The Cagon Mines
Ch. 3
With a groan, he slowly raised his head. A pair of brown eyes looked back at him. Blinking. Reno Nevada looked around at the shadowy cave cell he had some how ended up in. Several pairs of eyes looked back. It was too dark to make out too much detail, except that they were all dirty, they all smelled of salty sweat and rancid wounds, and they all watched him, the whites of their eyes shining like beacons in the shadows.
The first one shoved a beat up tin cup at him.
Reno pushed himself up into a sitting position and gratefully took the offered cup. He made a face as the cool water ran over his tongue. It was gritty and tasted of rust.
His benefactor chuckled. "Well, it isn't champagne, but it keeps us going."
The Cavalier swooshed the water in the cup for a moment, then, with a shrug, took another swallow. When he managed to get that gulp down, he smiled. "Had worse. Buckaroo has this get-'im-up-now morning coffee..." He shook his head. He glanced around once more. "Where are we?"
"You don't remember?" The man huffed. "Guess I don't blame you after that climb of yours. Never thought you'd make it to the top. Did you really think no one would be waiting for you?" Again he chuckled.
Reno frowned. He didn't remember making it to the top. 'Course, he barely remembered much of anything except, maybe, his arms falling off. Then again, his arms were still there, more or less. They felt like limp noodles.
The man leaned close to get a good look at him. "You've got the look of a smart man. Why did you bother climbing to the top?"
The Cavalier shrugged. "Hate to leave a thing unfinished." he mumbled. "Where..."
"Cagon's justice system." the man growled. There were a few mumbles from around the cell. "Welcome to the city jail." He looked up and around as if his eyes could pierce the darkness to see the stone ceiling and walls. "It's a silver mine in the middle of no where, and we..." he waved at the others "... are the condemned."
"They said he was convicted of murder." came a woman's voice from the shadows.
"Murder?" His benefactor glanced back at him sharply. "What are you? Engineer? A rock doc?"
It was Reno's turn to chuckle. "I play the saxophone."
"The saxophone? They wasted a body on a sax's player?"
Reno shrugged. "I'm a pretty good P.R. man."
The drew a laugh from the audience. The man grinned, showing off what had once been perfect teeth. "Well, friend, these folks could use some good public relations." he held his hand out. "Names Moses. Arrested and convicted in a record two hours for armed robbery... three days before I even knew this dump existed."
The Cavalier took the offered hand. "Reno Nevada, murder, apparently because they thought I was someone else." He frowned, suddenly wondering what had happened to Perfect Tommy and Knuckles. No doubt they had called Buckaroo. but would they behave long enough for Buckaroo to come to the rescue? he sure hoped he would know more about what was going on than he did.
Moses watched him a moment longer, before leaning back. "Aughta get some shut eye. Tomorrow is always hard enough. And the guards are going to be wanting to make it clear that no one else had better be wasting time trying to climb out of this hell hole."
Reno Nevada glanced about sharply. "Are they going to punish you for what I did?" he wondered, suddenly feeling very guilty.
Moses shrugged. "Don't matter. It was damn entertaining while it lasted." That got another laugh from the crowd, though there was a nervous hint to it. "Don't worry about it, man." Moses continued. "They'd find a reason to put us in our place anyway." He leaned back until he disappeared in the darkness. Pair by pair, the eyes blinked out as the occupants of the cell went to sleep for the night.
Reno Nevada sighed. Thinking of nothing else to do, he laid down again and closed his eyes, hoping he would dream of his friends, his beautiful Pecos, and smacking around a certain sheriff.
**********
Knuckles smacked a hand across his shoulders. "headlights! If you have to steal something, steal something with a headlight!" The bike hit an unseen bump that nearly threw her from the bike. She had to wonder if he had done it on purpose. Even if he was as blind as she was, Perfect Tommy was just Perfect Tommy enough to throw her from the bike for insulting his larceny abilities. The side effect of her grip around his middle tightening was just an after thought.
"Hey, plenty of moon light." Perfect Tommy mumbled back, concentrating on what little ground he could see before them.
Knuckles smack him again. "There isn't any moon, you idiot."
Tommy glanced back. "You wanna walk?"
"Bus." was her answer.
"What?"
"BUS!" Knuckles shouted diving off of the bike.
Perfect Tommy looked forward again to see a huge object across his path, There was no time to apply brakes, so he simply turned, laying the dirt bike on its side. Both he and the bike skidded across the dirt trail until the bike slammed into the underside of the bus.
