Demons and Lovers (or The Devil's Luck)
Parts Five and Six
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Inez checked her image in the mirror of the saloon one last time, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. She bit her lips slightly to add some color and straightened her shoulders. The dress was much fancier than anything she had ever owned before, and she felt a little strange in it.
"You look nice," Seth said encouragingly as he drifted past with a tray of beers. Inez smiled after him, then looked up at the clock on the bar.
She tried not to notice that Ezra was late. Five minutes. Her eyes looked up at the stairs as she heard a floorboard creak.
Only one of her renters. He leered at her, and she glared back. Turning away, Inez leaned against the bar and drummed her fingers.
The clock ticked by, and outside the deepening gloom of dusk darkened the town. It would soon be nightfall. The knots in her stomach started to tighten unmercifully. What if she had been wrong about how he felt about her? What if he'd changed his mind? What if....
"Still not here?" Cherise asked quietly. Inez shot her an annoyed look, but Cherise just shrugged it off. "Listen, I've been here most of the day, and I have to say, I haven't seen him since this morning when he went off with those men who attacked you. Maybe he's at the jail? Or maybe something happened at the clinic. I mean, it is odd that he hasn't been home even to change, don't you think?" Her eyes were calm, understanding. It broke through the defensive barrier of anger that Inez had been building.
The manageress sighed, absorbing this information slowly. Finally, she nodded. Drawing the shawl about her shoulders, she stood up and thanked Cherise.
"I'll go check the jail," she agreed.
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When the sun hit the horizon, Ezra, Frank and Chet left the camp, moving out at a good clip back towards town. The whole time they'd been at this hiding place, Ezra had barely looked at JD, sitting dejectedly by his side until Frank had whistled that it was time to go.
Paisley took their absence to sit down and groan, resting his head on his knees. The outlaw still felt sick from the two blows to his head, and the scars on his face kept ripping to drip blood every time he spoke. He hoped he'd get the chance to kill that bitch at the bar when this was over.
Slim rubbed at his arm and took a sidelong glance at JD. "Ugly, am I?" he asked walking across to the kid. Before JD could answer, the outlaw delivered a swift blow with his foot to JD's side, eliciting a cry of pain from the younger man. Slim knelt next to him, a sneer on his face. JD growled back, wishing he could hold his side with his hands. Slim laughed.
"You'd better pray I don't get too impatient waiting for Frank, boy, or I may have to show you how ugly you can be with a little help." To punctuate the point, he smacked his hand as hard as he could across the boy's face, drawing blood from a now split lip. "There," Slim grinned, "That's a start." Still grinning, he got up and walked away, as JD tentatively touched his swelling lip with his tongue.
Closing his eyes, the kid leaned back against the rock, feeling the comforting weight of the derringer in his pocket. Fingers felt along the stone, seeking out a sharp bit. After a moment, he was rewarded by a somewhat jagged edge.
Slowly, carefully, he started to worry the ropes around his wrists against the stone.
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Vin sat up straighter in his saddle, peering out over the valley with a curious air. Seeing this, Chris slowed down, watching as Vin pulled out his spyglass.
"I can see Ezra down there," the tracker said as he placed it to his eye.
"Really?" Though he trusted Vin most times, the gunslinger couldn't keep the surprise from his voice. Squinting, Chris could just make out the shadows of three riders moving along the valley base, but never in a million years could he discern one from the other.
"I recognize the shape of his swallowtail jacket...and the way he rides," the tracker smiled. "Can't tell who he's with though. But," the tracker paused, frowning, "he is riding nervous."
"Nervous?" Chris leaned forward in the saddle.
"Stiff backed. Maybe we should find out why?"
Chris just nodded once and spurred Solon forward, the large horse responding instantly to the command despite how tired he was. In moments, they were halfway down the valley and easily visible to the men coming towards them.
Ezra tried not to react as he recognized the incoming riders, his mind tripping over the kiss lady luck had just given him. Perhaps she was making up for the hellish luck she'd deviled him with in Red Fork, he thought absurdly.
"Ezra!" Chris called, moving to intercept.
"Whoever they are," Frank hissed at the gambler, "get rid of them!"
Ezra's mind finally kicked into gear, working furiously at the discovery that neither of his captors recognized Chris, despite the somewhat distinctive clothing the gunslinger always wore.
Luck of the draw, JD. Now all I have to do is turn the coach.
Chris pulled to a stop just before them, and Vin reined in beside him. The tracker raised a hand in greeting, but his face was not very welcoming as he looked upon Ezra's companions. Frank offered a dark smile in return.
"Ezra," Chris said, shifting in his saddle to place a hand on his hip above his gun, "Where you headed?"
The gambler knew that Chris and Vin were reacting to his companions, and not to him, but that didn't mean he couldn't use it to his advantage. He offered Chris a sneer.
"I could ask the same of you, Lucas. Awful far from the ranch, aren't you? Surprised your uncle doesn't have you under lock and key after the last time my peacekeeping companions and I met up with you."
Chris raised an eyebrow but otherwise didn't react. After a short pause, he offered a smile, "There's no law that says we can't be taking a ride, lawman, especially on this land. And considering that you don't got none of those peacekeepers with you, I wouldn't be so quick to annoy me."
"Are you blind, Lucas? I am riding with two such gentlemen as we speak. And you, I'm surprised you don't have your usual two cronies with you. Although I will admit," he gave the taciturn Vin an acid look, "Mr. Spivak there is dangerous enough to be two men. I still don't know how you escaped the hangman, sir."
"Just lucky I guess," Vin replied, trying to play along. Never the best of liars, Vin had hoped not to say anything in whatever con Ezra was spinning.
Ezra snorted, "Luck has nothing to do with it, Mr. Spivak, not when the James family is involved. Now, Lucas, why don't you run along before my friends and I teach you that it is not nice to interfere with a lawman going about his nightly duties?"
Chris glowered at Ezra, and at the two men behind him, as if he were weighing his options. Slowly, his hand came away from his gun.
"You win this time, Ezra. But, mark me, this isn't over."
"It never is, Lucas."
"Come on, Del," Chris said, looking to Vin, "Let's get the hell out of here." With a loud "Hyah!" Chris spurred Solon forward and up the other side of the valley. Vin stared at Ezra a second longer, then, without a word, spurred Peso forward to follow the black horse.
Frank snorted as the two men disappeared up over the ridge. "Make a lot of friends in your business, don't you?"
"You said you wanted rid of them. That was the fastest way. Besides, they are enemies. Any other reaction from me would have seemed strange," Ezra responded quietly. "Now, shall we move on?"
Frank shook his head and slapped Ezra's rented horse on its rump. The mare jumped and took off at a quick gait, Frank and Chet directly behind.
On top of the hill, Chris and Vin watched them leave.
"What the hell was that?" the tracker asked, looking to Chris.
"Two men must be holding JD back in the direction of the James Ranch, and he might be hurt. These others are going with Ezra into town where, I would guess, they are going to use him to break into the bank. Think you can follow their back trail to get to JD?"
Vin didn't reply for a moment, until Chris turned a speculative glance his way. Breaking from his reverie, the tracker nodded. "Yeah, sure. But...how did you...?"
