Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction ❯ Play Me Some More of that Old Blues ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

 

Chapter 3

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Desert sand.

 

Hot desert sand to be exact.

 

Long toes wriggled inside a pair of heavy work boots, as though longing to spring free of the stiff cage that enclosed them. Above, blazing sunlight created wavy patterns as it baked the scorched earth.

 

Something exploded.

 

“YEEE HAAAAAAA! All right kid! Point 001 percent! That's the best I've seen so far!”

 

A disheveled head poked up, covered in grit. “Point 001 percent? Ooooo, not so good, still too much!”

 

Appledelhi Siniz Hesap Lutfen kneeled next to his child, peering over her shoulder at the screen in front of her. “Come on kid, that's not so bad! After all, before you joined the posse, we had to do all this manually! With your new prediction program, we're actually starting to get noticed out here!” He turned his large head to look over his shoulder.

 

“Ain't that right, Macenrow?”

 

Macintire sighed expansively, no longer energetic enough to correct the larger man. “That's right, before we were just considered crackpots, no one understood the value of our work…”

 

“All done!” Piped the redheaded girl.

 

Macintire choked off his words, jumping down beside the other two individuals. “You're, you're done? Just like that?”

 

Ed giggled. “MPU is very, very smart! He solved the problem for Ed, found the missing data pieces!”

 

Appledelhi patted the computer gently, careful of his large hands. “Good work, uh, MPU. Good man!”

 

The computer blinked, the screen changing to a dark image of flashing synapses, like a lightning storm. “Thank you. I was pleased to do this for Ed, she saved me, and now I can return the favor.” A small dog approached the computer, sniffing it tentatively before lying down next to it. Ed leaped in the air, dancing around. “Weeeeeeeeee!”

.

.

.

The night stars had been in the sky many hours when Ed knelt down by Macintire's computer. Since she had been with the two men, she had modified the old unit, adding several components to make the transfer easier, more comfortable. Tomato blinked, a familiar visage flickering on the surface. “Edward.”

 

The young girl paused in her work. “Nyeah?”

 

MPU swirled on the screen, the color warming slightly. “Thank you Edward. You have been a good friend.” The girl smiled hugely, all teeth. Then her eyes suddenly grew sad. “MPU has been good friend to Ed too! Ed will miss MPU!” The computer blinked, a line of data running across the surface of the screen.

 

“I will miss you too Edward. Thank you for giving me a purpose again. Farewell.”

 

Ed made the final link between the two computers, inputting all traces of MPU into the other unit. In moments, the transfer was complete. Ed typed a few commands, assuring herself that the entire data file had entwined itself within the other computer. Then, with a small smile, she grabbed up Tomato. “Good bye MPU!”

 

When Macintire and Appledelhi woke the next morning, Ed and Ein were gone, Ed's borrowed boots resting on the ground by the truck. Macintire's old computer blinked at them. “Good morning Appledelhi, good morning Macintile.” The younger man blinked. “You've got to be kidding! Even the damn computer gets my name wrong!”

.

.

.

.

Ed stood, staring up into the azure sky above. Below, her long toes wriggled in the hot sand, unaffected by the burning heat. Ein sat by her feet, tongue protruding from slack jaws while he panted quietly. After a few moments, Ed turned sharply to the south and began skipping joyously, the little dog chasing after her as swiftly as his short legs could propel him.

.

.

.

.

Faye slumped on the tattered yellow couch, long legs propped up on the metal table before her. Between her teeth, a cigarette was clamped tightly, a thin thread of smoke rising from the tip.

 

“Faye.”

 

She sat motionless, her eyes half-lidded as she gazed at nothing, her mind working quietly.

 

“Faye!”

 

She glanced up, almost startled by the face peering at her over her shoulder. “Wha…. Jet.”

 

The older man regarded her strangely. “What's with you? I told you twenty minutes ago to be ready…”

 

Faye stood absently, dropping her cigarette onto an empty plate as she walked to the door. “I think I'm gonna take a walk, don't wait for me.”

 

Once she was out the door, Jet scratched his head, baffled. “Kids, dogs, and women with attitude. Spike-o, you had it pegged.”

.

.

.

.

Faye walked along the pier, seeing and not seeing the seabirds the fluttered and dove across the slate-blue water. She was remembering something her mother said once, long, long ago.

