By Kotohonou

CH3: OUTLAWS, DEMONS, AND COWBOYS

With Spike around, things were a bit more interesting. After a week of recovery, Spike was able to shed the majority of the bandages, and decided to create a rock garden in the backyard. After several attempts he admitted he was not the artistic type, but it kept his mind off other things. Melissa and Annaliese spent countless hours watching him curse at and attack the ground.

Tokiya spent most of his time improving his video game skills. His goal was to beat Kurei and that blasted Captain Falcon!

Kurei kept to himself. He caught up on his reading, and trained a little bit. Melissa stumbled into his room one day to hear explain, in his sleep, how he was going to take care of Recca.

One night at dinner, Annaliese made an announcement. "We have one week before the demon child comes."

Kurei clutched his spoon tighter.

"Can we put her in the garage or something?" Tokiya asked offhand.

Melissa, who was reading the newspaper, suddenly jumped up. "I have a solution!" She said as she waved the paper around. She tossed the paper to Annaliese and recited, "Starwind and Hawking, willing to do any job!"

Spike cleared his throat; "I like Tokiya’s idea. But I have no clue who or what you are talking about. Whatever it is, it can’t be that bad."

Four pairs of glaring eyes shut him up really quickly.

"Okay, I could be wrong."

Kurei crossed his arms; "Yes you could be and are!"

"Starwind and Hawking…. Starwind and Hawking….sounds…. familiar…" Annaliese scratched her head.

"Yeah, familiar! Look at the contact!" Melissa pointed to the bottom of the paper.

"‘Questions? Call Gene Starwind at-’ Hold it, GENE Starwind?" Annaliese’s face froze.

"Isn’t that cool?" Melissa asked.

"Oh my god!" Annaliese screamed.

"Oh my god!" Melissa echoed.

The guys looked at each other. "Any clue what they are talking about?"

"No, you?"

"Nope."

"Kurei, get me the phone!" Melissa shouted.

"Huh? Why?"

"Because I said so!"

"Whatever…" Kurei said as he retrieved the phone obediently.

"Well?" Annaliese asked.

"Success!" Melissa cheered. She sat down with the others, who were watching Escaflowne. "Ooohh… look at Folken… Oh, yeah! You go, Folky! Oooooooo…."

Kurei did his best to scowl, but still looked like a beaten puppy.

"Aww!! Is someone jealous?" Tokiya laughed, only to be met with a scorching blast of flames.

"Kurei! Don’t hurt him!" Annaliese ran to the kitchen to retrieve some water to put out the flames.

"Hmph." Kurei went to his room.

"Gene and Jim and Jim will be here tomorrow around one. I told them they could stay here until demon girl comes. Then they can get her out!" Melissa said half-heatedly (She was still being mesmerized by the older Fanel brother).

"You know what, Melissa? A big house, friends, and bishounen, what could be better?"

"ZZzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzSpike?zzzzzzZzzzZZZZZZZzzzz Are you there?ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzThis is JetzzzZZZZZZZZI have news on a huge jobZzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZI can’t do itZZZZZzzzzzzzmaybe you canZZzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZSpike?Zzzzzzzz-"

"Spike’s not here. Can I take a message?" Melissa picked up Spike’s audio-visual communicator.

"ZZZZZzzzzWho are you?zzz"

"Hi! I’m Melissa! Spike is grocery shopping. Can I have him call you back?"

"Grocery shopping?"

"Yeah, we needed some milk and stuff for S’mores."

"Did you… brainwash him?" Jet said nervously.

"No. Why?"

"Never mind. Tell him to call Jet, ok? Thanks."

"No problem! Bye-Bye!" Melissa put the communicator down.

On the Bebop, Jet closed the connection. ‘Spike? Grocery shopping? He doesn’t call me for over a week and then he’s grocery shopping?’ He sighed and turned to a screen where a bounty read:

Harry McDougal-15,000,000 Woolong Reward-Wanted Alive.

"Shpikey!"

"Uh?" Spike had just walked in with a large bag of groceries when Melissa came charging down the stairs.

"You got a call!"

"From-?"

"Uh…. Wait…. I know this…. Oh, a guy named Airplane!"

"Airplane? I don’t know anyone named ‘Airplane!’"

"Well he wanted to talk to you. He said that’s what his name- oh wait, maybe it was Jet…"

"Jet?" Spike said softly, the grocery bag slipped.

"Hey! Keep that bag safe! I refuse to make S’mores with broken graham crackers! Anyway, he said something about a job. It was hard to hear, because your communicator was really static. He said he wants you to call him back."

An unseen clock rang one.

"Gene and Jim will be here soon!" Annaliese raced down the steps to the entryway, where Melissa and Spike were still talking. Oblivious to them, she sat on the edge of a chair, glancing nervously up at the clock every couple seconds. "Why aren’t they here? They’re supposed to be here! Maybe they aren’t coming! Do they not love me? Why? Why???"

A knock sounded on the door. Annaliese sprung up to answer it.

"You do love me!" She leapt on the first one in the door, Gene. "Yay!"

