It had taken an extra day to travel and Snake woke early to pawing. He pushed up and looked out toward the road from the thick cover he had slept in. People were traveling up the road past them with a wagon full of junk. It finally confirmed that he had been heading in the right direction. He gave the shepherd a scratch on the scruff.

"Good boy."

Snake waited for the ramshackle caravan to pass before he crawled from the bushes stretching. He hated sleeping on the ground, almost as much as he hated the government now that he thought about it. In fact, if it wasn't for the government he'd be waking up in a warm bed maybe beside a hot blonde. The thoughts instantly soured Snake's mood so badly he growled under his breath as he grabbed his bag.

The dog's ears had perked up at the sound of Snake's growl and he let out a low woof. Snake looked over and chuckled. "Come on you dumb mutt."

Snake walked to the crest of the hill and stared down the road toward the throng of people milling at the carts. He hated these cutthroats but he needed supplies he could only get here. It was an aggravation to be forced here but a necessity. Plissken strolled down the shoulder of the road watching every wagon that passed with contempt and suspicion. The closer he got to the mobscene the worse he felt. It was only when he reached the edge of the clearing that stood between the woods and the wagons that he came to a complete stop. His eye roved over the caravan until he saw what he wanted.

"You stay close boy." He ruffled the hair between the shepherd's ears. "These son-of-a-bitches would just as soon eat you."

Snake stepped out into the clearing with the confidence of a killer. He knew that is what they would expect and he wasn't about to give them the satisfaction of discovering how much they irritated him. The dog walked so tight to his leg that his cheek brushed passed Plissken's knee with every step. He glanced down realizing at once the behavior. This was a police dog or a military dog. The training was too obvious but more like a MP then anything else.

Snake turned his attention back to the crowd he was entering and still the dog kept his face pressed to his leg. Plissken let his eye track through the crowd before stopping in the makeshift boulevard to scan the carts, He noticed the dog shifting nervously beside him but concentrated on the people and the goods.

"Nice dog. Is it for sale?"

Snake's eye turned on the bedraggled passer-by that was touching his dog. Snake pinned him with a stare so vicious that he froze like a zebra in the sights of a lion.

"No." Plissken's words were cold and pointed sending the man scurrying from his presence. Snake began to make his way through the crowded street towards the weapons dealer. Ammunition first, everything else was a second on the list of things he needed.

Snake pushed his way through the crowd toward the cart's tiny counter disregarding the comments from those waiting in line. Plissken didn't wait in line. He didn't have the patience or the desire to stand among the filthy humanity here long enough to endure a line without shooting someone.

"Snake Plissken?" Were the first words out of the seller's mouth and Snake blatantly ignored them.

"I need as many boxes of .44 ammunition as you've got and I'll take the .45 too." Snake scowled showing his disappointment in the man still staring at him from the slightly elevated counter. "Now." Snake added for emphasis.

"As long as you're paying." He turned to his stash and returned with six boxes of .44 and 3 of .45. It wasn't what he was expecting but it would have to be enough.

The man before him continued to attempt small talk as Snake shoved the bullets into his pockets and began to count the greenbacks. "Never thought I'd see you traveling with a dog, Snake."

Snake's eye drifted down beside him but the space was empty. Glancing around there was no sign of his dog. Instantly his face set in rage and the money was forgotten. He threw the whole stack inside the cart and turned so quickly on his heels that it startled the patrons behind him in the throng.

"Sarge?" Plissken's voice boomed as he pushed his way out of the crowd to the more open area at the center of the road. He still saw nothing. His mind briefly remembered the face he'd seen when he walked in. If they had even dared…. A shrill bark broke his train of killer instinct. Instantly, Snake was moving toward the sound. People cleared the path for the man with the patch and cold, deadly stare. It was the reason he used it because it cleared his path through anything.

Plissken heard a whimper as he slid between two carts and appeared on the far side. Turning his blood boiled straight into explosion. His dog was there with wire around his neck. They were attempting to garrote him for food. Snake's eye narrowed to a slit and for the look on the face of the man holding the tether he knew he had the look of death riding down upon them.

The man twisting the wire noticed his companion's expression just in time to see Snake's hands flash with the efficiency of the trained killer he was. The wire dropped but it was too late. Snake was set on killing and nothing would stop him. Plissken wrenched his head and the satisfying snap sent the other man screaming toward the far end of the line of carts. Snake looked down at the body and kicked it so hard in the side something else snapped.

A whimper again drew his attention and his expression softened to his usual cool attitude. He kneeled and unwrapped the wire. It left a trail of blood on his fingers and he could see where it had started to cut skin. It wasn't bad; nothing Snake's first aid skills couldn't repair.

The dog placed a grateful lick over Plissken's patch and to his surprise he found himself smiling. He hated people touching his patch but then this wasn't a person. Snake shrugged.

"Come on Sarge." Snake was about to walk away when he laid eye on the other cages. Plissken didn't have much regard for life left, not when it came to humans but the animals. He glanced around and stepped inside the tent. Pulling his boot knife he went to work slicing the twine that secured the cages. Cats, dogs even birds emptied into the space beyond the tent flap. It was the least he could do and it was something like extracting money for his troubles.

He turned to leave the foul smelling tent when movement caught his eye. Sarge was staring at the bag rolling around on the dirt floor. Plissken gingerly touched it and he instantly found kinship and more burning hatred. The rattling confirmed his gut feelings. Rattlesnakes.

Messing with dogs was one thing but snakes. Everyone knew that was a bad call when Plissken was in the area. It seemed these people needed reminded. Snake grabbed the bag and squinted in the summer sun outside the darkened tent. Shouts rose from his left and he turned to allow his good eye to focus on the source. It was the man who had been holding the tether during the strangling.

A cold smirk spread into his expression. He could think of few things as satisfying as having your enemy come right to you. Snake unholstered his revolver, leveled it and shot before anyone could blink. The gun slid back into the holster and Plissken was already moving down the roadside embankment before the body settled on the ground.

Amidst the whispers of his name along the rows of wagons Snake disappeared once more into the South Dakota forest.