The Regulators Ride Again

The Prince Of Pistoleers

"That's him" a voice issued over the mound of dirt I was hiding behind.

I quietly shifted my position so I could get to my guns easier as the voices continued.

"When they ask who drew first, I got the drop on him" the voice spoke again.

I fought down a snigger which caused Dave to shoot a glance my way.

"Say what you will" another voice sounded "I figure to get at least a hundred dogies fer his trigger finger".

There were footsteps for a few paces before the click of a gun sounded.

I looked at Dave and mouthed 'get ready'.

Gunfire suddenly ripped through the canyon; we broke cover and were faced with four bounty hunters. One of whom was laying on the ground unmoving. I smiled at Billy before turning my attention to the other men. I took down one with a few shots to the chest; Dave and Billy took out another one together, and Pat had the last one on the ground underneath his own horse.

"Wait. Do I know you?" he asked.

The man on the ground looked up "yeah. Yeah you know me, you do".

"Yeah" Pat replied. I could tell he was just playing with the other man. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Travers, from Tularosa".

"Travers? No" Pat put a round in the man's chest and turned back around to face us.

"Why you just didn't want to hide out up in the canyons? Don't make the sense God gave a mule" Dave said as he started digging around in the pockets of one of the men.

"Go to hell Dave" I replied turning to face Billy, who was bending down to pick up the discarded hat from one of the fallen.

"Well now, here's a dandy" he was too preoccupied in dusting the sand off he didn't notice one of the men moving until the bastard had fired a round into Billy's leg. Pat put the man down permanently and we both rushed over to Billy.

"Are you okay?" I asked gripping one arm while Pat caught the other.

"Course I'm fine, I've had worse remember" Billy winked and looked down at the man who'd shot him "should we give him a proper burial?"

"Yeah. Why not?" Pat replied with a smile on his face. All four of us proceeded to kick sand over the body until it was mostly covered.

"You need to get that looked at" I said indicated the bleeding wound on Billy's leg "stay still and I'll wrap it up so you don't die of blood loss".

"Hey there sweetheart, I got a wound that needs wrapping as well" Dave sniggered as I was bending over Billy's thigh.

I straightened up and whipped out one of my guns "talk to me like that again asshole and I swear to God, you will not live to see another day!"

Dave took a step back and raised his hands in a mocking surrender "if you say so darl-"

"Knock it off you two" Billy said, slightly annoyed "let's go". He limped over to his horse and we scrambled to follow.

We rode through the gates of Old Fort Sumner to a chorus of cheers. Someone handed Billy a bottle of spirits, but he took one sniff and handed it to Dave.

"Hey Dave, wrap your lips around that" he said leaning past me.

I smiled when Dave made a disgusted face and turned my gaze to the crowd. I got the feeling of being watched intently and turned my head searching for the source. My eyes settled on a young boy following us from atop the roofs of the buildings. We stopped outside our hide out and I helped Billy dismount. I placed a kiss on his lips before handing him over to the care of Beever.

I turned back towards the crowd and sought out a bottle of my favourite whiskey. With bottle in hand I headed back to Beever's.

"Are you…Billy the Kid?" a small voice caught my attention. I turned my head to find the boy from the roof talking to Dave.

"Nah, but I am Arkansas Dave Rudabaugh. You ever hear of me?" Dave asked taking a swig out of his bottle.

The boy shook his head and looked at the ground.

"I killed sixty-five men, not countin' Mexicans and Indians. You must have heard of me? Come on! Rudabaugh?"

Again the boy shook his head, this time he noticed me standing close by. "Ma'am" he nodded his head in greeting.

Dave grumbled and moved off into the crowd, leaving me alone with the boy.

"What you askin' about Billy for?" I moved closer and tried to get a better look at him.

"I read all about him in Pennsylvania, and I wanted to meet him person" he replied looking up at me.

"What's your name boy?" I asked uncorking my whiskey.

"It's Tom O'Folliard, ma'am" he replied, watching with a wide-eyed expression as I drank a quarter of the bottle in one go.

"How old are you Tom?" I asked lowering the bottle.

"I'm fourteen and a half, ma'am" came the reply.

I waved my hand "stop calling me ma'am would you. It makes me uncomfortable. My name is Jackie" I looked at Tom and felt my heart flutter. He could be the child I never had. I placed my free hand on my stomach and smiled sadly at the memory of my failed pregnancy.

