An: Please excuse typos. Alas, the final chapter has arrived. Notes and translation at bottom.. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Cowboy Bebop
The Last Fragments of You
Alternative Therapy
Chapter Sixteen
Faye cringed at the French, her back tensing at the sound rolling over her eardrums and tweaking her nerves. Faye found that despite the fact that she didn't understand the meaning behind the words, didn't lessen the offense that she took from just hearing the vile language that spilled from his lips. Francois's confident steps carried him to a halt a half step from Luc's decumbent form. His face was snarled up into malicious grin and the pistol gripped tightly in his right hand never faltered in its aim from her forehead.
Francois's dark eyes were pinned on Faye as he shifted to Luc's side, his grin becoming more demented looking by the second. The glare that Faye leveled in Francois's direction did little to stop him from lifting his foot from the floor and harshly slamming the pointed toe of his boot into Luc's torso. The sound of leather striking flesh was accompanied by Luc's body curling into itself, flinching away from the impact. While Luc's eyes remained tightly closed, there was an exhaust of air that filtered between clenched teeth that broke from his lips and fluttered raggedly over the Faye's thighs.
Francois snorted at the reaction, his eyes traveling down to the prone body that was cradled in Faye's lap and the knuckles on the hand that held the gun whitened as it tensed around the metal. Francois shifted his weight with obvious annoyance and glared down at the half-French man with disappointment. "Such a pity," his eyes slowly rose back towards Faye and he chuckled dryly. "He's still alive." The grin that had fluttered briefly away at this discovery returned full force. "From my experience, a family of rats is always hard to kill. Of course, you, mademoiselle, have been most helpful. You eliminated one on your own terms, and now have gotten another killed. I must say, you have my gratitude."
Anger sparked in a dull throb at the base of her skull. Quickly it spread; cracking through sinew and nerves at the nape of her neck and continued to filter down into her blood stream, following the intricate workings of her veins. It wasn't long before it knotted and hardened in her arteries, causing her entire frame to become rigid. For a few seconds, all Faye could hear was the rush of blood pounding in her ears before her anger exploded, causing her limbs to shiver and tremble with pure, unadulterated rage. Her slender, bloody fingers, which had only moments before had been softly pressing into the pasty skin at Luc's neck searching for a sign of life, left the shallowly pulsating section of flesh and marred a path of red to his shoulder where they curled and fisted into his sweat and blood dampened shirt.
For several obscured moments, all Faye could do was crouch there, shivering with unsuppressed rage, watching as Francois took a perverse pleasure out of her apparent distress. Images of Reeves final moments bombarded her as she stared down at the person who was his equal in looks, and was now dying because of a foolish mistake on her part. Luc and her had never been on what she called friendly terms, for she was damn sure that he held her solely responsible for the death of his brother and she couldn't really blame him. But, now, to have his blood donning the floor where she knelt, to have his life fading with each desperate breath because of her caused a rage deeper than she had ever felt to stir in the depths of her stomach.
For one reason or another, the Delmont Brothers had become her benefactors, offering their lives for her when she knew that she didn't deserve such treatment. Faye stared down at Luc who was barely grasping onto life and couldn't help but wonder what had gone through his mind as he dove on her. Why had a man that hated her as much as he had, taken a bullet for her? Faye lifted her eyes back to Francois only to note that his twisted grin had yet to leave his lips. Faye slowly unclenched her fist from Luc's shirt and gently set his head onto the harsh floor, before she stood with ever intention of wiping it off his face.
Her blood covered clothing shifted uncomfortably against the skin of her abdomen, her joints snapped in protest from having sat for so long and her eyes narrowed on the man who still held his pistol leveled at her head, the promise of painful repercussions for his words and actions glinting darkly in her irises.
"I don't deserve your gratitude just yet, Fanny. You see, there's only really one rat – and I've failed to kill it yet." Her voice was clipped and low as she stepped beyond Luc, her steps smooth and determined. Her movements issued her challenge to Francois long before her words did. "But, if Luc is a rat, like your suggest, then you were right. You're not dealing with just one or two rats. I believe you have an infestation on your hands."
Francois's eyes were alight with some unnamed emotion; a feral smile warping his wrinkled visage so, for the first time, Faye could see an imprint of his relation to Pierre. "Ah, mademoiselle," despite the amusement in his demeanor, the sharp tone of his voice told Faye that he was anything but. "You make me smile. However, I must admit, these last few days I have grown quite weary of your antics. I would suggest you refrain from speaking unless you can back up your words." Faye's face remained neutral at the taunting and instead of responding, slowly slid into a fighting position, muscles tense and poised to strike the moment her opponent moved. Francois's eyes widened a fraction but his surprise disappeared as quickly as it had come. "I will warn you, mademoiselle, I am through playing games."
A heavy silence followed and Francois, with his pistol still drawn, waited for Faye to back down, who had no intention of doing so. With a snort, Francois lowered his pistol and tucked it away into the recesses of his jacket. Francois stood there shaking his head disbelievingly before he sighed. It was his next movements that made Faye realized why it was he, and not the younger Pierre, who ruled over the Lions Syndicate. With smoothness that Faye wouldn't have thought he possessed, Francois dropped his weight onto the balls of his feet and suddenly lunged forward. Faye blinked with barely concealed surprised and barely leaned back in time to avoid Francois's left leg that had abruptly kicked out in a swift arc toward her abdomen.
Faye jostled back several steps, trying to maintain her balance as the heel of Francois's boot caught the hem of her shirt and had pulled her unexpectedly sideways. Before Faye could regain her composure, Francois had settled his weight firmly on both feet and was coming at her again. Faye held her breath and focused her efforts to avoid the sharp elbow that was sent at her jugular. Faye thanked the gods for her good instinct and reflexes, her back bending backwards and her knees buckling making her sag earthwards, barely avoiding the nasty blow.
In the short time it took Francois to come out of his spin from his failed blow, Faye, planting her right hand on the floor for leverage, twisted her torso to send her left leg sweeping towards Francois's knees. With the movement gaining momentum, Faye braced both hands against the floor and prepared her oddly angled body for an impact that never came. Faye watched with distaste as Francois spun out of her foots path and several feet away, giving her time to use the energy of her pivot to thrust her upright, back onto her feet. Francois chuckled gleefully and Faye could see the joy in his eyes that somehow reminded her of a child seeing snow for the first time. Her fists clenched and unclenched at her sides, the self satisfied smile that was stretched across Francois' face causing her limbs to shiver again. For the second time that evening, Faye felt like she was staring into Pierre's perverse face instead of Francois's. However, unlike Pierre, Francois felt no need to exchange taunts and was quickly advancing on her.
Faye threw up her right arm in time to block a hard left jab but failed to notice the quick right hook the followed in its wake until it was too late. Despite the hard bend of her waist in an attempt to evade it, his right fist cuffed her jaw and sent her stumbling into the doorframe of the room. Her feet shuffled beneath her, searching for purchase on the gritty, uneven floor just before she slammed into the wood of the doorframe. Faye barely had time to blink before he was there again with a harsh jab to her gut.
His quick and sharp movement belied his age as he pulled back to send another blow to her midsection but Faye rolled into the hallway to put some distance between her and his damaging blows. Francois was quick to follow her, and for the next few seconds all Faye could do was pivot and swing her weight about to avoid Francois's punches that had lost nothing with age, while she searched for an opening to retaliate. When Faye had challenged Francois, she had not expected the fight to be anything like it was turning out.
Faye caught another punch to her jaw when she tried to swing about to retaliate, she received a knee to her stomach. Faye fumbled to keep her balance but teetered into the wall despite any action that she might have taken, and as she briefly rested there realized that the split in her lip had not only peeled open but widened under the unrelenting pressure of her opponents knuckles.
Francois watched her just out of striking distance, casually shifting his weight like he had just happened upon her in the hall and had not moments ago been fighting her. Faye brought the back of her wrist up to wipe the blood off her chin and wearily eyed Francois as he chuckled again. "I fail to see what Pierre finds so fascinating about you. Strong willed though you may be, I can not imagine that you actually made a decent living by being a bounty hunter."
His smile soon thinned and completely faded when Faye failed to respond to his taunting. Instead, a listless smile of her own crept onto the curve of her lips and Faye abruptly pushed her sagging frame off the wall, moving and brimming with a confidence that had not been there a second ago. "My dear Fanny, if you fail to see how I survived as a bounty hunter, then you have failed to see the most important asset of being a successful bounty hunter. It's called intelligence and it's something that you are clearly lacking." Faye watched in cool calculation as Francois shifted his weight, anger present in every ripple of sinew.
