A/N: If there's any incoherence in the story, please let me know. Sometimes I don't realize what I'm writing doesn't make any sense haha!
Thank you for the reviews you guys! You're awesome! :D
Disclaimer: I do not own GMW otherwise Maya would be kicking asses for real.
Lucas flagged Billy, disguised as the bartender, for a refill of his bourbon, keeping his eyes on the rowdy man a few tables away, mistreating one of the blonde whores. Billy passed the drink and nodded subtly to Lucas before continuing his rounds of cleaning the counter.
Lucas watched Davis discreetly from his secluded spot at the bar. He had been watching him like a hawk all evening. Through Billy's careful and extended observation and recon, he had discovered that the mayor would show up at the Bull's Sleaze that evening to meet Davis to discuss some affairs of the town. So Lucas had perched himself at the bar, biding his time until Mayor Jed would ultimately show up.
His plan had been fullproof. Wait until the two men got too intoxicated to function on booze and women, and then make his move as they retired for the night. He'd been waiting almost fourteen years to exact his revenge and put a bullet through that motherfucker's head. To ensure he could easily carry out his plan in full, Billy was lying in wait to get the mayor's men out of the way.
It had been the perfect plan.
At least until some idiot thought it was a good idea to attack Davis, and take his woman.
Lucas recognized the short boy as the blonde son of the Matthews family. As the head ranch hand at the Minkus horse ranch, Lucas was in charge of selling and buying horses and providing provisions to various farms and ranches. He'd seen the eldest son of the Matthews come and go in the past but had never actually spoken to him until recently. Lucas had conversed with him for the first time a few months ago when Cory Matthews had asked him to stop by so he could buy some of the foals and colts. While Lucas had been observing the baby horses, he had watched Cory's son climb out of an upstairs window and sneak to the stables.
When he realized Lucas had seen him, he had all but bitten his head off.
"Not a word of this to my papa, you hear?"
Lucas stared at him, amused that a kid who barely topped his shoulders was speaking to him as if he was a bug under his feet. His voice even still held that effeminate quality of a boy who had not yet hit manhood.
"Did you hear me?" he repeated roughly, blue eyes acute and glinting.
"Crystal clear." Lucas turned away, chuckling to himself, "Not a word to your papa."
From what he knew about Mr. Matthews, Lucas was fairly certain he would not approve of his son spending evenings in a seedy bar. And now the overzealous kid had gotten himself in a bad situation.
Not only was the kid being held at gunpoint by Davis, but the mayor had shown up and shit had really hit the fan when he decided to shoot him. Lucas watched the exchange, his blood boiling as he stared at Jedediah. Lucas wanted nothing more than to off him now and fulfill his wish for revenge, but he couldn't just sit and watch someone get killed for being decent.
Sighing in irritation, knowing he was setting himself up for disaster, Lucas pulled his black hat down so it covered most of his upper face and ambled over, past some gawking people staring at the mayor. He was certain Billy was watching him in confusion, wondering what the hell he was doing and why he was deviating from the plan. And if Lucas really thought about it, he wasn't certain himself. He only hoped to God that the mayor wouldn't recognize him. It had been more than a decade since they'd seen each other, but he didn't want to take any chances.
He stopped when he reached the confrontation, a little bit in front of the Matthews boy.
"Now, now gentlemen. There's no need for violence."
The mayor's eyes remained on the boy, an unsettling glare in them, though he addressed Lucas. "Move along cowboy. This ain't any of your business."
"But this is my business. This here boy is my brother. I can't let you off him." Behind him, the blonde boy scoffed in annoyance. Lucas grit his teeth, fighting the urge to tell him to shut up. He was trying to help!
The mayor's shrewd gaze turned to Lucas then, "I see. Then are you suggesting that you'll instead take your brother's punishment?"
Lucas met his gaze from the side, returning it with a challenging one of his own, "I'm saying you should put your gun away. Before someone gets hurt."