 

“I want you to know, no matter what you decide, your father and I will always be there for you. College is a big step, especially one so far away as this. We'll be with you as far as the shuttle…”

 

The voice faded to an echo. Faye shivered, pulling back into herself. Ever since her revelation all those months ago, the memories had begun seeping back into her head. Often, the memories occurred with a trigger… a smell, or seeing something familiar. More often than not though, the memories would just rush into her, overwhelm her without warning. Sometimes, she'd come out of her memories and have no concept of how much time had passed. She was afraid to speak of it to Jet. In fact, the idea of revealing this to him was repellant; speaking of the past seemed to end disastrously in her experience.

 

A gust of wind lifted the hair from her neck. Faye stiffened, something demanded her attention. Keeping her body still, she peered from the corner of her eyes. A figure stood several yards away, staring out at the water, just as she was. However, something, something seemed…. off…

 

Faye casually turned, walking away from the other individual. Once around a corner, she stopped, creeping back to look around the edge. The man was still standing there, watching the birds hovering above. Smirking at her own jittery nerves, Faye turned.. and smacked into the chest of someone standing directly behind her.

 

“Uh, sorry, my mind must be wandering…”

 

The man stared down at her, unsmiling. “Perhaps you should pay more attention to where you're going.” Faye's eyes widened… the man before her wasn't the one who had spoken. She turned, and saw the man she thought she'd left at the pier. He regarded her, a faint smile on his face. “If you'd be so kind, miss Valentine, there is someone who'd very much like to meet you.”

 

Faye dropped to a crouch, sweeping at the legs of the shorter man. Somehow, though, her target was no longer there. As she tried to roll away, a meaty pair of hands latched around her neck. She growled, kicking behind her, feeling her booted feet connect with solid flesh. The fingers tightened.

 

Inexplicably, a trace of music danced through her head. Opera music, she'd heard it before… a darkened theatre, a body, frozen at her side. As her vision darkened, she saw him again, that same sarcastic smile on his face. She heard her own voice, filled with desperate hope.

 

“You mean you're really gonna come for me?”

 

Cold fingers continued to tighten. She ceased her struggle, her arms falling limp.

 

“It's possible, I've got my reasons, so don't take it personal…”

 

The echo faded to black.

.

.

.

.

“…on of a bitch! You better hope she isn't permanently damaged! Mr. Caulder expressed to me, in no uncertain terms, that the subject was to be apprehended, unharmed!”

 

Faye blinked heavily, wincing as she swallowed. Her throat felt as though it were scraped raw. A rough cough shook her, eliciting a weak moan. A smooth hand touched her forehead, checked her pulse.

 

“She's breathing alright, though it'll probably be painful for a day or so. You're lucky.”

 

Another voice grunted. “I was just told to get her here, nothing was said about being delicate.”

 

The first voice spoke up again, much of the anger gone. “Just make sure she heals. That is your only concern Doctor. Now, If you don't mind giving us a moment alone, I have some questions for our, guest.”

 

Distantly, she heard a double pair of footsteps recede into the distance. Hands were at her throat, gently probing the rising bruises. “I'm sorry about this, we were hoping to get you here without a struggle.” Faye tried to turn her head, but the hands held her in place firmly. “What, where am I?” She asked instead, straining to hear familiar sounds, and failing.

 

“A facility of study. You're a fascinating individual miss Valentine. But then, that's not your real name, is it.” He stated blandly. Faye's eyes widened, and she bit her lip to suppress a shiver.

 

“That's right, we know quite a bit about you.” He continued amiably. “Seems you've had a very interesting past. Let's see, you were born on Earth, 96, 97… I don't remember the exact year. Your family was quite wealthy. Your father, Mako Aramaki, was a politician. I found it an amusing irony that he voted against legalized gambling in the early part of his career.”

 

Faye couldn't suppress the shiver this time. “How….” Her voice rasped, making her throat spasm again.

 

“Ever since we learned of you, we've made it a point to find out everything about you. You see, you have something we need”

 

There was a movement, and a face leaned close to hers. A puff of breath struck her cheek, she smelled menthol. “Tell me, miss Valentine. How many times have you been sick in the past year?”

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 

 

Author's Notes: For those of you sitting there scratching your heads thinking `what the hell's an MPU???'-here's the data. MPU was introduced in the episode, “Jamming With Edward”. He's a self-aware computer program that controls a satellite orbiting Earth. Edward downloads the program onto her computer during the episode. Afterwards, nothing is ever mentioned of him again- so I thought I'd give him something to do. Mako Aramaki is actually a real person in Tokyo who opposed legalized gambling. I actually researched that part! I wrote the brief background for her father BEFORE looking up gambling in Tokyo. I was shocked to find a mention of this individual, and just had to make him her dad.