When Chris spotted the riders he groaned and looked back at the camp. Luckily Ally seemed nowhere in
sight. He hoped she stayed that way as he moved down to greet the men.
"Gentlemen...." He said calmly as they rode up. "What brings you back this way?"
"I could ask you the same thing." The leader promptly countered.
"We're just heading to Bitter Creek to do a little business. Nothing to concern yourself with." The last
sentence was spoken in a casual tone but the men could clearly hear the threat behind it. Chris Larabee
didn't like being questioned and, as big as he was, the leader was skating on thin ice even asking the
question.
"What aboutcha'll?" Nathan called. "Awful late for you fellers to be out ridin ain't it?"
One shrugged. "We're lookin' for a killer. She's a breed and they know how to travel at night. To catch her
we've gota think like her."
Ezra arched a skeptical eyebrow even as his mind thought. 'I doubt such a ignoramus such as yourself
is capable of serious thought patterns' Aloud he said. "Well gentlemen if you believe such then you must
be quite eager to be on your way as the young lady in question may elude you if you dally."
"HUH?" The leader said flatly.
"He means if you stick around here you might lose her." JD offered pleased that he for once was not the
one asking for a translation. In fact he was the one that provided the answer.
The leader shrugged as his eyes flicked over the assembled group of men. "There's one of you missing."
"Our comrade is of a rather peaceful disposition. He enjoys the desert at night. He should return shortly."
Ezra said calmly.
"Well per'aps we should go and look fer 'em." The leader said and began to dismount. "There's all kinds
of dangers in the desert at night. He could be hurt."
"I doubt it." Chris said firmly. "Vin's a big boy. He can take care of himself."
"Still....with a killer on the loose you never know." The leader said flatly. "Boys why dontcha take a li'l look
around. See if ya can find 'em."
"I'm right here." Vin called out as he walked into the camp.
"Nice night out?" Larabee asked his friend calmly his words carrying a different meaning.
"Beautiful. Everything where it should be. Desert comes alive at night. I'm tellin' ya. There's animals
everywhere. In the bushes...you can hear 'em movin' if you listen quiet enough. I coulda had a dozen
more rabbits if I'd minded to shoot 'em."
"We'll get some later. Could use the meat on the trip."
He nodded and walked back towards the fire to warm his hands.
"Ally all right?" Josiah asked in a whisper.
"She's in the bushes near the horses." He replied in a voice equally low.
------
Chris stood calmly, staring at the leader. Daring him to challenge them. Waiting for one of them to make
a wrong move.
One did.
The leader. He pulled his gun and pointed it at him and said with a snarl. "WHERE IS SHE?"
He would've spoken but Ally's voice rang out. "RIGHT HERE!"
She stepped into the light and walked up to stand next to him.
"What are you doing Ally?"
"I won't let you die for me." She murmured. "I don't deserve that kind of an honor. Josiah maybe. Me no."
"Come on girl." The leader advanced on her but Ally side-stepped him even as she held out a leg and
tripped him.
He sprawled in the dirt.
"I'm not going anywhere with you." She said flatly. "And I didn't kill that man! He died from his wounds.
No doctor on earth could have saved him!"
"You're lyin'!" He snarled up at her.
She shook her head. "No. I'm not. Now do yourselves a favor and be on your way. I'm not going to stand
around and let you lynch me."
"And we ain't either!" JD called out. "Ally's stayin' with us. Now git!"
"She's comin' with us!" The leader yelled as he pushed himself to his feet and pointed his gun at her.
"No I'm NOT!" Ally yelled back her hand going to her gun.
"Either you go with us now or I shoot you where you stand." He hissed.
She laughed at him and said something in Cheyenne.
JD and Buck looked over at a smiling Josiah.
"What'd she say?"
"Loosely translated?" Josiah began. "I'd love to see you try." He said it loud enough so that the other men
could hear.
The rest of the Seven chuckled at the woman's audacity even as their hands moved to their gunbelts.
"All right." The leader challenged. "We will." He pulled back the hammer on his gun and fired.
Ally and Chris dove out of the way and the bullet thudded harmlessly into the sand.
Behind them the rest of the Seven dove for cover behind rocks and trees and started shooting.
Ally grinned back at Josiah. "Why do I have the feeling this happens often?!" She called to him.
"Unfortunately..." He called back with a smile. "IT DOES!"
She chuckled and shook her head. Just like him, always making a joke in the midst of danger.
The Seven were fierce and efficient fighters. Chris seemed not to care what chances he took. Only his
instincts and inherent skills kept him from getting seriously injured or killed.
JD, though young, handled himself well in a gunfight. He kept his cover and conserved his bullets.
