It took both of the girls to get the larger man on a chair. They half worried he'd wake up in the process, but they kept an eye on any movement as they made the transition. The henchman, Charles, was an easier process. Milly simply lifted the man from the floor to sit in the seat across the table from his boss.

Meryl glanced at the two bandits sitting across from her, examining Milly's handiwork. "Ropes?"

"Check!" The blonde tightened the bindings around the unconscious men's arms, ankles, and torsos carefully. She'd walked her through the practiced knot aloud to be sure she'd secured them well enough.

"Camera?" The short girl glanced around the room, no weapon could be too close to the two men, or too far from the two women.

"Check!" Milly situated the tripod and looked through the lens to ensure the perfect angle. The shoulders up, no view of the chairs they were tied to. Two captive criminals wasn't quite the aesthetic the viewers would go for, they'd decided.

"Smelling salts?" Meryl sat across from the men, not in the view of the camera, but a safe distance from them, a gun in her hand and stack of questions in her lap.

"Check." Her partner ran a swab under both of their noses and backed away, getting behind the camera once more.

"What the…" Charles squinted at the two girls, pulling his arms against the bindings. "Boss wake up!"

Sloan grumbled as he came to, kicking his foot in vain as it merely tugged against the ropes which bound them to the legs of the chair. "They fuckin'…" He glared at the women across from him. "You two should have fuckin' run when you had the chance."

"We would advise against fighting those ropes, Mr. Sloan. They are some of the strongest on the planet!" The tall woman behind the camera informed him, a familiar smile plastered across her face. "And we reinforced the chairs so don't even think about breaking them either." She scolded. Her eyes narrowed, her grin, however, remained as she lifted her thumb in affirmation.

"Are you two turnin' us in then?" He looked them over carefully before his eyes locked on Meryl. "You two bounty hunters?"

"No. As I said, we're journalists." She straightened the papers in her lap, keeping a firm eye on the two. "But we can be, if you don't want to cooperate." She glanced down at the pages quickly before clearing her throat. "We have a few questions for you, for the cameras, Mr. Tyberius Longshot Sloan."

He scoffed, turning his nose up at them. "And what's gonna happen if I don't answer ya, huh?" He smirked. "Ya gonna turn us in? How are you two little girls going to get us both to the feds?"

Meryl never faltered. "Your friend is worthless." She shot back at him. "However, the task of taking one bound man and throwing him on a thomas would be easy for us." A confident smile played on her lips. "We'll just leave your friend here. I'm sure he'll figure his way out of those ropes eventually."

"Boss, they're crazy…" The smaller man's voice was shaking. His confidence was easily broken.

"Shut it, Charles." He snapped at the man, growling as he looked back at the woman across the room. "What kind of questions do you have?"

Meryl smiled up at her friend. "Start the camera, Milly."

"Yes ma'am!"

"Ladies and gentleman," Her entire persona changed. Her back sat straighter, her voice held more confidence. Her calm, proud smile, could be heard through her words as the slipped off her tongue. "Thank you for tuning in to this month's Outlaw Insider, where we bring you all the answers from the planet's most dangerous criminals."

"My name is Meryl Stryfe and my partner, Milly Thompson and I have brought you the latest news from Tyberius Sloan of Januar."

Vash could feel his wallet getting lighter as he ordered his drink. He was surely overpaying for a cheap beer, but the price for a seat in a bar that held a television steepened the cost almost tenfold. It had been a little over a week since he'd left the girls with the men they were to interview. According to the papers the start of the new monthly special "Outlaw Insider" was to premier that night. That meant they were able to get their interview done in one piece, right?

He sipped the drink slowly, not only was he going to get his money's worth out of it, but the bar he'd found had a strict "no drink, no seat" policy in order to keep seats for those that wanted to waste more money watching the rare luxury that the bar owned.

"Ladies and gentlemen the moment you've all been waiting for!" A dark skinned man in a cowboy hat appeared on the small screen. "The girls who gave us the amazing interview of the Humanoid Typhoon have now graced us again! This time their subject, 'Longshot Sloan.' That's right folks, the lady killer of Januar right here on No-Man's Land Broadcasting!"