"Okay…. Will you let go of me now?" Gene gasped.

Jim, laden with their bags, rolled his eyes, "Everybody goes for Gene…"

"Here, Jim, let me help you." Annaliese released her grip on Gene and took some of the bags. "I’ll show you guys to your rooms!" She led them upstairs.

"Annaliese is so excited… You’d think we were running a hotel…" Melissa laughed. She handed Spike his communicator. "Call your buddy."

"Jim, this is your room, and Gene, this one is yours." Annaliese put the bags she was carrying down in the hallway of the fourth floor. "I’ll be downstairs with Melissa, Tokiya, Kurei, and Spike if you need anything. Ciao!"

Jim jumped on his bed, "Wow, Gene, this room must be nearly as big as our office!"

"This place is nice, all right. That girl though, she seems a little strange. She and her friend are living here with some guys. How did they get this place?" Gene pondered.

"I just hope they pay us well!"

Annaliese entered the TV room, where Kurei and Tokiya were playing Super Smash Bros., again. "I wonder how we’ll pay them."

"We’ll find a way, if they complete the job." Tokiya said, emotionless.

"If." Kurei smiled slightly.

"Hmph!" Annaliese said.

Spike emerged from the kitchen, with Melissa right behind him.

"No! You are not!" Melissa screamed.

"You are not saying what I can and can’t do! Who do you think you are, my mom?!" Spike yelled back.

"Uh… I think I missed something…" Tokiya said.

"Yeah… me too…" Kurei said.

"Hey guys, what’s up?" Annaliese asked.

"Spike is going to run away!" Melissa exclaimed.

"What?!" Annaliese, Kurei, and Tokiya shouted.

"I got a big job I have to do." Spike crossed his arms.

"Have to do? No, no, You want to do it. No one is forcing you to do it." Melissa glared at him.

"SHUT UP!"

"I agree with Melissa, you aren’t going." Annaliese said.

"Sorry, Spike, gotta go with the girls on this one," Kurei put his controller down and stood behind the girls.

"Ok guys, here’s the deal, my partner, Jet, contacted me with a huge job, 15,000,000 woolong to take in one guy. That’s a pretty rare find, and it’s going to be mine."

Jim was busy typing away on his computer in Gene’s room. Gene was lying on the bed.

"Gene! Here’s a good bounty! 21,000,000 wong for one guy!"

Gene nearly fell off his bed, "21 mil for one guy? Who is it?"

"Ooohh, You’re going to like this, Harry McDougal."

"Harry? I thought he was dead!"

"Guess not… Let’s see, last spotted on Heiphong Five."

"What are we waiting for, Jim? Let’s go get us a bounty!" Gene stood up.

"Have you forgot about our current job?" Jim rolled his eyes.

"Oh course not, they said we could stay here until we have to take care of the little brat. She won’t be coming for a week… and they never said we HAD to stay here."

Jim sighed, "Whatever…"

"We still need to pay back Fred, and we might actually strike it rich this time! What do ya say, partner?"

"Fine…" Jim smiled, "Let’s do it!"

The girls were still arguing with Spike. Kurei and Tokiya were doing their best to ignore them.

"You are not coming!"

"We are too!"

"No you are not!"

Annaliese produced two suitcases from behind her back, "We have to come, see? We already packed!"

"This good for all of us. You get to go bounty hunting, and we go on a vacation!"

"You’d get in my way!" He yelled. Now I remember why I hate kids… especially girls!

Gene and Jim made their way to the TV room. "Where are you going?"

"Road Trip!" Melissa shouted. She rubbed her stomach, "Hey, let’s make S’mores now."

"Road Trip?" Jim asked.

"Yeah! Spike is going after a bounty, we are going to follow!"

Jim and Gene drew back, "Bounty?" they asked.

"Yes, Harry McDougal."

"That’s our bounty!" Gene shouted.

"Hey, I’m hungry!" Melissa said.

"It’s mine!" Spike growled.

"Well, if no one is going to object, I’m going to make some." Melissa walked to the kitchen.

"I’d like some S’mores!" Annaliese cried out.

"S’mores?" Jim asked.

"C’mon, Jim, you can have some too." Annaliese dragged him into the kitchen with her.

"Now see, you take the graham crackers, then put the chocolate on, and then put the toasty marshmallow on." Melissa explained, "Here try it!" She handed it to Jim.

"Mmmm… Good!"

"Why thank-you!" Melissa bowed, "I do my best."

Annaliese licked her fingers clean of the marshmallowy goo. "So, Jim, you guys are going after the bounty too?"

"Uh-huh."

"That’s great!" She shouted.

"What?" Melissa and Jim stared at her.

"We can all go together!" Annaliese ran out of the kitchen. "Geney! Spikey! I’ve got an idea!"

"What?" They said in unison.

"We can all go together!"

"NO!" Spike yelled.

"Dream on!" Gene shouted.

Annaliese glared at them, "My house, my rules! We’re all going together, and that’s final!"

END: ‘Outlaws, Demons, and Cowboys"