He had come to John's ranch with armed men in the evening. Just outside, on the porch and requested that a "Mister Marston" come out and discuss business with him.
The moment the door opened, he had his gun trained on John and had his men rushing inside and dragging everyone out with them.
Some time later
John couldn't believe his ears or eyes. Ross not only wanted him to hunt down his old gang, but wanted his son to go with him.
His untrained son.
His inexperienced son.
His far too young son.
His son.
"No! He is not coming with me! This is too dangerous for him!" John ranted in a stern voice, worried he wouldn't be able to protect his only surviving child.
One loss had been bad enough, and to a disease that killed grown men.
This however, was entirely different. Jack would be facing thugs with him, hunting and fighting criminals!
"If I make one mistake, he could die." John continued.
Ross didn't falter, and grinned.
"Then make no mistakes at all, Mr. Marston." Ross ordered.
John had no idea what was going through this mad man's head.
"Why do you think this is a good idea?" John qiestionned Ross, hoping he could get an answer of some sort from him.
"I never thought it was a good idea, just a way to save money. I can only afford to keep your wife, Abigail, housed and guarded. Doing this stops me from overspending and letting someone starve or be unprotected." Ross explained, grinning all the way through.
"You really are something else, mister." John was surprised by the explanation, but saw it as more of a threat that he should agree or lose someone again.
"Fine, I'll take Jack with me. Just let me give him some equipment and we'll be on our way to Armadillo." John spoke, hoping he could teach Jack to fend for himself in this endeavor.
"Good. Tomorrow morning is when your train departs, John. Ten o'clock to be precise. Mister Archer and I will meet you and your son their tomorrow." Ross explained. He then turned around and left.
The men put Abigail on a horse, behind one of them, with her hands tied. They rode off immediately after that, leaving Jack and Uncle standing next to John and both were just as shocked as he was.
A. N. Constructive criticism is welcome. This is just an idea I had and I want to pursue it. Updates may take extensive amounts of time.