The sun was hot against the back of Nicole's neck as she squinted at the map spread over her gas tank. Nearby, Rowdy roamed amidst trees and underbrush, sniffing eagerly, before finally disappearing from view; he disliked being watched during his 'private' time. She took a swig out of her water bottle before pouring the rest out into a blue plastic bowl she'd retrieved from the sidecar. Moments later the big dog bounded up and buried his nose in the bowl, slurping happily.
"I think we missed a turn," she muttered. She peered back down the road, then up to where it curved into the trees ahead and disappeared.
Rowdy paused mid swallow then lifted his head. His soft ears were perked up and after a moment he tensed. Nicole immediately dropped the map, looking around carefully. A low growl rumbled from the dog's chest, and that was all Nicole needed to pop the lock on her seat and retrieve her gun and her badge. She might not be in her normal jurisdiction, but as her Uncle Tommy always commented, "a cop's a cop, no matter where you might be."
Then she heard it; a sharp crack, followed by two large booms.
Gunfire.
Nicole pushed her bike and sidecar further off the road with a grunt then took off, running as fast as she dared. Rowdy loped along just in front of her, leading her confidently towards whatever was going on. She could see the trees ending, and clearing just beyond. A couple of old mobile homes were just visible through the undergrowth, and a large metallic gray SUV sat parked nearby. Two more gunshots rang out, much louder, followed by angry shouting and Nicole prudently hit the dirt.
"Rowdy, down!"
The dog plopped to his stomach with a whine. She wriggled forward until she was next to him, and together they scanned the scene before them as they inched their way forward.
"Come on, Bobo!" she heard a woman's voice yell. "Just put your pants on and come quietly."
"Oh, I've been waiting to show you what's in my pants, Earp!" a male voice yelled back. "Much better than that black dicking you've been settling for!"
Another shot rang out, and there was muffled cursing.
Another male voice rang out. "Bobo Del Rey, we are legally authorized to take you into custody, by force if necessary. Please don't make it necessary."
"Oh, please do!" the woman corrected loudly, her voice gleeful.
Nicole finally caught a glimpse of two people crouched behind a big SUV, both armed and periodically peeking at the nearest trailer. The man was burly, dark skinned, and screamed ex-military. The woman on the other hand was dark haired with pale skin and screamed trouble. Loudly. From her position on the ground, Nicole winced as a shotgun emerged from the trailer's window and blasted two shots towards the pair. Once the roar of the blasts faded the sound of tinkling glass falling to the gravel below filled the clearing.
"Goddamn it, Del Rey!" the man behind the truck shouted angrily. "You have one more chance to come quietly and then I'm going to express my displeasure."
Raucous laughter emerged from the trailer. "When I'm done fucking your girlfriend up the ass I'm gonna let you suck her shit off my dick, just to show how much I care!" Another blast of the shotgun punctuated his words.
The woman groaned. "That's fucking gross, Bobo!"
Her partner muttered angrily as he hit a panel on the side of his SUV. A hatch popped open and from it he pulled a long thick tube. He jerked his head at the woman and she scrambled to the other end of the SUV before she rose, her gun in one hand and with her other hand waved her middle finger towards the trailer.
"You pissed him off, Bobo, if I were you I'd get out of that trailer right about now." When the curtains jerked she ducked back down behind cover as another blast rattled against the SUV. "Don't say I didn't want you!"
Her interlude gave the dark skinned man time to stand up and take a shot of his own; the tube turned out to be some kind of gun and it blew a huge hole in the side of the trailer.
"Holy fuck," breathed Nicole and she watched, temporarily stunned, as the man casually shoved the tube back into his truck and make his way towards the trailer, his gun in his hand, the woman following closely. Together they stepped through the gaping ruin of the trailer wall and disappeared. Nicole stood up and stumbled out of the trees, gun half-raised, unsure if she was going to need to make an arrest or prevent a murder. Rowdy trotted along eagerly beside her. From the remains of the trailer the two re-emerged, dragging a large, shirtless, and semi-conscious man by one arm.
