THE NEXT MORNING

She tiptoed past the front desk. Two more seconds and she'd be completely out his field of vision. One...tw-

"THOMPSON!"

Dang it! So close! Milly sighed turning around with a fake smile. "Yes, Mr.Jenkins?"

He glared. "You know, for the rest of us...work started over half an hour ago. Do you believe yourself somehow unaffected by the concept of time, Mrs.Thompson?"

Mrs? "Um, I'm not married...sir."

"Well that makes sense! An airhead like you would probably be late for her own damn wedding! You're on window duty, Thompson. Get a bucket."

She hung her head. It was so humiliating to be bossed around. "Yes sir."

She looked up as the door to her office swung open. The tall insurance girl trudged in and put her things down. Meryl stopped typing and sat up straight observing Milly's overalls and boots. "Cleaning windows again?"

"Uh huh."

"Why didn't you just call in sick?"

"I already used all my sick days."

Meryl shook her head. "Tsk, tsk. No work ethic."

Milly smiled. "Come on, Meryl. You know me! I just don't like corporate work. Being in a stuffy building all day with ten different bosses nagging about memos, reports, and files that ultimately mean nothing. It's all meaningless. Throw me outside and put me to manual labor...and I'm all over it. He thinks he's punishing me, but he really isn't. I'm overdue for some sunlight and fresh air anyway!"

"Whatever makes you happy..."

Both girls looked up as someone tapped on the doorframe. Meryl's eyes instantly narrowed as her archenemy strolled into the room with a cat-like grin. "Knock, knock...hi girls!"

Milly cocked an eyebrow. "Hi, Stacey."

Stacey's eyes brightened upon seeing Milly. "You're just the one I wanted to talk to!"

She backed up a little suspicious. "About what?"

The blonde woman shut the door with a click and quickly made herself at home in one of Meryl's chairs. "That guy of course, what was his name?"

Milly blinked.

The short girl fumed. "THAT IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!"

She smiled slyly at Meryl. "Chill out...I was asking her not you." She looked back at Milly. "So who is he?"

Milly reluctantly sat down. If Stacey was intent on knowing something, there'd be no way around it. Once she got her mind set, she'd follow you to the ends of the planet until you told her. "His name is Nicholas."

Stacey pondered it. "Nicky, huh? Sounds okay. He one of the Typhoon's friends? He looked rough around the edges."

"I guess you could say so..."

Meryl butted back in at the mentioning of Vash. "COME ON, STACEY. I KNOW YOU! WHAT'S YOUR ANGLE ALREADY?"

She glared at Meryl. "You are so rude! Milly lands herself a gorgeous stud and I can't have details?"

Meryl just stared while Milly forced a slight laugh. "Well he's not really mine..."

Stacey lit up. "You mean he's fooling around with you?"

She put her hands up. "No it's nothing like that!"

Meryl crossed her arms. "Would you quit trolling for water cooler gossip?"

She rolled her eyes. "Meryl, you just do not get it! You have absolutely no taste in men. That guy yesterday was-" Stacey counted his traits off with her fingers. "Tall, dark, handsome, macho, and totally dangerous looking. Milly's got the right idea! I bet he's wild in bed. Am I right?"

Milly went pale and Meryl completely fell out her chair. The tall girl quickly stood up. "Well, I'm going clean windows!"

Stacey turned. "Don't leave me hanging! Come on! Milly? Didn't you bring him home last night?" She jumped up and ran after her. "Milly?"

Meryl laid on the floor where she had fallen. She stared up at the ceiling fan as it made its lazy rotations. "I need a vacation..."

7 MONTHS LATER

"WHAT?"

Milly dropped all the papers she was carrying and stared at the boss's door in amazement. The entire office came to a standstill.

Meryl burst forth nearly ripping the door from its hinges. Milly was forced to the floor as the short girl delivered a linebacker hug.

Milly was terrified. Who was this woman? "WHAT'S GOING ON?"

"HE'S OUTSIDE LITTLE JERSEY! A LITTLE NOTHING TOWN! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? WE FOUND HIM! AND ALL THE OLD POLICIES APPLY AGAIN! WE'RE GOING AFTER HIM! WE'RE GOING AFTER HIM, MILLY!"

She was being slowly strangled in a pile of old memos while a crowd of pencil pushers looked on. Not exactly how she'd always pictured her death. "Meryl...that's awesome, but...I can't... breathe..."

5 DAYS LATER

It was surreal. Just like old times. Milly looked down to affirm it was truly happening. A revolver glinted on each hip from under her coat and a brown brim shaded her eyes. The boots made her feet feel weighted after a whole year and a half of flimsy girl shoes. She was already starting to smell like desert and gunpowder again. She smiled across at Meryl for no other reason than just being completely ecstatic to feel like herself again.

Meryl smiled back and looked out the bus window. They'd really found him. He'd resurfaced in some dirt speck of a town and tons of Bernardelli customers across the continent had threatened to withdraw their policies from the company if his future damages weren't covered. So many people made a fuss, that Bernardelli had no choice but to reinstate the Typhoon clause or face bankruptcy. What would he be like after all this time? She'd never been this excited about anything.

