A Force to Be Reckoned With
Disclaimer: I don't own anything of Trigun.
Meryl frowned as she read the letter. She knew she better go to April, a small village that was about 100 iles away. Meryl rubbed her forehead, "Well," she thought, "I guess I can leave them for a couple of weeks."
She, Milly, Vash and Wolfwood had arrived at Impala five days ago. Thankfully, they have not run into any trouble yet. When Meryl was handed the letter, she thought it was a correspondence from Bernadelli, the insurance company Meryl and Milly worked for. She had been quite surprise to find that it was a personal letter.
Meryl quickly scanned the letter again and realized that it was with utmost importance that she went to April as soon as she can. She went to Milly's door and knocked.
"Come in!" called Milly.
Meryl walked in, "Milly, I need to leave for a week or two."
Milly's eyes went big, "What? Why?" it was unusual for Meryl to leave during the job like this. It had to be serious. "Are you in trouble, Meryl?"
Meryl laughed, "No, no. It's nothing like that. It's uh, family business."
Milly nodded understandingly, "Family's very important. I know, you must go."
"Milly, try to stay here until I get back. But if Vash should leave, you must follow him, okay? I'll find you guys."
"Don't worry, Meryl, leave it to me!" Milly smiled.
"Maybe I should think twice about this," Meryl thought nervously as she looked at Milly's big smile. But she already resolved that she was going.
Vash and Wolfwood stood by as they watched a tearful Milly saying goodbye to Meryl before she boarded a bus. Meryl sighed, "Milly, I won't be gone for longer than a couple of weeks!"
"I know," Milly sniffed, wiping her eyes, "It's just that I hate saying goodbye!"
Vash walked up, "Um, I'll be here when you get back," it was weird that Meryl was leaving him behind. He usually dodged her and Milly whenever he thought it was for the best. However, now she was going. Meryl hadn't divulged why she was going, although he had no doubt that Milly knew. Vash figured that he and Wolfwood could get her to talk with their good friend, alcohol.
"Bye, Meryl," Wolfwood called to her, "Have a safe trip!"
"Thanks. I'll see you guys in a couple of weeks!" Meryl got onto the bus and waved to them from a window.
Vash, Milly and Wolfwood watched as Meryl's bus disappeared over the horizon.
Meryl sighed as she sat back in her seat. She took out the letter and reread it. Why did he need to talk to her so urgently in person? Meryl felt worried and she knew she had good reason to be too. Her cousin got himself into some sort of trouble, but what was it? She decided to get some rest before reaching April, because she doubted she'd be getting much sleep once reaching there.
It was evening when the bus reached April. Meryl stretched as she got off the bus and stopped when she saw her cousin, Jordan standing and smiling at her.
"Hey there, short stuff!" Jordan grabbed Meryl and swung her around.
"Arrrgh!" Meryl screeched and whacked him.
Jordan grinned as he rubbed his shoulder where she hit him. "Wow, you're pretty strong, Meryl."
"I have to be, it's part of my job."
"I hear that you're traveling with Vash the Stampede. Any truth to that?"
"Yes," Meryl sighed, "Jordan what's going on? Why did you send for me?"
"What's he like?"
"Jordan, please answer my question."
Jordan looked away for a moment, than he turned to her again, "Let's go somewhere quiet to talk, okay?"
"Yeah, okay."
They went to Jordan's house that was at the edge of April. Meryl sat at the table as he got drinks for the both of them. Meryl was tapping her fingers, becoming more anxious by the minute.
"Jordan, please tell me what's going on!"
He placed the drinks on the table, "Okay, okay. I'm going to tell you!" He took a deep breath, "Please understand, I didn't want you to be disappointed in me. But you are the only one I could tell."
Meryl put her hand over his hand, "Jordan, I want to help you."
"I..I got involved with this gambling ring called Peacock and um, I owe, let's say a lot of money."
"Jordan, how much do you owe?" Meryl's voice started to tense up.
His head dropped, "I owe over 100,000,000 double dollars."
"AHHHHHHHHH!" Meryl put her hands to the side of her head, "Why? Oh why did this happen!"
"Meryl, please, I need help."
Meryl's shoulders dropped, "I don't know what I can do, but I'll try," she glared at Jordan, "Why did you get involved in this gambling ring?"
Jordan shrugged, "I just wanted more money."
Meryl's eyes widened and than she slapped him, "What the hell, Jordan! You didn't even need the money!"
