Chapter... I lost count.

Kidd slowly, warily opened the door. The nature wasn't moving right, and he was uneasily on his toes once he noticed the usually calm spirited Midnight begin to become restless and give short, soft whinnies.

"Kidd? Is something-!" He cut her off abruptly by slapping his palm over her mouth. He instantly noticed her blue eyes glisten with anger, confusion and mild embarrassment. Her sister stifled giggles beside her.

"Where are you horses, Patricia?" he asked in a deadly tone, still looking beyond the chilling draft that floated into the cabin.

He glared at her, then at them both and said with authority: "Sneak out back as slowly and quietly as you can and ride south to the first town you fond. I'll wait for you there."

"Why? What's the problem?" Liz's temper simmered down as she began to re-experience fear.

"I think your friends are here."

The girls were gone. Despite their largely differing personalities, he had to tip his hat to them for their swift lively saunter to the rear stables; but not now. Now he concentrated on hearing the faintest of sounds beyond Midnight, beyond the cabin's porch. A single twig snap or horse's snort and he could find the mafia pursuers easily and instantly. The difficulty was that he was unaware of the numbers, and of the skill of the numbers, their ammunition, gun's type and so on and so forth.

Regardless, he listened patiently. The flutter of disturbed crows came disturbingly close to the cabin, and with wide eyes he watched a defeated fox crawl from her hiding burrow and hungrily trek over the way only to pause. Death the Kidd watched her keenly. Her sharp ears twitched and turned, her starving body stiffened, and soon she darted to her hiding place away from danger and out of sight. Kidd glanced over to her fear and saw the branches tremble before a smooth, chestnut horse with an expensive saddle and experienced rider stride from beyond. It wasn't Giriko, nor anyone that Kidd had met yet, but would soon have the pleasure to meet.

Dark hair and gothic clothes were plastered to white soaked skin, though he paid no mind. With a silent gesture he motioned two riders forward, one of which he recognized to be the first Snakes member to be acquainted, and a third character with blonde hair and a new face.

They noticed Midnight and the blonde one strolled to her, dismounted from his horse and stepped up the porch to her. She eyed him, stepping back. Kidd, perched on the floor held his tongue and breath, and soon noticed that he had an odd headset over his ears. Still, he took no chances.

"What a magnificent beast," the mafia member noted, inching closer.

"Justin, let's move on," Giriko called. "That horse isn't our target."

"Don't be so naive to such a precious opportunity," the black haired rider snapped. "Which rider would leave his horse with a loaded saddle unless he was planning on returning to it? Think! I suggest we raid the horse and wait for its master." His latter statement was addressed to the character of which Kidd identified to be Justin.

There was a pause before Justin responded. "Very well," he said, then clasped his hands. "Oh Lord," he yelled, "I beg you to forgive this soul as he is prepared to commit a sin! Forgive, my Lord, our God, forgive!"

Giriko rolled his eyes. "Senseless priest," he growled.

Kidd watched patiently, readying himself for his queue. Midnight didn't take kindly to strangers, and her kick was one of the most powerful he'd ever seen—more so than the strongest stallion. Her whinny as Justin drew closer was enough. A blink later Justin was kicked through the window and Kidd shot towards the other two startled riders. Their horses panicked, kicking their private rodeo even after the bullets stopped kicking up muddy earth and Kidd had raced around the tail end of the shack.

"Kidd!"

He turned to see the Thompson sisters mounted on their individual horses, well saddled, well equipped and properly stocked. He paid to mind to that. Instead, rage and discipline overpowered him.

"What happed to running south?"

"We heard gunshots," Patty said innocently.

"You wouldn't have heard them if you were a mile and a half down to Spartoi Town!"

Liz was about to retort before more gunshots rang out. Kidd's commands were obvious as they fled south, brushing through bracken and branches. Only one horse's gallop was behind them, and Kidd was half surprised to see Gopher relentlessly tailing them.

"He's gaining!" Liz gasped, having taken a look back herself.

"Keep moving!" Death barked, eyes racing around with his mind buzzing for a plan. His golden irises trailed up to the dampen canopy where he noticed several strong branches high above. He drew both of his pistols—momentarily and idly checking that they both had eight bullets—and aimed, shot and sheathed his weapons. Thick wood began tumbling through the foliage ahead.

"Keep moving!" he yelled to the nervous sisters who glanced back at him as though he were crazy. Gopher continued to inch up on them. Liz shut her eyes and Patty began to grin as they galloped closer...

Midnight gave out a panicked whinny once Gopher's grip painfully latched onto her tail and rode in line with the sister's horses to break the grip. The heavy logs collapsed behind them, and no living creature was in sight nor sound as they raced away.

Hours on hoof led them to another abandoned ranch which Kidd was sceptical about settling, so they rode on. Though Elizabeth and Patricia were not too fond of his camp in a cave either, they spent the evening there while covering their tracks, and took turns on the lookout throughout the night. Patricia was especially restless.

"That was amazing!" she laughed, stopping her boots across the dusty ground. "Gopher must have been totally crushed under those trees! Ha! That'll teach him to mess with my big sis!"

"What?" Liz looked up from beneath her sheets to her still raving sister. "You over-estimate your big sister, Patty, plus I didn't so a thing, it was-."

"Don't praise me either," Kidd muttered a few steps across from her, back to both sisters and mistaken to be asleep beneath his own thick sheet. "I only saved my life as well as yours."

"Nonetheless," Liz pushed on, "I do thank you. We both do. And we owe you."

"You don't-..." he turned to them, but after seeing the gratitude in the older sibling's eyes and the awe in the younger's, he could only side and revert back to his fetal position sleep.

"Idiots!"

The severely injured Justin and unharmed Giriko cringed at their master's outraged growl in response to their honest report.

"And to think I sent Gopher to prevent you two from destroying this mission!" he continued, "He ended up the worst out of you all! He's nearly dead!"

The silence in the dark room lit only the full moon streaming in through the decorative circular window behind the mafia boss was deafening.

"You shouldn't be so upset with them, Noah," a feminine voice hissed as the beautiful woman stepped into the light. Her amber gaze was deathly though, and Giriko uneasily looked away.

"Witch," Noah muttered, "get away from me. This is man's work."

"Apparently that isn't enough, now is it?" she responded, slithering closer to him. He glared at her. "Men don't think. It's unfortunate that I had to kill my sisters just to pair up with the unworthy likes of you—they would have made much more capable mafia queens."

Justin watched her keenly, recording every shape of her lips.

"Don't talk mutiny to me at this point, witch, Medusa," he spat out her name. "Unless you have something meaningful to say that will help me get rid of this gunshooter."

"Rather than destroy the youth, why not apprehend him?"

"What?"

She grinned. "To have been victorious over the crushing defeat of three of your most trusted gunfighters—one of those defeats being literal, may I remind you—that might be a good example of his capabilities that we can use rather than those Thompson sisters."

Noah was silent, but she was smiling at him, as though hypnotizing him. "I'm listening..."

I'm sorry I put this story off for a month, but I had to formulate the ideas properly, you know? Anyway, I'm sure at least one generous character will review what I have here, and maybe I'll come sooner in my next chapter.