Almost at the end, guys. You're all wondering how things are gonna tie up and, well, I don't think anyone's hit the nail on the head just yet… I listened to the Button Down Brass Band cover of 'Tequila' for when things got… exciting here.

Anyhoo, here's the next chapter – A Funny Happenstance.

Rhodes, Scarlett Meadows, LE

11th July, 1902

The sun was rising when Sam Washington rode on the wagon with Old Man Mercer, who was still recovering from the beating he'd received at the hands of the Davenport's thug. It was the last of their cattle they'd sold – all for a couple hundred dollars. It would've been a good price if they could buy more cattle, but everything they made was going directly to the Davenports. Sam didn't know how they'd make money and, if he was being honest, he didn't think Mercer knew either.

Shelby plucked a bottle of moonshine from the crate on his bar and uncorked it, bringing the glass to his nose and sniffing, closing his eyes and smiling. "Is that… raspberry I'm smelling?" He asked, looking at the man that sat against the bar, chewing tobacco and shrugging. "And… thyme, perchance?" The man continued to chew with an open mouth. "Ah, curse you and your eternal silence, Leonardo, you truly do keep me on my toes…" Shelby poured himself a glass and gestured to his bartender, who picked up the crate and began to stock away the glasses. "So, that's, what… twenty dollars?" Shelby asked Leonardo, who remained silent, still chewing. "Oh, okay, you rascal – twenty-five!" He waved a hand to the bartender and then walked down to one of the booths, lying down and drinking from his bottle.

What a God-given nectar, rendering him to his stupor of fevered dreams and wanton temptations… it was a beverage that lifted him up into transcendent euphoria… or perhaps that was just the opium.

Shelby closed his eyes and was about to drift into a dream of a memory of several men that lay about in a room clouded with opium smoke, half-naked and vacant, when he heard a gunshot crack inside the room.

He leapt up, rubbing his head and crumpling into a foetal position when he heard a grizzled chuckle. Opening his eyes, Shelby saw none other than Thomas Cooper standing there, laughing, as he holstered his silver Schofield.

"Oh," Shelby pouted, pushing himself up to his feet, "aren't you just the poster-boy for a gung-ho attitude…"

"What?" Shelby frowned with a large smile.

"Spend a little time in Saint Denis," Shelby spat the words at him before snatching up his bottle of shine, "or read a book!"

"Reading rots the brain." Thomas shrugged. "For someone who fucks like a woman, you sure sulk like a child."

"While you talk like a Neanderthal and look like a troglodyte," Shelby slurred, leaning on the bar. "Trust the limey to talk about fucking women and children sulking in the same sentence."

Shelby pulled a cigarette out of his carton and sat it between his lips, masked by his bushy grey beard. "I don't know what that means…"

"Nor do I, but it means something!" Shelby swept his hair back and breathed deeply. "Why are you intruding on my sanctuary? Have you come to put a gun in my mouth again? Or…" Shelby slowly turned around, raising an eyebrow suggestively.

"Shut up," Cooper groaned.

"Make me." Shelby sipped his moonshine.

"No-one can find your brother."

"Which one?"

"Ambrose."

"Ah…" Shelby put the glass down. "Big bad Ambie… he's probably with the Brotherhood- speaking of…" Shelby pointed to the wall of his saloon. "Why is there blood on my walls?"

Thomas Cooper seemingly hadn't heard him. "He's not with the Brotherhood. Last we heard, he went out with some of the retainers to see to the Brody Boys…"

"Rotten shame, that…" Shelby said, somewhat disappointed. He'd found them so amusing… though it was nothing a bit of moonshine couldn't fix – like ointment for a burn.

"Mr. Floyd is to come to town and repay his debts. As Mr. Davenport is busy with the riverboat this evening, I've come to tell you-"

"Yes, yes, yes…" Shelby waved a hand. "I'll meet the old codger – anything else?" Shelby walked towards the bar and took a bottle of shine for himself. "Oh, you're gon'… okay."

