Author's Note:
This story does contain violence and some angst/suspense-I thought I would give you a warning. This story actually came about in a few ways. The first was because I dreamt the beginning (why can't I ever dream about meeting the boys?) and the second because I was reading a nonfiction book about the west's more notorious characters. I began to think about how many of the gunfighters were hardened killers and a troubled supporting character came to me. I put the two together and here you go. Funny that this one came fully formed and flowed whereas the other three ASJ stories I am working on have stalled. And as usual, I am making no money off of this and do not own Heyes and the Kid, sadly.
Thank you for reading and for giving me feedback, as always!
The sun was high, the day was clear, and only a vulture marred the serenity of the sky above the green and brown landscape. Hannibal Heyes and Jed 'Kid' Curry rode through the sage and rabbit brush on a blood bay and a dark chestnut. Off to their left was a small gully with sharply sloped sides and to their right was a mountain of rocks. The pair rode at a leisurely pace.
Heyes glanced up, stowing the book he'd finished in his saddlebag, glancing at his partner. Kid Curry was humming absently under his breath, reaching to pat his horse affectionately.
"You're in a good mood," Heyes observed. "We ought to always eat at a nice place before we ride out of town."
"I figure we would, Heyes, if we didn't ride out with a bunch of people chasin' us so often. It's not the meal I'm thinkin' about though," Kid replied with an easy smile. "Even if those hot cakes were great."
"Oh," Heyes said, amused. "You're thinking of the lady that joined us for breakfast."
"I sure am going to miss Miss Lillian Lamb," Kid said, shaking his head. "Almost as much as she'll miss me, I'd say."
Heyes grinned mischievously at his friend. "I'm telling you, she smiled at me first."
"Then why did she end up goin' to dinner with me last night?" Kid asked, his blue eyes sparkling in return.
"A temporary loss of judgment," Heyes was saying when a gunshot ripped through the air and knocked the Kid sideways, nearly off of his horse. "Kid!"
The Kid straightened and stayed low. "He's on the cliff—we need to get out of here!"
The duo kicked their horses onward but the next shot slammed into Kid's chestnut, sending the poor creature to the ground. The Kid half fell and half jumped off the thrashing, whinnying horse.
Jaw set and eyes narrowed, Heyes urged his bay back towards them and was nearly there when Kid was struck a glancing blow from his mount's back hoof. Hannibal Heyes watched in helpless horror as his partner plummeted back into the gully.
"KID," Heyes screamed, leaping off his own horse. There had been blood on the Kid's blue shirt and that was before he'd fallen. Hannibal ran forward but dirt exploded near his feet and he jumped back reflexively at the shot.
"Don't move Heyes," a voice called from the cliff side. "Get your hands up."
That voice. He recognized that voice. Someone they'd met during the Devil's Hole days.
"Whoo wee fellas, Jasper's back and he done brung a whole general store with him!" Kyle Murtry declared as he ran in the cabin. "Git your money, boys, it's like Christmas!"
Heyes and the Kid exchanged a glance as everyone else whooped and hollered and generally made a lot of noise in anticipation of alcohol and bullets.
"Jasper? Jasper Kinney?" Heyes asked in the kind of voice that made several of the smarter gang members stop making a fuss. Jasper had been in the Devil's Hole gang under Big Jim, but not under Heyes and Curry.
"That's him," Kyle said with a grin before he paused to spit some chaw. "I knew him straight off but made him do the signal and i-den-tee-fy his self anyways. He done brung Marion who ain't never been to the Hole before."
"This would be the Jasper that shot the guard on his last run with Big Jim?" Heyes continued, singling out Wheat for the answer.
Wheat looked torn between being puffed up that he knew information that Heyes did not and worried for Kyle. "Yeah, reckon so. Jasper's all right but he does love to shoot a gun almost as much as he likes to shoot his mouth. Not that he's fast at it. Good aim, though."
"And Marion?" Heyes continued genially which made Wheat shift where he stood, uncomfortable. Jed 'Kid' Curry suppressed a smile.
"His little brother. Marion's 'bout 16 an' fancies himself a real pistoleer. Point of fact," Wheat said, turning to Kid Curry. "The kid might even challenge you, Kid."
Heyes frowned. Kid looked unconcerned.
"I figure we oughta welcome our old friends," Wheat said, turning with a swagger as he hitched his belt up.