Once Faye realized that she was no match for Francois physically, Faye had taken a back seat in the fight and had allowed herself to go on the defense. While Faye was never one to let someone beat her so readily, she realized that the only way she had any chance of winning was trying to learn the Lions Leaders movements. It was only when she was given a few seconds to go over the fight in her mind did she piece together the puzzle that was Francois and discovered that he was an easy read.
There were several tense seconds before Francois lashed out. A strong right hook that was intended for her jaw skimmed passed Faye's left shoulder as she pulled right having seen a little clinch in his shoulder before he performed the blow. Faye was left with an opening. Faye's knees gave slightly as she put pressure onto the balls of her feet and pivoted forcefully into Francois's unsuspecting body. With a liquid roll of her shoulder, she raised her elbow and slammed it viciously into the man's jaw, sending him stumbling back. Francois didn't have time to recover as Faye pivoted to face him and with the force of anger behind her, belted him with an uppercut that had him crashing into the wall. Francois made a harsh gargling nose before he sagged earthwards, eyes blinking trying to blink the world back into focus. Shock was apparent on his face while he blinked almost blindly up at Faye from his position on the ground.
But his shock was short lived. The moment Faye came to a stop in front of him he was moving again. In a move similar to the one that Faye had tried on him earlier, he sent his right leg sweeping out towards her ankles. Faye cursed and was thrown off balance when his leg caught her as she tried to roll away. Her moment of instability gave Francois the chance to flip to his feet and charge her. Faye could only growl with annoyance and react instinctively, her arms drawing up to her chest and forcing her aching body into another tight spin. This time, however, her right foot left the ground in a wide arc, and positioned herself to send a sharp roundhouse kick towards Francois's chest. Francois, in the midst of his angry charge, had hastily thrown a right hook that slid over nothing but air and was rewarded with Faye's foot colliding painfully with his chest cavity.
The blow threw them both off balance. Faye found her right knee buckling beneath the sudden pressure the blow had caused and was sinking to the floor in a position that welcomed nothing but pain. Relying on her aptitude alone, she planted her hand firmly on the floor and, despite the pain that shot through her wrist from when Luc had pushed her down, launched herself into a flip. Faye staggered to stay upright and twirled about to see that Francois had come out much worse than her.
The air had been forced from Francois's lungs long before he had clipped into the wall and teetered against the warm wood of the wall before he sunk to the floor. Faye silently watched him gather his thoughts, eyes slowly opening to stare up at her from his position he had only just left.
Faye took a deep breath when she saw that Francois was in no hurry to get back up. She took several steps closer to him and studied his anger evident face, a malicious smile like the one that Francois had worn earlier tugging at the corners of her mouth when she saw that his lips were now bloody as her own. Noticing her evaluation of him, Francois scowled and hoisted himself to his feet. Faye watched his stiff and awkward movements, and noted his right hand gingerly pressing into his ribs where her foot had connected. She had a good idea that the blow had left him with a few broken ribs.
"So the little girl has some bite to her." Francois muttered, his hand dropping from his chest and receding into the flap of his jacket. Faye was almost certain he was going to draw his pistol but blinked with some uneasiness when a knife appeared instead. He gave her a flashy grin of pink teeth and idly prodded the index finger of his left hand with the sharp point of the knife as he stared at her. "It looks like I'll have to even things out a little bit." Faye swallowed roughly and drew in a deep breath as he raised the blade in her direction. Avoiding his punches alone had strained her reflexes. She watched him carefully adjust his grip on the handle of the blade and slunk back into her defensive position. Faye was certain that avoiding Francois blows now was going to test and challenge every skill she had.
Spike threw his back against the doorway of the blocked stairwell and quickly reloaded while bullets from Lions guards pelted the walls around him. He turned to eye the stairs upward with a grimace. He had been traveling up now for several flights and he was now clearly seeing the extent of damage done by Reeves and Faye. With a deep sigh, he pulled out one of the grenades he had taken off a dead body several floors below and rushed into the hall, bending forward to avoid being peppered by hot lead balls that whistled passed his ears. He fired blindly at the source of the bullet congestion down the hall before he yanked the pin loose from the grenade with his teeth and tossed it bowling ball style towards his opponents.
Spike fired several more rounds towards his next destination before he rolled for safety of the next open doorway. A lone bullet pierced through the fabric of his forearm before he had yanked the door open and settled behind the shelter it offered. As his grenade exploded and shook the base of the foundation, the faint click of a gun made Spike realized that he was not alone in the small conference room he had taken refuge in. He ducked and swiveled, leveling his gun in the direction of the sound and pulled the trigger. There were several screams of terror that caused Spike's ears to perk up as he dove for the ground, and fired towards another figure that was rushing towards him. Both Lions guards fell swiftly, but Spike barely had time to watch as he sprang upright and pivoted in time with his gun raised to come face to face with the barrel of a pistol jutting up against his throat.
Both Spike and the gunman froze, fingers trembling over the trigger of their guns. Spike stared down at the person with a crooked smile and shook his head. "This situation seems familiar enough." For the briefest of seconds his eyes trailed over to the corner of the room where four children where huddled watching; the source of the terrified screams earlier.
"Yes, this is the second time you've held a gun to my head and threatened things that I hold dear." Jinni Black firmly held her ground, gun not wavering from Spike's icy stare. Spike brought his eyes back to Jinni and studied her. The older woman looked like she was as lost as the children she was guarding. She was heaving in great breaths, and while her hold on the gun was steady and her body unrelenting, Spike could tell by the way her eyes were quivering that she doubted her abilities to keep the children out of harm.
Spike let Jinni's snide comment slide, and while not taking his finger off the trigger of his gun, lowered it to his side. Spike took a quick glance about the room and noted from where the two dead Lions members were positioned in contrast to where Jinni had been, he had happened upon the room just in time to save the woman's life. Spike couldn't stop the grin that spread across his features at the thought. With how much this woman hated him, he couldn't believe that she was actually happy to be in his debt in any way. Spike took several steps back toward the hallway and gave the gun that Jinni had leveled in his direction a pointed look before he spoke. "What are you doing here, Granny?"
Spike took a peek around the corner of the door and peered into the charred hallway, not completely trusting that it had killed all the guards at the end of the hall. He heard Jinni huff indignantly and he threw a hard look in her direction. Her gun had been lowered slightly but she didn't dare turn her eyes in his direction. "Why should I answer a piece of Red Dragon trash like you?"
There was a gasp of what could only be labeled as excitement from the oldest kid. "Red Dragon? You're a Red Dragon?" The boys' happy tone drew Spike's eyes to where the kids huddled and for the first time since entering the room, he got a good look at them. The youngest couldn't have been older than seven while the oldest who was now staring at him with avid fascination wasn't older than fifteen.
Spike pointedly ignored the boys' outburst and brought his eyes back to Jinni. "Former Red Dragon, Granny. Haven't we already been over this?" Spike turned his focus on the hall way. "And shouldn't you be more polite to the guy who just saved your lives?"
Apparently Jinni couldn't think of any good come backs to that comment. "What do you think I'm doing here? I would think these children being with me would make if fairly obvious." Spike chuckled at her words but despite the carefree sound his body was tensing. He could hear footfalls gathering at the end of the hall.
Spike slowly brought his gun up to his chest. "You know what I meant, Granny. Where's the pretty French boy? Your charges and you should have been out of this hell hole a long time ago with that asshole as your escort."
It must have been the way his body tensed for despite his harsh remarks, Jinni didn't come back with an angry retort, and instead she answered his seriously. "Luc had another mission before he came to help us."
When she didn't continue Spike felt a tinge of annoyance. "I know that's not the entire story, Granny and I hate to break it to you, but you don't have all day." As soon as the words had left his lips, Spike threw himself into the hall and fired several shots until the chamber clicked empty towards the approaching guards before swiveling back to the safety of the wooden door. Frantically digging in his pocket for another clip he turned his eyes to Jinni who was motioning the children closer to her. "Speak, Granny." Spike commanded, throwing himself out into the hall again and firing.