Thomas made his way towards the door. "He's to arrive at twelve o'clock by the general store."

At high noon, Rune and Aiden walked down the high street of Rhodes. Aiden kept his hand close to his revolver as his eyes darted across all the windows. So many places for snipers and riflemen to be hiding in – if the Davenports knew that they were coming…

"Alright…" Rune murmured as the leant against a pole outside the undertaker's. "Keep an eye out, son, we don't want them to be slipping away any time soon…" Rune glanced to him, "you'll recognize this fella?" Aiden responded with a curt nod. "You alright, son?"

"Fine."

Rune narrowed his eyes for a moment before turning his attention back to the doors of the buildings. He pulled out his pipe and began to stuff it with tobacco as Aiden pulled a cigarette from his carton, the two of them sharing a match.

Aiden turned away to breathe out a puff of smoke and saw, walking down the street, a schoolteacher and a gaggle of schoolkids. Aiden licked his lips as he looked back to the general store, watching the door open and none other than Shelby Davenport exit with a handful of Davenport retainers.

"Guess Roy's on the boat already…" Rune muttered. "Bit early, isn't it?" He slapped Aiden on the shoulder and the two of them walked across the street. Rune's pale grey-blue eyes were fixed on Shelby as he marched forwards, watching the Davenport greet an old man and his boy. Aiden went astray and stopped following Rune, walking towards the schoolteacher and catching her gaze. Aiden gripped the engraved pearl grip of his Cattleman and shook his head ever so slightly.

The woman looked from him to his gun and then back to the kids. "Children…" She cleared her throat. "Children, let's go, we'll see the buffalo another day…" She turned around and began to corral them, moving them in the other direction. "We'll see- we'll go and see the fish !"

Shelby turned his attention towards the crowd of schoolchildren being led away and his eyes fell on Rune as he approached. "Ah, Mr. Brody…" Shelby opened his arms as his retainers drew their rifles from their backs, which made Rune bite his lip and cuss under his breath. Shelby's eyes ran across the dark walnut shotgun that was pulled over Rune's shoulder. "My, my, my, you're expecting a fight, aren't you?"

"Always," Aiden said as he walked to Rune's right, closest to the general store.

"We've some business to attend to after this, pertaining to your brother," Rune explained as he paced around to the right, watching the Davenports circle to the left.

Shelby's eyes lingered on Rune for little more than a moment with a slight smile before he looked back to Aiden. "I do enjoy your company, Mr. McKneil, I find you very amusing but…" He held his hands up, palms facing them. "Business is business. You understand…"

"Sure…" Aiden grunted.

"Ain't that a funny happenstance?" Rune scoffed. "See, this ain't just business for us. You boys killed three of us." Rune's hand clenched into a fist. "Y'know, if you promise to run back to Rune, tell him he's a son of a bitch and if he starts running, maybe we won't kill him."

Shelby let out a loud laugh, slapping his leg. "Yes, yes! That's what I'm going to miss…" He let out a loud, theatrical sigh. "Roy wants y'all dead, Mr. Brody and… well, he gets what he wants. Y'all won't be leaving her alive – y'all and ya fabulously intriguing intriguing protégé."

Rune watched the Davenports line up outside the gun store, fighting his lip's curl. "Y'know I gotta fight back, right?"

"Oh, I'd expect nothing less from you and Mr. McKneil."

"No, see… see, we didn't come here alone," Rune informed Shelby. "See, we're going to wipe you all out…" Aiden felt his throat tighten. "Yeah, that's why we've brought her…" Rune gestured to the side of the Sheriff's office, where Anna emerged, her bow at the ready with an arrow nocked. "Y'know, 'tween me and her, we've killed a lotta folk."