Chris grinned, "He called me Lucas James, because he wanted to point us in that direction. He used Del Spivak to warn us that JD was hurt, or going to be hurt. He mentioned that I usually travel with two men, meaning there are two men guarding JD. And finally, he mentioned his nightly duties. What Ezra's nightly duties are is to patrol the town, including checking that the bank is locked. Although it is possible that they might be going into town to rob something else, I doubt it."
Vin let out a low whistle.
"You and Ez...you have your own language, you know that?"
Chris smiled, thinking that he and Vin had their own language as well - just a different one. "Yeah. I'm beginning to figure out how his mind works." He sighed, and picked up Solon's reins to hold them more tightly. "I'm going to go to watch Ezra's back. You go rescue JD."
Vin nodded slowly, "Fine. But how come you don't want to take those two holding Ezra right now. We could easily get the drop on them."
Chris frowned, the thought having crossed his mind several times already. "I don't want to risk it. I don't know how close we are to JD that those holding him might hear any gunshots and take the kid out. Plus, I think, had Ezra wanted us to help him, he would have told me. Instead, he specifically wanted us to go after JD. There must be a reason for that."
Vin stared up at the red and purple sky, licking his lips with his tongue. "Maybe," he said quietly, wondering if Ezra didn't ask for help for some other reason, namely that he didn't want any. At the same time, a different thought popped into his head, and he looked at Chris. "I noticed you didn't mention Buck as being part of Ezra's code."
"No. That's the other reason I didn't want to act too quickly. I don't know why Buck isn't here too." Chris pursed his lips, his eyes hooded in worry. "Go after JD. I'll meet you in town."
Vin nodded again as Chris rode away along the top of the ridge, moving fast in order to catch up with the men now disappearing in the distance. The tracker turned his mount around and headed down into the valley to follow the back trail. As he reached the bottom and started moving along the small stream, his mind couldn't shake that last question....
Where was Buck?
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"Where is he!" Inez demanded, slamming her hands down on the wooden table in Digger Dan's. Buck looked up startled, his red rimmed eyes confused.
"Where's who?" he mumbled in reply.
"Where is Ezra, you poor excuse for a man! What have you done with him?" She stood up, placing her hands on her hips. Buck blinked, noticing the Mary-like dress Inez wore. She was all done up...and looking beautiful.
"I like the drezz," he slurred, smiling up at her.
Inez's face flared with anger, and, in one swift move, she grabbed the nearly full beer mug sitting in front of him and threw its contents in Buck's face.
"Hey! Whazzat fer?"
"Where is he? Huh? Do you know?" She tapped her foot, her eyes flashing.
Buck watched her for a second, her questions finally registering in his mind. Slowly, he lowered his eyes to the table, shame pouring out of him.
"He's at the jail. Locked him in." As if in proof, he pulled the jail's keys out of his pocket.
"Locked him...?" Inez's mouth fell open, though she quickly closed it again. "Well, he's not there now. So where is he?"
Buck flinched slightly, and he turned confused eyes to Inez. "What?"
"I said, he's not there. The jail is empty." She frowned, her head tilting to the side, "Wait a minute...it was empty." She looked confused, then her face opened up slightly, "Buck, did you not lock up those two men who were at the saloon this morning?"
Buck put a hand to his forehead, willing some clarity into his less than sober mind. "Where's JD?" he whispered.
"He wasn't there either," Inez voice had lost some of its edge. She rocked back suddenly as Buck erupted up out of his chair, nearly upending the table in front of him.
"Something'zz wrong," he mumbled, staggering as quickly as he could out of the bar. Pulling her shawl more tightly around her, Inez tried to ignore the shiver that ran down her spine and followed him.
Buck moved quickly, if a bit erratically, towards the jail and threw open the door. As Inez had said, it was empty. Anger and confusion throbbed in his skull as he reached for the desk and started ripping open drawers. Inez arrived to stand silhouetted in the doorway, watching him with a stoic expression.
Ripping open the bottom drawer, Buck grimaced as he found JD's two colts and Ezra's Remington resting inside, chambers empty.
"You locked Ezra in?" Inez said quietly, her brown eyes regarding the cells in back. "Why didn't he let himself out?"
Buck looked up sharply at the question, then turned to look at the cells. Making his way over, he knelt down to look at the lock on the first door. Sure enough, there were scratches in the black metal from a lock pick.
"Did he...did he not want to have dinner with me?" Inez said from behind him, her voice strange. Buck frowned, still staring at the lock, then, with tremendous care, he turned to look at her. She looked oddly lost, her lips parted slightly with a nervousness he had never seen in her before, and, combined with the dress, it was almost as if she were a different woman.
"No, Inez. He wanted to have dinner with you. Something has happened to him and JD. I found their guns in the desk. Something to do with our missing inmates." He stood up, sobriety returning as the seriousness of the situation hit him. Inez shut her eyes.
"So, what do we do?"
Buck shook his head. "You go home. I'm going to go talk to Josiah."
"He's asleep. I looked in there for Ezra before coming to find you. He and Nathan are both asleep. Senora Greene is watching over them."
"Okay," Buck frowned, "well, I'm still going to go talk to him. But I think I'll have a talk with Yosemite first. Somebody had to provide the horses to get these men out of here. And I'll send some telegraphs to neighboring towns, see if anyone has seen them."
"Can't you...track them?"
Buck looked out at the nearly darkened street. In half an hour, it would be night. He sighed.
"No. Not until morning. I don't have Vin's skill to be able to track at night."
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Vin left Peso near the forest edge, and crept in towards the clearing. He could smell the campfire and the sound of two men speaking quietly. One of them laughed. Taking advantage of the noise, Vin moved a bit quicker, stopping only when the laughter stopped. A few minutes later, he knelt down behind a tree and pulled his Winchester from the holster strapped to this thigh.
He could see JD, dried blood on his chin and a purple bruise on his forehead, watching the two men by the fire like a hawk. He could also see that the boy was working the ropes behind his back. Smiling, Vin watched as the boy suddenly jerked...his hands were free.
"All right, kid, make your move...," Vin whispered, watching as JD reached around slowly to put his hand in his pocket. The two outlaws by the fire never noticed, and the one with the sling on his arm started laughing again.
JD tried not to smile as the sound covered his pulling back the hammer on Ezra's derringer. Abruptly, he jumped to his feet, pointing the gun in the direction of the two men.
"Don't move!" he yelled, rather pointlessly. Paisley instantly went for his gun, and JD shot him in the shoulder. Slim pulled his gun too, but before he could pull it up to aim, The loud bark of a Winchester rang through the clearing, spinning Slim around to fall on the ground next to his partner, holding his other arm. Slim started screaming wildly about his arm, while Paisley just lost consciousness - his body had had enough.
JD swung the tiny gun around, his eyes bright with bewilderment.
"Now, don't ya shoot me too kid!" Vin laughed, stepping out from behind his cover.
"Vin!" JD's face cracked into a huge smile, then it fell. "Where'd you come from? Why aren't you in Greeley? Where's Chris? How did you find me? Oh my gosh, we have to help Ezra!" The rapid succession of unconnected thoughts that spilled from the kid's lips had Vin shaking his head. At least JD was easier to understand than Ezra...just.
"Are you alright?" Vin asked slowly, his voice calm. JD took a deep breath, trying to mimic the tracker's poise.
"Yes, but...Ezra, Vin, we have to help Ezra. He's got two guys with him."