Jinni brought her gun up again and growled. "Luc was going to destroy the chips! Ever since he heard the reason behind the death of his brother, he's made it his new mission to destroy them and the people that created them. I told him from the beginning that it was foolish to try it now, that it was too heavily guarded, but he didn't listen."
Spike slammed against the wall of the conference room as more bullets ripped into the door and caused some of the wood to shatter. "I always knew he was a dumb fuck." Spike muttered gazing intently on the children surrounding Ji. His eyes focused in on the eldest child. "Hey boy," he called over to the kid who seemed to perk up when he realized that Spike was addressing him. "You know how to fire a gun?"
The boy nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, sir!"
Spike didn't like the way the kid seemed so eager to please, but he waved it off as quickly as the sensation had come and nodded toward a weapon near one of the Lions members corpses. "Go get that gun."
The boy nodded and quickly went to pick it up while Jinni started to throw a fit. "What do you think you're doing? Do you think just because he's a lost soul and you're a member of a syndicate that it gives you the right to order him around?" She turned to the boy who was coming back to her and snapped at him. "Put that gun down!"
Spike quickly intervened. "The way I see it Granny, him firing that weapon is the only way you're going to make it out of this building without any casualties to your number." Jinni sputtered and pointed to the hall but Spike cut off any words that might have formed. "At least, that will be the case if he makes it to the stairwell at the end of the hall."
Jinni turned an evil eye on Spike. "The way you see it? The stairwell? How are we supposed to get to that stairwell? The way I see it we're pinned in here! There is no way we could make it to the stairwell with that . . . situation in the hall!" Jinni was ruffled. It obviously had been a while since she had taken this much mouth from anyone.
Spike gave Jinni an amused smile. "Looks like you're going to have to trust me to deal with the situation then, aren't you?" Jinni huffed again and Spike couldn't stop the chuckle that rose to his lips. Far be it from Jet's old lady to ever trust a member of a syndicate that took her son's arm. However his amusement was short lived. The number in the hall was steadily increasing with each minute. "You don't have time to argue with me on this, Granny. As much as you don't like the idea, you have any other choice."
Jinni mumbled under her breath and Spike could swear he heard something along the lines of "Goddamn Dragon filth" but didn't comment on it, knowing that he was the only person who would probably ever hear those words come from the sweet old lady's mouth. But despite this, Jinni seemed to give in. "Fine." Her voice was short and clipped. "Just because I'm letting you help, doesn't mean I trust you."
"Of course," Spike felt his eyes roll at the woman's stubbornness but felt his grin widen never the less. He turned his dark eyes to the boy who was watching him closely and gave the boy and pointed look. "Hey boy, these kids' lives are your responsibility. Don't hesitate, and shoot to kill. Otherwise you'll let them down." Spike could tell from the way the boy stood that he was scared but it was the firm nod that gave Spike hope that the boy would act bravely. Spike turned his attention back to the hall again and drew in a deep breath. "See you on the outside, Granny."
Spike didn't wait for her reply. The moment his feet his the floor of the hallway, the barrel of his gun aimed at several Lion members and within the first few strides had relocated several bullets from his clip into the warm flesh of their bodies with the simple give of a trigger. Amidst the chaos he was creating he heard Jinni's sharp cry of "Go" from behind him and the thud of several pairs of feet sprinting the other direction, but he didn't pause to look. Instead, he came side by side with a French man, managed to bring his hand up in time to stop the man's gun from planting a bullet in his stomach and easily counter the attack by forcing a bullet through the man's jugular.
Spike was a possessed man. Everything slid into slow motion as he did his dance down the hall. Ducking, dodging and felling each Lion member that dared cross his path; he had become unstoppable. As his clip ran dry, Spike slide into an intersecting hallway that was charred from his earlier grenade and where several Lions members were hiding. Their lives quickly ended when Spike approached them; necks snapping under the pressure of Spike's fingers. It was only when Spike settled himself against the wall of the hall and hastily ejected his empty gun clip did he realize how eerily quiet it had become. Spike reached into the recesses of his jacket for another clip and vaguely noted that he was done to his last one. Bringing the clip out he idly slammed it into the gun and stepped out from his hiding place, gun scanning the hall for enemies.
The hallway was empty except for the few bodies that littered the floor riddled with his bullets. Gingerly stepping father out, Spike's gun swept the area idly but what had his focus was not the lifeless corridor but the shiny golden doors at the end of the hall and the flashing numbers that were blinking in a silent countdown. Spike froze as the elevator doors gave a sharp 'ding' in the quiet din of the hall right before his instincts flared. As the golden doors peeled apart, Spike found himself diving back for the safety of the hall he had just left as a barrage of bullets began to disperse into the hall long before the doors had fully opened.
Spike cursed as bullets splintered into the wood behind his back, causing pieces of plaster and shards of wood to rain down over his head as he straightened back to standing position. The metallic discharge of the machine gun spurt of bullets didn't last long, but it was enough for the person in the elevator to find safety behind a pillar. Spike indolently swept pieces of roof and wall out of his hair as the person's laughter echoed down the hall to his ears.
"Well, good evening Monsieur Spiegel." Pierre's mocking tone made Spike smirk. "Are you enjoying yourself?"
Spike quickly checked to make sure his gun was in functioning order and swung around the edge of the wall, eyes scanning for Pierre. The next few seconds was a blur of bullets. Pierre had pulled out of his hiding spot as soon as Spike entered the hall and began to wildly fire as Spike dashed towards a pillar several yards up. Spike returned fire, hearing several bullets whistling by his form and watched with satisfaction as Pierre flinched as one of his bullets found its mark. Spike twirled as he reached the pillar, back slamming into the porcelain that decorated the wood, and listening to Pierre's hiss of pain. Spike's smirk widened. "More than you know." Spike pitched his voice so he was sure Pierre could hear him. Spike decided to add insult to injury. "You were always a bad shot, Pierre!"
"And you were always too gun-ho about everything, Spiegel!" The anger in Pierre's voice was evident and it didn't surprise Spike all that much when Pierre suddenly opened fired on his position, idiotically wasting bullets. The shots died as quickly as they came and Spike could hear Pierre's ragged breathing from where he stood.
"Temper, temper. Still haven't learned how to keep your anger in check?" Spike jabbed again but was disappointed when Pierre didn't retaliate again. When silence followed, Spike took a chance to creep out into the hallway again and get a closer position to Pierre. Spike knew his bullets were going to last long, if he wanted any chance to win this battle he needed to be closer to Pierre. As Spike made his way down the hall, Pierre suddenly pivoted out of his hiding position and fired again. Spike cursed as a bullet grazed his shoulder but ignored the pain, cutting across the hall and throwing his weight into the wood of a door.
Spike stumbled into the room and with a quick scan of his eyes and gun found it to be empty. Pierre laughed richly and Spike had no doubt that Pierre knew that he had finally hit his target. "That was rather bold of you, Spiegel. Of course, you were always one to make rash decisions and that lead to people dying."
"Being bold is better than being a coward." Spike snapped back and checked his gun clip. "My decisions might have gotten people killed, but at least I didn't sacrifice others. Take a look at what happened to Sweeney. He followed your orders and ended up forfeiting his life." Spike slammed his clip back into his gun and turned back to the hall. He had two shots to close the distance to Pierre.
"That's quite a statement coming from you Spiegel!" There was a rough tilt to Pierre's tone that told Spike he had hit a nerve. Spike slowly rounded the edge of the door, gun leveled in Pierre's direction. Before him was a stretch of hall where his only chance of safety was the door that led to the stairwell, and several yards beyond that hunched Pierre. Spike moved slowly, listening to the lilt in Pierre's tone to judge when the man would jump out and fight. "You speak of me sacrificing Sweeney, but aren't you doing the same thing by sending Mademoiselle Valentine to the higher floors before you?"
Pierre's voice had risen in volume and at the end of his sentence he had jumped out of hiding, and began to fire. Spike should have been prepared, but the mention of Faye was such a shock that his limbs frozen for half a second, and he paid for his inability to act. A bullet pierced through his shoulder and sent him shifting back for half a moment before pain erupted throughout his system. Then he was moving.
His gun recoil rocked his hand before Spike had realized he had fired and his feet were carrying him forward. Pierre acted on reflexes alone and coiled back into the protection the pillar provided was his fatal mistake. Spike fired his last round and with speed hadn't used before had closed the distance and lunged at Pierre.
