Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction ❯ Joker's Wild ❯ 1 ( Chapter 1 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Faia Saiyajin 
Anime/Manga: Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Comedy / Adventure / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 04.09.2003 | Pages: 2 | Words: 1.3K | Visits: 297 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Comedy / Adventure / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 04.09.2003 | Pages: 2 | Words: 1.3K | Visits: 297 | Status: Completed
Title: Joker's Wild
Author: Faia Saiyajin
Series: Cowboy Bebop
Rating: PG-13
---
The Queen of Hearts drifted lazily to the floor, missing the overturned hat by only a few millimeters, grazing off the brim.
"Ahh damn. A little too much English on that one."
"You gotta let it flow…"
"You start up with that 'nice an' easy' hooey again and I hit you."
The younger man said nothing, just grinned slowly. Flicking his wrist in a smooth, fluid motion, his long fingers released the 2 of Spades. It spun end over end, and landed in the hat without any trouble, atop the other cards with black suits. One or two of Jet's red cards were in there as well, but it seemed that most of his share of the cards were scattered around it. Spike smirked self-righteously, and lit a cigarette, removing the look before it earned him a whack on the head. Or gave the other man the urge to send his next card between his eyes instead of the hat.
The pair had been like that for hours now, sitting on the lumpy, faded yellow sofa, tossing playing cards into Jet's white fedora, as it sat on the opposite chair. Throwing an arm over the back of the couch, Jet angled his head over his shoulder, to look at the clock displayed on the computer screen. "Jesus. How long have we been at this?"
"Three hours and 12 minutes." Spike said lazily, tossing another card into the hat. "She's taking her damn sweet time."
His partner grumbled, and rubbed his balding skull. "It certainly was nice of her to leave the money and food this time around."
Faye had left four hours ago, on another one of her urges to gamble turned desperate searches. She'd shut off her communication unit, effectively blocking any sort of questions or complaints from her roomies. So far Jet had left a half a dozen messages, none of which were returned. Having bullied Jet into taking the Bebop to Earth, Faye'd up and left the instant he'd set the ship into orbit.
"You think she'll come back this time?"
"She always does. Eventually, that is." Spike shrugged. "Just like an alley cat." The ash on his cigarette had grown dangerously long, threatening to fall into his lap. Checking both sides of his body, the floor, and the table, Spiegel raised a brow. "You see where the ashtray went?" At that moment, the ash dropped from his cigarette, landing on the yellow fabric of the sofa's arm. Before Jet could notice, he hastily brushed it clean, leaving behind a small grey smear, that he covered with an inconspicuous placement of his hand.
Black didn't move from his slumped posture, one foot on the table, his arms sprawled out on the back of the couch. It took him a second to realize that he'd mimicked the pose he'd seen Spike in one too many times, and straightened, leaning forward on his knees. "Hell if I know. Ed probably has it."
Spike blinked at the remark. "Huh?" For a moment, he got a mental image of Ed in one of the hallways, smoking idly as she plodded along, her arms swaying to and fro with her spindle-legged walk. His nose crinkled in distaste at the idea.
"I saw her collecting odds and ends from around the ship. Milk cartons, beer tabs, and my good pair of scissors. She might be building something. Or she's turning into a strange sort of pack-rat."
"Oh."
Jet glanced over at Spike, amusement flashing over his face. "What do you wanna bet she's building some sort of Frankenstein monster?"
"I wouldn't put it past you." He snickered, and flicked off an ash into his palm. "She's weird." The sound of a phone ringing cut off his next statement. "And there's our alley cat now."
Jet rolled his eyes, standing. He was getting tired of all the feline references. Spike was a stubborn tomcat, according to Faye. Faye was a troublemaking alley cat to Spike. What did that make him? He was afraid to ask, frankly.
Ein lifted his head, ears perked up, as Jet lifted the com unit from the table the dog was under. Sneezing, he laid his muzzle down on his paws, staring at Jet's boots. His ears flicked as the man spoke. He sounded irritated, but there was a trace of relief underneath it. Ein knew this guy like the back of his hand …er… paw. Tough as old boot leather on the outside, but beneath it, he was a concerned motherly type. He remembered times when it would seem like Jet would hold his breath, waiting for the check-in call from Spike, when a dangerous bounty was involved.
What would have been a thorough browbeating on Jet's part was replaced by a curious 'oh?' followed by an amused chuckle. Ein lifted his head again, and whined in question.
Faye exhaled a cloud of smoke, a trace of annoyance in her actions. "I said that I've heard some interesting information from the locals. Two fat bounty heads, all in one location. Total sum is 100 thousand Woolongs."
