The Heist, Pt 2

"Haherhaherha," Brandyman's choking laugh floated through the crowd, "You thought you could get away with stealing from Old Brandyman?"

"Yes," Gypsy snarled, "You're fat and slow; without the help of this lot-" she gestured to the crowd of townies with their torches and weapons, "-you'd've been robbed blind long before now."

"Insolent wretch!" Brandyman cried, rage colouring his face a dusky red in the light of the torches, he faced the crowd, more speaking to them than the two thieves, "Now hand back what you stole, or you'll face the noose! Never let it be said justice is not dealt in Greencreek!"

Cheers accompanied his words, torches raised, spraying sparks through the air.

"Now justice," Drawled a voice from the mob, "that's a funny word for you to use, don't cha think?"

"And who are you?" Brandyman said imperiously, shuffling his feet from side to side, annoyed at having his monologue interrupted.

"Just a traveller passing by. But you must be the fine fella whose been robbing all the travellers who come by." said the red head, distinctive frontier hat tilting up to reveal her face.

The two teens had been slowly backing away, but Brandyman was watching and snatched at Gypsy's wrists, successfully holding one in a pinching grip.

"A fair toll is reasonable, especially in these parts when you can't guarantee the character of every wandering vagabond. And see-!" Brandyman said, waving his other arm at Kellen, Riechis and Gypsy, "-I was right! They stole from a member of this upstanding community and now they have to pay!"

The crowd burst out in raucous yelling "…give 'em a beatin'!" "…make 'em pay!" "Kill 'em!"

Kellen nervously shuffled his feet, clutching his powders and waiting for the right moment. Gypsy was struggling against the ex-marshal's death grip, cursing under her breath the whole time.

"Would you contest that thieves need to be punished?" Brandyman asked the dusty traveller when the mob had settled.

"You really gonna punish two kids for making a simple mistake?" She responded carefully; eyebrows raised.

"You need to teach them young or they'll get out of hand." Brandyman said, matter of fact, arms crossed over his dirty marshal's uniform. Funny thing to wear since all and sundry knew he'd been exiled years ago for corruption, but he obviously wanted to cling to the last vestiges of his own self-importance.

"And I assume you'll take this job into your own hands? They're just two kids, they don't require a mob when there's a perfectly respectable marshal right here." Came the cool response. She'd caught him like a cat with a claw on the mouse's tail; if he said no, he'd look weak, but if he said yes, he was putting himself up for a fight against the two teens and a squirrel cat.

Brandyman hesitated. Probably because of the squirrel cat, whose fur was, at that moment, changing to a blood red with jagged gold stripes. The animal grinned with a mouth full of razors and snarled menacingly at Brandyman.

Someone in the crowd started chanting, "…Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!..."Some young men joined in, and soon the whole crowd was thumping the ground with boots and sticks.

He had no choice now.

"Of course!" He declared, dropping Gypsy's wrist as the mob closed in, cracking his knuckles while sweat ran down his face.

Kellen's eyes looked like fiery daggers reflected in the torchlight as he glared at Ferius Parfax. Simultaneously trying to communicate his desperation and anger.

Glancing at him, she winked, so fast you could've missed it. "Just tryin' to prevent a riot, kid. A mob would be no use at all now, would it?"

"You could've talked him out of trying to kill us!" He exclaimed backing away as Brandyman began to stalk closer.

"Maybe you should'a thought of that before you broke into his house." She said, unsympathetic, though her hands were hanging near her pack of steel throwing cards.

Brandyman lunged at the teens, and Gypsy and Kellen dodged to the side. Reichis, however, leapt into the air, gliding toward him with claws out and a vicious light in his eyes. Screaming a terrifying war-cry, he latched onto the balding man, scratching and tearing at the poor man's eyeballs.

Brandyman roared in pain and rage, flinging the creature into the dust. His eyes, red and angry, glared at the two teens. Then he charged. Kellen tried to dodge again, but his face still suffered part of the devastating right hook. He dropped to the dirt, struggling to get up, even as Brandyman aimed a kick for his ribs.

Gypsy flew at him from behind, punching and kicking, but was thrown onto her butt by a short, but well-timed, shove. Taking the opportunity, Kellen scrambled to his feet, fists clenched and yelling at Ferius over the crowd.

"Aren't you going to help?! We can't fight him, and I can't blast him here!"

"Sure you can, same as a spider can fight a fly. They don't need no fancy powders." She said, looking a little annoyed.

"Quick talking in riddles! How hard is it to just say things in a way I can understand?" Came the frustrated return.

"How clear do I have'ta be? You have the bull in a china shop – now all ya hafta do is make sure he steps on a few toes!" She bellowed as an overly eager woman elbowed in front of the Argosi.

