you're right, I am a bit hungry. Let me cash my chips."

*** *** ***

After ordering an expensive meal, Faye sipped on a glass of the finest wine this man could buy her and decided it was time for answers. "Well, am I suppose to thank you for saving my hide, ah, mister...?"

He sported a boyish grin. "Do you want the long version or the short one?"

"The short one will do- for now."

"Lin. Just call me Lin. And you are...?"

"Do you want the long version or the short one?"

He laughed and smiled, but didn't answer the question. She thought she could see a bit of a blush.

"Valentine. Faye Valentine."

"Miss Valentine," he said as he raised a glass in a toast gesture. "I know what you were trying to do, but it was too dangerous. I can tell you how to get to Carter without losing your life to do it."

It was Faye's turn to blush, with embarrassment and annoyance. "Who the hell are you? I don't peg you as a cowboy- you're too refined, at least compared to the ones I know. And you sure as hell aren't a cop. Who the hell are you?"

Placing his glass on the table, he looked at her squarely, holding her eyes in his. "A friend- that's all I can tell you for now. Look, it's not safe to talk here. After dinner, come with me to my room for some coffee and information."

"Your room, yeah, right. I think you just want an excuse to get me up there so you can take advantage of me."

"That may be, but in addition I really do want to give you information. I know you have no reason to trust me, but if you could... if you could just take a leap of faith."

There was something in this person's face, in his eyes that Faye recognized. She thought she could see a kindred spirit in this man- this very attractive man. "I know my life may be on the line here," her inner self said, "but he's gorgeous. How long has it been since..."

"A leap of faith, eh?" she asked taking another sip of wine. "Well," she smiled "depends how good dinner is."

*** *** ***

Dinner was good, and now ice clinked as it felled into the fine Callistan ceramic cup. "Thanks," said Faye as he moved to set the container on the side table. After the splendid dinner in the casino dining room, Faye and Lin had adjourned to his ornately appointed upper floor suite for dessert and discussion.

Room service had delivered sweetcakes and slices of tangerine melon, all to be washed down with iced coffee. The conversation was light- food, travel, gambling... the typical niceties of strangers lingering over a meal.

"Another helping of sweetcake?" he offered.

"It was de-li-ci-ous, but no more for me tonight. A healthy young woman has to watch her figure if she expects anyone else to," she stated placing her coffee on a nearby stand and lighting up a cigarette. "I'll tell you what I would like though..."

Lin sat down next to her on the sofa. "Information," he replied, and she nodded her head in the affirmative. "May I safely assume that we have now officially entered the business portion of the evening?" he smiled.

She nodded again and blew out a long breath of smoke. "Let's just say we're taking a temporary break before continuing with the pleasure portion." She smiled and thought, "what the hell made me say that? Stayed focused girl."

"For instance," she said. " I'd like to know why you lured me away from the blackjack table. After all, I was doing so well."

"A dead girl can't spend any of her money," he replied, turning serious. "You were purposely trying to attract House security, which in this casino means Miles Carter's goons."

"I thought the manager's name was Les Kelby."

"How many gamblers know or care to know the casino manager's name? His real name is Miles Carter, and that you even know his alias tells me my suspicions were right. You were trying to get to him, weren't you? Unless I'm very wrong, my guess is that you're a cowboy."

Her lips puckered and she mouthed the cigarette. "Do I look like a boy?" <Quit flirting, damn it. There's a job to do here. Think of the money.>

"No, but you do look like a bounty hunter."

She let the room silent for a little bit. "Alright. You know what I am. What about you? You say you're not a cowboy. I know you're not a cop. The way you dress, this suite, you know what you look like to me? <Should I really say this?> You look like you've got syndicate written all over you."

"Ah, but which one?"

"Another question comes to mind. Are you protecting Carter from me and whoever, or are you out to get him for yourself and don't want anyone screwing it up for you?"

Now Lin's turn to be briefly silent. "I want him taken down, but my, eh, people can't get involved. What I propose..."

"Here it comes" she thought...

"is that you take him out for us. I'll give you information and help; you can have Carter and the entire bounty. I just want him removed. Your way tonight could have gotten you killed. Do it my way and you have a good chance. No catches- just take him down and... and don't get hurt doing it."

"Don't get hurt... he seems to really care that I might", Faye thought as she studied Lin. Another person and she wouldn't have believed any of it. Was she going soft, or was there something special about this man? A trustworthy man- ah, she must be going soft. And yet...

