I do not own any of the Magnificent Seven characters, I just didn't want to see them sitting on a shelf collecting dust!
Ezra sighed as he sat at a table in the tavern, engaged in a game of chance with one other gentleman. He was forced to play fair since his shoulder hadn't healed yet, so he was playing cards one handed. Nathan sat nearby, shooting him nasty looks every now and then.
As the man folded, running a hand through his blond hair as he left the table, leaving the pot for Ezra to take, Ezra said, "Mr. Jackson, I do believe I have apologized efficiently for disobeying you and riding before I was ready, while tricking Mr. Larabee and the others into believing I was well."
"No you haven't!" Nathan practically growled. "Not only did you do that, but your half-healed shoulder was put back to square one after your little stunt!"
"Can I help it that sitting around idly isn't something I'm particularly fond of?" Ezra questioned as he started to collect the pot. "Or that Ace decided that he wanted to act up, thus throwing me from the saddle?"
Nathan gave him a glare that said he thought the answer was yes.
Buck, who was sitting at a different table with JD, commented, "You could have always played a game of cards with your daughter, and that way Nate, wouldn't be mad at you now."
"Mr. Wilmington," Ezra said. "If you haven't noticed, my daughter and I have hardly said a word to each other since helping the settlers. Not to mention I'm still trying to figure out why Ace acted the way he did. He usually doesn't get excited unless Peso is near him, and I know that Mr. Tanner's horse was no where near him when he acted up."
"Yeah, but Sara's was," JD chimed in.
Ezra sighed, "I should have known…!" He finished collecting the pot, "Since we've been discussing my daughter, where is she exactly?"
Chris said from his usual position at the bar, "She went riding with Vin a little before you woke up."
"What?" Buck whirled around, his chair clattering to the floor. "How did he manage that? I've been trying to get her to ride with me for several days now!"
He didn't get an answer from Chris, who merely shrugged and focused on his drink once again.
Josiah, who had only just come into the tavern, said, "I think Vin said he'd teach her about tracking."
"Oh good Lord, he's corrupting her already?" Ezra muttered.
JD looked affronted, "He never offered to teach me how to track!"
Buck grabbed JD's hat and waved it in his face, grinning mischievously, "That's because you're always wearing this sissy hat, and Vin didn't want to be seen with ya!" JD managed to snatch back his hat. "Besides, Vin's more of a quiet guy, and well, JD, you're not."
"Thanks, Buck," JD muttered.
Just outside of town, Vin and Sara were studying some tracks on the ground. After several seconds, Vin glanced at Sara and asked, "What kind of animal made these tracks?"
"Mr. Tanner," Sara said, still studying the tracks. "You've shown me all sorts of tracks made by various creatures and I still have no idea what animal these belong to." She straightened up in her saddle, "All I know is that you've shown similar tracks to me."
"Take a guess," Vin said, straightening up in his saddle as well.
She frowned down at the tracks before she guessed, "Jack Rabbit?"
"Coyote, and it looks like she had pups with her too," Vin stated. "The tracks are a couple days old though, so she's probably out of the area by now." Vin smirked a bit as he saw Sara leaning over in her saddle once more as she studied the tracks, "Don't worry about not guessin' what type of tracks they were. I didn't become as good as I am in one day!" Sara straightened up in her saddle once more, "Come on, let's see what other tracks we can find!" With that, he spurred Peso into a gallop, and he could hear Gambler's hooves sounding behind him as the palomino found his stride.
A stagecoach came to a halt in town, drawing the attention of the six men in the bar. JD was the first one to make it over to the window, and he said, frowning slightly as a portly man dressed completely in black from his hat to his boots, apart from his shirt, which was white, "What's the judge doing here?"
Buck was the next one to make it over to the window, "Not sure, JD, but he sure looks like he's hear on business."
The judge made his way over to the tavern, greeting an excited Billy on the way. Pushing through the swinging doors he spotted the six men, "I figured I'd find you in hear." He glanced around, his gaze pausing on Ezra and his sling, before he focused on Chris, "And where is Mr. Tanner?"
"Out havin' some fun," Buck answered, grinning.
The judge didn't notice Buck's grin, "You'll have to fill him in on what I'm about to tell you." This drew all of their attentions right to him. "A notorious man was arrested within the territory for several murders, and he's going to be tried here in Four Corners for his crimes. However, his trial isn't for several days…" He paused to let this sink in. "In that time, I need all of you to make sure he doesn't escape, or, if he manages to escape, that you catch him and bring him back in time for the trial."
They all nodded after the judge had finished, but it was Nathan who asked, "Just who is this man, Judge?"
