Chapter 6: Don't Like the Drugs (But the Drugs Like Me)
You
and I are under-dosed
and we're ready to fall
Raised to be stupid,
taught to be nothing at all
"Fuck," was Jet's reaction to the day's events.
"Yeah," Spike muttered. "That sums it up nicely." The two men were seated on the balcony of their room, the doors shut behind them. No one else knew exactly the kind of trouble they were in, and they intended to keep it that way. A sheet of Plexiglas caged in the balcony itself, with only a small vent in the ceiling to allow for cigarette smoke. It was the only thing close to privacy an individual could find in this place. Not even the bathroom offered solace, with Ed and Ein camped out in there. "So what do we do?" Spike asked.
Jet looked completely beside himself. "I never even thought of that, you know? It was pretty stupid of us not to, when you think about it. I mean, even if we didn't pose a threat to this guy there was every reason in the world the state could have taken Ed."
"I dunno," Spike said a bit uneasily. "She seems happy with us. White picket fences aren't for everyone, you know."
"No, I guess not," Jet mused as he scratched his head. "But I ain't gonna risk selling her out. I mean if she's actually placed somewhere then that's it. She's stuck. Like you said, with us she's free to leave. It won't be like that if she's put somewhere. It'd be like...like prison to her."
"Hey, I don't wanna see that happen either," Spike sniffed. Just cause he didn't share every emotion he had didn't mean he went without them entirely. He stretched his body out in his chair, which tore at his stitches. "This whole thing is weird," he said through a wince. "I mean, there are plenty of other less elaborate and expensive fronts you can put up to ship drugs. Why would he bother with all of this?"
"I've been asking myself that since last night," Jet admitted. "It doesn't make any sense."
Just then, their thoughts were interrupted by a loud crashing noise and a very un-lady like "fuck." The guys looked at each other with a mixture of dread and amusement. "She's a delicate flower, isn't she?" Spike asked sardonically.
"Uh...boys?" Faye's muffled voice came from inside the room.
Jet leaned back in his chair and opened the sliding door a crack. "What'd you break, woman?"
"Just get in here."
Spike and Jet entered the room to see the rest of their crew huddled around Spike's open suitcase. The suitcase itself wasn't all that remarkable, it was more the 18 oz. of cocaine inside of it. Jet looked at Spike questioningly. "It isn't mine," Spike's voice raised a defensive octave. "I don't know how that got there."
"I was trying to pull your suitcase off the shelf,' Faye explained. "To get my cigarettes back. I dropped it and it snapped open and this popped out." She picked up a think piece of black vinyl. "It snaps right in there. See?" she demonstrated. The piece of material did in fact snap into the bottom of Spike's suitcase, creating a hidden compartment. Everyone looked at each other as if they were all struck with the same idea at the same time, and then went off to get the rest of the suitcases. Sure enough, everyone's bag contained a similar easter egg. It wasn't long before the Bebop was sitting in an astonished circle around what was at the very least 15,000 woolongs worth of hard drugs.
"They're using us as mules," Faye said quietly. "I can't believe it. I feel violated."
Spike groaned and laid back on the bed. That was most likely exactly what they were doing. That was probably what the loading dock was for, and that was almost definitely the actual reason for the luggage check. And they said they were going to confiscate possible illegal substances. That was the black fly in their Chardonnay.
"They've got all of our info too," Jet mumbled, feeling very much like he had been had. There was no worse feeling in the world to a cop than the possibility someone was smarter than you. "Not like it matters with us, but still. I bet he's got lackeys all over the galaxy breaking in and stealing it back. It's genius when you think about it. If something goes wrong, what better patsy to take the fall than someone who just got out of family jail?"
"I say we walk," Spike said suddenly, without sitting up.
Faye stared blankly at his feet, the only thing on the bed visible from her angle. "What?"
"I say we walk. This is ridiculous, for the money we're being paid. I have nothing against this guy. We don't have history here. The reward isn't worth the risk."
"What, has the coke not left your system yet?" Faye shrieked. "I mean, you are Spike Spiegel, aren't you? You'd risk your ass for free."
Yeah, his ass. Ed's ass was another matter. She was just a kid. "I just think we should drop it, Faye," he said sternly, not sounding entirely unlike a father.
"Jet," Faye looked to him for the second time that day.
"I think...maybe, Spike has a point," he said sheepishly, dreading the emotional explosion that was soon to follow.
"WHAT?!?"
Spike wrapped a pillow over his ears.
"Oh, this is rich. This is just fucking rich. Anytime you guys get a bounty it's all or nothing, winner takes all. Hey, let's blow up Main Street while we're at it, right? It's all in the line of duty! And then the one time I get us a bounty, you bail!?! Fuck that! What, you're afraid to let me be a productive member of the group? Oh, gee! Can't let Faye do something right. WE MIGHT LOSE OUR LEVERAGE!!!"
"Are you finished?" Spike asked from underneath his pillow.
"No, I'm not finished!!! You all SUCK!!! There. Now I'm finished." She plopped down on the floor with her arms folded to prove just how finished she was.
"Wow. Go, Faye-Faye," Ed said in quiet awe. Faye smiled at her in thanks.
"Faye, the fact remains that we are technically a team," Jet reasoned with her. "You don't have to hang around with us, you know. We can all leave at anytime but here we all are. So if we're gonna be a team, then we might as well not do it half-assed. The majority of us want to drop it. You drop it too or don't expect a place for you when we get back." He said the sentence simply, purposefully. Like he meant it. Faye looked away from him, hurt and anger glowing in her eyes.
"Fine," she said in a low voice.
"Good. We leave tomorrow. I don't think I can take another circle group."