Cole had been at the trading post for three hours and had already sold two more pieces of bison fur to an old man. Auger nor the deputy had shown themselves in the post, and Cole wondered if he were being avoided, or if they were just preoccupied with other business. He definitely wanted his gold, but even with the prospect of payment, he was weary to see Auger.
"I can't believe you took the Gun down!" Cole hadn't noticed that the old woman was back in her stall, his mind trying to figure out what exactly happened last night.
"The Gun?" he repeated.
"Yes, the Gun!" she exclaimed.
"Kay the Gun, feller. She's the best shooter here in Hitchens and a notorious thief. She's got warrants all around, I hear, but nobody seems to ever come lookin' for her here. I'm guessin' your ignorance helped you." It was a man at the booth across from Cole speaking.
"Is that so? Seemed more like a deer, to me. Too jumpy," Cole criticized. Maybe he was trying to boost his own ego, but he had had no real trouble subduing her.
"She's always been that way. Personally, I'm surprised she can keep her hand steady to shoot."
"Poor thing," the old woman mumbled.
Cole stood around for a while, but nobody seemed too eager to buy anything. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted his gold, but Hitchens was giving him a feeling he didn't like. Its citizens were stranger and Auger stranger, and he felt the longer he stayed, the more trouble he was going to get involved with.
He began to pack his goods. He had sold and traded enough to make the trip worth his time. He could travel up from Hitchens, as he had heard of another small town named Mercy, but he'd likely go back down the Al river, back to familiar territory.
"You leavin' already, hero?" Auger called, walking down to Cole's wing of the trading post. Cole didn't look back to him.
"I've got other business to take care of," Cole said, placing each fur in his bag.
"That's nonsense! Before you head out, come with me to my office! I like your style, and I've got an offer I don't think you'll refuse."
Cole kept cleaning his booth, trying to think of a way out of the situation. Auger stood tall on the other side, though, an endearing smile on his face. When Cole packed up, he sighed, knowing trouble had already found him within the small town.
He followed Auger out of the trading post, which was already intriguing and concerning Cole. They went to the farthest right wing of the cross shape to a small, decorated building.
Inside was a waiting room, a desk, and a small decorated office with leather furniture and antique goods. Cole was surprised, not having taken Auger for the fancy type.
"Take a seat, boy. This is big. Now, listen, do you know what you did last night?" Auger asked, sitting behind the desk and lighting a cigarette.
Cole shook his head, as he wasn't sure what part Auger was referring to.
"You took down Kay the Gun! Our roughest outlaw and the best shooter in town! She likes to stir up trouble, which usually isn't too much of an issue. But she went too far yesterday."
Auger took a long draw off his cigarette, puffing the smoke to the side.
"She stole something from me. Not sure why, but I got word she's the one who took it. So, as anyone would do, I tried to get it back. She didn't cooperate too well, and as you saw last night, you know where I'm at with it now."
"What does this have to do with me, sir?" Cole asked, a little fed up with Auger's stalling.
"I'm getting' there! I see you're a strong man, with little to fear! I like that! You saw our deputy, Holier. He's worthless, I tell ya'. So, how'd you feel about being Hitchen's new deputy? Or, at least, be in the runnin' for it."
Cole stood up and waved dismissively, knowing trouble when it appeared.
"I'm not interested. I've been involved in the law before, and it just idn't for me."
"Now hold up just a minute, son! We really need someone with a backbone here! We're pretty quiet, here in Hitchens, but thieves are everywhere!" he exclaimed, adding extra emphasis on the word 'everywhere'
"Why, just the other day, our local feed store was robbed, and not a soul ran after 'em! Not even Holier! What kind of deputy is that?"
Auger was hoping Cole would respond, he could tell, but Cole kept his blank expression. None of what Auger mentioned was his business.
"Just give it a chance, Mr. Cole."
"You don't even know my full name. How do you know you can trust me?"
"I ain't worried about your name, kid. Just what you can do for this town," Auger assured.
"Do you even have the authority to do this?" Cole wagered. He was becoming irritated with Auger's persistence.
"Do I have the authority? You don't even know much about me! I'm the sheriff of Hitchens! Of course I have the authority!"
"Sheriff?" Cole thought out loud. Carter had never mentioned that information at the bar, and Cole was instantly suspicious.
"Yes, the sheriff! It's why I'm so fed up with Holier! Now, for each robbery or raid or whatever you thwart away, you'll get two dollars. For each criminal hanged, you'll get twentieth ounce of gold. That's just what happens IF you become deputy." Auger paused and clasped his hands together.
"Kay the 'Gun' stole something from me, and I don't know where it is. We were gonna' raid her house, but I hear she's got siblings out in that area, and I wouldn't wanna' scare them to death. She's rottin' away in jail right now, and as soon as I find out where my precious object is, she'll hang. I need you to see if you can find it."