"The Black Gentleman, Lewis Odin," the judge stated.
Ezra, who had been counting his money, turned his attention back to the judge, "The Black Gentleman? You mean you want us to keep HIM from escaping? He has his own following that will be in this town as soon as he is, I can assure you of that!"
"You sound like you're talking from experience, Ezra," Chris said, looking at the gambler.
Ezra met Chris' gaze, "I haven't actually been in a town that's tried to hold the Black Gentleman in its confines. I've only heard the tales from various people who have been, and, trust me, their tales aren't happy endings either. From what I've gathered from all those conversations, that's how most of the Black Gentleman's victims have come about."
"From the guy being in the town's jail?" JD questioned. Ezra nodded.
The judge added, "I know that is how this man operates, but I'm confident that you seven," he frowned at Ezra's arm again. "Can keep him in jail until his trial." The judge glanced at Ezra's arm again, "You will be well again, soon, Mr. Standish?"
Nathan practically growled, "He would have been fine if he hadn't ridden his horse before his arm was healed!"
Ezra, noting that the judge didn't look too happy, quickly said, "It will be fine, I'm sure my daughter would be willing to assist in keeping the Black Gentleman within the confines of the jail."
"You have a daughter?" The judge questioned, obviously surprised.
Ezra nodded, muttering, "Granted, I only found this out recently…"
The judge was frowning once more, "And you'd volunteer her for such a dangerous job?"
"She's technically allowed to ride with us," Ezra stated, glancing at Chris, "And since I'm out of commission, I don't see why she couldn't assist in whatever Mr. Larabee would have me do in a situation like this."
The judge continued to frown, "I don't think it's appropriate for a young lady…"
"Hellion," Buck coughed.
The judge frowned at him then, "Should be involved in such a task."
"Wait till you meet her, than say that," JD muttered.
The judge looked at JD, his frown not so pronounced now, "Perhaps I will… Where is the young lady?"
Ezra muttered, "Out with Mr. Tanner."
"And when are the two due back," the judge questioned.
Buck, Nathan, Ezra, and JD all glanced at Chris and Josiah, since they were the two that had seen the pair last. Chris just shrugged, while Josiah said, "I have no idea."
The judge glanced out the window as another stagecoach rolled in, this one having bars on the window and looking foreboding, "I hope they get here soon so they know what's going on."
Chris stood up, having noticed the stagecoach as well, "Looks like we'd better get to work as well."
All of them started to rise from their seats, including Ezra, but Nathan pushed him back into his seat, "Not you! You've got to let that arm of yours heal." Ezra scowled at him.
Buck muttered, with a wicked grin on his face as he headed towards the swinging doors, "I never thought I'd see the day when Ez actually wanted to help out."
The judge said, "Well, gentlemen, I'll leave you to handle it while I go visit with my grandson!"
As Sara and Vin entered Four Corners, their horses at a sedate walk, Vin spotted the unique stagecoach as it came to a stop in front of the jail, "Wonder what's goin' on…"
"I have no idea," Sara said, as she squinted at the stagecoach. The thundering of hooves drew her attention to the other end of town, "But something tells me that we need to get over there…Hah!" She spurred her horse and Gambler took off like a shot. Vin spurred Peso a second later, his horse managing to keep his head near the palomino's girth.
Vin and Sara's instincts were correct, as the riders appeared, heading directly towards the stagecoach, where a prisoner was just stepping down from the stagecoach.
The prisoner, dressed in all black, and having black hair and a small, mustache smirked as the group of riders came closer. All of the riders were wearing black as well, including black bandanas that hid their features. The only way to distinguish one from another was by their horses.
There were ten riders in the group, each on a different colored horse: bay, dark bay, black, chestnut, buckskin, dappled gray, chestnut overo pinto, black tobiano, cremello, and a blue roan.
Chris, Buck, Josiah, Nathan, and JD spotted the riders as well, and drew their guns without hesitation, taking aim, and firing. One of their bullets hit, sending the rider on the cremello keeling over his horse's hindquarters. The five men had to die behind various hiding spots then, as gunfire rained down on them. Chris sheltering behind a horse trough, JD behind one as well, Buck was using the corner of a building for cover, while Nathan crouched behind a couple barrels, and Josiah used the tavern wall right next to the swinging doors as cover.
The riders had to slow their horses as Chris and the others kept firing at them, though they were finding it hard to get in decent shots, since the riders were timing theirs pretty well.
In the tavern, Ezra had taken Chris' usual spot at the bar, a shot glass in hand filled with whiskey. Trying to ignore the mayhem outside, Ezra went to drink the liquid, when a stray bullet shot the glass, breaking it in his hand.
