Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction ❯ Clouds in My Coffee ❯ Soy Latte ( Chapter 7 )

Disclaimer: Cowboy Bebop…not mine. Jet…not mine. Faye…not mine. Original Characters…mine. Plot…mine. Writing this fic for the fun of it…priceless.

 

AN: Wow, chapter 7 already! Oh, well, let's see what happens in this chapter, and how it will affect our two.

 

I wanna say thanks to my six reviewers: Negotiatrix, The Cat Puppy, Kate Spiegel, and now sherada, syverasazyn, and soubi202. You guys are the greatest! Maybe we'll have our own little CIMC club going, eh?

 

Now on to the fic…Chapter 7 or CIMC

 

Soy Latte

 

 

Radio on, window down and the cool breeze of an early summer night in Tharsis and yet Faye still couldn't completely ignore Marcos. From the time they pulled out of the parking lot he bragged; whether it was about his new car (“vintage Jag, baby, best in its class and soooo expensive!”) or his ridiculous bank account (“got so much money, honey, I keep a little change in the dash”), he just wouldn't shut up. But Faye, a pro when it came to dealing with egotistical, arrogant, bragging men like Marcos, managed to keep her cool. She rarely said anything during the ride, just an occasional `hmmm' or `wow' in response. In actuality, her thoughts seemed to wander elsewhere.

 

He looked so…irritable standing over by the bar, waiting for her. She would glance every so often his way as Marcos spun her around to the music and smile, meaning it to be only for him, but she wasn't sure that he got the message. Faye could understand that Jet was a little tweaked by the way she came on to Marcos, but didn't he understand it was just a part of the gig? As well as he knew her, he had to know that Faye didn't go that type of guy; she preferred someone more down to earth, humble, kind. Marcos wasn't any one of those things. And Jet didn't seem to be thinking that when he looked at her that last time. He seemed so hurt, so annoyed and jealous and aggravated that Faye began to feel guilty. Maybe I flirted just a little too much…She glanced at her left hand and stared at the sparkling diamond that adorned her wedding ring.

 

Wedding ring.

 

Wedding. Ring.

 

Wedding ring.

 

Was it so easy to forget that she was now married? As strange as it sounded, she had a feeling that Jet expected at least some sort of loyalty and trust from the relationship…even if they weren't acting like husband and wife. In fact, things seemed to be going just the same way as they had been. And-

 

Wait, wedding ring?

 

She still had on her wedding ring?

 

 

Why hadn't she noticed that? Hadn't Marcos noticed that? Nope, she thought annoyed; he probably was too busy gawking at my legs… which brought her back to Marcos. Shouldn't he be getting drowsy by now? Focusing back in on the one sided conversation he was having with her, Faye couldn't sense any kind of paralysis creeping up on him. And hadn't it been some minutes since they left the club? He should at least be losing coordination by now. But he seemed only to be getting, dare she think it, more wound up. Strange looks passed over his face, and as she stared from the corner of her eyes, she could've sworn his eyes were going red. Maybe it was the alcohol. Or the pill going into effect before the paralysis set in. or…or maybe, he was immune to it. Did he know what was going on? Faye took in a shaky breath and tried calming herself. Of course he didn't; she'd played the game far too perfectly for him to suspect anything. Then again, there was the ring on her finger. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Maybe, if she moved stealthily and slyly enough, she could slip it off with him noticing. But she also found that she didn't want to take it off.

 

I don't wanna take it off…that's weird. Does this ring mean so much to me already?

 

And in the midst of contemplating all of this, Faye realized that Marcos had become eerily silent. She chalked it up to the pill finally working…but looking at the frantic tapping of his fingers against the steering wheel and how his eyes bulged out of their sockets…Wait a minute, he was talking, just not audibly, and apparently not to her. He was moving his lips but wasn't making a sound. Faye watched him, confused and getting scared because of how weird he was acting. That pill wasn't supposed to do all of that, now was it? The car, she also noticed, was moving at a ridiculously rapid speed. Marcos was not going the speed limit. And the very moment she realized that, the Jaguar came to an abrupt and painful stop. Faye had been wearing a seat belt, so she jerked forward and stopped also, but at the cost of having the seat belt dig into her chest and neck. “Ow,” she winced softly and turned to Marcos to see what the problem was.

