"I could take him," Andy suggested softly. "He doesn't tie me up, the way he does the two of you. I could attack him sometime he's not expecting it."

Supper had come and gone, and it had been a bleak, miserable affair, with burned chicken for their captor and Andy and nothing but toast for one of the ranchers, which Andy apologetically gave to Slim.

Skeenan had tied Andy up soon after – Andy had, apparently, gotten too much on the man's nerves to warrant another night of sleeping on a bed – then had given him his last choice for the night, which was why Slim was once again blindfolded and Jess was gagged. After one last, satisfied jerk that elicited a grunt of discomfort from Jess, Skeenan wished Andy good night as if they were old friends and disappeared into Slim and Jess's room to sleep. If the night before was any indication, he would be up every hour or so, checking to make sure his prisoners were safe and secure.

"Absolutely not, Andy," said Slim. "The only silver lining to any of this is the fact that he doesn't seem to want to hurt you. And we're not going to ruin that with any half-baked ideas."

"But, Slim…"

"No buts. That's the way it's going to be. And that's final."

Andy scowled. He knew that tone. That was Slim's "I may only be your brother but I've been raising you and I know what's best for you" voice, and Andy hated it. He knew there was no arguing with it. But there was no way he was going to roll over and agree – someday, Slim was going to have to realize that he wasn't a child anymore, and that might as well be today. He glared stonily at his brother, but the effect was ruined by the blindfold blocking Slim's view of his glower.

He turned to look pleadingly at Jess, who shrugged. Andy sighed and wondered if he should have chosen differently, given Slim the gag instead so he could argue it out with Jess. Jess never treated him like a baby; in fact, Jess probably would have agreed with him and given him some advice for taking on Skeenan.

"I'll do it."

Andy's head whipped back to Slim. That was unthinkable, as far as Andy was concerned. "Why, that's just plain foolish!" he cried, as outraged as one could be in a whisper. "You're tied up, and there's no way he's going to turn his back on you long enough for you to get him."

"This morning, he took us both out to use the outhouse and wash up," said Slim. "I figure he'll do the same tomorrow. And I'll jump him."

There was a thumping on the floor, and Slim turned his blindfolded eyes in Jess' direction. Jess couldn't talk through the gag, and Slim couldn't see through the blindfold, but Slim seemed to somehow understand his partner's objection. "Not you, Jess. He's already on high alert after what you did this morning. He'll be watching you like a hawk."

Andy huffed. "He's gonna be watching you, too, Slim." Now he was really worried. For all his frustration with his brother lately, he didn't want to see him hurt. And Skeenan looked like he was just looking for an excuse to do some hurting. "You ain't gonna be able to get around him."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that, Andy," said Slim. "We all heard him – he's got me pegged as a coward who hides behind the law. I'd enjoy the chance to show him exactly what he's up against."

Andy glanced at Jess. He wasn't hitting the floor any more – probably not willing to risk waking Skeenan up – but his eyes were blazing blue fire, and Andy was a little surprised he hadn't chewed through the gag with the power of sheer ire.

"I dunno, Slim," Andy said slowly.

"Well, I do," said his brother, again using his no-arguments voice. "You're not to attack him, Andy. No matter what."

Andy looked once more at Jess, and was annoyed by the nod and look of agreement in his friend's eye. Neither one of them trusted him against Skeenan.

He sighed. At this rate, he was going to be treated like a little kid when he was sporting white whiskers. But he couldn't argue with them – not when they were the ones taking the beatings on his behalf. "All right, Slim," he said, looking at Jess to let him know that he was included in the agreement, too. "I'll keep out of trouble."

The relieved smile on Slim's face was almost worth it. "Good boy. Now let's all get to sleep. Whatever happens, we've got a big day tomorrow."

Andy agreed, but he didn't fall asleep. He couldn't.

He was too worried about whatever could happen.

XXX

The sun shone brilliantly across the Wyoming hills, pouring freely through the cool crisp air and into the shifting grass as birds struck up a tune and squirrels bounded merrily from tree to tree. Even the temperamental wildflowers along the ranch house had decided it was worth their effort to unfold, and the ground was sprinkled with white and violet and every color in between. If you didn't factor in the kidnapping, it was a beautiful morning.

Slim took his time at the water trough, soaking his hands and splashing his face. The cool refreshment bolstered him, waking him up and bracing him for what he was about to do. That, along with the relief that Andy and Jess were safely inside the house and out of harm's way, gave him a comforting sense of readiness. It was time to end things with Skeenan.

He dragged the moment out, splashing unnecessarily and moving with forced leisure in the hope it would aggravate Skeenan into action.

It worked like a charm.

"All right, hurry it up," said Skeenan, jabbing the gun into Slim's side so Slim knew the exact location of the muzzle.

It was exactly what he had been waiting for. He twisted, whipping his arm around to knock the gun out of the way. His plan had been to grab it, but Skeenan moved too quickly, and as Slim's fist closed on air, he had to be content with having the gun away from his stomach. He followed through on the twisting of his body with a left hook headed for Skeenan's jaw.