"Now, really!" Ezra exclaimed, gazing at the remnants of his drink. "That was rude!"
He moved to draw his own gun, when Josiah, who had just narrowly missed being hit by a different bullet, said, "Don't even think about it, Ezra, or Nathan will skin you alive."
Chris glanced over the horse trough, trying to get a good view of where the remaining nine riders were at in relation to the prisoner. He spotted two riders, the ones on the bay and dark bay, and fired off two shots. His first shot hit the dark bay's rider, who fell over his horse's shoulder onto the ground, but his second shot wasn't as accurate, since he had to quickly duck back down, as the rider on the blue roan fired at him. Reloading quickly, he shouted, "Get that rider on the dark bay!"
JD, hearing Chris' shout, reacted without thinking, and poked his head above the trough as he fired, but he missed, having to duck, and losing his hat in the process as a bullet narrowly missed his head, having been fired from the rider on the blue roan as well, who was hanging back a little bit away from the others, watching their backs.
"JD you moron!" Buck snapped from behind the corner as he came around it, and fired at the rider on the blue roan. His aim was dead on, and the rider slumped in the saddle, against the blue roan's neck.
Nathan found his opportunity and fired at the rider on the dark bay, but he hadn't anticipated the rider on the buckskin riding forward at just that moment. The rider cried out, gripping his left shoulder, and his horse spooked, leaping forward and leaving him lying, in a heap, on the ground.
Sheltering behind the barrels again, Nathan was unaware of the approaching danger from the rider on the chestnut pinto, who was approaching the healer's hiding spot, the healer being the closest to the group of riders.
Josiah took aim at the rider on the dark bay, and narrowly missed, the rider was now working on getting the Black Gentleman's bonds off. Before he had to duck behind the wall however, Josiah spotted the rider on the chestnut pinto advancing on Nathan, and shouted out the window, "Nathan, on your right!" Before he had to duck down, narrowly escaping a bullet once again, before he moved closer to the door, hunched over so as not to present himself as a target.
Nathan, hearing his friend's shout, spotted the rider on the chestnut pinto, merely feet away from him. Grabbing one of the knives on his back, he threw it with quick precision, the knife piercing the rider's chest, and he crumpled to the ground.
Vin and Sara came upon the action, Vin taking aim with his sawed off rifle as Peso slowed, and taking out two riders, the one on the black pinto and the rider on the dappled grey, both riders toppled off their horses. Vin had to dismount quickly though, as the rider on the black horse fired at him, and Vin had to duck behind his wagon.
Sara had a different approach, having heard Chris' shout, she spotted the dark bay's rider helping, a now free, Black Gentleman onto the horse. Not knowing that the man was the Black Gentleman, though, she just knew that Chris and the others were trying to keep him from escaping. Riding low on her horse, she steered Gambler towards the dark bay, which was now taking off at a gallop, heading out of town.
Chris saw the dark bay, now carrying two riders, galloping out of town, and shot at the rider, narrowly missing the rider and the Black Gentleman. Swearing, he ducked behind the water trough as the rider on the chestnut fired at him. When the shot went over his head, he glanced over the trough, and fired at the rider on the chestnut, who crumpled to the ground as the bullet found its mark.
Buck, seeing Vin duck behind his wagon, fired at the rider on the black horse, knowing full well his shot wouldn't hit the rider, but he hoped it would distract the rider from Vin.
It worked. The rider on the black horse turned slightly towards Buck, giving Vin time to fire his own shot, hitting the rider, who slumped forward in the saddle.
Chris came out from his cover, running towards his horse, "Let's get after them!" He mounted Justice, and spurred gelding into a gallop, after the dark bay. The others quickly followed, each mounting their horses and riding after Chris.
Gambler easily came within firing range of the dark bay, and Sara took aim, aiming at the black dressed rider with the bandanna, who was so focused on riding that he hadn't noticed he was being followed.
Just as she fired her shot, the other man, who was dressed in black, had turned and spotted her, giving warning to the rider with the bandanna, who had the dark bay swerve out of the bullet's path, going into rougher terrain as it did so.
Sara kept Gambler following the dark bay, but now it was harder to take aim, having to duck as bullets whizzed past her, narrowly missing their marks. As one bullet came at her, Gambler had to jump some brush that was in his way, and Sara felt her horse stumble, as well as giving a snort of pain.
Furious that her horse was injured, Sara fired off several shots right in a row, hoping to at least injure the rider in the bandanna. Though, unorthodox, it worked, the man who was dressed in black moved out of the bullet's path, and the rider with the bandanna took the bullet, slumping in the saddle, and the dark bay slowed, since there was no more urging from its rider to keep galloping.
