It was close to 8:30 when Ezra showed up at the stage, tossing his bag up to JD to load on top. "You will find another of your dime novels in the bag, should you require additional material Mr. Dunne." He had picked up a several extra for the young man when he had seen the size of the collection available at the mercantile. He thought, all things considered, this was a good time to offer one.
"You didn't need to do that Ezra." JD smiled at him in appreciation.
"I know. That is why I did."
Buck rode up closer, leading Chaucer and Milagro behind him. "Talk to your horse Ezra. He's being stubborn again."
"Intractable, Mr. Wilmington, and protective of his own well being." Nevertheless, Ezra took the few steps needed to get close to Chaucer and spoke softly to him for a moment. The horse looked over to Buck, who was certain some kind of judgement was being considered. Apparently, he passed inspection, as the animal's demeanor became far more compliant.
"You know that ain't natural, right?"
"Jealously is a demanding master Mr. Wilmington. Do not let her get a hold on you."
Buck ignored the response and called to the driver. "You planning on the station stop Henry?" There was a manned rest stop about half-way along the trip, where spare horses were available if needed, along with fresh water for all.
"Always do. Horses need the break, and usually the riders do too."
"OK, we'll meet up there in about three hours."
Ezra climbed in, taking the seat opposite the couple already on board. He tipped his hat, as he introduced himself. "Ezra Standish, at your service."
"Pleasure. We are Mr. and Mrs. Sherman. Jeremy and Emily." The young lady blushed and giggled when her husband spoke. Ezra guessed neither was over 20, and from her reaction, this may well have been the first time she had been introduced that way.
"Newlyweds?"
"Two days." The groom confirmed.
Dear Lord, this was going to be a long ride as he watched them gaze at each other. He wondered if it was too late to change places with JD but abandoned the notion when the coach began to move.
As he expected, the ride was to boring. He didn't waste his energy trying to initiate any dialogue, as the youngsters had eyes only for each other. Young love could be somewhat nauseating, and newlyweds were the worst. Ezra chastised himself silently for his cynicism, acknowledge only ever privately that it was inspired by his own solitude as much as any thing else. Given there was precious little to amuse him – he almost wished he had one of JD's books at hand – he tipped his hat down over his eyes and tried to catch a few more winks of sleep. Not the easiest thing to do over terrain such as this, but at least he was able to avoid staring at the happy couple.
He had no idea how much time had passed when he was brought back to awareness by the harsh jerking of the coach, followed quickly be a couple of shots being fired and the abrupt and wrenching stop of the vehicle. Emily almost fell from her seat from the actions but struggled back, only to have Ezra reach across to tug her down to the floor. Jeremy was about to voice his objection when he was pushed down as well as Ezra tried to make sure the young man covered his bride. The delay cost him any advantage he might have had, and when he drew his gun and turned to look out the window, he was staring down the barrel of a Smith and Wesson.
"Don't even think about bein' a hero. You'll be dead before you can blink. Toss the gun down, and you just might get to go home."
One thing Ezra had learned at an early age was when to fold a losing hand, and since that was what he was facing down right now, he followed the request, tossing the gun off away from the outlaw, near some shrubs. He slowly opened the door, stepping down, scanning the area. The second thief appeared from in front of the coach, keeping his aim on JD and Henry. Ezra could see JD's gun on the ground near the horses. He turned back to offer assistance to the others to climb down.
"You two just stay put in there –", the first hold-up man eyed the young woman lasciviously – "for now."
Ezra fixed his glare, knowing exactly what the son of a bitch had in mind. Not on my watch, he thought. Not as long as there is breath in my body.
"Any more guns in there?" Ezra shook his head in response and was stunned when they accepted his answer. On the other, he thought, looking at the young couple, there seemed to be little threat from that front.
He stepped far enough to the side to be able to look up to the driver's seat and tried to keep his face neutral. JD was clutching at his arm as blood slowly seeped through his fingers. Henry was likewise holding onto a wound, his higher on his shoulder. These outlaws were either really good shots, or really bad. Since Buck hadn't indicated anyone had been killed in earlier robberies, Ezra decided it was likely the first option, and felt a degree of relief at that. If everyone stayed calm, this might end well. Then he looked again at the fact of the gunman eyeing the young bride with less than honourable intentions. No, this was not going to end well.
"OK, since those two," he nodded towards the men up top, "aren't going be of much help, you git up there and get the bank box down."
Ezra nodded and climbed up to reach for the strong box. The vantage gave him the opportunity to better view the area. He saw no sign of Buck, which was disturbing. He should have been closer behind. A moment of panic flashed through him as he wondered if the thieves had spotted and ambushed him. Praying that wasn't the case, and working on an alternate explanation, he continued to pull at the ropes to release the treasure. He briefly caught JD's eye and tried to offer a reassuring smile. It was clear the same concerns for Buck had crossed his mind. Ezra reluctantly tossed down the box, jumping to the ground after it.
"Good. I do like a man who knows how to follow orders. Bring it over here."
