Chapter15: Standoff

The outlaws rounded Jasper Point at dawn following the river bottom as it snaked through the canyon. They crossed back and forth across sandy streams and cobblestone creek beds, avoiding the faster moving currents. The canyon bottom alternated between narrow passages and broader meadows filled with cottonwoods, sycamore trees and scrub brush.

At times the canyon bluffs towered above them with craggy rock faced sides and natural caves eroded into the sides. At one time these caves made ideal shelters for the local Indians during the hunting season and, although most of the Apaches had been relocated to reservations in the Arizona territory, a few bands of renegades were still use known to canyons such as theses to hide out in. The mountain wilderness of New Mexico was still an area to be both wary and respectful of.

As the four riders neared the base of the pass, the canyon bottom widened out into a large oval shaped clearing with a sandy rise running above the rocky slow moving creek. To the left the walls shot upward about thirty feet onto a series elongated terraces and rocky overhangs. To the right, across the creek, thickets of scrub brush gave way to a sloping hillside that angled upwards towards a moon shaped mesa.

Lloyd brought the group to a halt, "Jasper Pass is about a quarter mile ahead, just around that bend of rocks."

Will sat poised on his horse, looking at Mark at few feet away. "I'm sorry Lloyd but this is a far as I'm going."

As Lloyd turned his horse about, Will drew his gun. His uncle glared hardly at his nephew. "What's this about?"

"This is where we part company Lloyd," Will said with more determination in his voice than he'd ever had before. "Mark get behind me," Will ordered. Mark nervously glanced at the rest of the outlaws, then silently complied. "You've got the money now," Will went on, "and a clean escape route. All I want is the boy."

Roark sneered. "What I tell you Lloyd! Didn't I say he'd turn on you one day?"

"So you did Roark," Lloyd replied with a tone of disappointment. He regarded his nephew intently. "And what if I say I'm not giving him up. He knows to much."

Will cocked his gun, making Lloyd's left eyebrow arch. "This time I'm not giving you a choice. You don't need him anymore. Leave with the money. I promise I will keep the kid quiet and out of site until you're safely up the mountain. I'll owe you that much."

"And then what?" his uncle asked.

"I'll worry about that later."

"Don't be an idiot, Will. You're not thinking straight. Put the gun away," Lloyd ordered.

Will shook his head. "Not this time, Lloyd."

As Lloyd watched his nephew, he dropped his hand down to his thigh, but Will fired a warning shot that whizzed between his uncle and Briggs making the horses jerk. Lloyd's eyes narrowed into icy thin slits as he replaced his hand on the saddle horn.

"You would really shot me, Will, your own blood?"

Will tightened his grip on the pistol. "I don't want it to come to that, Lloyd, but I will if I have to. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to let you take him."

"So the kid got to you after all?"

Will shook his head again. "It was more of a matter of me getting the guts up to finally stand up to you. All these years that I used to idolize you and want to be just like you...but not anymore. You've changed Lloyd, or maybe I just finally quit kidding myself about you. Whatever the case, I'm quitting and the kid's coming with me."

"So you just want to walk away and do what, go straight?" Lloyd scoffed.

"I don't know," Will replied honestly.

"That's always been your problem, Will. You never think things through. You think after we killed those prison guards busting Roark out that a judge is just going to give you a little slap on the wrist?

"I didn't kill anyone."

"You were with us, Will. Remember, you even insisted on coming instead of going up North with Duke and Elliot. That's all the law's going to care about."

"It doesn't matter any more Lloyd. I'll deal with that bridge when I come to it. I'm sorry, but I've made up my mind."

"Then you're a fool." Lloyd paused gazing hardly at his nephew for several tense seconds, but Will's grip on the gun did not waver. Finally he said, "All right Will. If that's the way you want it."

"You're just going to let him go?" Roark demanded. "Just like that?"

"Yeah, just like that," Lloyd said solemnly as he gazed at his nephew. The two seemed to come to a silent understanding.

"Come on Mark," Will said, starting to back his horse away slowly, keeping his pistol trained on the group. Lloyd made no move to stop him.

Suddenly a shot ripped through the tension in the air. Briggs reeled back in his saddle as he took the impact in his shoulder.

The outlaws looked up startled to see Broudy on a ledge above them. "Mind if I join the party?"

"It's a trap! Let's get out of here!" Roark shouted.

Suddenly all hell broke loose as several more shots rained down. Lloyd's horse was shot out from under him, the satchel landing a few feet away.

"Mar, get out of here!" Will shouted as he attempted to bring his horse about, but the animal reared up in a panic amid the gunfire and a second later, he felt an explosion of pain in his leg and toppled to the ground.

