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NOTE TO READERS…please review! For the love of Pete, please review! --------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER EIGHT: HIS RULES (cont2) Meryl drove the mini hummer into the desert with her head held high. With Millie in the back, smiling happily as she clutched her stungun, all was right in the world. Well, not everything. But for Meryl, life seemed correct once more. She glanced to the strange man in the passenger seat. His hair was shaggy brown, falling into his eyes as the wind whipped up. The crisp, white shirt and black tie accentuated his thick, black glasses frames. Folded hands lay upon his lap, legs of denim wrapped in leather. He shifted his thick-booted feet awkwardly. Over her shoulder, December was an ant-sized city on the magenta horizon. "We're far enough," she called to the man beside her. In an instant, the brown hair, black tie, and glasses flew onto the back seat floor. "Couldn't you have picked something…I don't know…a little less…CRAPPY!" Vash whined childishly, smoothing his hair back into its usually spiky consistency. Meryl punched his shoulder and returned to the steering wheel. "It's a PERFECT disguise," she insisted angrily. "Who'd guess that Vash the Stampede would dress like a total nerd?" Vash rubbed his shoulder. "I'd almost rather be caught," he grumbled under his breath. He turned to them and raised his voice inquiringly. "What kind of help do you girls think you're going to be?" he asked, hands raised defensively from Meryl's poised fist. "I know you mean well, but it's not fair to you; to have to leave your peaceful lives and take up arms again. If I were you two, I'd take advantage of the fact that back there you've got a home and a life and…and you're safe from danger..." Millie shook her head. "No, we weren't, we had to work the streets in the slums every day to make our money," she countered. Face blushing with the accidental innuendo, Meryl was quick to clarify. "She means we sold insurance door to door there. It's pretty harsh – I was held up twice yesterday. Then I had to wait all that time for the ambulances to pick up the morons…" "You too?" Millie added. "I've been held up so many times I've lost count! But usually they run once I pull out my stungun. It's like they're scared of me or something!" she claimed incredulously. "Anyway," Meryl continued, rolling her eyes, "you need us for plenty of things. We'll keep you well disguised, well fed; we'll take care of the minor hoodlums and make sure you stay on task. You know, you have a horrible tendency towards distraction and moping." Vash turned, whining. "I do not!" "Yes you do!" she insisted. "If we hadn't come with you, what would your next step be? Wandering aimlessly while you scarf down donuts and cry?" He frowned. "This is serious. I can't waste time on…" "There are several other Agency workers hot on your trial, so it's a good thing we'll be there for you, recognizing them and keeping them from your actual whereabouts," Meryl interrupted. "Which way are we headed anyhow?" Hesitating, Vash pointed forty degrees to the left. He took a moment to scan the horizon for wanderers. "Not only that, but we'll also provide information," she continued loudly. "We can interview people for you, and track he and Vanessa down, as well as keep you updated on any strange phenomenon. Whatever happens, you need to be on top of the news and at the pinnacle of good health, right? Well, we're going to do it all for you, and truly – we do promise to leave like lightening the moment Knives is in sight. That won't be difficult for us, considering…" A shudder ran down her spine, he saw, as she mentioned his brother, and Millie nodded solemnly in agreement. In the steam-filled air, Knives' cold, piercing gaze chilled Vanessa's bones. Her knees were pulled together and with her good arm she shielded her chest, but no pose gave her comfort. His eyes were killing her as she lay in the bath. "Why are you here," she growled. "You needed help. Those wrappings are too complicated to remove with your one hand," he reasoned, referring to the splint and strips that affixed it to her broken limb. Truly, she couldn't get it off on her own, since it had to be wrapped to her side and chest with an assembly of even more cloth strips. This was the price of Knives' refusal of human medical attention for the fracture. "Every time, you have to stay with me," she commented dryly. "I want a moment to bathe. Alone. Why even now are you STILL HERE?" she yelled angrily. "Keep your voice down," he snapped from his seat, several feet from the foot of the bathtub. "If anyone approaches us they will die." 'He surely knows that I wouldn't try to escape,' she thought. 'There's no escaping him. I haven't tried in weeks…He should have the decency to give me privacy.' She stopped that thought. No, privacy was no longer important. Every three to thirteen days for the past month they had stopped in a random small town for supplies and to wash up, but never to sleep. Vanessa hadn't recognized half the towns. According to her observations, Knives was leading on in an anarchic amble, probably so that no one could logically track them. She wasn't permitted to so much as lift her hood and meet eyes with a human. Fear for the lives surrounding her kept her humble in settlements, so she allowed herself to be pulled along by the hand until they had found a hotel room. Knives hadn't killed anyone since the first village, probably knowing that a trail of carnage would leave clues for his brother to follow. "Wash your hair," Knives asked softly, bringing her from her thoughts. "I just did." "That's not going to do it," he demanded. "Your hair has lost its comfort since we left March. You let the sand rest in it as if you enjoy being filthy." She obeyed, moving to shampoo her hair a second, then a third time. As she labored, she sunk deeper into the water to avoid his stares. "You're dirty too," she suddenly noted. "Aren't you in a rush to bathe? Don't you want me to 'hurry the Hell up' like you say about everything else?" she mumbled. Knives shook his head. "Not for this. I can wait." "Because you enjoy this." "Yes." Vanessa frowned. Betraying not one hint of the concentration, she continued to focus on her spine. She secretly brought forth the angel weapon from the skin at her back. The edges of her old, square scar bulged and pressed into the porcelain behind her as the formation began. |
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