Part V
The man across the table from us wasn't the type I'd normally consider worth the conversation. But we'd been doing this for a while, and I knew that so far, Vash had been a better judge of character than I had. Besides, the suns were at their zenith, so if we could spend a few hours inside, it would do us both good. The drought's been better for the past few years, but it's still desert.
"Oh, aye, there's talk. But there's always talk."
Vash signaled a waitress with two fingers; she brought another pitcher. With a friendly smile (it's amazing what alcohol can do) the man filled his own glass; perhaps he would have done the same for ours, had they not already been filled. But I do so love to give people the benefit of the doubt.
"Ah, thanks mate. As I was saying..." he leaned back in the chair and cast a glance at me. For some reason, a lot of these guys find me unsettling. I suppose these days it's rare to find a young man that looks like he'd shoot you without a second thought. It wasn't the truth, but I was beginning to pick up Vash's talent with expressions. I merely nodded as he continued his story, without letting the bitter amusement show.
"As I was sayin'. There's talk of people acting strange- a man shoots his neighbors for no good reason, a quiet person goes all out on a neighborhood... it varies. Sometimes it's just a few people involved; now and then, you hear tell of a whole town, a small city, out for blood." He interrupted the story again with a refill. I managed not to grow impatient.
"Anyway, there're only a few things any of these places have in common. One;" he said, placing a thick finger for emphasis upon the tabletop, "They're in a straight line if you map 'em. Two," he continued, stabbing a different coordinate on the wood, "There's never a motive for anything. And, three-" third and final, this point demanded a slam upon the furniture that had half the saloon turned for a moment- "There're some calling card the killer- or whatever it is- leaves."
"Calling cards?" I know already what he's going to say. Same thing we heard in the last town... the one before that... before that. It's my turn to ask, anyway; Vash made the inquiry last time.
"Aye. Trademarks. Red flower petals, scrawls on the walls, sometimes in weird languages. And a type of victim following the pattern, too, though not always- a girl, long hair, dark." He regarded me coolly; I matched his stare. And who says I haven't learned anything? The man finally broke contact, went back to nursing his mug. Vash stood, breaking the silence and stillness that enveloped our lone table.
"Thank you for the information." He dumped some money on the table- more than enough to cover the drinks. I followed him, as I'd been doing for quite some time. Apparently, he'd finally been convinced that, no, this town had no more to offer us.
Later, in the car, he took off his sunglasses and massaged his temples. After a few months, I'd grown able to read him a bit better. When he took off the shades, he took off the top layer of his mask. At first, he'd been nearly silent, not bothering with conversation. I suppose it was his numbness, lasting longer than mine; I'd been unsettled by his eerie determination.
But, slowly, he'd begun to bend back, taking his own characteristics to heart. He wasn't nearly as carefree as he'd been, but he was in much better shape now than he had been. It had been a relief, at the very least, to know that he hadn't utterly snapped. His grief was just too raw. I don't blame him for it. But I'd felt better when he'd begun to speak again.
"You know, Adam, you don't have to do this." The longest sentence he'd said in months; I managed not to lose control of the car. "You don't have to come after him. I don't know why I brought you- you don't deserve this..."
"I may not deserve it, but I want it." Needed it. My own pain cried out, half-buried, for vengeance; or, at least, the peace to know Knives was at bay once more. But I knew Vash would be able to guess that himself.
"We'd all hoped you'd never have to tread this path... never have to learn these things." He glanced my way. "When it happened- I don't know that I realized what I was doing. You look so damn much like him... It seemed natural. But, Adam, I don't really want to get you killed, too."
"If I do, it's because that's my destiny." Without a good reason, a slow smile spread across my lips. "And I need to do this as much as you do." For Mother.
Now, Vash wasn't bent on explanations, or even on dissuading me. Here, in the car, he was letting himself crash. I knew how tired I was; for him, it must be worse. So I let him be as we drove, mindless forward movement.
"There's never anything more. Calling cards, distance, random destruction. When we trace his next move, he manages to out-step us, or leave a city unharmed."
"I know."
"It's like he's watching us; he may well be." He lifted his head, looked over the sands. "The fact is, I never thought he'd try this. He's chafed at my control, but at least he didn't bother anyone. Aside from commenting."
"It's hard to believe he's your brother." I winced saying it; not a good comment to make, but it had come to mind. I need to learn to think before I speak. Vash, to his credit, didn't flinch.
"I know." He spoke quietly and didn't look at me. I knew it hurt him, even if he didn't show it.
"We'll find him."
"We'll have to."
We camped, that night, having decided to skip the next town. It just wasn't worth it. We ran parallel, for the most part, to Knives' path; it seemed better than actually following him, because we didn't see the places ourselves. For the most part. Now and then we'd go through one, in the hopes of seeing something the rest of the world didn't. And I had a suspicion that, once we found his brother, Vash would try to help rebuild what had been destroyed. It was his character.
Vash sat away from the fire, looking at the stars; while I longed for the sort of solitude he drew about him like a shroud, I had things to attend to. The Cross was always in need of my attention. Though it was in fairly good repair, we hadn't yet had the opportunity to use it. So we didn't really know if it would work. We'd checked the mechanisms a few times already, but I didn't really trust it, having always believed a little extra care was worth the trouble. So I tended it every night we camped (which wasn't all that frequently,) checking each moving part for wear, examining the buckles to make sure none were in danger of breaking. It was an absorbing task- partially self-defense against Vash's silence, which I found a bit unsettling.
The next morning, Vash offered to drive. Vash never drove. In fact, I wasn't sure he could. Nonetheless, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with the idea- after all, we were in the desert, so I doubted we'd find any accidental pedestrians- and, anyway, he was my uncle. So I climbed into the passenger seat, feeling ever so slightly uncomfortable in the unaccustomed pose.
We'd been heading along at a good pace for some isles towards the next town, when I saw why Vash had wanted to drive. A sudden left turn, and we were headed towards an entirely different city- the next one on Knives' trajectory.
"We're attempting spontaneity," he said quietly. I understood, though- each time we've tried to head him off, Knives has eluded us. My uncle was going to see if we couldn't throw him off our track, so we could get onto his.
The city looked like any other, which might or might not be a good sign; it could be because we'd beaten his brother there, or it could be because he'd managed to outwit us again. I didn't know which. Vash sent me in to get a room for us. I look a bit less memorable. When I'd gotten the key, we both went upstairs to wait... to see whether anything would happen.
My uncle sprawled across a bed immediately upstairs, the smile that had become so rare creeping over his lips. I couldn't help but answer as I followed suit; there was certainly something to be said for civilization, after all.
After a while, I managed to pull off my shoes and drag myself into the bed. If we were going to be up all night chasing Vash's brother, it would be good to get some sleep while I could. And, besides, I was tired. Vash didn't follow suit, at least not while I watched. Instead, he sat with his back against the wall, watching the suns set out the window.
It would be a long, long night, if we'd managed it at last.