Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Midvalley's Serenade ❯ A Small Sacrifice ( Chapter 43 )

A Small Sacrifice

It was unusual for Legato to show as much emotion as he had and it wasn't long before he composed himself and resumed his slightly aloof manner. I had been unable to give him much in the way of healing and I knew that he needed to rest to restore his strength, but mindful of his duty to his master, he began to speak.

"Vash the Stampede has been shattered by the events of the day. He is paying for his arrogance with pain now, I have no doubt that he will follow the trail that we have charted for him this time."

"A great deal of preparation has gone into the next act of our drama. The first scene will play out near Keybas. Zazie the Beast has been in place for weeks and will have the starring role. We must join him soon to oversee a crisis of conscience in Vash the Stampede.

Caine will accompany us. The sniper has become drunk and unreliable since Ned Pitts died, a rather pathetic figure really, but Master Knives has a small part for Caine to play and I doubt the poor creature would make it there without some assistance."

Legato halted, closed his eyes and sighed deeply. I knew he was in considerable pain from the treatment he received from Knives.

I offered my arm for support. He took it and we walked slowly around the structure of the ruined seeds ship.

We finally reached Legato's armored car. The robot who usually drove it sat inert and lifeless in the driver's seat like a puppet whose wires had been cut. When Leonof died, all the puppets he controlled stopped functioning.

"What a pity," said Legato. "Leonof , despite his failure, was a puppetmaster without peer. "

I pulled the robot out of the vehicle and set it on the ground.

"I'll drive," I volunteered.

"Thank you, Midvalley. I need to rest."

Legato stepped into the vehicle, settled himself and slept almost all the way to LR.

When we arrived, Legato said, "You look exhausted, Midvalley. Get some sleep while I check for news at the wire office."

I woke when I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Legato.

"A contact in New Oregon informed me that hundreds of Vash the Stampede's friends died in Sky City and they are still burying the corpses as we speak. He won't be traveling for a while, so we can get a hotel room and rest here for tonight."

I was tired from the ordeal of the previous day and from the vibration of the vehicle and the dust from the road. I fell into bed exhausted with only the briefest recollection that only twenty-four hours ago, I had been locked safe in my lover's arms. It hardly seemed possible. It felt like years.

I was relieved that Legato made no effort at seduction. I think all his energy was focussed on self-healing. I was worn thin.

Next morning, Legato woke me. He seemed refreshed.

After I cleaned up, he gave me a mission.

"Find Caine," he said. "Bring the sniper back with you as soon as possible, then we will regroup and make further plans."

It was still fairly early when I walked down the stairs of the Ellar Hotel. The birds were singing as I stepped along the boardwalk and entered the Swallow Tavern, a small quiet place I thought might appeal to the shy sniper, but Caine wasn't there though I had heard that she practically lived in barrooms now. There was one other saloon on the main drag, called the Dij Bar. I headed up the wide sandy street, pushed through the batwing doors of the place and scanned the tables and booths. It was still early so the place wasn't crowded. Only a diehard drunk would start this early, which is why I thought I had a good chance of finding Caine here.

When I didn't see the sniper, I described Caine to the bartender.

"The one I'm looking for is tall, slender and wears a mask and a long leather jacket. Drinks a lot."

"Hmm. Drinks a lot," mused the bartender. "Could be almost anyone. Lots of folks are still wearing masks because of the dust storm. Sorry it's not ringing a bell, but if you don't see your friend here, try the rest room. I get drunks who fall asleep on the commode from time to time. I keep telling them it's not a hotel room, but when they're in that rough shape, they're not too good at listening."

Since I had to take a leak, I pushed into the men's room, stepped up to a urinal, unfastened my pants and did my business. I relaxed with a sigh as my bladder emptied. I swiveled my head when I heard the door of the stall behind me swing open and saw Caine lurch across the floor and stand swaying in front of the urinal just two spaces down from mine.

