Joseph was loading supplies into his uncle's wagon just as he usually did when they all rode into town. It'd begun as just another hot and dusty day in the small town of Paradise located on the edge of the valley near the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Ben had been helping him load sacks of grain in the back while Ethan had been off settling some business. Men rode in horseback and drove wagons up and down the main street just as they did most days. Miners with their mules bringing what gold they found in the hillsides to the claims office to be weighed before taking their finds to the bank.
Joseph thought he'd much rather be doing that than spending a day off from studying doing mundane chores. Ben had been complaining about how George had been able to go with Claire to meet up with Amelia in the hotel.
They had gone to visit Scotty and his young baby Huckleberry for a spell while he and his brother did all the work.
He'd looked up the street for any sign of his uncle wearing his trademark blue shirt or his overcoat but saw nothing. Just the usual late morning traffic, both on the sidewalks and on the street.
Suddenly the sound of gunshots tore through the air, pushing the rest of the noise to the side, in the background where it became quickly forgotten. He looked up and saw about five men on horseback riding fast and hard down the street, kicking up a cloud of dust and firing shots in the air. He pulled his brother Ben down behind the wagon for cover. Though a part of him wanted to watch, he knew better than to risk it. His uncle would have his hide for one thing.
The men looked angry and determined…maybe running away from a posse behind them. They seemed to be heading straight to the hotel at the end of the street, yelling at panicking men and women to get out of their way. The same hotel where Claire and George were inside.
Joseph looked around for Ethan but still couldn't see him as the locals reacted to the uproar that had interrupted their quiet afternoon routine. Gunshots and men riding fast on horseback weren't unheard of but it'd been quiet for a while.
Inside the hotel a group of men playing poker heard the gunshots and reacted but didn't seem that alarmed. A couple rowdy men firing off their weapons in the street, something that wouldn't possibly affect them inside the hotel. Let Charlie and men like Ethan cord handle it if they happen to be around.
Amelia who sat at a nearby table with Claire and George held tightly to Huckleberry. She felt more alarmed and told the children to move down and take some cover. They'd wait until the gunshots stopped and then figure out what happened. She'd met up with Ethan in town and had taken Claire and George to visit with Huckleberry in the hotel. Scotty had handed him off to her and they fussed over the baby that had been growing so fast.
Outside, Charlie, the defacto marshal grabbed his gun and ran to the hotel where the men on horseback had headed. He'd been appointed in the position after the last corrupt excuse for a lawman had been run off by Ethan not long after Mr. Lee had taken in two Chinese children who'd worked in the mines. But no one else wanted the job. Oh, they all wanted a marshal to protect their businesses but if something happened, he got blamed for it by the likes of Axelrod and Amos. He wished they'd just stop complaining and pick up a gun to help him with keeping outlaws out of Paradise, but though they talked a big talk and loved to gripe, none of them volunteered.
Only Ethan had helped him and he scanned the frightened crowd looking for him but he couldn't see him. He did see Scotty step outside the hotel, no doubt to see what the commotion was all about, and right when the men on horseback reached the hotel.
One of the men took a shot at Scotty and he reacted quickly running alongside the front veranda until he could leap over it into the street. Charlie ran up to the men as they dismounted their horses and aimed his gun at them. He knew he was the law in Paradise and it was his job to try to stop them…even if it was just him against at least five of them.
"Hold it right there mister…"
That just got him dinged in the shoulder when one of the outlaws shot him, knocking him down on the round.
The outlaws took that as a sign to rush inside the hotel while Tiny and another man pulled Charlie to safety behind a makeshift barricade.
"My baby's inside…," Charlie muttered grabbing his injured shoulder.
Tiny just appraised him quickly.
"You're hurt…"
Ethan rushed out of the mercantile after hearing the gunshots and the men ride by on horseback. He saw Joseph and Ben standing by the wagon and putting his hand on Joseph's shoulder told them both to stay there. He pulled his gun out and ran right toward where the men on horseback had gone…inside the hotel.
The same hotel where Claire and George had gone with Amelia to visit Huckleberry. As he ran towards the hotel, his heart lodged in his throat. If anything happened to them…
Amelia and the children stood up as soon as the door swung open and a group of angry, yelling men with guns entered the hotel.
A man walked towards them.
"What's going on?"
Bang, and he was lying on the ground in a pool of blood.
"I said inside…"
Amelia had grabbed hold of Huckleberry instinctively as the men started yelling threats and pushing the men at the poker table around. She knew they'd kill them as soon as look at them…something had riled these men up. Likely they were outlaws fresh off of robbing a bank, a train and maybe they'd already left a trail of dead bodies to Paradise.
One of them a hardened man with light colored hair who seemed to be the ringleader barked commands to his other men to cover the windows.
"You see anything move…shoot it."
A man carried in a wounded outlaw and then another ran to a window, broke the glass and then stuck his rifle out of it. Amelia knew that a shootout was likely eminent. She knew she had to take steps immediately to protect the children.