He lifted it slowly, stalling as he hoped for help or inspiration to appear, but neither had materialized by the time he placed the box in front of the men. He had taken only a couple of steps back when a gunshot ricocheted of the box. He looked up, hoping to see Buck but it was only the effort to blast the lock free by the still silent gunman, who then knelt down to examine their prize. The first thief was dividing his attention between the wounded prisoners, and the young bride. The money provided another distraction, which gave Ezra the moment he needed. He leapt at the chance, flipping his derringer free from it's hiding place.
"I would suggest you both toss your weapons aside now, or face dealing with the consequences of your actions. No Mr. Dunne. Stay where you are for the moment please." JD reluctantly settled back, not wanting to be a diversion to Ezra's focus.
"You really think we are gonna surrender when that's all you got? Ain't got but two bullets in it. Think you can fire off a couple of kill shots?" He grinned maliciously at Ezra, who in turn tried to look bored by the discussion.
"I assure you, my aim is true. Two shots are all that will be required."
In truth, he had no doubt he could stop both men with two shots under normal circumstance. The problem was, that was not the case now. Come to think of it, it rarely was. He wondered for a moment just what normal was anymore. The current issue was in the bullet count. There was only one in his secret weapon. To great dismay and embarrassment, he was realizing now that, after using it in the saloon that first night that he had neglected to reload before leaving this morning. A dreadful oversight, and one for which he could offer no explanation of than the possibility that such carelessness came from having friends around to watch your back.
Still, as long as the men he was facing down were unaware of the shortfall, all he needed to do was reinforce the perceived reality. "So, either surrender, or decide which of the two of you shall be the first to die." He did love using his best lines whenever the opportunity arose.
JD figured an outside opinion could only help the cause. "Give it up boys. I've seen him shoot, and he's not gonna miss either one of you."
"Maybe, but I'm thinking I'll take that bet." The thief made his move to raise the weapon to firing level and a split second later there was only time enough for the surprise to register on his face before he fell dead to the ground. The second man stared at his partner in disbelief, giving Ezra the chance he needed to dive to where he had tossed his weapon, reaching rolling toward the shrubs as he hit the ground. The pain that dug in to his arm told him the bastard had got a shot off, but the distant sound of a rifle assured him there wouldn't be a second one. Like he had just finished thinking, friends around when they were needed.
He turned to look in the distance, pulling his arm close to him without looking at the wound. He could see Buck spurring Lady into a gallop and quickly closing the distance. He wondered briefly where the other horses were but pushed the thought away. He forced himself to his feet, ignoring the flash of dizziness he felt, undoubtedly from rising too quickly. He looked up to see JD dismounting and going for his own gun, then helping Henry down. Ezra focused his attention on the bodies on the ground, making his way to them to ensure there was no further danger there. He kicked their guns out of reach, even though it was obvious there was no chance either man would ever draw a breath again.
"Shit." Buck reined up on Lady and was jumping down quickly. "Anybody hurt? JD, you ok?'
"It's nothing Buck. Been cut worse shaving."
"When did you start shaving?" The weak effort did nothing to hide the concern.
JD ignored the comment. "Where the hell were you?"
"Blame your horse. Damn beast pulled free of the tether and took off. I tied Chaucer then went after him. By the time it got sorted I'd lost about 20 minutes. Been riding to catch up since. Just these two to worry about?"
"As no one else has made an appearance, I would assume that to be the case." Ezra was feeling warm and a bit unsteady as he walked toward the coach. He assumed he could blame it on the ebbing adrenaline, and likely the lack of proper sustenance over the last couple of days. He was damned if he was going to let Buck know about that.
Buck moved to check on the other passengers. "You folks OK?"
The young couple were holding tightly to each other as Emily cried quietly in her husband arms. She caught her breath and looked at Ezra. "That was – amazing."
Her husband was less impressed. "You could have got us all killed. All they wanted was the money, and that kind of thing is insured. What were you trying to prove?"
JD jumped to Ezra's defense. "Well, for one thing, we're lawmen, so we tend to try to stop the bad guys, not give them what they want."
"And these fellas have been taking more than money. When they luck onto a coach with women aboard – well, like I said, they have been taking more than money."
Emily paled as she realized what Buck was implying, and almost fainted into Jeremy's embrace.
"Would have been nice of you to share that Buck." JD said angrily.
"Didn't know until right after the stage left. Got another telegram from Chris with the news." He was going to say more when it dawned on him Ezra was being uncommonly quiet. "Ezra – you ok?"
Ezra was still standing next to the dead thieves and was looking down at the ground as if he was unsure of what was going on. As Buck got closer he could see the man was pale and glistening with sweat. There was a quiet trembling that seemed to softly shake him. "Ezra?"
"He might have been hit when he dove for the gun. His arm." JD started making his way closer as well. He recalled seeing Ezra pull his arm back quickly, and cradle if briefly.
Buck reached his friend's side and lifted the arm. "Let me get a look." He could see a slight darkening stain on the arm, but no sign of a bullet hole. Only a small tear. Shit – two tears. He whipped his belt off and secured it tightly around Ezra's arm, know the action was several minutes too late.
"JD – he's been snake bit."
M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7
TBC