Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction ❯ To The Future ❯ Disaster For Nicole! ( Chapter 3 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
To The Future
A Cowboy Bebop Self-Insertion Fic
By: S-chan

Chapter 3:
Disaster For Nicole

*Spike*

Nicole seemed extremely nervous before we went in. Strelitzia was known to get pretty wild and the women were known to be even wilder. Nicole looked beautiful in blood-red leather shorts and a black satin lace-up top. Her legs were defined by thigh-high black leather boots with stiletto heels. Her auburn hair was held on top of her head by a single pin. A few wavy wisps framed her pretty face. I almost didn't recognize her with her smoky eyes and blood-red wet-finished pout.

"You remember what you have to do?" I asked her.

She nodded, the motion emphasizing the graceful curve of her neck, accented by a thin, blood-red ribbon choker. I suddenly felt the urge to take her in my arms and kiss her neck up and down, make her squirm against my body and say that she wanted me. But soon, she disappeared into the crowd. When she found Grazzeri, I could feel my blood boiling. She had taken my advice all too well.

One slender hand, complemented by shining red nails, rested on his cheek. The other had worked his ponytail loose and was stroking his golden-blonde mane of hair. She was bent a little bit over backwards in his arms. A slim, leather-clad leg hooked around his hips. I nearly gagged as I saw that bastard Leo Grazzeri grinding himself straight against Nicole's clothed womanhood.

'Bastard!' I growled in my thoughts. 'If he weren't worth so much, I'd blow his fuckin' skull out right NOW!'

I started moving forward when Leo's hand moved down to cup Nicole's rear so that he could come closer to her secrets. His other hand clenched on her wrist and he started moving both of them towards the back door. I had a perfect shot, but I couldn't pull my gun in here. Anyway, if Grazzeri figured out that Nicole was part of the plan there was no telling what he would do.

I was about to move in faster when another one of the Strelitzia women appeared at my elbow, a sultry smile on her face. Sickened, I tried to get past her. This time, she slipped her hand into my jacket, caressing my chest. While I was trying to fend her off, I saw Grazzeri slinking out the back of Strelitzia with one arm around a frantic Nicole.

"No... Alright already! Get off!" I snapped, trying to be gentle about shoving the woman out of the way. "Nicole, hang on!"

"Bastard!" muttered the woman, jabbing my shin with her stiletto heel.

"Nicole!" I hissed, wincing and hoping she hadn't jabbed a hole in my last good pair of pants (or my skin). "Please... don't let anything happen to her..."

Finally, I forced my way through the crowd and managed to get to the door. I had to kick it open and immediately heard voices. Leo was trying to be persuasive, trying to make his voice soft and gentle. Nicole was screaming. I could clearly hear her pleas of "No, don't touch me!" and "Take your hands off me right now!" and "Just stop it!" echoing through the night. My stomach turned over and my heart clenched - I felt horrible. I had promised Nicole that I would keep her safe from what this bastard might do to her.

"Grazzeri!" I yelled from the doorway. "Hold it!"

"So you were following me," he drawled, sounding drunk but at the same time alert. "Not smart."

I vaulted over the stair rail, my gun still on him. Nicole had gone from screaming to whimpering. Leo had her under an alley light on her back. Her black eye makeup was all over her face because of her crying. Her lace-up top was a mess. It looked like he had tried to jerk the knots out but she had triple-knotted the laces. So it was open, but only enough to tease.

Then I saw why she had stopped screaming. Grazzeri had a knife at her stomach. I glowered hatefully at him. The bastard wasn't even going to promise her a quick death... I was getting more and more angry with each second that ticked by. Nicole was trying to keep her legs closed. Leo was ignoring me and trying to move further with Nicole. Finally he lost patience and sliced the laces of her top.

"Rotten bastard!" screeched Nicole, recieving a sharp backhand and the threat of a blade at her throat.

I was almost close enough to pick off Grazzeri. He had one of Nicole's arms twisted behind her back and was unfastening her shorts. I was trying not to look - Really, I swear I was! - but when he slipped her shorts off, I saw that Faye had set her up with no panties. Oh my God! She had been waxed totally smooth, her softest skin bared to my eyes! Finally, I was within ten feet and I had a perfect shot.

"Alright Grazzeri," I commanded, pointing my gun at his shoulder. "Don't move."

He ignored me and started on the zipper of one of Nicole's boots. Within seconds, Nicole was completely nude, except for that ribbon choker. I thought at first that it was the perfect finishing touch, but now it looked like a ribbon of blood around her slim neck. Nicole wasn't about to give up her fight, not yet. Though her arm was still twisted, she started struggling like mad again.

"Stop it! Let off of me!" she screamed, trying to kick him. (I know I wouldn't want to get nailed with one of those bony heels, and she looked like she had a strong kick...) "I'm a virgin! Let GO of me, you bastard! I'm a VIRGIN!"

