The young man stared at the three people from his perch.
"Hello, Miller." he shouted down to the older man, "I see you've found me."
"Yeah, that's unfortunate for you." Miller said.
"I also that Ivan and Sphinx are here, but not Stingray and Johnny." the young man stated, "I take it you got my package I sent you in the mail."
"That's right, but those two were idiots anyway and I never really liked them."
"You're still your old self, Miller. And knowing you, you've hired a couple new guys to do your dirty work." the young man said.
"Right again." Miller said and he did a hand signal and two men came out from hiding, ÔAnd I see you're still smart."
Vash, Meryl, and Milly watched what was unfolding in front of them.
"I'm beginning to have a bad feeling about this." Vash said.
"Me too." Meryl added.
"I hope Kate is someplace safe." Milly said as she looked at the building where Kate had followed the young man went into.
Meanwhile, Kate stood silently as she watched the young man.
"I was hoping we could have a reunion someday." Miller said.
"Me too, but under different circumstances." the young man said, "Like you three six feet under and me dancing on your graves."
Miller growled at the young man's near-cocky statement.
"I can get that little weasel from here, sir." Sphinx said as she looked through the scope on her rifle.
Miller placed his hand on Sphinx's gun and lowered it.
"Not yet, let's try to have a little fun with him." he said, "Now we can do this the easy, or we can do it the hard way. If you just come down, we'll kill you faster." he shouted to the young man.
Kate couldn't believe what she was overhearing. Why did those people down there wanted the young man dead? She started to step back, when she accidentally knocked over a large barrel, and it fell with a loud crash. The young man heard it and almost acting on instinct, he spun around, drew his gun, and pointed it right at Kate. Kate instantly froze. The young man saw who it was and lowered his gun.
"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked, "I thought I told you to hide."
"I need to ask you something." Kate said.
"Now is not a good time." the young man replied getting somewhat frustrated.
"You had your chance!" Miller shouted from outside, "Ivan, let him have it!"
"With pleasure." Ivan said as he aimed at the area around the balcony.
The young man knew what was going to happen.
"Get down!" he shouted as he dove down. Kate did likewise.
Gunfire began cut through the room. The young man threw himself onto Kate and shielded her. Wooden boxes were shredded into splitters, jars shattered into countless pieces, and deep gouges were put into the brick walls. The barrage ended after about a minute, and all was still. The young man sat and looked down at Kate.
"You all right?" he asked, with a tone of concern in his voice.
"Yes." Kate replied, "Thank you."
"You're welcome." the young man said, smiling, "Now this is important. I'm going to go out there, and when you get then chance, run and hide somewhere."
"What are you planning?" Kate asked, but the young man didn't reply. He jumped and ran down the stairs, and Kate noticed a small, silver object drop out from the young man's poncho.
"Wait, you dropped your-" Kate started to say, but she stopped when she looked at the object. It had a flag on it and Kate didn't recognized the design. It had red and white stripes on it, and had a blue square in the upper left corner with many white stars in it. She opened it and realized it was a lighter. She then took out a book that showed various flags from throughout human history, and began to scan through it.
As this was happening, Vash, Meryl, and Milly watched in horror at what had just occurred. Vash's fear for the young man and Kate soon to anger at the three people who were congratulating the tall, black haired man.
"Those bastards." Vash snarled, "They are the most detestable humans I've ever seen."
"No, they're not humans." Meryl said, "They're scum."
"Do you think Kate and that guy are dead?" Milly asked.
Vash then saw something moves next to a small window. He looked closer and saw it was the young man. The young man began to mouth out words and make hand gestures. Vash understood and gave the young man a thumbs-up.
"What's going on?" Meryl asked.
"Cover your eyes, and get your guns ready." Vash said as he took his handgun
Meryl pulled out two of her pistols, and Milly got her stun gun ready.
Miller stared at the building cautiously. Sphinx noticed this and she came up to Miller.
"What's wrong, sir?" she asked.
"Something ain't right." Miller said, "That guy is up to something."
"Sir, you can't be serious." Sphinx said, "You saw it yourself, Ivan turned that room into Swiss cheese."
"That's right, boss." Ivan replied, "There's no way he can still be alive."
"I'll be sure of that when I see his dead body." Miller said.