The butt of his gun crashed roughly into Pierre's temple, his left hand reached out, and grasping Pierre's wrist that held the gun, slammed it back with such force into the porcelain of the pillar that Pierre's gun went skimming across the debris covered tile. Spike towered over Pierre, dark eyes flashing with anger as he shoved the barrel of his gun forcefully under Pierre's chin. "What about Faye?"
Pierre managed a grin despite the pain in his throat. "What, you didn't know?" His wheezing voice filled with humor. "Well, don't worry. Francois is probably keeping her company." A feral smile spread across his quivering lips. "I just hope there's enough left for me to have some fun with that whore." Pierre suddenly lashed out, using the pillar behind him for leverage and pushing Spike off of him.
Spike tumbled back several steps and a swell of fear curled to life in his stomach. It was beyond him how Faye had managed to get ahead of him when he left her at the shattered remains of Sweeney's bar. He stood there, trying to comprehend the burning feeling that was rising in the back of his throat like bile. Images from the last couple of months stretched across his vision in rapid procession. Images from the bounty hunt for Renner, cuffing her to him on the bebop, the few horrifying moments when he thought he would fail to catch her when she had the brilliant idea to jump off of this very building.
Everything was convulsing together in one big lump at the base of Spike's heart. He had fought it, and denied it not only to her but to himself. Faye had understood what he was going through faster than he had. She had told him that the scars left from Julia would fade, but he had been skeptical. Then the night that they had met Luc, he hadn't been able to sleep; Faye's words and her image had haunted him as he sat in that bed. Then she had appeared before him and suddenly everything had become very clear. There had been no more denying it. He loved Faye. Maybe he always had, but there had always been the shadow of Julia.
But now, nothing was holding him back. He was alive; the remnants of Julia's dream that had held him ensnared had faded. He loved Faye. He loved her. And it was now clear to him that he only past he saw in his eyes were those few moments he had shared with Faye. But he hadn't been able to tell her that yet. He had hinted at it, but he had never come right out and said it.
Spike stared at Pierre's panting form and slowly holstered his gun somewhere in the depths of his jacket, his voice void of emotion. He hadn't told Faye that he loved her, but that was something that he was going to quickly remedy. And if what Pierre said was true about her being upstairs and she had been hurt - there was going to be hell to pay. Spike's mahogany eyes came back into focus to see Pierre with his ever grinning face and a flash of Faye's beaten and bruised face, her lower lip savagely splintered, jolted through his mind. "Either way," Spike's voice was low and cold. "I still owe you for that split lip of hers."
Before Pierre could react, Spike's fist had caused Pierre's nose crack viciously under the pressure of his knuckles. Pierre blundered blindly back into the wall but didn't have the chance to rest as Spike's fist came down upon him again in a hard right hook. Pierre's jaw flinched to the left only to jut towards the ceiling as Spike followed up with a hard uppercut. Spike's blow came in quick succession. They were relentless and no blow was pulled back. Pierre could only concede and bleed at Spike's mercy.
Spike would have beaten Pierre to death had not the sound of footsteps climbing the stairs caught his attention. In the single second where Spike's blows hesitated, Pierre lashed out, with a strong right hook that sent Spike fumbling back. Pierre wrenched himself free of Spike's grasp and lunged for the open elevator doors. Spike recovered in time to see Pierre clutching a bleeding nose, his lip brutally split reached inside his coat and withdrew a rounded object. "See you on the roof or in Hell, Spiegel!"
As the doors to the elevator drew shut, Pierre lobbed the object into the hall. The cold metallic clang as it hit the floor had Spike swiveling about and sprinting towards the stairwell where the unknown lurked. Spike crashed through the door leading to the stairwell and into the large bulk of the person coming up the stairs just as the grenade exploded in the hall. The blast rocked the foundation of the building and caused the steps that Spike was laying on to tremble, fire pressing in on them from behind.
Spike bowed his head as several pieces of ceiling rained down on him, but not yet ready to move from his harsh landing. As the trembling subsided, the harsh coughing of the person next to him reached his ears. The coughing slowly formed into words. "Damn it, Spike! Is there ever a time when you're not a poster boy for reckless endangerment?"
The deep, rough words caused Spike's eyes to rise and meet Jet's disgruntled face. Jet slowly let out a sigh, moving to stand and Spike followed his example. For several seconds, neither male said anything until Spike remembered why he was in this situation in the first place and scanned the area behind Jet looking for a person he might have missed. At the same time Jet's head shot up, eyes wide and searching for the same person that Spike was.
Their voices echoed through the charred stairwell in unison. "Where's Faye?"
Faye carefully studied his movements, trying to get some sign from her earlier readings of his motions to see what he was likely to do first. She didn't have to wait long. His right shoulder flinched slightly before he lunged at her, driving the tip of the knife towards Faye's shoulder. Faye reared back, bumping into the wall before twirling out of the way. Faye cursed as her foot caught on some debris on the floor and it didn't take long for Francois to take advantage of her misstep.
Faye sucked back a scream as the blade scrapped into the flesh of her shoulder, tearing through her skin like it was nothing more than the cotton fibers on her shirt. Faye lashed out instinctively, open palm ramming into Francois's nose and affording her not only some distance between Francois and her, but the blade withdrawing from her flesh. With a deep breath, Faye fought to bring a smile to her pain-laced face and stared up at Francois in what she hoped was open mockery. "Fanny, if that's all you can do after all that big talk, then I'm seriously disappointed."
Despite the sharp sting in her shoulder, Faye didn't dare raise a hand to cover the bleeding wound. Her pride wouldn't allow it. Francois glared at her and flicked the knife free of some her blood before crouching low and once again lunging at her. Faye was more prepared this time, she dodged the first blow of the knife and avoided the second swing as it snagged the thin material of her shirt. Faye countered with a quick instep and nailed Francois with a curt jab to his jaw before she spun out of the way as he was quick to retaliate.
This time however, luck was not on her side. Francois showed no hesitation in his movements. Turning to face him, Faye was horrified to discover that her jab had not knocked him back like she had hoped; it only added fuel to his anger and Francois was coming at her with the knife poised to lodge in her throat. Faye had only moments to react and with great effort she threw her weight back into the top of her shoulders, in an attempt the form a back flip. Her arms stretched out behind her, her back beginning to curve with the momentum, and just as her feet began to lift off the floor, an explosion from several floors below shook the foundation of the building. The force of the reverberation sent her spiraling awkwardly through the air, and despite the fact that she knew she was going to land painfully, she figured it was better than the other outcome of having a knife plunged into her throat.
With years of experience and practice, Faye fully curved her back to round out her flip and the knife missing its original target but still slicing open a fresh patch of her pale skin. As she came parallel to the ground, Faye received a shock as her right foot sharply connected with some pliant and obviously human organ. The awkwardness of her flip when from bad to worse as everything went spinning out of control. Her momentum which hadn't been good to being with was thrown off even more, she found her hands slipping as they touched the floor, and caused the entire birth of her body to go crashing roughly to the ground, the wind knocked out of her.
For several brief moments she struggled to inhale, her hand trapped under her feeling fresh blood dripping from her stomach where Francois knife had cut her lightly. The thought of Francois quickly brought her mind back into focus but when she finally opened her eyes it took a few more seconds for the world to shift upright. Faye shifted slightly against the ground, groaning with pain as her eyes caught Francois's prone form several feet away, his body shivering and the harsh wheezing breaths telling Faye that he had come out worse than she had. Obviously her back flip had not been the only thing knocked off balance.
Faye had to blink her vision clear again before she was able to force herself onto her knees and get a better look at her adversary. Faye could only gape at what she saw. Francois had fumbled as soon as the blast had shook the buildings foundation, the knife that had been so precisely aimed for the girls' throat had instead had nothing more than scrap lightly across her abdomen as he tumbled earthward. His fall however was cut short; he flinched and instinctively brought his hands towards his face as her wayward foot slammed into his jaw. The result ended up with Francois on his back, the knife gone from his hands and wedged deeply just above the joint of flesh that connected his shoulder and neck.
Faye crouched there dazed and stunned at the damage her unintended blow had done, unbelieving that she had managed to stay alive and remain relatively unharmed. With a sigh, Faye brought her hand up to her stomach, wincing as the pain that registered there but grateful to notice that the cut wasn't all that deep. The awkward flip and the landing that had come with it had saved her life.
