Bart merely stood and listened to his brother as Bret explained his plan. As soon as the older brother stopped talking, the younger brother began forcefully shaking his head 'no.' "Absolutely not. It's too risky. There's no way we can protect you."
Ginny nodded in agreement. "It's too much of a chance, Bret. They'd have no reason to keep you alive once they got the formula from you."
Bret kept right on grinning. "They'll have to if they think that Bart knows, too. I hafta do it. It's the only chance we've got."
"No." It was Bart again, and he was insistent.
"I agree," Ginny stated flatly. "No."
"Agent Malone," Bret began, "we need to find out who's behind all the trouble, includin' the murder of three different women. There's no other way to do that. Arthur Stansbury would approve my plan; you know he would. That's what we're here for, to find the boss and break the gamblin' ring. No other solution is acceptable. What I've proposed will work, whether you both like it or not. Or do you want to stay here forever, beatin' our heads against a wall?"
"No, no, no," Bart kept repeating. Ginny slumped down into the nearest chair and stared at the man she'd come to care a good deal about. Much as she didn't want to, the longer she watched him the more she found herself agreeing with the course of action he'd proposed. Long minutes later she addressed his plan. Her voice was soft and steady when she spoke.
"I hate it. I despise it. It's the very last thing I want you to do." Pause. "But I agree with you. It'll work. And we have to try."
"I won't agree to it." Bart turned and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
"Your brother is stubborn."
Bret laughed tiredly. "No more so than I am. He's worried, Ginny, that's all. He'll come around. He has to."
"Don't be so sure about that, Bret."
XXXXXXXX
Bart Maverick was more than worried about the welfare of his brother. For once in his life he was truly frightened and feared the worst – that Bret's plan, if executed properly, would lead to nothing but death. Bret's death.
Bart wasn't about to let that happen. While he logically agreed with everything that 'Pappy' outlined, he had no intention of allowing the steps to be taken the way Bret wanted to take them. Rather, he had no intention of allowing the steps of the plan to be taken by the person who intended to take them. And the only way Bart could see to prevent Bret from going ahead with his plan was to do what no one expected – execute the plan himself.
He had to act immediately. If he wasted any time at all it would give his brother a chance to find out who was behind the gambling consortium – and get himself killed. If somebody had to die, he didn't intend for it to be his older brother.
Bart hurried to his room and strapped on his gun belt. Then he slipped off his coat and donned the shoulder holster that he sometimes wore, checking to make sure the derringer was loaded. Just to be safe, he slipped his single shot derringer into his vest pocket, put his coat back on and headed for the door that led, eventually, to the stables.
There was no one around, and he wasted no time in picking a horse and saddling it himself. Before anyone could stop him or even ask where he was going, he was mounted and on his way out of the barn and down the road – towards Sherman Caulfield's estate.
XXXXXXXX
Bret found his way from the office that the three 'agents' had met in, down to Bart's room, where he knocked on the door and waited for an answer. There was none forthcoming, and he knocked again, this time following the knock with his entrance into the bedroom. The room was empty. He searched to see if he could find Bart's gun belt or his derringer. There was no trace of a weapon in the room and a cold fear gripped Bret's heart – he knew exactly what that meant. Bart had taken his guns and headed out to prevent Bret from doing the very thing he'd suggested – playing a hunch and confronting the man they'd come to suspect as being behind the murders and mayhem.
He turned to leave the bedroom and found Ginny standing in the doorway. From the look on her face she knew exactly what had happened; she appeared almost as worried as Bret was. "He's gone, isn't he?"
The older brother nodded. "Yep. And I'm goin' after him."
"Then I'm going with you," Malone answered. Bret didn't argue, just nodded his head.
"Come on, my guns in the other room." He brushed past her and headed for their room, with the agent practically on his heels. "Let's go get him before he gets himself killed."
"I think that's what he was trying to prevent you from doin'."
Bret chuckled ironically as he got to their bedroom and began strapping on his gun belt. "Time for you to say 'I told you so,' ain't it?"
"About his not comin' around, you mean?"
"Exactly."
"Not gonna say that, Bret."
Bret grabbed his derringer and stuck it in his coat pocket. "Why not? You were right. I shoulda known he'd try somethin' like this. If I'd thought far enough ahead I coulda prevented it."
There was a melancholy tone to his words, and Ginny knew how mad he was that he hadn't anticipated this move by his brother. She caught him by the arm and made him stop and face her. "It's not your fault, Bret. He wants to keep you safe, just like you wanna keep him safe. Don't blame yourself because he caught you off-guard."
He pulled away from Agent Malone and headed out the door. "Then let's go save him from himself – or anybody else."
XXXXXXXX
It was past midnight when Bart got to Sherman Caulfield's ranch. There were still lights on inside but everything was quiet, and there was no sign of anyone unexpected at the house. Bart dismounted and tied up his horse, then went to the front door and made his presence known by pounding on it.
It took a few minutes, but Carrie White eventually answered the knocking. "Yes, sir?"
Bart didn't wait to be asked in. He brushed past the still half-asleep housekeeper before turning back to her. "Tell Caulfield that Bart Maverick's here. I have to see him. Now."
"Yes, sir," came the answer, and the young woman disappeared behind what could only be assumed to be Sherman's office door. She was back out almost as quickly. "What is this about, Mr. Maverick?"
"Life, death, and a whole lotta money," Bart answered her as he stepped past her and into the office, closing the door behind him.
Sherman Caulfield rose from behind his desk, looking perturbed but curious. "What is this about, Mr. Maverick?"
The gambler's answer came quickly, and stopped Sherman Caulfield cold. "Gambling debts and beer formulas, Mr. Caulfield, and your involvement with both of them. We have a lot to talk about."