Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction ❯ Mistress of the Syndicate ❯ Sinner of the Skin ( Chapter 7 )

Ch 7 Sinner of the Skin

It had been nearly a year of Jade sneaking Julia around. To say the least Jade was annoyed, but this didn't stop Julia's treachery. At first it was fun and a little exciting for Jade. Lying to Vicious right under his nose had its own rewards, yet after another six months the fun had grown stale.

Jade became more disgusted with Julia as the time passed. It was as if Julia had no remorse or guilt, even if it was Vicious. But when it came down to it, Jade wasn't going to do a damn thing.

On one unimportant night, Jade's curiosity got the best of her and she went to find out who the mystery man was.

The hotel was fairly nice. It wasn’t a five star but it had its own elegance. The lobby was an off white color and had bland paintings hanging on the walls. The front counter was the only thing marble, and there where dark green couches scattered here and there. The hotel receptionist was a skinny male with dark brown hair.

Jade casually walked to the man flashing a polite smile.

"Hello. A friend of mine came here to meet someone. Well I need to ask her about something, and I was hoping to have the room phone number? I don't want to interrupt them by going up."

"Well miss do you know the room number?"

"Yes its room 316." Jade was so thrilled that she ease dropped on Julia's conversation.

"Oh that’s Mr. Spiegel’s room, would you like me to call?" The skinny man continued to talk, however Jade was too shocked to listen. Still needing extra proof Jade accepted the man’s offer.

"Please call." Her voice was shaky and she kept her eyes on the counter. The skinny man quickly dialed the number and handed the receiver to Jade.

He left the desk, disappearing to one of the back rooms to give her privacy. The ringing continued to the point where she considered hanging up. About five rings later the sound of Spike's voice came on the receiver.

"Hello?" His tone was filled with annoyance and little patience. "Hello?" He repeated again, his voice becoming more agitated as time passed. Jade couldn't speak no matter how hard she tried. After a couple more seconds passed another voice came on the receiver.

"Who is this? Hello?" The only response Jade could give was the phone dropping to the floor. She immediately recognized the voice to belong to Julia.

Before she realized what had happened, Jade was once more sitting in the car. Her mind buzzed with countless thoughts as she waited for Julia to return. She thought intently on how to confront the sneaky blonde. Too lost in her own thoughts, Jade barely noticed Julia coming in. Unsure on how to approach Julia just yet, Jade drove back to the base.

The car ride was silent; the tension in the air thick and heavy. As the base came in view, Jade broke the silence.

"Does Spike know?" Her voice was a little above a whisper, and her eyes were glued to the road ahead.

"I don't know what you're talking–" Julia was suddenly interrupted by Jade's irritated voice.

"Don't play dumb. Does Spike know about Vicious?"

Jade gripped the steering wheel tightly, keeping her anger in check. Julia's rude comment was making it harder than anything.

"Well I don't see how it’s any of your business." Julia made an attempt to leave the car. She was halted by Jade's angered voice echoing through the air.

"Don't fuck with me Julia! Does he know?" Jade breathed in deeply trying to relax her tense muscles.

"Nope." Julia said as if she didn't care, angering Jade further.

"Julia you need to stop this. You're messing with people's lives and feelings.” Jade did her best to talk some sense into the stubborn blonde.

"Do you know what Vicious would do to you and Spike if he found out? A lot is at stake, is it really worth all that? If you cared about Spike you would reconsider this madness." She stared at Julia through the rearview mirror waiting for a response.

Julia refused to answer the questions and exited the car without a word. Jade inwardly groaned as she left the car heading to her room.

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Jade's thoughts wandered constantly, depriving her of some much-needed sleep. After tossing and turning for about two hours, an aggravated Jade rose from bed. She rubbed her temples softly, trying to stop the headache that threatened to come.

She grabbed a long blue robe and wrapped it around her slender form. Jade slowly dragged her lazy form to the kitchen in need of a refreshment.

Much to her dismay, Spike sat at the kitchen table eating potato chips and watching TV. He sat in the chair wearing a t-shirt and boxers. His feet were propped up on another chair, paying little attention to what was on. His miss-matched eyes observed Jade as she served herself a glass of water.

She swiftly walked to Spike and sat down beside him. She looked focused on the TV program, however she was lost in her thoughts. He offered his chips and she accepted without a second thought.

They both talked casually enjoying each other’s company.

"How's the bodyguard business treating you?" He said with a slight snicker.

She rolled her eyes at his comment and continued to eat his chips.

"You know, I guess I enjoy babysitting as much as the next teenager.” Spike laughed at Jade's sarcastic comment and took a sip of her water.

"In other words you hate it. Well it is a change of pace from your own profession, but it can't be that bad." Jade was surprised at how relaxed she was around him. At light of the new knowledge, she was acting as if nothing had happened.

"It’s worse. I've never been big on the whole girl-bonding thing. It’s not really my forte’." Questions burned through her head that begged to be asked. She stretched in the chair as a feline would, yawning while doing so.

"Spike...You would tell me if something new came up, right? I mean, not to be all mushy but you can always trust me with anything." Jade was never more sincere about anything in her life. She prayed that he would be honest. If he was honest she could help him.

Unfortunately that wasn't the case.

"Nope, nothing new came up. Why?"

Hurt and disappointment filled Jade down to her core. She closed her eyes suppressing tears that threatened to spill. Someone she had trusted for a good portion of her life couldn't tell her the truth. It cut her deeply in the heart and she did her best to keep her composure. Jade muttered a soft goodnight and left a dumbfounded Spike in the kitchen.

Just as she made her way into her room she collapsed on the bed. Silent cries filled the room and tears soaked her face and pillow.

She wasn't sure why this was affecting her so much. She was a fearless and feared assassin, and shouldn’t be able to be brought down so easily by a simple lie.

She trusted Spike with her life and it finally occurred to her that he might not feel the same. That itself shook her down to her core hurt more than she expected.

Jade's unresolved feelings rocked her to sleep, into a light and restless slumber.

A/N: We realize that was an extremely short chapter. We’re sorry about that but this chapter was only put in to reveal how Jade finds out about the affair. We couldn’t think of anything to lengthen it without going off topic. We hope the story is getting better to all of you. We really are working hard on it. Please review!!! No flames, but constructive criticism is welcomed.