Buck, for all his cavalier flirting, was quite an intelligent fighter. He picked his shots well and stayed out of
harm's way.
Ezra, despite being the gambler, left nothing to chance. His eyes seemed to be looking everywhere at once
and handled himself with an admirable skill.
Nathan seemed to be everyone's guardian angel. Watching all of the Seven, watching for any signs of
being outnumbered or injured, all the while watching over himself.
Josiah, as usual, was watching over her and acting as an avenging angel, taking down a shooter before
he could hit Ally or one of the Seven.
And then there was Vin. The Seven's sharpshooter it seemed. He kept a constant eye out for any hidden
dangers meanwhile he was taking out the better shooters in their enemy's group.
Together they made an unbeatable team.
A bullet skimmed above her head and the Cheyenne realized she'd better stop analyzing the Seven and
start worrying about finding better cover. Spying a nice wide tree, she flipped into a roll across the open
space and landed on one knee then looked up...
Into the business end of a revolver.
"Bad move." He said flatly.
"Why?" Ally said softly. "Why kill me?" She looked into his eyes for a moment then realization dawned.
"This has nothing to do with your friend's brother right? That was an excuse."
"You're quite right." He said evenly. "This is business." His gun didn't waver. "Remember Eliza O'Dell?"
She tried. She really did but she came up empty. "No. Should I?"
"Yes. Three months ago you passed through her hometown. Hayestown. Eliza was engaged to a young
man Michael Halway."
Now she remembered. Eliza had been a timid young woman she'd befriended. It had not taken long for her
to realize that her fiancee was beating her.
Naturally Ally had refused to stand by and allow it to happen. She had sent Eliza to a friend in a nearby town.
From there she'd left the territory for safety up north.
Of course Michael hadn't been pleased. Not that Ally'd cared. She made a lot of enemies. Another one
wasn't going to make a major difference.
"Halway right?" She queried tiredly.
He nodded. "Two hundred dollars for your dead body."
"And you think he's actually going to pay you?" She sneered. "He knows you won't make it back alive.
You kill me and my friends and family will hunt you down."
He considered that threat for a moment then smiled. "For two hundred dollars, I'll take that chance."
She tensed and eased to her feet. Her eyes watched his hand, her body ready to spring clear at the
slightest twitch.
He half-smiled then steaded the gun.
Josiah looked over and spotted her.
"Vin!" He yelled to his friend.
The sharpshooter spun and sized up the situation in an instant.
"ALLY! GIT DOWN!" He yelled trying to get a clear shot. But the sounds from the gunfight drowned out
his voice.
Josiah found himself praying that Ally would realize the situation and move. Or something would move her.
As if in answer to his prayer a brown blur came hurtling down out of the sky. It slammed into her shoulder,
knocking her clear.
Not hesitating, Vin fired.
Everything was still...
-------
Ally looked up to see Aenohe sitting on her shoulder.
"Always watching out for me aren't you?" She asked tiredly.
Seeing their leader dead, the others lost their nerve and bolted.
The threat gone, the Seven broke cover and ran over to her.
"You're bleeding!" JD announced.
Josiah helped Ally up into a sitting position as Aenohe launched himself onto a nearby branch.
She glanced at her shoulder then shot a wry smile at JD. "So I've noticed." She waved a hand in the hawk's
direction. "Relax, its just some cuts Aenohe's claws made when he knocked me over."
Nathan crouched down next to her and examined the wound. "We'd best get you over to the fire and clean
them up. Those cuts are pretty deep. We don't want gangrene getting into them."
She nodded as Josiah lifted her to her feet.
---------
Ally winced as she slipped back into her shirt.
"Stings huh?" Vin's voice said from behind.
She buttoned her shirt then turned to look at him. "Slightly."
"Guess you finally figured out why Aenohe stays with you." He commented, helping her with her coat.
"Hmmm?"
"Remember when you said you weren't sure why he stays with you? Well now you know."
She reached out and brushed her fingers against the hawk's chest feathers. "My self-appointed guardian
angel?" She chuckled."Well he's got the wings part down huh?"
"Don't forget the guard part." Vin cautioned with a smile.
She laughed. "No. I can't forget that."
Aenohe screeched and flew out the window.
"I think we embarrassed him."
Vin smiled. "I bet."
She shot him a cheeky grin. "Ain't that Ezra's job..." She coughed slightly. "Excuse me...I forgot...his
vocation."
Vin grinned even as he shook his head. "You're trouble."
She laughed again. "Never said I wasn't."
"Nope." He inclined his head toward the door
"Saloon?"
Vin grinned. "Saloon."