"Yeah, I know. Are they and these the only ones?" Vin pointed in the direction of Slim and the sleeping Paisley. Slim was now sitting with his head between his knees, gripping his bleeding shoulder, completely unaware of anything but the pain. Small whimpers emitted from his throat.
JD wiped the blood from his chin, eyes watching Vin, "You know about them? Does that mean you got them already? Oh thank..."
"No, not yet. Chris is tracking them. We didn't want to stop them until we knew that you and whoever else they might be holding over Ezra were safe. What are they planning, kid?"
"To rob the bank. Ezra's helping them because of me, and only me. The others are safe, for the moment. They don't know anything." JD shook his head, "Ezra's really acting strange, Vin. Like he doesn't care about what will happen to him if he succeeds. He gave me this," he palmed the derringer to show Vin, "so I could have a chance. He has nothing to protect himself now, Vin. They'll kill him when they get what they want, I know it."
"Then we best make sure that he has protection," Vin stated firmly. "In other words, us."
"You have to trust in one of us to be there," JD whispered, thinking on his conversation with Ezra at the jail. Vin looked at him curiously. Ignoring the questioning gaze, the kid turned to the two still very much alive outlaws.
"What about them?"
Vin looked at the two outlaws, his face dark. "Leave them for now. I think we need to get into town quickly. Just bind their wounds and tie 'em to a couple of trees. We simply have to hope nothing too hungry comes along while we're gone." He gave Slim a feral smile when the outlaw tipped up his head to stare at him.
JD nodded, and headed towards the two horses standing at the clearing edge. Vin kept his rifle up, though it seemed clear that neither Slim nor Paisley would put up a fight.
"By the way, JD," Vin said, watching as the kid pulled a shirt out of one of the outlaw's saddlebags to use as a bandage, "What happened to Buck?"
"Don't ask," the kid replied, his voice tinged with annoyance.
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Part Six
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Buck sat in the clinic, his head in his hands. Nathan sat up in his bed, hands worrying at the blanket on his bed, while Josiah leaned against the windowsill. No one spoke.
"This is my fault," Buck said eventually, his voice dead.
"I think...," Josiah said quietly, staring out at the street below, "I think there has been entirely too much blame being worn in this town lately."
"Josiah," Buck said, looking up with damp eyes, "I'm so sorry. I know how much Ezra has come to mean to you."
"Did you not hear what I just said, Buck?" Josiah flashed. "You taking on weight of guilt is not helping. Besides, how much Ezra means to me, or how much JD means to you is irrelevant right now. What we need to do is figure out what happened."
"If you ask me, you both sort of treated Ezra badly. Just my opinion," Nathan groused from his bed.
Two pairs of startled eyes turned to the healer. Josiah snorted.
"Well, if that isn't the figurative pot calling the kettle..."
"I'm just saying that...."
"Hey!" Buck yelled, "Quit it!"
Nathan and Josiah glared at each other a second longer, before the preacher sighed.
"Sorry Nathan."
"Just didn't like you two intimating that I don't care about Ezra or JD as much as you," Nathan replied peevishly.
This, of course, made Buck and Josiah feel even worse. Nathan couldn't resist a small chuckle at their crestfallen faces.
"We're a pathetic group, aren't we?"
Josiah actually smiled at that, shaking his head. "In any case, as I said, what we need to do is figure out what happened."
"How?" Nathan asked, his brow furrowed, "According to Buck, no one saw anything."
"I know," Josiah sighed. "But there has to be something." He picked up a candle from off the sill and blew it out. Moments later, he threw it across the room with so much force, it broke into several pieces. Both Nathan and Buck jumped.
"I hate feeling this helpless, damn it! Trapped in this damned room. If I'd just been able to go outside to find him today, like I wanted to..."
Buck's mouth fell open, having rarely seen Josiah get this angry. Nathan clicked his tongue, dark eyes focused squarely on the preacher.
"I thought you weren't going to talk about fault any more, old friend," the healer said calmly. Josiah glowered at him, but Nathan just raised his head. Eventually, Josiah lowered his gaze and slumped into the chair by the window, his hand playing with the bandages around his thigh. The leg throbbed, reminding him that putting weight on it for longer than a few minutes was a bad idea.
"Useless," the preacher said. Nathan returned to picking away at the coarse blanket.
"Man" Buck said, lowering his head to his hands again, "I wish Chris and Vin...."
A heavy knock at the door startled all of them, and Buck stood up to draw his gun.
"Who's there? What do you want?" Buck called, hand at his waist.
"The usual," a low voice growled, opening the door and letting in a powerful gust of wind that blew up the arrival's black duster like raven's wings, "I want your hide. But for now, we have a job to do." Chris looked around the room at the surprised inhabitants and smiled thinly, "And, seeing as only two of us are actually mobile, I'd say we need a plan."
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"Well?" Frank asked, watching as Chet looked up and down the dark main street of Four Corners again. They'd been waiting a while now, as the townsfolk slowly made their way to bed. The old man turned and smiled, gruesome teeth in full regalia. Both Ezra and Frank quickly averted their gaze.
"All clear, boss," Chet said. "Not a soul on the street that looks like it would care 'bout anything."
"Magnifico," Frank nodded. "All right, Ezra the lawman, let's see your stuff."
The gambler nodded, and moved to peek around the corner. Seeing no one, he slipped along the boardwalk and reached the door to the jail. In seconds, he had the door opened and was inside. Frank and Chet followed him in.
The older outlaw kept watch at the window as Ezra moved to the cell like vault in the back. He got through the doors quickly and then sat in front of the safe. For a moment, he simply closed his eyes, his memory imagining Mr. Wilson turning the combination. Taking a deep breath, he pictured the numbers in his mind and reached up to rotate the lock.
A resounding click echoed around the small room, and Ezra smiled.
"Well done," Frank hissed. He handed Ezra a pair of saddlebags. "Fill them." Dutifully, Ezra took them and did as he was told.
Chet peered out at the street, his eyes narrowing as he thought he caught some movement down the street. He watched the spot for a moment, and, sure enough, after a moment, he caught the movement again...someone was hiding down the alley opposite the bank.
"Boss!" he hissed.
Frank looked up, "What?"
"I think we have trouble. There is someone out there,"
Ezra looked up, his mouth opening slightly. Frank looked at him, his eyes black in the night of the bank.
"Who is it?"
"I have no idea," Ezra replied. "I've been with you, remember?"
In two steps, Frank had rounded the corner and grabbed Ezra by the front of his shirt. "Who is it!"
"Maybe someone saw us," Ezra tried weakly. "I can't...I don't...."
"Remember the deal, gambler! Anything happens to us, and that boy dies, you hear me? You will help us get out of here!"
"How? I don't have a gun," Ezra replied darkly.
Frank glowered at him, then shoved him back into the wall. Grabbing the saddlebags that Ezra had filled, he threw one set over his shoulder an tossed the other to Chet. Then he gestured that Ezra should open the door and be the first to walk out.
"Talk to whoever is out there. Explain to them the situation."
Ezra swallowed, nodding. He walked to the door and opened it slowly. He took two steps out onto the boardwalk and stood facing the alley across the way.
"Buck," he called to the seemingly empty street, "if that is you, you have to let these men with me go. If you don't, JD's life is forfeit."
No one answered.