Sara kept her gun on the remaining man, though she knew that it was an empty threat: she was out of bullets, but she hoped her bluff would work. She slowed Gambler as she came nearer to the dark bay and the man dressed in black, who was looking at her in an odd way. It was like he was looking at her, but not, his mind somewhere else, or imagining something else, perhaps thinking how best to disarm her, or debating whether or not her gun actually had bullets. To make the ruse seem real she cocked the hammer.
That's when the man spoke, making eye contact with her, his gray eyes cold and calculating, "You and I both know that's an empty threat." With that he reached for the dead rider's gun, and pointed it at her.
Sara switched her gun from her right hand to her left so she could trigger the mechanism on her arm to slide her Derringer into her hand. Just as she swung down her arm, the Derringer sliding into place, the sound of a gun being fired made her blood go cold for a second.
It wasn't the Black Gentleman who had fired though. Chris and the others had arrived, Chris being the one who had fired, hitting the gun out of the Black Gentleman's hand, which he was now clutching.
"Let's get him back to town and in the jail," Chris said, glancing back at Buck, Vin, and Josiah, who immediately surrounded the dark bay and the Black Gentleman, Josiah grabbing the horse's reins, before they started to head back to town at a lope, the dark bay moving into it reluctantly, since it was still carrying its two-man load.
JD had been watching the three head back to town, when movement from Sara caught his attention as she dismounted, moving to her horse's right flank, "What did you dismount for? We still have to head back to town!"
"My horse is injured," Sara stated, running a hand along the gash that stood out on the horse's golden hindquarters. Gambler bared his teeth at her as she touched the wound, though he didn't bite her.
Nathan dismounted as well, and took a look at the wound, "It's just a graze from a bullet, he should be fine." He watched as Sara checked her horse's leg as well, before she straightened up, apparently satisfied that the graze was her horse's only injury.
Chris turned to Nathan as Nathan mounted his horse once again, "You and I will head back to town to help the others." Nathan nodded as Chris turned to JD and Sara, "JD you stay with Sara, I doubt she'll ride her horse fast back to town, so just watch each other's backs. Fill her in on what's going on as well." JD gaped at Chris in disbelief while Chris and Nathan set off back to town, their horses' going at a lope.
Sara refused to ride her horse at anything faster than a trot, not wanting to aggravate Gambler's wound. JD explained what was going on to her, and when he explained who the prisoner was, he watched her eyes widen in surprise, "THE Black Gentleman?"
"Yep, and we've got to keep him in jail until his trial," JD finished explaining.
Sara glanced at him in surprise, "We?"
"Yeah," JD said. "You're taking up the slack, since Ezra's injured."
"Well, that's interesting," Sara muttered, more to herself than to JD.
JD, however, took it as a comment to him, "What's interesting?"
"The fact that I'm being entrusted to take up the slack," Sara answered.
"It was Judge Travis' idea," JD said quickly.
Sara grinned than, "Than I can't wait to be formally introduced to Judge Travis!"
In town, Buck, Vin, and Josiah led the Black Gentleman into a cell, locking the cell door and the outer barred door as well. Though his hand was injured, the Black Gentleman looked smug, if not happy with the situation he was in.
Buck muttered as he walked out with Vin and Josiah, "I don't like the look that lunatic has. The quicker that trial comes the better!"
"We'll just have to keep him here until then," Vin stated. "And I don't like it either. Feels wrong, especially the way he's acting."
Josiah nodded in agreement, "I get the feeling that our troubles with this guy have only just begun."
All three of them turned to look down the street as Chris and Nathan came riding in. Once Chris had tied his horse to the hitching post, he asked the three of them, "Everything go all right?"
Vin nodded, "Yep. He's in there."
"Grinning like a coyote, though," Buck muttered. "He's up to somethin', Chris."
Nathan came up behind Chris, glancing at the jail, before he said, "You know, I start to wonder if he had this planned."
"That he'd get caught?" Buck questioned.
Nathan nodded, "It seemed almost too easy."
"Almost getting killed in a gun fight doesn't strike me as easy," Josiah stated.
Chris and Vin exchanged a quick look before Vin said, "I think Nathan's got a point, why else would he be so calm about getting captured?"
"So you're sayin' that this guy planned on most of his followers gettin' killed today?" Buck questioned.
Josiah said quietly, "The judge did say that he had many followers, not just those few riders that came in."
Nathan said, "It's too bad we didn't get that one that was wounded in the arm, we might have gotten so information out of him."