THAT AFTERNOON

The young girl stepped out on the porch and the two women turned around. The tall one smirked from under the brim of an old cowboy hat and the short one smiled in a way that was much too friendly for a first meeting. Her Grandmother had said they were here on business. But in that instant, with those expressions, those women reminded her of the two men that had just left. "Who are you?"

The short one spoke. "My name is Meryl Stryfe."

The tall one tipped her hat up. "And I'm Milly Thompson."

Meryl looked at her. "Are you Lina? We're looking for Vash The Stampede. We were told to speak with you."

She eyed them suspiciously. The tall one could be a bounty hunter. The short one was just creepy. "What do you want with Vash?"

Meryl flashed a business card. "We work for the Bernardelli insurance company. It's our job to follow him and assess and minimize the damage he causes."

Milly grabbed the card from her, instantly ruining their professional demeanor. "Woah, when did we get these? This is nifty!"

The short girl sighed while Milly amazed herself with the card. "Anyway...look we're friends of his and we've been looking for him a really long time. Is he here?"

Lina relaxed. They were too goofy to be a threat. "He and his other friend left about an hour ago."

Meryl froze at the word 'left' while Milly froze at the word 'friend'.

Meryl:"HE LEFT?"

Milly:"WITH A FRIEND?"

The girl backed up a little. "Yeh, just a little while ago...with his priest friend."

Both girls made a face then looked at each other heartbroken.

The old woman stepped out. "Did you young women know them?"

Milly sighed. "A tall, dangerous looking man with dark hair, sunglasses, cold blue eyes, a black suit, a big cross, and claims to be a man of God even though he shoots like no tomorrow...right?"

Lina and the old woman stared at her. "Yes, that's him exactly."

Meryl put a hand over her face. "And the other one was tall, blonde, and goofy looking. Droopy aqua marine eyes, scars all over, extremely self sacrificing, completely humble, an idiot, and of course the most excellent gunman in the world when provoked."

Their stares turned to Meryl.

It seemed to the grandmother by the way these women were acting, they were much more than friends with Eriks and the other man. "Well I'm sorry you missed them ladies. Obviously you did know them pretty well."

Meryl started walking back down the steps in defeat. "Do you even know what town they were heading towards?"

The old woman thought about it. "Nope, sorry. But they went off in that direction."

Milly looked to where the woman was pointing. "West...towards Little Jersey and New Oregon?"

"That's the best lead I can give ya dears."

The insurance girls waved half-heartedly. "Thanks anyway."

"Oh, and ladies?"

They turned. "Hmm?"

"Take good care of those two will you? Every decent man needs a woman to care about him from time to time."

Meryl blushed.

Milly smiled and gave a little salute. "It's our job mam."

2 DAYS LATER: Sand Steamer in Route to New Oregon

Milly was in a tank top and pajama pants, still wearing her belt with the revolvers holstered on each side. Meryl shook her head. "Milly I can't believe you honestly wore that to sleep."

The tall girl looked back while brushing her teeth. She spit the toothpaste in the sink. "Come on Sempai, you know we have bad luck with public transportation. I'm just playing it safe."

Meryl smiled. "But we haven't even run into Vash yet. Bad things only happen when we're around h-"

The door exploded off its hinges and hit the opposite wall. Men rushed in. "EVERYONE COOPERATE AND NO ONE GETS SHOT!"

Meryl sighed raising her hands...another lovely morning as a field agent.

There were way too many to risk fighting right now. Someone might land a lucky shot before her or Meryl could take them all out. Milly put her hands in sight as they ripped her belt off. "Obviously we're closer to finding Mr.Vash than we realized."

1 HOUR LATER

A foot connected with her face and she came back to life. She looked towards the offender. Meryl glared at her and whispered angrily. "What the hell, Milly? You fell asleep! I've been trying to wake you up for the last three minutes! There's not as many guards now. Let's make our move!"

She yawned. "What do you want me to do?"

"Beat them up!"

"I'm tied up!"

"So?"

The steamer came to a violent halt. The insurance girls flew and were painfully caught by the wall across from them. In the confusion, Milly slithered over to her coat and picked it up with her mouth.

Meryl was upside down against the wall. "What on Gunsmoke are you doing?"

"Gretting uh ife..." Milly shook the sleeve until the knife fell out. She picked it up in her hand and started cutting the ropes that bound her. The more she cut, the more mobility she gained, and the faster she could keep cutting.

"HEY GIRL, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

He ran towards her but it was already too late. Meryl watched in amazement as Milly did a backwards hand spring, uppercutting the guy with her foot as she flipped. The speed, the grace...the complete inability to maintain her balance when her feet hit the ground.

Milly fell flat on her butt and whined. She should of known that wouldn't exactly work. Gymnastics were a lot easier when she was a little girl, rather than a nearly six-foot woman. She didn't try anything fancy with the other two. Just the basic dodge, kick, and punch she was much better at. The guys went down easy enough. She quickly cut Meryl's ropes and the two began getting dressed to escape.

"Total slaughter...total slaughter...I won't leave a single man, alive...La Dee Da Dee Die...genocide...La Dee Da Dee Die...an ocean of blood...let's begin, the killing time..."

They both froze and stared at the intercom as an all too familiar lunatic made an oddly catchy one last attempt to scare his opponents.