Faye moved to rise, but the faint click of a gun and the beat of steady footsteps moving down the hall froze her to her spot. The steps paused behind her and the smooth, masculine chuckle unhitched the breath she had been holding. "It looks like I'm not needed as much as I thought I was." The voice was deep and familiar. The man gingerly stepped around Faye's form and came to a halt by Francois's shuddering body whose deep gasping breaths had turned into wheezing coughs, blood thickly running across the base of his throat. Amusement laced the man's next words. "She did a number on you, didn't she?"
Faye watched horrified as a beaten and bloody Pierre crouched down next to his brother and tsked disapprovingly. His gun, while not aimed at her, was gripped tightly in his fist ready to fire. Faye studied Pierre's inattentive form for a moment before her eyes traveled to the room where Luc lay along with her gun. Faye knew that she couldn't deal with Pierre as she was, but if she could manage to get to her gun, she stood a chance. Pierre must have seen her tense because the moment she decided to move his gun was swung lazily in her direction and a bullet ripped through the already bloody tissue of her shoulder. A scream tore from Faye's lips.
A smile much more malevolent than Francois's had ever been crossed Pierre's features. "Now, now, mademoiselle. What's your rush?" Faye fell back onto her butt, her hand coming up and immediately wrapping about her shoulder, pride be damned. As she applied pressure to the wound, tears starting to spring up in her eyes, she realized that the bullet had yet to leave.
Blinking back tears, Faye turned her watery eyes up to Pierre's features that were twisted with some perverse satisfaction that he was obviously getting from her pain. Staring down at her, his gaze glued her to her spot before he turned to face his brother again; completely uncaring that he was slowly bleeding to death. Pierre sighed dramatically. "Well Francois, I always knew that you had a half assed way of doing things. While being leader of the Lions is one of them, killing a person is the more prominent one." Pierre sighed and turned his eyes back to Faye. "Although, she is rather lovely, and that face makes it hard to mar her with her own blood."
Pierre's lingered on Faye for several elongated moments before focusing back on his brother. "But you hesitate and that is where your problem lies." Pierre stepped towards Faye and roughly grabbed her by the hair, pulling her up so she was once again on her knees. He leered down at her as Faye fought to keep from screaming as her scalp burned. "I think," Pierre tilted his head to the side as he spoke, his tone low. "It's time for me to take the reins and lead this Syndicate. Wouldn't you agree, Mademoiselle . . . or may I call you Faye?"
Faye refused to answer and had brought her hands up, digging her nails into the flesh around Pierre's wrists, but he seemed oblivious to them. When she failed to respond, he snarled and roughly threw her to the ground. Faye cried out when her wounded shoulder viciously slammed into the wall, but the pain was cut off by surprise when Pierre suddenly turned to Francois his lips curling into a scowl. "Goodbye brother, I'll prove to you that it's not foolish of me to go against you." Pierre's gun turned in his brother's direction whose breathing had grown even more frantic and, without the aforementioned hesitation, pulled the trigger.
The sharp crack of the gun swiftly drove the entire hallway into silence as Francois erratic breaths faded. Faye sat there, eyes wide, her entire being tense as she watch blood splatter from behind Francois's head. Pierre really had killed Francois and Faye could not believe it. Faye was quickly brought from her shock as Pierre's vice grip dug into the bullet hole and knife wound in her shoulder and hauled her to her feet. Faye jolted out her surprise and found herself struggling against the pain only to be silenced when the still warm barrel of his gun brushed against her temple. "Would you like to join my late brother, lovely Faye?"
When Faye didn't answer she was forcefully pushed in the direction of the stairs, her feet sliding across the floor as she tried to comprehend all that had just happened. However, any thoughts that might have surfaced as she was being lead to god knows where was halted as a weak but determined voice broke the silence. "Stop, Pierre!"
Faye squeaked with pain as Pierre brutally dug his fingers into the flesh of her shoulder and whipped her in front of him. It took a minute for Faye to realize who had spoken but turning her eyes to the room where she had been held captive she received a shock. Luc sitting on the ground leaning heavily against the wood frame, Faye's gun in his shaky hands and leveled in their direction. His entire face was pale and Faye could see the finger marks of blood she had left on his white shirt and the blood that stained his torso but never the less he sat there glaring at them.
Despite the threat, Pierre continued forward, hunching down so he was barely peeking over Faye's shoulder. "Go ahead and shoot. But would you willingly kill her to get to me?" No one spoke until Faye and Pierre stopped a few steps short of Luc. Faye managed to keep the gasp that was teasing her lips in when Pierre harshly pressed his gun against her temple, the knuckles of his other hand turning white against the wound of her shoulder. "Drop your weapon, monsieur, or I promise you this lovely ladies body only be a memory of splattered remains across this hall. I believe you saw me kill my brother. Do you think I would even pause over her death?"
Luc scowled up at Pierre. "What makes you think she mean anything to me? She's the one that killed my brother." Faye felt her breath hitch for a moment, and the images from Reeves death replayed in her mind. All Luc had to do was shoot her, all he had to do was put a bullet through her chest and he could extract his revenge for his brother. Faye tried to read what Luc was truly feeling at the moment but his narrowed eyes gave nothing away.
Pierre slowly pushed Faye forward several steps until the tip of Luc's gun brushed against the cut in her abdomen. "Then go ahead, kill her." Pierre's taunt sent a shiver down Faye's spine. Luc stared emotionlessly up at Faye for what seemed an eternity, his hands shaking violently from the blood loss and indecision. Faye closed her eyes briefly and drew in a deep breath. It appeared that fate was not on her side, somebody out there had it in for her.
Resolutely, Faye opened her eyes and stared down at the man before her. If anybody was going to kill her, then she preferred that it would be Luc. She would take that as her atonement for Reeves. With resolve she allowed her eyes to meet Luc's hardened ones. They stared at each other, each with bland faces but eyes alight with emotions that neither could get a grasp on. Faye saw the torment that raged in Luc. He was so close to fulfilling his dream. All he had to do was shoot her to avenge his brother, and then all that was left was to take out Pierre – end the Lion Syndicate for good. With Francois gone, Pierre was all that was left of the Lions reign of terror over the French colonies. One bullet and it was over, one bullet and everything would be accounted for. But Luc hesitated and Faye couldn't understand why.
The tears were gone from her eyes, despite the pain that was lancing through her from Pierre's fingers in her shoulder. As she stared down at Luc's struggling features all fear was gone. "Luc, go ahead. Everything will be fine." Faye wasn't even sure if she spoke the words, but the message seemed to hit Luc full force because slowly the torment in his irises faded and he clutched his gun with more resolve.
And then the unthinkable happened.
Luc lowered the gun. "Goddamn it!" His scream cut through the hall and he forcefully threw Faye's gun away from his person and down the hall. Faye felt her eyes close when the gun bounced across the floor and skimmed to a stop by the wall a good distance out of reach.
Pierre laughed gleefully. "Just as I thought." He pushed Faye off to the side and suddenly lashed out with his foot, the tip of his boot catching in Luc's midsection causing him to bash roughly against the doorframe and rough up his bullet wound. Luc's moan only caused Pierre's smile to widen. "You are like so many others in the colonies; just another lump of fresh sucking up our precious air. Not much different from your brother."
Pierre kicked Luc again and when Faye struggled he roughly slammed the butt of his gun across her head. Faye faltered in his grip, blinded by the pain that flashed with a harsh light in front of her closed eyes. "Although," Pierre muttered down to Luc again. "You did manage to do what your brother didn't. You blew up Francois's little science project, didn't you? Was it revenge for how we controlled your brother?" Pierre looked down as he studied Luc than turned his eyes back to Faye. "Don't deny it. I know you wanted to avenge him. You wanted it so badly you could taste it, couldn't you?" Pierre laughed as his eyes slid to Faye. "But you couldn't finish it, could you? Couldn't bring yourself to kill the woman who shot him."
A heavy silence followed where Faye tried to shake off the pain that was completely encompassing her frame and Luc's scream of pain echoed her thoughts. "Oh well, it's doesn't really matter." Pierre cut in, his tone light and airy. "Those chips were never my idea. You see . . ." Faye suddenly felt Pierre's hot breath brushing eagerly over her ear. "I love breaking people to my will." Pierre roughly pushed Faye forward and Faye fought back. It only earned her Pierre's fingers burrowing into her wound followed by a sharp slap across her face. "And it seems that lovely Faye needs to be broken." Pierre's breath trickled over her ears in a heeded rush. Faye knees gave out from under her and her entire frame was shivering with the pain Pierre was inflecting upon her. It was a pain similar to extracting a bullet, except this time Pierre's fingers were not gingerly easing into the swollen tissue as Jet would have kindly done.