"Will," Marked screamed, jumping from his horse.

Briggs, injured, returned fire as Lloyd struggled to free his leg trapped under the fallen horse. Roark, seeing the satchel a few feet away, grabbed it and all three quickly scrambled for cover.

In the middle of the panicking horses, Mark crawled on all fours to Will laying exposed in the middle of the clearing. He was clutching his leg with one hand, grimacing against the pain. He looked up startled as Mark grabbed his other arm. A few more wild bullets whizzed past them and into the ground nearby.

"Mark, what do you think you're doing? Get out of here!" he ordered.

"I'm not leaving you!" Mark tried to drag him, but he was too heavy "Help me Will!"

Seeing the determined look in his eye, and with no time to argue with him about it, Will gritted his teeth and managed to get to one knee. Through the mayhem, they managed to crawl behind a group of rocks near the creek as the horses raced away in a panic.

Lloyd pressed himself up against the side of the canyon wall where it jutted out slightly, while Briggs ducked low behind a rock about five feet away, gripping his injured shoulder. Roark had dived behind the large twisted remains of a tree in the middle of the sandy clearing.

The gunfire suddenly ceased. A few seconds later they heard the bounty hunter shout down. "Give it up Corbain! I've got you and your men pinned down!"

Lloyd cursed. Just how many times was he going to have to try and kill that damn bounty hunter! "You're becoming quite the thorn in my side, Broudy."

"I'll take that as a compliment, Corbain. By the way, that was a nice trick with that avalanche but as you can see you didn't do such a good job."

"So, where are your buddies, McCain and the Marshal?"

"Oh…I expect they'll be along shortly. Right now I thought we could just have a friendly little chat first."

Mark eyes widened and he looked down at Will. "Pa is alive!" he said with disbelieve. It was then he noticed Will's hand was saturated in blood. "Will your leg!"

"It's all right. I don't think it's too bad," Will said, but Mark sensed he was lying.

"I think I'll pass. Your chats don't seem to fair well for the other guy."

"Oh, I think I might be able to persuade you all." Another shot came down from above ricocheting off the wall a foot above Lloyd's head. The outlaw leader ducked lower. From Broudy's angle he had an ideal vantage point into the clearing below. "Just a matter of time you know, before I get the right angle." A few minutes later another round came down, this time in front of Briggs. From his voice they could tell Broudy was moving around on the ledge above.

"See him?" Lloyd asked.

Briggs shook his head. "He's got the sun to his back. I can't see squat!"

Roark, trapped about fifteen feet away from Briggs behind the dead tree fired a few rounds back at Broudy, only to have a dead branch splinter near his left ear. He slumped down as low as he could get. "Do something Lloyd before he picks of off like flies!"

But Lloyd was already assessing the situation. To Briggs he said in a low voice. "I need to find a way up there."

Briggs nodded. "All right Broudy. You've got our attention," he shouted back up to the bounty hunter. "What's on your mind?"

"That's more like it. See Corbain, you should listen to your partner. Perhaps we can work out a deal?"

Lloyd pointed up to a section of rock that looked climbable. "What kind of a deal?" Briggs asked trying to keep the bounty hunter talking.

"Simple, give me Corbain and the money and I just might let the rest of you live."

As Broudy continued to taunt the outlaws, Mark tried to stop the bleeding in Will's leg by undoing his belt and tightening it around Will's upper thigh. He'd seen his Pa apply a tourniquet once before but he wasn't sure if he was quite doing it right. Will gritted his teeth against the pain. It was then he glimpsed something in the distance. Two riders were coming down off the mesa towards them!

He grabbed Mark by the shoulders. "Mark, look at me," Will said earnestly. "You've got to get yourself out of here!"

"No!" Mark argued. "I won't leave ya Will."

Will shook him hard. "Stop it and listen to me," he said forcefully. "There's no time to waste. You gotta chance to get out of here, and I'm not going to let you blow it, ya hear!" Mark stared back at him confused. Will swallowed hard. "Look, you told me once, that if there was a chance for you to make it back to your pa, you'd take it. You remember?" Mark nodded. There was a huge knot in his throat. "This is your chance. I just spotted two riders coming down off the mesa. It's gotta be your Pa and the Marshal. You've got to find them."

"Pa's here?" Mark asked in amazement

Will nodded.

"Come with me Will."

But Will shook his head, looking down at his wound. "I can't run with this leg. I'll only slow you down. You've gotta to go Mark, now, while Lloyd's distracted!"

"All right," Mark said nervously.