Another glance between Chris and Vin, before Vin moved into the street, studying the tracks, they all heard him say, "Aw hell." Before he came back to them, "The tracks are too jumbled to tell what horse was what, much less any single guy stumbling around."
Chris looked down the main street, before he said, "It can't be helped, we had to get the Black Gentleman back here, we'll just have to keep our guard up." He looked at all of them, "I want two people here at all times, we're not going to let him get out of this trial." He looked at Nathan, "Can Ezra help out as well."
Nathan shook his head, "With the risk there is, and the way his arm is only half healed, it'd be best if we just left him out of this."
Chris nodded, "All right…Buck, Vin, I want you two to take the first watch." Buck and Vin nodded, before they both headed into the jail, both of them taking separate seats on either side of the room. "Josiah, Nathan, you two can take over from them in a couple hours." He glanced down the street again as Sara and JD rode in. JD rode right over to Chris while Sara dismounted and led Gambler over to the hitching post, before she headed towards the livery.
Chris said to JD, "You and Buck will have a watch here at the jail later tonight. You two will take over from Sara and I."
Buck, hearing what Chris said, glanced at Vin, "You don't think Chris is…"
"Nah," Vin said, though he didn't look so sure.
Chris walked away from JD, and headed towards the livery, where Sara was now coming out of, a bucket and a rag in her hands. He said to her as she walked past, "You and I are watching the prisoner early this evening." Sara merely raised a hand to show that she had heard him.
Making his way towards the tavern, Chris was surprised to see Ezra, sitting at a table alone, while several games of cards were going on around him.
Noticing Chris' entrance, Ezra stated, looking bored as he shuffled his deck of cards, "You can only play so many games of chance before people start to notice that you're not losing very often…" The gambler sighed, before he went back to his shuffling, gazing longingly at one of the games that was going on.
Chris rolled his eyes, before he went over to his usual spot next to the bar, and Inez brought him a glass, filling it with whiskey.
Sara gently washed Gambler's wound, the horse nipping her whenever he got the opportunity, and there were several. She was relieved to see that the wound wasn't deep, more of a scratch than anything else. When Gambler made to nip her for the umpteenth time as she set the rag in the bucket, she swatted his muzzle, "Knock that off you big baby," she scolded. Gambler snorted, turning away from her. Sara rolled her eyes at her horse before she headed towards the livery to return the bucket and rag.
A rider dressed all in black rode into a sporadic looking camp, his eyes glazed over with pain, and blood dripping down his left arm from a wound on his shoulder. His horse, a buckskin, was covered in foamy sweat as it cantered into the camp.
Other men, dressed in black appeared, walking out of barely assembled tents, but their bandannas were sitting around their necks, their features easy to see.
A large man with blond hair, and a large handlebar mustache approached the rider on the buckskin, as the rider stopped the horse and lowered his own bandanna revealing a clean shaven face that was pale due to the obvious pain his shoulder was causing him. The buckskin rolled its eyes, showing the whites of them as the large man approached.
"So, you couldn't get him out," the large man said, his deep voice carrying no tone of surprise.
The rider shook his head, "There were seven gunslingers that were there and they stopped us from getting him."
"And all the others are dead," the large man stated, still no tone of surprise in his voice.
The rider nodded, "I'm the only one who made it out of there alive."
"Then you'll help us get into that town," the large man stated. The rider paled, though he didn't say anything about his shoulder, merely nodding in agreement to what the man had said.
Buck and Vin were bored out of their minds in no time, not speaking to the Black Gentleman, who was still grinning in his cell, and not really speaking to each other due to the Black Gentleman's presence.
JD entered the jail than, and asked, "Everything all right so far?"
"Yeah," Vin said, while Buck stood up. JD looked uneasy.
"Boy!" Buck began, in an angry tone, causing JD to back up. "I don't care how much Chris, or any of us shouts, but you never, EVER go to shoot at an enemy without checking to make sure that you're not in any danger of getting shot, first! And another thing…!" JD was retreating from Buck, who followed him right out of the jail, leaving a grinning Vin behind in the jail, and a still, grinning Black Gentleman, those his eyes no longer held a happy look, it was once again, cold and calculating.
Judge Travis exited the Clarion, having spent a good part of the day with his grandson, he glanced towards the ruckus that Buck was causing as he continued to scold JD, before he glanced towards a young lady in a scarlet coat, making his way over to her as she made her way towards the tavern.
"Miss," Judge Travis called out, and the young lady paused, glancing back at him with a quizzical expression on her face.
"I am Judge Orrin Travis," the judge said, tipping his hat to her. He noted that the young lady's expression turned wary. "I believe I'm not overstepping my bounds when I assume that you are Mr. Standish's daughter?"
