Setting Sun
By Nelys The Alchemist
Chapter 2
At the end of the day, when the sun was beginning to set Heero quickly closed up the shop. He felt itchy and paranoid and locked the door quickly before hurrying down the road to the saloon. The setting sun threw his shadow out in front of him and he watched it as he moved. People were starting to filter out as the sun slowly sank behind the horizon. This was the time of day to be out, the air was cool with the promise of night but not cool enough to demand extra clothes or a fire.
Laughter and loud talking came falling out of the saloon doors as he approached and he quickened his pace until he shoved the old wooden doors out of his way to stand just inside the doorway, blinking his eyes against the smoke and letting himself adjust to the sounds and smells that made up Max's Saloon.
The saloon was housed in an old hotel, the second floor remodeled for the ladies of the place to sell their services, the main floor home to the drunkards by day and those looking to relax in drink by night. An upright piano sat in one corner and a melody Heero knew but couldn't place came from the fingers of Joe, who had always been there. The bar stretched wide across one wall in a dark wood, and an old mirror with a chip in the lower left corner helped the bartender keep an eye on all patrons. Tables and chairs were scattered around the rest of the place in no particular pattern with some drinking and laughing, others drinking and playing cards.
The saloon made the most money in town by far as drink of any kind was so hard to come by. Much of that money was then given to Hilde as it took a lot of effort to both entertain the guests and provide enough weapons to keep anyone from forgetting to pay.
The bartender gave a jaunty wave when Heero's eyes skimmed past him. He moved up to the bar just as Hilde ran up, calling drink orders as she set the tray down on the bar.
"Heero," She said, surprise in her voice. "You didn't say you'd be by tonight."
"Have you heard anything about the stranger that came into town today?" He asked without greeting.
She raised an eyebrow. "Him again? Really now, you're not one for gossip."
"Have you heard anything?" He asked again impatiently.
"Boy, more taciturn than usual I see. I haven't heard nothin' out of the ordinary. He's traveling through town looking for some people," She tipped her head in the direction of the bartender as he started putting drinks on her tray. "Our host may have heard more." With a flash of a smile in gratitude she ran off with the tray.
"Heero buddy, yer lookin' disgruntled." Duo Maxwell said as he placed a half full glass of clear liquid in front of his friend. "What's going on?"
Heero took the glass and fought to drink slowly, the cool water feeling of heaven going down his throat and disappearing all too quickly. He gave a barely audible sigh and a slight nod as he placed the glass back on the bar, resting on his elbows.
"That guy that came into town today alone-" He started.
"That crazy SOB? Traveling with nothing more than a pack on his back I'm surprised he made it this far." Duo replied eyes on his customers while cleaning a glass.
Heero looked up at him sharply. "Have you spoken to him?"
"Naw, just what I heard from Sheila when she checked him in. Said he'd come from Wellstone on foot and didn't have nothin' more with him than his pack and those goofy clothes. He asked for any old timer who'd be able to help him with a list of names though." Duo put the glass aside and cast his friend a sidelong glance.
Heero drew his eyebrows together slightly but was otherwise silent.
"What's eating you about him?" Duo gave Heero his full attention after pulling his gun from under the table and idly twirling it slowly on the bar. "You don't usually give a shit who's comin' through town."
"I wish I didn't care this time either," Came the quiet reply. "I don't know what it is, but when I saw him today I got to feelin' unsettled. Haven't been able to shake it."
"You think he's bad news?"
Heero stared at nothing across the bar for a minute before shaking his head slightly.
"…But you think something's going on." Duo gave a seemingly casual scan across the room. "Well I'll tell ya something, I've been feeling a might out of sorts today myself. We're probably both being too suspicious."
Heero nodded, his expression still troubled to those who could tell.
"I'll see what I can find out about him," Duo said quietly, still surveying the room. "I'll let you know tomorrow."
Heero gave a rare 'thanks' before casting his eyes to the glass again. Duo shook his head.
"You know how expensive that is. I can hardly afford to keep it."
Heero rolled his eyes before heading back out the saloon door, hoping his nerves would settle by morning.
A great ranch house sat on a barren piece of land in the shadow of an outcropping of rocks. What made this house odd to see among the dust and bleached out landscape was that it was newly build, with high and expensive fencing to keep the curious out. Men dotted the lands surrounding the house, practicing their shooting against any random trash they could find. The sounds of gunshot and laughter could be heard from far off, the kind of laughter that made women quicken their step home.
A man sat on the wide front porch, watching his companions and enjoying the shade. A cigar gently let smoke drift into the sky from between his clenched teeth and every once in a while he would remove it to take a sip from the glass at his side.
The clothes he wore were tailored but comfortable. Newly purchased jeans, already getting worn at the knees, tucked down into durable brown boots. A white cotton shirt that showed no stains or ware was snug against broad shoulders and left his arms bare, while a faded and well worn brown leather hat kept the sun, when it was overhead, out of his eyes. The screen door creaked open and shut, alerting him to the man behind him before he spoke.