"Details," she finally asked.

Lin's studied her. <I like her determination.> "You can't get to him here at the casino- he never hangs around here these days. He lives on the other side of the city with his eh, boyfriend."

One of Faye's eyebrows shot up. "Please tell me that's not your preference."

Lin smiled back. "I prefer...watching the figures of healthy young women."

"Just watching?" <Quit flirting!>
Lin smirked, sipped his coffee and continued. "He's juggling the Peacock Casino books, ripping off his bosses here, buying drugs with their money, then selling the drugs off-world and pocketing the cash. Every Tuesday- that's tomorrow- Carter meets a private aircar at the airpad on top of the Sigsby Building at noon. He swaps money for drugs, then ships them out later. That's the best chance for you to nab him."

"Numbers?"

"He always goes to the airpad with two men. It's pretty secluded up there, that's why it's a good opportunity to nail him." His eyes lingered on her face for a moment. "Do you have any comrades to assist you on this?"

Her eyes stared straight ahead as she studied the situation. "I don't need comrades," she said quietly.

"In other words, you're lonely- we have something in common," he thought.

Her face fashioned itself into resolution. "Okay- tomorrow it is. Will you be there?"

"I'll either meet you there, or make sure you have help."

"Oh boy. Sounds like you're already dumping me."

Lin moved close to her on the sofa and took her by the hand. "I don't want to. I, I won't let you get hurt." He moved close to her face, placing his hand behind her neck. She raised her hand, touched his cheek, and their lips met.

"Why don't you spend the night?" Lin whispered.

"Another 'leap of faith'?" Faye asked.

She was not as experienced as her fellow "cowboys", but Faye Valentine knew that bounty hunters learned to live by their intuition. In the modern world, people seemed to have abandoned that idea. Maybe they felt they couldn't afford to be guided by their natural feelings anymore, that it was too risky. As a person, had she also forsaken her instincts? When was the last time she trusted anyone? A year ago- seventy years ago? She couldn't remember, and it saddened her.

*** *** ***

Spike entered the Bebop control deck with a sandwich and a beer, courtesy of the now collected Yamane bounty. Trailing closely was Ein, waiting for the odd morsel to fall or an uncharacteristic fit of generosity on the part of his green haired master. "You're a lot like a certain woman I know. Taggin' along, waiting for the crumbs to drop..." Spike was muttering to his canine companion as they both sat down. His human partner was at the communication console scratching his head. "Hey, you're up late. Anything wrong?" he asked, trying to choke down a mouthful.

"Not sure," replied Jet without looking up from the screen. "Remember that bounty she went after, that Carter guy?"

"The twenty thousand woolongs. What about him?"

"Mister Twenty Thousand has turned into Mister Five Thousand." Black jabbed at the keyboard, the screen flashed. "This doesn't make any sense. The bounty on this guy has dropped fifteen thousand woolongs since yesterday. Somethin's fishy."

The sandwich inhaled, Spike's attention turned to his beer and a fresh cigarette. Jet continued to work at the comm console, where a face suddenly appeared.

"Dusty... Dusty is that you? Jet Black here."

On the screen, a middle aged woman in uniform flashed a broad smile. "Jet, hey, haven't heard from you in ages. How is everything? How's the Bebop doing?"

"Creepin' along, creepin' along. Hey Dusty, could you help me out on something? I need to check on a bounty, a fellow named Miles Carter. I got two different prices on this guy and I was wonderin' which was correct."

The woman's eyes seemed to twinkle as she nodded her head. "Sure thing darling, anything for you. Hold a sec, will you Jetty."

The ISSP logo popped up on the screen.
"Jet-ty!"

Jet spun in his chair to face his partner- at least that's who he thought it was. He couldn't actually see the man's face; just one gigantic grin about ten light years across.

"Don't even start with me Spike. Just don't. She's an old friend."

"Just exactly how much of a fr..."

The screen activated again and Dusty's voice broke in. "Jet, are you there?"

"Yeah, yeah, right here- go."

Dusty's face had turned severe. "Forget about this guy Jet. By tomorrow, next day at the most, they'll probably lift the bounty completely."

"What the hell? Why would they lift the bounty? They put it on the wrong guy or what?"

Dusty hesitated a moment, looked around her work area, then spoke in a hush voice. "Look, Jet. We had a report from an informant that the syndicate's put a contract out on this guy. That's why the bounty dropped. It's like offering a reward for a dead man. My advice to you is to stay away from him. Sometimes hit men aren't too choosy about who else gets killed when they're doing a job, ya know."