Caine was so drunk that I don't think that my presence made the slightest impact. After all, she was so drunk, she'd entered the wrong restroom. I was more than a little surprised when I heard Caine's stream of urine start and shocked when my eyes drifted to the right and I got a glimpse of the small but serviceable cock in the sniper's hand. I'll admit I stared, at first from shock, and then, because a lot of the urine was misdirected. It's a pitiful thing when a sniper of Caine's talent couldn't get piss in the pisser while standing right in front of it.

"Shit, Caine," was all I could think of to say. I'd thought he was a woman and here was evidence to the contrary. Dominique had been messing with my mind.

But I'd seen his breasts---no, her breasts, I told myself.

A man and a woman? I mumbled to myself. Is that why she's so shy? I wondered.

I puzzled over it for a moment as I fastened my fly. Caine sagged up against the wall and slid slowly down to the floor. I shook her shoulder. He was out cold. It was frustrating to know how to think about her, him. Finally since I'd found Caine in the men's room, and seen his cock, I decided that he considered himself a man. I took Caine by the wrists, pulled him up to a standing position, then wrapped my arms around his shoulders and headed through the door and into the saloon.

Caine seemed to regain consciousness, but was still so drunk all he could do was shuffle clumsily across the floor. I guided his staggering steps out through the batwing doors and out onto the street. I half-carried him back to the armored car, manhandled him into the vehicle and propelled him to an empty sleeping berth.

Legato returned while I was getting Caine settled in.

"Good work, Midvalley. I just got some new information about Keybas. It seems that the citizens have gotten frightened because of the disappearances I arranged in the neighboring towns, so they have walled in their city and won't let strangers in.

There may not be any other cities on the way where we can stock up on food, water and ammunition, so we shall need to lay in adequate provisions before we leave.

Purchase what you think we will need in the way of food, and water. If you could find some sweets, some cheesecake would be especially nice."

I'm not sure if our drunken colleague was thoughtful enough to stock up on ammunition for the rifle, so I would appreciate it if you could buy a couple of boxes of .50 caliber rounds for it.

"I didn't see his rifle," I said.

"Caine carries the rifle in pieces, concealed in the leather coat," Legato informed me.

Then he continued, "We may find ourselves in a few close combat situations in Keybas. I know you rarely use the special modifications on your saxophone that allow it to fire bullets---

"I hate using her that way!" I protested. "The recoil makes it almost impossible for Silvia to hold pitch afterwards without major readjustment. She sounds so flat. I hate that."

"I'm aware. Still it might be a good idea to clean and oil the mechanism and buy some ammunition, just to be on the safe side."

"Oh, all right," I agreed.

"I'm not sure how long the errands will take you, but if we leave in an hour or so, it will give us ample time to get to Keybas. We need to reconnoiter the town, rendezvous with Zazie the Beast to share intelligence, and be in place before Vash the Stampede and his party arrive.

While you do the errands, I must write another report for Knives. He wanted an assessment of Caine's condition."

"Caine was so drunk, he couldn't hit the urinal," I said and left.

I had to ask twice before I finally found a gun shop on a side street parallel to the main drag. I bought 2 boxes of .50 caliber cartridges for Caine's rifle. I also bought some .22 caliber ammunition for Silvia. Her firing mechanism is concealed in a metal sleeve just between the bow and the bell.

When I was through at the gun shop, I bought several containers of water and several sandwiches. The only sweet shop I found open was the Homy Donut shop. I bought a dozen donuts, some coffee, cream and sugar and returned to the vehicle. Legato was sitting up reviewing some documents.

"What did you bring in the way of sweets?" he asked me.

I set the box of donuts down on the table.

"No cheesecake?" he inquired, disappointed.

"No."

Then he was rifling through the contents.

"Mmmm, cream-filled," he said as he held one of the chocolate Bismarck's in his hand and bit into it. I set down the coffees. Did you get lots of cream and sugar?" he asked.

"Lots," I said.

"Ammunition?"

"Two boxes--50 rounds each for Caine's rifle. I can get more if we need it."

