"Can I get you anything?"
Levin was shaken from the story, brought back into the present by an unexpected voice.
"I'm sorry?" He asked the bartender. The man just tapped Levin's glass.
"You've been nursing that thing for over two hours." He pointed out.
"Yes...yes, of course." Levin told him, gesturing to the man to take it away. He hadn't even realised the passage of time. He wished he had more of an idea when Sadie was going to return. All she had told him was she was going on a job with an old friend and to wait for her there. He had no reason to doubt her; Sadie had not lied to him, something of a novelty in his game. Whenever people told their stories, they had a habit of remembering things in such a way that they were always shown in the best possible light. Sadie didn't seem to lie though, even when she probably should. Much of what she had told him could earn her an appointment with a hangman, and so the only editing likely to be done was when Levin did what he could to ensure he didn't repay Sadie for her story with a rope.
He was drawn to a little bit of a commotion in the corner, and watched, smiling, as an older patron was regaling anyone that would listen, and even quite a few that wouldn't, with tall tales and off-key singing while trying to mooch drinks. It did amuse him slightly to think that even in the forefront of civilisation; there were still some things that would never change. The mood did change a little though as someone seemed to take offence to something he said and the mood turned.
"That were my drink old timer!" Someone called out.
"Come on, it's an honest mistake, I thought it was mine! I left it right here!" The older man protested. The other patron didn't seem to take his apology too well though.
"You've been mooching drinks all day old timer!" He yelled. "Now I've got to teach you a lesson!"
"Please, don't...you wouldn't hit an old man would you?" The older man begged him. A fist straight to the gut, sending him to his knees, bent over and wheezing for breath gave him the answer that apparently he would. "Please, I got a serious condition! I got terminal lumbago!"
"Lumbago?" The man asked incredulously. "The only terminal condition you're gonna have is my fist down your..."
"Leave him alone!" A deep, booming voice called out. The man turned around.
"You should mind your own..." The man's words tailed off as he looked around to see the new arrival. Everyone in the saloon fell silent. An absolute monster of a man strode towards him. Taller than everyone in the bar by at least half a head, and built like a shire horse. He was wearing dusty, hard-wearing clothes and had long hair hanging around him, some of it braided with eagle feather trinkets. In his holster, where most would carry a revolver, he had a sawn-off shotgun! He strode towards the man, bringing himself to full height over him.
"Do we have a problem here?" The huge man asked. The other stranger just shook his head and started to slink away. "That's what I thought."
"These young 'uns, they got no respect for their elders anymore!" The old mooch protested as the larger man helped him up. "You're lucky this one showed up or I'd have shown you why they used to call me the one-shot kid!"
"Come on, let's just go." The large man sighed. "You've caused enough trouble for one day."
As things settled back down, the bartender came to Levin with a drink.
"Sorry about that." He commented.
"It's quite alright." Levin chuckled. "As long as no guns are drawn, I consider it a tame evening."
"Well, enjoy your drink." The bartender replied as he headed back to work. Levin just shook his head with a smile. In his time he'd seen and spoken to gun slingers and killers the length and breadth of the country. He somehow doubted a couple of farm labourers were going to cause him too many problems.
He turned his attention back to Sadie's letter, recounting her story.
Back in the past, Sadie secreted herself in the back of one of the wagons as they were driven towards Fort Mercer. She could hardly believe that her search could soon be over. Micah had occupied all her thoughts now ever since the night she found Arthur on the mountaintop. She could just imagine Micah sitting in that fort, thinking he was untouchable. It made sense that the rat bastard would scurry and hide away. It didn't matter to him that he was arming one of the most vicious gangs in the area, as long as he saved his own worthless skin. Looking to the cannon in the back, she could still hardly imagine anyone thinking giving something like that to the Del Lobos was a good idea.
She heard a couple of raps on the wood from up front. She had convinced Langton and his men to set up a perimeter nearby to wait on her signal to move in on the fort, while a couple of them disguised themselves as Del Lobos and drove the wagons into the fort. The biggest problem with attacking them in the fort was the fact it was...well...a fort. Thick, high walls with no way in would give them a huge advantage even if Langton's crew did outnumber them. The first thing they had to do was take the advantage of the fort away from them.
The wagon stopped briefly. This was the moment of truth; they had arrived at the fort. If they saw through the ruse, if they didn't let the wagons in, then the plan would come to an abrupt and likely lethal end very quickly. She listened intently, while some words were exchanged. After a few moments, she heard some heavy movement, at which the wagons rolled inside. Good, they had let them in. Now, all they had to do was spring the trap.