He had to give the man credit, he recovered fast. Slim's sudden movement had taken him completely by surprise, but by the time Slim's fist was up and headed for his face, he was already moving, ducking aside so most of the blow glanced off his ear.

But that worked, too, because Slim didn't care about knocking him out – he cared about the gun. And with Skeenan off balance, he was able to grab his wrist and twist.

Skeenan dropped the gun with a howl, but before Slim could snatch it up, the man lunged at him, shoving both of them into the wash station and sending a cascade of water down Slim's back. They tumbled into the mud, wrestling with each other for all they were worth.

Skeenan had spent years on the wrong side of the law, drifting from one desperate life to the other in a constant battle to survive, and there wasn't a scrap of fat on him. He was burly and muscled, and he was used to solving problems with his fists. But Slim was no weakling himself, with a couple extra inches helping out…and he knew exactly what was going to happen if he didn't beat the man here and now. Skeenan had the advantage of strength, but Slim had the motivation, and they both knew it.

So when the man went down with Slim's fist to his face, and Slim was standing over him with the gun in his hands, it didn't really come as a surprise to either one of them.

Skeenan glared up at him, splattered with mud and burning with contempt. "You finally gonna be a man and pull the trigger?"

"Not unless you make me," said Slim coldly, but he kept the muzzle level with Skeenan's heart. He had to admit, a small part of him enjoyed the sight of his former captor on the other end of the gun.

Skeenan lifted an eyebrow, and a dark, malicious smile crawled onto his face. "You're a fool, Sherman. This'll be twice now you shoulda killed me."

"I guess we'll see," said Slim. He gestured with the gun. "Now get up."

The man staggered to his feet. "What are you plannin' on doing?"

"Same thing I was always planning on doing," answered Slim. "I'm gonna tie you up and bring you in to the sheriff. I guess we'll see just how much respect for the law you've got when it's keepin' you behind bars. Not that way!" he commanded as Skeenan moved toward the house. "You're not getting anywhere near Andy, ever again. In the barn."

Skeenan glared at him, clutching at his side where Slim had landed a particularly sharp blow, but he did as he was ordered and limped toward the barn. Slim followed slowly, eyes never leaving Skeenan. The man hesitated at the doorway, as if trying to decide if it was worth it to try and jump Slim, but Slim shoved him forward and followed him in.

Stumbling awkwardly and listing to the side, Skeenan shuffled forward into the cover of the barn, Slim watching his every move and following carefully behind. Unexpectedly, Skeenan fell against a stall, and Slim was so caught up in watching his prisoner for any false moves that he didn't see the extra shadows against the ground, didn't hear the soft footsteps behind him.

But he certainly felt the fists.

The first one slammed into his side, in tandem with a hand grabbing the gun. The next tapped his jaw, another his cheek. He went down, and it was hard to tell where the rest of the fists and feet made contact, but he was pretty sure the bruises were evenly spread across his entire body by the time the beating let up.

Darkness threatened, and panic flooded at the thought of what these men – there were clearly more than one of them – could do to Andy and Jess. He struggled for consciousness, holding to the pain to keep him as alert as possible, but it was a losing battle. The murmuring going on around him ebbed and flowed like the wind, and he could barely make out the voices, much less what they were saying.

Two pairs of strong hands grabbed his arms, and he struggled against them. It was hard to tell how well he did, in his half-conscious state, but he suspected it was more pathetic than anything. Especially based on the snickers. He tried to find his feet, but the men at his arms were too fast, and his legs didn't seem to want to do what his brain was telling them, so he was dragged helplessly into the bright, hopeful sunshine.

Next thing he knew, he was lying on the ground of his house, half on the bearskin rug. His father had shot that bear, he remembered. That was a great story. He couldn't remember if he had ever told Andy the story. He should tell Andy.

"Untie my hands for five minutes and we'll see exactly what kind of men you are," snarled a voice above him, and Slim would have smiled if he could get any muscles to work. Jess. He should tell Jess the story, too. Jess would like it. Unless Jess had been there – had Jess been there when the bear was shot? Or maybe that was a different bear. Did Jess shoot the bear that had attacked him? Because it felt like a bear had attacked him.

Whatever was going on, it sounded like Jess had it well in hand. Which was good, because Slim couldn't stay conscious any longer.

XXX

From inside the ranch house, it had sounded like Slim was winning.

The crashing and thumping around was what you'd expect from a pretty good fistfight, and Jess had high hopes – he'd seen Slim in enough fights, and been in enough fights with him, to know that Slim could take care of himself. So when the crashing subsided and was replaced by the sound of voices talking, Jess was pretty sure he knew who had the gun.

But then the minutes ticked by, and Slim still hadn't come back in the house, and Jess started to worry. There hadn't been any gunshots, which was comforting, but still…he glanced at Andy and tried to smile encouragingly. The boy smiled back, but it was a tired, strained look that disappeared entirely at the sound of people approaching.

