Author's note: This is part of a series of stories with the same beginning, but different outcome.

If you have read the previous story you might already know the italic formatted the paragraphs and can go over them faster.

Thanks to Avoca for proofreading.

Duel Part Seven: Showdown in Deceit

Well, there they stood - in the middle of the main street facing each other down. It would have been a big joke, if it wasn't so serious: Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry - prepared to kill or be killed.

His heart sank; no way out remained. He couldn't even think of one anymore, he had tried everything. One of them was going to die today. Who? The devil might know...

Would he be able to pull the trigger, he asked himself, or might he not even hesitate 'cause his well-trained reflexes would take over?

The evening sun already cast long shadows and gilded the sky, when he noticed a shade shifted slightly behind his opponent - just out of sight for him - and he saw the weapon in his hand.

No further thought was required - he did what he had to do, what he always did – protecting his partner. Pulling and aiming was a single smooth motion.

Three shots sounded.

Two men hit the ground.

-o-o-o-

Kid Curry's and Hannibal Heyes's eyes were locked. Simultaneously they dropped their weapons before each clasped the front of his shirt where a dark spot spread quickly. They shared an unbelieving glance down at it. Just a heartbeat later their legs failed them and they hit the ground in unison.

Silence filled the main street.

Dr. Martin motioned some spectators closer and ordered them to help him getting the bodies off the street and into his house. Some curious townsfolk followed the procession.

"Stay back, I need some room!" he ordered the observers before he examined the motionless bodies.

"They are both dead. Simultaneous shots! I've not often seen that before, but it happens," he stated shaking his head.

"Well then, there's nothing to see anymore! You can spread the word Kid Curry and Hannibal Heyes will never threaten anyone again. So, get out of here! I'll take care of the burials."

He shooed everyone out and left the room, too.

-o-o-o-

It was the sensation of the year for everyone: both notorious outlaws shot - in Deceit - and they witnessed it! What an event to remember!

A celebration started on the main street of Deceit.

The editor of the local newsletter rubbed his hands in delight and hurried to his office.

-o-o-o-

Finally, it became silent in Dr. Martin's examination room.

Suddenly Kid Curry straightened up, swung his legs over the edge of the cot and hurried to Heyes's side. Cautiously he placed his hand on the bloody shirt covering his friend's chest. Responding to the touch Heyes opened his eyes.

Kid Curry exhaled in relief and smiled at him.

"You had me seriously worryied, Heyes," the Kid scolded him. "It looked so real to me, I was scared that Slim's boy had got you in the end."

Heyes looked up at his friend and returned the smile.

"Kid, it had to look real! And I guess he'll make a pretty good witness. He'll enjoy spreading the word of our death," he replied gently.

"By the way, how could he have managed to shoot me? I secretly replaced his ammunition with blanks just as we did with our own cartridges. Safety first, you know." Heyes winked at him.

"He might have found out and replaced them again," the Kid countered.

"He had no reason to be suspicious," Heyes replied.

"Heyes, just … stop scaring me, all right?" the Kid asked him, trying to keep calm.

Heyes sat up and patted his partner's shoulder.

"I'll try," he promised him with a winning smile showing his dimples.

Dr. Martin returned into the room and joined them.

"Well boys, that was quite a spectacle. The whole town will talk about it today and probably tomorrow the whole county will know it."

"The sooner the better, Doc. The sooner we're dead, the sooner we can live again," Heyes mentioned cheerfully. "We have to thank you!"

"You're welcome, boys. I owed you much more for saving my reputation, the last time we met."

"All right, so let's say we are even now." Heyes beamed a smile at him.

The doctor unbuttoned the shirts of both outlaws and pulled a pierced bloody sheep's bladder out of each.

"Your shirts are ruined as well as your previous lives," he mentioned.

"They were ruined anyway," Heyes pointed out. "It was only a matter of time, 'til the law would have wiped us out - last but not least it was easier to wipe us out ourselves - and much safer I might add!"

He smiled again when he noticed the Kid's nodded acknowledgment.

"It's a shame that the governor never kept his word." Dr. Martin said. "How long have you been trying for amnesty now?"

"Five long years … and he still left us out in the cold! I doubt anyone ever planned to grant the amnesty to us even if we had become saints in the meantime."

"You would have made a pretty bad saint anyway, Heyes," the Kid added.

"Maybe," Heyes admitted and grimaced, "but I'm really disappointed how honorable men act when they deal with someone they believe is lower than themselves. What's a man's word worth if he doesn't keep it all the time? Actually, I suspect there's more honor among thieves then among politicians."

"There you might have spoken a true word," the doctor agreed.

"What bothers me is how exited folks were about our shootout," the Kid mentioned. "What have we ever done to harm them?"

Heyes shook his head "It's not us. They don't even know us, just the stories they are told by rumors and newspapers. They celebrate that the world will be safer now, with two dangerous outlaws less. Surely, we did less to them than the damned governor himself, but it's all in the way you look at things."

"Might be true," Dr. Martin agreed. "I'll take care of your 'burial'. The undertaker is a good friend of mine and knows how to keep things secret. But what will the both of you do now?"

Kid Curry and Hannibal Heyes exchanged glances.

"It wasn't an easy decision," Heyes told him. "We can't stay around here - too many friends and too many foes. We thought about South America." He paused.

"But to be honest - we won't tell you," he added smiling disarmingly at the doctor, "I apologize. It would be too dangerous for you as well as for us. In the end there's always someone left asking the wrong questions."

-o-o-o-

In the darkness two former would-like-to-go-straight outlaws left the doctor's house. New horses and equipment awaited them in a small forest outside the town.

"For your statement about me making a bad saint you deserve a special reward, Kid," Heyes threatened. "Maybe your next alias should contain a term like 'curly' … 'Curly Kid' maybe?"

"Then you deserve a name so ordinary no one will ever remember it - 'Ocatavian Ulyssus Pederhouse' for example," the Kid replied, showing his best poker face.

They stared at each other for a moment before they burst out laughing.

"Damn, Kid, where did you get that idea from? Have you read one of these bloody dime novels again?"

"C'mon, Heyes, don't get proddy."

"No, I'm not. I'm just relieved that this debacle has finally ended," he admitted. "If we had kept our deal with the governor I think someday we might have come to regret not turning ourselves in. Twenty years imprisoned can appear to be pretty attractive instead of being hunted like a mad dog for thirty."

"Wouldn't we have had to get the reward then ourselves?" the Kid asked thoughtfully. "I mean, if I had turned you in and you me? $20.000 would have been a good seed money for a new life."

Heyes laughed again. "Probably not - but it would have been worth thinking about. We still can try if you wish!?"

Laughing Kid Curry shook his head. "No, thanks. Let's just leave. We shouldn't push our luck - we had enough bright plans working out well for today..."