Chapter Four – Role to Play
Deke strolled out of the saloon carrying saddle bags with the leather journal safely tucked in one side and the Colt pistol in its wooden case secured in the other. Mission accomplished. Too bad about Aggie, she sure seemed like a nice girl. Just the kind of girl he would have gone for, if not for the special circumstances that made any relationship with her an impossibility.
Oh well, he really didn't have time for recreation now anyway. He had work to do and his job always came first because, regardless of what his brother thought, he was a professional.
He mounted up and rode out just as the sun was setting. An hour outside of town he spotted a distant campfire and headed towards it. As he approached he saw a figure stooped by the fire warming a pot of coffee unaware he was about to receive company.
He dismounted, stealthily crept up behind the figure and was almost upon him when his boot slipped on a rock, and the man turned with the fastest draw he had ever seen. He threw up his hands as he stood staring down the barrel of a 45.
"Kid, you ready to meet your maker?" The man asked.
"No sir. Just thought maybe I could get me some of that coffee." Deke offered, flashing a nervous smile and trying to muster all his charm.
"You know, out here a man has the right to shoot you for sneaking up on him like that. You wanna live to thirty you better announce yourself when you ride into someone's camp." The older man advised.
"Look no disrespect. You mind holstering that there gun?" Deke looked vaguely concerned about his predicament.
After the longest moment the man grinned, and as quickly as he had drawn his weapon he reversed and his gun slid effortlessly back into his holster.
"Son, one of these days my reflexes aren't going to be so good and I'm gonna end up shootin' you before I realize it's just my damn reckless son. Did you see Aggie and get my things?" Jake asked.
"Yeah, here you go." Deke swung the saddlebags over to his dad and squatted down to get some coffee.
"She doing all right?" Jake asked, obvious concern showing on his face.
"Well, she was real broken up over your unfortunate demise and mad as hell that I was the one to kill you. Man, that girl can throw a punch, but yeah, she's doing all right now that she knows you're not dead."
"So did I hear right? A girl was beating you up? You're slipping there bro." Scott came into camp and could barely contain his amusement at his brother's admission.
"I didn't say she was beating me up. I said the girl was angry and she kinda hits when she gets angry, which is something Dad ought to keep in mind if he plans to continue seeing her. That's all I said." Deke hoped his explanation would get his brother off his back, but somehow he doubted it. Scott only lived to kill evil and torment his older brother.
"By the way, how come you only made me worth $100 on my wanted poster? I should be worth more to you boys. Why the discount rate?" Jake demanded.
"Come on now Dad. Don't go getting all pernickety. You don't really want someone tryin' to collect on one of our phony posters do you? You give 'em enough incentive and the good citizens of Podunk might just try to off you and collect. Of course, they'd be sorely disappointed to find out you weren't worth two bits, dead or alive." Deke responded with a wicked grin.
"Hey Dad, don't worry. You're worth a whole lot more to us. In fact, one might say you were priceless." Scott brown-nosed with a smile and a nod towards his brother.
"Dad don't listen to him. He's only trying to smoke your ass so he can have your horse if you end up on boot hill." Deke smirked.
"So Deke are you in Carpenter's circle of corrupt officials now?" Jake asked with a grin.
"Yeah, sure am. I've been promised a permanent place on the payroll as long as I play along with old man Carpenter." Deke replied, smiling broadly.
Funny how his oldest always got to play the bad guy, Jake thought. He pondered if Deke was the better actor or whether he really did possess a darker soul? Or could it be he was just more painfully aware of the evil that existed in the world and could more readily tap into it? After all, he was old enough to remember his mom and her terrible death at the hands of evil incarnate.
Scott had only been a baby; just six months old when evil visited their family to enact its terrible wrath upon the Winchesters. The normal life they had lived ended that night, blown sky high by the fire that consumed their modest homestead and sent them on their mission of vengeance.
"So Dad, what's the plan?" Scott asked hoping for once Jake would consent to actually explaining his grand plan instead of just barking orders to his sons. He still bristled at how his dad treated them like children and not the full grown men they were. As imposing as Deke appeared to the outside world, he had an annoying habit of relinquishing command of their hunting to Dad which totally pissed off his brother.
Deke studied his younger brother and sighed. Here we go again. We're not back riding with Dad for more than a day and Scotty is raising a ruckus again. Can't he just follow orders and shut up about it?
Deke had worked with Jake long enough to know how this was all gonna play out. They were gonna rescue any prisoners still alive in the vampire's den, kill all the evil vampires and ride off into the sunset after rescuing the pretty damsel in distress, the dear, sweet Aggie. Damn, why did his brother have to complicate everything with his bellyaching?
Jake poured himself another cup of coffee and consented to explain all the intricacies of their plan to his impatient, brooding younger son. Deke just rolled his eyes at the pains his dad took to involve Scott in the process.
"Damn Scott. You think you can handle your part in this?" Deke asked with a twinkle in his eye, after all he had the hard part, the dangerous role to play. He got to walk right into their den: alone, unprotected and expose himself to their wrath and vengeance.
Reviews please. Thank you. Sorry this took so long to post. I've been trying for four days, computer and server problems.