Rango woke up to a beautiful sunrise, the sky was orange and the town was still empty. Rango was putting on his boots until he heard a knock on his door. He opened it to find a happy kingsnake.
"Good morning sheriff!" Eve chimed.
"Oh! Mornin' Eve. You're up early.." Rango sounded very surprised.
"I sent a message last night to Jake. I just got a reply that he will be here in a few hours."
Rango went white. He may have dealt with him before, but that didn't mean he wasn't scared of him. He honestly astonished that Eve wasn't shivering herself.
"You don't seem very scared about this.." Rango questioned cautiously.
"I'm a kingsnake, my kind have been known to swallow rattlesnakes whole. Besides, I can handle myself. Let's just say I had a… realistic learning environment."
"If you say so… You sure you know what you're doin'?'
Eve nodded. She had Jake's payment, and knowing him, he'll do almost anything for gold or water.
4 hours later, there was a deathly silence, the townspeople were urged to stay inside, just in case. Eve had her journal and gold in a leather side-strap bag. She was waiting with Rango and Beans. On the horizon, she saw a large shadow approaching. She squinted her beautiful crystal purple eyes, the shadow becoming clearer. She stopped squinting and looked at Rango who looked more nervous than ever. She than glanced at Beans before looking at the now arrived rattlesnake himself. His blazing hellfire eyes and metallic rattling gun sent shivers down her spine. She definitely does not want to upset him.
"Now what?!" Jake sounded irritated. Perhaps from his last visit to Mud.
Rango nervously coughed. "Well… uh.. w-we found somethin' and.."
Jake interrupted. "Really? That's what you sent me fer? A damn announcement?! Who sent me the letter?"
"I believe that would be me." Eve politely interjected.
Jake quickly turned his head to Eve, surprised at her appearance. She was a kingsnake, a species known to swallow venomous snakes. He wasn't intimidated however, he knew she was here for a reason.
"Huh. So you're the one that sent the letter. Care to tell me what in the name of Hell is goin' on?" He was speaking softer, but in a dangerous tone. Eve was taking caution.
"As Rango was trying to say, I sent you here for a very important part of a project we are working on. We need your help."
"Finally, somebody can talk for once" Jake said sarcastically. "But why should I care about this project of yours and how am I important to you?"
Eve looked at the jail and motioned to Jake to come in.
"More inside."
Eve, Jake, Rango and Beans gathered around a table in the jail to explain their plans.
"We found something at the abandoned construction site from the uh… p-previous… mayor" Rango explained, still a bit nervous, trying his best not to set off Jake.
"Which I found." Eve corrected him.
She then pulled out her journal and pulled out the half of the blueprint.
"I found this, in a crane. It appears to be purposefully split. I believe that Tortoise John may have had the other half. Possibly so when they were to complete the project, nobody could steal it and construct it themselves."
"What do you need this fer?" Jake was suspicious. He became more cautious and harder to make a deal with after he was betrayed by the Mayor.
"This is just to deal with future droughts, don't worry." Eve explained.
"Hmmm.." Jake thought to himself. "I think I did see him discuss with a couple of folk while holding the blueprints."
"Looks like that validates my theory. We need to find Tortoise John's body.."
"So?" Jake questioned
"So that's where you come in. We need you to take us to the place you took Tortoise John when you killed him."
"And why should I listen to woman?"
"The 'woman's' name is Eve. And you should because…" She leaned across the table closer to Jake.
"Then your time was just wasted. And if this wasn't worth your time like you claim it is, then why did you come here?"
Jake growled at her argument, although he did hate having to do things for people, no matter how much he is paid, she did have a very strong point. He sighed to himself, then replied to Eve, looking into her big, crystal, amethyst eyes.
"Ah. Fine. But it will cost ya. A lot."
"Got you covered. Will this be enough for starters?" Eve fished a small gold nugget from the leather bag and skimmed it across the table to Jake, letting it fall off the edge as he caught it. Jake was impressed at how organised and confident this pretty woman was. Reluctantly, he straightened up.
"You got yerself a deal." He stuck he tail and gun out to her. Eve returned it and took his tail and shook it with him, closing the deal. In her thoughts, she couldn't help but think about the touch of his rough scales. Jake's mind was thinking the same about Eve's scales. To him they felt so soft, he couldn't tell that he was actually touching somebody's scales. After a firm 'handshake' they let go and started discussing Jake's accommodations for the next few weeks.