"I hope you squeal!"

Mox Mox's gleeful voice gloating over the children beside her brought Ella forcefully out of her memories, for a short time she had been able to retreat into her own mind, blocking out her surroundings; Mox Mox, the children, the brush around her and the whiskey that soaked into her hair and clothing. She could smell the pungent aroma coming from her blouse as the heat of the day increased. But now she was thrown back into the thick of the situation, Ella bitterly wished that she had been able to remain inside her past for this moment, it was not a pleasant remembrance but it was a lot better than the future that lay before her.

She watched as Mox Mox went over to the large fire where a meal still cooked for the rest of his gang, he picked out a long branch and inspected it with a keen eye. Ella got the distinct feeling that this man liked everything to be just to his liking, it might spoil his sport of burning two children and a woman otherwise. Once he seemed satisfied that the branch was the right length or burning well enough, whatever it was he was looking at with an eye for detail, he began to make his way over to where Ella and the children knelt, bound and defenseless.

Ella wanted to turn to the children and say something of comfort before their last moments came, something motherly… but Ella had never been good with children, she'd always felt awkward around them… apart from Teresa and Rafael that was, but then they'd always felt more like kin to her than just 'children'. She found it was rather funny that in this moment, when death approached her, ugly, squat and carrying a flaming branch, she would be thinking of children and why she'd never been so keen on them.

She found that no matter how much she told herself to turn and speak some words to little Macey and Bobby she could not now take her eyes off Mox Mox as he walked in hobbled steps towards them. Now she had focused upon him fully it seemed she could think of nothing else but what the flames would feel like as they began to burn into her flesh, would she scream or would the fire devour her before she could utter a sound. Her heart was beating hard once again and she wished it would just stop its loud hammering for a moment so she could clear her head and hear her thoughts fully… but more than anything she wished it was over, that the waiting was through and it was done. The thought of a painful death scared her immensely but the thought of watching Mox Mox take his time, enjoying the terror he was creating was near unbearable and she wanted it done…

Then he was close, he grinned down at them and lifted the branch high as if letting them see their fate one last time before it engulfed them. One of the Mexican men came forwards to pour more whiskey on the brush before Mox Mox decided to drop the branch but as he moved towards them an echoing boom sounded. Ella gave a shriek, her nerves were near threadbare and the unexpected loud noise had made her think that hell was opening up to swallow her whole. It was only then she noticed that the Mexican was falling forward into the brush as though he had leaned too far over and lost his balance. Mox Mox however was backing away, he knew what that sound was and he knew he was in trouble. Ella continued to stare at the Mexican, blood was soaking into his shirt, he'd been shot.

More gunfire sounded and members of Mox Mox's gang began to drop like flies… Ella looked around her wildly as Macey began to wail, the noises frightening the little girl and making her once again begin to shout for her mother. Ella scanned the cliffs above them looking for the person doing the shooting but she couldn't see anyone, the thought crossed her mind that perhaps her instinct had been right and Joey had come, but before her theory could be confirmed or discredited a hand was upon her upper arm pulling her to her feet. She was dragged backwards as she tried to keep her footing, but the person leading her had no time for any careful steps and ended up dragging her the last few paces. She was bundled onto a horse and then Jimmy mounted behind her, his hand once again wrapping around her waist in an iron grip. Ella's arms, which were still tightly bound behind her, had already begun to ache at the position she was forced into upon the horse but she had no time to voice her complaints as Jimmy spurred his mount onwards and they began to gallop away from the canyon, away from the children and out into the plains leaving her potential rescuer behind…

---

Joey watched with his spyglass for a moment as the chaos before him unfolded. He had left Judge Roy Bean's and set after Call, the old man's tracks were easy to find and he had followed them without any problems. He was glad that Call had broken away from all but one of his men. Although he was more than certain that he would kill every one of the men riding with Call, and Call himself, the fact that Famous Shoes was with them did make him a little uneasy. Famous Shoes was a great tracker, better even than himself in some aspects but Joey could not take John Wesley Hardin's advice and bring an end to the old man's life, perhaps it would be a great mistake to hold to his old promise but Joey never broke a promise to himself. He shook himself inwardly, not wanting to think about the past.

He had followed old Call catching up to him much faster than he had expected, Joey knew it wasn't himself that occupied the ranger's mind, he was hunting other prey and upon the second day of following he had found out that it was the 'Manburner' that Call was set upon.

Joey had heard about the Manburner in newspapers and talk in saloons, he'd even toyed with the thought of taking his little brother and sister to this man who liked to set children alight. Perhaps he would still do this at a later point, he hadn't quite decided his siblings' fate just yet.