"Owwww! That hurt, Meryl! I'm sorry, I guess I got a little greedy."
"A little greedy? You owe 100,000,000 double dollars!"
"Yeah, you're right," he gave a hollow laugh and rubbed the back of his head.
Meryl sighed and thought to herself, "How am I suppose to fix this?
Vash and Wolfwood grinned at Milly as they showed her the alcohol they got. Milly gave one of her winning smiles.
"Yeah! Are we drinking tonight?"
Wolfwood smiled, "That's right, big girl, come on!"
They sat around a table in Vash's room and Wolfwood poured the drinks. Wolfwood raised his glass; "Here's a toast to Meryl. May her journey be safe."
Vash and Milly raised their glasses as well. Milly's eyes started to swell with tears, "I hope she's alright!"
Vash leaned in, "Why? Is she in some sort of trouble?"
Milly said, "I don't know, I don't think I should say anything," she gulped down her drink, "Mmmm, that's good! Mr. Priest, can I have another?"
"You sure can, big girl," Wolfwood took her glass and poured.
Vash took a sip of his drink and watched Milly. He was very curious about Meryl and if Milly's worried about her, it had to be bad. He glanced over to Wolfwood, who caught his eye.
Wolfwood said, "Milly, we're concerned about Meryl, too. Are you sure you can't tell us?"
"Mr. Wolfwood, I want to tell you both, but I really don't think I should and that's final," she looked determined and resolved.
Vash and Wolfwood both sighed and leaned back. Wolfwood poured them another round of drinks and they continued to do so with another three bottles.
The next day, Vash and Wolfwood were in a restaurant, eating a late breakfast, while waiting for Milly. Vash was nursing a hangover and felt a little nauseous as he looked at the delicious food sitting on the table.
Vash had his head in his hands, "Ughhh, can you please get that food out of my sight?"
Wolfwood looked at him unsympathetically, "No, I can't help it that you can't handle a few bottles."
"Oh, have a heart, would you?"
"Look, Tongari, what are you planning to do about Meryl?"
"I don't know, Milly's pretty resolved in not telling us. Shhh, she's coming in."
Milly waltzed into the restaurant and Wolfwood waved her over, "Over, here, girl!"
Milly smiled and walked over, "How are you feeling, Mr. Vash?" She asked after observing that he was covering his eyes with his hands.
"Do you have to ask?" he mumbled.
Wolfwood pushed a plate of food towards Milly, "Here, help yourself. Did you sleep well?"
Milly was about to respond when a man came running in and said, "Did you hear? There's a bad shootout in April. Apparently some poor sap got involved with the Peacock gambling ring and was dumb enough not to pay them back!"
Wolfwood and Vash looked at each other. "Who or what is the Peacock?" Vash asked.
"Mister, you don't know?" the man said, "You must not be from this area. They are the terror of Impala, April, and Roma. They are a dangerous gambling ring and if you don't have the money to pay them, you're dead!"
Another man asked, "So, do you know the poor sucker who this is involving?"
The man shook his head, "No, I don't know him, but apparently his name is something like Stryfe."
Vash, Milly, and Wolfwood suddenly stared at each other. "Sir," Vash asked, "Are you sure it was Stryfe?"
"Pretty sure."
"Oh, damn," Wolfwood said, "Stryfe isn't a very common name, is it? Meryl was heading to April."
Milly stood up; "I have to go! Meryl needs help!" and she started to run. Vash suddenly grabbed her.
"Milly! Don't be so hasty! We'll all go. Right, Wolfwood?"
"Yeah," Wolfwood said, lighting up a cigarette, "Let me get my weapon."
Milly's eyes started to fill with tears, "Thank you, guys!"
Wolfwood patted her arm, "She's our friend too, we want to help."
Vash remained quiet. He wondered what Meryl got herself into.
The day before the shootout, Meryl sat at the kitchen table, pondering her cousin's predicament. How were they supposed to get out of this? Go to the Peacock gambling ring and ask for a payment plan? She thought about the time when Vash and Wolfwood helped a woman whose husband left her and her child behind with a debt. Both men were in a quick draw contest that could have easily turned ugly. But it worked out in the end. The family got out of debt. Meryl shook her head. No, she could not get Vash involved, even if he wanted to. Would he want to? Meryl chided herself for even thinking that.
Jordan sat next to her, "Hey, any thoughts?"
Meryl groaned, "No," she was quiet for a moment, than she said; "I wonder what would be a quick way to make money?"
