Gunsmoke Alabama -- By SWT
Chapter IV: Uh-oh, You're in Trouble!
Location: The Wolfwood Residence
6:34 PM, Friday
Meryl sat in her new room, which had previously been owned by Michael Carter Wolfwood, eldest Wolfwood son (who is currently overseas with the Navy), staring out the window. Since it was close to fall, the sun was beginning to descend behind the mountains, casting a beautiful colorful hue of color around the city. It was much more peaceful than back at home. The scenery was calming, the people were friendly (especially Millie), it was hardly ever crowded, which she liked, and school wasn't half bad with her cousin and the few friends she had made so far. Already it had been a week living here in Gunsmoke, and quite frankly, she liked it here.
A loud bang was heard outside her room, causing her to jump up slightly and turn her attention to her new bedroom door. Yelling could be heard followed by a sound of laughter and another bang and Meryl couldn't help but laugh as well.
"Ow! You little brat!" That was certainly Nicholas' voice crying out.
A childish laugh was heard as the sound of footsteps ran down the hall and then a set of stairs. Meryl, being curious, decided to see what was going on between her two cousins. She got up, made the short distance from the window to the door, and opened it for a peek.
She barely saw the tall figure running past the door and down the stairs, yelling curses that she didn't even know existed. Ah, her older cousin sure was creative when it came to such things.
She shook her head, stepping out of her room. Aunt Janet and Uncle Demetrius were gone for the weekend, going on some sort of vacation cruise for two that they had won, leaving the three of them with the house for the weekend. Of course, they left Meryl in charge of the small group, since she was the more 'mature' out of the three. So far, they'd been gone for two hours, and already David and Nicholas weren't getting along.
She had to take a step back as another blurry figure ran past her and down the hall. She sighed; it had been a long while since she was in the company of her two cousins. Before...she shook her head, clearing her thoughts. She took a hesitant step out of the room and looked down the hall, but the figure that had run past her was now down on the first floor. She cling every time something broke. 'Aunt Janet's gonna kill me...that had better not be her new vase breaking...'
CRASH!
Two loud gasps and then an 'uh-oh' was followed. Meryl groaned, making her way down the stairs to see what the two boys had done this time. Once she had descended, she saw Nicholas and David staring at a mess on the wood floor. Meryl felt the blood drain from her face. They had broken the vase...the expensive, beautiful one...the one that cost over 2,000 dollars...Aunt Janet's favorite one with the birds...
"What did you two do?!" she yelled, horrified at the sight before her.
David laughed nervously in his seven-year-old way. "It was Nicholas' fault!"
Nicholas glared at his younger brother. "My fault? You little brat! You threw the damn football!"
"I'm gonna tell mom that you said a bad word!" David glared back at his brother with equal vigor.
Meryl looked towards the ceiling, her hand on her forehead. "Why me? Why?" She turned to the boys. "You know that vase was one of a kind! Your mother is gonna kill me!"
Nicholas shrugged, pulling out a cigarette. "No sweat, lil' cuz, we just find a replacement."
Meryl glared at him, walking over and taking the cig from his hands before he could light it, then throwing it in the trashcan. "Did you not hear me when I said it was one of a kind? Irreplaceable? Meaning it can not be found ANYWHERE?!"
Nicholas grinned. "Maybe so, but I know this real talented guy who can make an exact duplicate. Mom won't know the difference! And she will never know." He directed that last line to a certain seven year old boy, who only gave a Cheshire cat grin.
David sat on the floor. "Well, I won't tell if you...give me something."
Persuasive, ain't he? Nicholas could've sworn that David was adopted. The brat was a true con artist. He must've been hanging around Vash's younger sister again. "Fine...but if mom ever finds out that her precious vase was ever broken, it's your ass."
David tisked at his brother. "You shouldn't use such words in front of a minor!" the younger Wolfwood taunted with a sly grin.
Nicholas gave him the finger before turning around and heading into the kitchen. Meryl shook her head and followed him, while David did his own thing, running up to his room to do whatever. Probably to plot something against his brother again. Kids, gotta love 'em.