Cole thought about it for just a moment, wagering the idea of set pay. He wouldn't deny he liked the freedom he had, though, and the lack of responsibility. But it was a lot to take in, especially since he had been doing all of it alone.
"If I find what you're lookin' for, what do I get?"
"Well, if you find it, whether you become deputy or not, I'll triple your reward from last night. Three ounces of gold, in full. If you don't, however, you get nothing. But, I'll let you leave right now with the ounce from last night, if you want. It's really just your call, Mr. Cole." Auger puffed his cigarette again and gave a cheap grin, his teeth yellowed from assumed years of cigarette use.
Three ounces of gold would set Cole for months. He couldn't particularly think of what he'd do with all his free time, but he'd be even freer to his own will. Maybe he'd buy some property and just raise animals for fur, instead of hunting them down. It was the cheap way out, and he wasn't old enough to even consider retirement, but the fantasy in his head played out wonderfully.
Had Ned still been alive, though, he'd have knocked him out for thinking like that. He knew his life was sold to the outdoors. Even still, three ounces of gold would certainly be a perk, something to let him have more time to nature.
"Okay, Auger. I'll try to find it. But tell me, what is it you're after?" Cole asked, picking his pack from the wooden floor.
"Just a simple piece of paper, is all. I reckon Kay's the only one with any idea where it might be, but since you're the one finding it, I'll let you figure your own ways of doing things."
Auger hauled himself up and walked towards the door of his office.
"You can use whatever form of 'interrogation' you want, son. She's hanging once we find it, anyways, so who's gonna' care what happened to a law breaker?"
"You've got three days to find that paper. If you can't find it, I recon you won't be back in Hitchens. But, I have faith in ya' boy." Auger nodded in acknowledgment of Cole before walking out of his office. Cole wasn't sure if his last words were a threat, a recommendation, or both, and he didn't really want to find out the hard way.
"You're askin' to get shot," Cole muttered to himself.
With his new task in hand, he thought about the best way to approach the issue. Kay was obviously the first place to seek information, but Cole had a feeling she wouldn't cooperate with the man that knocked her out. She had never got a good look at his face in the bar, though, so maybe she wouldn't know the difference.
He walked across town to the Hitchens' jail. It was in even worse shape than the bar, with half of the front rotting away. Cole was amazed that a place used to house criminals was so poorly cared for, but it wasn't important.
The inside wasn't clearly lit, with Cole barely able to see the five jail cells along the back wall. Cole recognized Holier sitting in the center of the room, his nose bandaged and papers in hand.
"Oh, what can I do fer you?" he asked. Cole hoped Holier hadn't recognize him from the bar.
"I've been sent from Auger to speak with Kay," Cole answered.
Holier snorted and slapped his papers on the desk.
"Ol' fool's tryna' replace me again! I can't believe it! Well, you wanna' talk to her, then there she is! But there's no way you'll be replacin' me! I'm the best there's ever been!" Holier hooted in an obnoxious voice, running his fingers along his papers.
Cole looked back into the cells. Only three of the five were occupied, one with a man, another with a woman, and the last one had Kay. She was sitting against the wall, her eyes focused on the ground. Had she heard Holier and him speaking, she didn't show it.
"Kay?" Cole asked, walking up to the bars of her cell.
At first, she didn't reply, and Cole was prepared to pry the information from her like rocks off a railroad track.
"Kay the Gun?" he asked, a little louder than before.
"Yes, sir?" she sarcastically replied.
"I'm here by word of Auger. Now, I hear you stole somethin' from him. Might that be true?" Cole asked.
"I ain't stole a thing off that cow. What's mine is mine, and that's all there is to it," Kay stated, folding her arms. Cole thought she was being defiant, but after she crossed them, he could see she was shivering. The evening air was chilling with fall on the horizon, but he didn't feel the jail was all too cold.
"That idn't how I've heard it, ma'am. I don't want this to be any more difficult than it needs to be, and I say you want outta' here, so why don't you just work with me here?" Cole offered. He wasn't much of a negotiator, but if need be, he could intimidate for pay.
"That idn't what you heard? If a rattlesnake told you he wouldn't venomous, and you'd never met one before, wouldn't you be likely to believe him?" Kay asked Cole. She stood up and walked over to the bars in front of where he stood.
"Besides, I'm still hangin', even if I tell you. Auger will get tired of watin', and he'll kill me, and he'll go lookin' himself. He's just a lazy bastard!" Kay snorted.
Holier laughed from his desk, but he said nothing to the two. His snort of a laugh was cut short when gun shots outside made him jump.
"Hold it, I'm comin'!" he shouted, practically flying over his desk and out the door. Cole ignored the sounds.
