"Meryl?  You want me to... to..."  Twitch.  Damnit, he managed to make me twitch this time. 
                "Precisely.  I want you to take her away from him."
                "But Vash doesn't even like Meryl!"  I'm twelve years old again, whining at my elders.
                "I think I know how to judge my brother."  Well, I don't think you do!  Jesus.  Meryl?  I really, really, don't want to do this...
                "I'm a priest, for chrissake."
                "Never stopped you before," he said, eying my cross. Yeah, well... we do what we have to do. But why do I have to do this? I don't even like Meryl. I really, really hate my job sometimes. I don't even get dental benefits.
                "So.  Can I trust you'll... mmn... take the matter in hand?"

                God above, I want to hand in my resignation right now.  Unfortunately, in this gig, handing in your resignation is generally fatal. "Well, I don't think it'll do much good, but it's not like you're giving me a choice."  I take a sip of tea to cover a few muttered obscenities.

                "Wonderful, wonderful. Well then... is there anything left to discuss?"

                Yeah.  How your brother can be such a good guy and you can be such a demented jerk.  "No, I don't think so..."

                "In that case, I'll take my leave.  Ah... if you require an escort, I'm certain Legato will accompany you-"

                I think I'd rather cover myself in honey and let a platoon of fire ants eat my flesh off the bones.  "Won't be necessary."

                "Ah. Go with God, Reverend."

                "You as well, sir."  And remember that God gave Adam dominion over all he'd made, including the animals, fish, and plants.  Bastard.

                I mean, we all want to go back to the Garden of Eden.  But wasn't it sin that got us in this mess in the first place?  My own hypocrisies notwithstanding, God doesn't like homicidal maniacs.

* * *

Thus is chapter four; I apologize for the shortness and the crappiness.  I wrote it during my lunch period in the library today.  Umm.. I just wanted to give mega thanks to everyone who's reviewed this story so far.  It was a total sudden inspiration, and as this is the second story I've ever written with Wolfwood in the first person (though I roleplay him constantly, so mebbe it doesn't count for so much,) I'm really glad to hear you guys think he sounds right.  ^.^  If you're up for angst, go read Preacher Man.  It's my favorite story thus far, though not nearly as much fun to write as this.