 

He was heaving, breathing violently, and moving toward her slowly-

 

Before he ripped her seat belt off and before she could even say his name, grabbed her wrists and slammed her harshly against the window of his car. Her right wrist, adorned with a locket that held a tiny tracking device, collided with the glass and cracked the window, crushing the tiny heart and the tracker. Faye, however, was currently trying to figure out how to get out of her present situation. Marcos was breathing down her neck like a hungry lion, his eyes indeed red and his hands gripping her wrists so hard she feared he would break the small bones inside. “Marcos,” she panted out, “Baby, what's wrong?” Faye put all the syrup she could in her words, hoping it would calm him down, and for a minute it looked like it had. But he only jerked her forward again, and with a growl, slammed her back into the window. “You never answered my questions, Ella,” he growled out. She was near panic but managed to keep her cool and put on a weak smile. “I'm so sorry,” she cooed, “I guess I just didn't hear. Look, if you let me go,” and she glanced from him to her wrists, “we can take this back to your place. Besides, I really can't wait to see your hot penthouse.” Marcos stayed still for a few more seconds, then loosened his grip on her wrists (they were going to be bruised so bad the next day) and slid back, docilely into his seat. He put the car back into drive silently, but still watched her and pulled off the side of the road. The way he watched her sent chills up her spine and she twisted around in the seat stiffly whilst rubbing her wrists, almost afraid that he would snap again if she did anything flashy.

 

God, I hope that pill starts working soon…

 

o0o

 

Back at the Tom Tom club, the customers began picking up and Lori found herself in a tight spot. Two orders from the bar and several from the surrounding tables and Ashley and Lynn still hadn't come in yet. It was almost nine, and at the Tom Tom club, it was an unwritten rule to be at least a few minutes early. Feeling the beginnings of a headache, Lori remembered she had two aspirin in her pocket and fished around for them, pulling out several different pills and two paper clips. Two pills for menstrual pain, one for heartburn, and another…wait a minute. “Didn't I already put the Serenity in Marcos's drink?” she whispered to herself. If that was the case, then why did she have another Serenity in her hand? She could've sworn she'd only gotten one from Jerry Alan. The other one he gave her was a Bumble Bee, an energy pill she took sometimes to keep her awake at work. But Lori didn't have a Bumble Bee in her hand; she held two aspirin, two Midol, one Prilosec and…

 

Oh, God no!

 

Lori scurried to the break room and dialed Jet's number on the vid phone. Two rings and he picked up; the comm. had buzzed unexpectedly and he wondered why someone other than Faye would be calling. Faye wasn't due to call for at least ten minutes now. “Jet!” Lori's frantic voice rang out over the speaker, her face coming up on the screen. “Lori, what's wrong?” “It's Faye! She's in trouble!” As soon as those words rang from her mouth Jet went cold. “What are you talking about, in trouble?” “The pill I gave Marcos,” Lori breathed out rapidly, “was the wrong one. I gave him a Bumble Bee, not a Serenity!” Jet shook his head. “I don't get it, what are you saying? What's the Bumble Bee gonna do?” Lori swallowed, her face pale. “Let's just say, if we don't get to her in the next few minutes, she may get hurt. Real bad.” Jet didn't need to hear anymore. “Alright, I'm on it! I got Faye's trail on my-what! What's wrong with this thing!” but no one answered. Lori had already hung up. The screen from the tracker had gone blank. Nothing showed except a bare grid and the red dot that indicated Faye had disappeared. Jet could only think of two reasons why that had happened; either she'd turned it off or it was broken. He knew she wouldn't disconnect without telling him or before the bounty had been caught. So, that only left one thing. The tracking device had been broken. Or, as he thought with a cold sense of dread in the pit of his stomach, someone had broken it.

 

Lori hung up with Jet and dialed another number, this time, her boyfriend's. Christian picked up the first time and Lori had never been so relived. “Honey, what's up,” he asked casually, figuring she just called to talk. “Chris, baby, I need Jerry Alan's number right now!” Chris frowned. “What for?” Lori had talked to Jerry Alan, his brother in law, earlier that day and left for work early to pick something up. He hadn't asked what, trusting it was just something she needed for her migraines, but now he was worried. She sounded frantic over the phone. “I'll tell you that later, but I really need his number!” “Okay, but whatever is going on, I'm not gonna let you handle it by yourself. You'd better tell me what's up.” Lori sighed and quickly explained the situation. “So if I don't get the potion right”- “This girl's gonna be in some tight trouble. Alright, look. I'll go by Jerry's cause it'll be quicker from my apartment, and meet you at the warehouse down the street from the bar. You tell your friend what we're doing and have him tell us where she and that Marcos guy is and we'll all drive there together, kay?” Lori breathed a sigh of relief. Chris always had a way of working everything out. “Okay, but I'm gonna go ahead and call Jet from here. See ya.”

 

As Lori hung up the phone, she couldn't shake the panicky feeling creeping around her brain. She dialed Jet again and prayed everything would be okay.

 

Jet said you can take care of yourself, Faye. I hope he's right.

 

o0o

 

“Ella, honey, baby,” Marcos grumbled as he drug Faye roughly up six flights of stairs to his penthouse, “You gotta hurry up. I don't wanna wait. I don't like waiting.” Faye, panting and trying to wrench out of his grasp, frowned but tried not to let it come through in her voice. “I'm sorry if I'm-oof, my shoe!-if I'm slowing you down but…I got heels on and I can't really walk that fast.” “Then take `em off!” he yelled. He paused just long enough for her to kick her shoes off and began dragging her back up the stairs. He could at least go easy on the wrist! Glancing at her free wrist, she noticed that her locket was crushed. If that was the case…

 

Please, please, don't let it be broken too!

