Chapter Seventeen: Stungun Milly

Rederine waited outside the restaurant, hidden in a gap between two buildings.
Finally, the big girl and the cross guy came out.
"It's about time."
He muttered. He waited until they came close enough.
When they did, he pulled his orange cloak over his face, and ran out.

One second, Wolfwood had been casually holding his cross.
The next, the cross was gone.
"Eh?!"
He looked around, and saw just ahead an orange-hooded figure running, clutching his cross.
"Hey! HEY!!"
He ran after him, turning back to yell at Milly,
"Sorry, I'll get back to you in a sec!"
and then running after the thief at full sprint.
The thief ran into an abandoned warehouse, and Wolfwood followed, feeling angry that anyone in their right mind would try and steal his cross.
Wolfwood entered, sweat already beginning to gather at his hair-line.
"Damn it, where'd he go?"
He looked to his left, and there he saw a glimpse of orange at the top of the stairs.
"Oh, no you don't!"
He ran up the stairs after the cloaked figure, and after several floors, found that the thief was running into a room.
Panting, Wolfwood ran into the room.
The room was wide and open to the desert - it was mostly balcony and verandah.
The thief vaulted over the railings.
"Hey! Don't take my cross with you!"
Wolfwood ran over to the railings, and looked over the rusted metal.
At least thirty meters down was ground.
His eyes darted left to right, searching for the thief.
There wasn't a sign of orange anywhere.
Then Wolfwood heard a swish of a cloak behind him, but before he could turn around, something hit him hard over the head and shoulders, and he found himself falling right over the railings. His stomach hit the railings as he was thrown over, slowing his fall enough for him to grab at the railing with one hand.
It took him a minute to recover from the blow.
When he did, he looked up quickly, the twin suns blinding him as he did so, and caught the figure of a man.
A familiar ring of laughter sounded.
'It's that wacko Vash faced!'
Wolfwood realised. Then,
'Shit! I just fell for one of the dumbest tricks possible!'
"I suppose you won't be needing this, anymore."
Wolfwood saw his cross being thrown right over, and with the other hand, caught it.
His right hand tightened its grip onto the railing.
"Give it up,"
Wolfwood gritted his teeth. He tightened his grip even further, even though they were starting to lose feeling. He intended to flip right over and bash the guy's skull open.
However, the man stepped onto his hand, crushing it painfully and forcing the grip out of it.
Wolfwood let out a surprised yell as he fell, but managed to turn himself round and fall onto the ground with his feet.
He set his cross onto the ground, and looked up again, squinting at the balcony.
"Too late again, I'm afraid."
The voice spoke right in his ear, and Wolfwood spun around angrily.
Yep, it was him alright. The crazy red-head.
He was just about to tug on the buckles on his cross when the man shook his head.
"I don't know what you're going to do with that cross, but I strongly suggest giving it up. Because... well... you have about three seconds."
Wolfwood suddenly felt a sharp pain stab at his head.
He blinked as darkness began to invade his vision, and he fell to the ground.
"Wh-what the hell??"
He gasped, and then he blacked out.

Milly waited at the base of the warehouse for around a minute.
When he didn't come down, she began to worry.
She was about to go up, carrying her stungun, when she heard him yell.
Her eyes widened.
'That came from the other side of this building.'
She thought, and she ran around the building, and along the alley.
'Oh no... something happened to Mr. Priest!'
She stumbled, but quickly picked herself up again.
'Oh, I hope I'm not too late!!'
At the other end of the warehouse, it opened to the desert.
She glanced around, and immediately saw what she had dreaded; the man from that morning two days ago, who had shot Meryl.
"H-H-HOLD IT!!"
She yelled, hitching up her stungun.
Then man turned, revealing him tying Wolfwood onto his own cross.
"Yes?"
He asked.
"Wh-what are you doing t-t-to Wolfwood-san?!!"
She sounded demanding, but she was still scared, causing her voice to stutter.
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm devising another way to hurt Vash the Stampede."
He finished tying Wolfwood's arm to the left part of the cross.
Then he dusted his hands together.
"Finished. Alright, now to take care of you."
He turned to face her, but Milly was ready.
"Y-y-you stop trying t-to hurt Vash-san!!"
She yelled, and fired three shots at the man.
He obviously hadn't expected it, and failed to miss it.
It hit him in the stomach, his right leg and his head.
"Damn it!!"
He growled, and reached over the side of his belt for his gun.
"Oh no you d-don't!!"
She fired another shot that hit the man's hand, the gun falling to the ground.
He glared at her, eyes blazing, and pulled out what looked like a whip.
She fired two more shots - one that hit the gun on the ground further away from the man, and the other that hit the whip out of the man's other hand.
"G-g-give up!!"
He looked away from her, his eyes hidden. He didn't answer.
"Why do y-you want t-to hurt Vash-s-san anyway?!!"
His fists clenched tightly.
"He killed my father!"
He spat.
Milly felt a pang of sympathy, but still felt angered.
"W-well, you didn't have t-to try and k-kill sempai, and Wolfwood-s-san!!"
He then turned his head up.
Milly saw in his eyes something she hadn't really expected - a lot of pain and sadness.
"I'll be seeing you again."
He said, and he swept his cloak over himself.
Then he was no longer there.
Milly ran over to Wolfwood, kicking up sand in her wake.
She had to pause and gasp when she reached him.
He was strung up to his own cross in a twisted fashion, and what tied the priest and the cross together were not merely ropes but strange nylon-like threads that bore tiny hooks, some of which had already torn his skin.
Milly pressed her hands to his face, tears gathering in her eyes.
"Mr. Priest!! Mr. Priest!!"
He didn't reply, and Milly quickly checked for a pulse.
She sighed with pure relief when she felt it.
Her hands groped around the tight threads, only to find that it would probably only break using a knife.
"Oh, I need a knife! A knife... I don't have one!!"
She looked at Wolfwood, and found that she had never seen him look so defenceless in her life.
Milly used her sleeve to wipe the sweat at his brow, all the meanwhile looking around for something - anything - that would help cut what bound Wolfwood to the cross, but couldn't see anything that would seem to work since they were mostly facing the desert.
She bit her lip, wondering whether she should leave him here and go for Vash.
But looking at Wolfwood in such a wretched position, she didn't think she could just leave him here.
'I guess there's one way to do it...'
Milly thought.