"I'm sure that will be adequate for our purposes. I wish there had been cheesecake though," he said as looked for a second donut. Still you got the chocolate donuts with sprinkles, too. I like those."

"I got a half dozen of those and there's a few cheese danish in there too."

"Cheese danish? That's almost as good as cheesecake. Well, then if you're rested, we should proceed to Keybas."

"I'm okay," I said, so I left him and Caine in the interior of the vehicle, took a sandwich and a canteen of water into the driver's seat and headed the vehicle north.

The trip to Keybas took just under six hours .

When we arrived on the outskirts, Chapel the Evergreen was waiting for us and Caine the Longshot seemed to have shaken off the effects of the alcohol. The four of us reconnoitered the city and found it was locked up tight. The citizens may have thought they were secure, but I was well aware that its walls would be no deterrent to Legato's mind control.

"I will go into the city with Chapel the Evergreen," said Legato. "In the meantime, I'd like you and Caine to make contact with Zazie the Beast just to make sure he is ready to play his part."

Legato told me that Zazie had taken refuge with other orphans in a dwelling just a stone's throw from the south gate. He was using the cover story of being an orphan from Carcassus.

It didn't take long to find the place, a long low building made of mud and set into the base of a sandstone outcropping.

Caine and I didn't approach the orphans directly. I knew that the children would be extremely suspicious of strangers.

I borrowed an extra sniper scope from Caine and tried to find Zazie with it. I saw several children, some sitting solitary and others engaged in various pursuits. One of the liveliest groups was engaged in a game of tag. I thought I'd have better luck finding Zazie among the solitary, but I did not recognize him.

I searched the faces of those playing tag and thought that if Zazie was undercover, he was doing a fine job of it. Eventually I spotted him wearing a blanket poncho and a big grin on his face. He had just dodged a pursuer and I could hear his happy laughter from where I lay observing. He certainly didn't act like a hardened cold-blooded killer. You'd never guess that he was anything other than a happy-go-lucky kid.

I wondered if he was acting. I got the impression he wasn't and wondered if this was what Zazie was like when the pressure of the job was off. I actually felt sorry for what the kid would be going through soon, but I set aside these thoughts and got ready to signal him. It was time for the rendezvous.

I used Silvia's polished surface to reflect sunlight into Zazie's eyes. He shook his head angrily but marked the location of the flashing light. Some quarter hour later, he joined Caine and me.

He'd been rude to me at the academy and time on his own hadn't improved his manners any. He was nothing like the kid I'd seen running happily minutes before, and any sympathy that I'd had for him while I watched him playing vanished as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Well, if it isn't the Whorefreak," he addressed me in an insolent tone.

"Zazie," I acknowledged him evenly.

"Why didn't Legato come in person for the briefing?"

"I couldn't say, Zazie. He asked me to do it."

"I know why. I heard a lot about you, Whorefreak. It's just like when you got Mentor of the Year at the academy. It's not who you know, it's who you fuck. I heard you're spreading your cheeks for Legato and Knives now. I guess a whore is always looking for a better pimp. And you're Legato's right hand man. Is that the one you use to jerk him off with?"

I slapped him across the cheek with my right hand. He had his pistol out from under his poncho with the hammer cocked in less time than I thought possible. He had gotten faster.

"I'm gonna fucking kill you, Whorefreak," he said, his voice eager with anticipation.

"Just try," said a quiet voice.

The muzzle of Caine's rifle was pointed at Zazie's heart.

"Stow it, brat," said the sniper.

The boy flushed scarlet and holstered the pistol.

Caine kept the rifle trained on Zazie.

"Might as well get back to business….Has the scenario been explained to you?" I asked him.

"Knives sent me an eyes only," Zazie replied. "He wants me to kill his brother. I've been practicing. You just saw how fast I am. Vash the Stampede doesn't stand a chance against me. And when he's dead I'm ready for a rematch with your boyfriend. Caine just saved your bacon now, but your lap-pal, Wolfwood won't be so lucky. He killed Rai-dei in cold blood, and it's time for some payback."