 

But she already had a feeling that it was. And she also got the feeling the pill Marcos had inadvertently taken wasn't having the desired effect. In fact, it was making him even more aggressive. Cold fear gripped Faye as she stumbled up the stairs, but she tried her best to hold it together. Don't focus on fear, Faye. Jet will find you, tracker or not. And you can kick this Marcos's butt anyways. But the more she thought about it the more scared she got. What if Jet couldn't find her? What if she couldn't get away? Didn't he mention something about jujitsu? As adept as she was with taking care of herself, even she knew her limits, and she knew she was no match for jujitsu, if in fact he was the pro he'd bragged about.

 

She had an unsettling feeling he was. Marcos was a braggart, but not a lying braggart.

 

Once inside the apartment, Marcos hastily threw her to the floor and walked off to the kitchen. “Don't move, baby,” he said, his red rimmed eyes glowing dangerously. “You don't wanna know what'll happen if you upset Marcos.” Faye just nodded dumbly, and sat there still for a second after he disappeared into the kitchen. Then her fighting spirit kicked in and she bolted quietly toward the living room. Combing the room quickly with her eyes, she found a phone and ran down the hall to the nearest room she could find, locked the door and began dialing Jet. Busy signal. Faye growled and scowled. Who could he be talking to? Maybe he'd called Lori to tell her the tracker had gone dead. Faye shook her head and tried thinking of who else to call…and where she was. If she could get in touch with either Jet or Lori, she might be able to tell them where Marcos had taken her. Faye vaguely remembered some of the streets he turned on and glanced around to where she was to try and find a window. Maybe she could crawl out of it. Faye realized she was in the bathroom and also discovered that the window would be just big enough for her to squeeze through. Good, good. She opened it and stared at the street below her. Reality hit her. Even if she was able to fit, she'd fall six stories to her death because no one else lived in this building, from what she could tell, and there were no balconies. But she did find a street sign. Calhoun Street. If Jet could find an S-type Jaguar on Calhoun Street, he had her.

 

She went back to where the phone was and dialed Jet again. Still busy. Who else can I call? Faye didn't know the number to the Tom Tom club…but she did know how to use 411. “Information?” she said quietly when the operator answered, “I need the number to the Tom Tom club and I need it now!”

 

Two minutes later, the phone to the Tom Tom club rang shrilly. Over the noise of the incoming customers, Ashley heard the phone and answered it on the fifth ring. “Hello, this is the Tom Tom club!” “Hello? I need Lori!” Ashley bit her lip and wrinkled her brow. “Um, she's not here. She said she had an emergency and left. Would you like to leave a message?” “No, no! I need to get in touch with her!” the frantic voice on the other end half whispered. “Oh, okay…”Ashley tilted her head and began thinking. “Um, you could try her cell phone. I'll give you the number, but if I get in trouble”- “If you don't give me the number,” Faye breathed fearfully, “you're gonna be in trouble.” Ashley's eyes widened and she hurriedly passed Lori's cell phone number on to Faye.

 

Please, God, let her pick up the phone!

 

Three rings later and “Hello?” “Lori!” Faye almost cried, grateful that she was able to reach the bartender. “Faye! Where are you? I've been trying to reach Jet, but I think the phone's off the hook!” “I'm on Calhoun Street. I can't tell you how to get here or what number”-“Don't worry about that,” Lori said confidently, “I'll find you.” Just then, Marcos's voice rang out through the penthouse, causing Faye to shiver in fear. “ELLLAAAA” he called. “Where are you?” Faye covered the phone with her hand and answered him weakly. “In the bathroom, honey. I had to pee, so…” “Come out, Ella! Now!” Faye bit her lip and whispered back to Lori. “I gotta go, Lori. Please, hurry! This guy's gone nuts and I don't know if I can hold him for too long.” Lori was about to respond when the line suddenly went dead.

 

Faye walked out of the bathroom and smoothed her dress down, swallowing her fear and trying to get her fighting spirit back. Once she caught sight of Marcos, however, it was nearly impossible. He was shirtless, hands balled into fists at his sides, his eyes wild and furious. He wore a sardonic smile and was heaving as he stood in the living room, waiting for her to come out the bathroom. “How bout me and you get to know each other a little better?” he said, taking a few steps toward Faye.

 

She stood still, wide eyed and frightened, and gulped.

 

Please, please, please Jet…please find me!

 

 

Whoa! Intense! And I totally left a cliffie. But I had to split chapters 7 and 8 up. Next chapter will be what happens in Marcos's apartment. Can Faye get out of the situation unscathed? Or will Jet, Lori, and Chris be too late?

 

Hmmm…why am I asking you? I'm the one with the answers! I'll update soon.

 

Love,

BB