She came back to the center of town for the third time. She was getting frustrated now. Milly tossed her bag to the ground and sat on it. The streets were completely abandoned. The only sound was of the blades of the windmill rotating above the town. If Vash and Meryl didn't catch up soon, she'd start searching building by building. It was like some nightmare. She knew she was being watched but she couldn't find anyone. After a few more minutes of silence, she yelled to whomever was causing her uneasiness. "Will you hide forever?"

A saxophone struck up from one of the rooftops and she froze.

Milly stood up. It was so close, right on top of her...but it echoed. She couldn't tell which building. Which building was it? She called out. "Who are you?" The music stopped.

A male voice drifted down. "Too early for that I'm afraid. But did you like the song? It's one of my favorites. A tune for the lady while she waits."

He said nothing more. She was about to talk to him again when someone called her name.

Meryl was running towards her. "Milly, where is everyone!"

"I don't know. I haven't seen anyone. Where's Mr.Vash?"

The short girl stopped and looked around. "He was right behind me..."

Milly picked up her bag. "So now we have to find him too."

For a split second, he'd seen Legato. Standing at the top of the town by the blades. He'd smiled with those dead eyes. Vash climbed up as fast he could. He had to get to him. Legato killed those men in the bar. That's why everyone was hiding. He got to the top and froze. More bodies. A huge pile heaped up at the base of the windmill. A gun pressed against his chin and his heart stopped. How had she...

"You're naive. If I was so inclined...I could have killed you three times by now."

"A man?"

"Yeh, he was talking to me before you came, but I never saw him."

The girls heard a gunshot from the top of the rock formation. They instantly dropped their luggage and ran towards the sound. What the hell was going on in this place?

They came to a stop at its base and looked up as another shot rang out. It was a steep climb. Meryl looked at it with uncertainty. "Isn't there a safer way?"

"This is quicker." Milly was already twelve feet up in no time. She looked down. "Just don't think of how high up you are. Besides where there's gunfire, there's Vash...right?" She kept on climbing.

"Right." Meryl clutched tightly to the grooves as she made her way up. Just don't look down.

Milly was nearly to the top when she heard that voice again. "I'd turn back if I were you. You'd only get in his way right now."

That man was on one of the ledges above her. He had to be. Milly cocked an eyebrow. "Who are you?"

Meryl heard a horn start playing somewhere above Milly and the rocks began to give way.

Milly held on as hard as she could while she frantically fired upward. She was able to break the a lot of the rocks into smaller pieces before they struck her or Meryl, but she quickly ran out of bullets and a chunk of bedrock slammed into her left shoulder causing her to lose her grip.

Meryl screamed as Milly fell, then caught herself again a few feet down. Blood ran down her side and her injured arm hung limp.

Milly dug into the rock with her feet and pulled herself up onto a narrow ledge. She couldn't feel her arm, and she'd dropped her gun. She called out to Meryl. "You alright?"

She reached the ledge. "Don't you dare worry about me when you're bleeding this way! We've got to get back down!"

"I dropped my gun..."

"Dammit Thompson! That is not the priority right now!"

Midvalley smiled as the girls made their way back down. It had never been his intention to kill them. He actually kind of liked them. They just weren't meant to interfere. It was amusing...the tall woman was completely unfazed by her injuries and stopped at every ledge to look for her gun while the small one screamed in a rage for her to get the hell to the bottom so the wounds could be treated.

A glint of silver reflected from the ledge below her. Milly pulled the Magnum free and admired it. "Wow...it's barely scratched. Now that's craftsmanship."

Meryl was on her last nerve. Milly was bleeding like crazy. "Now can we go down?"

She flinched, putting it back in its holster. "Yes."

Milly sat Indian style while Meryl did the best she could to clean the wound. Milly's shoulder was a complete mess. The rock had hit with such force it tore straight through her coat, shirt, skin, and muscle, fracturing her collarbone.

Meryl lifted another bucket of water from the well and poured it over the wound. "I don't have anything to disinfect it with. This is the best I can do until we can get you to the real hospital."

"I've had worse, I'm just glad I didn't lose papa's gun..."

Meryl glared at her. Didn't she realize this was a big deal? "Milly, you almost died today. If you hadn't caught that ledge..."

Milly looked up at her. "But I did catch it Sempai."

She sighed and began using shreds of her cape to wrap the wound.

THAT NIGHT

The three stood alone on a mesa outside the town. Vash wasn't going to let them follow him anymore. The stakes were getting higher all the time and the girls' experience today was the perfect evidence. Milly felt like it was all her fault, if she had just been a little quicker...done something differently, maybe they wouldn't be having this conversation. Maybe Meryl wouldn't have that heartbroken look in her eyes.