Jordan said tentatively, "Turn in Vash the Stampede and get the 60 billion double dollar bounty?"
Meryl slammed her hands on the table, "Absolutely not! He does not deserve that! He's a good person! So, don't you dare!"
Jordan raised his hands, "Okay, okay. I didn't realize he meant that much to you."
Meryl turned red and sputtered, "It's nothing like that.."
Jordan eyed her, "Sure, whatever you say."
"Jordan, could I have some coffee?" Meryl asked.
Jordan laughed, "Don't want to talk about him, do you Meryl? Sure, I'll make us both some coffee."
Meryl and Jordan stayed up throughout the night, making plans, discarding them, and making new plans and so forth. The sun was coming up when Meryl threw up her arms in frustration.
"None of these plans are good enough!"
Jordan got up and walked over to her, "Hey, we're both just tired. Want to go for a walk? You know, to clear our heads."
Meryl agreed and as they walked out the door, they were met with thirty guns pointing at them. Jordan and Meryl instinctively put their hands up.
"Oh, hey guys, uh, I was just going to find you," Jordan grinned weakly, "How nice of you to come here."
With a cigarette in his mouth and the Cross Punisher in the back, Wolfwood revved up the car, indicating to Vash that he was ready to go. Vash had gone back to his room to make sure he had extra ammo so that they don't end up in a sticky situation. The expression on Milly's face read aloud the anxiety all three were feeling. Vash jumped into the car and they set forth to April.
"We want the money, Stryfe!" one of the men, who appears to be the leader, yelled.
"I need some more time!" Jordan cried, "Please, Jack, I have 100,000 double dollars. Can we make some arrangement? I swear, I'll get you the money!"
Then Jack, the leader, shook his head, "No, not good enough. Either you have it all, or nothing."
Meryl stepped up, "Excuse me. My name is Meryl Stryfe, and I'm with the Bernadelli Insurance company. I'm sure we can come to some sort of arrangement.."
"No!" shouted Jack, "I don't care who you are, but I made it pretty clear what I want."
Meryl looked annoyed, "Look, I heard what you want, but you're not being realistic. He can't give you all the money at once. So far, he has 100,000 double dollars, which he can give you now. He can pay the rest to you later. If you kill him, you'll never get the money."
"Hmm, you have a good point there, Miss Stryfe, is it? Are you related to our friend here?" Jack suddenly swung his gun to her.
"Wait! What are you doing?" Jack cried, "She has nothing to do with this! She's my cousin and all she's doing is trying to help me!"
"Well," Jack said, still aiming at Meryl, "You got her involved and she did say that it would be useless to kill you. However, there was nothing said about her dying."
"No! She..she knows Vash the Stampede. If we get him, you can have the money. Just let her go!"
"No Jordan!" Meryl cried, "I can't let you do that!"
"Vash the Stampede, huh?" Jack rubbed his chin, "Well, this is getting interesting. So, girl, is it true? Do you know Vash the Stampede?"
"No, I don't. All I know about him is that he's a despicable outlaw. Please, we can come to some other arrangement. If you agree to it, I'll take over my cousin's debt. Leave Jordan alone, deal with me."
Jack laughed, "Well, Stryfe, you certainly have loyal family, I'll give you that. However," he looked hard at Meryl, "I think you're lying about Vash the Stampede. But I'll let that slide, since you agreed to take over your cousin's debt. You can work for me.."
"No, Meryl! I can't let you do that!" Jordan yelled and shot at Jack, killing him instantly.
Meryl stood in shock as Jack's body slumped onto the ground before her. The other gunmen started shooting, Jordan grabbed Meryl's hand and they ran for cover.
"Damn it, Jordan! Why did you do that for?" Meryl whacked her cousin, "No one needed to die! I had it under control!"
"You had no idea what you were getting yourself into Meryl. If you only agreed to allow them have Vash the Stampede, this wouldn't be happening."
"No, don't you dare try to pin this on me," Meryl was getting very angry, "He means a lot to me, just as you mean a lot to me. I wasn't going to sacrifice either one of you."
Jordan looked surprised. Meryl muttered, wishing she could have taken back what she just said about Vash. However, neither one could think much more on the matter, because bullets were still flying.
"Arghh, we need to do something about this!" Meryl said. She thought for a moment, then said, "Well, I have my derringers, do you have any weapons?"
"Meryl, think about what I have been doing. Of course I have a gun!"