Ezra turned to look back into the jail, where Frank and Chet had rifles trained on him, though they themselves remained hidden from anyone outside the jail. This was not a good position. Frank shook his head, and cocked the rifle.
"Um..." Ezra shut his eyes and turned once more to the street. "Please, Buck. They have JD. If they do not return to where they have him hidden, the men there will kill him."
"Are you so sure we can not get to JD before that happens, and save him?" Buck's voice called. Ezra kept his eyes trained on the alley, as the voice had come from that direction.
"Starting as soon as it became fully dark, the two men guarding him are supposed to be on strict rotation, watching the valley that leads up to the place where they have him. They expect three riders to be coming back and Frank worked out a special signal to alert them of our return that he did not tell me. If that signal is not given, the man called Paisley has orders to take a knife to JD."
"And how do you know JD is not already dead," Buck's voice asked again.
Ezra shivered, "I don't," he replied dejectedly. His shoulders slumped slightly in his jacket.
Buck didn't reply to the admission, and the silence on the street began to grow long.
"Gambler!" Frank hissed. Ezra jerked, as if he'd been asleep. He licked his lips and took in another deep breath.
"Buck, will you let us go? I need to know!"
"I'll let you go," Buck replied, stepping out from the shadows of the alleyway. The tall man put his rifle down and backed up. Ezra nodded at him.
"Well done," Frank grinned. Chet stepped out the bank first, the saddlebags on his shoulders and his gun now pointed at the unarmed Buck. Frank followed just behind, and placed his gun against the back of the gambler's head.
"We'll be leaving now, Buck," Frank smiled. "Thank you for your cooperation."
"No!" Inez yelled, pushing out the batwing doors to the saloon. She still wore her new dress, but there was now a rifle in her hand. "You let him go!" she demanded, raising the rifle up.
"Well, well, who is this?" Frank chuckled. Ezra stiffened, shaking his head in her direction.
"Inez, no, not like that," Buck hissed, taking a step towards here, his hands raised. Inez ignored him, trying to get around him.
"You let him go! You can't have him, you understand? He's mine!" She took several more steps forward, and before Buck could reach her, she shot wildly in the direction of the bank, causing all three men to duck quickly to the ground as it went over their heads.
"Inez, NO!" Ezra yelled, rolling to the side. Chet bounced up first and took aim, not caring that Buck had reached Inez and was wrestling with her for the gun. With a roar, Ezra jumped him, knocking the rifle from his hand and slamming the grizzled man into the sidewalk with a force strong enough to knock him out. Grabbing the rifle, he spun to turn it on Frank.
The younger outlaw, meanwhile, had also gathered himself up, but instead of raising his rifle, he raised a hand at the gambler.
"I wouldn't," Frank hissed. "One move towards me, and that boy is dead, remember?" He bared his teeth in a gruesome smile, the perfectly straight whites seeming to Ezra as ugly as Chet's hideous grin. The gambler's hands shook, his whole body demanding he take this insolent bastard. Frank's smile turned into a smirk as he watched Ezra falter.
In the background, the low rumble of hooves racing into town could be heard, the almost indiscernible sound existing just below the harsh breathing of the two men.
Slowly, Ezra uncocked the rifle and placed it on the ground, then stood with his hands out from his sides. Inez whimpered, holding onto Buck's lapels as he held her rifle away from her.
"Good choice," Frank nodded at the gambler.
On the ground, Chet groaned, waking up.
Back in the alley, hidden deep in the shadows, Chris held his gun pointed at the handsome outlaw, waiting. Where the hell was Vin? If he had failed....Chris tried not to think about it. Instead, he poured all his focus onto watching the two men facing each other on the boardwalk before the bank.
"Time to go, Ezra," Frank said quietly, relishing in his power over the gambler. "Help Chet to his feet, and we'll go to the horses. Understood?"
Ezra lowered his eyes, his hands once more falling to his sides. Slowly, he reached down to gather up the slowly wakening outlaw.
The hoof beats got louder, until they couldn't be ignored. Ezra was already facing the right direction, but Frank had to turn.
In that split second, a massive dimpled grin creased Ezra's face.
Frank never even knew what happened. In less time than it takes a peregrine falcon to grab its prey, Ezra picked up the dropped rifle and, with a satisfied shout, smashed the butt across the back of Frank's head. The outlaw crumbled to the ground, completely unaware of when or how he had lost his advantage. Then, when Chet groaned again a moment later, the gambler pivoted around and smacked him as well.
"Understand that, you miserable, cretinous, foul smelling degenerates!" Ezra finished, throwing the rifle to the side.
"Yee Ha!" Buck yelled, raising Inez's rifle in the air. At the same time, the two incoming riders scrambled to a stop in front of the bank.
"Hey! I wanted to be the one to take them down!" JD laughed, pulling up hard on the rented horse's reins. Ezra grinned up at the boy, relief shining from his face.
"Mr. Dunne! Never sell that hat!" the gambler replied quickly, earning a slightly confused look from the kid. Before he had even seen JD, Ezra had seen the shape of that damn bowler on the young man's head as he and Vin rode up - and it was a wonderful sight to see! Still smiling, Ezra looked at Vin and nodded his thanks. The tracker nodded back.
"I admit, the clothes you and Ezra wear are useful at times," Chris agreed, stepping out of the shadows and holstering his guns. "You all right JD?"
"Better than I was a few hours ago," the kid laughed, "eh, Ezra?" But the gambler had already stepped off the boardwalk, his eyes on Inez. She was arguing with Buck, trying to get her rifle back, but Buck was holding it out of arm's reach.
"That wasn't what I meant by a distraction!" the ladies man was chastising, holding her arm.
"I did my best!" she said back, "When I saw that man with a gun to his head I..." she stopped, suddenly aware that they were being watched. She turned slowly, her eyes instantly falling on the frosty green ones staring at her from a few feet away.
"Quite a distraction," the gambler said to her quietly, not noticing that everyone else had also gone quiet. Vin sent a questioning gaze to JD, but the kid just shook his head. Buck, who had still been holding her arm, let go and backed away, his eyes staring at the ground. It was as much an apology as anything. Inez frowned nervously at Ezra.
"They said they needed a distraction, and since Josiah and Nathan couldn't leave the clinic...Buck asked me," she said. "He told me that I should try to think of a way to delay you from leaving...to give Vin enough time to rescue JD and bring him here so that you would know he was safe."
Ezra offered a lopsided grin and shook his head, "And he said to use the bar's rifle?"
"No...actually, he asked me not to bring a gun, in case they got the wrong idea and tried to shoot me. But I...I was scared for you. I was afraid my words wouldn't be enough."
"Nearly got us killed," Buck groused in a low rumble. Inez glanced at him, her face apologetic.
"Yes, I realize. The more I think on it...I'm sorry," she lowered her head, her fingers playing at the folds of the dress. Ever since she had put it on, she's been acting such a fool. "But once I made the decision to use it...I couldn't...and then everything happened so fast, and all I could think to do was hope that...."
"We got lucky," Ezra finished quietly, stepping up close to her. She looked up, her eyes bright in the moonlight, and, after measuring his words, she nodded. Gently, he touched his fingers to her chin, tipping her head up.
"You know, querido, this was a very good day for luck," he whispered...right before touching his lips to hers.
In the background, Buck sighed. After a moment, he even smiled.
________________________________
And last, a little Epilogue.....
