Vash stopped and looked back with some surprise. The gorgeous woman he'd just passed stood smiling at him. Her red hair and icy blue eyes drew a drool from him, as well as every other man in the crowd.
She spoke, and she sounded at pretty as she looked. "You're really going in unarmed, aren't you?"
Meryl rolled her eyes as Vash went into his macho hero routine. "Yes, ma'am, I am! I am a lover of all life...(he flexed his muscles)..and I won't sit by while innocent people suffer! I'll give my own blood if I have to, I'm just that kind of man! A macho, handsome idol to millions!"
She giggled at him. "That's cute. Well, mr. macho handsome idol, I too love life. And since I don't want you losing your's, you better take this." She tossed him a handgun. Vash's eyes bugged out when he examined it.
"A .44?! Isn't this way too big for...(Vash switched to his smooth gentleman voice) a delicate flower like yourself?"
"Don't worry. I know how to handle big thick barrels and powerful shots." Meryl and Millie blushed, and Vash almost passed out. "Just make sure you give it back when you've caught the robbers, ok? I'll make sure to reward your courage." She winked, and Vash winked as he went toward the bank.
Millie looked at Meryl concerned. "Gee, Meryl, aren't you going to say something to her? Vash is your boyfriend now, isn't he?"
Upon hearing that, Meryl went from clenching her entire body to embarrassed blushing. "N-NO, HE IS NOT!!!"
"He isn't? I could've sworn you liked him."
"GRRRRR!! Millie, don't you have some paperwork to do!?"
Vash cautiously looked through one of the holes in the wall. The large wooden lobby was filled with rubble and a handful of people tied up. The only exception was one man, about 6' tall with a cool expression and a big tattoo of an X on his face. He held a large pistol to a woman's head. "No corpses," he thought. "That's good. Maybe i'm not too late." He started to make a move, but two other untied men stepped out from the back room. One was a little skinny guy, with a crazy look in his eyes. The other was a mountain of a man, about as tall as Grey the Ninelives. Both had similar X tattoos and were carrying sacks of what was most likely money. The skinny one spoke first.
"We got the money!" Then the cool one.
"How much?"
"Maybe $$60,000, plus a buncha jewelry. Enough to tide us over until next month."
"Good haul. C'mon, let's go."
"Wait! What about these fine folks? We can't leave until they get their promised slaughter."
The cool man lowered his head and closed his eyes. "....Fine."
The big guy had been silent until now, but then he started laughing. A loud, evil laugh, oozing with malice and joy at the thought of causing pain. He would be Vash's first target.
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