The Rescue 6

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Dawn usually snuck in on Matt on quiet feet, waking him from an often all too short sleep and rudely pushing him to get up and attend to his duties. But not today. Today Matt beat the dawn and greeted it with, if not glee, at least a sad eagerness, knowing his time to act was swiftly coming up.

"Ya reckon they's on their way?" Festus asked as he got up from his pallet.

"Probably just starting." Matt answered, pouring Festus a cup of coffee. "I figure they'll be near Indian Wells in a couple of hours.

"Ya figger to stop em there?"

Matt shook his head. "Nope. Country's too wide open. No place to set up. But further north, about two miles, is a spot just about perfect for it."

"They might be ready fer us." Festus warned, watching Matt closely. "Might be spectin' us to try something."

Matt sipped on his own coffee with a shrug. "They think I rode south to Texas and you rode east. They know Doc's not able to pull off anything like this and Sam will make sure to be plainly visible there in the Long Branch. I think that Hays deputy will be careful, but since the stage is the safest way to travel, he won't really expect any problems."

"Wael," Festus grinned, finishing his coffee and getting to his feet. "He shore gonna get some today. I garontee that."

Matt nodded but didn't reply. He hoped the deputy was the only one that had any problems that day.

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The next morning, Kitty woke from an all too short sleep, no more rested than when she'd closed her eyes. Pulling herself to her feet, she vigorously rubbed her arms, trying to warm herself a little. It was cold in the back of the jail and as a prisoner, she hadn't been afforded comforts like an extra blanket.

"Care for some breakfast, Ma'am?" Young Addison Furlough, one of the guards, asked as he opened the outer door and looked in on her.

"No, thank you." Kitty attempted a smile but didn't quite make it. "I, uh.. I don't think I could eat anything."

The guard nodded. "Yes, ma'am. Guess I understand. I could get ya some coffee, though."

Kitty started to accept but the Hays deputy; Corey Aimsler walked up at the moment and shook his head. "She won't have time." He said as he stepped forward with chains and cuffs in his hands. "Stage will be leaving in about half an hour. Time to get you ready for the trip."

With an apologetic look, the guard stepped back and left the deputy to tend to his prisoner. He didn't really know if Miss Kitty had killed Vic Treager or not but he sure didn't think she'd gotten a fair shake in all of this.

"Step back from the bars and turn around." Aimsler ordered.

As Kitty complied, he opened the cell and came up behind her, cuffing her hands tightly behind her back. "Nothing personal." He half way smiled as he made sure they were good and snug.

Kitty winced at the discomfort but said nothing. She sensed he was waiting for her to say or try something so that he could show her how the law dealt with criminals.

"Alright now, turn back around." He ordered when he had the cuffs secured.

Kitty did as ordered, and she saw him bending down in front of her with a set of chains in his hands. She had of heard of prisoners having their feet chained but had never seen it. Matt didn't believe in it, and said once it wasn't necessary if the law man knew what he was doing, unless he just wanted to be cruel. That told her a lot about the deputy who would be taking her to Dodge.

With little preamble, Aimsler pulled the hem of her dress up and quickly snapped a set of irons around her slender ankles. When he finished, Kitty started to take a step back from the leering man bending down in front of her, but he stopped her with a hand on her leg.

"Hanging you sure will be a waste." He grinned up at her as his hand travel further north.

"Take your hands off of me." Kitty angrily warned him.

"What would you do if I don't?" He asked, not bothering to hide the look of lust in his light gray eyes.

"Uh hem." Addison stepped in, his eyes quickly taking in the scene and understanding what he'd interrupted. "Deputy, the stage driver said he's gonna be leaving in a few minutes, so you all'd better get on over there."

"We'll be right there." Aimsler snapped, expecting the young man to leave.

But he didn't. Addison stayed where he was until the deputy finally took his hand off Kitty's leg and stood up with a scowl on his face.

Grabbing Kitty roughly by the arm, he jerked her forward towards the door. "Come on." He demanded. The abrupt movement made her stumble and fall forward as the short length of chain on her legs prevented her from taking a long enough step to prevent it. But Aimsler caught her at the last moment and hauled her upright. "I said, come on."

Kitty said nothing and did her best to keep up with the deputy's long strides as they walked down to the stage depot, managing to only trip twice.

What few people there were up at that time of morning, stood silently and unmoving as they watched her being roughly pulled down the street and shoved into the stage coach. Even those who believed her guilty hung their heads at her treatment.

Once he had her inside the coach, he moved back and climbed out. "I hear your boyfriend didn't have the guts to stick with you." He smirked at her. "But even so, I ain't taking no chances. I'm gonna ride up top with the driver and you're gonna ride back here alone. Should your boyfriend get some nerve or one of your other friends, I'll shoot em before they can even get close."

Kitty swallowed hard but gave him no reply. She still felt like Matt was going to try something and though she badly wanted him to, she was now afraid of what might happen should he try. She didn't want to hang for a crime she didn't commit, but she didn't want Matt to die in attempt to save her.

As Aimsler slammed the coach door closed and climbed up top with the driver, Kitty closed her eyes and prayed fervently for Matt's life, as well as her own.

TBC