"Alright, alright. Look, don't kill anyone else, okay? Just disarm them or put them out of action." Meryl shuddered for a moment, realizing how much she sounded like Vash.
Her cousin didn't argue back. He just said, "Yeah, I hope you know what you're doing." He cocked his gun.
"I hope so too," Meryl murmured, getting ready to run out with her guns. "On the count of three, run!"
Jordan nodded.
"1,2,3, go!"
Both jumped out, firing at the shocked gunmen. Meryl was whipping out her derringers like there was no tomorrow. She did not kill a single person, as did Jordan. Suddenly Meryl felt something graze her arm. She dropped her derringers and grabbed her arm in pain and fell to her knees. Jordan saw and started running to his cousin. Then the gunmen who shot her came up to her, cocking his gun toward her.
Jordan raised his gun, "Meryl!" he shouted and clicked the gun, but nothing came out. Jordan looked at it, "Awww crap! I'm out of bullets!"
Jordan wasn't sure what he was going to do, but he had to help Meryl. The gunman was about to pull the trigger when his gun was shot out of his hand.
He looked at his hand, "What the hell?" He glared at Jordan, who had a confused look on this face.
Jordan raised his hands; "I didn't do it!" He, than ran over to Meryl's side. She was looking past the gunman at a figure.
The figure came; he was wearing a red coat, and holding a big gun. The gunman glared at him, "Mister, this is no business of yours!"
Vash pointed his gun at him, "Sure it is. That young lady that you're pointing your gun at happens to be a friend of mine. So why don't you be a good boy and run home."
Milly came running with Wolfwood behind her, "Oh Mr. Vash! You found Meryl!"
The gunman looked shocked, "Vash? You don't mean Vash the Stampede, do you?"
Milly gave him a confused look; "Of course he's Vash the Stampede!"
Vash looked embarrassed, "Do you have to broadcast that to the whole world?"
Wolfwood looked at the gunman, "Why don't you take your comrades and leave? Besides, you're the only one not wounded and you don't want to take on Vash the Stampede, do you?"
"No, no," the gunman ran, leaving his wounded gang behind.
"The loyalty they show for one another is just astounding," Wolfwood just shook his head, "Hey, small girl, did you take on the Peacock gambling ring on your own?"
Meryl gave a weak laugh, "No, I was just helping out my cousin Jordan here."
Jordan was staring at Vash; "You're Vash the Stampede? You're not what I imagined you to be. Meryl was right about you."
Vash grinned, "Oh, what did she say about me?"
"Well..ouch, Meryl!"
Meryl glowered at the both of them, "Stop it. Can we leave?"
Milly hugged Meryl, "Oh, Meryl I was so worried about you!" Meryl cringed at the pain in her arm, "Oh, sorry Meryl. I'll get that bandaged up!"
Vash looked at her, "I was really worried about you, too. I mean, we were all worried about you." He turned a little red.
Milly ran to the car to get the bandages. When she came back, Vash asked her if he could do it. "Oh, sure, Mr. Vash," Milly smiled as she handed him the bandages and she turned to Wolfwood and Jordan, "I'm hungry. Can we go somewhere to eat?"
"Sure, girl," Wolfwood said, "Come on and you, too" he pointed to Jordan.
Jordan still couldn't get over Vash and he shook himself out of his daze, "Yeah sure. You'll be alright, cousin?"
"Yeah," Meryl said, "The bullet just grazed my arm." She let herself be led back to Jordan's house by Vash.
She winced as Vash cleaned the wound, "Sorry," he said.
"That's alright," Meryl said as he wound the bandages around her tiny arm.
"You know, that was a really stupid thing you did. You could have gotten yourself killed."
"Vash, you're the last person I want to get lectured by on something like that," Meryl looked away, "Someone died, I didn't want it to happen, Jordan was just trying to protect me.."
Vash tentatively touch her hand, "It wasn't your fault," he grinned, "I can't believe you guys took care of that entire gang!"
Meryl laughed, "The Stryfes are a force to be reckoned with!"
Vash laughed, "That's for sure! Are you up to getting something to eat?"
Meryl stood up, "Yes, besides, I can't have Jordan telling Milly and Wolfwood things that are rather embarrassing."
"Hmmm, I'll have to find out what those are. I need something to hold against you!"
The pair walked out of the house. Vash wondered what Meryl told Jordan about him, but knew better than to ask. They found the others at a restaurant and joined their comrades for a good meal and company.