"What else?" Jet said dryly. She'd entered into her sweet-talk routine. She had something else in mind. Either that or she'd gotten smoke in her eyes. She'd been blinking an unnatural amount the minute he'd answered.
She coughed, regaining her composure. "It's at a Poker Championship held this Friday night. Winner takes all, including a 2 million purse."
"I knew there had to be an angle." He replied flatly.
Spike chuckled from across the room. "You must be chomping at the bit over this one." His current position allowed him to escape the murderous look she cast into the screen. He dumped the cigarette into an empty beer can, listening to it fizzle out, looking purely innocent.
"Who are our lucky contestants?" Jet skipped over the argument in-progress, and went right to the business end of it.
"Some chuckleheads by the name of Deuce and Ace. Last names unknown. The charges are money laundering, theft, casino-rigging."
"Looks like we're sticking with the playing card theme with this one." Jet smirked. It had been days since a bounty had come in, and the crew was strapped for cash. "Okay, Faye. Count us in."
But Faye's less-than-jubilant reaction caught his attention immediately. She was looking off to the side, once again hiding something. "There's… one… small hitch." She smiled uneasily. "There's a 25,000 Woolong entry fee. Per person."
Both of their jaws dropped simultaneously.
"You've got to be kidding me."
"I wish I was, Jet. It's a high-class event. They're trying to weed out riffraff." Her expression went from dismay to a petulant, puppy-dog-eyed plea. "I'm sure we can arrange something. …Please?"
"Did… she just say 'please'?" Spike stood, looking at the tiny box Jet held, stunned.
Jet shook his head slowly. "She did." He sighed raggedly, tugging at his beard. "I don't know whether it's because I'm so damned generous, or the fact that I don't want to hear any of your lip… but… okay. Fine. We'll get in somehow."
Spike palmed his forehead as Faye beamed. "ThankyouThankyouThankyou!!"
Putting down the com, he waited for the silence in the room to stop.
"It's WEDNESDAY, Jet. We have less than TWO days to come up with 75,000 Woolongs." He eyed his partner's back.
"If you're not up for it, fine. Fifty thou will be easier to come by."
He snorted. "You kidding me? I wouldn't miss this for all the tea in China. …But I'm presuming that you've got some sort of idea as to how we pull this off."
"As a matter of fact, I do."
"And what would that be?"
Jet turned, a strange, mischievous grin on his face. "We haul ass."
Author: Faia Saiyajin
Series: Cowboy Bebop
Rating: PG-13
---
The Queen of Hearts drifted lazily to the floor, missing the overturned hat by only a few millimeters, grazing off the brim.
"Ahh damn. A little too much English on that one."
"You gotta let it flow…"
"You start up with that 'nice an' easy' hooey again and I hit you."
The younger man said nothing, just grinned slowly. Flicking his wrist in a smooth, fluid motion, his long fingers released the 2 of Spades. It spun end over end, and landed in the hat without any trouble, atop the other cards with black suits. One or two of Jet's red cards were in there as well, but it seemed that most of his share of the cards were scattered around it. Spike smirked self-righteously, and lit a cigarette, removing the look before it earned him a whack on the head. Or gave the other man the urge to send his next card between his eyes instead of the hat.
The pair had been like that for hours now, sitting on the lumpy, faded yellow sofa, tossing playing cards into Jet's white fedora, as it sat on the opposite chair. Throwing an arm over the back of the couch, Jet angled his head over his shoulder, to look at the clock displayed on the computer screen. "Jesus. How long have we been at this?"
"Three hours and 12 minutes." Spike said lazily, tossing another card into the hat. "She's taking her damn sweet time."
His partner grumbled, and rubbed his balding skull. "It certainly was nice of her to leave the money and food this time around."
Faye had left four hours ago, on another one of her urges to gamble turned desperate searches. She'd shut off her communication unit, effectively blocking any sort of questions or complaints from her roomies. So far Jet had left a half a dozen messages, none of which were returned. Having bullied Jet into taking the Bebop to Earth, Faye'd up and left the instant he'd set the ship into orbit.
"You think she'll come back this time?"
"She always does. Eventually, that is." Spike shrugged. "Just like an alley cat." The ash on his cigarette had grown dangerously long, threatening to fall into his lap. Checking both sides of his body, the floor, and the table, Spiegel raised a brow. "You see where the ashtray went?" At that moment, the ash dropped from his cigarette, landing on the yellow fabric of the sofa's arm. Before Jet could notice, he hastily brushed it clean, leaving behind a small grey smear, that he covered with an inconspicuous placement of his hand.