Parts Five and Six
_________________________________________
Inez checked her image in the mirror of the saloon one last time, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. She bit her lips slightly to add some color and straightened her shoulders. The dress was much fancier than anything she had ever owned before, and she felt a little strange in it.
"You look nice," Seth said encouragingly as he drifted past with a tray of beers. Inez smiled after him, then looked up at the clock on the bar.
She tried not to notice that Ezra was late. Five minutes. Her eyes looked up at the stairs as she heard a floorboard creak.
Only one of her renters. He leered at her, and she glared back. Turning away, Inez leaned against the bar and drummed her fingers.
The clock ticked by, and outside the deepening gloom of dusk darkened the town. It would soon be nightfall. The knots in her stomach started to tighten unmercifully. What if she had been wrong about how he felt about her? What if he'd changed his mind? What if....
"Still not here?" Cherise asked quietly. Inez shot her an annoyed look, but Cherise just shrugged it off. "Listen, I've been here most of the day, and I have to say, I haven't seen him since this morning when he went off with those men who attacked you. Maybe he's at the jail? Or maybe something happened at the clinic. I mean, it is odd that he hasn't been home even to change, don't you think?" Her eyes were calm, understanding. It broke through the defensive barrier of anger that Inez had been building.
The manageress sighed, absorbing this information slowly. Finally, she nodded. Drawing the shawl about her shoulders, she stood up and thanked Cherise.
"I'll go check the jail," she agreed.
_______________________________________
When the sun hit the horizon, Ezra, Frank and Chet left the camp, moving out at a good clip back towards town. The whole time they'd been at this hiding place, Ezra had barely looked at JD, sitting dejectedly by his side until Frank had whistled that it was time to go.
Paisley took their absence to sit down and groan, resting his head on his knees. The outlaw still felt sick from the two blows to his head, and the scars on his face kept ripping to drip blood every time he spoke. He hoped he'd get the chance to kill that bitch at the bar when this was over.
Slim rubbed at his arm and took a sidelong glance at JD. "Ugly, am I?" he asked walking across to the kid. Before JD could answer, the outlaw delivered a swift blow with his foot to JD's side, eliciting a cry of pain from the younger man. Slim knelt next to him, a sneer on his face. JD growled back, wishing he could hold his side with his hands. Slim laughed.
"You'd better pray I don't get too impatient waiting for Frank, boy, or I may have to show you how ugly you can be with a little help." To punctuate the point, he smacked his hand as hard as he could across the boy's face, drawing blood from a now split lip. "There," Slim grinned, "That's a start." Still grinning, he got up and walked away, as JD tentatively touched his swelling lip with his tongue.
Closing his eyes, the kid leaned back against the rock, feeling the comforting weight of the derringer in his pocket. Fingers felt along the stone, seeking out a sharp bit. After a moment, he was rewarded by a somewhat jagged edge.
Slowly, carefully, he started to worry the ropes around his wrists against the stone.
_____________________________________
Vin sat up straighter in his saddle, peering out over the valley with a curious air. Seeing this, Chris slowed down, watching as Vin pulled out his spyglass.
"I can see Ezra down there," the tracker said as he placed it to his eye.
"Really?" Though he trusted Vin most times, the gunslinger couldn't keep the surprise from his voice. Squinting, Chris could just make out the shadows of three riders moving along the valley base, but never in a million years could he discern one from the other.
"I recognize the shape of his swallowtail jacket...and the way he rides," the tracker smiled. "Can't tell who he's with though. But," the tracker paused, frowning, "he is riding nervous."
"Nervous?" Chris leaned forward in the saddle.
"Stiff backed. Maybe we should find out why?"
Chris just nodded once and spurred Solon forward, the large horse responding instantly to the command despite how tired he was. In moments, they were halfway down the valley and easily visible to the men coming towards them.
Ezra tried not to react as he recognized the incoming riders, his mind tripping over the kiss lady luck had just given him. Perhaps she was making up for the hellish luck she'd deviled him with in Red Fork, he thought absurdly.
"Ezra!" Chris called, moving to intercept.
"Whoever they are," Frank hissed at the gambler, "get rid of them!"
Ezra's mind finally kicked into gear, working furiously at the discovery that neither of his captors recognized Chris, despite the somewhat distinctive clothing the gunslinger always wore.
Luck of the draw, JD. Now all I have to do is turn the coach.
Chris pulled to a stop just before them, and Vin reined in beside him. The tracker raised a hand in greeting, but his face was not very welcoming as he looked upon Ezra's companions. Frank offered a dark smile in return.
"Ezra," Chris said, shifting in his saddle to place a hand on his hip above his gun, "Where you headed?"
The gambler knew that Chris and Vin were reacting to his companions, and not to him, but that didn't mean he couldn't use it to his advantage. He offered Chris a sneer.
"I could ask the same of you, Lucas. Awful far from the ranch, aren't you? Surprised your uncle doesn't have you under lock and key after the last time my peacekeeping companions and I met up with you."
Chris raised an eyebrow but otherwise didn't react. After a short pause, he offered a smile, "There's no law that says we can't be taking a ride, lawman, especially on this land. And considering that you don't got none of those peacekeepers with you, I wouldn't be so quick to annoy me."
"Are you blind, Lucas? I am riding with two such gentlemen as we speak. And you, I'm surprised you don't have your usual two cronies with you. Although I will admit," he gave the taciturn Vin an acid look, "Mr. Spivak there is dangerous enough to be two men. I still don't know how you escaped the hangman, sir."
"Just lucky I guess," Vin replied, trying to play along. Never the best of liars, Vin had hoped not to say anything in whatever con Ezra was spinning.
Ezra snorted, "Luck has nothing to do with it, Mr. Spivak, not when the James family is involved. Now, Lucas, why don't you run along before my friends and I teach you that it is not nice to interfere with a lawman going about his nightly duties?"
Chris glowered at Ezra, and at the two men behind him, as if he were weighing his options. Slowly, his hand came away from his gun.
"You win this time, Ezra. But, mark me, this isn't over."
"It never is, Lucas."
"Come on, Del," Chris said, looking to Vin, "Let's get the hell out of here." With a loud "Hyah!" Chris spurred Solon forward and up the other side of the valley. Vin stared at Ezra a second longer, then, without a word, spurred Peso forward to follow the black horse.
Frank snorted as the two men disappeared up over the ridge. "Make a lot of friends in your business, don't you?"
"You said you wanted rid of them. That was the fastest way. Besides, they are enemies. Any other reaction from me would have seemed strange," Ezra responded quietly. "Now, shall we move on?"
Frank shook his head and slapped Ezra's rented horse on its rump. The mare jumped and took off at a quick gait, Frank and Chet directly behind.
On top of the hill, Chris and Vin watched them leave.
"What the hell was that?" the tracker asked, looking to Chris.
"Two men must be holding JD back in the direction of the James Ranch, and he might be hurt. These others are going with Ezra into town where, I would guess, they are going to use him to break into the bank. Think you can follow their back trail to get to JD?"
Vin didn't reply for a moment, until Chris turned a speculative glance his way. Breaking from his reverie, the tracker nodded. "Yeah, sure. But...how did you...?"
