Fisk

What had possessed me to think I should run into the mines? The moment Belmont was off me I should have run back the way I came. Back towards Portman's men, but instead I'd panicked. Like an idiot I'd bolted away and led myself into a cave with no lighting at all and not a single man waiting to help me if I needed it.

I had stopped running after tripping over a stone, and was trying my best to keep quiet as I attempted to catch my breath, crawling along the floor of the mines and feeling the walls for a lamp that might have been left hanging. I could hear Belmont not too far behind, and I didn't know if I was more worried about what that meant for Michael or myself.

No. Michael would be fine. Probably. He went over a cliff and lived. He was too stubborn to die. And there hadn't been enough time for Belmont to suffocate him. He would be fine and I just had to make sure I lived long enough to verify that.

My hands found smooth metal. I felt the object I'd stumbled upon, and confirmed for myself that it was a phosphor moss lamp. Belmont's footsteps were audible, and I didn't dare open it and give my location away. I would use it later. Once I'd put more distance between myself and him. Maybe come day time when the miners came and I needed one of them to find me. I could only hope Belmont would give up by then. He hadn't seen any of the sheriff's men, had he? If he thought it was my word against his, he might leave without killing me.

And where exactly were those men? I'd spotted two within shouting distance of the mine, and that was on top of the tail. Had they stopped to grab Michael? If so then hopefully Portman would keep his word. Hopefully when they found my body they would realize Michael wasn't behind it. Because without him or any deputies, I stood no chance against Belmont.

It would be best not to have to face him, then. Hoping there wasn't another lamp left behind, I put the metal handle between my teeth to carry the one I'd found and resumed crawling away from the entrance.

Something thumped behind me, and a string of curses went up, then the footsteps stopped.

"Fisk?"

Did he honestly think I would answer him?

"Come out, Fisk. There's only one entrance."

I'd assumed as much. That was the way my luck often went.

"Give up. No one will blame me. Your friend is a killer, and I saw him here tonight. You were coming to meet with him." He paused, giving me enough time to realize he meant he could frame himself as a concerned citizen trying to protect the town from my dangerous self. "Someone's already caught him. He won't be coming to your aid."

Portman had better keep his word. And hopefully Aaron would testify on our side when I turned up dead. Even if he didn't know who we were trying to draw out, he at least knew that I had been looking to bait a killer who definitely wasn't Michael.

And hopefully someone other than Belmont would be translating for him when he hopefully told the sheriff that. I would prefer he give an account that made it clear that Belmont was my killer, but if he wasn't going to hang for killing me then I'd settle for at least having Michael cleared of suspicion.

My hand found a hole, and I slipped. My body crashed to the ground, the metal lap clanging against the stone floor as my head smacked against something wood. I gave myself a moment to feel it and determine that it was a ladder before I heard Belmont's footsteps again.

Down the ladder it was, then. It wasn't like anyone who might need to be able to find me was coming to my rescue.

I slipped down as quietly as I could, and once I was down I stepped out from under where I guessed the hole above me was. I hadn't realized I'd forgotten something important until I heard metal clatter against stone, and wasn't surprised when a light lit above me moments later.

It would have been better if I'd left the lamp where I found it.

With a bit of light now showing my surroundings, I took a quick look around. There was only one path, and it didn't look like it went far. Without the lamp, I might be able to sneak around Belmont, climb back up, and run back towards town. Unfortunately, Belmont had the lamp.

"I'm sorry for this, Fisk."

I saw a foot step onto the ladder. It wasn't like there was much sense in hiding my location now.

"I'm sure you are. And you're sorry for Harold too? And Michael. He didn't do anything wrong."

"He's unredeemed. He did something wrong."

If I could, I would have knocked the ladder over, but I could see that the mouth of the hole wasn't wide enough to do anything worse than make it swing a few feet the other direction, and the base wasn't wide enough to kick it out and have it fall more than a few feet. If Belmont didn't have a firm grip he might lose his balance and fall. The drop might even kill him, which I could live with if it meant him not killing me. But then I had no idea if we could get Aaron to argue our case if I killed his father figure, and unlike Michael I might not get off with an unredeemed mark.

But then I also might get off even lighter. And Belmont was going to kill me for sure. I grabbed the ladder and threw my weight against it, hoping to knock it down.

It began to swing out, and Belmont moved up two rungs and grabbed the floor above.

Kicking the ladder out with him holding to the floor above, then, could have worked. Had it not been resting on an outcrop of stone that wouldn't budge, I might have been able to knock the ladder out from under him.