Meryl frowned as she read the letter. She knew she better go to April, a small village that was about 100 iles away. Meryl rubbed her forehead, "Well," she thought, "I guess I can leave them for a couple of weeks."
She, Milly, Vash and Wolfwood had arrived at Impala five days ago. Thankfully, they have not run into any trouble yet. When Meryl was handed the letter, she thought it was a correspondence from Bernadelli, the insurance company Meryl and Milly worked for. She had been quite surprise to find that it was a personal letter.
Meryl quickly scanned the letter again and realized that it was with utmost importance that she went to April as soon as she can. She went to Milly's door and knocked.
"Come in!" called Milly.
Meryl walked in, "Milly, I need to leave for a week or two."
Milly's eyes went big, "What? Why?" it was unusual for Meryl to leave during the job like this. It had to be serious. "Are you in trouble, Meryl?"
Meryl laughed, "No, no. It's nothing like that. It's uh, family business."
Milly nodded understandingly, "Family's very important. I know, you must go."
"Milly, try to stay here until I get back. But if Vash should leave, you must follow him, okay? I'll find you guys."
"Don't worry, Meryl, leave it to me!" Milly smiled.
"Maybe I should think twice about this," Meryl thought nervously as she looked at Milly's big smile. But she already resolved that she was going.
Vash and Wolfwood stood by as they watched a tearful Milly saying goodbye to Meryl before she boarded a bus. Meryl sighed, "Milly, I won't be gone for longer than a couple of weeks!"
"I know," Milly sniffed, wiping her eyes, "It's just that I hate saying goodbye!"
Vash walked up, "Um, I'll be here when you get back," it was weird that Meryl was leaving him behind. He usually dodged her and Milly whenever he thought it was for the best. However, now she was going. Meryl hadn't divulged why she was going, although he had no doubt that Milly knew. Vash figured that he and Wolfwood could get her to talk with their good friend, alcohol.
"Bye, Meryl," Wolfwood called to her, "Have a safe trip!"
"Thanks. I'll see you guys in a couple of weeks!" Meryl got onto the bus and waved to them from a window.
Vash, Milly and Wolfwood watched as Meryl's bus disappeared over the horizon.
Meryl sighed as she sat back in her seat. She took out the letter and reread it. Why did he need to talk to her so urgently in person? Meryl felt worried and she knew she had good reason to be too. Her cousin got himself into some sort of trouble, but what was it? She decided to get some rest before reaching April, because she doubted she'd be getting much sleep once reaching there.
It was evening when the bus reached April. Meryl stretched as she got off the bus and stopped when she saw her cousin, Jordan standing and smiling at her.
"Hey there, short stuff!" Jordan grabbed Meryl and swung her around.
"Arrrgh!" Meryl screeched and whacked him.
Jordan grinned as he rubbed his shoulder where she hit him. "Wow, you're pretty strong, Meryl."
"I have to be, it's part of my job."
"I hear that you're traveling with Vash the Stampede. Any truth to that?"
"Yes," Meryl sighed, "Jordan what's going on? Why did you send for me?"
"What's he like?"
"Jordan, please answer my question."
Jordan looked away for a moment, than he turned to her again, "Let's go somewhere quiet to talk, okay?"
"Yeah, okay."
They went to Jordan's house that was at the edge of April. Meryl sat at the table as he got drinks for the both of them. Meryl was tapping her fingers, becoming more anxious by the minute.
"Jordan, please tell me what's going on!"
He placed the drinks on the table, "Okay, okay. I'm going to tell you!" He took a deep breath, "Please understand, I didn't want you to be disappointed in me. But you are the only one I could tell."
Meryl put her hand over his hand, "Jordan, I want to help you."
"I..I got involved with this gambling ring called Peacock and um, I owe, let's say a lot of money."
"Jordan, how much do you owe?" Meryl's voice started to tense up.
His head dropped, "I owe over 100,000,000 double dollars."
"AHHHHHHHHH!" Meryl put her hands to the side of her head, "Why? Oh why did this happen!"
"Meryl, please, I need help."
Meryl's shoulders dropped, "I don't know what I can do, but I'll try," she glared at Jordan, "Why did you get involved in this gambling ring?"
Jordan shrugged, "I just wanted more money."
Meryl's eyes widened and than she slapped him, "What the hell, Jordan! You didn't even need the money!"
