Dark blue uniform, pressed to perfection. Fair, chin-length hair hanging loosely from underneath the dark cap. Vash checked, and double-checked to ensure that all three (yes, three) of his guns were tucked neatly in their places. Green eyes softened considerably when he confirmed that they were indeed in their positions. Yes, everything was as it should be.

"Lily, I'm going!" He called from the entrance hall of the apartment.

The rapid footsteps announced his sister's arrival, and the young woman smiled as she gave him a quick hug, already wearing her uniform for work, and her favorite purple hair ribbon. "Have a good day. Oh! And I'm working later tonight at the restaurant, so you're on your own for dinner."

"Okay. I'll see you tonight then."

The May air still had a bit of a chill to it when Vash stepped out of the apartment building, and started walking towards the station, only a few blocks away. He got a few nods of recognition, but no one said a word, or stopped him. It was well known that he didn't talk much, and when he did, it was curt, and sometimes cold. He was Vash Zwingli, one of the best officers on the force, certainly the best shot, but one of the worst at conversing. Probably the reason that he hadn't flown up through the ranks. Those above him thought he was antisocial. Those under him thought he was arrogant.

Really, both were right. He didn't like 'hanging out' with fellow cops, never sided with anyone in an argument, and he really did know that he was the better officer out of all the others. No one could shoot like him, and no one could track down someone who didn't want to be found like him.

{}}{{}

"Good morning sir!" The receptionist chirped brightly as the man walked in. He said nothing but did offer her a brief nod when her smile faltered slightly. 'She must be new' he thought with a shrug. After all, the others knew better than to be deterred by his standoffish greetings.

"Vash! Good to see you buddy!" He was nearly knocked over by a beaming German (Prussian, thank you very much!) "So, did you miss me?"

The blond scowled darkly. "I saw you on Friday, Gilbert, and no one is capable of missing an annoyance like you. Get off of me."

The albino frowned, but obeyed, looking deeply wounded, but Vash knew better. "I seriously came bearing news most awesome for you straight from Roddy, but now I'm not sure I even want to tell you anymore."

"Well then I suppose I'll find out from the chief, won't I?" He only half-pretended not to be curious to piss off the older man, who could obviously barely contain how exciting he thought this news was.

"Well I guess I could tell you… the chief has a target for you, and you're getting permission to shoot on sight… shoot to kill."

Was it so wrong that Vash's ears perked up right away at that? Probably. But they did, nonetheless. "Really?"

"Yep! A convicted murderer escaped last week and disappeared. The guys originally assigned to getting him back thought he'd be heading west to the coast, but obviously that hasn't turned up anything, and he's long gone, so they're giving you the job. Sometimes I think they forget you're not a detective."

"Sounds like a challenge at least." Vash muttered, already moving towards the chief's office.

"Oh, and there's something else too that I think you'll like even more."

"What?" the guise was gone, and excitement for this task was clear on his face.

Gilbert's grin widened, and he winked cheerfully. "Dunno! It's probably classified info or something."

Vash's face was thunderous as he walked into Roderich's office. Somehow that damn, so-called 'Prussian' always managed to get him severely pissed off.

Roderich's office was spotless as always. Cared for by the man himself, who barely even tolerated other people breathing in his workspace, much less trust anyone else to keep it organized. The blinds covering the window hung half-open, letting in only a fragment of what little sunlight there was outside to begin with, giving the room a very hollow feel. Other than the weak sun, the only source of light would have been the antique carnival glass desk lamp, had Roderich not been too cheap to pay for any extra electricity.

It was little things like that that had earned Vash's respect for the man, despite their differences most of the time.

"I see you've already spoken with Mr. Beilschmidt." The dark-haired man murmured, barely glancing up from his computer screen.

"Yes sir."

"So you know about the convict we're sending you after."

"A killer, yes. But why am I going alone? Not that I mind, but isn't something like this reserved for a larger team?"

"Because we need this kept quiet."

"May I ask why, sir?" It was odd for something like this to be kept a secret. Most of the time, they wanted the culprit caught quickly, and to keep it from public eyes, not the rest of the police force.

"You know officer Williams, correct?"

"Of course." Matthew Williams was a much younger cop who kept to himself, much like Vash, and could snipe like no other. He hadn't seen anyone like him since Tino Väinämöinen had moved away. That was really the only reason they did their best to keep him on the force, as his mental state was a bit shaken at times. "But what does that have to do with-?"

Roderich held up a hand to silence him, and, passed a small photo across the desk. "The man you're going after is his twin brother."

"You're kidding, right?" He didn't want to even look at the photo, hoping this was some kind of joke. Williams was a good kid, if a bit 'gone' at times. He couldn't be mixed up in this sort of thing.