Bruised, skinned, cut, and dazed, Perfect Tommy laid on the ground staring up at where the blackness of the sky ended and the blackness of the bus started. Bus? Black?
Rawhide crouched down beside him. "I knew we'd be running into you. I just didn't think we'd be running over you."
"Well, you know how I like to make an entrance." Perfect Tommy groaned. He dropped his head back to the ground.
Rawhide was just pulling the younger man to his feet when New Jersey came around the front of the bus. "Rawhide, we've got comp..." He stopped when he saw Perfect Tommy. "Oh, damn..." he started.
"Well, well, Mr.. Perfect Tommy? Am I correct?" Sheriff McCane held out his hand as he stepped out from behind the doctor.
Tommy hesitated.
"Sheriff." Rawhide greeted, though his tone was everything but welcoming. He kept his hand securely clamped on Tommy's elbow as if he feared that if he let go, he'd lose him once more. He always seemed to be losing the damn kid!
New Jersey cleared his throat and Held out a slip of official looking paper to Rawhide. "He has a warrant for Perfect Tommy."
Tommy stiffened, but Rawhide's grip on him kept him still.
"What's the charge?" Rawhide asked, not taking the paper. He'd trust Jersey to read it correctly.
But it was the sheriff that answered: "For the theft of a motor cycle."
Tommy smiled, a nervous expression at best. "Motor cycle? What motor cycle?"
McCane glanced passed them at the bike which was still wedged under the bus. "Probably that one." He pulled a pair of handcuffs from the back of his belt. "You want to come nice and quiet like? Or shall we make a fight out of this?"
As if cued, three deputies stepped into view. Buckaroo and a rather irate Pinky Carruthers followed.
Perfect Tommy stepped back. "I don't do jail." he growled. Again, Rawhide's grip kept him from going too far. Being perfect, he quickly regained his composure. With a shaky smile, he added "Been there, done that. But thanks for the invention."
"'friad it wasn't a matter of choice, boy." McCane continued to advance on him.
Buckaroo suddenly stepped between them. "You will get much further with him, don't you think, if you let me calm him down?" he suggested.
The sheriff eyed him suspiciously. But he didn't want to have to hurt the laser geek. They needed him in one piece. Besides, if the boy put up a fight, he wasn't entirely sure that the badge toters of Cagon were enough to ward off the Hong Kong Cavaliers. This all in mind, McCane nodded once and stepped back again.
With a sigh, Buckaroo turned to face Tommy.
Despite being a strong man to stand beside in battle, when it came to jail, Perfect Tommy almost looked like a frightened little boy. "Buckaroo..." he started, shaking his head slightly.
Buckaroo rested his hands on the young Cavalier's shoulders. "It's alright. You'll be fine." he assured.
"I don't do jail!" Tommy insisted, twisting under his hands. But he froze when, as Buckaroo reached up and patted the side of his face, he felt something slip behind his ear.
"You can and you will do just fine. Find Reno. Stay close together." Knowing how close the sheriff was standing, he couldn't say much more. So he winked.
Perfect Tommy still wasn't happy, but he knew Buckaroo would never let him down. Thus, he could never let him down. Even if it did mean jail. Swallowing back his misgivings, he nodded. "I'm trusting you, Bucky ol' pal. Don't leave me in there!"
Buckaroo squeezed his shoulder. "Never!" he swore. "Stick with Reno. We'll get you both back."
Tommy sighed. "I'm going on the record as officially hating this." he mumbled, but when the sheriff waved a couple of deputies forward to lead him away, he didn't resist.
Sheriff McCane watched them lead his prisoner away before facing Buckaroo and rawhide. "And the girl? Is she under there too?" he wondered nodding toward the bus.
"Only one speed bump a day." Buckaroo assured.
"Well, I have a warrant for her too, so, if you know what's good for her, you'll talk her into turning herself in."
"Sheriff," Buckaroo answered, his voice taking on a dead calm, "I always know what's best for my people."
McCane glared at him for a moment, knowing well that that was a threat, not assurance. Then he spun around and, pushing passed jersey and Pinky, stomped after his men.
When they were gone, Jersey asked "And where is Knuckles?"
Buckaroo glanced out into the dark night.
Rawhide scratched his jaw. "Jersey, Pinky, take the hummer back to Tuson. Go that way." He nodded in the direction that the bike had come from.
new Jersey frowned. "But Tuson is the other way."
Pinky shook his head. Grabbing the doctors arm, he dragged him off, mumbling "Sometimes, Jersey, you are just too damn innocent."