Laughing the duo walked out.
Finis.
sight. He hoped she stayed that way as he moved down to greet the men.
"Gentlemen...." He said calmly as they rode up. "What brings you back this way?"
"I could ask you the same thing." The leader promptly countered.
"We're just heading to Bitter Creek to do a little business. Nothing to concern yourself with." The last
sentence was spoken in a casual tone but the men could clearly hear the threat behind it. Chris Larabee
didn't like being questioned and, as big as he was, the leader was skating on thin ice even asking the
question.
"What aboutcha'll?" Nathan called. "Awful late for you fellers to be out ridin ain't it?"
One shrugged. "We're lookin' for a killer. She's a breed and they know how to travel at night. To catch her
we've gota think like her."
Ezra arched a skeptical eyebrow even as his mind thought. 'I doubt such a ignoramus such as yourself
is capable of serious thought patterns' Aloud he said. "Well gentlemen if you believe such then you must
be quite eager to be on your way as the young lady in question may elude you if you dally."
"HUH?" The leader said flatly.
"He means if you stick around here you might lose her." JD offered pleased that he for once was not the
one asking for a translation. In fact he was the one that provided the answer.
The leader shrugged as his eyes flicked over the assembled group of men. "There's one of you missing."
"Our comrade is of a rather peaceful disposition. He enjoys the desert at night. He should return shortly."
Ezra said calmly.
"Well per'aps we should go and look fer 'em." The leader said and began to dismount. "There's all kinds
of dangers in the desert at night. He could be hurt."
"I doubt it." Chris said firmly. "Vin's a big boy. He can take care of himself."
"Still....with a killer on the loose you never know." The leader said flatly. "Boys why dontcha take a li'l look
around. See if ya can find 'em."
"I'm right here." Vin called out as he walked into the camp.
"Nice night out?" Larabee asked his friend calmly his words carrying a different meaning.
"Beautiful. Everything where it should be. Desert comes alive at night. I'm tellin' ya. There's animals
everywhere. In the bushes...you can hear 'em movin' if you listen quiet enough. I coulda had a dozen
more rabbits if I'd minded to shoot 'em."
"We'll get some later. Could use the meat on the trip."
He nodded and walked back towards the fire to warm his hands.
"Ally all right?" Josiah asked in a whisper.
"She's in the bushes near the horses." He replied in a voice equally low.
------
Chris stood calmly, staring at the leader. Daring him to challenge them. Waiting for one of them to make
a wrong move.
One did.
The leader. He pulled his gun and pointed it at him and said with a snarl. "WHERE IS SHE?"
He would've spoken but Ally's voice rang out. "RIGHT HERE!"
She stepped into the light and walked up to stand next to him.
"What are you doing Ally?"
"I won't let you die for me." She murmured. "I don't deserve that kind of an honor. Josiah maybe. Me no."
"Come on girl." The leader advanced on her but Ally side-stepped him even as she held out a leg and
tripped him.
He sprawled in the dirt.
"I'm not going anywhere with you." She said flatly. "And I didn't kill that man! He died from his wounds.
No doctor on earth could have saved him!"
"You're lyin'!" He snarled up at her.
She shook her head. "No. I'm not. Now do yourselves a favor and be on your way. I'm not going to stand
around and let you lynch me."
"And we ain't either!" JD called out. "Ally's stayin' with us. Now git!"
"She's comin' with us!" The leader yelled as he pushed himself to his feet and pointed his gun at her.
"No I'm NOT!" Ally yelled back her hand going to her gun.
"Either you go with us now or I shoot you where you stand." He hissed.
She laughed at him and said something in Cheyenne.
JD and Buck looked over at a smiling Josiah.
"What'd she say?"
"Loosely translated?" Josiah began. "I'd love to see you try." He said it loud enough so that the other men
could hear.
The rest of the Seven chuckled at the woman's audacity even as their hands moved to their gunbelts.
"All right." The leader challenged. "We will." He pulled back the hammer on his gun and fired.
Ally and Chris dove out of the way and the bullet thudded harmlessly into the sand.
Behind them the rest of the Seven dove for cover behind rocks and trees and started shooting.
Ally grinned back at Josiah. "Why do I have the feeling this happens often?!" She called to him.
"Unfortunately..." He called back with a smile. "IT DOES!"
She chuckled and shook her head. Just like him, always making a joke in the midst of danger.
The Seven were fierce and efficient fighters. Chris seemed not to care what chances he took. Only his
instincts and inherent skills kept him from getting seriously injured or killed.
JD, though young, handled himself well in a gunfight. He kept his cover and conserved his bullets.