A scowl replaced the wary look, "Indeed, sir. Sara Standish is my name." She tipped her hat, and the judge couldn't help smiling slightly at the gesture.
"I believe you've already been informed of assisting in keeping the Black Gentleman in jail until his trial?" The judge inquired. Sara nodded. "Good. I hope you will prove yourself reliable…do you have any employment…don't answer that," he held up his hand, stopping her response, not wanting to hear it. "If you prove yourself able, I might be able to employ you as part of the law in this town." With that said, he tipped his hat to an extremely stunned Sara, and walked towards the boarding house.
Sara watched Judge Travis head towards the boarding house, before she made her way over to the tavern, still a bit stunned.
In the tavern, Ezra, who was obviously a bit drunk…well…more than a bit, had picked out a fresh group of gamblers who were getting ready to start a game of chance, and he figured that he could get some money out of them, since they were not familiar with him. As the swinging doors opened, and Sara walked through, he greeted his daughter, and said, "Sara, come here for a minute."
Scowling once again, Sara walked over to him, "Yes, Father?" Ezra didn't flinch on the word this time, which unsettled her a bit, and it was obvious by the expression on her face.
"I want you to help me get some money out of those gentlemen," he used the word loosely, since the men were obviously either ranchers, farmers, or maybe even both.
Sara glanced at the group that her father had indicated and she said, as he stood up to join the game the group was starting, "No."
Ezra paused, looking over his shoulder at her, "Excuse me?"
"No," she repeated, her voice firm, but her eyes showed how nervous she was getting as they darted around the room.
Ezra chuckled darkly, as he shook his head back and forth, "I do recall that the letter said you were to be living with me, meaning that you should be doing as I say, when I ask something of you."
"I won't be a part of your con," Sara hissed in a whisper, having been trained in the art for so long that she knew secrecy when talking about a con was needed. "Or at least, not this one…" With that, she whipped around, and dashed out of the tavern, Ezra staring angrily after her, before he went to join the game of chance that the group he had wanted to con started one up.
Chris glanced at the, still swinging, doors, having heard a good portion of Ezra and Sara's conversation, before he turned back to his drink, a thoughtful expression on his face.
Outside, Sara moved swiftly towards her horse, untying his reins from the hitching post and mounting, before she gave him a swift kick, and Gambler galloped out of town.
Night had fallen, and Chris stood outside the jail, leaning against the outside wall, while Josiah and Nathan were sitting calmly within the room, knowing that Sara would show up eventually.
The sound of a lone horse approaching drew Chris' attention, and the light from the small pit fires burning in the street illuminated Sara and Gambler, the flickering light revealing how dusty the pair was from their ride. Chris didn't say anything to her as she dismounted, loosely tying Gambler to the hitching post, and checking his wound from earlier in the day. Satisfied that it hadn't reopened, she walked towards Chris.
Chris didn't say anything to her, merely walking into the jail while Josiah and Nathan left, both casting her sympathetic looks as she followed Chris inside.
Without saying a word, Chris sat down behind the desk, casting a sideways glance at the Black Gentleman, who appeared to be sound asleep, his back to them.
Sara sat down in a chair directly across from Chris, and waited a few seconds before she asked, "How did they know?" Chris glanced at her, but he didn't' answer. She clarified, hoping to get an answer out of the gunslinger, "How did they know about what happened in the tavern?"
"We know Ezra gets pretty nasty when he's drunk. He'll probably apologize to you when he's sober…if he remembers anything from this evening," Chris stated.
Sara looked at him, "So you told them?"
"Nah, Buck happened to be sitting at a different table right behind you two," Chris said.
Silence spanned between them for several long minutes. Amazingly, Chris was the one to break the silence, "You said that you wouldn't help Ezra with the particular con he had in mind…what did you mean by that?"
A small smile crossed her features for a brief second, "I have several…principles…that I follow when I do a con…" She didn't add anything to her statement, and Chris let her be.
The night wore on minute by minute, the pair sitting in silence, alert for any signs of trouble. A crash sounded from outside, and Sara was up faster than the gun slinger, hand reaching for her colt. She said softly, already heading towards the door, "I'll check it out…" With that, she was outside, and moving cautiously towards the back of the jail, where the sound had originated from. Moving around the corners cautiously, and staying on her toes, she moved around the last corner of the building and frowned as she found the source of the crash, a buckskin horse that had apparently gotten itself free from a hitching post.
In his wagon, Vin heard a crash sound from the jail, and he grabbed his sawed off shotgun, heading towards the jail to assist Chris and Sara.
Chris was standing and on high alert, listening for any sounds that would indicate that Sara was in trouble, he didn't hear any though.
