AN: I know its been so long since my last update and to my readers I'm sorry! (and I'm not just saying that because I have a cutlass pointed at me as I write this!) anyway on with the story!

It was in the twilight hours of the night when Eleanor arrived at the address the bartender gave her. At first glance she knew something big had happened here as a stench of death still lingered, though it was also evident that someone had begun cleaning it up as there were piles of bodies on the back of a nearby pick-up truck. Eleanor walked through the entrance steeping over the broken door and spotted a person in a surgeon's outfit scrubbing vigorously on the floor with a sponge.

"Excuse me, sorry to interrupt but I'm looking for a young girl. You wouldn't have happened to have seen her here would you?" Eleanor asked.

The cleaner paused as if a deer caught in the headlights and stood up facing the young maid. Sawyer had heard a lot of stories concerning a killing machine in a maid's outfit but the one standing before her didn't even come close to the description. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her ultra-voice and pressed it against her neck.

"No…haven't seen a little girl's body…so she must still be amongst the living…" Sawyer paused as she walked over the bar. Eleanor was a bit surprise to find that the individual was a female in the same age range as her and even more so when the girl pulled a large chainsaw from behind the bar counter and slammed it on top.

"But…" she pulled the rip-cord starting the machine "it not too late to add one." Sawyer pulled down her surgeon mask revealing a sinister smile. Eleanor eyed the chainsaw with disdain.

"Honestly does everyone in this city resort to violence the first chance they get?" Eleanor asked, she didn't get her answer as Sawyer charged at her with the roaring chainsaw. Eleanor quickly sidestepped the rush and tried to put distance between her and the chainsaw wielding cleaner but she soon discovered that despite the large size of the chainsaw the girl handled it like a knife as Sawyer swung it in an attempt to still catch her in its rotating teeth. Sawyer turned on a dime and was closing the distance in an attempt to corner the maid but her opponent seemed to be resourceful as she leapt over overturned tables and chairs but Sawyer had no problem following her she knew her prey would soon get tired and she would be hearing the sound of metal cutting into flesh soon, but before that there was another sound. It was of a small metal hitting the wooden floor. Sawyer stopped her pursuit the instant she noticed it was missing, the one thing that was more important than killing the maid, her ultra-voice! She franticly looked around on the floor completely ignoring the maid, until she felt a tap on her shoulder she turned to see who dared to interrupt her search and was met with a punch to the face sending her crashing into a nearby table. Sawyer quickly got up and was about to swing her chainsaw at the threat when she notice the maid holding her ultra-voice high above her head.

"It seems you care a great deal about this tiny device, so fragile and small, I better not drop it or it may never work again." Eleanor warned, though it did make her feel bad to be holding something that was obviously important but if it was going to help her find Miss Margaret she would have to do it.

"Now I'll ask again have you seen a little girl name Margaret?" Eleanor asked sternly. Sawyer remembered the name, it was on the piece of paper Revy threw away, but that didn't matter right now the maid in front of her had her voice so she couldn't answer anyway. Sawyer walked over to a window and fogged it with her breath and wrote.

NO VOICE STUPID!

Eleanor mentally chided herself, 'of course she can't answer! You have her voice!'

"Well it seems we are at an impasse, I need answers and you need a voice to answer me. So what do you propose?" Eleanor asked, again mentally slapping herself because the chainsaw wielding girl still could not answer.

Sawyer repeated the process of communication and wrote

TRADE

Sawyer pulled out the crumpled up piece of paper Revy threw away and waved it in front of her. Eleanor put two and two together and figured Miss Margaret's whereabouts were written down but there was one problem.

"Get rid of the chainsaw and you have yourself a deal." Eleanor stipulated, to her surprise the girl chucked the chainsaw threw the glass of the window she wrote on! The two approach each other and met in the middle.

"We trade at the same time." Eleanor informed the cleaner, Sawyer quickly nodded her head in agreement, each stuck out their hand and the items they were trading and quickly swapped the items.

Sawyer hugged her ultra-voice as Eleanor unfolded the crumpled up piece of paper it had a time and place of where a trade was going to happened she saw that Margaret's name and a name of someone named Rock. She also notice that the hand writing seemed familiar though she didn't give it much thought as she finally had a solid lead on where to find Margaret.

"Was that what… you were looking for?" Sawyer said interrupting Eleanor's thoughts.

"Yes, yes it was, I'm sorry that I had to hold your voice hostage to get it but it was worth it." Eleanor apologized, as she started to leave.

"Why…do you care…so much about her?" Sawyer asked out of curiosity.

Eleanor stopped in the doorway and looked at the full moon before answering. "We have the same relationship as you do with you and your voice. I cannot continue without her."