Buck, for all his cavalier flirting, was quite an intelligent fighter. He picked his shots well and stayed out of
harm's way.
Ezra, despite being the gambler, left nothing to chance. His eyes seemed to be looking everywhere at once
and handled himself with an admirable skill.
Nathan seemed to be everyone's guardian angel. Watching all of the Seven, watching for any signs of
being outnumbered or injured, all the while watching over himself.
Josiah, as usual, was watching over her and acting as an avenging angel, taking down a shooter before
he could hit Ally or one of the Seven.
And then there was Vin. The Seven's sharpshooter it seemed. He kept a constant eye out for any hidden
dangers meanwhile he was taking out the better shooters in their enemy's group.
Together they made an unbeatable team.
A bullet skimmed above her head and the Cheyenne realized she'd better stop analyzing the Seven and
start worrying about finding better cover. Spying a nice wide tree, she flipped into a roll across the open
space and landed on one knee then looked up...
Into the business end of a revolver.
"Bad move." He said flatly.
"Why?" Ally said softly. "Why kill me?" She looked into his eyes for a moment then realization dawned.
"This has nothing to do with your friend's brother right? That was an excuse."
"You're quite right." He said evenly. "This is business." His gun didn't waver. "Remember Eliza O'Dell?"
She tried. She really did but she came up empty. "No. Should I?"
"Yes. Three months ago you passed through her hometown. Hayestown. Eliza was engaged to a young
man Michael Halway."
Now she remembered. Eliza had been a timid young woman she'd befriended. It had not taken long for her
to realize that her fiancee was beating her.
Naturally Ally had refused to stand by and allow it to happen. She had sent Eliza to a friend in a nearby town.
From there she'd left the territory for safety up north.
Of course Michael hadn't been pleased. Not that Ally'd cared. She made a lot of enemies. Another one
wasn't going to make a major difference.
"Halway right?" She queried tiredly.
He nodded. "Two hundred dollars for your dead body."
"And you think he's actually going to pay you?" She sneered. "He knows you won't make it back alive.
You kill me and my friends and family will hunt you down."
He considered that threat for a moment then smiled. "For two hundred dollars, I'll take that chance."
She tensed and eased to her feet. Her eyes watched his hand, her body ready to spring clear at the
slightest twitch.
He half-smiled then steaded the gun.
Josiah looked over and spotted her.
"Vin!" He yelled to his friend.
The sharpshooter spun and sized up the situation in an instant.
"ALLY! GIT DOWN!" He yelled trying to get a clear shot. But the sounds from the gunfight drowned out
his voice.
Josiah found himself praying that Ally would realize the situation and move. Or something would move her.
As if in answer to his prayer a brown blur came hurtling down out of the sky. It slammed into her shoulder,
knocking her clear.
Not hesitating, Vin fired.
Everything was still...
-------
Ally looked up to see Aenohe sitting on her shoulder.
"Always watching out for me aren't you?" She asked tiredly.
Seeing their leader dead, the others lost their nerve and bolted.
The threat gone, the Seven broke cover and ran over to her.
"You're bleeding!" JD announced.
Josiah helped Ally up into a sitting position as Aenohe launched himself onto a nearby branch.
She glanced at her shoulder then shot a wry smile at JD. "So I've noticed." She waved a hand in the hawk's
direction. "Relax, its just some cuts Aenohe's claws made when he knocked me over."
Nathan crouched down next to her and examined the wound. "We'd best get you over to the fire and clean
them up. Those cuts are pretty deep. We don't want gangrene getting into them."
She nodded as Josiah lifted her to her feet.
---------
Ally winced as she slipped back into her shirt.
"Stings huh?" Vin's voice said from behind.
She buttoned her shirt then turned to look at him. "Slightly."
"Guess you finally figured out why Aenohe stays with you." He commented, helping her with her coat.
"Hmmm?"
"Remember when you said you weren't sure why he stays with you? Well now you know."
She reached out and brushed her fingers against the hawk's chest feathers. "My self-appointed guardian
angel?" She chuckled."Well he's got the wings part down huh?"
"Don't forget the guard part." Vin cautioned with a smile.
She laughed. "No. I can't forget that."
Aenohe screeched and flew out the window.
"I think we embarrassed him."
Vin smiled. "I bet."
She shot him a cheeky grin. "Ain't that Ezra's job..." She coughed slightly. "Excuse me...I forgot...his
vocation."
Vin grinned even as he shook his head. "You're trouble."
She laughed again. "Never said I wasn't."
"Nope." He inclined his head toward the door
"Saloon?"
Vin grinned. "Saloon."
Laughing the duo walked out.
Finis.