Mox Mox's gang had set up camp in a small canyon, lighting fires without much care. Joey thought he had never seen such a useless bunch of men, he could almost guarantee just by looking at them that not one was a good shot with rifle or handgun and none of them seemed to have a single scrape of intelligence. Joey hated stupid people, they annoyed him and he took great delight in making sure they ended up at the end of his rifle… or sometimes his knife if the mood took him. He noticed that the Manburner was squat and fat, he had never seen him before but from various stories he had heard about how ugly and small he was, Joey could not mistake this man for anyone else. Joey also detested fat people, they reminded him vividly of his mother's past husbands, he liked to shoot such men in their big, protruding stomachs and watch as the guts spilled out if he got the aim just right. He considered shooting this small, fat man just for sport but then that would alert Call to his whereabouts and he didn't want that just yet, he liked following the old ranger, knowing he didn't have any idea he was being tracked by his own quarry.

He had taken out his spyglass and observed intently where Call and his man had positioned themselves, then he'd turned his interest to the camp, studying the Manburner for a long time. He didn't know how anyone could fear such a man, he looked far too stupid to lead and Joey thought most could outwit him, but then you didn't have to be intelligent to make people scared, people scared far too easily sometimes.. . He moved the spyglass to the three captives, he'd heard the wailing of the children far before he had settled himself down on his lookout point, children too annoyed him although he had never killed one… not willingly. Children he saw no point in killing, they offered no sport and had no valuables. His jaw twitched and tightened as he saw the third captive, it was not someone he had expected to see here or ever again. He had thought Ella would perhaps make it make to Ojinaga if she had good sense and knew how to make a good fire or she would perish in the desert, he hadn't thought for a moment she would wait around at Roy Bean's for someone to pass by, she'd have been a fool to do such a thing, he was glad to see he was right and she had left but he also felt greatly annoyed. If she died he wanted it to be because he had constructed it not because some small, fat man wanted to burn her, the thought made him angry and he was angry at her for getting caught by such a band of idiots.

He thought again of taking up his rifle and shooting the Manburner, but he stilled the blood that rushed within his ears urging him to squeeze the trigger. He knew Call was here and he reasoned that the Texas Ranger must have some reason for being so famous, he would at least let him try first. Joey knew he could slip away if he was detected, without Famous Shoes Call didn't stand a chance of tracking him if he got a good head start.

Joey had watched as the first shot was fired, Call's aim was off he had been too slow to put a bullet in the Manburner's heart and instead shot a Mexican man. The bullets began to fly and men began to fall down dead, Call and his man were shooting fish in a barrel and Joey was quite disgusted by just how many shots they missed, perhaps they were tired but still Joey was greatly disappointed. Finally two bullets were put into the Manburner but it wasn't enough to kill him, he managed to mount a horse and ride away, an Indian man pulled Ella to her feet as Joey continued to watch through his spy glass. His jaw tightened once more as Ella was bundled onto a horse and she and the man rode off in the same direction as the Manburner had taken, it seemed Call had enough sense to not shoot at a kidnapped woman and didn't fire anymore shots in their direction instead he finished off the remaining bandits.

Joey began to pack away his items, he would have to hurry if he wanted to catch up to the fast Indian, his annoyance grew by the second, she could not even let rescue come to her when it was within seconds of happening. He stopped, his attention caught by another man riding out of the canyon, following the path of the last two remaining members of the Manburner's gang, Joey paused and thought for a moment and finally decided it suited him better this way, he would only be angry once he caught up with the Indian, perhaps his temper would lessen and his mind dwell less upon the only woman he had ever allowed to travel with him if he did not see her, he had no intention of laying eyes upon her again since he had left her at Roy Bean's why should he change his plan now? She would be safe enough but he still found his jaw tightened slightly at the thought that 'he' would save her and Joey did not like the fact that his jaw tightened…. He left his vantage point and mounted his horse, his mind forcibly set upon Call once again

---

Ella soon became aware that another man had made it out of the canyon, it seemed the rest would call that dusty ground behind them their last resting place. She hoped that the children were at least safe. The gunman must have been someone who was after Mox Mox, she doubted if they would follow the two men that had escaped even if the other was Mox Mox himself.

She felt slightly dispirited by this, in a way she had sealed her own fate by playing up to Jimmy, if she had let him be and rebuked his advances he would have left her with the children without a second thought, but she had gained his interest and once a man like Jimmy had interest it was hard to change his course from what he wanted. She felt foolish, she could be getting rescued along with the children right now, taken on to a nice town, perhaps even a hotel for a bath and some good hot food, her stomach rumbled noisily at the thought. But instead she was stuck sitting uncomfortably in the saddle with a man that had one thing upon his mind, she doubted she would be able to talk her way out of the situation and if she fought or tried to run there was a good chance he would beat her or kill her. Ella was unsure just how ruthless Jimmy was, he was riding with Mox Mox so he must have cruelty inside him, to watch innocents burn took something to be wrong in the mind and soul.