Will looked around, trying to think. Broudy was blocking the pass, while Lloyd and his men prevented Mark from going back the way they had come. He looked across the remaining distance of the creek bed. "Mark, do you think you can stay low and follow the creek bed over to that rocky hillside then double back around towards the mesa?"

"I think so."

"All right then. There's no time to waste, you better get going."

Mark gave him one last look. "Thank ya, Will, for everything."

Will nodded and gave a weak smile, "Just get going!"

Mark kept his head down low and took off. Will kept an eye on him until he was sure Mark was safely out of sight. Gritting his teeth, he craned his neck around the rock and scanned the clearing hoping to see where he had dropped his gun. He would need it if anyone tried to follow the kid. This time Will wasn't going to stand by and let another innocent person die if he could help it.

"Sorry, but I don't think so!" Lloyd shouted back up. At his signal, Briggs and Roark sent several rounds up into the rocks, forcing Broudy back. With the bounty hunter momentarily distracted, Lloyd started climbing.

Roark emptied his gun and ducked down to reload. That's when he noticed a peculiar sight. A bullet had rent a hole in the satchel and a small amount of grain was coming out the side.

"What the devil?" Roark opened the case and stuck his hand inside one of the cloth money bags, pulling out a handful of grain. "Horse feed!" he cursed dumping the sack completely out. He yanked opened the other bag to discovered the same. The money was gone. He'd been tricked!

So that was it! Lloyd had intended to double cross him all along. No wonder Lloyd hadn't wanted to split the money this morning, he'd been playing him for a fool, stringing him along all this time. He looked over the where Lloyd had already disappeared and Briggs was attempting to follow. Roark's twisted thoughts ran crazily together.

Lloyd knew full well the money wasn't in the satchel. He was going leave Roark to face them all alone while he took off!

And then another thought came to him. So that's why he wanted to keep the brat with them. Not to use him as leverage, as Lloyd had said, but to draw McCain out to kill him. He heard gunshots from the terrace above. But Lloyd hadn't bargained on the bounty hunter apparently. He then saw Briggs backing away from the clearing and his fury exploded.

"Dirty double crossers!" He fired at Briggs. The bullet hit him in the back and he fell to the ground.

Roark then looked across the clearing to where Will and the brat had run for cover. Suddenly he had his own agenda.

Will saw him coming and looked frantically around for anything he could use as a weapon and finally settled on a sturdy limb from a dead tree branch. Grimacing against the pain, Will managed to scoot himself further back behind the rocks and leveraged himself on one leg. As soon as Roark got close enough Will swung the branch with all his might. It struck the outlaw solidly in the chest. Roark fell backwards, his gun knocked from his hand, while the momentum from the swing made Will loose his balance and he fell to the ground.

With Roark momentarily dazed, Will awkwardly attempt retrieve the gun. But Roark recovered from the initial blow and realizing what Will was trying to do, raced for it. "Oh no you don't!"

Will made a dive for the gun. His felt his fingers closing over the gun butt, then gripped the handle and tried to swung his arm around. But before he could level the pistol, Roark was on top of him. Will fought with all his might knowing that he was making his last stand. But then Roark suddenly kneed him in his wounded leg. As the pain exploded in his thigh, the gun was wrenched from his hand and Will felt another stinging blow to his forehead as Roark struck him.

Roark grabbed him by the shirt. "Where is it?" he demanded. Will had no clue what he was talking about, but could see the raw crazed fury in the convict's eyes. "You think you and Lloyd can play me for a fool?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Don't act stupid with me. Where's the money!" Roark shook him hard. "Tell me!"

"I don't have it!"

"Don't play dumb with me. Lloyd had you switch the money, didn't he?! You, he and Briggs were going to have it all to yourselves!"

Will looked back at him in astonishment. "You're crazy! If the money's gone, I didn't have anything to do with it!"

"Then who?" he sneered menacingly.

It was then Roark spotted Mark climbing up the hillside. His eyes suddenly narrowed. The brat, of course! How stupid of him. At the farmhouse, he'd seen the kid standing by the satchel and he'd been alone in the barn while the rest of them where in the house! Will followed Roark's stare and a cold fear ran down his spine as he realized what Roark was thinking. "It was the brat then wasn't it?"

Will struggled against the convict's grip. "Leave while you can Roark. McCain and the Marshal will be here any second. I saw them coming down off the mesa."

But Roark suddenly had his own agenda. "Well it's not going to matter now because that brat is never going to reach his pa."

"No!" Will struggled desperately.

Roark jerked him upward and the next instant Will felt a hard blow to the side of his jaw. His head reeled back and slammed up against the rock. It was then Will knew he'd lost.