List of Cowboy Bebop Characters - Minor Characters - Red Dragon Crime Syndicate

Red Dragon Crime Syndicate

Not too much is known about the crime syndicate. It is an East Asian triad organization led by a group of mysterious elderly men who are called The Van. The Van are usually seen wearing imperial Manchurian-Chinese clothing of the Qing Dynasty. The syndicate specializes mostly in assassinations, but are also involved in the trafficking of narcotics, Red Eye in particular. The rules of the syndicate states that members who attempt to leave, or fail to complete tasks, are punished by death. Mao Yenrai served as a captain or Capo to the Elders and was a mentor to both Vicious and Spike. He is most likely the one who brought them into the Syndicate (since entering into a major criminal organization usually requires sponsorship from a higher-ranked member).

After having left the Syndicate, Spike considers himself in Mao's "debt", and is motivated to confront Vicious for the first time when Mao is killed. His murder occurs at the hands of two men in Vicious' employ—who use Vicious' katana to slit Mao's throat. It takes place immediately after Mao signs a peace treaty with a rival gang, the White Tiger, expressing a desire for relief from the hypervigilance of gang warfare. Vicious explains that he killed Mao because "he was a beast who had lost his fangs."

Spike declares to Vicious that it was Mao who "took you in and made you what you are." The Van later refers to Mao's death as "bad luck" and decline to pursue the issue when confronting Vicious. The Van is also shown to be indulgent toward Vicious initially, which eventually creates their demise.

Spike was once a high-ranking member of the syndicate alongside Vicious, but chose to leave. Those who remained are Vicious, Lin, and Shin. Vicious expresses a desire to dispose of the Van, although his statements express distaste for their weakness as a primary motive, versus a goal of leadership. Once Vicious kills Mao Yenrai and the Van and becomes the head of the Syndicate, his only order of business is to wait for Spike to come and fight him, suggesting that attaining leadership is something of a hollow victory in the absence of his former partner.