He took one step forward, but stopped when saw the young man jump out of the building and threw a round, black object, which turned out to be a grenade. Miller and his group ran for cover as the grenade blew up, sending up a giant dust cloud. Vash, Meryl, and Milly made their moves. Vash fired to cause more confusion, Meryl shot off her two pistols, managing to hit one of the mercenaries in the arm. Milly got three shots off, but none of them hit any of their targets. After their quick attack, they all took cover in different spots. The young man likewise, hiding behind a metal feed bunk. When the dust settled, Miller looked around and cursed under his breath.
"I hate that guy." he spat.
"It looks like he's got some friends now." Sphinx said, "I heard at least two or three other guns."
Miller pushed a button on a control pad on his wrist, and the right eye began to glow. He scanned the area and picked up the body heat of someone in a building in front and to the left of them.
"There's someone in that building over." he said, "You, go and exterminate them."
The mercenary who hadn't been shot by Meryl began to move silently towards the building. Meanwhile, Kate had gone through nearly half the book when found the information she was looking for. She couldn't believe what she found. She began to go downstairs quickly, yet quietly.
Vash, Meryl, Milly, and the young man peeked out of their hiding spots. The young man had noticed the sheriff and two of his deputies had set up a lookout form their office and were waiting for the right moment.Vash, Meryl, Milly, and the young man peeked out of their hiding spots. The young man had noticed the sheriff and two of his deputies had set up a lookout form their office and were waiting for the right moment. Meryl hadn't noticed the mercenary coming up behind her until she saw his shadow. She whirled around, but the mercenary had already had his hands around Meryl's throat and began to strangle her. Meryl's vision was starting to go dark, and felt her body starting to weaken. Vash saw what was happening and wasted no time. He drew out his gun, and did something he rarely did, he aimed to kill. He squeezed the trigger, the shot went off, and in a split second, the mercenary loosened his death grip, and collapsed dead. Meryl began to gasp for air, hardly believing what Vash had done.
The young man reloaded his weapon and was posed for another strike. He leapt up and began to shoot like a maniac. The wounded mercenary jumped out and took a few shots at the young man, but he was quickly taken out by the sheriff and his deputies. Miller had one last idea. He pulled out six grenades, pulled all the pins off at once, and threw them in the young man's direction. The young man saw the explosives heading his way and quickly began to fire again. He managed to defect all the grenades, but two landed right next to the base of the town's monument. They went off, and the sculpture fell like a domino and broke into several pieces. Miller knew that he had lost this round, so he pulled out a smoke discharger and he, Sphinx, and Ivan made their escape.
Later, after Vash checked Meryl over and explained why he did what he did, (he said it was because he could let someone he cared about die), Meryl and Milly reassured the sheriff that Bernadelli Insurance Society would pay for the damage, and they found Kate. Vash spotted the young man, whom had taken off his sunglasses and seemed to be looking for something on the ground. Kate showed Meryl and Milly the lighter, but Meryl was skeptical.
"Kate, you know how many people could own a lighter like this?" she asked.
Kate started to respond, but just then, the young man came up and looked excited.
"Hey, you found my lucky lighter." he said happily as he took it from Kate.
Meryl, Milly, and Kate stared at the young man in silence. The young man noticed and asked what was wrong.
"It's nothing." Kate said, "We've just never seen a lighter like that."
"Fancy, ain't it?" the young man said, "I got it from an old friend. Well, I'll be off. I hope to see you gals sooner or later."
The young man walked away as Vash rejoined Meryl, Milly, and Kate.
"What is it?" he asked.
"It was his eyes." Kate said, "One was blue and then other was green."
"That means that guy is Ace Landen. He has to be." Meryl said.
"I don't get it." Milly said, "The rumors say he's a ruthless killer, but he seems pretty nice."
"You remember the rumors about me?" Vash asked, "This is almost the same thing."
"One things for sure." Meryl said, "We'll have to keep an eye on that man to make sure no more damage is done."
The young man continued on his way.
"Man, Ace, you've gotten yourself into something now." he thought to himself, "Miller has finally found me, and that town was nearly wreaked. I bet I'll get blamed for this. I do hope I meet up with those four people again, they seem nice. And that redhead is cute. On the other hand, I don't want to get them involved with my problems. I'll just wait to see how things turn out."