"Do they make a bullet proof truck mirror, Dolls? Cause you need one," the woman smirked as she helped turn the man over to be cuffed. As she kneeled she caught sight of Nicole and her eyes widened in surprise. Behind her the door to the second mobile home burst open, and a man emerged screaming angrily, an assault rifle already raising to fire.
"Sheriff! Drop your weapon," Nicole roared, her gun fixed on him.
"Fucking bitches!" he shouted back and he swung the barrel right at her.
Nicole fired twice and he flew back, his rifle flying out of his hands.
"Rowdy, secure the suspect!"
The big dog surged forward with a happy bark and planted his paws on the man's chest.
Silence enveloped the clearing.
"Well, shit," the dark haired woman said after a long pause. "That got me all turned on!" She stood up and strode to Nicole, holstering her pistol as she approached. "Not that we're ungrateful but who're you?"
Nicole lowered her gun, but made no move to put it away. Her eyes narrowed. "Deputy Nicole Haught. This is quite a shit show you've caused. Your partner mentioned something about credentials?"
The woman scoffed. "I know every deputy for a hundred miles and you ain't one of 'em."
"You've slept with most of them," her partner added with a shake of his head.
"Shut up, Dolls!" she hollered back over her shoulder, then turned back to a bemused Nicole. "So seriously, who the fuck are you?"
Nicole reached into her pocket and pulled out her badge. "Like I said, 'Deputy'. Just so happens I'm from four hundred miles away." She scowled. "So, I showed you mine, you show me yours."
The woman rolled her eyes. "Geez, take a chill pill. Buy me a drink first, at least. Name's Wynonna." She shrugged towards her partner. "That's Dolls."
"In the glove compartment, Deputy," Dolls interjected as Nicole's gun hand twitched. "Right to apprehend a fugitive."
Nicole stared at him "Bounty hunters?"
"We prefer the term 'recovery agents'," he replied somewhat loftily.
"That was quite a hole you blew in the side of that trailer," she commented drily.
"Modified version of a sandbag projectile." At Nicole's raised eyebrow he added, "Technically non-lethal." His expression betrayed nothing else even as Wynonna choked back a snort. Then she appraised Nicole again.
"Sooo, your name really Hot?"
Nicole bit back a groan. "Not Hot, Haught. H-a-u-g-h-t. If you start making jokes I will shoot you."
Dolls stood up and heaved the still stunned Bobo over his shoulder. "That's like waving a red cape in front of a bull, Deputy. Forbidding Wynonna from anything is a guaranteed way to make her do it."
"Oh yeah, Haught-shot," Wynonna laughed. "It really, really is." She glanced at Rowdy, still perched alertly on top of the other man. "Guess we better see if that asshole is still breathing." She regarded the dog thoughtfully as Dolls heaved Bobo into the back of his SUV with a grunt. "Cool dog."
"He's my partner," Nicole said flatly. "Pretty sure neither of us want to fuck you."
Dolls burst out laughing as Wynonna sputtered indignantly. "She got you back, girl."
Wynonna glared at him, then her lips curled in a grudging smile. She followed Nicole as the deputy walked towards her dog, still staring intently at the fallen gunman. She didn't bother with her gun; Rowdy would have his jaws on the man's throat if he so much as twitched.
"Shit," Nicole muttered as she got close enough. He was clearly dead. "This is going to be a lot of paperwork."
Waverly looked up as Wynonna and Dolls strolled in. "Did you get him?"
"Slicker than shit," Wynonna drawled, then flinched as Dolls slapped the back of her head. "Ow! Except for the fact Bobo blew out Doll's side mirror with a shotgun. Turns out that's not bullet proof, unlike the rest of his ride."
"You got shot at?" the smaller woman screeched, immediately patting both of them down looking for injuries.
Dolls tolerated this for about ten seconds then gently pushed her back. "Not a scratch on us, I promise."
Wynonna threw her jacket in the direction of the coat hook, and watched sullenly as it missed completely and fell to the floor. "Anyway, we had help. Some cop is on a road trip or something and lent a hand."
Waverly strode over and hung up the jacket, giving her sister a hard look. "Where's your new friend now?"
"Still talking to Nedley," Wynonna shrugged, referring to their town's own Sheriff. "Cop shit. Might meet us at Shorty's later."
