Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction ❯ Angels In Purgatory ❯ Chocolate and Coffee ( Chapter 1 )

Well, folks, I'm up to bat for another round of fanfiction. Some of you have already read my other fics, some of you are just now getting to know me.

Basic rules:

-I don't own them unless I have obviously created them. (I.E. Kyoko in 'Yokai No Kokoro' was mine, Sayaka in 'Lying From You' is mine, Vee in this fic is mine.)

-Thoughts of a character are shown in [this boxy-looking kind of parentheses].

-Aside from introductory disclaimers such as this, I always leave Author's Notes at the end of the chapters.

-If you have a serious complaint about my fanfic, feel free to either tell me about it in a review or an e-mail. No flames, please.

-Occasionally I feel that a song may add special meaning to a particular chapter, so I will give that chapter the same title as that chapter and usually list the lyrics at the beginning of the chapter.

-As always, feel free to send me an e-mail asking any questions or even to talk in general. I always do what I can to reply to e-mails, but it is sometimes impossible to reply to every review.

And now on to the fun part! Chapter 1: Chocolate and Coffee  

Faye sighed as she stared up at the abandoned skyscraper. A cold wind lifted her somewhat longer hair from her face and her trench coat was blown looser on her still slender form. [Five years ago, to this day exactly, this building was roaring with explosions and gunfire… That was the last time… the last time anyone saw him. All this time, I've been looking… no bodies, no paper trail, no nothing.]

Faye shook her head as she pulled on her coat so that it held tighter to herself, blocking the cold, stormy wind from her skin. She took one last wistful glance at the old building as she turned away and walked down the empty street. She looked down at the watch on her wrist, realizing that if she did not hurry, she would be late.

After many long fruitless searches, Faye had found a single member of the syndicate that claimed to have remembered something about what happened that night. However, Faye remembered, many others had told her that his body had been carried out by a few men loyal to the old order. These men, supposedly five of them, all seemed to have disappeared since then.

It was said, though, that this man she was meeting tonight knew where one of them was. Faye was willing to pay any price to find him and she felt so close now—she could almost see him. So many years, it seemed, of dealing with politics and problems in the Red Dragon that Faye might as well have joined the syndicate. By now, she knew as much of what was happening in the syndicate as any living member, if not more than most.

Faye's eyes finally fell on the small coffee shop that she had promised to meet the man in. She fingered the grip of her 44 auto. in her pocket, knowing that there stood a chance that she was being lured in the coffee shop to be killed. She took in a deep breath before she stepped in the smoke-hazed coffee shop. She relaxed as she saw that there were no men holding assault rifles, waiting for her. All that was to be seen in the little shop was a balding man behind the counter and a woman, about Faye's age, sitting at a corner table by herself.

Faye ordered a café latte and took a seat at another table in the corner of the room. She was startled when she heard the deep, silky voice of the other woman in the shop.

"Are you the one that is looking for the man who killed Vicious?" The woman pulled her blonde hair away from her face as she moved to the table that Faye was sitting in. "You don't mind, do you?"

Faye shook her head as she reached into her pocket for her gun. "And what if I am?"

The woman smiled as she reached into her pocket and withdrew, to Faye's surprise and relief, a pack of cigarettes. She pulled one from the pack and offered one to Faye as she lit her own. She took in a long draw from the cigarette as she leaned back in her seat. "Do you know who took the syndicate after both Vicious and the Elders were killed?"

Faye nodded slowly as she took a cigarette from the woman. "Some kid, wasn't it?"

The woman seemed to flinch, but she showed no other evidence that she was at a disagreement with Faye's answer. "Yeah, he's supposed to be one of 'em that was real close to Vicious. He's been hearing about you—you're being too cocky."

Faye rolled her eyes. All this elaborate act was just for a warning she already had heard a million times from Jet. She blew smoke into the air as she noticed the woman's seeming anxiety. "So, are you the person who is supposed to meet me here or were you sent to kill me?"

The blonde woman chuckled at Faye's casual tone and harsh words. "You really have been looking into the Dragons a lot, haven't you? Really, are you ISSP?"

Faye shook her head as she flipped ashes from the end of the cigarette into an ashtray. "I'm a bounty hunter when I'm not looking up old friends."

"Bounty hunting, eh? You any good?"

"I guess so… but…" Faye shrugged as she took another long draw from her cigarette. "I must be out of touch if I've been looking for the same guy for five years…"

The blonde woman smiled. She seemed to like Faye's sense of humor well enough. She held her hand out as a gesture of friendship. "Call me Vee."

Faye shook the woman's hand. "Vee? Does it stand for something?"

The woman sighed as she pressed her cigarette into the ashtray, thus extinguishing the fiery tip. "It's a long story—one I don't care to tell, no matter who you are."

[She's dodging the subject…] Faye nodded as she too put her cigarette out. "Tell me, are you the person that I'm supposed to meet here, or are you a representative? Really, I don't mean to be rude, but I need to get this information."

"That… yes… Well, let's get on with it then. What do you want to know?"

Faye gritted her teeth as she suddenly stood from her seat, causing the chair to fall to the ground behind her. "I want to know what happened to Spike!"

Vee sighed as she reached into her pocket and withdrew a small business card. She pushed it across the table to Faye. "Take this. Go to the address and tell them that I sent you. Ask them what you need to know—they'll tell you what they can."

Faye took the card, briefly glanced at it, and then looked back up to Vee. Vee had begun to leave the shop, but Faye ran out after her and grabbed her arm. "You've met him before, haven't you? You know where he is, don't you?"

Vee spun around, contempt flaring in her emerald eyes. "Did you even look at that card? I'd think that it'd be enough of a hint."

Faye stepped back as she released Vee's arm and watched as she stormed away. Only moments later, a black BMW drove up next to Vee and a door was opened, allowing the blonde woman entrance into the vehicle. Faye was about to walk back to her zip craft when she heard the old man that ran the coffee shop yelling for her. She turned around to see him waving the business card at her.

Faye turned around and walked back into the coffee shop and took her card from the old man. She was ready to leave once more when the sound of the elderly man's voice stopped her.

"You're going to leave without finishing your latte? Also, I forgot to tell you earlier—you seemed preoccupied—when you order that size of drink, a complimentary chocolate comes with it." The old man chuckled as he stepped behind the counter and pulled out a chocolate bar for Faye.

Faye graciously took the bar as she slowly returned to her seat in the corner of the room. She leaned back in the chair as she took a long look at the business card that she had been handed. She angrily slammed the card back on the table. [I can only hope that she's mocking me… Dammit… The city morgue… he's not dead… he can't be…]

A solitary tear rolled over Faye's cheek as she unwrapped the chocolate bar. She shook her head slowly as she remembered that day. He had told her to look into his eyes—two different colors of brown—coffee and chocolate. An eye that saw the present and an eye that saw the past, one eye synthetic and one eye was his own. Before that day he had always avoiding speaking of the past and never told her anything about himself prior to their meeting. The memory brought chills down her spine and tears to her eyes. When he left, he knew he would not come back.

But Faye wasn't about to let him fade away. There was neither proof of his death nor proof of his existence. As long as there was hope, Faye would never let him go… never. ~ ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ -^_^- ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~

A.N. Well, I hope everyone likes this… I'm used to writing… well, happier fanfics. Right now, I'm working on the conclusion of my second fan fic, 'Lying From You' and starting this … again… It may be a while before any new chapters pop-up on this one.

Anyway, read and review, tell me what you think!

Ja ne,

Ryoko Yuy / V Shape Otaku