The whole thing relied on confusion and moving fast. The wagons were parked up, but the one she was in didn't turn, the end facing straight at the door just as she'd planned. As she heard some voices coming to surround the wagons, she took a deep breath. The lack of gunshots seemed to indicate that they were more interested in the weapons in the back than the drivers, otherwise they'd realise it wasn't their men.
"That's it boys, help yourselves, your good old uncle Micah's nothin' if not generous!" She heard a voice say. It chilled her right to her core, even now. She'd never forget that voice. He was there! "Christmas has come early!"
She could hear footsteps coming around the wagon, and knew that the time to spring the trap was almost upon her. She moved quietly to the cannon, taking up position. She had the barrel lined up aiming straight at the door. She listened intently as they came around the wagon.
"And now, let's look at the main..." Micah started to say as he came to the back of the wagon to look in on his brand new artillery. However, as he looked in, he saw Sadie right behind the cannon, standing in position. Her eyes narrowed as she looked straight through him. He threw himself to the dirt as she opened fire, the cannonball tearing straight through the door of the fort, turning it into kindling in moments.
She could hear panicked voices and gunshots. They now knew that it was a trap, but that meant Sadie was caught right in the middle of it. Not that she cared; all she wanted was to get her hands on Micah. Langton's men started firing from the rocks nearby, while trying to find an opportunity to push forward.
Sadie could see Micah getting up and starting to run. She pulled out her revolver and scrambled out of the wagon, the confusion of the fire fight covering her.
Bullets whizzed past as she ran after him, forcing her to take some cover. She kept her eyes trained on Micah, keeping track of where he was going. She didn't want the slippery bastard to slink away in the confusion. Men fell on both sides as the fire fight intensified. The Del Lobos hadn't gone to the effort of setting up in the fort to give it up now.
She broke cover as the men in her way fell to rifle fire. She sprinted up to the top of the stairs, hoping that high ground would let her see where Micah had gone. She could see him sprinting along the wall, heading in the direction of the stables. He was trying to bolt, if she lost him now she had no idea when she might find him again. She ran along the wall, firing after him. Her shots went wild, but she did manage to get one to hit him in the thigh, causing him to fall.
"You're goin' nowhere Micah!" She roared. "You son of a bitch!"
"Hellfire!" He declared. "Where the hell did you come from? I thought you disappeared like the others!"
"After what you did, I'd follow you all the way to Hell you son of a bitch!" She snarled. Micah drew his revolver and fired, forcing her to dive for cover. Damn he was fast, she never even saw him pull the gun! She had to pull in behind some barrels before he blew her head clean off. For all his faults, Micah was still one hell of a deadly shot.
"You shouldn't have come here little lady!" Micah taunted her as he pulled himself up to his feet, steadying himself on a wall. "You ain't gonna walk out of here alive!"
"As long as I kill you first, I don't care!" Sadie shot back.
"Oh, there you go takin' everythin' so personal." Micah retorted as he fired some more shots, forcing Sadie to keep in cover. "That's why you come blunderin' in here with no thought for how you're gonna get out."
"I think you missed the small part about an army of bounty hunters all out for your scalp!" Sadie responded. As he was taking time to reload, she broke cover, firing a couple of rounds his way. Micah ducked out of the way, laughing as he did so.
"You mean that poser Langton?" He chuckled. "He and his men are nothin'. Just some opportunists picking off weak targets!"
"That may be, but there's plenty of them to spare!" Sadie replied as she took cover to reload. That was when Micah started laughing.
"Girl, you seem to think your wagons were the only delivery I've had out here." He taunted her. Just then, she heard an ominous rumbling, and turned in time to see not one, but two Main Guns being rolled into place, facing the door. She tried to shout out a warning to the crew trying to make their way in the door, but she could only watch as they burst into life.
She looked outside, watching in horror as men and horses were ripped to shreds in seconds flat. She hadn't banked on Micah having already had such firepower delivered. She didn't think about how long he might have been fortifying his position. It didn't take long for what was left of Langton's crew to realise they were hopelessly outmatched and turn tail. She could see Langton signalling the retreat, waving frantically.
"Langton, you yellow-bellied rat bastard!" She screamed at him. She suddenly fell quiet as she heard Micah starting to laugh. She was now all alone in the fort with Micah...and God knows how may pissed off Del Lobos!