"Give it up. We know how this is going to end," Belmont said. "The quicker we can get this over with, the faster I'll make it for you."

Something thumped, and he looked up beyond the hole. Was someone coming after all?

"How painful did you make it for Harold?" I demanded. Not that I cared too much about Harold, but Aaron would care. If one of the sheriff's men came and heard Belmont admitting to killing Harold, that might help ensure that Aaron was on our side when it came time for a trial. And if it was Michael then I risked nothing in having him hear, save for perhaps some teasing about how he knew I was a good man. I could live with that. Mostly I just wanted to live.

He didn't answer, so I tried to throw my weight against the ladder again. It wouldn't knock him over, but it would keep him from coming down. He might even climb back up, if I was lucky.

But he held where he was, so I decided to push my luck from another angle. "No one believed Harold. He had a whole year to tell people about Aaron, and no one believed him. And Sanders was drunk. He was even less believable. Neither of them had to die. You wanted them dead."

"And you?" Belmont demanded. "The more people who try to tell the world about Aaron, the more people will listen."

"Then maybe you shouldn't have framed Michael. And I would have had no reason to tell anyone it was Aaron that Sanders saw." I had been steadily raising my voice, and was relieved to see that while Belmont hadn't done the same, he at least hadn't grown quiet, or even fallen silent, as someone else did indeed approach. I was even more relieved to see that the someone who came and stood over the hole, looking down on Belmont and myself, was Michael.

He waved, and I remembered that Michael wasn't completely in his right mind just then, and was a little less relieved.

If he wasn't thinking as clearly as he should, then I would have to think for both of us and keep Belmont from noticing him.

"That's the worst of it," I shouted up. "You didn't want to protect Aaron. You wanted to get even with Harold. If he really was a threat, you would have done something about him right away, rather than wait until someone you could easily frame passed through town."

"Maybe you should have kept going when you passed through, then," Belmont said. "Let go of the ladder, Fisk. All you're doing is stalling."

A second head, one in a deputy uniform, appeared beside Michael's.

"You're right," I told him. "I am stalling."

The deputy allowed Belmont a full second to stare in confusion before clearing his throat and saying, "Sir, I think you need to come with me."

Belmont turned to look up at the man so fast the ladder jumped, and I was a little sorry to see that he still didn't fall.

"Me too?" Michael asked, which made the man widen his eyes in alarm. Michael, it seemed, did have to come too, which made for one man to escort two murder suspects.

"Michael, help him hold Belmont," I shouted up. "I'll be there to help once the ladder's clear."

Belmont, to his credit, made no move to resist. He might be able to get away with killing Michael or myself, but there was no way to explain the extra victim, and with my declaration that I was going to expose Aaron, it was easy to assume that he was the one the deputy had come to watch for. I saw no reason to let him know that thanks to my story it was Michael that would take the blame for a dead deputy, and I hoped the deputy wouldn't give this away either. At least not until we were past any of the men who were hopefully still at their stations, watching to see if Michael might pass by looking for me.

They hauled him up, and all three patiently waited for me to climb too.

"How soon will Portman hear about this?" I asked as I crawled up. Now that I was no longer in danger, I noticed how badly my jaw ached, and felt a bit of blood upon rubbing it. Hopefully I wouldn't end up with a scar to match Michael's.

"We'll tell him once he's awake," the deputy said, looking increasingly uncertain. "We'll have to hold the two for now."

"You heard all that?"

"I heard enough."

I nodded. "Michael, can you stay put in a cell for one night?"

Michael had the nerve to look affronted when he said, "Of course I can."

"Of course you can," I repeated. "Of course you can, Noble Sir. So I wonder why you didn't in the first place."

If he hadn't run off, that would have left me with no good excuse to get Portman's help in catching Belmont. But I was sure I would have thought of something. Something that didn't end with me hiding in a hole, certain I was going to die.

I didn't bother to mention any of this. I could already guess his reaction would be to point out that the worst I'd gotten was a bloodied chin. Risk didn't mean much to Michael after the fact. And there was little sense in starting an argument. The longer we bickered, the longer the deputy was likely to stand stupidly and watch, rather than leading Belmont out and collecting backup to hold the giant.

The longer I'd be around Belmont too, and I certainly didn't want that. I would tell Michael off again for breaking out later. Once we were both free to go. And maybe once he was fully back to himself, and able to appreciate what an idiot he'd been, too.