"Really?"

I hadn't known that Nick killed Rai-dei, but I realized that he if he felt the samurai posed a threat to Vash the Stampede, he would not have hesitated to eliminate him. But what really surprised me was that Zazie had received orders from Knives to kill Vash.

Frankly, I was concerned. I was beginning to wonder if Knives hadn't given a different scenario to everyone, hiding his intentions. I was sure Knives wanted his brother alive. Why did he tell Zazie to kill him? That was a question I couldn't quite answer. I would need to mention it to Legato, but I put it aside for the moment and said, "Vash the Stampede is expected to arrive this afternoon in Keybas. Caine will flash the light like I did and that's your cue to haul ass so you can meet him outside the gates and lead him to the orphanage."

"I know what I'm doing," said Zazie in a petulant voice.

"Don't get cocky," I advised him. "Leonof's dead and he was no fool."

"Are you saying I am?"

I exhaled slowly and held my temper.

"Grey and Hoppered are dead, too."

Zazie looked confused.

"What's that got to do with me?"

"Knives isn't cutting any slack," I explained.

"I guess that means you and your loser boyfriend will be dead soon."

"I'm just trying to warn you. Don't fuck up."

"I'll hold my end up. Just handle yours," said Zazie. "Are we done yet?"

"I guess so."

The small figure left with one last dirty look for Caine who still had the rifle pointed at his chest.

"Thanks," I said to the sniper.

Caine inclined his head fractionally in response.

"Let's go back.," I said.

Chapel the Evergreen was with Legato when we arrived.

"Now that you're back, we can discuss the plan of attack on the city," said the Evergreen.

"Caine, you should go set up now," said the Evergreen. "You can signal us and also Zazie, when Vash the Stampede's party arrives and of course tonight, you'll be responsible for the guards on the palisades.

Caine nodded and headed off on foot towards a sandstone butte an ile or so away.

It didn't take long to coordinate the rest of our plans.

Once Caine and Legato had breached the walls of the city, the Evergreen and I would do what we did best. Chapel the Evergreen went out to join Caine for a while.

"I'll take your briefing about Zazie the Beast now" Legato remarked.

I raised my concerns about Zazie's mission.

"You were right to tell me about the discrepancy in the scenarios, but Master Knives had his own special reasons for setting it up this way," Legato demurred. "He demands a certain level of authenticity in the performances and believes that Zazie's acting will be more convincing if he believes that Knives wants Vash dead."

I was still troubled, but it wasn't long before we saw the signal flash from Caine, and it was a mere ten minutes before Vash the Stampede's party showed up in a convertible with Nick in the driver's seat.

Legato and I watched the newcomers ask for admittance to the city. They were rudely refused entrance. I knew from watching him how much that pissed Nick off and how unwilling to take no for an answer he was. But Vash the Stampede was ready to leave and that's when he made Zazie's acquaintance.

Zazie stole a canteen and allowed himself to get caught. He looked pitiful and I'm sure that Vash the Stampede was sorry for him. I'd seen the soft spot he had for kids in trouble. I think Nick recognized Zazie. He took his cue anyway, and suggested that they follow the boy, to see where he went. Nick was probably telling Vash that there were more orphans just like him in the vicinity.

I gathered some water and some more sandwiches from the armored car. I thought we might be observing a while and Legato followed me to the vantage point I'd found that morning.

Not long after we were in place, Vash the Stampede and Nick showed up at the orphan's hideaway with the two insurance girls in tow. At first the suspicious children pelted the newcomers with flying objects. But when the four adults brought back enough food for a feast, the hungry orphans welcomed them with open arms.

Nick never could stand to see a hungry child and I felt his satisfaction through the link when the empty bellies were full again. God, it was good to see him again, if only from a distance. My heart expanded with warm feelings.

I saw how the group of adults interacted with the children. They wanted to help the children and they did. I watched Nick and Vash the Stampede show the boys how to build a cook fire.