The ringleader who was named Moses ordered his men to go and round everyone up. Amelia tried to herd the children while carrying the baby to another exit. But an outlaw jumped in front of them blocking the doorway just before they reached it.
"Back…"
So Amelia directed the children quickly to go back into the main area. Her heart beating fast but she knew that the best chance to keep them alive would be to obey the outlaws' orders.
"Who are you?"
Moses looked at her.
"Just say calm."
His voice had an iciness to it that wouldn't be challenged…not if a person wanted to live. She had three children to protect so she did as he said, her mind working furiously.
"Do what I say and nobody else will get hurt."
Claire flinched and held onto George but Amelia held onto her, to help calm her as much as possible.
"Don't do as I say and someone's going to get killed."
She knew that the one who did the speaking controlled the others and he'd be the one making the decisions including who lived and who died while in the hotel. Moses herded them back into the main room.
From there, she saw Moses go to where one of the men lay prostate on the floor writhing in pain. Crying out for relief while Moses reassured him.
"You'll make it Zack."
Amelia noticed that his voice though concerned had been laced with affection as well.
Ethan ran up to where Charlie lay behind the makeshift barricade still holding onto his injured shoulder. Scotty ran over to join them.
"My baby's in there with them Ethan…"
Ethan asked if he were all right and Scotty nodded. Charlie wasn't all right and when Ethan checked out his shoulder, he writhed in pain.
"Looks like you're going to live…better go get Baxter."
That'd be the closest thing the town had to a doctor which was actually its barber. Ethan didn't trust him with the serious injuries but he knew Charlie's wound though painful was mostly a flesh wound. He didn't need to call for John Taylor to remove any bullets.
Ethan stepped over Charlie and took his gun over to another makeshift barricade to better assess the hotel. The same one with Amelia and two of the children, Scotty's baby and likely other hostages as well inside it. But he couldn't get caught up in that, he had to think methodically, assess the situation, and then figure out what to do.
The men in the hotel just started shooting from the windows and Ethan and Scotty felt bullets splinter the wood around them and kick up the dirt in the street. Damn these men were riled up about something…must be running from something real bad too. They'd ridden into town like the devil was on their back straight to the hotel.
Ethan thought he saw one man carrying another who might be wounded which told him a lot. He filed that one away while he shot back at the men inside the hotel. Damn Axelrod was hunched nearby raising a fuss, telling him to do something.
Well he was doing something…trying not to get shot by a bunch of determined outlaws he knew nothing about except they'd shoot without hesitation and there were hostages inside. When the guns stopped firing and an uneasy stillness filled the air instead, he knew it was time to start talking.
"You in the hotel? What do you want?"
Silence met him and Ethan didn't much like that. So he tried again.
"Tell us what you want."
This time the front door opened and two of them dragged out a man and tossed his limp body down the stairs until it hit the street. Ethan's body tensed…so they'd already shot hostages…at least one anyway.
The man inside the hotel yelled out something and then told them to send in the lawman.
Axelrod of course told Ethan that he needed to get going inside that hotel right now. Ethan wished the mercantile owner would just shut up.
"Our lawman's been shot."
"Then send someone else."
The man threatened to kill everyone in the hotel and Ethan knew at that point, he'd do it if he'd already shot one of them in the takeover. Axelrod looked over to the man next to him.
"You go Amos…"
"Why me?"
"People respect you."
Amos shook his head not wanting any part of it.
"They respect you…you go."
"They respect you more…"
Ethan just listened to the two of them mouthing off…in some pissing match that amounted to nothing. His eyes remained on the hotel…surveying it from top to bottom and every different corner, every window looking for any vantage point. His attention threatened to stray in other areas, more personal ways in worrying about the children.
But then he knew Amelia was with them, she'd take care of them, watch over them and keep them safe. She'd risked her life already to save George from getting shot, without hesitation. Her being with them inside there would let him stick to concentrating on getting them all out of there alive.
"I'm coming up…"
He started walking towards the hotel and the man he saw partly hidden in the doorway told him to drop his gun belt. He didn't want to do that to be completely defenseless against men who'd be holding tightly to their own guns.
But he did it anyway and the man instructed him further on how to approach. He did so cautiously, every step deliberate. He kept a sharp eye so as not to miss any detail…anything he might need to figure out how to end this without bloodshed.
He eyed the man lying on the ground by the steps but there wasn't anything he could do for him. Walking up the steps, hearing them creak beneath his feet, he reached the top and pushed the door open.
Bracing himself for what he might see inside. He knew that Claire and George…Amelia and the baby would be there somewhere. He knew he had to push any emotional reactions he might have aside, show off nothing that'd give the outlaws any edge over them.
He'd already had to surrender his guns…he didn't want to yield any more advantages. After entering the hotel, he heard the men approach him, cocking their rifles at his back. He saw the hostages ahead of him in a cluster.
"That's far enough."
So he stopped. Claire's eyes widened.