"Oh?" Mayor Jed grinned, no mirth in his expression, "Are you threatening your mayor?"
Lucas' eyes narrowed, and he slowly slid his hand to his hip, preparing for what he knew was about to come.
"I'm willing to do whatever it takes to protect my family."
"Good to know." The mayor replied cryptically.
In the next second, Lucas yanked out his stolen pistol from the morning and aimed it at the mayor, Davis pointed his gun at Lucas, and the Matthews' son pulled out his own Colt and aimed it at Davis. Out of the corner of his eye, Lucas watched Billy also pull out his guns and aim at the mayor and another official standing a little ways away, which then made the mayor's men in his entourage point their guns at the three. In quick succession, other patrons of the bar quickly removed their guns, aiming at various people.
Everyone remained frozen in place, glaring at one another, no one making the first move quite yet. The women in the room squealed and hit the ground, escaping out of the lounge to head to the safety of their rooms in the back. Lucas saw the blonde woman the Matthews boy had protected escape and heard him sigh in relief beside him.
"You know how to use that gun?" Lucas questioned to the short blonde next to him.
"You… What the hell are you doing?" He growled in response, his gaze switching back and forth between the mayor and Davis, "I don't need your damn help."
Lucas' brows furrowed, "Really? Cuz from the looks of things, I'd say you definitely do."
"Well I don't." he said haughtily, finger twitching on the trigger.
"Right…" Lucas drawled, glancing quickly at Billy. Billy briefly returned his look with a confused frown.
A lone bead of sweat dripped down Lucas' forehead. He swallowed thickly, counting how many of the mayor's men or supporters were in the bar. Most of them he could tell were poor shots, but that didn't mean that a stray bullet couldn't get him if he was careless. He knew Billy would have his back and get most of the people behind him, but Lucas wasn't exactly sure how helpful he himself could be. He hadn't loaded the stolen gun yet and had only one bullet. He did have his knives in his boots, but against a gun, they would be next to useless. Didn't inspire any confidence.
He took a quick glance at the boy next to him. Lucas didn't know how good a shot this kid was, but it was starting to look like he would have to rely on him in some way. First things first, Lucas had to make sure he didn't get his head blown off by Davis or Mayor Jed though.
"Hey you." the blonde boy said.
Lucas rose a brow, "What?"
"...Sorry about this. No hard feelings."
Then before Lucas could respond or even figure out what he meant, the Matthews kid pulled his trigger and shot Davis in the stomach. Davis hit the ground with a loud cry, and the kid dropped to the floor, hiding behind an upturned table. That was all it took for the entire room to explode in a barrage of bullets, shouts, and sounds of breaking glass.
Lucas dove to the floor, sliding out of the way of the mayor's gun. He rolled under a table, watching as bullets whizzed past his body, hitting other people or wedging themselves innocuously into furniture. A man was punched in the face and crashed onto Lucas' table, causing the wood to splinter with the force. Lucas crouched and raced past the cluster of fighting people, avoiding thrown bottles and remains of glass on the ground. Two grappling men stumbled towards the window, before hitting it with enough force to break a large hole in it as they tumbled outside into the humid night air.
Lucas leapt over the bar counter, taking refuge behind it near Billy's legs. Billy fired off his two pistols at once, shooting down a couple of the mayor's lackeys.
"What the fuck were you thinking Lucas?!" Billy shouted over the noise, "The mayor's getting away!"
"I know dammit!" Lucas growled, "I wasn't thinking. I was trying to help that kid."
"That's great you know." Billy said sarcastically, tossing Lucas his other pistol. "You know that kid is running away on his own right?"
Lucas snatched it up and stood up, shooting down people along with Billy. He watched in disbelief as the Matthews kid climbed out of the busted window without a backwards glance and tore off. A few seconds later, he heard the loud whinnying of a horse and saw him escape into the night on his coal coloured horse.
"You fucking kidding me?" Lucas muttered under his breath. He'd been trying to help the little shit and he ditched them without a second thought.
