The Rescue 3
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Kitty sat silently in her cell, knees to her chin; arms wrapped tightly around her legs, trying desperately to feel something, anything. She was going to die for something she didn't do. Surely she should at least feel sad about that, perhaps scared. But she didn't, she felt numb instead.
Burying her head in her arms, she closed her eyes and drew in a shaky breath, thinking of her life. She'd made mistakes and missteps, and she knew there were choices she'd made that, in hindsight, were foolhardy. But she also knew; she'd made some good choices too. Staying in Dodge, falling in love with Matt, buying into the Long Branch. She considered those to be the best decisions she'd ever made.
In the last ten years of her life, she'd faced some tough and scary challenges. She'd been kidnapped, hit, threatened, shot at and even shot and through it all she'd held the faith that somehow, in the end, it would be alright. Either she'd figure a way out on her own or more likely than not, Matt would save her.
But not this time. This time, she'd been helpless to save herself. This time, Matt was helpless to save her. And this time, she was going to die and nothing anyone could do would help her.
Up in Doc's office, Matt paced restlessly, his hands in his back pockets and his mind in torment. The judge, having heard rumors of his and Kitty's relationship, had forbidden Matt to use the jail until Kitty could be escorted to Hays by a deputy who was even then on his way to do just that. Several men of the town had been sworn in as acting deputies to guard the jail and the prisoner in the meantime.
Matt knew she was safe, at least temporarily. But still, it was difficult not being with her and knowing the kind of torment she must be in.
But Judge Henry's instructions were clear. Matt would continue in his duties as US Marshal with the exception that he was to have no interactions with the prisoner in his capacity as Marshal and would stay away from the jail as much as possible. Any time he spent with Kitty would be purely personal, strictly monitored and limited. Though it killed him, Matt had no other choice but to agree.
Jeff Stafford had been to see Kitty and had assisted her in completing a will and settling her account at the bank. Matt would be the beneficiary of the bulk of her estate with considerations for Sam, Doc and Festus.
The saddened young man had also promised to valiantly continue the fight to clear her name but Kitty had no illusions that he would be able to do so. Hard as it was, she accepted her fate.
As Matt paced, Doc sat slumped back in his chair, a cold cup of untouched coffee in his hand. "I can't believe this is happening." Doc said again. "I can't believe that any sane man would believe that girl guilty of murder."
Matt nodded. "I couldn't believe it either, Doc. If I had of thought they'd do this, I wouldn't have arrested her. I would've grabbed her up and…"
"No, you wouldn't, Matt." Doc stopped him. "You believe too much in that badge. You wouldn't have done anything different than what you did and Kitty wouldn't have let you, even had you tried. She's always believed in that badge too."
Matt gave a snort of contempt. "Fat lot of good that did her." Pulling one hand from a pocket, he raked it agitatedly through his already disheveled hair. "Doc, I can't let them do this. I just can't. You know as well as I do that Kitty didn't kill Vic Treager."
"Yes, I know it." Doc nodded wearily. "And I also know that those 12 men, that sat in judgment of her, thought she not only could, but did. And whether we like it or not, Kitty has been sentenced to hang because of it."
"Well, I don't like it." Matt seethed. "I don't like it at all and I'll tell you something else, I'm not going to let it happen. I am not going to just sit here in Dodge and do nothing, while Kitty is taken off to die like some…" He stopped and took a ragged breath. "I'm just not." He finished.
Doc looked up at him for the first time in two weeks with a spark in his eyes. "It'd mean giving up your badge." He warned. "Kitty was tried and convicted legally. You do anything; you'll have to do it outside the law."
Matt stopped his pacing as Doc's words settled in. Looking down at his shirt, he fingered the badge that had held him in its sway for so long. He realized he'd finally reached the spot where he had would have to make a choice. His badge, and all the injustice that came with it, or Kitty and the knowledge that he and she would most likely have to spend the rest of their lives on the run.
Taking a deep breath, he unpinned the badge and held it tightly in his hand for a moment, before tossing it on Doc's desk. "I have no choice, Doc." He said with no hesitation. "I'm going to save her, no matter what I have to do. And that badge is not going to stand in the way."
"It's about time." Doc said as he excitedly got up from the chair. "Now, how do we get her out of there, Matt?"
"We don't." Matt gave him a stern look. "At least not out of the jail. Securities too tight. They'll expect us to try something. It'll have to be out on the trail somewhere and it'll have to be me alone."
"Alone?" Doc questioned. "Matt, you can't do this alone. You're talking about holding up a stage and helping a prisoner escape. You'll be shot."
Matt threw up his hands. "Doc, I've investigated enough stage holdups to know what will work and what won't and I know this countryside well enough to know the perfect place to do it. Believe me, when I say, I can do this alone. Besides," his voice lowered, "if I did happen to fail, I don't want you or Festus or anyone else involved. Kitty's my responsibility."
Doc scrubbed his mustache with an irritated jerk of his hand as he glared at the man beside him. He disagreed completely with Matt. "You're not the only one that loves that girl, you know? Me, Sam and Festus care about her too. We don't want to see anything happen to her and we're just as eager to help as you are."
"Doc, I know that." Matt shook his head in exasperation. "But think about it. If this goes off the way I plan, Kitty and I will be essentially on the run. We'll have to ride hard and fast. It won't be easy."
Doc plowed his hands into pockets and turned away. "No, it won't Matt." He agreed. "But it seems to me, you're making it even harder on yourself by not accepting help. Now, I agree, riding hard, cross country on horseback would be hard for me. But there are still some things I can do. And you can't leave Festus and Sam out of this."
"Leave us out of what?" Festus asked from the doorway. Matt and Doc had been so absorbed in their conversation they hadn't heard him coming up the stairs or opening the door.
Matt fairly jumped and rushed to the door, taking a quick look outside and down the stairs, before closing it behind him. "How much, of what we said, did you hear?" He asked Festus.
"I heered ol' Doc, here, say they was thangs he could do and you weren't to leave me and Sam out of em." Festus answered. "Leave us out a what?"
Matt took a deep breath and looked at his friends. He really didn't want to involve them in this but he knew Doc was right. What he was planning could be easier accomplished if he had help. Finally raising his eyes to Doc's critical gaze and Festus' curious one, he shrugged. "I'm planning on a rescue, Festus. And I guess I could use some help."
TBC