"Owwww! That hurt, Meryl! I'm sorry, I guess I got a little greedy."
"A little greedy? You owe 100,000,000 double dollars!"
"Yeah, you're right," he gave a hollow laugh and rubbed the back of his head.
Meryl sighed and thought to herself, "How am I suppose to fix this?
Vash and Wolfwood grinned at Milly as they showed her the alcohol they got. Milly gave one of her winning smiles.
"Yeah! Are we drinking tonight?"
Wolfwood smiled, "That's right, big girl, come on!"
They sat around a table in Vash's room and Wolfwood poured the drinks. Wolfwood raised his glass; "Here's a toast to Meryl. May her journey be safe."
Vash and Milly raised their glasses as well. Milly's eyes started to swell with tears, "I hope she's alright!"
Vash leaned in, "Why? Is she in some sort of trouble?"
Milly said, "I don't know, I don't think I should say anything," she gulped down her drink, "Mmmm, that's good! Mr. Priest, can I have another?"
"You sure can, big girl," Wolfwood took her glass and poured.
Vash took a sip of his drink and watched Milly. He was very curious about Meryl and if Milly's worried about her, it had to be bad. He glanced over to Wolfwood, who caught his eye.
Wolfwood said, "Milly, we're concerned about Meryl, too. Are you sure you can't tell us?"
"Mr. Wolfwood, I want to tell you both, but I really don't think I should and that's final," she looked determined and resolved.
Vash and Wolfwood both sighed and leaned back. Wolfwood poured them another round of drinks and they continued to do so with another three bottles.
The next day, Vash and Wolfwood were in a restaurant, eating a late breakfast, while waiting for Milly. Vash was nursing a hangover and felt a little nauseous as he looked at the delicious food sitting on the table.
Vash had his head in his hands, "Ughhh, can you please get that food out of my sight?"
Wolfwood looked at him unsympathetically, "No, I can't help it that you can't handle a few bottles."
"Oh, have a heart, would you?"
"Look, Tongari, what are you planning to do about Meryl?"
"I don't know, Milly's pretty resolved in not telling us. Shhh, she's coming in."
Milly waltzed into the restaurant and Wolfwood waved her over, "Over, here, girl!"
Milly smiled and walked over, "How are you feeling, Mr. Vash?" She asked after observing that he was covering his eyes with his hands.
"Do you have to ask?" he mumbled.
Wolfwood pushed a plate of food towards Milly, "Here, help yourself. Did you sleep well?"
Milly was about to respond when a man came running in and said, "Did you hear? There's a bad shootout in April. Apparently some poor sap got involved with the Peacock gambling ring and was dumb enough not to pay them back!"
Wolfwood and Vash looked at each other. "Who or what is the Peacock?" Vash asked.
"Mister, you don't know?" the man said, "You must not be from this area. They are the terror of Impala, April, and Roma. They are a dangerous gambling ring and if you don't have the money to pay them, you're dead!"
Another man asked, "So, do you know the poor sucker who this is involving?"
The man shook his head, "No, I don't know him, but apparently his name is something like Stryfe."
Vash, Milly, and Wolfwood suddenly stared at each other. "Sir," Vash asked, "Are you sure it was Stryfe?"
"Pretty sure."
"Oh, damn," Wolfwood said, "Stryfe isn't a very common name, is it? Meryl was heading to April."
Milly stood up; "I have to go! Meryl needs help!" and she started to run. Vash suddenly grabbed her.
"Milly! Don't be so hasty! We'll all go. Right, Wolfwood?"
"Yeah," Wolfwood said, lighting up a cigarette, "Let me get my weapon."
Milly's eyes started to fill with tears, "Thank you, guys!"
Wolfwood patted her arm, "She's our friend too, we want to help."
Vash remained quiet. He wondered what Meryl got herself into.
The day before the shootout, Meryl sat at the kitchen table, pondering her cousin's predicament. How were they supposed to get out of this? Go to the Peacock gambling ring and ask for a payment plan? She thought about the time when Vash and Wolfwood helped a woman whose husband left her and her child behind with a debt. Both men were in a quick draw contest that could have easily turned ugly. But it worked out in the end. The family got out of debt. Meryl shook her head. No, she could not get Vash involved, even if he wanted to. Would he want to? Meryl chided herself for even thinking that.
Jordan sat next to her, "Hey, any thoughts?"
Meryl groaned, "No," she was quiet for a moment, than she said; "I wonder what would be a quick way to make money?"