It finally seemed to click. Which was good because Gyspy was about to get pummelled. Reichis has got up and was preparing to launch another assault when Kellen caught his eye. Gathering his courage, he unexpectedly exclaimed, "Brandyman! You're supposed to be a Marshal, but you can't even beat up two kids!"

Riechis snorted something, probably along the lines of "That was pathetic! Next time, go with something classic, like 'I'm going to eat your eyeballs!' or 'I'm gonna drink the blood of your children, use it to dye my clothes, and then I'll-!'" but the squirrel cat was cut off as Brandyman rushed to put Kellen in his place.

Kellen had backed up against the wall of townsfolk, but just before Brandyman swung, he ducked, so the shot hit one of the good folks of Greencreek.

"Oi!" The bruised man yelled, jostling backwards with the force. Similar cries of 'hey!' and 'watch it!' echoed through the mob. Brandyman just glared at Kellen with even more murderous rage.

Once again, Reichis charged, clawing his way up the angry man, leaving scratches and blood on his way as he journeyed to the top. It was hard to separate the growls and the shouts as the two grappled and Brandyman stumbled into another spectator.

"GET OFF!" The unfortunate man squealed in terror as the squirrel cat and his victim came close. In the confusion, Riechis was thrown to the ground and bruised by the boots of a few townies.

Losing sight of Reichis, Brandyman turned back to Kellen and Gypsy. "Theives and tricksters, the both of you! You'll pay, I tell you! You'll pay!"

Kellen had backed up against another portion of the crowd, so when the battered Brandyman lunged at him, he was ready. He ducked at the last minute and Brandyman's right hook hit another of the town's folk. This time, the recipient sideswiped his neighbour, who in turn, stumbled forward into Brandyman.

"Hey!" He roared, turning on the offending man. Lifting his right arm, he slapped the poor man, a young lad of about twenty.

"Don't you dare hit my brother!" Another guy yelled, dashing forward to avenge his relative.

It only degraded further from there. Before you could say 'flibberty gibbit', there was a big ol' riot. Fists swinging, feet lashing, people tripping, and everyone making a right mess of each other.

Kellen waded desperately towards the last place he had seen Reichis.

"Riechis? Riechis!" He called, scanning the kicked-up dust and earning an elbow to the nose for his efforts. His eyes watered, but he thought he saw Gypsy at the corner of his eye. He tried to get to her but ended up caught between a few angry men who were swinging fists at each other, regardless of who got in the way. Just as a right mighty haymaker swept his way, red hair flicked in his face and the punch didn't land.

"A right mess you made, kid. What'd you say we skedaddle before these good folk trample us?"

Kellen let out a breath in relief, sucking in another only to choke on some dust. Despite his coughing fit, he managed to follow Ferius out of the mob, only turning back when he remembered he hadn't found Riechis.

"Riechis!" He exclaimed.

"Don't worry, kid, Gypsy got him." Ferius said, hand on his shoulder, still driving him forward. "Though I reckon he would've been right happy to join in on the fight."

Kellen turned and saw Gypsy slip her way out of the crowd. Above her Riechis glided over the riot, occasionally launching himself off folk's heads, inciting howls and shrieks as he went on his merry way.

The travellers left Greencreek, taking their horses as they went, leaving the dusty town behind as the sun began to rise. Apart from a bit bruised and battered, none of them were especially worse for wear.

They reached the crossroads before anyone spoke again.

"Well, while I thank you for the help, I think it'd be best if we part ways." Gypsy said formally as the light began to illuminate their faces, "I've got places to be and I'm sure you two have places of your own to get to."

She was eyeing the markings on Kellens face warily. He realised that the cream he put on his face to cover the shadowblack markings must've rubbed off in the fight. He touched them self-consciously.

Just as formally, Ferius nodded, "May your winds be fair, and your road be smooth."

Surprise flickered across Gypsy's face. "How did you-?" then she shook it off with a soft smile, "Argosi. Your lot know too much for your own good, least that's what my Mama used to tell me."

Ferius shrugged eloquently and the girl departed into the desert haze.

"Seems like we've got places to get to." She said and set her horse off on the track Gypsy had not taken. Looking back at the unmoved Kellen, she smirked, adding, "Won't get to those places if you stay there dawdling, kid."

Author's Note:

Hey everyone,

Sorry this is so late! To be honest this probably isn't my best work, but hopefully you enjoyed it.
I was serious last time - I don't have a tonne of ideas for this fic, so if you do have an idea for what you want me to write, don't feel shy to let me know!

As always, reviewing would mean a lot, so don't be shy about that either :)

Trix