"Lucas, I don't have that many bullets left." Billy looked around worriedly, searching for an escape path. "We need to get the fuck out of here."
Lucas didn't have many bullets left either. But before they left, he had to get the mayor. He had to at least get his target. He'd waited for so long to finally kill the son of a bitch. He'd be damned if his shot was lost because of this mess.
"I know." Lucas replied, "Where's the mayor?"
He searched frantically through the mess of men and boys fighting like animals, but couldn't find the hefty build of the mayor. He could only see the mayor's men, but Jedediah Carson was nowhere to be found. He had probably escaped while Lucas had been trying to avoid getting shot by any bullets.
He was gone.
"Dammit!" Lucas shouted, just as he ran out of bullets.
He dropped to the ground behind the counter, throwing away the useless pistol. Billy plopped down next to him shortly after, breathing hard. He tossed his gun away too.
"Well that's it." Billy said, "What do we do?"
"Fuck, I don't know." Lucas kicked the adjacent wall in irritation. He had lost the mayor and was now stuck in this shit of a situation with no way to get out.
"We could make a run for it?"
"And get our asses pumped full of bullets? No thanks, Billy."
And then they heard the sound of guns cocking above their heads. Swallowing thickly, Billy and Lucas glanced at each other before slowly looking up. The barrel of several guns and rifles were being pointed at them by deputies from the counter of the bar. Among the turds of men was Sheriff Holstein looking entirely too smug for his own good.
"Hands in the air boys." He smirked, "It's over."
They stood up slowly, walking around out of the bar with their hands in the air. The saloon was in absolute disarray and tatters. Tables were crushed under the weight of burly men. Furniture was strewn all over the room. Shattered glass littered the floor. Various men were groaning and moaning on the ground. It was a catastrophe.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't Billy Ross." The sheriff grinned, "I was wondering how the hell you managed to escape this morning but I'm guessing you had help from this fellow. How wonderful is it that you ended up right back in my custody."
Lucas rolled his eyes, wanting nothing more than to shut him up permanently. What was it about the officials always getting so cocky when they thought they had won? If he and Billy hadn't been outnumbered by more than nine guns, they could easily kick his ass and get away.
"We're gonna hang you properly this time." Holstein got up in Billy's face, a nefarious sneer on his lips, "And when you're gone, I'm gonna take that whore bitch of yours, and I'm gonna fuck her good."
Billy snarled ferociously and reared back his fist, punching Holstein straight in the nose. He recoiled with a loud cry, stumbling backwards into the arms of an unprepared deputy. They tumbled to the ground in a flurry of limbs. Lucas snorted, watching the spectacle in amusement until two deputies jabbed the butt of their rifles into both their stomachs. Lucas and Billy grunted, doubling over in pain. Holstein stood and straightened, holding his nose to keep the blood from dripping and glared at them.
"You think you're so tough but no one's going to save you when you're going to be hanged." He spun around angrily, his voice sounding nasally from his busted up nose. "Tie them up and take them to the jail."
Lucas and Billy's wrists were bound with rope and then they were dragged through town to the jail on the far south side of town. Billy was seething, while Lucas tried to think of some way to get out of this mess. But as they were shoved into adjacent cells, Lucas began to grow apprehensive. He still didn't have a plan. And he always had a plan.
An old man in the cell across from Lucas diddled himself, and Lucas turned away in disgust, slumping against the wall. It was decrepit in here. It smelled like feces and the ground was cold and wet from some unknown liquid. Only a few men remained in the cells. No one who went to jail stayed very long. They were usually hanged by the end of the week at the latest.
"You're lucky we've got a bit of a backlog on hangings." Sheriff Holstein growled before slamming the cell door and locking it. "You've got about a day left in your miserable lives."
As the cell doors closed in front of him and Billy, the only thought going through Lucas' mind was that he was going to kill that little blonde idiot for getting him in this mess in the first place.