"Easy," Sara said to the buckskin, which was pawing the ground in agitation. "It's all right…" She whipped around, as she heard a sound from behind her, colt cocked and ready to fire, but she un-cocked the hammer as she recognized Vin.
Vin asked, as he came nearer, "Everything all right?"
"Yeah," Sara said. "This buckskin just got loose…" She frowned suddenly, as did Vin as he looked at the horse, before he whipped around, dashing towards the front of the jail as he shouted, "Chris!" That's when the sound of a gun firing echoed throughout the town.
Chris hit the floor, having seen a shadowy figure just seconds before a bullet came through the window of the jail, rolling towards the desk, he flipped it over so the top of the desk would be between him and any bullets. He cocked the hammer on his own gun and waited, listening for the tell-tale sound of the door opening, indicating that someone was entering the jail. He could make out the sounds of gunfire outside.
Sara and Vin couldn't get to the front of the jail, their path blocked by seven men dressed entirely in black, black bandannas pulled over their faces. Vin and Sara dove behind barrels on either side of the small alley, both exchanging worried looks before they started to fire at the seven men, desperate to assist Chris and hoping that he was all right.
Buck, JD, Nathan, and Josiah were sitting at a table, enjoying a couple drinks when they heard the first shot. By the time they got outside, guns drawn, they could hear a gun fight going on somewhere near the jail.
Ezra's poker game ended quickly, the group all taking cover, while Ezra merely remained in his seat, watching the four men leave the tavern.
Motioning to the others, Buck had Josiah and Nathan head the long way around, to cut off any of the Black Gentleman's followers from escaping on that side of town, while Buck and JD made their way towards the jail, moving from cover to cover unsure of just how many men were in the town trying to help the Black Gentleman escape. Buck's eyes widened as he saw the group of men dressed in black on the street, who were apparently waiting for him and JD, since they opened fire immediately when the largest man amongst them pointed them out.
"Shit," Buck swore, leaping behind a water trough. "JD!"
"Right here!" Came JD's response, the younger man having dived behind several barrels.
Buck called out, as he fired a shot at the men in the street, around twenty of them, though the number dropped to nineteen as his bullet met its target, "We got to get to the jail and help Chris and Sara!"
"Don't you think I know that?" JD hollered back, managing to fire off two shots, before he ducked back behind the barrels, his own bullets finding their marks.
Josiah and Nathan moved as swiftly as they could towards the other side of town, staying off the main street, and trying to be as quiet as possible. They could hear the sounds of more gun fire, but there was nothing they could do yet, seeing as they were not within range to help their friends, yet.
Vin and Sara were kept pinned down behind their respective barrels, unable to even fire off their own shots at the men.
Sara stood up without warning, colt already cocked and fired off four shots, each one finding its designated target, as bullets from the men whizzed past her, millimeters away from her.
Vin's mouth hung open from the shock of her stupidity, or bravery, or a mix of both.
She had to duck down as one of the remaining three men took careful aim at her and fired. Vin watched her go down quickly, but he noticed her hand was touching her forehead, her hat lying a little ways away on the ground, and her eyes were wide with terror and shock.
Finishing up Sara's work, though it took a bit longer, Vin managed to gun down the remaining three men, before he hurried over to Sara, "You all right?"
"Yeah…" Sara said, shakily, getting to her feet and grabbing her hat.
Vin asked, "First time getting shot?"
"Yeah," Sara answered, this time her voice was steadier. "It just shook me up a bit. I'm fine. Let's go help Chris." She led the way, and Vin followed closely, keeping an eye on her and listening to the gun fire that was coming from the main street.
Buck swore once again as a bullet flew past a millimeter away from his face. He hollered, "How you holding up, JD?"
"How do you think I'm holding up?" JD snapped back, firing off a terrible shot as he ducked behind the barrels, narrowly escaping a bullet.
"Well, at least you're still alive!" Buck shouted, chuckling as he fired at the men in the street and a man fell to the ground.
Chris strained his ears for any sign of the door opening, trying to hear the sound above the gunfire. He was distracted as the Black Gentleman chuckled.
"You realize that this is how it always happens? A first, sloppy attempt at freeing me, and then the lawmen gunned down before I begin my killing spree," he chuckled once again.
"I wouldn't get too cocky," Chris said, in a low, deadly tone. "I have no intention of letting you get out of here alive."
"We'll see," the Black Gentleman said, his eyes going towards the door, as the handle started to turn slowly.