"Hey boss?"
He turned slowly and looked back at the man with the full beard and straggly hair as he approached.
"Treize Sir, she's startin' to have one o' them fits o' hers. Jameson told me I should come git you." He looked hesitant.
"I'll be right there," The well dressed man started to turn back until he noticed the lackey still standing behind him. "Was there something else?"
He wrung his dirty hands before he worked the courage to speak. "They're…well, they're gettin' worse I noticed. Do you want I should fetch a doctor?"
His employer sighed, contemplating anger or assurance. He stood and brushed the dirt off the back of his pants before walking slowly toward the door.
"She'll be fine," Treize smiled as he brushed past the man. "She always is."
The man looked unconvinced but Treize swept past him without further comment, passing through the living room full of furniture and soft rugs and moving down the hallway towards a closed door at the end of the hall.
He reached for the knob and turned it slowly, easing the door open to heavy breathing and murmurs of comfort. The woman on the floor next to the pile of rugs and blankets looked up at him as he entered and immediately jumped to her feet.
"This girl needs a real doctor," She said with determination. Her straw colored dress stretched tight around her ample body. "A midwife can't do much when there's no baby. Whatever is wrong is getting worse. This fit has lasted for nearly the full morning and she doesn't look to be comin' out of it any time soon."
Treize's good mood could not be disrupted. He kneeled beside the figure tossing on the blankets and reached out a hand to brush across her face. She fidgeted, unaware of his touch, eyes scrunched shut as sweat slowly moved from her heated brow. Her damp blonde hair was tangled around her neck and shoulders, getting moreso as she moved, twitching and mumbling incoherently. Her hands reached out for what he did not know and grasped nothing.
He put his hand more firmly on her cheek and whispered in her ear and her eyes suddenly snapped open, confusion mixing behind her cloudy blue eyes. He chuckled softly when she unconsciously leaned into his hand and her murmurings grew less insistent.
"She doesn't need a doctor," He said with a smugness the woman found unnerving. "You can leave now. Jameson will arrange delivery of your fee at the door."
As the woman watched he continued to stroke her cheek while his other hand started to trail up and down her arm. The girl's breathing started to slow down and both arms stalled in their search across the blankets.
"But she-"
"I think I've made myself clear." He cut her off, his tone sharp.
At the change in his tone the woman backed up a step, sensing an air of danger from the man as his impatience with her grew thin. Remembering the power this man held, it was with sadness that she cast one more look at the girl, who was calm and no longer fidgeting, before she nodded and turned toward the door.
"Your fee is contingent upon your silence remember. If I hear word…"
She paused with one hand on the door as the threat settled in her belly.
"Not a word sir, as promised." She replied before stepping out of the room.
The door closed behind him and Treize spoke softly to the girl as the cloudiness in her eyes started to dissipate. "All you need is me, isn't that right Relena?"
When Heero woke in the morning his sense of unease, which Hilde assured him would be gone by sun-up, was stronger than the day before. He sat on his bed with his feet on the floor trying to convince himself to get the day started but he couldn't get any further than resting his arms on his knees and allow his head to hang, staring at the floor.
'Why am I so on edge?' He thought for the hundredth time. 'There's no reason anything should bother me at all. It never has.'
He had been trying all night to identify what he felt other than the vague 'uneasy' he had told Duo and having been unable to all evening was starting to bother him more than the feeling itself. How did he usually figure things out?
He ran his hands through his hair and angrily propelled himself off the bed to start the day. After his quick morning routine he went out the door with determination in his stride and ready to use the approach he always favored. The direct approach.
Unfortunately that didn't work if you couldn't find the problem. After being told by Stella that the young man left early that morning he stalked up and down the main road checking every main shop from the general store to the blacksmith. No one had seen the stranger come through that morning and with each step Heero grew more and more frustrated.
When he could think of no other place for his feet to take him he decided Hilde would probably like him to come tend the store since lunchtime was coming and she would be needed at the saloon. A quick glance in Max's on his way past showed the tables starting to get full and Howard, Duo's business partner, gave him a quick wave as he went back out.
Hilde knew his mood was sour the moment he stepped in so she checked her anger, giving him nothing more than a chilly look before hightailing it out of the place. He was left standing behind the counter with his thoughts.
'This shouldn't be affecting me,' he thought as he dismantled a newly acquired piece and started to check and clean it. 'I've done nothing wrong and he's not any kind of law.'
Looking through the barrel for imperfections he found he wasn't afraid.
While oiling the cylinder he realized his frustration was impatience.
It was when the man he'd searched for all morning came walking into the shop, walked right through the door and up to the counter with a smile on his face and a guarded look in his eyes, that Heero realized the feeling that had been boiling in his blood for the past two days.
Chapter two out and about! Thank you for your reviews and patience while I slowly uncoil this thing. :-)