He turned his back to them. "I'm sorry. But you know I'm right..."

Meryl knew she couldn't stop him. She just stood there like it wasn't happening.

Milly nudged Meryl in the back. "I'll wait for you okay." She walked off. "Goodbye Mr.Vash."

When Milly was gone Meryl looked up. "Vash..." Where to start? What if she really did never see him again?

"Meryl, it couldn't be that way. We both know it."

She stepped back. "No...we don't. We don't know that, Vash!"

He turned and looked at her.

She'd never seen his eyes that way. So much pain. Like an angel's eyes...

He pulled Meryl to him and held her tight. He'd never felt so guilty. To make her sad this way.

She just stood there. She didn't understand any of it. Why were they acting this way? They weren't a couple. It didn't make sense.

He let her go. How the hell was he supposed to let either of them walk away if he got all mushy now? "Well...bye Meryl!"

This was the best he could do and she knew it. She imitated his stupid grin. "Bye Vash!"

2 Weeks Later: Jeneora Rock

"So what'd the doctor say?"

Milly moved her arm slightly. "It's healing pretty good. But I still can't move my shoulder that much because my stupid collarbone."

Meryl smiled. "It'll just take time."

She nodded and then spoke up again after a little hesitation. "I'm good if you're ready to leave this place, though..."

Meryl glared. "We're not going after Vash."

She smiled slyly. "Well now I know what's on your mind. But really, I'm not too fond of this place."

"We could go back to December..."

Milly made a face. "But the office is so boring. Vash is our job you know...maybe we could just keep a lower profile this time."

Meryl cocked an eyebrow. "Stalk him?"

She laughed. "Well...we are the creepy insurance girls right?"

3 DAYS LATER

"But my shoulder hurts so bad! Can't I have one drink? Please?"

Meryl shoved her way back out. "We don't have time! Besides this place is way too crowded."

Wolfwood looked up in annoyance as some chick bumped his table as she passed. The short girl? Hey, so that meant...

Milly whined to the bar keep. "Anything in a bottle please! We're in a hurry!" The keep slid her a beer and she left her money on the bar. She unscrewed the cap and took a small guzzle. "Ah..." When she lowered it, there was a familiar man in black standing in front of her.

He smiled. "Hiya big girl."

"Mr.Wolfwood!" She instantly wanted to hug him, but quickly thought twice and backed up with just smile.

He cocked an eyebrow but noticed the blood stained hole in the shoulder of her coat. His eyes instantly went cold. "Who did that to you?"

He was so serious all the sudden. It was a bit frightening. "Oh, I'm fine we just ran into some problems in Jeneora Rock is all. A man with a saxophone decided to give me and Meryl some trouble."

A saxophone? Midvalley...that bastard. Nick tried to keep his anger hidden. "What were you doing at Jeneora Rock?"

"We just kind of ended up there, then Vash got in some fight with another Gung-Ho Gun. I guess the guy that tried to kill us was probably one too. You ever heard of that gang?"

Meryl poked her head back in the bar. "Milly? Who the hell are you talking to? We have to go!"

Milly frowned. "I'm talking to Mr.Wolfwood!"

She stopped. The priest was here? Great...now they'd never leave. Maybe she could just ditch Milly and he could drop her off in Augusta at a later date. Meryl sighed. Nah, she couldn't leave her alone with him. "Well wrap it up. I'll be outside!"

Well, the short girl was her usual cheery self. "Say big girl, where is that other friend of yours?"

"Mr.Vash?"

"Yeh."

"He left after the whole ordeal I just told you about. He thinks we'll only get killed if stay with him."

Damn, and he was sure they'd be with him. His eyes softened as he looked back at her shoulder. "Well, looks like you sure came close..."

Something was different about him. She smiled anyway. "But I didn't." She looked towards the door. "Well I guess I better go before Meryl gets any angrier."

He smirked. "I think it's too late for that. Where you rushing off to with a wound like that, anyway?"

"We're on our way to Augusta. Vash is supposed to be there."

Bingo. "So you don't do what you're told."

"It's our job to follow him."

Heh, you and me both babe. But maybe it wasn't as bad as he was making it out to be. He was hanging around with these people before he ever got the assignment anyway. He was pretty much getting paid to be Vash's pal, right? But he'd get to hang around her as well, and it'd all be in the name of duty. Nick smiled. "Mind if I tag along?"

She cocked an eyebrow, noticeably brightening up. "You'd want to?"

He slipped his arm around her waist with a sly grin. "Well it's obviously fate don't you think? We've crossed paths so many times now..."