She tried to make the best of it, bringing her revolver to bear. The Del Lobos could cut her into pieces and leave her for the crows for all she cared once she got Micah. The gun was blasted from her hand before she could pull the trigger though. She was going for her knife when Micah sprinted across, back-handing her across the face, his double-action revolver connecting with her skull. She fell from the wall, landing hard on her back far below, knocking the air right out of her. She was in no state to go anywhere as the Del Lobos swarmed around her, kicking her and beating her brutally. She could dimly hear someone calling out, but before she could see who was calling to her, she blacked out.
Sadie was a little surprised when she came to, aching all over. She had no idea why the Del Lobos would leave her alive, but as her vision started to clear up, she could see no signs of the fort. She didn't know where she was, but it was somewhere out in the desert anyway. There was a campfire, and by the sounds of it at least one person was nearby. She tried to move, but she found her hands bound tightly in front of her body. The other end of the rope was tied to the saddle of a horse. She tried to untie herself with her teeth, but the ropes just weren't budging. She heard some footsteps and looked up to see Micah coming back, fastening the fly on his denims.
"So, you're finally awake." He taunted her as Sadie renewed her struggle to get free. "Good, I'd hate to think you were gonna miss the next part."
"When I get outta this..."
"Oh, I'm perfectly sure you want to do all sorts of violent and terrible things to me Hellfire, and trust me, more'n a few people back at the fort feel the same way about you." He interrupted her. "You don't know how hard it was for me to convince 'em not to just peg you out for the crows or cut you into little bitty pieces..."
"That's your mistake." Sadie told him.
"Maybe." He said with a sick little smile. "But then where would be the fun in that?"
"What's your game Micah?" She asked him. "You plannin' to bore me to death?"
"No, I've got something much better planned for you." He assured her, coming close and kneeling down next to her. She swept his hands away as he reached out for her, a gesture he found more amusing than anything else.
"You God damned rat!" Sadie spat angrily. "What you did..."
"What I did is what anyone with any brains does Hellfire, I survived." Micah interrupted her. "Now, I had people cross me at times in my life, little petty grudges but you know what? Sometimes you just gotta let things go. Remember what Dutch said about...?"
"Dutch listened to you, so he couldn't have been that smart!" Sadie interrupted him. Micah just laughed.
"Funny." He commented, before grabbing her face, squeezing it painfully and forcing her to look straight at him. "You cost me a good home Hellfire. That fort was becomin' a nice little nest, but you know a fort without a door ain't much of a fort and trust me, those Del Lobo boys are a lot of things but carpenters ain't one of 'em. I figure it's time to move on again and get myself good and lost."
Sadie didn't say anything, instead opting for spitting straight in his face. Micah just back-handed her across the face in response, before getting up and kicking her in the ribs a few times. She coughed as she fought for breath.
"There ain't no one comin' for you Hellfire. Langton and his bunch of pansies will be long gone by now." He told her. "Just rode off and left you to rot! God knows what he was doin' ridin' with you anyhow."
"I work for him." She spluttered. Micah just roared with laughter.
"You? You a bounty hunter now?" He laughed. "What were you fixin' to do? Bring me in? Ride into town to put me up on the gallows like old O'Driscoll?"
"You're behind the times Micah. No one wants you for a hangin'." She told him. "The bounty's dead or alive, and dead suits me just fine! 'Course after what you did to Arthur I wouldn't care if I didn't get one red cent for your sorry hide!"
"There you go, takin' things all personal again." Micah replied as he looked up, hearing another horse. He smiled. "Ah, there we go, finally! Cortez! I was startin' to think you'd lost your way!"
"I know this desert like the back of my hand Micah!" He grunted, inspecting Sadie thoughtfully. "This her?"
"This is her." Micah answered.
"She's skinny." Cortez answered, inspecting her thoughtfully. "She looks like she's been beat half to death already. She's not gonna last long. She'll probably be dead before I get back."
"Oh, she's more persistent than she looks, believe you me." Micah told him. "Treat her nice and special."
He untied the end of the rope holding Sadie from his horse and handed it to Cortez. He looked to her.
"I'd say see you around Hellfire, but when Cortez gets a hold of folks they just kind of...disappear." He told her, patting her cheek in a patronising send-off. "Just so you know, Arthur begged for his life like a coward."
With that, Micah swung himself up onto his horse and rode off.
Cortez spurred on his horse, causing the rope holding her to go taut, pulling her along. He was taking her deeply into the desert. She had no idea where he was taking her, but wherever it was, Micah seemed confident it was somewhere she'd never leave alive. The only thought that kept her going was the satisfaction of the look on his face when she proved him wrong.