A busty blonde shoved him out of the way. "Well stop your lolly gagging and let's get this show on the road! Everyone here's episode two of 'Outlaw Insider!' starring those badass ladies, Meryl and Milly!"

The screen cut to two men, visibly annoyed to be there. Meryl's voice played over the speaker as she introduced herself and the men in front of her, however she remained outside of the camera shot. Instead of sitting at the table with the two men like she'd done with Vash, she'd kept distance between them. So she is taking it seriously, he noted.

"First question, Mr. Sloan. The two women you killed, who were they?"

The man's eyes narrowed. Vash could feel Sloan's icy gaze through the screen. "Y'got names there for the women and the man I killed, don'cha? Why ya askin' me that?"

"We know their names." She confirmed. "Jessica Langsley and Mary Simpson. But who were they to you? And why did you kill them?"

The killer rolled his eyes, turning his head away. Vash noted the man's constant posture and smirked. The camera didn't show it, but the girls had tied him up. Rather well by the look of it. "Because they were mine. And what I do with my property is nobody's fuckin' business."

The plant's body tensed at the response. He'd never felt the urge to scream at a screen before, but he found his hand clenched around the glass, much harder and it might shatter. He grit his teeth before turning the drink to his lips. "Bartender. Another." He said softly.

"Your 'property'." Meryl's voice was harsh, filled with the same anger that ran through his veins, though coated in a professionalism only she could bring to the table. "Human lives are no one's property, sir. I do ask that you clarify your phrasing on the matter."

For a brief moment, the gunman felt a smug smile tugging at his lips.

"They were my women!" He spat, glaring at the camera and, Vash assumed, at Meryl. Vash's short-lived smirk fell as the felon on the screen growled. "My women to fuck, to beat, to do whatever the hell I wanted with. And that son of a bitch thought he could take 'em from me!" He lurched forward as he yelled, like an animal caught in a trap. Vash was sure no one was oblivious to the idea that the man was tied down anymore.

"You mean the man you killed. Jason Wilson."

"Jason was my fuckin' partner, yeah. Apparently he'd been sleepin' with one of 'em and was gonna 'save 'em' from me or some bullshit." He laughed, a gross smile playing across his lips. "We all know how that turned out, eh?"

"So the rumors of you being in a slave trading ring at the time of those events, I assume they were true. And that Mary and Jessica were two women in your possession."

"Yeah. I made an honest fuckin' livin' outta it. And Jason had no right to come in and fuck it all up! Hell he'd brought in a few girls all on his own! Then he tried to act all high and mighty because he got fuckin' attached to one of 'em."

"And as for your partner here. Charles was it?"

The camera turned to another man, his head firmly pointed to the floor. He was visibly shaking as the camera came into focus on him. "Charles?" Meryl repeated. "Are you alright?"

"Turn it off." He whispered. "I don't want them to see me like this…"

"Who?" The girl's voice was softer as she questioned this smaller man. "Who don't you want to see you?"

"M-my family." His shaggy hair hid his face from the camera but did nothing to hide the emotion in his voice. "I don't want them to see me. Cut the camera off please."

The camera turned away from him, finally focusing on the interviewer herself. She was still turned to him, speaking off camera. "You're no longer on video. However, I do suggest getting yourself out of trouble. Staying away from things you don't want your family to see."

She turned to the camera, shoulders back, head held high as she closed out another successful interview. "This has been Meryl Stryfe reporting."

Vash smiled, at the kindness the girl was able to show. By simply turning the camera away, giving the man mercy at his actions, she'd wiped the slate clean. Given him a chance to start over. It was a trait of hers he'd begun to admire the more he'd gotten to know the girl.

"Oh wow he sure was a baddie!" The busty woman was back on the screen with her co-anchor. "Those girls sure did ask some good questions, right?"

"And I bet you next week will be even more fun!"

The blonde bounced with excitement. "You're right! Next month they are interviewing Amorus Lynch right?"

Vash felt as though he could hear his neck snap as he turned back to the screen. This was really going to be a regular occurrence? A monthly show of those two interviewing dangerous criminals?

