Jackie: Let the games begins!

Chapter 10;

Two weeks later…

Mira, Knives, Meryl, and Millie sat at a table with the saloon owner, Sal. Sal rubbed his chin thoughtfully and said, "I don't know Mira. You've been gone a long time and that nut boyfriend of yours is still at large. Even if I believed you were ready to come back, I don't want any trouble."

Knives fingers flexed beneath the table. He knew how much Mira wanted this. Since she got home she had worked out everyday to get her strength back, and he could hear her practicing her singing in her room late at night. He hadn't dared to say no to her when she said she wanted to try after only two weeks. He glared across the table at Sal. If you know what's good for you, little spider…

"I know, Sal," Mira said, "But he hasn't been seen in almost as long as I've been gone. He's probably picked up and left. The sheriff has people looking for him everywhere. He wouldn't stick around with that kind of heat."

Sal, rubbed his chin again. It was a nervous reflex from way back when he had grown a beard. He'd shaved it off because it was too hot, but the habit remained. He looked around his empty saloon. Business had gotten slower and slower since Mira left, and she did have a point. No one had seen him in well over 3 months.

"I just don't know, Mira doll," Sal said, "I haven't had much business. I'm not even sure I can pay you."

Knives glared even harder at the man. Did that wrinkled old bar manager just call Mira DOLL? Knives ground his teeth. He had accepted Mira and the two girls, but adding more humans to the list of non-insects was a touchy process. Sal wasn't winning any points by having a pet name for HIS Mira.

"I'll work for tips," Mira said, "Until you get back on your feet."

Sal nodded, "Alright then… Deal."

Sal extended his hand and Mira shook it. Sal smiled and said, "Can you start tomorrow night?"

"I sure can!" Mira said with a smile.

Good. That would give Sal time to get the word out.

………………..

Vash groaned as he climbed over the rocky slope. The wind was beating against him, trying to rip him off the rocky ledge. The setting suns were glaring into his eyes. Vash glared ahead of him and shouted, "This is SOME shortcut. We wouldn't even NEED a short cut if you hadn't wanted to go back for that stupid thing!"

"Quit whining, Needle noggin!" The preacher in black called back, clutching his cross punisher, "I can't believe you've lasted this long! You're such a wimp. Besides, we wouldn't have had to go get it if you hadn't left it out there."

Vash eeped as he almost lost his footing. He growled a bit and yelled, "What was I supposed to do? Leave my brother out there?"

"At the time I would have said yes," Wolfwood said rather matter-of-factly.

Wolfwood still couldn't believe it. Knives in love? With a human no less. He goes to sleep for a while and the whole world goes nuts. At least the broom head and the short girl had finally gotten together. He had begun to think he was going to have to tie them together in a dark room for a while.

He smiled as he stood on the top and waited for Vash. They were finally at the crest of the downhill path that would take them home. He was less than two days away from his big girl. I'm coming, honey.

He turned at the 'GAH!' that came from behind him. Vash was still clumsily making his way up the slope. Wolfwood growled and said, "Would you hurry up already?"

Vash thought of killing someone for the second time in his life.

……………………………………..

Back at the Saloon the next day…

Knives waited anxiously for the performance to start. The insurance girls snickered beside him. He crossed his arms and glared at them. They hadn't let him see his Mira all day, insisting that they needed to do 'women stuff'.

"And NOW," Sal started, "It is my great pleasure to announce the long awaited return of… Mira, Desert Rose!"

Knives slid to the front of his seat and his foot began to tap nervously. He didn't know if she was really ready for this. Maybe he should have insisted she wait another weak. The curtain lifted and Knives froze.

His eyes started at the base of the curtain and found the ruby-red heals first. As the curtain continued to raise his eyes followed it up along the outside curve of Mira's leg. So far he could see she was wearing a tight red dress that sparkled in the spotlight. It had a slit up the right side that went all the way up to her hip. He eyes kept going, now loosing the race with the curtain. They slid up over her hips, up farther to the curve of her breasts, up past her shoulders, finally rest on her beautiful face. Her hair was pulled up with a thousand little tendrils spiraling down around her face. Her gray eyes caught the light and glinted like diamonds. She wore dusty pink lipstick, and her nails were painted red.