While Faye squirmed under his grip, Pierre turned his gaze towards Luc's heaving form. "Well, monsieur. Consider yourself lucky. I have no time to deal with you, besides it's unfitting for a half-French man to kill another half-French man. Wouldn't you agree?" Pierre stopped to consider Luc's wounds and laughed lightly. "Of course, I don't think that really matters. By the looks of things, you'll bleed to death in a short while. I hope you lived your life to the fullest."
Pierre's fingers abruptly left Faye's shoulder and instead curled in her violet locks of hair, harshly pulling her to the balls of her feet so her face drew level with his. The pain in Faye's shoulder still throbbed even though his fingers were gone and Faye found it hard to keep her eyes open to stare at Pierre. "Well, mademoiselle, shall we go?" Pierre leered at Faye and gently ran the barrel of his gun across her cheek before thrusting her forward.
Luc struggled to sit up from his prone position on the floor when Pierre pushed Faye forward, but the pain was too great. "You fucker!" His scream carried down the hall as the pair started to walk away. "Don't you dare walk away! Coward! Asshole! Mother fucking piece of shit!"
Pierre blatantly ignored Luc's screams and forcefully dragged Faye down the hall by her hair. Faye stumbled along trying to keep up with Pierre's fast pace as to ease the pain at the roots of her hair. When they reached the stairs, Pierre hauled her up against his body, his fingers roughly finding the wound in her shoulder again before pressing a brutal kiss to her bloody lips. Both hissed with pain at the pressure applied to both of their split lips, but Pierre seemed to savor the sensation where Faye was appalled by it. When Pierre finally pulled back, his bloody grin flashed pink tinged teeth and he suggestively ran his eyes over her face.
"I am sorry we can't take the elevator, my dear, you see, it stops at this floor. You have my apologies. But we have no time to waste with idle chatter, mademoiselle, for we have an appointment on the roof." Pierre gave her hair a vicious yank and sent her clamoring onto the stairs. Faye barely had time to blink before Pierre's hands were on her again, rough grabbing her breast before sliding up to her shoulder and hauling her to her feet. With another rough shove forward he had her moving and climbing up the set of stairs, Luc's protesting screams fading into the distance with each step she took.
Spike and Jet hadn't wasted any time and had begun climbing the stairs as soon as the question had left their lips. Both men were feeling a tinge of panic as they climbed, and after climbing a few floors, Jet made the breathless suggestions of checking to see where the elevator had stopped. When they had come to the next floor and found the elevator, Spike couldn't help but glower at the light that had highlighted the fifty-seventh floor. Spike had made to head for the stairs again, but Jet had calmly stopped the man and jabbed the button for the elevator. The wait for the slow moving machine had wrecked both their nerves. The ride up was even worse.
As soon as the elevator doors had opened, both men felt their blood freeze at anguished screams that filled the hall. Before Spike knew what he was doing he was sprinting towards the sound, barely registering the sounds of Jet's heavy footfalls following him. It was Francois's body that he saw first, a knife lodged within his neck and a bullet hole the source of the scattered bone fragments, blood and brain tissue that littered the floor.
Luc's screams had died down now, but Spike could hear him gently muttering and jogged to where Luc was sprawled across the floor, blood drenching his entire frame. Spike came to a stop several feet from Luc hard eyes staring down almost uncaringly at the man before him. Luc seemed completely unaware of Spike's or Jet's presence until Jet spoke. "Goddamn."
Luc's head shot up at the sound and the panic that had infused his face lessened slightly. "You've got to stop him! You have to hurry!" Luc was practically screaming again and Jet rushed forward to check the damage. When Luc realized that Jet wasn't listening to him he began to struggle in the bigger man's hold shouting about 'hurrying after them.'
Jet gave Luc a critical glance before he turned his eyes back to Spike. "He needs help, Spike." He practically had to scream over Luc's protests. "He won't last much longer. I think the blood loss is getting to him."
Spike's eyes turned and surveyed the area his eyes falling on Faye's gun against the wall. The sight of it made his heart twist painfully. With bold strides he quickly walked over to it and picked it up, ejecting the clip to see that there was a good number of bullets still in it. Slamming it shut he turned back to Jet who was putting pressure on Luc's back and easing the man off the floor. "Get him out of here, Jet. I'm going after Faye!" Spike turned purposefully towards the stairwell and didn't bother to wait for Jet's reply.
With two determined strides, Spike had gone from an easy jog to a full fledged run and was bounding up the steps two at a time. He grabbed the railing to help pull his weight around the curve and up the next flight of steps, his free hand shoving Faye's gun into coat. Spike had only become more determined. Nothing was going to stop him from telling Faye he loved her.
Faye hissed with pain when her body hit gravel. For several seconds she lay on the roof glad to have Pierre's fingers off of her aching body but somewhat perturbed by the familiarity of the gravel she was laying on. Faye lifted her head and glanced around the roof with uneasiness. Not much had changed since she had last graced this roof with her presence. The only differences were the missile launcher near the side of the building remained cold and silent and if Faye got the idea in her head to jump this time, there would be no one there to catch her.
Faye was brought out of her observation as Pierre came to a stop above her, his feet straddling her prone form to keep her from trying to stand. His dark eyes glared down at her, studying her form with a playful smirk. Obviously Faye's recognition of the place had shown in her eyes for Pierre laughed heartily as he spoke. "Ah, so you do remember this place. All the better I suppose." Pierre's hand suddenly shot towards her and Faye flinched even before his fingers touched her flesh, a fact that didn't go unnoticed by Pierre. "What? Don't care for my touch?" He hauled her up to her feet by her hair and dragged her towards the edge of the roof, forcefully shoving her towards the small concrete wall that separate the edge of the roof from the ground. Pierre's grip moved from her hair to her forearm right before he roughly thrust her into and over the wall.
Faye swallowed as she found herself staring down at the unwelcoming pavement sixty stories below. Faye vaguely noted that the only part of her feet that touched the roof were the tips of her toes. Faye sucked in her breath when Pierre tilted her farther forward, the concrete wall digging harshly against the skin of her upper thighs and her world tilting when she discovered that she no longer had any control over if she was pulled back on to the roof or was allowed to fall.
Faye hissed at the pain that lanced through her forearm from Pierre's harsh grip and felt the pressure building in her shoulders from the position of his other hand digging into her muscles there. But as she dangled sixty stories above the ground, she didn't dare complain having realized that he was the only thing keeping her from falling. Pierre chuckled brazenly. "I don't have to touch you mademoiselle. If you would like I could let go. But," he paused and his grip on her loosened slightly and Faye felt her start to slip, earth's gravity pulling her towards the pavement below. "Would you really rather fall sixty stories to your death?"
Faye found she couldn't answer, not because she didn't want too, but because her teeth had clamped down on her tongue. It wasn't that she didn't have the words, for she had a plethora of them, it was the fact that she was positive that Pierre wouldn't take those words very kindly. Pierre snorted at her silence and suddenly yanked her back onto the solid ground of the roof. Faye stumbled; trying to regain her footing but her problem ended as Pierre pulled her to him and viciously pressed his lips to hers.
Faye snapped. She squirmed under the pressure and force of his grip and managed to pull her right arm free. Seconds after she had broken his grip, she brought her hand up to the side of his face and savagely tore her nail into his cheek. Pierre's lips jerked away from hers with hiss of pain and Faye used his momentary lapse in attention to swiftly bring her knee up into his groin. His reaction was the one Faye had been hoping for. The moment Pierre's hand released her Faye turned and bolted toward the door. Faye's equilibrium was shot and she found herself stumbling earthward, and her hands immediately shot out to catch her fall. Both her hands and feet scrapped at the gravel beneath her, trying to gain her footing, but dizziness was assaulting her senses. By the time the sensation had passed and had managed to get to her feet, Pierre too was moving again. Faye dared a glance behind her in time to see Pierre lung and the next thing she knew they were both crashing to the ground.
