Gunsmoke and Spies 9

Author's Note: In response to a question of timing. I neglected to mention that this is set sometime in the middle of season 2 for SMK and after season 19 for Gunsmoke. Sorry about that.

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As Kitty and Amanda made their way through the town, they were unaware of the two silent strangers who watched their every move as they followed them about. Accustomed as she was, to garnering a fair amount of male attention, Kitty, at first, brushed off the stare of the black haired man across the street, when she spotted his reflection in the window of Mr. Jonas' store.

But when she saw him again through the window of the hat shop and still yet again through the dress shop window, she knew something was amiss. After paying for her purchases, Kitty grabbed Amanda's arm just as she was about to walk out the door. "Un huh." She shook her head. "There's a man across the street that's been following us for a while. I think it might not be a bad idea to go out the back way."

Amanda l0oked at her questionably before looking out through the window and across the street. Her blood ran cold when she saw the swarthy looking man casually leaning against a post, his hat brim pulled low. Though she'd never seen him in person, Amanda knew what Armando Saldez looked like, from various descriptions Lee had garnered, and she was positive that was the man in the flesh. "I think you might be right." She said in a small voice.

"Patricia," Kitty turned to the dress shop owner. "You don't mind if we use the back door do you?"

Patricia shook her head. "No, not at all. But don't you think it'd be safer if you were to stay here and let me go and get Matt?"

Kitty shook her head. "Matt's out at Fort Dodge with her husband," she nodded her head at Amanda. "And I don't know where Newly and Festus are but they're not at Newly's shop or the jail, cause we passed by there before we came here. Besides, as long as he stays where he's at, he won't have any idea that we've gone till we've already reached the Long Branch."

Patricia took a look at the man across the street, then back at Kitty. "Guess you're right. But you two be careful. And if I see Newly or Festus come past here, I'll tell them about him."

"Thanks, Patricia." Kitty smiled gratefully. Taking Amanda's hand, Kitty led the way through the shop and to the back exit. Cautiously, she opened the door and peered both ways down the alley. The alley was clear of everything but a couple of crates down near the middle of the alley.

"I don't see anything," Amanda said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I don't either," Kitty agreed, "let's go." Leading the way, she stepped out in the passageway and started down towards the crates. Though she hadn't seen anyone with the man out front, she thought it best to be careful and keeping Amanda behind her, she gave the crates a wide berth as they came abreast of them. But once there she felt slightly foolish as it was obvious the crates were empty.

Giving Kitty a relieved grin, Amanda stepped past her and boldly started further down towards the end of the alley. She and Kitty as well, had failed to see the recessed doorway until it was too late. Just as Amanda crossed in front of it, a hand reached out, pulling her into a man's arms.

Amanda started to scream but a gun was pressed urgently against her temple. "I wouldn't, were I you." A nasally male voice said.

Kitty saw what was happening and started forward to help her friend when another set of arms wrapped themselves around her waist. "I kill you, you make noise." The voice was low, guttural and Spanish sounding. Saldez had her, she was certain of it.

"What do you want with us?" Kitty asked, struggling to keep her panic under control. She'd been in this type of situation too many times before in the last twenty years and she wasn't sure she had the strength to go through it again.

"Yer men." Her captor spoke quietly, menacingly. "Dey been messin' in my business. Dey stop, I have you. No?" His laughter was short, dark and grated like sandpaper on her nerves.

"NO!" Kitty growled, jabbing an elbow into the horrid man's ribs in a desperate effort to free herself. But it was not to be. Saldez, ignoring the sharp jab to his middle section, swung her around towards him and punched her as hard as he could. Kitty went down without another sound.

"Oh my gosh!" Amanda cried in alarm and fear. "Kitty! You hurt her. You can't hurt her I mean you can hurt her obviously but you shouldn't hurt her. Let us go." She increased her struggle and even managed a well aimed kick on an undefended shin. But the man would not let go.

"Ya best shut up, ya don't want the same." The man that held her growled in her ear as he twisted her arm behind her.

Amanda swallowed hard and nodded, silent for once, as she watched Saldez pick Kitty up and throw her across his shoulder effortlessly. "Les go." He said as he led the way down the alley.

Inside the dress shop, Patricia had watched the man as he leaned against the post, moving not a muscle. Positive he would most likely stay there, she turned her attention to a customer who'd just entered her shop and failed to the see the man suddenly quit his place across the street and leave.

She also failed to see Festus, when he ambled by a few minutes later. It wasn't until much later that afternoon, when she happened to see Newly, in the general store, that she thought about the odd occurrence of earlier. She started to let it go, assuming Kitty and her friend had made it back safely, but it nagged at her. "Newly?" She stopped him before he could leave.

"Yes, Ma'am?" Newly stopped and turned back to the dress shop owner.

"Have you seen Kitty and her friend this afternoon?" She asked.

"No, Ma'am, Miss Patricia." He shook his head. "Why? Is there a problem?"

"Well, I'm not sure." Patricia hesitated. "Maybe not, but then… well, she and another woman were in my shop today and they saw some man across the street that worried them. Kitty refused to go out the front, thinking he might be following them, so she took her friend and went out the back way. I was just wondering if you knew whether or not she and her friend made it back to the Long Branch."

Newly swallowed hard at the news. The marshal had told him a little about Saldez and the possibility that he might try something in Dodge and asked him to keep an eye out as he went about the town. "Miss Patricia, do you know what that man looked like?"

"Well, I didn't get too good a look at his face…" Patricia paused as she tried to remember. "I do know he wasn't overly tall and had black hair and was kind of dirty looking. I'm sorry, I know that's not much but I only saw from across the street and only for a moment or two."

Just as she spoke, Newly saw Matt and Lee ride past on their way back from the fort. "Thank you, Miss Patricia." He told her. "I'll check on Miss Kitty."

Deciding against heading straight for the Long Branch, Newly instead ran the street towards the jail. The feeling in the pit of his stomach told him Miss Kitty and her friend were in trouble.

TBC