"That's right! They are currently on their way to get an interview from the one and only Amorus Lynch, the mass arsonist!"

They showed the man's wanted image to the audience. He had short brown hair and blood red eyes. His smile was that of a kid with a new toy despite the shackle hung around his neck. He had piercings up his ears and lip and a safety pin through his eyebrow.

"Arsonist…" The woman gasped dramatically. "But arson is…some consider it even worse than murder!"

The picture left the screen as the male anchor nodded his head. "That's right. On this desert planet no one has the water to spare to put the flames out. By burning down major buildings in four large cities he's responsible for $$850,000 worth of damages as well as the deaths of 28 people!"

"Not to mention countless injuries…" The blonde pouted. "He's not a nice guy. Will the girls be able to get a good interview from him?"

"Let's hope so!" The smile was plastered back on the anchor's face as he patted his partner on the back. "They're tough girls. They'll be able to take him down!"

The girl nodded firmly. "You're right. So don't forget to tune in next month, folks for our next installment of Outlaw Insider with Meryl and Milly!"

Vash stood, paying his tab and pulling his duffel over his shoulder. They'd handled themselves against Sloan, but only by a hair. With a man like their newest target however, "Looks like I have some work to do…" the gunman sighed. "So much for an easy retirement…"

"Did you really have to keep me tied up that whole time?"

"Of course." Meryl glared down at the former henchmen as her partner pulled him off the thomas and set him in the sand. "You tried to attack us and we still don't know that we can trust you." She told him simply, hands placed firmly on her hips.

Charles pulled himself up on his knees, ankles and wrists bound behind him still. "I told you I'm done with Sloan! And I'm sorry."

Milly laughed and wagged her finger. "Always safer than sorrier, right Senpai?"

Meryl nodded, ignoring mistaken phrasing. They'd left Sloan tied up in his home, unconscious from a small knock on the head by her partner. They'd untied one hand only, leaving the other hand behind his back, his torso still strapped to the chair. He'd find his way out of the ropes eventually, if not she did alert the sheriff through anonymous letter that would arrive a couple of days later.

The plan did, however provide them enough of a head start to get Charles away from the man in an attempt to save his life. "You're lucky we even brought you along at all." She reminded him.

Charles dropped his head. "You're right. Thank you…"

The shorter girl sighed. They had already wasted two days trying to run the man to safety, not even looking at their next objective during that time. They couldn't have him fighting in the desert for days against his ropes and end up dying out there. She walked behind him calmly, loosening the ropes at his hands. "Don't make any quick moves. We're still armed." She reminded him.

The man's arms fell free. "Oh thank you…" He smiled. "I promise. I'm going home."

Meryl backed away carefully returning to her thomas with a hop back onto the saddle. "I hope you do. Don't let us have wasted our time on you, Charles." She'd left his legs tied, still giving her and her partner a head start while he untied himself in case of false judgment. "Let's go Milly. We have some catching up to do."

With that, the two of them were off, their thoma leaving dust behind them while the man fought with the bindings on his legs. "Did you pick up our newest orders before we left?" The shorter girl asked, glancing over at her partner.

Neither of them slowed as the blonde handed the envelope over to her friend. "Yes ma'am. And it looks like we have a long way to our first rumor!"

Meryl nodded firmly, leaning forward to gain more speed. "Then let's hurry."

"Yes ma'am!" The blonde followed, right at her heels.

A/N: I know it took waayyy too long for me to get this new chapter out. I'm really trying but sometimes things just get stuck. I will work on chapter 5 a little faster though hopefully. Thanks for your patience with me. Again I have a tumblr with some quick drabbles from the chapters and excerpts called Luckymeryl on there as well. And I have my rp tumblr where I portray a mid-manga Meryl Stryfe as derringer-merylstryfe. (She's getting into some weird situations lately.)

Also it took forever for me to figure out how they were going to leave Sloan without getting killed or leaving him for dead (they just aren't that mean.) So knocking him out and running was the best I could come up with.

Thanks for reading! Please review!