The ex-cop did know. "Yeah. Right. Listen, thanks a lot Dusty. Take care."

Jet swiveled around to face Spike. The younger man rolled his head back on the top of the couch and closed his eyes. "Stupid woman," was his only comment.

Jet shook his head in agreement. "We've still got to warn her about what she's... The comm console suddenly beeped the "incoming message" alert. "Probably her now," grunted Jet, but it wasn't. A "text only" message scrolled onto the screen.
---Gideon City, noon tomorrow. Bounty Miles Carter at Sigsby Building rooftop airpad- Carter and two goons. Faye will need back-up. A friend.---

"What?" was the only thing Jet could think to say as they stared at the screen. Spike's curiosity had moved him to his partner's side. "Do you think she sent that?"

"Nope," said Spike. "She wouldn't have signed it 'a friend'. More something like 'Faye, who doesn't really need your help'."

"Curiouser and curiouser!" Jet remarked softly as his fingers punched comm console keys. "We need to get in touch with that woman."

*** *** ***

That evening Faye and Lin found sanctuary in each other. The coldness of their lives was cast aside as they found tenderness and passion in each other's flesh. They made love over and over, as if just one more time would cure their despair.

"You know," whispered Faye as they lie naked in each other's arms, "after I leave here, there's a very good chance that we'll never see each other again."

The Chinese man carefully composed his thoughts before speaking. "I suppose that's true. But think of what a shame it would've been if we had never had this evening," he said, squeezing her closer to him. Then, trying to lighten the mood, "I mean, really, you should thank Miles Carter instead of capturing him. I mean, without..." Lin broke off as he saw her changing expression. She was trying to force a smile, but her features were melting into sadness.

As a single tear rolled down Faye's cheek; Lin caught it with his lips.

"We'll surely see each other again," he nuzzled her, "otherwise I won't be able to treat you to that second helping of sweetcake." He moved his mouth toward hers...

And then the phone in her purse rang.

"Damn!" Faye yelled as she reached over the side of the bed and fumbled to locate her purse. "I forgot to turn it off," she said apologetically as she seized the phone. "And I DON'T WANT TO BE DISTURBED!" she screamed at the communicator as she punched the "off" button with her thumb, then threw it down on the floor.

"Now," she purred "where were we?"

*** *** ***

The next day, Miles Carter stood atop the Sigsby Building sweating profusely. Despite being far removed from the sun, the temperatures on Gideon could rocket up at mid-day, and it was just minutes before noon. The large man wiped his hairless head with a handkerchief and waited as the private aircar touched down. Flanked by two men, he took a briefcase from one of them and walked toward the descending vehicle.

On the opposite side of the airpad, a large man stood guard at the elevator, the only regular access to the rooftop. The elevator suddenly started down. Damn, the guard thought. Should have just held it here. The fact that most hired muscle weren't the sharpest knives in the draw always seemed to work to someone's advantage.

The elevator began to lift slowly back toward the rooftop. "Probably some lost hotel guest, or some kids taking rides," thought the guard as he anticipated herding them back downstairs. Just in case, he waited for the unknown passenger or passengers with gun at the ready.

As the door opened, his eyes grew wide. Faye Valentine stood before him, left hand on hip, right hand behind her back, wearing white boots, stockings, the traditional yellow hot pants, and nothing else. The man gaped at her huge breasts, which for him, turned out to be a serious mistake. "Hii~~ii!" Faye said as her right hand produced a jet of nerve spray which leaped out of its container and into his face. Skin activated and quick acting, the hoodlum dropped immediately.

She looked down at him, carefully securing the nerve spray can and quickly putting her top back on. "Men are so easily distracted," she mused under her breath as she dragged the body to the side of the elevator port opposite the airpad. "One down, two to go," she thought.

Faye peeked around the corner, saw the aircar starting to rev up for liftoff, then raced in crouched fashion to the cover of a nearby environmental unit sticking up from the roof. Many such units dotted the roofscape, all housing environmental maintenance machinery. Her mind was racing. Good position. Shoot the other guard, force Carter to drop his weapon, disable him with nerve spray, call the cops, collect the bounty. Piece of cake. (Piece of sweetcake?) Focus Faye, focus.

