A/N: A chapter up after only a week! Thanks Aine for your recommendation, I appreciate the gesture. Also, I'm changing the genre to suspense rather than horror; just fits better with the story.
Surprises Abound
"You did what!" a voice suddenly screamed, waking Vash from his slumber and causing him to roll of the couch. The blond looked quickly above the couch, frantically trying to disentangle himself from the blanket wrapped around him and prepare for danger. Suddenly he stopped his failing escape as he noticed his friends deep in conversation, apparently arguing over something important.
"Meryl, it's all right. Mr. Priest didn't hurt me...too much" a gentle voice responded.
"He hurt you!" Meryl yelled, casting a scathing glare in the priest's direction.
"Come on, Meryl" Wolfwood said calmly, lighting a cigarette. "It's not like she doesn't have time to prepare. Her changing moon won't be for another month."
Vash's eyes lighted up with understanding and a small smile appeared on his face, realizing what had taken place the night before. He stood with a goofy grin, catching the attention of the small group in the kitchen's entrance.
"Way to go Wolfwood!" he shouted, raising a hand above his head. The priest returned his expression, the cigarette in his mouth dangling in one corner as he gave a large smile.
"You stay out of this!" Meryl snarled at the gunman, her eyes flashing dangerously.
"Yes ma'am" he squeaked, cowering back onto the couch.
Meryl turned her attention back to the priest, who had straightened his grin to a more serious expression, and warily eyed his face. She was searching for any signs of ill intentions, knowing well her friend's emotional state was now linked with the self-declared priest's actions. Inwardly breathing a sigh of relief at the lack of such emotions, realizing he only meant well for the big girl. Keeping her lips set in a thin line to stay with appearances, the small insurance girl turned her back and entered the kitchen to make breakfast.
A sudden knock on the door interrupted their breakfast, Meryl rising and walking to the front door. Opening the portal she was met with the sight of the local postal officer, a smile on his face. He tipped his hat and handed her an envelope, leaving as quickly as he had come. The small insurance girl looked curiously at the paper, quickly ripping open the package and removing a note from within. She read the contents carefully, recognizing the company logo printed upon one corner of the letter.
"We have a new assignment" she said, looking up from the telegram and into the surprised faces of her companions. "Millie and I have to travel to New Salem to investigate a missing employee."
Wolfwood and Vash stared at the two women for a moment before turning to each other, worried expressions on their faces. Then identical grins spread across their mouths and they nodded their heads in unison, the blond gunman the first one to speak for both boys.
"This will be pretty dangerous, won't it?" Vash asked, walking up to Meryl and gently taking the letter. He read the contents himself, placing a stern expression on his face and nodding his head in decision.
"Yes" Meryl replied, trying to snatch the paper back without success. "But what has that got to do with you?" she questioned, a suspicious glint in her eyes.
For a moment Vash didn't move, merely glancing at the contents one last time. Then he silently handed the note back to Meryl, turning his serious emotion into her own perplexed one. For a moment she though she saw a flicker of some concern, maybe even a sign of intelligence...
Only to have him ruin the moment.
"We'll be your own personal bodyguards" the blond said, flashing a large grin.
Meryl's mouth twitched as she turned away from the broken tension, walking up the stairs while muttering something about a broom-headed idiot and his lycanthrope friend. Vash followed curiously, intent on receiving a positive answer to his roundabout question. He watched from the girl's room doorway as the small insurance girl started gathering a few items and throwing them on the bed, making a neat pile to pack.
"Are you sure we can trust Wolfwood?" Meryl asked to the blond she knew was standing behind her, dragging her suitcase from under the bed. "He still has one more night of full moon and we won't have that cell to keep him in."
"Of course I trust him" Vash replied, watching as she went to the dress and began pulling her clothes out of the drawers. Eying the articles closely, his eyes widened as he noticed the silk panties with matching bras in her hands. Looking over the petite form he imagined her wearing those garments...and nothing else. His blood heated at the image and he felt his length stiffen, dark crimson pooling into his eyes. A feral grin appeared on his face as he silently stalked over to her form, careful to stay behind her as the petite woman remained unaware of his change.
"I guess we don't have any other choice" Meryl continued, too preoccupied with her packing to notice the figure standing behind her. "But can I trust you...ah!" she exclaimed as a pair of strong arms wrapped around her, pinning her arms to her sides. She struggled in his hold for a moment before stiffening, a gasp escaping her lips as she felt a hand slide under her short shirt.
"Are you wearing those now?" he growled out, his mouth pressing against her neck. He slid his tongue along her smooth skin, placing open-mouthed kisses along her throat as his hand began creeping higher along her stomach.
Meryl immediately realized what he was speaking of, the clothes strewn out before her an obvious hint. She panted as his wandering hand traced the outline of her thin, lacy bra, a shaky moan escaping her parted lips.
"Maybe" Meryl teased, her reasonable mind telling her to shut up and run. She ignored the voice, concentrating on the warmth spreading through her body as her breathing quickened. She gave a small cry when he reached her, arching into his touch as her head rested against her shoulder.