"So, Nick, how do you expect to make an exact copy of your mother's irreplaceable vase?" Meryl asked once they were in the kitchen. Nicholas was, by now, making himself a sandwich.
Nicholas heaved a sigh, turning slightly to his cousin as he opened the refrigerator door and grabbed the ingredients he needed to make his tasty ham and baloney sandwich. "Meryl, I told you to call me Wolfwood."
The short girl rolled her eyes. "Why do you insist on being called by your last name?
Nicholas grinned. "Because it makes me feel important."
Meryl face faltered. "Right..."
"Anyway, the guy's name is Jonathan Baker. He can create just about anything. The kid is pure genius." He pulled the bread out of the bread box and placed it on the countertop in the center of the kitchen. "He lives on 27 N. July Avenue, three blocks down the street. All you have to do is describe the artifact to him and presto! You'll have an exact duplicate. The kid's that good!" Once he was finished making his sandwich, he took a large bite from it. "Hmm...This is one hell of a ham and baloney sandwich!"
Meryl rolled her eyes. "So, how much does he charge?"
Nicholas shrugged his shoulders. "Depends on the project, I guess. The minimum bein' 'bout three hundred dollars." He took another bite from his lunch.
"The minimum being three hundred dollars?!"
Nicholas nodded. "Yeah. Think about it though, the vase cost two thousand dollars. You'll be getting this one for less than half the price. That's like you're savin' 70 percent or something." He finished off his sandwich and licked his figures.
"Nicholas--" Meryl started.
"Wolfwood." He corrected her.
Meryl clenched her teeth. "Wolfwood...where am I going to get three hundred dollars?!"
"Beats the hell outta me!" And so, he left as quickly as he could.
"Oh, no you don't!" She hurriedly caught up to her retreating cousin and grabbed his shirt collar. "You are going to pay for it.!" She brought him down to her eye level.
Nicholas chuckled nervously. For a short girl, she sure was strong. "Yo, Mer', calm down...I was jokin'! Jokin', cuz! No need to get all physical on me!"
Meryl narrowed her eyes and released her cousin. Nicholas stumbled away, dusting himself off. She looked at her watch. "We have exactly 34 hours and 40 minutes before Aunt Janet and Uncle Demetrius return."
Nicholas puffed. "We have plenty of time, cuz! Why don't I give old John a call to tell him we'll be there tomorrow, okay?"
Meryl crossed her arms. "Okay...but as I said before, you are paying."
"You ain't right, lil' cuz," he said dejectedly as he made his way to the phone. He picked it up and quickly dialed a number that, unsurprisingly, he seemed to know by heart.
After a few rings, someone answered. "Baker's resident, Jonathan Baker speakin'."
"Yo, John, what's up?"
The person on the other end of the phone sighed with what could only be described as annoyance. "What do you want now, Wolfwood? And I told you, do not call me John."
"Don't be so touchy, John. Anyway, I have a favor to ask you." He pulled up a chair and sat down.
"What is it this time? Do you need me to replace your dad's classical chessboard again? Or is it the wine cellar this time? Or maybe one of your mother's glass porcelain dolls? I know you'll always screw everything up, Wolfwood," Jonathan said on the other end, quite sarcastically.
Nicholas chuckled. "You got jokes, Johnny."
"What can I say? I know you. I know for a fact that you're messing with something every frickin' week. You're a mass of chaos and destruction, just like that Stampede kid. I'm still quite surprised that your parents haven't disowned you yet."
"I love you, too, Johnny." He rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I need you to duplicate something for me...you see, my brother..."
"And you," Meryl said, leaning up against the counter.
"My brother broke mom's finest vase, and, well, I need a replacement. I'll send my cousin down, alright?"
Meryl glared at him. "If you've forgotten, Nicholas--"
Nicholas cut her off by raising a hand to hush her as he walked into the other room leaving Meryl. "Since when did you have a cousin?"
"I always had a cousin, and she's a real babe, too. Maybe I can hook you two up, if you do this project for me for free. How about it, buddy?"