Jordan said tentatively, "Turn in Vash the Stampede and get the 60 billion double dollar bounty?"
Meryl slammed her hands on the table, "Absolutely not! He does not deserve that! He's a good person! So, don't you dare!"
Jordan raised his hands, "Okay, okay. I didn't realize he meant that much to you."
Meryl turned red and sputtered, "It's nothing like that.."
Jordan eyed her, "Sure, whatever you say."
"Jordan, could I have some coffee?" Meryl asked.
Jordan laughed, "Don't want to talk about him, do you Meryl? Sure, I'll make us both some coffee."
Meryl and Jordan stayed up throughout the night, making plans, discarding them, and making new plans and so forth. The sun was coming up when Meryl threw up her arms in frustration.
"None of these plans are good enough!"
Jordan got up and walked over to her, "Hey, we're both just tired. Want to go for a walk? You know, to clear our heads."
Meryl agreed and as they walked out the door, they were met with thirty guns pointing at them. Jordan and Meryl instinctively put their hands up.
"Oh, hey guys, uh, I was just going to find you," Jordan grinned weakly, "How nice of you to come here."
With a cigarette in his mouth and the Cross Punisher in the back, Wolfwood revved up the car, indicating to Vash that he was ready to go. Vash had gone back to his room to make sure he had extra ammo so that they don't end up in a sticky situation. The expression on Milly's face read aloud the anxiety all three were feeling. Vash jumped into the car and they set forth to April.
"We want the money, Stryfe!" one of the men, who appears to be the leader, yelled.
"I need some more time!" Jordan cried, "Please, Jack, I have 100,000 double dollars. Can we make some arrangement? I swear, I'll get you the money!"
Then Jack, the leader, shook his head, "No, not good enough. Either you have it all, or nothing."
Meryl stepped up, "Excuse me. My name is Meryl Stryfe, and I'm with the Bernadelli Insurance company. I'm sure we can come to some sort of arrangement.."
"No!" shouted Jack, "I don't care who you are, but I made it pretty clear what I want."
Meryl looked annoyed, "Look, I heard what you want, but you're not being realistic. He can't give you all the money at once. So far, he has 100,000 double dollars, which he can give you now. He can pay the rest to you later. If you kill him, you'll never get the money."
"Hmm, you have a good point there, Miss Stryfe, is it? Are you related to our friend here?" Jack suddenly swung his gun to her.
"Wait! What are you doing?" Jack cried, "She has nothing to do with this! She's my cousin and all she's doing is trying to help me!"
"Well," Jack said, still aiming at Meryl, "You got her involved and she did say that it would be useless to kill you. However, there was nothing said about her dying."
"No! She..she knows Vash the Stampede. If we get him, you can have the money. Just let her go!"
"No Jordan!" Meryl cried, "I can't let you do that!"
"Vash the Stampede, huh?" Jack rubbed his chin, "Well, this is getting interesting. So, girl, is it true? Do you know Vash the Stampede?"
"No, I don't. All I know about him is that he's a despicable outlaw. Please, we can come to some other arrangement. If you agree to it, I'll take over my cousin's debt. Leave Jordan alone, deal with me."
Jack laughed, "Well, Stryfe, you certainly have loyal family, I'll give you that. However," he looked hard at Meryl, "I think you're lying about Vash the Stampede. But I'll let that slide, since you agreed to take over your cousin's debt. You can work for me.."
"No, Meryl! I can't let you do that!" Jordan yelled and shot at Jack, killing him instantly.
Meryl stood in shock as Jack's body slumped onto the ground before her. The other gunmen started shooting, Jordan grabbed Meryl's hand and they ran for cover.
"Damn it, Jordan! Why did you do that for?" Meryl whacked her cousin, "No one needed to die! I had it under control!"
"You had no idea what you were getting yourself into Meryl. If you only agreed to allow them have Vash the Stampede, this wouldn't be happening."
"No, don't you dare try to pin this on me," Meryl was getting very angry, "He means a lot to me, just as you mean a lot to me. I wasn't going to sacrifice either one of you."
Jordan looked surprised. Meryl muttered, wishing she could have taken back what she just said about Vash. However, neither one could think much more on the matter, because bullets were still flying.
"Arghh, we need to do something about this!" Meryl said. She thought for a moment, then said, "Well, I have my derringers, do you have any weapons?"
"Meryl, think about what I have been doing. Of course I have a gun!"