Chris grinned, "He called me Lucas James, because he wanted to point us in that direction. He used Del Spivak to warn us that JD was hurt, or going to be hurt. He mentioned that I usually travel with two men, meaning there are two men guarding JD. And finally, he mentioned his nightly duties. What Ezra's nightly duties are is to patrol the town, including checking that the bank is locked. Although it is possible that they might be going into town to rob something else, I doubt it."
Vin let out a low whistle.
"You and Ez...you have your own language, you know that?"
Chris smiled, thinking that he and Vin had their own language as well - just a different one. "Yeah. I'm beginning to figure out how his mind works." He sighed, and picked up Solon's reins to hold them more tightly. "I'm going to go to watch Ezra's back. You go rescue JD."
Vin nodded slowly, "Fine. But how come you don't want to take those two holding Ezra right now. We could easily get the drop on them."
Chris frowned, the thought having crossed his mind several times already. "I don't want to risk it. I don't know how close we are to JD that those holding him might hear any gunshots and take the kid out. Plus, I think, had Ezra wanted us to help him, he would have told me. Instead, he specifically wanted us to go after JD. There must be a reason for that."
Vin stared up at the red and purple sky, licking his lips with his tongue. "Maybe," he said quietly, wondering if Ezra didn't ask for help for some other reason, namely that he didn't want any. At the same time, a different thought popped into his head, and he looked at Chris. "I noticed you didn't mention Buck as being part of Ezra's code."
"No. That's the other reason I didn't want to act too quickly. I don't know why Buck isn't here too." Chris pursed his lips, his eyes hooded in worry. "Go after JD. I'll meet you in town."
Vin nodded again as Chris rode away along the top of the ridge, moving fast in order to catch up with the men now disappearing in the distance. The tracker turned his mount around and headed down into the valley to follow the back trail. As he reached the bottom and started moving along the small stream, his mind couldn't shake that last question....
Where was Buck?
______________________________________
"Where is he!" Inez demanded, slamming her hands down on the wooden table in Digger Dan's. Buck looked up startled, his red rimmed eyes confused.
"Where's who?" he mumbled in reply.
"Where is Ezra, you poor excuse for a man! What have you done with him?" She stood up, placing her hands on her hips. Buck blinked, noticing the Mary-like dress Inez wore. She was all done up...and looking beautiful.
"I like the drezz," he slurred, smiling up at her.
Inez's face flared with anger, and, in one swift move, she grabbed the nearly full beer mug sitting in front of him and threw its contents in Buck's face.
"Hey! Whazzat fer?"
"Where is he? Huh? Do you know?" She tapped her foot, her eyes flashing.
Buck watched her for a second, her questions finally registering in his mind. Slowly, he lowered his eyes to the table, shame pouring out of him.
"He's at the jail. Locked him in." As if in proof, he pulled the jail's keys out of his pocket.
"Locked him...?" Inez's mouth fell open, though she quickly closed it again. "Well, he's not there now. So where is he?"
Buck flinched slightly, and he turned confused eyes to Inez. "What?"
"I said, he's not there. The jail is empty." She frowned, her head tilting to the side, "Wait a minute...it was empty." She looked confused, then her face opened up slightly, "Buck, did you not lock up those two men who were at the saloon this morning?"
Buck put a hand to his forehead, willing some clarity into his less than sober mind. "Where's JD?" he whispered.
"He wasn't there either," Inez voice had lost some of its edge. She rocked back suddenly as Buck erupted up out of his chair, nearly upending the table in front of him.
"Something'zz wrong," he mumbled, staggering as quickly as he could out of the bar. Pulling her shawl more tightly around her, Inez tried to ignore the shiver that ran down her spine and followed him.
Buck moved quickly, if a bit erratically, towards the jail and threw open the door. As Inez had said, it was empty. Anger and confusion throbbed in his skull as he reached for the desk and started ripping open drawers. Inez arrived to stand silhouetted in the doorway, watching him with a stoic expression.
Ripping open the bottom drawer, Buck grimaced as he found JD's two colts and Ezra's Remington resting inside, chambers empty.
"You locked Ezra in?" Inez said quietly, her brown eyes regarding the cells in back. "Why didn't he let himself out?"
Buck looked up sharply at the question, then turned to look at the cells. Making his way over, he knelt down to look at the lock on the first door. Sure enough, there were scratches in the black metal from a lock pick.
"Did he...did he not want to have dinner with me?" Inez said from behind him, her voice strange. Buck frowned, still staring at the lock, then, with tremendous care, he turned to look at her. She looked oddly lost, her lips parted slightly with a nervousness he had never seen in her before, and, combined with the dress, it was almost as if she were a different woman.
"No, Inez. He wanted to have dinner with you. Something has happened to him and JD. I found their guns in the desk. Something to do with our missing inmates." He stood up, sobriety returning as the seriousness of the situation hit him. Inez shut her eyes.
"So, what do we do?"
Buck shook his head. "You go home. I'm going to go talk to Josiah."
"He's asleep. I looked in there for Ezra before coming to find you. He and Nathan are both asleep. Senora Greene is watching over them."
"Okay," Buck frowned, "well, I'm still going to go talk to him. But I think I'll have a talk with Yosemite first. Somebody had to provide the horses to get these men out of here. And I'll send some telegraphs to neighboring towns, see if anyone has seen them."
"Can't you...track them?"
Buck looked out at the nearly darkened street. In half an hour, it would be night. He sighed.
"No. Not until morning. I don't have Vin's skill to be able to track at night."
____________________________________
Vin left Peso near the forest edge, and crept in towards the clearing. He could smell the campfire and the sound of two men speaking quietly. One of them laughed. Taking advantage of the noise, Vin moved a bit quicker, stopping only when the laughter stopped. A few minutes later, he knelt down behind a tree and pulled his Winchester from the holster strapped to this thigh.
He could see JD, dried blood on his chin and a purple bruise on his forehead, watching the two men by the fire like a hawk. He could also see that the boy was working the ropes behind his back. Smiling, Vin watched as the boy suddenly jerked...his hands were free.
"All right, kid, make your move...," Vin whispered, watching as JD reached around slowly to put his hand in his pocket. The two outlaws by the fire never noticed, and the one with the sling on his arm started laughing again.
JD tried not to smile as the sound covered his pulling back the hammer on Ezra's derringer. Abruptly, he jumped to his feet, pointing the gun in the direction of the two men.
"Don't move!" he yelled, rather pointlessly. Paisley instantly went for his gun, and JD shot him in the shoulder. Slim pulled his gun too, but before he could pull it up to aim, The loud bark of a Winchester rang through the clearing, spinning Slim around to fall on the ground next to his partner, holding his other arm. Slim started screaming wildly about his arm, while Paisley just lost consciousness - his body had had enough.
JD swung the tiny gun around, his eyes bright with bewilderment.
"Now, don't ya shoot me too kid!" Vin laughed, stepping out from behind his cover.
"Vin!" JD's face cracked into a huge smile, then it fell. "Where'd you come from? Why aren't you in Greeley? Where's Chris? How did you find me? Oh my gosh, we have to help Ezra!" The rapid succession of unconnected thoughts that spilled from the kid's lips had Vin shaking his head. At least JD was easier to understand than Ezra...just.
"Are you alright?" Vin asked slowly, his voice calm. JD took a deep breath, trying to mimic the tracker's poise.
"Yes, but...Ezra, Vin, we have to help Ezra. He's got two guys with him."