"Nicole, don't tell him that!" I yelled at her in desperation. "Just be still!"

She gave me a pleading look.

"Spike!" she cried, trying to reach for me with her free hand. "Get him off me! Help!"

Grazzeri pulled her up off the ground, cutting her skin on broken glass. He held her in front of him, one arm around her chest - firmly anchoring her against him. His other hand ran his knife lewdly over her body. I bit my lip and felt rage coursing through every fiber of my body, but somehow I held my gun steady, re-aiming it at the side of his chest. My shot had to be exact.

"Nicole, be absolutely still," I told her, looking straight into her tearful hazel-green eyes.

When I pulled the trigger, it seemed like time slowed down. I watched the bullet fly at Grazzeri, saw his face turn white. Nicole froze, her free arm still reaching for me. I yelled out "No!" when Grazzeri turned Nicole's bound arm, forcing her into my bullet's path. I heard the sickening *thud* and Nicole's agonized scream. Her blood spattered Grazzeri's shirt. He pushed her away and let her slump to the ground. My bullet had torn deep into her stomach.

"Nicole!" I yelled out. "No!"

I fired again, this time embedding a bullet in Grazzeri's hip and sending him crashing to the ground in agony. I knew my aim was off, but Grazzeri wasn't going anywhere, so I didn't particularly care about him right now. The rest of the Bebop crew - sans Ed and Ein, of course - would be there soon and they could take care of Grazzeri. Nicole lay on her side on the rough concrete of the back alley's surface, slowly bleeding to death. For the first time in so long, it was all I could do to fight back tears. All I wanted was to be by her side and hope she had some chance of living.

"Nicole, can you hear me?" I whispered, taking her in my arms and holding her close. "Come on... wake up..."

Her eyes fluttered open and a pained groan escaped her still-faintly-red lips. I shrugged out of my jacket and wrapped it around her small, nude form. Her blood stained my clothes even through my jacket. Was this really the end for her here, like this? If it was, I knew I would never be able to forgive myself.

"Spike..." she whimpered, her hazel eyes begging me to make the pain stop as her hands clenched reflexively into fists and twisted in the lining of my jacket. "It hurts..."

"I know... I know it hurts..." I said softly, having been shot several times myself. "But try to hold on... You've got to get home! You're so lucky... You have people who care about you back there. I mean, you have your best friend! ... And this might not count for much... but you've got me and I'm here right now..."

She smiled at me through her agony, the expression understandably shaky. I tried to smile back at her, but I couldn't. I felt like I was dying inside. Nicole was trying everything she could to stay conscious, and that wasn't much. I knew that if she slipped away now, she would probably never wake up. Though she was still smiling, there were tears streaming down her pretty face, bringing the remnants of mascara trails with them.

"Spike?" she whispered, giving me a pleading look through half-closed jewel-like orbs. "Am I going to die?"

If Jet didn't get here soon, she had no chance.

"No," I assured her, knowing full well that unless there was some kind of miracle, I was lying. "I won't let you. You're safe with me..."

"I'm so cold," she mumbled sadly, nuzzling my shoulder.

"Here, let's see if I can find Jet," I offered, pulling my jacket tighter around her and pushing myself up to my knees. "I'll take care of you..."

Carefully, I managed to get to my feet and made my way back up the stairs. Jet was moving through the crowd towards me. He got one look at Nicole and his eyes widened. Like I said, a major reaction from him. Faye wasn't far behind him, her hand on her gun. She blew past me to take care of Grazzeri. Jet was looking at Nicole in a mixture of disbelief and concern.

"Did he---?" he asked, knowing he didn't have to finish the question.

"No... He didn't rape her," I said flatly. "He would have, though..."

I could hear Faye's shrill, angry voice, a few muffled *thump* sounds, and Grazzeri's agonized cursing.

"Did Grazzeri have people with him or something?" asked Jet, pointing to the growing blood stains on my jacket and shirt.

I shook my head.

"Well I heard screams and I heard shots. Couldn't get out right away," he persisted. "Who shot her?"

I held Nicole closer and tried not to let my shoulders shake.

"I did," I whispered. "Grazzeri pushed her. I was aiming at him. Now she won't stop bleeding..."

"There's a hospital about half an hour from here," Jet said urgently. "If we go now, she has a pretty good chance. Where's she hit?"

"I can't show you," I said flatly. "But it's bad. I don't think it went clean through."

"Then let's go NOW," Jet insisted. "Faye's going to turn in Grazzeri."

I followed Jet and soon we were on our way.

"Please Nicole," I whispered to the semi-conscious girl in my arms. "Don't die. Don't die..."

I knew I was eleven years older than her, but I couldn't help caring for her. I knew she would have to leave me, but I wished so badly that she would stay. My mind was screaming at me that I was making a huge mistake, but my heart was telling me otherwise. It was telling me to make love to her and hold her forever.