Josiah and Nathan made it to the other end of town, and started to make their way back towards the gun fight. The remaining sixteen men, including the larger man in the group, who had lowered his bandanna, revealing a handlebar mustache, and another, man, had lowered his bandanna as well, his face clean shaven, and his left arm dangling uselessly at his side. They were both keeping Buck and JD pinned down, the others in the group, firing more randomly.
Nathan and Josiah exchanged a quick glance, before they nodded at the other. With a piercing whistle, Josiah drew the attention of the sixteen men, who all turned around and stared in surprise at the pair, and for many, that was the last they saw as Josiah and Nathan fired, both of them hitting six men each, though the bullets weren't aimed to be fatal, the twelve men that did get hit went down, crying out in pain as they hit the ground.
The remaining four men dropped their guns as Buck and JD reminded them from behind that they still had loaded weapons, along with Sara and Vin, who came out of the alley.
Buck frowned as he spotted Sara and asked, "Where's, Chris?"
Chris followed the Black Gentleman's gaze and stood up, just as the door to the jail flew open, revealing a tall, lanky man dressed the usual black, with the same bandanna as the others as well. Chris fired, and the man clutched his hand, the gun he had been holding hitting the floor. When he made a grab at it, Chris fired his own gun again, getting the man in the shoulder. The man cried out again, now clutching his shoulder while Chris kicked the gun away from him.
The Black Gentleman looked livid now, "You haven't gotten the rest of my followers, they'll…!" His eyes practically bugged out of his head when he saw Josiah, Buck, Nathan, JD, and Sara come in, shoving the four men that they had captured in the street into the jail.
"You…you bastards!" The Black Gentleman shouted all pretense of calm gone as he called them all every name under the sun that he could think of as his five followers, including the one that Chris had shot were shoved one by one into the cell with him.
JD held the cell door closed, and looked back at Buck who was bringing him the key to lock the cell door.
Seeing his chance, the Black Gentleman rammed the door, causing JD to fall backwards, and he attempted to make his bid for freedom. All of them went to draw their guns, when a shot came from the door of the jail, the bullet hitting the Black Gentleman in the right knee. He crumpled to the ground, more oaths coming from him as he clutched his knee.
Buck hauled him roughly to his feet, causing the Black Gentleman to call him an asshole, among other things, and Buck shoved him into the cell, locking the door, before he helped JD to his feet. Before they both stared at the figure in the doorway along with the rest of them.
Ezra grinned at them, as he holstered his gun, "I figured you'd need my assistance at some point. I became worried when the sounds of gunfire seemed to be carrying on longer than usual around here."
"Figures you'd only come to help willingly when you were drunk, Ez," Buck said, grinning mischievously. Ezra scowled at him, but he didn't say anything against the statement either as the others laughed, all apart from Sara, whose expression was unreadable as she gazed at her father.
Early the next morning, the sun barely above the horizon, and a fog covering the land, Sara was untying her horse's reins from the hitching post, when a familiar southern accent came from the tavern, "You're up early this dreary morning."
Ezra stood just outside the tavern, watching his daughter, though he looked tired, "I figured you'd be up this early."
"I didn't think you were up this early," Sara grouched.
Ezra continued to look at her, "This morning I figured I should be."
"What's so important about this morning, Father?" Sara asked, glaring at him.
Ezra flinched when she said father, but he didn't appear fazed by her tone of voice, "I need to apologize for my behavior of the previous night. I understand how you must have felt when I demanded that you assist me." Sara's glare was still intense, but Ezra remained unfazed as he turned away from her, tipping his hat to her, "Well, that's all I had to say."
Blinking in surprise, a bit confused by her father's behavior, Sara mounted her horse, turning him away from the hitching post and starting to walk him away from the tavern. She pulled her horse to a halt, and gazed at the tavern for several more seconds, lost in her own thoughts, before she smiled slightly, and gave Gambler a gentle kick, the palomino moving into a swift trot.
From inside the tavern, Ezra watched his daughter, and he saw her slight smile, before she rode out of town. Ezra shook his head, a small smile on his own face, before he stepped outside again, heading towards the boarding house.
Sara was just at the edge of town, when a voice said, "Hold on young lady." She reined in Gambler, and glanced back at Judge Travis, obviously surprised to see him.
"You did well last night," he said. "Better than many men, from what I've been told. I'm willing to offer you a position as one of the defenders of this town, though I can only pay you fifty cents a day and free room and board at the boarding house."
Sara stared at her horse's white mane for several seconds, before she turned to Judge Travis, "I think I'll take you up on that offer, Judge." With that, she released her hold on the reins, and Gambler took off at a gallop, leaving a cloud of dust behind him.
Judge Travis chuckled as he watched her form get smaller and smaller, "An intriguing young woman."