"Yeah, I know. Are they and these the only ones?" Vin pointed in the direction of Slim and the sleeping Paisley. Slim was now sitting with his head between his knees, gripping his bleeding shoulder, completely unaware of anything but the pain. Small whimpers emitted from his throat.
JD wiped the blood from his chin, eyes watching Vin, "You know about them? Does that mean you got them already? Oh thank..."
"No, not yet. Chris is tracking them. We didn't want to stop them until we knew that you and whoever else they might be holding over Ezra were safe. What are they planning, kid?"
"To rob the bank. Ezra's helping them because of me, and only me. The others are safe, for the moment. They don't know anything." JD shook his head, "Ezra's really acting strange, Vin. Like he doesn't care about what will happen to him if he succeeds. He gave me this," he palmed the derringer to show Vin, "so I could have a chance. He has nothing to protect himself now, Vin. They'll kill him when they get what they want, I know it."
"Then we best make sure that he has protection," Vin stated firmly. "In other words, us."
"You have to trust in one of us to be there," JD whispered, thinking on his conversation with Ezra at the jail. Vin looked at him curiously. Ignoring the questioning gaze, the kid turned to the two still very much alive outlaws.
"What about them?"
Vin looked at the two outlaws, his face dark. "Leave them for now. I think we need to get into town quickly. Just bind their wounds and tie 'em to a couple of trees. We simply have to hope nothing too hungry comes along while we're gone." He gave Slim a feral smile when the outlaw tipped up his head to stare at him.
JD nodded, and headed towards the two horses standing at the clearing edge. Vin kept his rifle up, though it seemed clear that neither Slim nor Paisley would put up a fight.
"By the way, JD," Vin said, watching as the kid pulled a shirt out of one of the outlaw's saddlebags to use as a bandage, "What happened to Buck?"
"Don't ask," the kid replied, his voice tinged with annoyance.
__________________________________
Part Six
_________________________________
Buck sat in the clinic, his head in his hands. Nathan sat up in his bed, hands worrying at the blanket on his bed, while Josiah leaned against the windowsill. No one spoke.
"This is my fault," Buck said eventually, his voice dead.
"I think...," Josiah said quietly, staring out at the street below, "I think there has been entirely too much blame being worn in this town lately."
"Josiah," Buck said, looking up with damp eyes, "I'm so sorry. I know how much Ezra has come to mean to you."
"Did you not hear what I just said, Buck?" Josiah flashed. "You taking on weight of guilt is not helping. Besides, how much Ezra means to me, or how much JD means to you is irrelevant right now. What we need to do is figure out what happened."
"If you ask me, you both sort of treated Ezra badly. Just my opinion," Nathan groused from his bed.
Two pairs of startled eyes turned to the healer. Josiah snorted.
"Well, if that isn't the figurative pot calling the kettle..."
"I'm just saying that...."
"Hey!" Buck yelled, "Quit it!"
Nathan and Josiah glared at each other a second longer, before the preacher sighed.
"Sorry Nathan."
"Just didn't like you two intimating that I don't care about Ezra or JD as much as you," Nathan replied peevishly.
This, of course, made Buck and Josiah feel even worse. Nathan couldn't resist a small chuckle at their crestfallen faces.
"We're a pathetic group, aren't we?"
Josiah actually smiled at that, shaking his head. "In any case, as I said, what we need to do is figure out what happened."
"How?" Nathan asked, his brow furrowed, "According to Buck, no one saw anything."
"I know," Josiah sighed. "But there has to be something." He picked up a candle from off the sill and blew it out. Moments later, he threw it across the room with so much force, it broke into several pieces. Both Nathan and Buck jumped.
"I hate feeling this helpless, damn it! Trapped in this damned room. If I'd just been able to go outside to find him today, like I wanted to..."
Buck's mouth fell open, having rarely seen Josiah get this angry. Nathan clicked his tongue, dark eyes focused squarely on the preacher.
"I thought you weren't going to talk about fault any more, old friend," the healer said calmly. Josiah glowered at him, but Nathan just raised his head. Eventually, Josiah lowered his gaze and slumped into the chair by the window, his hand playing with the bandages around his thigh. The leg throbbed, reminding him that putting weight on it for longer than a few minutes was a bad idea.
"Useless," the preacher said. Nathan returned to picking away at the coarse blanket.
"Man" Buck said, lowering his head to his hands again, "I wish Chris and Vin...."
A heavy knock at the door startled all of them, and Buck stood up to draw his gun.
"Who's there? What do you want?" Buck called, hand at his waist.
"The usual," a low voice growled, opening the door and letting in a powerful gust of wind that blew up the arrival's black duster like raven's wings, "I want your hide. But for now, we have a job to do." Chris looked around the room at the surprised inhabitants and smiled thinly, "And, seeing as only two of us are actually mobile, I'd say we need a plan."
___________________________________
"Well?" Frank asked, watching as Chet looked up and down the dark main street of Four Corners again. They'd been waiting a while now, as the townsfolk slowly made their way to bed. The old man turned and smiled, gruesome teeth in full regalia. Both Ezra and Frank quickly averted their gaze.
"All clear, boss," Chet said. "Not a soul on the street that looks like it would care 'bout anything."
"Magnifico," Frank nodded. "All right, Ezra the lawman, let's see your stuff."
The gambler nodded, and moved to peek around the corner. Seeing no one, he slipped along the boardwalk and reached the door to the jail. In seconds, he had the door opened and was inside. Frank and Chet followed him in.
The older outlaw kept watch at the window as Ezra moved to the cell like vault in the back. He got through the doors quickly and then sat in front of the safe. For a moment, he simply closed his eyes, his memory imagining Mr. Wilson turning the combination. Taking a deep breath, he pictured the numbers in his mind and reached up to rotate the lock.
A resounding click echoed around the small room, and Ezra smiled.
"Well done," Frank hissed. He handed Ezra a pair of saddlebags. "Fill them." Dutifully, Ezra took them and did as he was told.
Chet peered out at the street, his eyes narrowing as he thought he caught some movement down the street. He watched the spot for a moment, and, sure enough, after a moment, he caught the movement again...someone was hiding down the alley opposite the bank.
"Boss!" he hissed.
Frank looked up, "What?"
"I think we have trouble. There is someone out there,"
Ezra looked up, his mouth opening slightly. Frank looked at him, his eyes black in the night of the bank.
"Who is it?"
"I have no idea," Ezra replied. "I've been with you, remember?"
In two steps, Frank had rounded the corner and grabbed Ezra by the front of his shirt. "Who is it!"
"Maybe someone saw us," Ezra tried weakly. "I can't...I don't...."
"Remember the deal, gambler! Anything happens to us, and that boy dies, you hear me? You will help us get out of here!"
"How? I don't have a gun," Ezra replied darkly.
Frank glowered at him, then shoved him back into the wall. Grabbing the saddlebags that Ezra had filled, he threw one set over his shoulder an tossed the other to Chet. Then he gestured that Ezra should open the door and be the first to walk out.
"Talk to whoever is out there. Explain to them the situation."
Ezra swallowed, nodding. He walked to the door and opened it slowly. He took two steps out onto the boardwalk and stood facing the alley across the way.
"Buck," he called to the seemingly empty street, "if that is you, you have to let these men with me go. If you don't, JD's life is forfeit."
No one answered.