"Alright, alright. Look, don't kill anyone else, okay? Just disarm them or put them out of action." Meryl shuddered for a moment, realizing how much she sounded like Vash.
Her cousin didn't argue back. He just said, "Yeah, I hope you know what you're doing." He cocked his gun.
"I hope so too," Meryl murmured, getting ready to run out with her guns. "On the count of three, run!"
Jordan nodded.
"1,2,3, go!"
Both jumped out, firing at the shocked gunmen. Meryl was whipping out her derringers like there was no tomorrow. She did not kill a single person, as did Jordan. Suddenly Meryl felt something graze her arm. She dropped her derringers and grabbed her arm in pain and fell to her knees. Jordan saw and started running to his cousin. Then the gunmen who shot her came up to her, cocking his gun toward her.
Jordan raised his gun, "Meryl!" he shouted and clicked the gun, but nothing came out. Jordan looked at it, "Awww crap! I'm out of bullets!"
Jordan wasn't sure what he was going to do, but he had to help Meryl. The gunman was about to pull the trigger when his gun was shot out of his hand.
He looked at his hand, "What the hell?" He glared at Jordan, who had a confused look on this face.
Jordan raised his hands; "I didn't do it!" He, than ran over to Meryl's side. She was looking past the gunman at a figure.
The figure came; he was wearing a red coat, and holding a big gun. The gunman glared at him, "Mister, this is no business of yours!"
Vash pointed his gun at him, "Sure it is. That young lady that you're pointing your gun at happens to be a friend of mine. So why don't you be a good boy and run home."
Milly came running with Wolfwood behind her, "Oh Mr. Vash! You found Meryl!"
The gunman looked shocked, "Vash? You don't mean Vash the Stampede, do you?"
Milly gave him a confused look; "Of course he's Vash the Stampede!"
Vash looked embarrassed, "Do you have to broadcast that to the whole world?"
Wolfwood looked at the gunman, "Why don't you take your comrades and leave? Besides, you're the only one not wounded and you don't want to take on Vash the Stampede, do you?"
"No, no," the gunman ran, leaving his wounded gang behind.
"The loyalty they show for one another is just astounding," Wolfwood just shook his head, "Hey, small girl, did you take on the Peacock gambling ring on your own?"
Meryl gave a weak laugh, "No, I was just helping out my cousin Jordan here."
Jordan was staring at Vash; "You're Vash the Stampede? You're not what I imagined you to be. Meryl was right about you."
Vash grinned, "Oh, what did she say about me?"
"Well..ouch, Meryl!"
Meryl glowered at the both of them, "Stop it. Can we leave?"
Milly hugged Meryl, "Oh, Meryl I was so worried about you!" Meryl cringed at the pain in her arm, "Oh, sorry Meryl. I'll get that bandaged up!"
Vash looked at her, "I was really worried about you, too. I mean, we were all worried about you." He turned a little red.
Milly ran to the car to get the bandages. When she came back, Vash asked her if he could do it. "Oh, sure, Mr. Vash," Milly smiled as she handed him the bandages and she turned to Wolfwood and Jordan, "I'm hungry. Can we go somewhere to eat?"
"Sure, girl," Wolfwood said, "Come on and you, too" he pointed to Jordan.
Jordan still couldn't get over Vash and he shook himself out of his daze, "Yeah sure. You'll be alright, cousin?"
"Yeah," Meryl said, "The bullet just grazed my arm." She let herself be led back to Jordan's house by Vash.
She winced as Vash cleaned the wound, "Sorry," he said.
"That's alright," Meryl said as he wound the bandages around her tiny arm.
"You know, that was a really stupid thing you did. You could have gotten yourself killed."
"Vash, you're the last person I want to get lectured by on something like that," Meryl looked away, "Someone died, I didn't want it to happen, Jordan was just trying to protect me.."
Vash tentatively touch her hand, "It wasn't your fault," he grinned, "I can't believe you guys took care of that entire gang!"
Meryl laughed, "The Stryfes are a force to be reckoned with!"
Vash laughed, "That's for sure! Are you up to getting something to eat?"
Meryl stood up, "Yes, besides, I can't have Jordan telling Milly and Wolfwood things that are rather embarrassing."
"Hmmm, I'll have to find out what those are. I need something to hold against you!"
The pair walked out of the house. Vash wondered what Meryl told Jordan about him, but knew better than to ask. They found the others at a restaurant and joined their comrades for a good meal and company.