"DOC'S BACK!" Billy's yell stabbed me in the head at an ungodly hour of the morning. To someone else, presumably Steve, he gloated, "I told you he'd come back." Then Billy hollered at the rest of us, "Regulators! Let's saddle up!"
Grudgingly, I pushed myself up with my good hand. My injured arm didn't hurt quite so much anymore, so I took off my sling before starting to pack up. I unknotted Chavez's bandanna from mine and handed it back to him.
"No, you can keep that," he said.
I put Storm Cloud's bridle back on and swung myself into the saddle. Billy looked toward me from Golden Boy's back, his blue eyes glittering wickedly. "Sheriff Brady, we're gonna have a lot of fun now." he said.
Once we arrived in Lincoln, Billy went to look for the sheriff while the rest of us concealed ourselves behind buildings or fences. Sheriff Brady and a group of his flunkies strolled down the road, doing their best to look important. Behind them, Billy was merrily skipping along. What was he trying to do? I wondered. Then Billy tossed his hat over the sheriff's head and it landed at Brady's feet.
The hat toss was our cue. I stealthily crawled out from my hiding place, my pistol cocked just in case.
"Top o' the mornin' to ya, girls," Billy adopted an Irish accent as he removed Brady's pistol from its holster.
He shot the sheriff; the deputies were immediately after us. Chavez burst around the corner on Sparks and threw his knife at one of the deputies, hitting him in the throat. Charlie and Steve were holding their own. They ran out of ammo at the same time and quickly fled the scene. Meanwhile, Sheriff Brady reached for his rifle. Billy pinned the weapon under his boot.
"Reap the whirlwind, Sheriff Brady." said Billy, pointing the pistol at Brady's chest. "Reap it."
We left the good sheriff lying on the street with a bullet in his heart. As always after a good battle, Billy was in high spirits. We went into a small shop in the next town and Billy got a tintype of himself taken. When he was through, he persuaded me to have one done as well.
I stepped in front of the camera and unholstered my six-shooter. I pulled my hat low over my face and raised the pistol.
The next stop for us was the home of John's lawyer friend Alex, whom none of us had seen since John's funeral. We made ourselves comfortable on Alex's porch and Billy presented Alex with the tintypes. Alex ignored the gift.
"You weren't supposed to touch Brady!" he snapped.
"Brady sent the men who killed John. It was a good move for us," said Billy.
"It wasn't."
"Yes, it was!" Billy argued.
"Have you seen The Independent? Your all's deputization powers have been revoked. You're now wanted by the legitimate law as well as those outside the law. You're being hunted by troops." Alex paused here for breath. "You were supposed to serve 11 warrants to expose The Ring. Instead you went out and went on the warpath. Now Richard's dead and Susan and I are living like fugitives! And you, young lady," I'd been wondering when my name would pop up. "You have no business risking your life. If the boys have a death wish, so be it, but you are a lady--"
I cut Alex off, not wanting to hear any more raving. "I ain't no gussied-up, pie-making female. I've lived hard all my life, and I'm not about to stop 'cause of some tenderfoot lawyer."
"Serena, please," said Doc. "Alex only wants what's best for you."
"I'll decide what's best for me, Doc. Nose out."
Billy added, "They'll let Murphy and his bankers get away with anything. I can't allow that. And you didn't see what they did to John. We did. Like it or not, Alex, 'Rena's one of us." He pulled the tin star off his shirt and tossed it on the ground.
Charley, Steve, Chavez, and I followed suit. Doc seemed reluctant to leave. He talked with Alex for about five minutes, then we all left for another horseback ride of uncertain destination.