The Deceiver. 8/11/2012

Chapter 1

My name is Spence Bader – at least that will do for now. To be honest it has been so long since I used the name given to me at birth that I wouldn't recognize it any more.

Dodge city is just a name on the map to me, but right now it will serve my needs. I hear there is a new young Marshal there, keen on upholding the law and all that stuff. I'm not overly worried, I have yet to meet a lawman I couldn't take down.

I started working at the age of fourteen on a cattle ranch in Texas. A distant cousin of my father owned it and Pa figured it would be good for me to learn the business. I discovered then that hard work was not a rewarding way of life, and after a year or so took off in the company of some drifter who rode through.

From that old man I learned a lot of new skills. Like how to live off of the land if you had to – and how there were easier ways to be had in some of the cities and towns that were growing up on the frontier. People here had mostly arrived from the more 'civilized' society back east and so they were pretty easy picking for the likes of the old drifter and me.

I rode with him for three or four years. He taught me much of what I know now. How to play cards, how to shoot a gun and most of all how to come and go through one of these civilized places without attracting attention.

I had been by myself now for almost a year. The old drifter had developed a fever one night and just died on me. Of course I buried him out there in the hill country that he called home and knew that from here on out I would have to take care of myself.

I missed him something terrible at first, but soon met up with some other men who took me in. They seemed to have money to spend on fancy saddles, nice horses, and sometimes women. They drank that corn liquor a good bit too.

A couple of them took a special interest in teaching me how to improve my skills with a gun, how to be fast and accurate. At first I did not understand their kindness. Then they came back into camp one day with saddlebags full of money, but were all concerned because some sheriff was after them. They wanted me to go into town and challenge him. They told me I was sure a lot faster than he was and if I could take him out they would pay me $100.

I had never seen that kind of money before.

Like they said I had no problem. I drew against the sheriff and he fell to the ground. It was all legal like – I didn't shoot him in the back or anything. I knew how to disappear from that place so no one ever figured which way I went – or what I looked like. The old drifter's teaching served me well.

Now I knew how to earn a living. I went back to that group of men just for long enough to collect my money, then headed off one night feeling I had the world in my pocket. Surprisingly a hundred dollars didn't last very long, but after a while I found that my gun skills could earn me quite a respectable living.

So three years and several gunfights later I am riding into Dodge City. I just accepted my most profitable job ever, one thousand dollars to take down the Marshal here.

I hung around the town for several days watching my prey. That is how I viewed it. I was the hunter; my job was to kill the prey. It never worried me much that I was taking someone's life, after all no one except the old drifter ever worried about mine.

It didn't take long for me to find the Marshal. Apart from the fact that he had a brick built office with a big sign on it located right there on Front Street, you couldn't fail to notice him because of his height.

I watched him for several days. He seemed to have a small group of friends. A man with a stiff leg – he shouldn't cause much problem, an old Doctor who would cause even less. And then there was a pretty red haired saloon girl he seemed to have quite a friendship with.

I watched him break up a few saloon fights. He was quick with his fists. One night he took down three men and hauled them off to the jail with no help at all. My biggest surprise came one morning. A man got off the stage wearing a long jacket and a fancy gun belt. He let it be known that he was after the marshal. He visited several saloons, and finished up in the Long Branch. There he saw the red headed saloon girl and started talking to her. He got a little rough, wanting her to go take a walk with him. He was in the process of dragging her outside, when the tall Marshal showed up. He jerked the man around and delivered a quick uppercut to his jaw. The man fell backwards. It was what happened next that interested me. The Marshal was very concerned over the saloon girl – more than just a general interest. Then while he is talking to her, the man comes back in through the swing doors gun drawn. The girl sees him. "Matt" she yells. He turns, draws and fires killing the gunfighter. I was amazed, never seen anyone as fast as that. No wonder I had been offered $1000 for this job. I needed to figure a way I could take him down. Fair fight face to face was not going to work.

I slept well that night; I had solved many difficult challenges in my life, this was just one more, one that would be very profitable.

No one in town had really noticed me at this time. I woke early next morning and headed west. I needed to buy some supplies – but not here, not where someone might remember.

I had passed a small town about a few hours ride west of here – Cimarron – that would do.

On my way I saw a small collection of old buildings in the distance. A couple of old shacks, a barn or two, I couldn't tell from here. I rode over and take a look. Yes perfect. It looks like the remains of an old settlement set just below the rise of a rocky outcrop. No one could creep up from behind.

Now I had a good idea what I needed to do. A few purchases in Cimarron, a fancy jacket and pants, a string tie and an eye patch, a more city type hat – that should work, then I just need to buy a second horse. Not too big an investment to make $1000.

I stopped by the old buildings on the way back, changed my clothes and stashed my old ones. Then I swopped horses and continued on my way.