Shelby scoffed, turning to his own troupe of three riflemen before looking at the three raggedy-looking individuals in front of him. "I like my chances…"

"Well, then…" Rune shrugged, looking to Aiden. "Well, I guess there's nothing left to do, but-" Rune drew his revolver and fired, hitting the gun store behind Shelby. Before they could return fire, there was an awful crash, and the door to the gun store was kicked open. Walking out of it and onto the porch was Ellie, Alice, Lana and Luca, all with their repeating rifles.

Shelby let out a small 'oh' as the entire gang began firing from all sides, ripping Shelby Davenport and his retainers apart. The retainers all yelled out, their rifles firing wildly up and down the street as their blood burst across the red clay of Rhodes as Shelby Davenport's precious clothes and fine jewellery was blown across the street. He let out a ragged breath, unsure of what was happening. Rune loaded another bullet into his revolver and fired it into Shelby's head.

"Well…" Rune holstered his revolver. "That's Ambrose and Shelby… just Roy and his family left to deal with-" Rune was interrupted by a loud shouting.

"Mercer!"

Sam fell at the body of the old man, his hands shaking as they touched the bleeding mess in Merer's stomach. He let out a loud gasp as blood dripped from beneath his shirt and down his shoulders, onto his neck.

"A bullet…" Mercer gasped in a frail voice. "I've survived nine gunshots, and it's this one…"

"No, I'm…" Sam looked over his shoulder at the group of seven strangers – a redskin accompanied by three women and men. "Help me," Sam pleaded with them.

"Sam," croaked the old man, his old, wrinkled hand clenching tightly around Sam's.

"C'mon, Mercer," Sam said in his cracked, fourteen-year-old voice, "c'mon, we need to… we still need to pay that debt!"

One of the men walked forwards. His hair was greying, his blue-grey eyes squinting down at the poor fella. He crouched down to look at Mercer's gunwound, then looked back up to his face. "That's going to take a while," The stranger murmured.

"Yeah…"

The man plucked Mercer's revolver from his holster, but Mercer laid a hand on it, shaking his head. "Y'all-" Mercer paused to cough. "Y'all take care of my boy?"

The man swallowed hard and gave a firm nod.

"Rune…" A voice warned. Sam looked over his shoulder to see a man standing there – more than ten years older than himself. He recognized the broad shoulders, the brown leather hat… it was the rotten man that'd beaten Mercer half-to death.

"Sam," Mercer murmured. Sam turned back to see his eyes closing gently. "I'll be with you, boy. I will." And with that, Mercer fell silent.

Rune removed his hat and looked over to the young boy, placing a hand on his shoulder. "What's your name, boy?"

"Sam… Sam Washington."

"You wanna hurt these bastards, Sam Washington?"

"I thought you said you didn't look for revenge," Ellie Colt frowned.

"This ain't about revenge," Rune snapped, rising to his feet. "They attacked us! They killed three of us! If we don't finish the rest of them off, they will surely come after us!"

"Not to mention we already got one rich family after us…" Luca raised an eyebrow, glancing to Aiden.

"Shouldn't Near get a say?" Ellie asked quietly.

"Near isn't here because these bastards got him shot!" Rune replied, rubbing his forehead dry as he calmed himself down. "We're taking it to a vote. All in favour?"

Rune, Luca, Lana and Alice all raised their hands. Rune gave Ellie a glare before looking to Anna. "Problem?"

"I just…" Anna shrugged. "This ain't my fight, I don't know if I get a say-"

"Of course you do." Rune frowned. Anna licked her lips, glancing to the others, and raised her hand.

Rune turned to Aiden. "You know we can't let these bastards get away with what they did to Ava and to Matty… they killed Parker, Aiden." Rune picked up a shotgun from one of the Davenports and held it out to Aiden. "You with me, son?"

Aiden glanced from Rune, the man that was his father in all but blood. The man that had kept everyone safe and together. What did Aiden know about what was right? Not to mention that… well, how would Aiden have acted in Rune's shoes? He shoved his doubt to the back of his mind and took the gun. "Sure, always, Rune."

I've already started the next chapter so… see ya soon!

R.