Faye didn't feel the impact. All there she could see was a rich blackness and she found it strangely comforting. The pain from her shoulder was gone along with any worries that she might have had about the entire night. She was in complete bliss. Somewhere in the distance around her, she could hear the soft crunch of someone moving about her, she could hear someone speaking to her but couldn't make out the words. While she hung there in the darkness, a voice somewhere in the back of her head vaguely noted that this was what it felt like to give up – to stop fighting.
Faye glanced around at the peaceful darkness and realized that the temptation to give in had always been there. Now that pull was stronger than she ever remembered. But a voice ragged at her from somewhere in the back of her mind telling her that there was a reason why she never gave in, but she couldn't remember it. Faye couldn't remember what she had struggled so futilely for. Why had she been torturing herself? Why did she still continue to struggle?
As if in answer to her question a large bang broke through the darkness and forced her eyes open. A muddled reality greeted Faye's eyes and she found herself being roughly pinned to the gravel by Pierre whose gaze was locked at something ahead of her. Slowly turning her head, Faye's eyes traveled to the door that lead to the stairwell to see a silhouetted person stepping through it.
The man took confident strides to the pair, and Pierre, seeing his abrupt arrival wasn't going to stop at the doorway, hastily hauled Faye to her feet and brought his fingers to her shoulder. But this went unnoticed by Faye; all she could see were the rich mahogany eyes of the man who was coming at them, the mismatched irises that burned with such intensity at her that her heart gave an odd lurch. Faye blinked twice as she stared at the man and couldn't stop the crooked smile that pulled at her lips. "Oh," Faye's voice sounded somewhat distant, but she had just realized the answer to all her questions that hounded her in the darkness. "That's why."
Suddenly Faye's senses came slamming back with such clarity that she felt like she had been hit with a sledge hammer. The sight of Spike Spiegel was all she needed to realize why she continued to fight. He was the reason she put up with all the pain and all the lies. He was the reason why she never gave up. But as Pierre roughly jabbed at her wounded shoulder, and dragged her back several steps, she also realized that he was the reason she was in this situation in the first place. Faye felt the familiar vestiges of anger rusting into her nerves.
Pierre didn't take any notice to the change in Faye's demeanor. His focus was completely fixated on Spike. "Nice of you to join us, Spiegel," Pierre spat, his free hand reaching into his coat reassuringly caressing the gun hidden within its depths. Faye winced as Pierre increased the pressure on her shoulder, but refused to show any other sign of discomfort.
Spike's eyes flickered from Pierre's to Faye's and Faye knew that he immediately noticed the anger seething beneath the surface. Faye felt her gut twist and understood just by staring into his rich eyes that when he spoke he would be addressing her and not Pierre.
Spike's entire frame was nonchalant when he spoke, even though his eyes spoke in volumes. "Faye." Spike blatantly ignored Pierre, his focused solely on the woman in his grip. "There's something that I need to tell you."
Pierre snarled at the dismissal anger lighting his face. "How dare you-"
But Faye's rage was greater. "Is that all you came up here for? To tell me something?" Faye fought against Pierre's grip which tightened about her arm as she spoke. "Whose fault do you think it is that I'm in this situation?"
Pierre yanked her back into him, increasing the pressure on her shoulder and growled when Faye only gave a light squeak of pain. "Don't ignore me, Spiegel! I'll be more than willing to see how much she can really bleed."
A cocky grin had crossed Spike's features at Faye's words and he completely ignored Pierre's threats. "I'll admit, it's probably is my fault." Any words that were straining to erupt from Faye's lips died at the admission. Spike Spiegel was admitting that he was to blame? Was the world coming to an end? Spike didn't seem to notice her shock. "But, you wouldn't have listened if I had told you anyway. So, really, you're as much to blame as I am." The temper that had been beaten back by shock flared back to life.
Pierre was now shivering with as much rage as Faye was. "Don't mess with me, Spiegel! You should know better than anyone!"
Faye was sure she was foaming at the mouth. "You conceited asshole! I can't believe that I actually listened to all that bullshit you were sprouting earlier!" Her tone took on a mockingly masculine tone with a forced laugh. "'I thought I was fascinated by you.' Jesus Christ! How stupid was I to actually believe that! I must have bumped my head harder than I thought when I crashed the Redtail!"
Spike quickly cut in. "Wait Faye, just listen."
But Faye wouldn't have it. "No, you listen! I am sick and tired of you bull-"
"I love you!" Spike's words froze anything Faye was going to say to the roof of her mouth and the roof was plunged into silence. Faye suddenly found herself caught in Spike's stare. The earnest light from those few nights ago was presence in their deaths and Faye once again found herself paralyzed by the intensity.
Faye found she had trouble forcing her words out. "Why should I listen to you?" Shock had bleached her words dry.
"Because it's true," Spike voice was low but the earnestness of his eyes had carried to his tone. "I love you."
Faye couldn't find any words but she was spared responding as Pierre started to crackle with laughter. "How touching!" Pierre growled, his words slowly rolling into French with his fury. "Comment magnificent! Il l'aime! Bel amour!" The shivering anger that had plagued Faye had ebbed off with Spike's words was starting to build in Faye's frame again at the sound of the French. "Now, all that is needed is the grand finale. And I know just how to end it. Tout est beau! Les paysages, le moment, et vous – vous paraitrez bel eclabousse dans le sang!" Pierre whispered the final words in Faye's ear as he pulled her closer to his body, his free hand savagely caressing her breast and began to pull Faye toward the edge of the roof.
Anything else Pierre might have whispered to Faye could have staved off her anger. But she tolerance for the French language had long reached its limit and all the pent up emotions from the last few days that Faye had kept bundled up came sprouting to the surface when Spike had tried to talk to her boiled with renewed vigor. And it pushed her over the edge.
Faye dug her heels into the gravel and her entire body became rigid with her rage as Pierre began to drag her. Faye tilted her head so her mouth was leveled with Pierre's ear and spoke in a low and dangerous tone. "I've had enough of you."
Before Pierre could comprehend the words, Faye brought the heel of her shoe down into Pierre's foot and quickly followed it with a hard elbow to his stomach. Pierre's hold on her loosened immensely and for the first time in a while Faye was able to break free. With adrenaline pumping through her system, Faye turned on the man that had dared to hold her captive and proceeded to finish what Spike hadn't downstairs. Her fists rammed into his pliant flesh with great satisfaction.
Faye's rage wasn't curbed until Pierre's knees buckled beneath him and he slumped earthward with a groan of pain. Faye loomed over his body for several moments as if challenging him to rise from the gravel. When his body made no movement to rise, she allowed her gaze to fall to Spike who hadn't moved throughout the beating. He watched her nonchalantly as she approached, eyes taking in her panting form appreciatively and let out a low whistle. "Wow. Pretty impressive," the neutrality of his voice only spurned Faye forward.
Faye stalked up to him, her muscle in her body still fuming with her anger. "You asshole," Faye drew her hand back and brought with full force across Spike's face. Or at least attempted to, Spike easily caught her wrist before it connected. Faye tried to pry her hand free without success. "Why do you do this to me? You make me so angry!" Faye used her free hand to beat her retribution into his chest. "I can't stand the fact that I'm actually in love with an asshole like you! How dare you say this is my fault! How dare you!" Faye was shivering but it was no longer out of anger. The moment she had gotten close to him, her anger had faltered as quickly as it had flared. He had said he loved her. He had said those three little words and all the anger that she held for him had vanished.
Then there were his eyes and the earnestness they held. His mismatched mahogany irises burnt through her and Faye was unable to form any coherent words. Spike released the hand she had tried to slap him with but in compensation he closed the distance between them. Faye felt her breath hitch. She shivered involuntarily as Spike's left arm wrapped about her waist and his right hand came up to gently grasp her chin.
He leaned in closer to her, the warm of this breath fluttering over her cheek and her heart lurched oddly again. Spike titled his head slightly and his words held a softer tone than Faye could ever remember hearing from her. "I meant it, Faye. I love you."
Faye found it hard to swallow and had to force herself to breathe to keep from being overpowered by his gaze. "Say it again." Faye's words were barely audible despite how close they were.
One corner of Spike's mouth quirked with amusement, but instead of saying anything he brought his lips down to hers. His lips soft and pliant against hers, gently caressing over the wound the donned her lower half of her mouth. Faye felt her world melting under the pressure of his lips, all hesitancy to fully believe in Spike fading too nonexistence. All too soon, Spike pulled back from her, his breath once again tickling her cheek but instead of straightening he leaned in even closer until his lips brushed against her ear. His words sent shivers down her spine. "I love you, Faye Valentine."