A sharp gasp of surprise escaped her lips as Meryl looked into his face, quickly noticing the red tinge in his dark orbs. The color in his eyes shoved her back to reality, a slight tremor of fear racing through her body as she realized he had once more lost control. She squirmed in his hold for a moment before brushing against his obvious arousal, a need arising in her own body for his pleasure.
Vash sensed her fear rising, a part of him struggling to step away while the more primal side wished to comfort her. His body began to shake with the internal battle, his head pulling from the nape of her neck even as he heard a groan of protest from the raven-haired temptress. He gritted his teeth together as he felt her turn in his loosening arms, desperately trying to keep from forcing her still. However, the slightest tinge of fear in her eyes, mixed with the worry in the lines of her mouth, finally pushed the beast back in its place.
Vash slowly collapsed against Meryl as she took his weight, his breathing erratic as she settled him on the bed. She passed a worried hand over his brow, his eyes closed as he slowly drifted to sleep. The sun must be hard on him she thought with some concern, standing and closing the heavy curtains in the room. After telling the couple downstairs of Vash's unconscious state she managed to finish Millie and her packing with the blond gunman still lying atop their bed, his soft snores causing a small smile to light her face.
Unfortunately, before the noon hour Meryl was forced to awake the sleeping half-vampire, their journey having to be finished before the setting sun. The foursome all piled into the truck a short while later, having packed and informed the renter of their departure. After making a quick stop at the bakery for Vash to supply himself with his source of energy, the group set out on the road. Meryl had grudgingly allowed Wolfwood to have control of the wheel, threatening him with physical harm if he decided to defy the laws of gravity with the vehicle again.
The time passed quickly for the travelers, their destination but a half day's drive from their last place of residence. However, an uncomfortable stillness permeated the small cab of the old truck, Millie sat uneasily between Vash and Meryl, the blond gunman insisting on having the window seat while the short girl wished to keep an eye on the driver. The big girl knew something was wrong with the two of them and surmised they'd had an 'argument' upstairs, though exactly what had happened was now not the problem. At the moment she needed to figure out how to stop the nervous friction between the obviously attracted couple, and a perfect idea came to mind...
Arriving at the town a few hours later, the four happily piled out of the cramped cab, stretching their aching limbs and looking curiously around. This town was much larger than the one they had previously occupied, a bustling business district stretched before them for miles and an uncountable number of houses lining the main street.
Finding the Bernardelli office with some trouble, the insurance girls found only an empty building with overdue claims piled high on the desk and in a heap before the mail drop box. Asking the local business owners around the structure proved to be fruitless, no one having seen the employee for the last week. They next called at the place of residence, finding the address amongst the pile of papers, and found the structure as desolate as the workplace.
The insurance girls decided to employ the use of the missing agent's house, having no qualms about doing so with the building being owned and paid for by the company. If the missing employee returned, their most likely place of meeting them would be at their place of residence. Besides, the sun was beginning to set and one of their two 'bodyguards' would soon need the privacy.
However, before Meryl was able to settle her scarce belongings into one of the two bedrooms, Millie and Wolfwood hastily took one as their own. With the sudden emergence of their new relationship, the blond gunman was left to fend for himself on the living room couch while the small insurance girl had her own room. Then the two went one step further with their possessive nature...
Vash watched in disbelief as the two carried the sofa into the room, leaving nothing for him to lay on except the floor as they made the excuse of a bed for the transformed Wolfwood. Meryl, on the other hand, stared at the actions of her 'friends' in suspicion, though could do little objecting with the oncoming night fast approaching. Hearing the door to their room slam shut with a finality which confirmed their eagerness to leave her and Vash alone, a tentative hand reaching up to message a sudden headache. Sighing to herself at her forced predicament, she turned to the whimpering gunman with some pity.
"If you want, Vash, you can sleep in my room" she offered, almost immediately regretting her decision.
Vash's eyes lit up at her words, nodding his head in the affirmative and picking up his pillow and blanket. He grinned widely behind the small insurance girl's back as he followed her to the room, hiding his eagerness with more control than he knew he had. Unfortunately, his fun was quickly cut short. After entering the small bedroom Meryl abruptly turned around to face him, her eyes narrowed and her mouth set in a firm line.
"I will let you sleep in the bed only if you promise to stay on your own side" she stated, crossing her arms over her chest. "If you so much as breath on my side I will throw you out on the cold, hard floor. Understood?"
"Completely" Vash said, grinning nervously. His eagerness had completely vanished and he was now mentally cursing the priest and his accomplice for their evil trick. Maybe with the wolf boy so completely docile, he could humiliate him into playing fetch...
In a shadowed room a lone figure reclined in a chair, his eyes closed as silence reigned around his person. The darkness seemed tuned to his being, shifting as his eyelids fluttered in thought. Suddenly a presence intruded upon the still sanctity, approaching the relaxed form.
"They have arrived, my master" the standing figure informed, bowing respectively to the other.
For a moment the oppressing silence neither lifted nor stirred, though the new arrival seemed not to care about the lack of response. Then lids slowly opened to reveal softly glowing orbs, the bright red shining in the shadows.
"Dear little brother, are you finally ready?"