They had driven only a few moments out when they found Knuckles sitting in the dirt. Like perfect Tommy, she was scraped up and bruised, but, otherwise, alright. For the exception of an attitude that put even the stead fast Pinky Carruthers on the look out.
Knuckles yanked her arm free as jersey tried to help her into the hummer. "You just let them take Tom like that?" she growled. "You know what they're going to do to him? Drop him down into some pit mine in the middle of nowhere as slave labor! That's what!"
Pinky's knuckles turned white as his grip tightened on the steering wheel. Caught between his own anger at the situation and his loyalty to Buckaroo, he wasn't sure what to do about Knuckles challenge.
Surprising enough, it was the doctor who knew the answer. "Buckaroo knows what they intend to do with him. He also knows that, to get what they want, they need him alive and able." he said, his voice steady and calm. "They won't hurt him, Knuckles. And, with that transceiver behind his ear, Buckaroo won't lose him either."
Knuckles smiled slightly, her mood changing instantly with this new bit of information. "Transceiver?"
"You really think we would let them just take Tom away?" Pinky growled.
Knuckles shook her head, finally climbing into the vehicle. "Next time someone wants to borrow my truck, I'm gonna blow the damn thing up."
"Good idea." Pinky mumbled, putting the hummer in gear.
"Where are we going?" the girl asked as they drove around the outskirts of the tiny town and headed away once again.
"Tuson." Jersey answered.
"What? Why?" Knuckles demanded. "Perfect Tommy isn't in Tuson! And neither is Reno!"
Pinky noted that adding Reno on the end was an after thought. He glanced at Knuckles in the back seat. "You're a hunter, right? Hunt down the man that sent Reno out here. He knew Perfect Tommy would be coming too or, in the least, follow him. How?"
"Don't stomp him, Knuckles." Jersey warned, knowing the girl had more than a little temper. "Just find him so Pinky can feed him the cover stories. Stay out of sight yourself. He might know you. Can you handle that?"
Knuckles' jaw set. "I'm a man hunter. If he's out there, I'll get him." she promised.
"Good girl." Pinky turned his attention back to driving. Their wild card was back in their deck. He just hoped she'd play for their team when she was drawn on. She had been with them for a few months now, but Knuckles had constantly proven to be unpredictable. Something that made her both a danger and an asset to the team. Pinky didn't like what he couldn't predict. Made security hell.... 'Course, it did keep it interesting.
With a groan, he slowly raised his head. A pair of brown eyes looked back at him. Blinking. Reno Nevada looked around at the shadowy cave cell he had some how ended up in. Several pairs of eyes looked back. It was too dark to make out too much detail, except that they were all dirty, they all smelled of salty sweat and rancid wounds, and they all watched him, the whites of their eyes shining like beacons in the shadows.
The first one shoved a beat up tin cup at him.
Reno pushed himself up into a sitting position and gratefully took the offered cup. He made a face as the cool water ran over his tongue. It was gritty and tasted of rust.
His benefactor chuckled. "Well, it isn't champagne, but it keeps us going."
The Cavalier swooshed the water in the cup for a moment, then, with a shrug, took another swallow. When he managed to get that gulp down, he smiled. "Had worse. Buckaroo has this get-'im-up-now morning coffee..." He shook his head. He glanced around once more. "Where are we?"
"You don't remember?" The man huffed. "Guess I don't blame you after that climb of yours. Never thought you'd make it to the top. Did you really think no one would be waiting for you?" Again he chuckled.
Reno frowned. He didn't remember making it to the top. 'Course, he barely remembered much of anything except, maybe, his arms falling off. Then again, his arms were still there, more or less. They felt like limp noodles.
The man leaned close to get a good look at him. "You've got the look of a smart man. Why did you bother climbing to the top?"
The Cavalier shrugged. "Hate to leave a thing unfinished." he mumbled. "Where..."
"Cagon's justice system." the man growled. There were a few mumbles from around the cell. "Welcome to the city jail." He looked up and around as if his eyes could pierce the darkness to see the stone ceiling and walls. "It's a silver mine in the middle of no where, and we..." he waved at the others "... are the condemned."
"They said he was convicted of murder." came a woman's voice from the shadows.
"Murder?" His benefactor glanced back at him sharply. "What are you? Engineer? A rock doc?"
It was Reno's turn to chuckle. "I play the saxophone."
"The saxophone? They wasted a body on a sax's player?"
Reno shrugged. "I'm a pretty good P.R. man."
The drew a laugh from the audience. The man grinned, showing off what had once been perfect teeth. "Well, friend, these folks could use some good public relations." he held his hand out. "Names Moses. Arrested and convicted in a record two hours for armed robbery... three days before I even knew this dump existed."