Faye couldn't stop the smile that pulled at her mouth or the blush that tinted her cheeks pink. Faye was about to speak when Spike stiffened, his eyes once so vibrant and soft quickly hardened as they lifted to face something over her shoulder. The voice that rang out behind Faye didn't come as that big of a shock. Pierre was not as incapacitated as they thought he had been. "How disappointing it is that the Red Dragon Leader can be killed so easily. Now tell where would you like the bullet? In your head or in your chest?"
Faye turned within Spike's grasp to see Pierre taking several staggering steps toward them, gun drawn and leveled at Spike. Faye suddenly felt naked, the idle thought of her gun lying abandoned in the hall three floors below. For reassurance that Faye never felt she needed before, she wrapped her arm about Spike's waist inside his jacket and froze as her hand came in contact with cool metal. Whether or not Spike realized what she was doing, he was still completely nonchalant and Faye knew that she needed to act the same. Trying not to draw attention to herself, she began to try to hoist the gun out of its holster when Spike's large hand settled on her shoulder.
Something about the strength of his grip, forced Faye's eyes up to his and what she found there stunned her. Faye couldn't even name the emotion. But Faye understood the message they sent. Slowly, Faye released her hold on the gun reluctantly, and even as she did so, she found herself being easily guided behind Spike's larger frame. He spoke only when she was securely behind him. "Do you really think you can kill me that easily?"
Pierre let out another barking laugh and cocked his gun. "I know I can." Pierre's tone was low and cold, however it them that caused Faye's back to stiffen and her heart to catch in her rib cage. There was a much more ominous sound rattling and humming behind her. It was a sound that she had become very familiar with recently. Faye almost dreaded turning around, knowing that if she did so she would only confirm her fears that an aircraft was hovering there. Faye felt slightly sick.
Apprehension clogged her movements as she turned to face what she was sure would be her doom, and couldn't stop her exclamation at the sight of the machine. "No, it can't be!" But there was no denying that the ship was not the Lions ship she had been expecting. Instead the sleek gray ship donned the Red Dragons symbol on its wing. For several seconds nothing but air pushed out of her mouth as it opened and closed.
Not really sure what to do, Faye turned back to face the two men behind her and found that the smile that had been plastered to Pierre's face all day had been wiped clean. The gun that had been so vehemently poised in their direction had drooped dramatically, all his confidence fading with each passing second the aircraft hovered behind them. It was Spike that surprised Faye. He hadn't even bothered to turn about to see what the source of the noise had been.
He was completely aloof to the entire situation. "Still think you can?" Spike's voice was rich with false humor and when Pierre could sputter incoherently Spike snorted. In a moment that feigned great boredom, Spike casually lifted his arm in Pierre's direction, his hand curling into the shape of a gun. For a moment he stood there, his head tilting to the side as if considering something and then he spoke one single syllable that jolted down Faye's spine. "Bang."
Spike's arm shot skyward with the false recoil of his imaginary weapon and the moment his hand drew even with his ear, the Red Dragons aircraft opened fired. Faye felt herself give a small shriek of shock as dozen upon dozen of bullets pelted into Pierre's unsuspecting frame from the machine gun that was attached to the ships side. The impact of each bullet vibrated through Pierre's system with enough force to send him staggering back into the concrete wall that separated the roof from the ground.
For a single moment Pierre hung there suspended by gravity, eyes wide and staring disbelievingly at Spike and Faye before he teetered and plunged to the pavement sixty floors below. When the metallic whirl of the aircrafts machine gun slowed to a halt, a heavy silence filtered down upon the two occupants of the roof, neither completely sure what to say.
Finally Spike turned to face Faye and the airship that hovered behind her. With a simple wave of his arm, the ships engines gave a sharp hum as it began to life skyward. Faye's eyes watched as it pulled away from the roof, effortlessly pulling against gravity before it banked left and was gone from view as quickly as it had come. Faye stood there gaping speechlessly, not sure what to make of the entire situation and jolted when Spike's hand suddenly encompassed hers. Faye turned to stare at the man beside her, completely at a loss. Spike squeezed her hand reassuringly and began to lead her toward the door to the staircase. "Come on, Faye. Let's go get you cleaned up." Spike's soft tone hadn't help Faye, and all she could do was nod and dumbly follow.
That was until the door burst open and revealed a man in a suit. The gun in the man's hand swept over the roof and then quickly lowered when his eyes hit the pair slowly coming towards him. The man suddenly became rigid and gave a sharp nod to Spike as he held the door open from them when they reached the staircase. It was in that moment that Faye's tongue wrenched itself off the top of her mouth. "Spike?"
Spike's only reply as he guided her down the stairs was a soft hum. "Hm?"
Faye glanced back at the young man who closed the door behind them and slowly started to follow them down. Faye felt her temper start to rise again. "Spike . . ." She drawled out his name again, her voice clipped and full of warning, but despite it, Spike seemed unfazed. "I thought you said that the Red Dragons Syndicate had nothing to do with you anymore."
The only answer Faye received was the smirk that thickened across Spike's lips.
End.
An: Ah! I'm done! Sorry it took so long for the update, I've been a little busy. But can't complain now, can you? Okay, maybe you can considering this is the last chapter. But hey, at least it's long! Well, at least the longest chapter I've written for fragments. How fitting. Wow. What an adventure this piece had been. I can't believe that I have finished this story. Almost two years. Anyway, enough babble. I want to thank all the people who have reviewed and read this story. I had a fun time writing it and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. I know a lot of you are probably upset by my ending, but what can I say. I love it. As always please forgive typing errors. I have spent most of the day typing this bad boy out and am in the mood to post it right away – get it out so you guys can read it. So forgive things I missed. We'll see where I go from here. If people want it, with enough pleading, I might be up for writing something else. But we'll see. Take it easy!
Comment magnificent! Il l'aime! Bel amour! - How magnificent! He loves her! Beautiful Love!
Tout est beau! Les paysages, le moment, et vous – vous paraitrez bel eclabousse dans le sang! – All is beautiful! The scenery, the moment, and you – you will look beautiful splattered in blood!
Space Raider: I hope you enjoyed the rest of the chapters! And hopefully this was a decent ending to a long story. (Smile) Well anyway thanks for reviewing! Take it easy!
Phoenix521: Sorry about all the French that I used over all the chapters. Something I plan to remedy if I ever write another story. I couldn't kill off Luc, I liked him too much. If I do anything else with this piece like a sequel I think I will have some fun with him. Well thank you so much for all your review! They meant the world to me. And they were part of the reason I kept working at this. I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it! Take it easy!
Kyra: Was this like anything you were expecting? I am so very pleased with the ending, but I have a feeling that many people are going to hate it. What can I say I love open endings! Well I'll be talking with you soon! Take it easy!
Oyuki: Nope, Luc's not dead. I like him too much to kill him off. Anyway, thanks so much for your support throughout this story! Reviews like yours always gave me the will to write! I hope you enjoyed reading this! Take it easy!
Kendra: It's been nearly twice as long since I updated from the last time! Oh well. Thanks for your support throughout this piece! And I definitely know what you mean about Samurai Champloo fics! (wink) Take it easy!
Aritwist: Sorry for the long wait! I'm so glad that I got you hooked! I love it that people were so pleased with this story! Was the last chapter worth all that reading? Thanks for the review! Take it easy!
Katsuko: Anything to help a fellow student get through finals! Thanks so much for the support! I hope this last chapter was satisfying! Take it easy!
Josie: Sorry! So sorry! I was really, really busy. Between my brother's wedding, doing school work, work work, etc, it all just piled up and this story got shoved to the wayside. I will tell you something though your review got me off my butt and working like mad! So I hope this long chapter makes amends! Thanks for your support! Take it easy!
Vic Sage: All right, all right! Don't kill me. That's all I ask! I know I said I would let you read it before I posted but . . . you were around when I finished it! I couldn't leave my audience hanging longer than I have! I'll make it up to you! We can do whatever shot you want to do at the bar! Even though you know I love my Red Headed Slut shots. (Smile) Talk to you soon and hopefully see you before our next class. Take it easy!
BloodFat: Yay! Number 200! I'm so happy! And what do you mean my story sucks big ones? Huh? (Smile) Thanks for the review! Take it easy!