The Rescue 19
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Festus sat beside the far window and took his turn at guard. They'd been holed up now for almost a full day while Quaid Hill & his men occasionally took a shot at the post or shouted at them to send Kitty out. Their pleas, for the most part, were ignored.
At least by everyone but Percival Atkins. He had spent most of the day simpering in a corner when he wasn't berating his wife for helping common criminals or belittling his children for the smallest infraction or demanding that Matt heed Hill's warnings and send the red head out to him.
Of course, Matt sort of understood. Atkins was scared. Earlier, one of Hill's men had managed to get in through one of the windows on the second floor and creep down the hallway towards the stairs. It was only Matt's keen sense of trouble that had saved them. He sensed something was wrong and silently headed in that direction. He had no sooner reached the top of the stairs when he saw the gunman and fired, killing him instantly.
The man now lay next to Cash in the storeroom. That attempt and an even earlier attempt to cover the chimney of the fireplace, which also met with failure thanks to the slick snow on the roof, were enough to make Atkins extremely vocal about his displeasure in their current situation.
Festus had tolerated a good deal of the man's mouth before finally, he marched over to him and pulled him close by the lapels of his jacket. "You either shut yer mouth, or I'll shut it fer ya. Ya hear?"
Wisely, Atkins controlled his mouth and his temper and kept quiet for a while, unlike the man outside, who continued to call out to them.
"DIllon!" Hill yelled. "You'd best send her out here. You'll all die, you don't. Ain't no whore worth all your lives."
Matt heard the calls but disregarded them. What Quaid Hill wanted, he couldn't give. Looking around the room, he rested his eyes on her. Pale and battered, she was still the loveliest woman he'd ever seen. And unless he figured out what to do, she would also be the deadest.
"Mr. Dillon?" Atkins skirted Festus and came up beside him. "How long do you think we can hold out in here? We're low on water again and the firewood is just about gone. I mean, we men, we can make do I guess, but there is also a woman and two children we have to consider."
"Two." Matt glared at him.
"What?" Atkins asked with a confused look.
"There are two women here, Mr. Atkins." Matt said slowly with angry inflection. "And I have no intentions of seeing either of them die."
"She should already be dead and you know it. From what I understand she was legally tried and sentenced." Atkins snarled. He wanted to say more but the murderous look on Matt's face stopped him and he turned away. Talking to Matt Dillon was getting him nowhere. Quickly, he retreated to the other side of the room with his family and Brody.
Kitty lay on the cot knowing what she had to do. Time was running out and there was no other option. She just hoped she'd be able to convince Matt of that. Taking a deep breath, she painfully pulled herself up into a sitting position. She needed to look as strong as possible, no matter how she felt. "Matt." She called him. "Can I talk to you?"
Taking another look through the slit in the shuttered window, Matt stepped over to the cot and sat down beside her. "You should be resting." He told her, as he placed a hand on her forehead to check her temperature. It was still high, but thankfully it hadn't gone any higher.
Kitty shook her head. "I should be going out there. He's not going to quit, Matt, until he has me. It's time you admit that and let me go to him. He'll leave you all alone if you do."
"No!" He said sternly. "I am not going to let him have you, Kitty. You didn't kill Vic Treager and I'm not going to let you die for it."
Kitty gave him a half smile. "I don't get this bullet out of me and I'm gonna die anyway." She told him. "At least me going out there will get it over with and it'll save these people's lives. You have a responsibility to them too, Matt, and you know it. Your badge requires you to let Quaid have me and keep these people safe."
The strain was beginning to show on her face and it pained Matt, almost as much as the truth of her words. For just a traitorous second, he actually thought of his badge but he angrily pushed that thought away. His badge had gotten them into this spot to begin with.
"I don't wear a badge any longer, Kitty. These people mean nothing to me. But you do. I'm not letting you go." His voice was reflecting his fear and panic but he couldn't seem to help it.
"You don't mean that, Matt." Kitty said seriously. "I mean about these people. You're still a lawman, badge or not. And you have to let me go."
"No, Kitty." He said adamantly. "I don't. I… I can't. I… I'll figure something out, but I can't let you go out there."
His voice was ragged and weaker than she had ever heard it. Matt loved her. If she knew anything, she knew that. And she knew what she was asking him to do was harder than anything he'd ever had to do before, but there was nothing else they could do. They had run out of time and both she and Matt knew it.
Taking another deep breath, she took his hand and held it tightly as she swung her legs off of the cot and to the floor. Despite the other people in the room, she reached over and placed a soft kiss on his lips. "I love you." She whispered. "But you have no say in this."
Grasping her shoulder tightly, she placed a hand on his arm and pushed herself to her feet. She was weak and in a lot of pain, but she knew it wouldn't matter for long. She only had to make it out the door. Giving Matt one last loving glance, she nodded and started for the door. "Its okay, Matt. Just remember, I love you."
But Matt, grabbed her hand and held it. "NO!" He said again. This time his voice was stronger but no less ragged. "I'll go myself first."
Kitty shook her head. "Wouldn't work, and you know it. Now, please. Let me go." Pulling her hand from his, Kitty took a step towards the door but her path was suddenly blocked.
"No, Ma'am." Seth Brody told her. "I've sunk low in these last years and I done some things I'm not proud of, including letting you get sentenced to hang. But I cain't do it no more. I cain't let you die for something you didn't do."
Matt stood and gently grasped Kitty by the waist, pulling her to him. "What are you talking about?" He demanded. "You know who did kill Treager?"
Brody dropped his eyes and then his head as he nodded. "Yes, sir." He said softly. "I did."
TBC