Gun now firmly in hand, she sneaked another peek at her victims. The slob Carter and TWO guards! Shit! Lin said two total. By the way, thanks for all the help up here Lin. Shit! Shit! A sound grabbed Faye's attention- the elevator door closed and it began to descend. "Sh~~it!"

As Carter and his men watched the aircar lift off, they turned to begin their walk back across the airpad. Carter now carried a different briefcase; this one no doubt containing just purchased illegal drugs. "What a bea-u-ti-ful day!" he said to the nearest hood, and all three men chuckled.

With the targets coming closer and the elevator returning, Faye knew she had to make a decision. Okay- I'll just blast my way out of this one. I can do this- let all these guys eat my lead. Jeez, I hope Lin steps out of that elevator car when the door opens
.
Carter and company were now closing in on Faye's location. The elevator had stopped and the door was sliding open. Suddenly two figures sprung out, arms straight, guns at the ready. From her half-hidden position hugging the enviro unit, Faye's heart jumped. "Not Lin, but under the circumstances, I'll take it!" she thought gratefully.

Spike and Jet had spotted Faye and seemed to relax a bit. Faye placed her index finger over her lips in a "quiet" gesture, then pointed in the direction of the oncoming hoodlums. "What?" said Spike as he stepped forward.

Carter and his men reacted instantly. They pulled their weapons, started firing, and sought refuge behind nearby enviro units. Jet returned fire from his place next to the elevator. Instead of retreating backwards, Spike dove to the unit behind which Faye was taking cover.

"Moron!" greeted Faye "is this your idea of the cavalry?" Spike quickly recovered to join in the now raging gun battle.

"Saving your sorry ass was Jet's idea," Spike shouted between shots. "I'm just here to help him."

"I had everything under control until you two showed up!" And thank goodness you two showed up, but I'm not telling you that...
Jet could hear the banter from his position. "We tried to call you, but you seem to have turned off your phone."

"I was... busy last night. I wanted some privacy," she replied. Jet looked across at her briefly and smiled. Faye returned the taunt with a raised middle finger and a couple of words that he didn't quite hear over the gunfire.

As bullets intermittently flew back and forth, Spike reached inside his coat and produced two cigarettes. He placed them both in his mouth, lit them, and then handed one to Faye. She placed it firmly between her lips and fired off another couple of rounds.

"Hey, Spike! One of them is trying to outflank you- to your left!" Jet was correct, as Spike saw a figure sprinting from enviro unit to enviro unit. Faye also noticed and reached into her pocket producing the canister of nerve spray. In an almost nonchalant motion, she tossed the canister toward her opponent. The man saw it coming, raised his gun and shot. He shouldn't have. His tiny victory quickly turned to blackness as the canister exploded in mid-air near him, sending droplets of its contents spraying against his hands and face. The brute crumpled to the ground.

As shots continued to flare, Spike took aim on Carter's remaining cohort. The man was growing bolder (and more careless) in the heat of battle. As he rose to get off another shot, Spike fired and the man flailed backward, clutching his side. At nearly the same moment, the hulking Carter himself emerged from behind cover, grabbed his chest, stumbled forward, and finally hit the roof face down.

The three bounty hunters approached their vanquished foes cautiously. Jet made sure the injured man was disarmed, Spike turned Carter face up. "He's dead," Spiegel announced with a combination of relief and annoyance. "Nice shot Jet, but couldn't you have just winged him. He wasn't a 'dead or alive' bounty you know."

Jet looked down at late Mister Carter. "I didn't shoot him. I thought you did."

The two partners looked at each other, then turned their stare toward Faye.

"I was reloading my gun."

The Bebop trio stood silent, looking around the rooftop. Spike's eyes carefully moved to the larger building adjacent to and overlooking the Sigsby airpad- the Gideon Tower.

*** *** ***

As Spike looked up, the telescopic lens of a Harner 50 Long-Range Pistol looked back. Spiegel was exactly in the middle of the crosshairs now, and seemed to be oblivious to the fact that anyone was watching him.

"He knows," thought the holder of the gun.

Quickly, hands pulled the telescopic lens off the top of the Harner 50, which was more than a pistol but not quite a rifle. Its owner had decided it was just the tool for this particular job, especially since it was capable of firing the same caliber bullets used in the gun known to be favored by one Spike Spiegel.

The detached telescope was held to the edge of the window again. "All three of them standing there trying to figure out who shot who and how they'll explain it to the police. Good."