The insurance girls helped the children with sweeping, mending clothes and cooking. They helped to turn the jump rope and referee games of soccer.

I noticed how easy the relationship between Nick and Millie was. I watched Vash the Stampede with his small insurance girl. She was sometimes humorous with him, sometimes serious and challenging, but she could hardly keep her eyes off him.

I noticed that he looked at her a lot and I wondered if it was as the way Nick had told me, that they were sweet on each other. I thought it was possible, but he seemed restrained. I think he didn't want to see her get hurt. He was a dangerous man to know. The cemetery in New Oregon was now filled with the bodies of former friends of his. I was impressed by the courage of the insurance girls.

I saw that Nick had strong feelings of affection for Millie. There was a genuineness in her interchanges, an artless calm and sweetness. I felt as I watched her that I was seeing a truly good person.

I had met women like her before-- big, strong women made to feel embarrassed about their strength and size. Most, and Millie was no exception, reacted to the implied criticism with shyness and modesty. I sensed her heavy overcoat hid a voluptuous body. I could see Nick's attraction to her and was even a little smitten myself.

It was sweet how the girls took a simple dinner and turned it into a party. Everyone seemed to be having fun, even Zazie.

I turned to see Legato watching me.

"We see things very differently, you and I," he said.

His comment took me aback, but he made no further remark and went back to watching the activities of the group.

Still disquieted, I offered Legato some refreshments and we ate. He seemed to entertain no malice towards me, and that was a relief anyway.

That evening I sensed through the link that Nick wasn't happy with what he had to do next.

When the party for the children was over and they were all bedded down for the night, Nick opened a bottle of liquor. It was the best way to damp down Vash's sixth sense for danger and it was our cue to get ready for combat. At five minutes of midnight the Evergreen met us at the armored car. At twelve o'clock sharp, the armed guards on the palisade fence of the walled city were all dead well before the faint residual sound waves from the gunshots drifted to my ears on the night wind. Caine still had the talent.

Legato used his powers of mind to raise the latch of the gate and when it swung open, Chapel the Evergreen gunned down the city defenders while Silvia's voice sliced through bodies like cold steel. So many died before they even knew what hit them. The carnage went on for a while until Legato said, "Stop, that's enough for the moment. We'll leave half alive," he continued, "just as we did at Jeneora Rock and we will wait for the good citizens of the town to put two and two together."

The next morning, Legato and I observed how the drama played out when we saw angry men from the town march on the small orphanage. They were certain that the strangers who had knocked at their gates the previous day were responsible for the fatalities. I watched with concern as the men peppered the children's dwelling with machinegun fire.

I felt Nick's anger through the link and wondered if he would kill the townspeople for putting the children in harm's way. I'd seen him react that way in the past.

This should be the moment when Vash opened fire with his handgun or machine gun to protect the children. But that wasn't what happened. I wasn't surprised when the Humanoid Typhoon walked out of the cabin with his arms held high, but I wasn't expecting it when Nick walked out just a few seconds after him.

What the hell was he doing?! I'd never seen Nick willingly disarm himself and he couldn't defend Vash the Stampede without his weapons. He was taking a huge chance with his life!

My mind raced with sudden questions. Could it be that he was just setting things up for Zazie? Or had he really started to believe what Vash the Stampede preached about non-violence?

The men from Keybas had itchy trigger fingers and I thought to intervene. I was furious when one of the men smashed Nick in the face with a rifle butt.

"Damn you to hell," I muttered and calculated the angle and velocity of the speed of sound as I brought Silvia's reed to my lip. The wind was too strong. I didn't want to hurt Nick, so I pressed the release that armed the sax gun and was just about to fire the bullets when Legato said, "Don't."

I felt a near crippling pressure on my fingers when I tried to defy his order.

"Let the scenario play out," he said. "Your friend is in no danger. Vash the Stampede couldn't bear to see him die, and you wouldn't want Silvia's voice to go flat….."