"I didn't say we were letting them sell us their goods," Heyes said, not even needing to sound particularly cross in order to make all the men stop mid-action. It was almost comical to see them bump into each other at the bunkhouse door.
"Big Jim let him sell to us," Wheat said, turning abruptly to face Heyes again. "Hell, Big Jim let him in the gang!"
"Big Jim ain't the boss anymore, Wheat, in case you've forgotten."
The tension in the room was suddenly palpable to everyone except Kyle, who had just worked off a boot whose sole was so filled with holes it would have worked as a sieve. Kyle reached into the freed boot and triumphantly pulled out a small wad of bills. Heyes wondered vaguely if the money would be accepted despite the smell. Probably.
"Need a reminder?" Kid asked, pushing his chair away from the table.
"I ain't forgot nothin', Heyes, Kid," Wheat replied, the slightly nasal tone of his voice increasing as he kept his eyes on them. "I just figured since they're here, why, might as well stock up. Lord knows Kyle needs new boots and clean socks."
"Amen," said Preacher. "Should no further bounty be offered, that prospect alone would be a blessing for us all."
The men laughed nervously and then looked from Heyes to the Kid.
Heyes exchanged a silent glance with his partner, mulled it over, and then smiled. "Go on and spend your money if you want to, boys. Just make sure to buy what you want now because they're not staying."
The men headed back to the door.
"Kyle," the Kid said in an even tone of voice that quieted the room once more. "Stay here a minute."
"Yeah, Kid?" Kyle said, his tobacco juice grin faltering. The other gang members fled outside. Even Wheat looked at the Kid and then left with a small nod for Kyle.
"Did you get permission to let those two in? Did you come tell us they were here before you let them pull their wagon up to the cabins?"
"Well, Kid…I reckon I ain't…but Jasper useta be in the gang…an' he knowed the signal…" Kyle looked back and forth between the two outlaw leaders nervously.
"Ask us next time. Especially since his brother wasn't in the gang," Kid said. "Did you even check the wagon before you let it through?"
Kyle scratched at his hair a minute. "When y'say check, d'you mean peered in it, like? Cuz I done that. I was hopin' he had some dynamite or blastin' caps an' maybe fuses or glycerin oil an' nitric acid, even. I ain't had to make m' own for a while an' I like to keep fresh at it. We got the sawdust an' paper. My cousin, he got rusty, an' he plum blew off his thumb. But I sure am sorry, Kid, if yun's sore at me."
"Tell you what, Kyle," Kid said in a relatively patient tone. "Go on out and buy what you want. We'll deal with you later."
Kyle ran outside in a rush as if all of the explosives or explosive components would be sold before he reached the wagon.
Heyes sighed and a hand through his dark hair. He could show concern now that it was just the two of them in the bunkhouse. "I don't like it."
"I know. You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" Kid asked.
Heyes nodded. There had been a series of night robberies of gunsmiths, feed stores, and finally a general store near the state line. Each robbery had escalated until a night guard at one of the target stores had been killed. A few months later and trigger happy Jasper returns to the Hole with a variety of goods to sell to fellow outlaws.
"What are we goin' to do about it?" Kid asked.
"For now, nothing," Hannibal replied. "We just don't let them stay."
"Okay, Heyes." Kid's tone said he might like to do something else but would humor him.
"We're not exactly Robin Hood and his merry men out robbing for the poor," Heyes protested.
"Right," Kid replied. "But we don't kill durin' a robbery either. From what I heard, that guard got shot from behind. Besides, they're close to our territory and we're lucky we ain't been blamed. Something needs to happen."
Something in his tone made Heyes frown. "It's not like we can turn them in, Kid. We're wanted ourselves. What else could we do?"
"If only we knew someone who came up with clever plans," Kid said pointedly.
Heyes shook his head. "They used to ride with the gang. There'd be bad feelings. We can't do anything just yet, not when they haven't done anything to us."
"I know," Kid finally said with a sigh. "It don't mean I have to like 'em being here. And they better leave fast."
"Watch that kid Marion," Heyes said.
Curry gave Heyes a Look before he followed the men out. 'You don't think I can handle a boy?' the look asked.
Heyes watched him exit and sighed. It wasn't that. He trusted Kid absolutely, especially with guns, he just worried anyway. Even the Kid could get shot in the back—which was why Heyes followed him out the door.