"How're y'all doin' tonight!" Mira asked.

The large crowd cheered. Business is bad, huh? Knives thought as he looked around. He was going to have to 'convince' Sal to pay her her proper wages.

"Boy, I sure am glad to see you all here," She glanced at Sal too, who was trying to look too busy to notice. Another cheer.

"I'd like to sing a signature song of mine," Mira started, "Everybody knows it, so I expect to see some dancing!"

The band started off an upbeat rhythm and Mira started to dance. People flooded the dance floor, including Meryl and Millie. Knives sat there, seemingly alone, and watched his Mira.

Mira was fantastic, to say the least. If her dancing skills didn't have you, the smooth control and power of her voice would. Knives's hands burned. He suddenly felt the urge to walk up in stage, grab her and drag her home. He had been fairly good at hiding his feelings for her over the past weeks, but it was getting harder everyday. Instead of being constant, a nagging feeling he could get used to, it seemed to grow and eat up everything inside of him. Everything she said and did spoke to his heart. The way she fought, the way she gave it her all, and every way her soul expressed itself was inspiring to him. She glittered, oh, how she shined. Her smile… Her eyes…Her b-…Mira…Oh god, Mira.

Knives raked a hand back through his hair, but his eyes never left her. As the song came to a close the girls came back panting and laughing. Meryl sat down with a thump and said, "Wow, she's really GOOD."

"Yeah," Millie seconded, "She should get on the satellite."

Knives scarcely heard them, so he nodded, hoping it was they right thing to do. Mira smiled and said, "Did you like that?"

The crowd cheered. Mira smiled and said, "Does everyone have their tickets ready?"

Knives blinked. What tickets?

"One lucky man will get a 'welcome back' kiss from the Desert Rose!" One of the background singers said, "I hope you all emptied your accounts, the more tickets you buy, the better your chances. One more song until we pull the winning ticket!"

Knives ripped his pocket in the process if tearing out his wallet. He opened it and sighed. Meryl had been delivering a living allowance of sorts, but Knives had spent nearly all of it earlier on groceries. He growled and ripped out his remaining $$5.

"What are you doing, Mr. Knives?" Millie chimed.

He turned to explain and then saw what Meryl was holding on the table in front of him. Meryl smirked and said, "We already stacked the deck in your favor, do you really need 5 more tickets?"

Knives snatched the pile of tickets. There were well over a hundred of them. He glanced around the saloon trying to calculate his odds. He held those tickets like they were his one and only attachment to this world. The girls smiled at each other as Mira started the next song. This song was slow. It seemed to drag on forever.

Just then a man in a long cloak walked in and up to the bar. He said, just loud enough for Knives to pick it up with his plant hearing, "Give me 500 tickets."

Knives blinked and looked over at the man. He couldn't make out much since his black cloak covered just about everything.

"That's a lot of tickets, mister, are you--" Sal stopped in his tracks when he saw the man's face. He lowered his voice and Knives could not hear the rest of the conversation.

"You… How did you get past the sheriff?"

"That doesn't matter," The man said and slid $$500 across the bar, "Give me the tickets, and don't make a scene if you value your life."

Sal glared as he yanked the money across the bar and handed the man five hundred copied tickets. He put the originals in the jar. The man smiled and pulled his cloak down to shade his face so that no one else would recognize him. He put his massive roll of tickets in his shirt pocket and said, "Thank ye kindly, barkeep. Now don't do anything stupid. I'm watching you."

With that the man turned away from the bar and made his way to dark table in back. Sal smiled as he thought. Too late, filth. This contest is already rigged.

…………………………….

Jackie; 'plays ominous music, puts on a fifties style hat, and grasps the radio mic' who is the man in black, will Knives win the kiss? When will Vash and Wolfwood show up? Stay tuned!