Black didn't move from his slumped posture, one foot on the table, his arms sprawled out on the back of the couch. It took him a second to realize that he'd mimicked the pose he'd seen Spike in one too many times, and straightened, leaning forward on his knees. "Hell if I know. Ed probably has it."
Spike blinked at the remark. "Huh?" For a moment, he got a mental image of Ed in one of the hallways, smoking idly as she plodded along, her arms swaying to and fro with her spindle-legged walk. His nose crinkled in distaste at the idea.
"I saw her collecting odds and ends from around the ship. Milk cartons, beer tabs, and my good pair of scissors. She might be building something. Or she's turning into a strange sort of pack-rat."
"Oh."
Jet glanced over at Spike, amusement flashing over his face. "What do you wanna bet she's building some sort of Frankenstein monster?"
"I wouldn't put it past you." He snickered, and flicked off an ash into his palm. "She's weird." The sound of a phone ringing cut off his next statement. "And there's our alley cat now."
Jet rolled his eyes, standing. He was getting tired of all the feline references. Spike was a stubborn tomcat, according to Faye. Faye was a troublemaking alley cat to Spike. What did that make him? He was afraid to ask, frankly.
Ein lifted his head, ears perked up, as Jet lifted the com unit from the table the dog was under. Sneezing, he laid his muzzle down on his paws, staring at Jet's boots. His ears flicked as the man spoke. He sounded irritated, but there was a trace of relief underneath it. Ein knew this guy like the back of his hand …er… paw. Tough as old boot leather on the outside, but beneath it, he was a concerned motherly type. He remembered times when it would seem like Jet would hold his breath, waiting for the check-in call from Spike, when a dangerous bounty was involved.
What would have been a thorough browbeating on Jet's part was replaced by a curious 'oh?' followed by an amused chuckle. Ein lifted his head again, and whined in question.
Faye exhaled a cloud of smoke, a trace of annoyance in her actions. "I said that I've heard some interesting information from the locals. Two fat bounty heads, all in one location. Total sum is 100 thousand Woolongs."
"What else?" Jet said dryly. She'd entered into her sweet-talk routine. She had something else in mind. Either that or she'd gotten smoke in her eyes. She'd been blinking an unnatural amount the minute he'd answered.
She coughed, regaining her composure. "It's at a Poker Championship held this Friday night. Winner takes all, including a 2 million purse."
"I knew there had to be an angle." He replied flatly.
Spike chuckled from across the room. "You must be chomping at the bit over this one." His current position allowed him to escape the murderous look she cast into the screen. He dumped the cigarette into an empty beer can, listening to it fizzle out, looking purely innocent.
"Who are our lucky contestants?" Jet skipped over the argument in-progress, and went right to the business end of it.
"Some chuckleheads by the name of Deuce and Ace. Last names unknown. The charges are money laundering, theft, casino-rigging."
"Looks like we're sticking with the playing card theme with this one." Jet smirked. It had been days since a bounty had come in, and the crew was strapped for cash. "Okay, Faye. Count us in."
But Faye's less-than-jubilant reaction caught his attention immediately. She was looking off to the side, once again hiding something. "There's… one… small hitch." She smiled uneasily. "There's a 25,000 Woolong entry fee. Per person."
Both of their jaws dropped simultaneously.
"You've got to be kidding me."
"I wish I was, Jet. It's a high-class event. They're trying to weed out riffraff." Her expression went from dismay to a petulant, puppy-dog-eyed plea. "I'm sure we can arrange something. …Please?"
"Did… she just say 'please'?" Spike stood, looking at the tiny box Jet held, stunned.
Jet shook his head slowly. "She did." He sighed raggedly, tugging at his beard. "I don't know whether it's because I'm so damned generous, or the fact that I don't want to hear any of your lip… but… okay. Fine. We'll get in somehow."
Spike palmed his forehead as Faye beamed. "ThankyouThankyouThankyou!!"
Putting down the com, he waited for the silence in the room to stop.
"It's WEDNESDAY, Jet. We have less than TWO days to come up with 75,000 Woolongs." He eyed his partner's back.
"If you're not up for it, fine. Fifty thou will be easier to come by."
He snorted. "You kidding me? I wouldn't miss this for all the tea in China. …But I'm presuming that you've got some sort of idea as to how we pull this off."
"As a matter of fact, I do."
"And what would that be?"
Jet turned, a strange, mischievous grin on his face. "We haul ass."