Quick and the Dead

Chapter Twelve

Vin, Buck, and J.D. were finishing saddling their horses and preparing to leave when the noon stage came rolling in and within a few minutes, three people stepped out, one of whom was Judge Travis. Buck couldn't help, but shake his head at their luck that the man they were hoping to avoid would happen to show up right then.

The three lawmen simply ignored him until the judge noticed the men as the cowboy and sheriff mounted their horses, walked over to them, and then asked, "Gentlemen, and where are we off too? It looks as though you're planning on being gone for longer than an afternoon."

Vin nodded as he too mounted his own horse, then replied, "That's right, Judge. An urgent matter has come to our attention."

"And what about the rest of you?" the older man asked again as his daughter and grandson joined him in the street. "They don't appear to be around here either. I expected you boys here for the duration of the tournament. There needs to be law around to dissuade the ruffians from seeking any kind of retaliation."

"Don't worry, Judge," Mary quickly said as she placed her hands on her father's shoulders. "We've got it all under control."

Buck continued to explain as he spoke up saying, "Chris and the others went out last night in search of Ezra, who ran out of here in a hurry. Some stranger, who's also on the run, had him pretty spooked and we believe it was for good reason. We're just trying to piece it all together."

Vin cut in as he said, "We need to get goin'. One of us is in trouble. If you want to know what we know so far, talk to the man you hired to be this town's newest bank manager. You'll find him in the jail in his own private cell. He's the one that started this whole mess."

"Joseph Higgins?" Travis stated in confusion. "What does he have to do with this? He is highly qualified and I've met the man. I like him and he came rec…"

"Recommended, we know," J.D. interrupted angrily. "Just talk to him. Ask him what he did to Ezra, then tell us that you still like 'im. Let's git out of here."

Judge Travis watched the three men ride off, then turned to his daughter and asked, "Is what they're sayin' true? Standish really is in trouble?"

Mary nodded and answered, "Yes Judge. And I'm worried that when the others find Mr. Standish that they'll be in trouble too."

"Don't worry, darlin'," he responded as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her on the head. "They'll all be just fine."

Just outside of Purgatory…

Tom Owens and four other men with him, escorted the three bound and blinded lawmen, who had come out in search of the gambler brought to their boss earlier by another group of their men. The ride through the desert was long and hot. Luckily, the prisoners were given enough water to sustain them on the trek, but by the time their horses came to a final stop, having arrived at their destination, Chris, Nathan, and Josiah were weary, though still on guard for a fight should it be necessary for them in order to escape once they find their missing friend.

Finally, Owens' men dragged the lawmen down from their horses and ripped off their blindfolds so that they could walk without more than a push in the right direction as they made their way toward a large farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. The area was unrecognizable for the prisoners, which was exactly what Ellstin Lafayette wanted when he found this land to hide on.

"Nice home," Chris spoke cynically before anyone had the chance to say anything else. "I'm guessing that your boss didn't acquire this place legally."

The Black stranger responsible for all their troubles walked out onto the front porch of the homestead and upon hearing the Seven's leader's remarks, he replied, "You are very shrewd, Chris Larabee, isn't it?"

Chris glared at the man before him as he and his friends were dragged toward the structure, wrists still bound in front of them, then he answered sternly, "That's right. And you must be Ellstin Lafayette. Where's Ezra?"

"Right to the point," Ellstin responded mockingly. "I like that, I really do. I have to say I was wondering if you and your boys would actually come. Ezra didn't believe you would. The man loves to talk. He acts smug and conceited, but I can see right through him. He doesn't really have that high of an opinion of himself."

"That's because of scum like you," Josiah replied coldly.

Lafayette nodded in agreement, then answered, "Perhaps so, but I think it might also be because the men that claim to be his friends never saw him as anything more than what he allows you to."

Nathan cut off the argument as he called out, "Enough talk! Bring us to him now! I want to make sure he's alright."

"Don't worry, gentlemen," the man now walking in front of them responded as he and the rest of the criminals escorted them inside the farmhouse to a room upstairs where they discovered the seventh member of their team, sitting down in a chair pulled up to a large, round table in front of him, an armed guard standing behind him with a gun now pointed at the back of his head as the other lawmen entered. "As you can see, he's perfectly fine, except perhaps a slight headache from one of my men knocking him unconscious for his journey here."

"Are you alright, Ezra?" Josiah asked the Southern gambler as he focused on the smaller man while the armed men surrounding them worked on tethering the other three's wrists high above them to separate hooks hanging down from the ceiling and left the room, leaving the four lawmen alone, except for the one man still holding his gun on the conman.

Ezra shook his head in disdain and replied, "I am not exactly enjoying the company and as our host has been so keen to observe, I've got a rather pounding headache, but despite all of that, Mr. Jackson, I am about as well as can be expected. You shouldn't be here. I warned Mr. Tanner and Mr. Wilmington that this matter was something for me to deal with on my own, and that should you come after me… These men won't hesitate to kill each of you! Why did you have to come here, for me of all people?"

Chris answered in frustration, "Because, despite how obstinate and pigheaded you can be, you are still one of us."

"You're wrong, Mr. Larabee," Ezra responded sadly. "I thought for a fleeting moment that I could be, but I was a fool. You need to find an escape, then leave this dismal place before you get yourselves killed."

"Damn it, Ezra, now is not the time to start acting all noble and self-sacrificing," Nathan said angrily, though not really being angry at him, understanding the reasons now for how the conman truly felt. "We're all going to get out of here."

It was then that Ellstin came back into the room as he replied, "It's possible that a few of you might walk away from here alive, but that all depends on Ezra's skills as a gambler."

Ezra glared coldly at the man now towering over him as he spoke in confusion saying, "I beg your pardon?"

"How would you like to play a few rounds of cards with me, as we would have done were we in that small town of yours for the tournament?" Lafayette asked as he took a seat in the chair across from Ezra, whose eyes remained steadfast on his enemy from his past. "And while we play, perhaps we can share stories about how you and I met when you were just a child."

"As much as I may enjoy gambling under normal circumstances, I refuse to play with a man as vial such as yourself," Ezra answered coolly.

Ellstin smiled and responded, "Even if the stakes are the lives of your friends? I have three of them, Ezra. So we will play three rounds. If you win the first one, I will set free one friend of your own choosing, completely unharmed, and so on and so forth… What do you say now?"

Ezra looked between each of his friends, then finally turned back to the man before him and replied, "I may gamble with other people's money, my own, as well as my own life, but I never have, nor will I ever wager the lives of another human being, least of all the men I consider my friends. They can take care of themselves. My answer is no. You will have to kill me."

"Even if I threaten to kill one of them right now in front of you instead?" the Black Southerner asked as he pulled out his gun and aimed it directly between Chris' eyes and cocked back its hammer. "Your precious leader perhaps?"

"You can do this, Ez," Chris said confidently, though he felt fear for what this might do to their friend, especially if he were to lose.

Josiah added, "We have complete faith in your abilities, brother, and in you."

Nathan nodded in agreement as Ezra looked over at him as well, then he turned back to his enemy and answered, "Very well, I accept your terms, but I will need some assurances that my friends will indeed be set free unharmed. Do we have an agreement?"

"Agreed," he responded. "Let's begin. This is going to be fun."

"Perhaps for one of us," Ezra stated calmly, refusing to let his own fear show, like he always hid behind the mask he kept in place.