"Are you alright?" Tom asked looking at me with a hint of worry on his face.

"I'm fine" I replied looking back at the boy in front of me "just rememberin' something special I lost".

Tom looked at me confused "do you need help finding it?"

I gave a small smile "no, there's no need. I was talking about the baby I lost". I looked the boy up and down "you're bringin' out my motherin' instincts Tom, so I hope you stick around". I patted him on the head and pointed to Beever's door "if you want to see Billy, he's in there".

"Thank you ma…I mean Jackie" Tom bobbed his head and ducked away, trying to hide the blush creeping up his neck.

I laughed at how polite Tom was "I wonder where he learnt those manners?" I shrugged and shook my head. I sat down in the chair Dave had left and took a sip of whiskey. I was lost in my own world for a little while and was only disturbed when Beever started shouting.

"I got you, you little vagrant!" I turned around to see Beever hauling Tom out of his building by the collar "get out, and stay the hell out!"

"Come here Tom" I called once Beever had gone back inside. Tom picked himself up and dusted his clothes, and walked over to me. "What happened?" I asked brushing some dirt from his cheek.

"I said I wanted to ride with Billy and that I didn't care about the consequences" Tom looked at me and I could see the flicker of excitement in his eyes.

"What did he say about that?" I asked, knowing what the answer would be.

"He didn't like it and told Beever to throw me out" Tom looked at the ground for a moment "can I ask you something?"

"Sure" I replied, setting the bottle on the bench nearby.

"Why are you riding with him?"

"After my father died I was bent on revenge. Revenge on the bastard who sent his men to kill him" I kicked a rock with my boot "I was on the path to hanging when John Tunstall took me in. I became a Regulator and met Billy. Over the course of the year, and through all the hard times, I grew closer to Billy" I smiled at Tom. "After the McSween fire we tried for a baby, like I'd promised we could, but it wasn't to be. I miscarried and nearly died, so we haven't tried again".

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset" Tom rubbed a hand on the back of his neck.

I was about to reply when I spotted soldiers walking down the street. "Tom give me a hand" I pulled a large sheet of material down from the stack on the other side of the bench and, with Tom's help, wrapped myself up so it appeared I was wearing a dress. I sat back down and pulled Tom down as well. "Don't draw attention to yourself by looking suspicious" I whispered "to their eyes we're a sister and her little brother out doing the shopping".

The soldiers went past and some went into Beever's. After a little while I got up and with Tom following, I wandered around the little market. I did actually buy a few things which gave credit to the image I was giving off. I bought two serves of chilli and sat beneath a large tree. "Here, eat up" I said handing one to Tom.

"Thank you" he said before tucking in like it was his last meal.

"Slow down Pequeno, you'll choke" I smiled at the memory of Chavez telling me the same thing.

Gunfire suddenly ripped through the air.

"Billy!" I wanted to go to him, to have his back, but it wouldn't be a good idea. I was still wanted by the Sheriff's department, and Tom looked like he needed someone to look after him. "Are you finished? Good, follow me" I headed for the main gate, ducking under the occasional wayward bullet.

I reached the gate just as Billy was tearing through it, laughing his head off.

"What do we do?" Tom asked, excitement colouring his voice.

"We have to wait until he gets back, and that could take a while" I replied. "Are you staying anywhere in town?" I looked down at the boy next to me.

"It's only a small place, in an empty house, is that okay?"

"It will be better than some of the places I've stayed, let's go" I followed as Tom lead the way to the edge of town and towards a house that appeared to be falling down.

"Now we wait" I said sitting down on the upturned bucket Tom set out for me.

Tom sat on the hard packed earth and looked thoughtful "do you think he'll ever let me ride with him?"

"You never know, at the moment he's a little bit desperate for gang members. Beside myself and him, there's only another two" I looked down at Tom and smiled "you got chilli on your face you know, come here".

With a sheepish look on his face he came over and held still.

"Now you wanna hear some funny things about Billy?" I asked with a huge smile.

"Yeah".

"Well make yourself as comfortable as possible, this is going to take some time" I located my whiskey and took a swig before launching into my story.

-x-

Heartless-x-Love: Hello again dear readers. Here is chapter one of the sequel to 'The New Regulator'. What did you think? I'm sorry if some things don't mesh with my other story but I am working with a terrible transcript and my limited memory of the movie (I haven't seen it in AGES!), so bear with me I promise it will get better.

Until next time.

Adios.