Waverly sighed and waved in the direction of the office's little kitchenette. "There's pizza if you're hungry." She started shoving books and papers into her bag as Wynonna and Dolls made a beeline for the pizza box.
"Waverly," Wynonna whined. "There's nothing but vegetables on this!"
"You need to watch your cholesterol anyway, big sis."
Dolls shoved half a piece in his mouth and picked up another on his way to their wildly flashing answering machine. "Just eat it, Earp."
Waverly headed to the door. "Can you run me over to Shorty's for my shift? Then you can get whatever awful greasy, high cholesterol, carcinogenic food you like."
Wynonna perked up. "Now you're talking. Let's go. I need a drink anyway."
Nicole pulled up next to the battered building proclaiming itself Shorty's Bar and Entertainment. With a twelve foot tall painting of a cowgirl wearing nothing but hat, boots and a strategically placed gun belt, she felt fairly confident she knew what type of entertainment was implied. She looked down at the sidecar where the big pit bull lounged comfortably, goggles on his head and his official K9 harness still in place from their earlier sojourn at the town of Purgatory's Sheriff's department. He stood up and stretched as she swung her leg over but growled when she reached to take his goggles off.
"Dammit Rowdy, I'm not taking you into a bar looking like this."
A few more moments of wrestling and the goggles were returned to the sidecar. As they approached the entrance a slim man with a black cowboy hat and a luxurious mustache emerged through the door, a dark cheroot held daintily between his teeth. He regarded them both with a calm eye, taking an extra moment to examine Rowdy's harness and badge.
"And how may I help you fine folk this evening?"
"Uh, a woman named Wynonna told me to meet her here," Nicole said, wincing as she heard herself talk about meeting a woman at a stripper joint. "She owes me a beer."
"Miss Wynonna is in fact inside our fine establishment, so I welcome you," he replied, a small smile playing about his lips. "And while normally I would have to make a polite objection to your companion, I can see he is an officer of the law, and as such is of course welcome here."
Nicole stared at him, his soft drawl almost hypnotic. "Well, thank you…" she hesitated.
"You can call me Doc, Miss?" He paused in return.
"Nicole. Nicole Haught. And this is my partner, Rowdy."
He grinned, his eyes crinkling good-naturedly. He pulled the door open wide and waved them in.
"Well now, Officers Haught and Rowdy, please make yourselves right at home!"
It took a moment for Nicole's eyes to adjust to the dim light, but Rowdy pressed forward eagerly, his nose up and sniffing what no doubt was a dog's delight of aromas. As she emerged in the main room she saw it was about three quarters full of patrons, and a buxom blonde wearing a black leather bikini swirled around a brass pole with well-practiced nonchalance, a Maroon 5 song blaring on the speakers. After a moment she flipped around, doing a well-practiced shimmy with a bright smile. In Nicole's experience those smiles never managed to make it to the eyes; expressions were more likely to be resigned (in women who hadn't planned on ending working as a stripper) or predatory (in women who were out for whatever they could get). She had only ever been in such a place in the course of her job, investigating a bar brawl, or an assault on one of the dancers, or once, sadly, the death of a bouncer due to a drugged out customer.
It was a different experience as a patron, and far more uncomfortable.
She didn't see Wynonna anywhere, but saw a couple of cocktail waitresses working the floor, so she found a seat off to one side near the corner of the stage that had space for Rowdy to lay down and not get stepped on. With one last flourish the blonde on the platform bowed to much clapping and hollering from the surrounding customers before she collected her tips and departed, with one last flick of her hips before she disappeared behind a heavy curtain.
"Something to drink?" Nicole looked up to see a young woman with a tray waiting expectantly.
"Whatever you got on tap, thanks."
The woman nodded and disappeared.
The song switched over, and the very familiar guitar licks of one of Nicole's favorite workout songs pounded out of the speakers. This was apparently signal to the patrons to make a deafening roar in approval.