There was silence on the other end, then, "No can do, buddy. I got a reputation to uphold. If I start doing work for you for free, then everyone would want me to work for them for free. That's not happening."
"Oh, really? She's a real beauty. Big boobs and everything."
Another slight pause. "Alright, you got yourself a deal!"
"Great! Thanks again, friend. We'll be there, say, tomorrow around two?"
"Two it is, bye!" The line went dead.
Nicholas returned to the kitchen where Meryl was with a large grin on his face. She raised an eyebrow at him. "So, what'd he say?"
"He said he'll do it for free, but for a price!"
Meryl face faltered again. "Nicholas, how can it be free and for a price? Have you lost it?"
Nicholas shook his head. "It's a not a cash price. See, I promised him a date with you."
Meryl glared at him. "And he agreed?!"
"I also told him that you had big boobs."
"You LIED to him?!" She continued to glare as she crossed her arms.
"Hey, suck it up and take it--"
"Don't you dare finish that sentence." And so Meryl Stryfe stormed out of the kitchen to her room.
"Hey! Just stick toilet paper down your shirt!" The door slamming was his only answer. Nicholas stared up the stairs in confusion. "Was it something I said?" (And I thought Vash was the clueless one, heh.)
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The Next Day
Location: Jonathan Baker's home
1:58 PM
Nicholas and Meryl stood in front of the door of a fairly large house. "Well, this is the place, cuz."
Meryl narrowed her eyes. "I still refuse to go out with this boy."
"Oh, come on Mer'! Just think of it like this: you're giving to the needy!"
"How am I giving to the needy?"
"Cuz, this boy is very needy," Nicholas said before knocking on the door.
After a few minutes, the door opened to reveal a tall, lanky boy, about Nicholas height, with a dark tan, black hair, large glasses, and freckles dotting his face. "Wolfwood, glad you could make it. Is this your cousin?" he asked as he looked her up and down.
Meryl glared at him, taking a step back to stand behind Nicholas. "Yep. So, about that deal?"
"Ah, yeah. Right this way." He walked through the living room, leaving the front door open so the two could follow in.
"Ladies first," Nicholas offered, and Meryl walked past him, making sure to stamp on his foot. He clenched his teeth and tightly shut his eyes to keep from crying out in pain as Meryl dug her heel into his foot.
Meryl smirked as she made her way into the room. Nicholas followed behind, limping and cursing all the way.
Jonathan took a seat at a large flat-screen computer monitor. He turned his full attention to his two guests. "So, what did this vase look like?"
Nicholas pulled out a cig. "It was about 5 inches, all white with two large colorful parrots on it sitting on tree branches. Think you can do that?" He lit the cigarette and puffed a few times, inhaling the nicotine-filled stick.
Jonathan grinned as he started typing on his computer. "No problem, Wolfwood. I just got the new CADD machine installed yesterday. Shouldn't take any time at all."
"Good, good. Sit back, cuz, and watch the man work his magic." Nicholas plopped himself down on a recliner as Meryl fell back onto the couch, waiting impatiently for this nightmare to be over.
Two hours later
"Voila! I'm done!" Jonathan exclaimed with enthusiasm as he jumping from his seat with the new vase in his hands.
Nicholas and Meryl, who had fallen asleep during the two hours, jumped awake at the other boy's exclamation.
Nicholas rubbed his eyes. "You finished it?"
Jonathan grinned in triumph. "Yep."
"It's about time," Meryl said, bored and tired of being in this house.
Jonathan held up the vase, still grinning at his victory. The other two just stared. "Great, isn't it?"
Nicholas slapped his forehead. "I never said that the damn thing was BLUE! That looks nothing like my mother's vase! And are those...raccoons?!" Nicholas fell right back into the seat. "I specifically said parrots!!
"Nicholas, I thought you said he was the best!" Meryl growled at her cousin.
Jonathan blinked as he took in the vase. "Oops, a slight...misconception."
"Slight?!" both Nicholas and Meryl exclaimed.
"Look, you better get this right, Jonathan. I ain't got all day." Nicholas crossed his arms as Jonathan sighed and took a seat back in his wheelie-office-chair-thingy.