"I don't kid." Roderich snapped irritably. "His arrest three years ago was the original cause of the boy's distress. He's convinced that his brother was innocent. Knowing that we're hunting him down with the intent to kill him would probably push him over the edge."

"Of course." He was trying to think of anyone with the surname Williams who'd been arrested that year, but none came to mind.

"So we're clear? You'll find Alfred Jones, kill him, and then alert me, and only me."

Ah, different surnames. That made sense. "One more thing, why does Gilbert know? He seemed pretty sure about this outside, and he's fairly close to Matthew. Wouldn't it be dangerous for him to know?"

The Austrian scrunched up his nose in annoyance. "He snuck into my office and found the file. It took a lot of convincing to get him to not tell Williams, or anyone else, a thing."

"I see."

"So you'll stay quiet?"

Vash took the file that his boss held up, and nodded stiffly. "Yes sir. I'll be on my way now."

"Good luck."

{}}{{}

"Lily, I know you're working, so I'll just leave a message. Sorry this is really sudden, but I have to leave for work for a little while. Hopefully just a few days. I'll take you out for dinner when I get back, to make it up for you. See you then."

Lily sighed as she heard the message. Her brother was always getting sudden out-of-town work like this.

"What's wrong Lil? You look kind of depressed."

"I'm fine Liz. My brother's just going out of town for awhile." She said quickly, running a small hand through her sandy hair.

The taller brunette nodded in understanding, retying the knot at the back of her dark brown apron. "You know, if it was anyone other than you, I'd say this much devotion to one's brother would be unhealthy."

"I just get really worried, that's all." She peered up at the clock, and smiled. "It's about that time again Liz."

As if on cue, Gilbert Beilschmidt strode into the restaurant, beaming, and Elizaveta was on him in an instant. "Hey Gilbo! Did you get any darling little pictures for me today?" She cooed, batting her eyelashes.

"Lizzie, how many times do I have to tell you that Colin and Eric aren't gay?" He groaned.

"Oh you know that's a horrible lie, so be a dear and cough them up, and I just might…" She stood on tiptoe, and whispered something in Gilbert's ear that made his red eyes shoot open as he grinned.

"Well seeing as you put it that way, I just so happened to have a camera set up in a janitor's closet today…" He said slyly, holding out a small silver camera. Just as Elizaveta greedily reached for it, he frowned, and held it out of her reach. "The Prussian blue ones?"

"The Prussian blue ones." She confirmed impatiently, suppressing a giddy squeal as he finally handed over the camera. "Hey Lil, take my tables for awhile, would you? I need to run this home before the boss sees it." Elizaveta was already tearing through the knot she'd just retied, and handing the apron to Gilbert.

"Sure. My break should last another ten minutes, so be quick."

"Rodger that! It's not far anyway." She cheered, racing for the door.

"So did your brother let you know about his job?" Gilbert asked as Lily tied her own apron back on.

"Yes, he called and left a message, but wouldn't tell me what it is."

"Makes sense, it's all being kept pretty hush-hush." He stopped at the crest-fallen look on the girl's face. "But don't worry about it. He's the best, so he'll be fine! He'll be back in no time at all, promise!"

"I know that Gilbert, but thank you anyway." Lily smiled brightly up at him. "Now could you get out of the way? I've got to take care of Lizzie's tables. Take a seat, and I'll get to your order before your lunch break's over."

{}}{{}

Vash glanced from the road to the picture sitting on the passenger's seat. Alfred Jones was beaming up at him, with one arm slung around officer Williams' shoulders as the younger smiled meekly upwards. Somehow he couldn't imagine that man murdering all those people as brutally as the old reports had said.

Eyes shifting back to the road, Vash slapped himself mentally. "Stop thinking like that." He hissed aloud. "You'll end up feeling sorry for a killer, and not being able to do your damn job."

As far as police sources said, Jones had gone west. But as that had turned up nothing, Vash's best guess was north. The twins had a cabin in Northern Ontario they'd spent most of their childhood summers in, and he'd bet any money that's where he would go.

And Vash Zwingli never put money on the line unless he was absolutely certain that he was right.

{}}+{{}

Thanks for reading~!

Well here it is, my first time writing with Switzerland as a main character. Actually, I don't usually deal with the Germanic characters at all. They're really fun to write though! Anyway, lemmie know how it is! Drop me a lovely review!

Also, I apologize for butchering the police system; I have no clue how anything really works, so I just try to have as little detail as possible.

I wrote the first two chapters of this in driver's Ed in April. I think I'm the most creative while bored So, I really shouldn't be publishing this yet, seeing as I have three other stories to work on, but I don't care, I really want this one out before I forget about it all together.