Chapter 1:

Glass was everywhere, on the floor, in the walls; a few of them had even made their way into Jakes hands. The outlaw grit his teeth together as he picked out an especially large piece that – if it had been only an inch to the right – would have definitely sliced off a finger. Blood beaded around the wound but it still closed swiftly, leaving only a scar among the many that were there. Just another failure. Jake sighed, watching as wound after wound healed in front of his eyes while he sat in silence. The males' hellfire eyes glanced up at his desk, noticing how most things had been flung around the room when the explosion had happened, but there was only one thing that hadn't been knocked over. Jake reached out and grabbed the small picture frame in this already healed hand, a newspaper clipping barely fit within the confines, one of the first that had ever gotten a picture of Billy. It was dated two years after they had parted ways, about the same time when the female had become a hard-hitting criminal and had taken down a large portion of Sig Harrison's company in Mexico before she was then spotted three months later in China. A long sigh escaped from Jakes throat, rubbing his worn eyes with his thumb and forefinger as he looked over the trashed lab. He would have a lot of cleaning to do before he could try again.

A knock sounded at the wooden door at Jake's back, the man noticing that it too had shards of glass embedded within its exterior. Grumbling in annoyance as he stood, he didn't bother to wrap his wrists to hide the newly formed rattlesnake scales, Jake already knew who was on the other side of the door. The stench of alcohol hit Jake's senses like a fist to the face, and he couldn't help but wince as he pulled the door open. There stood Bill and his gang; Chorizo, Stump and Kinski wisely kept their distance and their eyes down; their leader however was practically leaning against the wood of the old house, cigar between his lips where smoke escaped.

"What do ya want Bill?" Jake growled, he didn't like Bill; he hadn't from the moment he had laid eyes on the man. The Australian was a straight up brute, using his size to get what he wanted. Today he and his crew were dressed in their usual dirt covered jeans and muscle shirts, a small bit of dried blood on a corner of the fabric made Jake wonder just which poor soul had gotten beaten today. Bill didn't move from his spot, but his brown eyes caught the glint of the broken glass that was scattered around the ground in back of the other man.

"What 'appened 'ere?" An eyebrow raised, eyes darting along the taller mans form looking for any wounds, but only spotting the newly formed rattlesnake scales that were practically invisible in the early morning light. "Did a bomb go off?"

"What do ya care?" Jake challenged, grabbing a cigarette from his shirt pocket along with a book of matches. Hellfire eyes gazed over the three men that still stood a good distance behind Bill, Stump and Kinski finally comfortable enough to stop fidgeting, but Chorizo had began to once again for a different reason. "Ya quit smokin' Chorizo?"

"Yes sir," the young male practically whispered in embarrassment that he had been caught staring, "Fer mah girl sir. Says she don't wanna kiss no ash tray she does." Jake couldn't help the small smile that spread over his face.

"Propose to 'er yet?" The Rattlesnake secretly enjoyed the irritated look that crossed Bill's face and the slightly shocked look that crossed Chorizo's, the male surprised that Jake had even listened to him once telling Bill that he was planning on marrying Delilah as Bill hadn't even listened.

"Not yet sir,"

"Going back to business," Bill interrupted, making Jake chuckle as the outlaw lit his cigarette, his muscles relaxing from the previous stress while Bill's tightened in frustration. "The Mayor wanted me to tell ya, there's a new guy in town,"

"So I got to take care of 'im?" Jake asked, talking with the cigarette still between his lips while Bill was twirling his cigar between his fingers.

"Yeah,"

"Is that all the old man wants?" The outlaw questioned, turning to grab the necessary equipment that he would need for the next few days that he would be spending in Dirt.

"No," Bill whispered, though Jake heard the quiet 'unfortunately' that followed afterward. "The guys name is Amos, he keeps talking about this accident that happened years ago involving the McCarty family massacre." Bill didn't notice Jake pause, how the mans eyes narrowed and his jaw tightened as he continued. "Boss want's 'im taken care of before the locals start askin' questions." Jake turned around, forgetting the shards of glass that were scattered along the ground as he grabbed his hat from his desk and walked out the house. Bill flinching as he quickly ducked away when Jake slammed the door behind him.

"I'm in."