TO BE CONTINUED...
"Hello, Miller." he shouted down to the older man, "I see you've found me."
"Yeah, that's unfortunate for you." Miller said.
"I also that Ivan and Sphinx are here, but not Stingray and Johnny." the young man stated, "I take it you got my package I sent you in the mail."
"That's right, but those two were idiots anyway and I never really liked them."
"You're still your old self, Miller. And knowing you, you've hired a couple new guys to do your dirty work." the young man said.
"Right again." Miller said and he did a hand signal and two men came out from hiding, ÔAnd I see you're still smart."
Vash, Meryl, and Milly watched what was unfolding in front of them.
"I'm beginning to have a bad feeling about this." Vash said.
"Me too." Meryl added.
"I hope Kate is someplace safe." Milly said as she looked at the building where Kate had followed the young man went into.
Meanwhile, Kate stood silently as she watched the young man.
"I was hoping we could have a reunion someday." Miller said.
"Me too, but under different circumstances." the young man said, "Like you three six feet under and me dancing on your graves."
Miller growled at the young man's near-cocky statement.
"I can get that little weasel from here, sir." Sphinx said as she looked through the scope on her rifle.
Miller placed his hand on Sphinx's gun and lowered it.
"Not yet, let's try to have a little fun with him." he said, "Now we can do this the easy, or we can do it the hard way. If you just come down, we'll kill you faster." he shouted to the young man.
Kate couldn't believe what she was overhearing. Why did those people down there wanted the young man dead? She started to step back, when she accidentally knocked over a large barrel, and it fell with a loud crash. The young man heard it and almost acting on instinct, he spun around, drew his gun, and pointed it right at Kate. Kate instantly froze. The young man saw who it was and lowered his gun.
"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked, "I thought I told you to hide."
"I need to ask you something." Kate said.
"Now is not a good time." the young man replied getting somewhat frustrated.
"You had your chance!" Miller shouted from outside, "Ivan, let him have it!"
"With pleasure." Ivan said as he aimed at the area around the balcony.
The young man knew what was going to happen.
"Get down!" he shouted as he dove down. Kate did likewise.
Gunfire began cut through the room. The young man threw himself onto Kate and shielded her. Wooden boxes were shredded into splitters, jars shattered into countless pieces, and deep gouges were put into the brick walls. The barrage ended after about a minute, and all was still. The young man sat and looked down at Kate.
"You all right?" he asked, with a tone of concern in his voice.
"Yes." Kate replied, "Thank you."
"You're welcome." the young man said, smiling, "Now this is important. I'm going to go out there, and when you get then chance, run and hide somewhere."
"What are you planning?" Kate asked, but the young man didn't reply. He jumped and ran down the stairs, and Kate noticed a small, silver object drop out from the young man's poncho.
"Wait, you dropped your-" Kate started to say, but she stopped when she looked at the object. It had a flag on it and Kate didn't recognized the design. It had red and white stripes on it, and had a blue square in the upper left corner with many white stars in it. She opened it and realized it was a lighter. She then took out a book that showed various flags from throughout human history, and began to scan through it.
As this was happening, Vash, Meryl, and Milly watched in horror at what had just occurred. Vash's fear for the young man and Kate soon to anger at the three people who were congratulating the tall, black haired man.
"Those bastards." Vash snarled, "They are the most detestable humans I've ever seen."
"No, they're not humans." Meryl said, "They're scum."
"Do you think Kate and that guy are dead?" Milly asked.
Vash then saw something moves next to a small window. He looked closer and saw it was the young man. The young man began to mouth out words and make hand gestures. Vash understood and gave the young man a thumbs-up.
"What's going on?" Meryl asked.
"Cover your eyes, and get your guns ready." Vash said as he took his handgun
Meryl pulled out two of her pistols, and Milly got her stun gun ready.
Miller stared at the building cautiously. Sphinx noticed this and she came up to Miller.
"What's wrong, sir?" she asked.
"Something ain't right." Miller said, "That guy is up to something."
"Sir, you can't be serious." Sphinx said, "You saw it yourself, Ivan turned that room into Swiss cheese."
"That's right, boss." Ivan replied, "There's no way he can still be alive."
"I'll be sure of that when I see his dead body." Miller said.