"'Ain't' is not a word in the dictionary, Wolfwood."
"Wanna bet?" Nicholas pulled out a dictionary from a conveniently-set plothole (wow, how...convenient). He opened it up and started looking up the word. "Ah-ha! See, right here; Ain't: A contraction for 'are not' and 'am not'; also used for 'is not'."
"Your point? 'Ain't' is not proper English. If you want to make it in this world, you must use proper English!" Jonathan contradicted as he started to type on his computer.
"What are you? My English teacher? Please, you hardly look like him. I will speak as I like, and you ain't gonna stop me!"
"Please, do not misuse the term 'ain't'." Tap-tap-tap.
"Ain't, ain't, ain't!"
"Stop that!" Tip-tap-tap.
"What'cha gonna do, buddy? You AIN'T gonna do anything!"
Meryl sighed, banging her head softly on the table. "Nicholas, please, drop it!"
Nicholas turned to her. "I ain't gonna drop it until English fool over here gets the vase done RIGHT!"
"I would get it right if you would just be quiet! You are an annoyance to my concentration."
Meryl gave Nicholas the Heero Yuy Death Glare ™ (which could scare ANYONE!) before he could respond, shutting him up quickly. Nicholas glared at Jonathan before crossing his arms and slouching down on the chair.
Two More Hours Later
"Alright, NOW I am done," Jonathan finally declared after another long two hours.
Nicholas yawned as he stretched and stood up. "It's about time. You'd have better have it right this time."
Jonathan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever, don't worry. It's perfect." He held up the new vase and Nicholas grinned with a loose cigarette hanging from his mouth.
"Great! It looks just like the old one! What do you think, cuz?" He turned to Meryl, who was still stayed seated on the couch.
Meryl looked up at the new vase and raised an eyebrow. "I suppose it could pass as the real thing..."
"Of course it will! It looks like an exact duplicate! Thanks, John!" Nicholas grabbed the vase and started to head out the door with Meryl in tow.
"Ahem." The two retreating teens cringed as Jonathan cleared his throat. "My...payment?" he reminded them, smirking.
Nicholas turned around, chuckling nervously as he placed a hand behind his head. "Ehehe...well, Meryl, you heard the guy! Give him his...payment! Bye now!" And so, Nicholas D. Wolfwood was out the door faster than you could say 'I'm gonna kill him'.
"I'm gonna kill him! Nicholas! You can't leave me like this!" Meryl shouted after him, ready to dash through the still-open door.
Jonathan Baker placed one arm limply around her shoulders. "Don't feel bad, babe. Wolfwood promised me a date with you..." He smirked as his breath tickled her ear.
Meryl shuddered. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, sir. But I, uh, have things to do!"
Jonathan Baker pulled her closer to him. "Of course you do...with me!"
Meryl started to fume inside. "Listen...I, uh...have to go...now!" And thus, Meryl Stryfe, cousin of Nicholas D. Wolfwood, slipped from Jonathan's grasp and ran out the door, making sure to shut it behind her.
Jonathan was left alone, standing in his living room with a frown upon his face. "Man, that's always happening to me. Oh well, at least I have my blow-dolls." With that final thought in mind, he went straight to his room to...do stuff...
Sitting on the now forgotten computer was a black cat. On the computer screen was a website for...kitty-porn. O.o "Nyao," the cat said with a grin.
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Previews of the Next Episode: Vash glared into the eyes of his competitor, a wild fire blazing inside. His hands went into his pocket, pulling out a pair of his infamous yellow-tinted sunglasses and placing them on his face.
Meryl blinked. "Where did he get the sunglasses?"
"Beats me," Nicholas said, shrugging.
His opponent, Legato Bluesummers, stared into Vash's aqua-blue eyes. No emotion was displayed on either party. Legato glanced down and smirked as he said, "You cannot win, Vash the Stampede."
Next Episode: Past Forgotten
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Yeah, I know, I hardly have any romance between anyone. But hey, the good stuff comes later! /winks/
Thanks for reviewing! Review more! More!! /insert insane psycho laughter/
SapphireWhiteTigress