She was a fast machine
She kept her motor clean
She was the best damn woman I had ever seen
Through the curtain a beautiful brunette sashayed from behind the curtain. She wore an exceedingly short plaid skirt, high heeled oxfords, and a pressed white dress shirt unbuttoned and instead tied in a loose knot just below her breasts . In her hand she held a tumbler of whiskey that she ran seductively down her front as she stalked the stage with a grin, eyes twinkling at the number of bills being waved frantically at her. She turned and caught Nicole's eye, her head cocked curiously. Nicole gulped as the woman approached her and kneeled on the stage, urging her to lean forward with a languid curl of her finger. The tumbler rose up to her lips that automatically parted. The smoky fumes teased her nose, then with a sudden saucy turn the whiskey was yanked away and the brunette downed it in one smooth swallow before tossing the glass behind her and throwing a leg around the pole and lofting herself towards the ceiling.
Shook me all night long
Yeah you
Shook me all night long
The waitress sat a pint of beer and a bowl of peanuts onto the counter in front of Nicole and she took a huge swallow, her eyes riveted to the smooth twirls above her. Around her the hoots and yells of the surrounding crowd faded as she caught those glorious golden brown eyes returning to her, the smile growing broader each time. Nicole's felt her face grow hot with each glance.
Finally, mercifully, the driving guitar riffs faded and the dancer disappeared behind the curtain one more, but not before she blew a kiss and a wink at Nicole. The deputy sat back and shook her head, then swallowed the last of her beer in growing irritation. She had no business reacting to a woman, no matter how fake the circumstance.
"Rowdy, we should go," she started to say before a sudden slap against her back caused her to jump. She whirled around to see a smirking Wynonna holding two bottles in one hand.
"Here you go Haught-stuff." She handed one bottle to Nicole then plopped down in a nearby chair. "Cheers!"
They clinked bottle necks.
"So, are there any bars in Purgatory that don't have half naked women?"
Wynonna took a long swallow. "Why, you have a problem with?"
"No," Nicole replied quickly. "I mean, I was just surprised—"
"Friends of mine own it, so the booze is usually free."
Nicole looked at her steadily. "So your offer to buy me a beer was contingent upon you not having to pay for it?"
Wynonna looked abashed for only a few moments, then shrugged. "It's free to you either way."
Nicole opened her mouth, then shut it again, not sure how to respond.
Wynonna surged up and reached out behind the deputy, and Nicole found herself with a lap full of warm body. "Saw you looking at her, Haught-shot, might as well meet her. Nicole, Waverly. Waverly, Nicole."
"Nona," the newcomer groaned and Nicole raised her eyes to meet a recently familiar golden brown. Her dress shirt was now buttoned, but the skirt and platform oxfords were unchanged. "You know I don't do lap dances."
"Come on, she probably saved my life, give her a shimmy."
"Saved your life!" Waverly sat up and glared at her sister. "How crazy was that take down anyway?"
Nicole's hands waved helplessly in the air, unsure where was safe to land while the two women argued. The press of Waverly's body filled Nicole with an unfamiliar warmth, and there was a roaring in her ears that increased with every shift of soft legs against her thighs. Waverly huffed and threw up her arms before she wrapped one around Nicole's neck and laid a chaste kiss against a blushing cheek. "Despite the fact she probably deserves a lingering death, thanks for saving my sister."
The feel of Waverly's lips was electric, and Nicole's eyes closed briefly at the sensation. Then a flash of disgust roiled her stomach and she hastily rose, dumping Waverly on the floor as gently as she could before she turned and bolted for the door, a confused Rowdy hot on her heels. She ignored the confused exclamation from Doc as the door to Shorty's slammed open. Nicole sprinted for her motorcycle but as she turned the corner, her stomach gave out and she heaved noisily against the side of the building.
"Fuck!" she gasped, before her gut clenched again and she doubled over, one hand desperately clutching the wall for support. She heard cautious footsteps approach her, then stop.
"Jesus, Red-Haught, you really have a problem with girls or something?"
There was a sound of a hand thwacking against leather. "Nona, shut up and go get her a bottle of water."
Nicole felt a light touch on her shoulder and she wrenched away. "Don't touch me!" she cried, stumbling forward. She hit the wall with a thud before sliding down to the ground, her head in her hands, uncontrollable sobs racking her body. "God, just don't—"
Eventually she felt warm arms envelop her, and she collapsed into their embrace, her cries of anguish echoing in the dusty alleyway.