Oooo

"Madlax, is this part of the plan even necessary? Limelda asked over her headset.

"To me it is, just make sure you get Margaret back." Madlax answered.

Limelda sighed and clicked off her headset, she walked over to the car and pulled Rock from the back seat. His hand and feet were tied together and they had taped his mouth shut. Limelda walked him over to a nearby post and tied him to it before ripping the tape off his mouth.

"I have a question for you." Limelda asked unemotionally.

"uh, I'll try to answer it the best way I can." Rock answered.

"How many people have you killed?" Lamelda inquired, the question caught Rock off guard.

"I've never killed anyone!" he said defensively.

Limelda scoffed at Rock's reaction before retorting. "Your eyes give you away, so I'll ask again. How many people have you killed?"

Rock was quickly becoming annoyed by the line of questioning. "and I'm telling you I've never killed anyone. Hell I've never even picked up a gun." Rock snapped back.

Limelda chuckled at the rise she got out of her hostage. "So you believe that you have no blood on your hands whatsoever? That you never taken a life?"

"Never" Rock simply said.

"Every time a king sends his army to war, there is blood on his hands, every time political leaders signs a declaration of war they have blood on their hands, even when a mob boss orders a hit or a commander gives the orders to kill they too have blood on their hands. Just because they don't do the act themselves does not mean they have never killed anyone they are just as responsible as the one who pulls the trigger, who swings the sword, or follows the orders, and you. You are no different from them, you may not use guns or knives but you do use words, the worst of all tools that deal death." Limelda responded.

"All the people that you described are people with power. The power to give the order to kill, I on the other hand can't even get one person to stop killing." Rock countered.

"That may be true but that's what makes you worst than them. A few lies here a little truth there and the ones with power becomes a puppet for you to toy with, a puppet master that sits on his ass and watches everything unfold just as he planned with none being the wiser about it. The problem I have with you is that you will not even admit to it. When I first was you I tried to figure out why someone like you would bother living in this hell hole then it dawned on me." Limelda paused to tape a Bluetooth to Rock's ear and over his eyes.

"and what reason was that?" Rock said coldly.

Limelda took out a knife and cut off the rope that bound his feet together. "This city is just a damn playground for you, I'm willing to bet that you willing inject yourself into deadly conflicts just to manipulate the outcome." Limelda shrugged her shoulders and added." Of course this is all just speculation."

"Of course it is. To accuse me of being some type of puppet master is absurd." Rock scoffed.

"I bet you even saw this as a possible outcome didn't you?" Limelda asked, to which Rock simply answered with a smile but Limelda quickly removed it with her back hand.

"So we were just your pawns from the moment we step foot in this city every action we took was one you predicted that would happened and you planned accordingly. But I have to admit, it was a good plan, make sure Madlax and I saw you at the bar, so we know who to target, getting the car to pull up in time to get your friend out, even going so far as to get yourself kidnapped, knowing we use you to get the girl back. But you missed something Rock." Limelda taunted.

"Entertaining the notion that I masterminded this whole thing two questions come to mind. The obvious one is what gave me away? And two what could I have possibly over looked?" Rock inquired.

"When you sat in a car parked in front of the Cartel Stronghold. It's hard to miss the work of a sniper, anyone with half a brain would have parked out of site or not at all, instead you parked there in the killzone, hell if it wasn't for Madlax I would have put a round through your partners head, you knew we were watching and that it was a matter of time till we came and grabed you." Limelda said pacing back and forth in front of Rock.

"And what did I over looked?" Rock asked.

"Second, you didn't expect us to catch on to your plan." Limelda paused.

"That would be true." Rock sneered.

"But I'm not finished, you didn't think we catch on, but since we did we took the liberty of making an addition to your plan."

"And what addition did you feel you need to make?" Rock asked curiously.

"Not me, Madlax, it seems your female companion had really gotten under her skin and since has not been herself and now as a result she has become a wild card or your X factor. I've tried to convince her to not go through with it but she is insistent." Limelda said.

"Well what is it?" Rock asked as he was starting to get a uneasy feeling in his stomach.

"She's going to kill the one you call Revy." Limelda answered.

"Wait that's not supposed to happen!" Rock yelled in surprise.

"It's not an admission but I'll take it, It's best not to thing about it, besides I think Madlax may have exaggerated that part, but if she does go to far as to seek revenge selfishly then she will soon join your friend." Limelda went back to the car and popped open the trunk and pulled out her MK.14 EBR Rifle and checked her ammo. "I'll make sure of it."

AN: again sorry for not updating sooner but hopefully that will change in the near future. Oh and before I forget. R&R and I do not own Madlax or Black Lagoon but this would make for one kick ass OVA.