"Uncle Ethan…"
About a dozen including women and children. Amelia and Claire sat at a table and George sat on Claire's lap.
Ethan eyed the outlaws carefully and then looked again at the hostages.
"Everyone all right?"
They just stared back at him but Amelia gave him the slightest of nods. He turned to look at Moses.
"Who are you?"
"Doesn't matter…you?"
Ethan sighed knowing not to push it.
"Name's Ethan Cord."
Moses reacted instantly.
"Cord…under different circumstances I'd say it's a pleasure to meet you."
Ethan paused.
"You let all these people go…you want a hostage, you got me."
Moses shook his head saying Ethan had no value to him not compared to women and children.
"I'll get people sobbing here…"
When Ethan realized that wasn't going to work he cut to the chase.
"What do you want?"
Moses gave his demands which were a doctor for the wounded Zachariah, a week's worth of food, fresh horses, the usual demands by outlaws on the run.
"We got that, then it's adios."
Ethan sighed.
"Food and horses are no problem. Town doesn't have a doctor…"
"Then get someone else….got a man who's gut shot," Moses said, "he dies…they all die."
Ethan knew when there was no room to negotiate, looking at the man's stony face.
"I'll get someone else."
Then George jumped off of Claire's lap and started calling for him…which threatened to undo his resolve.
"Don't go…"
When the outlaws started to grab his nephew, then the fists came out and Ethan started fighting them. He pointed his finger at Moses.
"I'll do my part…you keep your part of the bargain. You leave these people alone…keep your hands off the children."
One of the outlaws sneered.
"What if I don't?"
Ethan had reached the end of his willing to compromise with these lowlifes.
"I'll kill you."
Moses made Ross put his gun down and Ethan knelt before George looking into his eyes. The boy looked scared and he had to calm him down in just a few seconds.
"I got to go now…get these men what they need."
"I'll go with you."
But Ethan knew the outlaws would never allow that…even though George looked at him so plaintively.
"George I need you to stay here. Stay with Claire in case she gets scared. Can you do that for me?"
His youngest nephew nodded solemnly.
"Yes Sir…"
Then George wrapped his arms around him so tightly, Ethan couldn't but hug him back…saying goodbye for now. Damn it was so hard to walk away from a little boy trying hard to be brave.
George went back to sit with Claire as Ethan watched and then his eyes met with those of Amelia's who'd let him know the only way she could that she'd look after the children until they were all reunited again.
Moses shot him a steely look, telling him to let that body outside serve as a warning that if anyone approached the hotel, there'd be plenty more of them.
Amelia watched him go, hugging both of the children closer to her. She'd been watching the men very carefully since they stormed the hotel.
Doing some assessing of her own. She'd do whatever it took to make sure the children were safe and she knew being on the inside, she'd have the best chances of doing that. That and being a woman never hurt.
Ethan tried to hold an impromptu town meeting in the area across from the hotel and that's when he saw the different factions in the town start reforming and fighting with each other right away. He had to tell them to shut up more than once.
Amos and Axelrod in typical fashion were opposed to anything he wanted to do. Tiny and Scotty were more aligned with him.
"We got a lot of work to do."
Amos stepped forward.
"I don't know Cord…I don't think we should let these outlaws push us around. There are more of us than there are of them."
Ethan vetoed that one right away.
"What's your idea? Storm the hotel?"
"I think we ought to consider our options."
Ethan tried to keep his patience.
"Options? They already killed one man."
But while some folks thought they should give into the demands others didn't like that. Ethan brought up the fact that one of the outlaws was gutshot and told Baxter he had to go in there and treat him. The man just shook his head vehemently.
"I'm just a barber."
He tried to persuade Baxter to treat the man but the barber kept putting his foot down and refusing.
Joseph just looked at the man in disgust.
"Just forget it, he's a coward."
Ethan sighed.
"Joseph…"
But it didn't seem to bother Baxter one bit.
"I'd rather be a live coward than a dead hero."
Joseph proved to be defiant.
"I wouldn't…"
The grumbling continued about who would go inside the hotel and treat the gunshot wound, with Ethan growing more and more frustrated.
Tiny spoke up from his great height.
"There is nobody else."
Then Ben piped up.
"John Taylor…"
Joseph nodded.
"I'll find him."
Ethan agreed with the plan.
"Take Ben with you and be careful."
He watched as the two boys took off to find the Indian. Then he directed Tiny to get the horses and others to get the week's worth of food.
More balking followed from Axelrod who owned the mercantile.
"That's a lot of food who's going to pay for it?"
Ethan waved his hands in frustration.
"We don't have time for that now…"
Axelrod didn't budge.
"No money no food."
God Ethan wanted to just smack the man.
"I'll pay for it Axelrod…"
Ethan felt so angry at how some of the town's people were acting. If they kept being so damn selfish, the hostages might not survive the siege if the outlaws took their ire out on them.
He had no intentions of letting that happen.