A door opened at the other end of the room. The black leather clad figure lowered the scope with one hand while the other hand thrust out- pistol primed.

"It's just me." The man worked across the empty room. Construction crews had been remodeling this floor of the Gideon Tower, but today they were given a day off. On the twenty-fourth floor, located relatively close and slightly above the Sigsby Building roof, the room offered a healthy view of the Sigsby Airpad- healthy, that is, unless you happened to be Miles Carter.

"Lin, someday you're going to get yourself killed."

"Probably so," he flashed a genial grin. "Is Faye alright?"

"I promised you I wouldn't let her get hurt, but it's still a good thing he and his partner showed up on time. Glad I invited them."
"Good. Everything's okay then. And you're sure about the money?"

"It's fine. I'll still make a nice profit. After helping out like they have, they deserve a cut. I consider it payment for services rendered, even if they didn't realize they were rendering. Hell, they'll earn it for just clearing things up with the police."

Lin carefully peered out the window. "No problem there. Three bounty hunters trying to round up a fugitive. He and his thugs resist apprehension. Miles Carter gets killed in a gunfight he himself initiated. And, nothing to trace his death back to the organization, or to you... Crescent."

The blonde used the telescopic lens to survey the scene one more time, murmuring almost under her breath "Cut the 'Crescent' crap, Lin."

"Sorry" Lin apologized. As she held the scope to her eye, Lin knew exactly whom she was watching. "Why don't you go to him, Julia-sama?"

She turned away from the window, squatting down and leaning against the wall.

"No, not yet. It's not time yet. I've got to wait until... either until it's safe or until it's so hot for one or both of us that there's not choice but to run." She looked down at the floor, then back up at the Lin. "But I appreciate what you're doing for me Lin. Spike would too if he knew. Being 'Crescent' has given me the money to survive." A sardonic smile broke over her face. "Now that's a giant slice of irony isn't it? The syndicate is unknowingly giving me the resources to keep running from them." Her mood visibly darkened. "But I hate this. I hate being Crescent."

Lin knelt down to her side. "The contracts you've taken..."

"The people I've killed..."

"have all deserved to die. Carter had no honor, he betrayed the syndicate."

Cold fury raged in her eyes. "I betrayed the syndicate! Spike betrayed the syndicate!" she said in a hushed anger.

"That's different. There are many people in the organization who know that's not true."

Julia looked away, then back at Lin as she rallied.

"Well, a girl's gotta' eat, right Lin? Really, thanks for helping out, my friend. I could never forgive myself though if they caught on to you..."

"My brother and I will do whatever we can to help. We owe that to you, and to Spike-sama."

She leaned over and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. "Thanks. We'd better get out of here before Spike-sama shows up."

They rose to their feet and gathered all evidence "Crescent" had been there. Julia paused just before leaving to look through the telescopic lens one more time. The three bounty hunters were being confronted by what looked to be the entire Gideon City police force, but the good news was that no one seemed to be getting arrested. She held the lens on Spike for one long minute, then handed the viewer to Lin and walked toward the door.

Lin looked through the scope to find Faye. As he watched her, he tried to burn her face and form into his memory. In a short time, he too turned to leave.

*** *** ***

Faye Valentine walked to where she had parked the Redtail and concluded: it had been one bitch of a day.

Jet and Spike had smoothed things out with the local authorities. It had even turned out that two of the three Carter henchmen had small bounties on them. Nothing big, but at least it was grocery money. They hadn't yet come to a conclusion regarding who fired the fatal shot at Miles Carter, but all of them had the suspicion that somehow they had been used. Faye even had a prime suspect, which she kept to herself.

As she opened the door to her small ship, she froze for a second. On the pilot's seat was a single rose, an envelope, and a folded piece of paper. She collected them and sat down. Shaking the envelope a bit, she opened it. Her fingers leafed through a bundle of woolong notes. A big bundle. She unfolded the paper and read:

Faye:
Sorry. I really didn't mean for you to get mixed up in this. In the envelope you will find the 20,000 woolong you should have gotten in reward money. I hope it helps out.
I never intended for you to get hurt- in any way. Believe me when I tell you that last night I felt something I haven't felt for a long time- human. For that, I thank you. Remember, I still owe you that second helping of sweetcake.
Adieu-
L

A single tear rolled down her cheek, and no one was there to catch it. She wiped it aside, and sat back in the pilot's seat. As she replayed the events of the last day in her mind, she closed her eyes and smiled.