"What if I convinced him not to hang you, though?" Cole reasoned.
"That idn't happenin'. I'm dead, at the end of it all. Auger does what Auger wants." Kay sighed and sat back to the cold ground.
"I assure you others will be after me soon, too, once word gets out I have that item. And even if I returned the item, he'd make my life hell." Her head rested on the wooden wall of the cell, and she closed her eyes. " Not that it idn't already, but I've no interest in working with you or him."
Cole looked at the farmer for a long while, trying to find where her truth might be. She was right that he'd just barged into town, with no prior knowledge of it, and everything was new to him. He could be friends with a snake, but he wouldn't know the difference. However, he had a job to do, and he intended to do it for his own sake.
"Kay, do you have the paper?" Cole asked, a little more direct than before.
"Yes, it's a paper he want's, idn't it? Well, I do have it, but not on me. And like I said before, none of you rocks are gettin' it. I'll die before I tell you!"
Cole thought for a moment, and he had an idea that was unconventional, but possibly a good solution that could directly benefit everyone involved. It was something Auger nor Holier would have been fond of if they knew, but he didn't particularly care.
Cole lowered his voice so the other two inmates wouldn't hear him.
"What if I get you outta' here?"
Kay took a deep breath, but shook her head before she even had time to think on the offer.
"Oh, no. Not worth it," she dismissed.
"Well, if you got kin waitin' on you, what's more important? Keeping Auger's paper from him, or keeping them alive?" Cole asked. He wasn't sure if that threat made much sense, but he used it anyways.
"How you know I got kin?" she asked, standing back up, eyes wide in the darkness of her cell.
"Auger."
"That bastard!" she yelled.
She hit the bars in front of her, a look of anguish on her face. Cole let her have her moment.
"Alright, mister. I have a wager. Get me outta' here, and I'll take you to the area the paper is at. You'll have to find it yourself from there. After that, you can tell Auger I've died or whatever you wanna' do. Just buy me enough time to get me and my siblings out of this area. You're right; it idn't worth it."
Cole was surprised he had managed to change her mind so quickly. He wasn't stupid, though, and letting her free could be the biggest mistake he made.
"I'll get you out of here, but you're goin' in handcuffs, and stayin' with me til' we find the paper. Once we find it, I'll let you go, and I'll give you enough time to leave. I'll figure the rest out from there." Cole hoped the idea could be foolproof. The only downside he thought of was if Kay gave him the wrong paper, but he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.
"Aw, Christ. That's how it's gonna' be?" She grit her teeth and twitched her fingers. Cole knew he would have a hard time working with her, but he wasn't going to give up at that point.
"Fine, fine. We'll do it that way. But God so help me, if you lose the keys to the cuffs, I'm gonna' tear you apart!" she threatened.
Cole only smirked at her comment, remembering how easily he had taken her down at the bar.
"Now, how to get you outta' hereā¦" Cole said, turning back to look at Holier's desk. He had left all his supplies sitting on top of it, but Cole couldn't just take a prisoner at will. He was astonished at Holier's lack of competence during his job.
"Tell Holier you're takin' me to Grahn to change my mind or something. Interrogation. Grahn is the mine. A lot of prisoners choose to go there as slaves instead of hangin' or servin' time."
"Is that so?" Cole asked, a little intrigued by the idea.
"Yes, sir."
Holier walked back in, wiping his head with a towel.
"Them's the craziest bastards I ever did see! I swear!" he said.
"Holier, I'm taking Kay here to Grahn. She doesn't wanna' talk with me willingly, so I guess we're gonna' make her. I've got permission from Auger to do what it takes to get what he wants."
"Oh, now, you can't go alone!" Holier protested, but more gunfire rang outside.
"That damn Rack family! I swear! Fine, take that whore down there. But Auger'll skin ya' alive if you mess up!" Holier threatened, and Cole didn't doubt the threat. He wasn't scared of the man, though, as Holier appeared to be.
"That won't be a problem," Cole assured. Holier snorted again before nodding.
"So be it!" he yelled before running back out of the jail.
Cole walked over to the desk and took a ring of keys and a pair of handcuffs. He tested the keys to see which one opened the cuffs, and when he found the right key, he went to open Kay's cell.
"Put your hands through here," Cole said, tapping on the spot there food was given to the prisoners. She complied, and once she was secured, he opened the cell.
"Let's be quick, mister..." she paused, looking at him with a curious glance.
"Colton White. But call me Cole." Getting on formalities with the prisoner wasn't the best idea, but he needed her cooperation as much as possible.
"Let's be quick, Mr. White. I've got more important things to tend to than your all's games," Kay informed.
"Well, it'd be quicker if you'd tell me exactly where the paper's at," Cole answered.
"Nah. I've suffered enough as of late. Now it's everyone else's turn."