They rode for what was a long time, pushing the horse at a full gallop until the poor beast began to lag from carrying two people. Jimmy followed Mox Mox into a gully. They all dismounted or rather Ella and Jimmy dismounted, Mox Mox it seemed rolled off his horse and crawled himself into a sitting position leaning heavily against the sand bank. Mox Mox's horse was ridden to the brink, it foamed at the mouth and sweated, he'd pushed the animal too far and now it was useless.

Ella instantly became aware how cold it was, night would be coming in less than a few hours and she could already feel the freezing wind creeping into her very bones. She avoided looking at Mox Mox but the fact he was so astoundingly ugly made the matter difficult in the first place and now he sat groaning and complaining on the ground with a bloody wound to his chest made it all the harder.

Jimmy began to take the saddle off Mox Mox's horse, replacing it for his own, it was a better make and more comfortable too.

"Don't go off and leave me here, you goddamn Cherokee dog! You don't need to take my belongings, and let me have that horse, it's better than mine!" Mox Mox said hoarsely.

Ella couldn't help studying him, it was obvious he was a dead man, the pallid, blue tinged colour of his face, his harsh intakes of breath and the blood that had trickled from his nose and mouth told her this fact easily, but it seemed he had not noticed these things, he was adamant there was nothing wrong with him.

Jimmy ignored Mox Mox's demand and continued on with his task. Mox Mox tried to push himself to his feet but seemed to give up half way and sank back to the ground.

"Build a fire, Jimmy. It's chill." He ordered a little softer, still thinking he held sway as the leader. "Build a fire. We'll freeze if you don't build a fire."

"Nope, no more fires for you Mox." Jimmy said finally gracing him with an answer.

"Why not? What's wrong with you?"

Ella could sense things may turn bad and she backed away, hoping if these two men decided to start shooting or fighting she could find cover.

"Not near as much as is wrong with you. I ain't shot up bad and I ain't dyin'. You're both, Mox." He began to sort through Mox's belongings looking for whatever he could use. "Building you a fire would be a waste of matches, and I ain't got the time to waste on a man that's dying anyway." The words were simple and Jimmy meant them, his tone stated he'd never cared for Mox Mox and the respect he'd granted him was fleeting, changing with the course of events.

"I ain't dyin', I'm just shot up a little. I'll live if I can get warm." Mox Mox declared a little indignantly as if he didn't like Jimmy saying he was finished, as if it were bad luck to hear someone say such a thing.

"Hellfire will warm you, Mox. You'll be plenty warm down there." He grinned as he said it, enjoying teasing his former leader.

"You're stripping me clean you Cherokee scum!" Mox Mox's face twitched, his eyes narrowed with anger and his voice shook with fury. "I should've killed you long ago. Should've shot you in your sleep!"

"I could be sound asleep, or drunk, and still be too quick for you, Mox. That's why I'm called Quick Jimmy, remember?" His tone no longer held any respect for the great Manburner. He had nearly finished tying a blanket to his horse and Ella knew they'd soon be riding from here, she had to admit despite the company she would be travelling with she wanted to be away from here, away from the ugly dying man.

"You damn snake, get off that horse and make me a fire!"

"I ain't the snake. You're the one they call The-Snake-You-Do-Not-See. Only old Call seen you. He didn't get much of a shot, but he still killed you." Jimmy said inspecting Mox's rifle and deciding with a nod it was good enough to take.

"I ain't dead, I'm just shot, goddamn you! If you're in such a hurry leave me some matches." Mox Mox said his tone desperate almost pleading with his former gang member

"I am in a hurry. Old Call might be comin'." He walked towards Mox Mox, keeping his distance but coming close enough to look down and gloat a little.

"He ain't comin', he's got those brats."

"Well, I don't believe I'll take the chance." Jimmy mocked, he had known all along he would not pander to Mox's wants and needs. "If he does come, he'll find you frozen. I never thought a man that old would beat you, Mox, but I guess I was wrong." He needled.

Jimmy turned and made for his horse, Ella knew they were leaving she was glad of it, glad to leave this evil man behind in the desert and her memories.

Mox Mox gave a roar and he stumbled forward a knife in his hand. Ella was suddenly relieved she had moved, he could have reached her skirts from where he sat but now she was well away from his reach, but it wasn't Ella that he wanted it was Jimmy. Mox Mox had been betrayed by his own man and he was angry, but his injuries were worse than his temper and he only managed a few stumbled steps before he fell, the knife plunging into sand and nothing more.

Jimmy gave a chuckle before turning to Ella and drawing out his blade, he severed the bonds holding her and mounted his horse, gesturing for Ella to take his hand, she swung herself up behind him.

"You're done for, Mox. You oughta just cut your own throat and be done with it." He gave the horse a swift kick and they rode out of the gully into the quickly descending evening.