The Cavalier took the offered hand. "Reno Nevada, murder, apparently because they thought I was someone else." He frowned, suddenly wondering what had happened to Perfect Tommy and Knuckles. No doubt they had called Buckaroo. but would they behave long enough for Buckaroo to come to the rescue? he sure hoped he would know more about what was going on than he did.
Moses watched him a moment longer, before leaning back. "Aughta get some shut eye. Tomorrow is always hard enough. And the guards are going to be wanting to make it clear that no one else had better be wasting time trying to climb out of this hell hole."
Reno Nevada glanced about sharply. "Are they going to punish you for what I did?" he wondered, suddenly feeling very guilty.
Moses shrugged. "Don't matter. It was damn entertaining while it lasted." That got another laugh from the crowd, though there was a nervous hint to it. "Don't worry about it, man." Moses continued. "They'd find a reason to put us in our place anyway." He leaned back until he disappeared in the darkness. Pair by pair, the eyes blinked out as the occupants of the cell went to sleep for the night.
Reno Nevada sighed. Thinking of nothing else to do, he laid down again and closed his eyes, hoping he would dream of his friends, his beautiful Pecos, and smacking around a certain sheriff.
**********
Knuckles smacked a hand across his shoulders. "headlights! If you have to steal something, steal something with a headlight!" The bike hit an unseen bump that nearly threw her from the bike. She had to wonder if he had done it on purpose. Even if he was as blind as she was, Perfect Tommy was just Perfect Tommy enough to throw her from the bike for insulting his larceny abilities. The side effect of her grip around his middle tightening was just an after thought.
"Hey, plenty of moon light." Perfect Tommy mumbled back, concentrating on what little ground he could see before them.
Knuckles smack him again. "There isn't any moon, you idiot."
Tommy glanced back. "You wanna walk?"
"Bus." was her answer.
"What?"
"BUS!" Knuckles shouted diving off of the bike.
Perfect Tommy looked forward again to see a huge object across his path, There was no time to apply brakes, so he simply turned, laying the dirt bike on its side. Both he and the bike skidded across the dirt trail until the bike slammed into the underside of the bus.
Bruised, skinned, cut, and dazed, Perfect Tommy laid on the ground staring up at where the blackness of the sky ended and the blackness of the bus started. Bus? Black?
Rawhide crouched down beside him. "I knew we'd be running into you. I just didn't think we'd be running over you."
"Well, you know how I like to make an entrance." Perfect Tommy groaned. He dropped his head back to the ground.
Rawhide was just pulling the younger man to his feet when New Jersey came around the front of the bus. "Rawhide, we've got comp..." He stopped when he saw Perfect Tommy. "Oh, damn..." he started.
"Well, well, Mr.. Perfect Tommy? Am I correct?" Sheriff McCane held out his hand as he stepped out from behind the doctor.
Tommy hesitated.
"Sheriff." Rawhide greeted, though his tone was everything but welcoming. He kept his hand securely clamped on Tommy's elbow as if he feared that if he let go, he'd lose him once more. He always seemed to be losing the damn kid!
New Jersey cleared his throat and Held out a slip of official looking paper to Rawhide. "He has a warrant for Perfect Tommy."
Tommy stiffened, but Rawhide's grip on him kept him still.
"What's the charge?" Rawhide asked, not taking the paper. He'd trust Jersey to read it correctly.
But it was the sheriff that answered: "For the theft of a motor cycle."
Tommy smiled, a nervous expression at best. "Motor cycle? What motor cycle?"
McCane glanced passed them at the bike which was still wedged under the bus. "Probably that one." He pulled a pair of handcuffs from the back of his belt. "You want to come nice and quiet like? Or shall we make a fight out of this?"
As if cued, three deputies stepped into view. Buckaroo and a rather irate Pinky Carruthers followed.
Perfect Tommy stepped back. "I don't do jail." he growled. Again, Rawhide's grip kept him from going too far. Being perfect, he quickly regained his composure. With a shaky smile, he added "Been there, done that. But thanks for the invention."
"'friad it wasn't a matter of choice, boy." McCane continued to advance on him.
Buckaroo suddenly stepped between them. "You will get much further with him, don't you think, if you let me calm him down?" he suggested.
The sheriff eyed him suspiciously. But he didn't want to have to hurt the laser geek. They needed him in one piece. Besides, if the boy put up a fight, he wasn't entirely sure that the badge toters of Cagon were enough to ward off the Hong Kong Cavaliers. This all in mind, McCane nodded once and stepped back again.