"You're feisty for a little thing," Cole hummed.
"Just shut up and find a horse. Prolly some outside."
She was right; two horses were tied outside of the jail, both stomping their feet idly.
"You can take one of them. They're just the horses Holier uses to get around, but he's terrified of riding them. He ain't gonna' miss one."
"What kind of deputy is Holier?" Cole asked as he helped the cuffed farmer onto the horse.
"The worst kind. Now, we're heading to a nice place called Pactolus. It's not too terribly far from here, really," she admitted.
Cole mounted the horse in front of her, and with a kick, set off in the direction Kay told.
"Now, how can I be sure you're not leadin' me into a horde of bandits, miss?" Cole asked as the horse galloped past the last buildings of Hitchens.
"Please. Do I seem like a lass with a following?" Kay scoffed.
"Well, folks seem pretty nervous of Kay the Gun, Cole reasoned.
"Aw, Hell. That idn't nothing. I hunt for the lazy and sick out here, and that's about it. Got a bad name thanks to a few, and I s'pose I'm not as good as I could be. But, honestly, these folks out here aren't worth the ground they walk on. And there idn't no bandits!"
"You better hope that's true, for your sake."
The evening sun was casting a warmer glow than what was in the jail, and Cole enjoyed being on horse back again. It was a luxury he hadn't had in a while.
The two rode in silence, leaving Cole time to think about the situation he had gotten himself in. Auger was a hefty fellow who seemed mighty sly, and Kay the Gun didn't seem much more of a threat than a bluebird. Besides some quick cash, he couldn't think of any moral reasons he was still running around Hitchens. He knew he couldn't quit now, though, with three ounces of gold just sitting on the table in front of him. For a moment, he feared he was turning into Magruder, the selfish fool who had tried on multiple occasions to kill Cole. He was desperate for some cash, and as such, was running into a situation with no idea what was ahead.
He shivered mentally, just lightly, at the idea of being anything like Magruder. He had killed nobody for the gold. He was actually saving someone, a criminal, for it. He was nothing like Magruder, and never would be.
"Hold up, stud. We're nearing Pactolus. Few houses around here so watch your step," Kay said.
"What did you call me?"
"Just pay attention to where we're going. One wrong turn takes you up towards Grahn, and nobody but prisoners and officials allowed in there," Kay warned.
"Why's that?" Cole asked.
"Not sure. They're real secretive about what happens up there. Only time a prisoner comes outta' there is when they're dead. I've heard good prisoners get to see their family members sometimes, but I ain't ever witnessed it myself. I just know, you go onto their property without official business, they'll blow your head clean off."
"Seems like all the folk around here are friendly," Cole muttered.
A small sign on the path told him they were in Pactolus. It was mostly covered in green hills and a few trees, with a small path winding through them. Cole could see how Kay easily hid the paper in the area.
"What made you steal a paper from Auger? Why's it so important to him, and to you?" Cole asked, slowing the horse's gate to a simple trot. He didn't actually expect an answer, but he had to find a way to squelch his curiosity.
"None of your concern. I recommend you don't read it once you get it, lest you want Auger to tear into ya'." Kay shuffled awkwardly, her body constantly tensing as she tried not to fall off the horse. Cole found it just a little funny, and at times would send the horse onto a loose gate just to see how much she could throw her off.
"Y'all seem mighty scared of that fellow, Gun," Cole said as he mentally scoped the mountains for what might possibly be a good hiding spot. Truthfully, though, he had no ideas, and he knew he was relying far too much on her working with him.
"Auger's just a businessman. He don't care about no one, no how. Just money, profits and himself. You'd get more sympathy from a rock."
"Seemed well enough to me. Let me sell my kills there for free," Cole added.
"I imagine he was gettin' somethin' from it. He loves money, and I mean, loves it. Has plenty of it, but always wants more. Guess I can't blame him. We all want money somehow. I bet you're gettin' paid for this recovery mission, ain't you, stud?"
"That's none of your business. And my name is Cole, I told you, so use it as you should."
"I'll show ya' right, cowboy," she muttered.
She became silent, and for a moment, Cole was relieved, but her silence didn't last long, and for good reason.
"Cole. Cole, shit, those are bandits!" she grunted, nudging her right shoulder into his back. He looked that way and, sure as fire were four men on horseback.
"You set that up?" he asked, kicking the horse to make it run faster, Kay nearly falling off.
"Damnit, Cole, how could I do that? I've been in jail all night, and with you all day! Just keep runnin' straight, cowboy, and we'll lose 'em in the hills!" Kay demanded, but Cole wasn't listening. He wasn't the type to run from anything, let alone some pesky bandist.
"Hell's fire, they're gettin' here quick!" ahe shouted.
It was just the type of thing Cole needed to get his blood pumping.