Jess barely had time to register that there were too many footsteps on the porch before the door was pushed open and Slim, dangling in the middle of a small crowd of armed men, was shoved unceremoniously to the ground.

Slim groaned, mostly unconscious, and Jess's temper exploded at the sight of the blood and bruises on his friend's face.

"You all must be real proud of yourselves, taking on a man six to one." Jess knew he was just riling them up for no good reason, but he didn't care. Slim's battered face had him spoiling for a fight. "You didn't have to beat him senseless!"

"We were just showin' your friend that we're not the kind of men to abandon a pal. Ain't that right, Bill?" The tall one, clearly the leader of this new group of renegades, chuckled and nudged Skeenan.

Jess's temper boiled over. "Untie my hands for five minutes and we'll see exactly what kind of men you are," he snarled. He tugged against the ropes, as if the sheer power of his fury would be enough to break them, but all he accomplished was making the men laugh.

"Maybe we'll take you up on that when we feel like tangling with a wildcat," said Tall. "'Sides, we got more important things to do." He turned slowly toward Skeenan, and the rest of his gang followed suit, falling back a bit so that the tall one and Skeenan were in the middle of a makeshift semicircle. "Like catchin' up with old friends."

The change in attitude shifted Jess's attention from Slim to Skeenan, and he tried to get a read on the new dynamics in the room. He would've thought their captor would be surprised, or worried, or delighted at the arrival of new people to help him in his quest for vengeance, but he didn't look any of those. He just looked bored.

"Sorry, Charlie," he said. "Like I said before, we had a good run, but we've got different goals. No hard feelings; that's just the way it is. There's enough of the west for both of us."

Charlie snorted while the men surrounding him traded grins. "Yeah, 'ceptin' our part of the west just got a whole lot smaller. We took on the Wells Fargo just outta California."

"Yeah?" said Skeenan, looking interested. "How much?"

Charlie paused dramatically, then said, "Sixty thousand, in bank notes and greenbacks."

From across the room, Andy gasped, and the shock was enough to drop Jess's temper clear out of him. Sixty thousand? You could do a lot with sixty thousand. Heck, Jess would've been tempted to rob that himself. What was the stage line thinking, carrying that kind of haul in one go?

"We had to kill the driver and shotgun, o'course," added Charlie, as an afterthought. "And a passenger that got stupid."

"Not like you'd need much of a reason, with that kind of take sittin' in front of you," drawled Skeenan. "For sixty thousand, I'd kill anyone."

There was a sudden, heavy silence as the men looked at each other, then Skeenan started to laugh. The rest followed suit, albeit nervously.

"We laid a pretty good trail leadin' south, Mexico ways. Figure we lost 'em for now, but with sixty thousand on the line, you know they ain't gonna stay away long. We need a plan for gettin' away, permanent-like." Charlie paused, letting that sink in, then continued, "We knowd you planned on comin' here, getting revenge for Tommy, and we figured you'd be able to come up with a plan. For a cut of the profit, o' course." He hesitated, then added reluctantly, "You always was the brains of the outfit."

"True enough." Skeenan tapped his chin, thinking, and studied his prisoners, Slim to Andy to Jess and back to Slim. "But you fellows know I have something important to do here first. Escaping is just going to have to wait. Better tie Sherman back up."

Jess grit his teeth. From the moment the mangy crowd had dropped their plan, Jess had been hoping Skeenan would take the bait and run off with the money. It was, after all, more than anyone in this room was likely to see again, and the hard work of getting it was already done. Was revenge really worth so much to him? More than a sixth of sixty thousand dollars?

Of course, Jess thought, glancing down at his partner as he lay still and unmoving on the bearskin rug, Slim would probably object to that kind of rescue. Slim was the kind who would prefer being pummeled to a pulp rather than let men like this run off with other people's hard-earned money. Hardrock all the way.

Charlie and his ragtag crew looked down, and one of them, a short, burly man with a scar along his face and an evil glint in his eye, stepped forward a little too eagerly before Charlie reached out a hand to stop him and turned back to Skeenan.

"Look, Bill, we know what you're doin', and we know why. We all liked Tommy, and what Sherman here did, to Tommy and the others – that was a real shame, and no mistake." Around him, the gang members nodded vigorously, and the scarred one cracked his knuckles. "But what we've got now – a good chunk of money and a good head start – that's more important. And if we don't get a move on now, we're liable to lose 'em both."

"He's right, Skeenan." For the first time since Slim had been brought back, Andy spoke up, and Jess could have cursed him for drawing attention to himself. But the damage was done. "You've got a way out. You don't have to stay here, you could leave with them."

"I guess I could, at that," said the man slowly, and as Andy's face lifted in hope, Jess's heart sank. He'd seen that look in Skeenan's eyes yesterday, right before he made Andy choose which of them would get a beating from his belt.

Skeenan turned to his gang and grinned. "Gents, I think I've got a way we can all get what we want."