It was no real surprise to Rachel that Raylan's vet was a tough old country vet with a practice that mostly encompassed farm animals, her nostrils detected goat, and maybe sheep but the photographs on the walls were mainly horses, with a few cattle scattered amongst them.
Otis was fine, according to the man in front of her, some cuts from his jump through the window, but remarkably unscathed from the ordeal. Rachel tried very hard not to look down at the scene at her feet. Fine was not how she would characterize the current position.
Tim was sitting on the floor. Otis sat as close to Tim as physically possible, leaning into the sniper, Tim's arms wrapped around the dog's body, Otis had buried his nose into the crook of Tim's elbow.
There was a tiny little whining noise. Rachel wasn't even certain which one had made it.
She should have realized that Tim's hard ass, laid back routine was more of an act than she had pegged it. Tim's PTSD issues and drinking were a barrier. But what the hell happened when the barrier was torn away?
She was finding that out. She didn't like it, but there it was, and she had to do something before Tim's issues rose up again and just maybe he would take a shot that would get him into a hell of a lot of trouble.
Someone needed to get to Arlo Givens first. When Tim rebuilt the barrier he was going to go for Arlo, and she since she doubted she had even the slightest chance of stopping him, she had to protect him from that.
She dialed Art's number. Tried not to feel that moment of satisfaction that was curling around her heart. Arlo Givens was about to feel the long arm of the law. This was karma.
***JUSTIFIED***
Boyd Crowder looked down at the man at his feet, somewhere far away in the back of his mind alarm bells were clanging, but the sheer dumbass stupidity of what had been done had wrapped his brain in cotton wool.
"Why have you blindfolded him?"
Jimmy was practically hopping from foot to foot in glee. Boyd shot a look at Arlo and realized that whatever he had thought and felt at the time, taking on Arlo was a mistake.
With this, it could even be a fatal one.
He sank to his knees and carefully lifted Raylan, undoing the knot holding the blindfold on he pulled it free. Raylan's eyes opened, and for a heart stopping second he thought his old friend was looking at him.
He tried not to think about the pain in his heart when he realized that Raylan's eyeline was off and there was no apparent pupil reaction. Tried not to think about feelings at all, because this was a very, very dangerous moment and Boyd needed his wits about him.
Raylan slumped against him, and Boyd struggled with what to do for the best.
Footsteps came towards them and stopped, Wynn Duffy reached down and cut the ties holding Raylan's wrists.
"I had higher expectations."
Duffy's voice was soft, almost weary and Boyd knew he was standing on the edge of a precipice. Duffy was not the most balanced man, and doing business with the Dixie Mafia kingpin was risky. But Boyd wanted in, and that was the price.
"I…"
"Mr Crowder, I am aware that you were unaware of these events," the distaste in Duffy's tone was palpable, and Jimmy's beaming smile disappeared, he stopped fidgeting, which was good, because Boyd was uncertain how long Jimmy was going to continue breathing. "However," Duffy continued, "this presents us with a problem. Having kidnapped a former Federal officer, we now have the unenviable task of a choice. Either we kill him, or we find a way to return him to his people."
Arlo stepped forward, "We…"
"Mr Givens, since you and your associate have been so unwise to bring this down upon our heads, you no longer get a vote. Mike…"
Duffy's henchman stepped forward, scooped up Raylan from Boyd's arms, "put him in the Winnebago. We'll take him to hospital."
"Killing a Federal Marshal is a very stupid move, especially this one. He has friends, and his partner," Boyd didn't even want to wonder about how Duffy might know the depth of Raylan's relationship with Tim Gutterson, "you've kicked the hornets' nest on this.
Boyd got to his feet, turned, Duffy stepped in. "Get your people under control." The ice in his eyes surprised Boyd, but the pragmatism didn't.
He nodded, didn't trust his voice to speak. Just listened to the footsteps fading away as Duffy walked out. He needed a moment of silence. Or he might just decorate the walls with Jimmy's entrails.
***JUSTIFIED***
He was moving, he could tell that, but he was too sick and tired to work out why. A hand rested against his forehead for a moment, an arm slid around his shoulders, and he was gently lifted into a sitting position. "Drink." The voice was vaguely familiar, but all Raylan cared about right then was the glass of water that was being held to his lips.
"Otis… Tim…" he muttered as he was laid back down.
"Take it easy." The hand was back against his forehead, "how much longer?"
"Ten minutes. Maybe." There was a second voice, further away and Raylan struggled to work out where he was.
"Lie back, Marshal Givens. You've taken quite a beating." The voice was hard, but Raylan sensed that somehow the man meant him no harm.
He ached all over, memories all jumbled up. Otis, and gunfire… his dog dying. He moaned in distress, and tried to sit up, the effort was too much and he passed out. "Otis…"
***JUSTIFIED***
"His name is Raylan Givens, he was a deputy marshal with the Lexington office." Wynn Duffy gave the desk all the information he could think of, inwardly cursing their slowness. He knew they had phoned the marshals' office, he wanted to be out of there before Raylan's partner and the rest of the marshals showed up.
He was expecting the worst, but he still jumped at the sound of running feet behind him. Tim Gutterson almost slammed into the desk. He had a dog on a lead, trailing a harness that Duffy assumed was a guide dog's standard gear. Gutterson was waving his badge, "Raylan Givens." He barked at the nurse, "where is he?"
"Sir…" The nurse was on her feet. "That animal can't be in here."
Tim wasn't having any of it. "My partner is blind." He snapped. It didn't take a psychologist to pick up on the stress in his voice, "some asshole just tried to kill his dog, Raylan's going to want to feel that Otis is alive." If his voice cracked on the last few words, Duffy wasn't going to blame him.
As matters degenerated into a shouting match, and Rachel caught up with her errant partner, Duffy made good his escape in the confusion.
***JUSTIFIED***
Rachel settled herself into a chair next to Raylan's bed. After this one Tim and Raylan owed her big time.
She had arrived at the front desk in time to prevent most of Tim's meltdown, managed to get Tim and Otis a pass into Raylan's room, and then run interference until everyone was satisfied.
She moved again, why hospitals insisted on the god-awful plastic chairs she had no idea.
Her lips quirked up in a smile, not as though there was any room on the bed.
Tim was half on and half off, slumped over, Raylan leaning into his partner, fingers entwined with Tim's, his free hand in the thick ruff of fur around Otis' neck, the dog squashed between them.
Raylan was bruised and battered, and running a low-grade fever from a slight case of exposure. Tim was holding on to Raylan as though he expected his partner to be snatched away again. Rachel suspected that it wasn't going to be possible to pry them apart with a crowbar.
They were both messed up by what happened, but had defaulted to their usual positions.
The marshals had rallied round. Nelson was arranging for the window to be replaced, and the locks changed.
Rachel would keep watch, until Raylan was ready to go home. Then they would figure it out together.