He took one step forward, but stopped when saw the young man jump out of the building and threw a round, black object, which turned out to be a grenade. Miller and his group ran for cover as the grenade blew up, sending up a giant dust cloud. Vash, Meryl, and Milly made their moves. Vash fired to cause more confusion, Meryl shot off her two pistols, managing to hit one of the mercenaries in the arm. Milly got three shots off, but none of them hit any of their targets. After their quick attack, they all took cover in different spots. The young man likewise, hiding behind a metal feed bunk. When the dust settled, Miller looked around and cursed under his breath.
"I hate that guy." he spat.
"It looks like he's got some friends now." Sphinx said, "I heard at least two or three other guns."
Miller pushed a button on a control pad on his wrist, and the right eye began to glow. He scanned the area and picked up the body heat of someone in a building in front and to the left of them.
"There's someone in that building over." he said, "You, go and exterminate them."
The mercenary who hadn't been shot by Meryl began to move silently towards the building. Meanwhile, Kate had gone through nearly half the book when found the information she was looking for. She couldn't believe what she found. She began to go downstairs quickly, yet quietly.
Vash, Meryl, Milly, and the young man peeked out of their hiding spots. The young man had noticed the sheriff and two of his deputies had set up a lookout form their office and were waiting for the right moment.Vash, Meryl, Milly, and the young man peeked out of their hiding spots. The young man had noticed the sheriff and two of his deputies had set up a lookout form their office and were waiting for the right moment. Meryl hadn't noticed the mercenary coming up behind her until she saw his shadow. She whirled around, but the mercenary had already had his hands around Meryl's throat and began to strangle her. Meryl's vision was starting to go dark, and felt her body starting to weaken. Vash saw what was happening and wasted no time. He drew out his gun, and did something he rarely did, he aimed to kill. He squeezed the trigger, the shot went off, and in a split second, the mercenary loosened his death grip, and collapsed dead. Meryl began to gasp for air, hardly believing what Vash had done.
The young man reloaded his weapon and was posed for another strike. He leapt up and began to shoot like a maniac. The wounded mercenary jumped out and took a few shots at the young man, but he was quickly taken out by the sheriff and his deputies. Miller had one last idea. He pulled out six grenades, pulled all the pins off at once, and threw them in the young man's direction. The young man saw the explosives heading his way and quickly began to fire again. He managed to defect all the grenades, but two landed right next to the base of the town's monument. They went off, and the sculpture fell like a domino and broke into several pieces. Miller knew that he had lost this round, so he pulled out a smoke discharger and he, Sphinx, and Ivan made their escape.
Later, after Vash checked Meryl over and explained why he did what he did, (he said it was because he could let someone he cared about die), Meryl and Milly reassured the sheriff that Bernadelli Insurance Society would pay for the damage, and they found Kate. Vash spotted the young man, whom had taken off his sunglasses and seemed to be looking for something on the ground. Kate showed Meryl and Milly the lighter, but Meryl was skeptical.
"Kate, you know how many people could own a lighter like this?" she asked.
Kate started to respond, but just then, the young man came up and looked excited.
"Hey, you found my lucky lighter." he said happily as he took it from Kate.
Meryl, Milly, and Kate stared at the young man in silence. The young man noticed and asked what was wrong.
"It's nothing." Kate said, "We've just never seen a lighter like that."
"Fancy, ain't it?" the young man said, "I got it from an old friend. Well, I'll be off. I hope to see you gals sooner or later."
The young man walked away as Vash rejoined Meryl, Milly, and Kate.
"What is it?" he asked.
"It was his eyes." Kate said, "One was blue and then other was green."
"That means that guy is Ace Landen. He has to be." Meryl said.
"I don't get it." Milly said, "The rumors say he's a ruthless killer, but he seems pretty nice."
"You remember the rumors about me?" Vash asked, "This is almost the same thing."
"One things for sure." Meryl said, "We'll have to keep an eye on that man to make sure no more damage is done."
The young man continued on his way.
"Man, Ace, you've gotten yourself into something now." he thought to himself, "Miller has finally found me, and that town was nearly wreaked. I bet I'll get blamed for this. I do hope I meet up with those four people again, they seem nice. And that redhead is cute. On the other hand, I don't want to get them involved with my problems. I'll just wait to see how things turn out."
TO BE CONTINUED...