Ezra turned to look back into the jail, where Frank and Chet had rifles trained on him, though they themselves remained hidden from anyone outside the jail. This was not a good position. Frank shook his head, and cocked the rifle.
"Um..." Ezra shut his eyes and turned once more to the street. "Please, Buck. They have JD. If they do not return to where they have him hidden, the men there will kill him."
"Are you so sure we can not get to JD before that happens, and save him?" Buck's voice called. Ezra kept his eyes trained on the alley, as the voice had come from that direction.
"Starting as soon as it became fully dark, the two men guarding him are supposed to be on strict rotation, watching the valley that leads up to the place where they have him. They expect three riders to be coming back and Frank worked out a special signal to alert them of our return that he did not tell me. If that signal is not given, the man called Paisley has orders to take a knife to JD."
"And how do you know JD is not already dead," Buck's voice asked again.
Ezra shivered, "I don't," he replied dejectedly. His shoulders slumped slightly in his jacket.
Buck didn't reply to the admission, and the silence on the street began to grow long.
"Gambler!" Frank hissed. Ezra jerked, as if he'd been asleep. He licked his lips and took in another deep breath.
"Buck, will you let us go? I need to know!"
"I'll let you go," Buck replied, stepping out from the shadows of the alleyway. The tall man put his rifle down and backed up. Ezra nodded at him.
"Well done," Frank grinned. Chet stepped out the bank first, the saddlebags on his shoulders and his gun now pointed at the unarmed Buck. Frank followed just behind, and placed his gun against the back of the gambler's head.
"We'll be leaving now, Buck," Frank smiled. "Thank you for your cooperation."
"No!" Inez yelled, pushing out the batwing doors to the saloon. She still wore her new dress, but there was now a rifle in her hand. "You let him go!" she demanded, raising the rifle up.
"Well, well, who is this?" Frank chuckled. Ezra stiffened, shaking his head in her direction.
"Inez, no, not like that," Buck hissed, taking a step towards here, his hands raised. Inez ignored him, trying to get around him.
"You let him go! You can't have him, you understand? He's mine!" She took several more steps forward, and before Buck could reach her, she shot wildly in the direction of the bank, causing all three men to duck quickly to the ground as it went over their heads.
"Inez, NO!" Ezra yelled, rolling to the side. Chet bounced up first and took aim, not caring that Buck had reached Inez and was wrestling with her for the gun. With a roar, Ezra jumped him, knocking the rifle from his hand and slamming the grizzled man into the sidewalk with a force strong enough to knock him out. Grabbing the rifle, he spun to turn it on Frank.
The younger outlaw, meanwhile, had also gathered himself up, but instead of raising his rifle, he raised a hand at the gambler.
"I wouldn't," Frank hissed. "One move towards me, and that boy is dead, remember?" He bared his teeth in a gruesome smile, the perfectly straight whites seeming to Ezra as ugly as Chet's hideous grin. The gambler's hands shook, his whole body demanding he take this insolent bastard. Frank's smile turned into a smirk as he watched Ezra falter.
In the background, the low rumble of hooves racing into town could be heard, the almost indiscernible sound existing just below the harsh breathing of the two men.
Slowly, Ezra uncocked the rifle and placed it on the ground, then stood with his hands out from his sides. Inez whimpered, holding onto Buck's lapels as he held her rifle away from her.
"Good choice," Frank nodded at the gambler.
On the ground, Chet groaned, waking up.
Back in the alley, hidden deep in the shadows, Chris held his gun pointed at the handsome outlaw, waiting. Where the hell was Vin? If he had failed....Chris tried not to think about it. Instead, he poured all his focus onto watching the two men facing each other on the boardwalk before the bank.
"Time to go, Ezra," Frank said quietly, relishing in his power over the gambler. "Help Chet to his feet, and we'll go to the horses. Understood?"
Ezra lowered his eyes, his hands once more falling to his sides. Slowly, he reached down to gather up the slowly wakening outlaw.
The hoof beats got louder, until they couldn't be ignored. Ezra was already facing the right direction, but Frank had to turn.
In that split second, a massive dimpled grin creased Ezra's face.
Frank never even knew what happened. In less time than it takes a peregrine falcon to grab its prey, Ezra picked up the dropped rifle and, with a satisfied shout, smashed the butt across the back of Frank's head. The outlaw crumbled to the ground, completely unaware of when or how he had lost his advantage. Then, when Chet groaned again a moment later, the gambler pivoted around and smacked him as well.
"Understand that, you miserable, cretinous, foul smelling degenerates!" Ezra finished, throwing the rifle to the side.
"Yee Ha!" Buck yelled, raising Inez's rifle in the air. At the same time, the two incoming riders scrambled to a stop in front of the bank.
"Hey! I wanted to be the one to take them down!" JD laughed, pulling up hard on the rented horse's reins. Ezra grinned up at the boy, relief shining from his face.
"Mr. Dunne! Never sell that hat!" the gambler replied quickly, earning a slightly confused look from the kid. Before he had even seen JD, Ezra had seen the shape of that damn bowler on the young man's head as he and Vin rode up - and it was a wonderful sight to see! Still smiling, Ezra looked at Vin and nodded his thanks. The tracker nodded back.
"I admit, the clothes you and Ezra wear are useful at times," Chris agreed, stepping out of the shadows and holstering his guns. "You all right JD?"
"Better than I was a few hours ago," the kid laughed, "eh, Ezra?" But the gambler had already stepped off the boardwalk, his eyes on Inez. She was arguing with Buck, trying to get her rifle back, but Buck was holding it out of arm's reach.
"That wasn't what I meant by a distraction!" the ladies man was chastising, holding her arm.
"I did my best!" she said back, "When I saw that man with a gun to his head I..." she stopped, suddenly aware that they were being watched. She turned slowly, her eyes instantly falling on the frosty green ones staring at her from a few feet away.
"Quite a distraction," the gambler said to her quietly, not noticing that everyone else had also gone quiet. Vin sent a questioning gaze to JD, but the kid just shook his head. Buck, who had still been holding her arm, let go and backed away, his eyes staring at the ground. It was as much an apology as anything. Inez frowned nervously at Ezra.
"They said they needed a distraction, and since Josiah and Nathan couldn't leave the clinic...Buck asked me," she said. "He told me that I should try to think of a way to delay you from leaving...to give Vin enough time to rescue JD and bring him here so that you would know he was safe."
Ezra offered a lopsided grin and shook his head, "And he said to use the bar's rifle?"
"No...actually, he asked me not to bring a gun, in case they got the wrong idea and tried to shoot me. But I...I was scared for you. I was afraid my words wouldn't be enough."
"Nearly got us killed," Buck groused in a low rumble. Inez glanced at him, her face apologetic.
"Yes, I realize. The more I think on it...I'm sorry," she lowered her head, her fingers playing at the folds of the dress. Ever since she had put it on, she's been acting such a fool. "But once I made the decision to use it...I couldn't...and then everything happened so fast, and all I could think to do was hope that...."
"We got lucky," Ezra finished quietly, stepping up close to her. She looked up, her eyes bright in the moonlight, and, after measuring his words, she nodded. Gently, he touched his fingers to her chin, tipping her head up.
"You know, querido, this was a very good day for luck," he whispered...right before touching his lips to hers.
In the background, Buck sighed. After a moment, he even smiled.
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And last, a little Epilogue.....