With a sigh, Buckaroo turned to face Tommy.
Despite being a strong man to stand beside in battle, when it came to jail, Perfect Tommy almost looked like a frightened little boy. "Buckaroo..." he started, shaking his head slightly.
Buckaroo rested his hands on the young Cavalier's shoulders. "It's alright. You'll be fine." he assured.
"I don't do jail!" Tommy insisted, twisting under his hands. But he froze when, as Buckaroo reached up and patted the side of his face, he felt something slip behind his ear.
"You can and you will do just fine. Find Reno. Stay close together." Knowing how close the sheriff was standing, he couldn't say much more. So he winked.
Perfect Tommy still wasn't happy, but he knew Buckaroo would never let him down. Thus, he could never let him down. Even if it did mean jail. Swallowing back his misgivings, he nodded. "I'm trusting you, Bucky ol' pal. Don't leave me in there!"
Buckaroo squeezed his shoulder. "Never!" he swore. "Stick with Reno. We'll get you both back."
Tommy sighed. "I'm going on the record as officially hating this." he mumbled, but when the sheriff waved a couple of deputies forward to lead him away, he didn't resist.
Sheriff McCane watched them lead his prisoner away before facing Buckaroo and rawhide. "And the girl? Is she under there too?" he wondered nodding toward the bus.
"Only one speed bump a day." Buckaroo assured.
"Well, I have a warrant for her too, so, if you know what's good for her, you'll talk her into turning herself in."
"Sheriff," Buckaroo answered, his voice taking on a dead calm, "I always know what's best for my people."
McCane glared at him for a moment, knowing well that that was a threat, not assurance. Then he spun around and, pushing passed jersey and Pinky, stomped after his men.
When they were gone, Jersey asked "And where is Knuckles?"
Buckaroo glanced out into the dark night.
Rawhide scratched his jaw. "Jersey, Pinky, take the hummer back to Tuson. Go that way." He nodded in the direction that the bike had come from.
new Jersey frowned. "But Tuson is the other way."
Pinky shook his head. Grabbing the doctors arm, he dragged him off, mumbling "Sometimes, Jersey, you are just too damn innocent."
They had driven only a few moments out when they found Knuckles sitting in the dirt. Like perfect Tommy, she was scraped up and bruised, but, otherwise, alright. For the exception of an attitude that put even the stead fast Pinky Carruthers on the look out.
Knuckles yanked her arm free as jersey tried to help her into the hummer. "You just let them take Tom like that?" she growled. "You know what they're going to do to him? Drop him down into some pit mine in the middle of nowhere as slave labor! That's what!"
Pinky's knuckles turned white as his grip tightened on the steering wheel. Caught between his own anger at the situation and his loyalty to Buckaroo, he wasn't sure what to do about Knuckles challenge.
Surprising enough, it was the doctor who knew the answer. "Buckaroo knows what they intend to do with him. He also knows that, to get what they want, they need him alive and able." he said, his voice steady and calm. "They won't hurt him, Knuckles. And, with that transceiver behind his ear, Buckaroo won't lose him either."
Knuckles smiled slightly, her mood changing instantly with this new bit of information. "Transceiver?"
"You really think we would let them just take Tom away?" Pinky growled.
Knuckles shook her head, finally climbing into the vehicle. "Next time someone wants to borrow my truck, I'm gonna blow the damn thing up."
"Good idea." Pinky mumbled, putting the hummer in gear.
"Where are we going?" the girl asked as they drove around the outskirts of the tiny town and headed away once again.
"Tuson." Jersey answered.
"What? Why?" Knuckles demanded. "Perfect Tommy isn't in Tuson! And neither is Reno!"
Pinky noted that adding Reno on the end was an after thought. He glanced at Knuckles in the back seat. "You're a hunter, right? Hunt down the man that sent Reno out here. He knew Perfect Tommy would be coming too or, in the least, follow him. How?"
"Don't stomp him, Knuckles." Jersey warned, knowing the girl had more than a little temper. "Just find him so Pinky can feed him the cover stories. Stay out of sight yourself. He might know you. Can you handle that?"
Knuckles' jaw set. "I'm a man hunter. If he's out there, I'll get him." she promised.
"Good girl." Pinky turned his attention back to driving. Their wild card was back in their deck. He just hoped she'd play for their team when she was drawn on. She had been with them for a few months now, but Knuckles had constantly proven to be unpredictable. Something that made her both a danger and an asset to the team. Pinky didn't like what he couldn't predict. Made security hell.... 'Course, it did keep it interesting.