I didn't trust his words and bridled over his interference as I watched anxiously to see what would happen next.

Just then the ground erupted and a giant sandworm writhed hideously and raised its undulating head to look for prey. Every hair on my head rose. I could hear the screams of the children from where I stood..

Legato seemed serene as if this were expected.

"What's happening? I've never seen anything like those beasts!" I exclaimed.

"Zazie is controlling the worms through the hive mind.'

Nick and Vash the Stampede distracted the giant worms so that the Insurance girls could lead the children out of danger but soon the giant creatures were tearing up the streets in an effort to capture and devour their prey. Nick and Vash saved the lives of the townspeople who had been ready to kill them. When they pleaded for shelter for the children from the people of Keybas, the citizens surprised me by letting them in.

Zazie pressed on with the attack. His control of the worms was masterful. Somehow they even managed to tunnel under the walls into the city. Nick chased after Millie and a frightened child. He had hoisted his cross punisher about to defend their lives at all cost against the saw-tooth lined maw of the giant creature, when the sandworm just stopped, like one of Leonof's puppets with the wires severed. All of the giant worms froze in place.

I looked back to see what had happened with Zazie. Vash the Stampede was talking to him. Somehow he had broken the boy's ability to control the worms. Millie and Meryl came to join the outlaw. They were curious about the child.

Zazie threw aside his poncho, drew out his pistol and shot the handgun from Vash the Stampede's grip. Oh, god, if Nick failed at his bodyguard task, I had no doubt that Knives would kill him. Zazie held the gun to Meryl's head. The Humanoid Typhoon flinched at that, but he didn't turn a hair when Zazie shot a button off his coat. He just kept talking softly to the boy. But soft talk didn't work with Zazie. The only thing that impressed Zazie was a fast gun. I think it was the only thing he really respected.

But where was Nick?! He'd been on the roof protecting Millie. He was too far away to do his job and if he didn't….This was getting desperate.

I heard Zazie shout at the blond outlaw…."Then take your ideals to your grave…." He was going to shoot him. I knew it.

Worried for Nick again, I put my fingers on the keys that would trigger the bullets in my sax only to have Legato stop me again.

"Let the scene play out between the Priest and the Beast," he said. "There's nothing for you to be alarmed about."

I turned to look at him, heard a shot ring out and anxious for Nick, I looked back and everything I saw seemed to happen like a dream in slow motion.

The bullet from the Cross Punisher lifted Zazie into the air and his child's body flew up and drifted, drifted, drifted, until he fell to the ground…..lifeless.

It hurt to see that small body.

Zazie looked so pathetic lying there, like the child Molly in her coffin, surrounded by her toys.

"Get up, Zazie!" I said.

I knew he was dead.

"Come on, get up."

I didn't even like him.

"Get up, Zazie," I begged him even though I knew he couldn't hear me.

He was just so little.

I couldn't help it when my tears began to fall.

Millie took one horrified look at the body of the small boy and then her head swiveled slowly to see who had shot him. She saw Nick's hard look and the weapon still smoking. She looked at him with shock and hurt in her eyes. I felt Nick's heart crack while my own was breaking.

"If I hadn't of shot him, it would have been you lying there dead," I heard him try to defend himself to Vash the Stampede. His voice was harsh and ragged with pain.

When Vash the Stampede reproached him, Nick lashed out and struck him down.

I felt my lover's hurt, frustration and anger as he walked away, burning with shame to feel those judging eyes fixed on his back. I felt the load of guilt on him grow heavier and heavier until the pain of it was crushing.

I looked at Zazie's body lying so small, so cold, so still and whispered as I wept, " Whose child were you?"

"Nobody's child," said Legato. "Just a receptacle for the hive mind. The hive never dies. It will find another host."

His voice was calm and matter of fact with a hint of satisfaction.

Vash the Stampede wept as his eyes followed Nick's retreating back.

I looked at Legato through tear-stained eyes. I was wretched and he wore a smile of bliss.

To be continued.