James Butler Hickok kissed his wife goodbye, hugged his children, and left their suite of rooms above the Silver Spoons Saloon, and headed downstairs. He grabbed the mug of fresh brewed coffee from their daytime barkeeper, Harold, and continued on his way to the jail.
He strolled down the wooden sidewalk, gray eyes scanning both sides of Main Street as he walked. His stint as the new Sheriff of Abilene wasn't well-known yet, and his reputation as the gunslinger 'Wild Bill' was wide spread.
The only way he had stayed alive for as long as he had, was because he always knew what was going on in any town he was in. Most of the men in Abilene were law abiding citizens, but there were a couple he had his eyes on.
He'd nearly reached the jail when he heard someone call out, "Wild Bill!"
Jimmy dropped his mug of coffee, whirled around, Colt in hand, and had a split second to assess the man calling him out was merely a teenager. Not much older than he was when he signed on to ride for the Pony Express. A remembrance of another time, place, and kid flashed before his eyes Instead of shooting to kill the threat coming at him, he shot the gun out of the kid's hand.
The bravado left the youngster's body and his face flooded with fear as Jimmy stalked angrily toward him. He went to his knees in the dusty street and held up his hands to offset the shot he knew was coming. "Please don't kill me."
"You should have thought about that before you pulled a gun on me!" Jimmy growled as he jerked the kid onto his feet and started dragging him toward the jail.
"Lucky for you, I'm the new law in town. So instead of shooting you full of bullets, I'm throwing your scrawny but in jail!"
"Thank you, Wild Bill!" The kid gasped with relief as they entered the jail.
"The name's Hickok! Sheriff James Butler Hickok, not 'Wild Bill!" Jimmy snarled as he shoved the kid into a cell and slammed the iron door closed behind him.
"I suggest you do some thinking while you're in there!"
Without waiting for an answer, he left the sobbing teenager alone to contemplate his stupidity, while he went in search of a fresh mug of coffee, since he hadn't gotten to enjoy the first one.