Bad to Worse Part 1 of 3

The days since Cade's departure had been a whirlwind that ended with mixed reviews. The ongoing shell game of who has Mag's fortune and where is it hidden had finally ended. It would have made for great soap opera fodder but Raylan was frustrated at having to waste a lot of his time in the middle of it. In the end it did seem that all that Ellston Limehouse truly wanted was for him and his holler to be left alone. Mags money ended up where she wanted, and it was in a much better place than in the hands of her greedy and no good son.

The good part of the ordeal was that Raylan had had the opportunity to shoot Dickie Bennett. He knew that would satisfy Nate and help erase his blunder in court the week before. But there were still a lot of loose ends and that scared the hell out of him. Tom had been shot and was in the hospital, and Raylan didn't exactly know how severe his wound was. Boyd was missing as was Quarles, and that didn't bode well at all. And he still at no idea how crackers Arlo was. Things were bound to get worse before they got better, but right now he had to put this day to bed and have a conversation with his son.

Raylan finally got back to the marshal's office. He was exhausted as the day had already been a long one with everyone's plans crisscrossing like an absurd spider web. The second guessing and outwitting of one another had risen to epic proportions. It would have been kind of entertaining if Raylan hadn't been so entangled. The other thing that had bothered him was the fact that his son had been in the middle of it. Not in person, but with his ability to keep a secret. He had had the Marshal Service pick up both Loretta and Nate for their safety and they both sat waiting in the conference room talking like the old friends they were. After he let Loretta go home with warnings of Lexus' and Van Halen he shut the door and shook his head at his son.

"You knew this whole time that she had the money?" he asked Nate.

"Yes sir I did," he admitted.

"You knew we were all chasing something that was where it was supposed to be. Unbelievable! Did it ever occur to you to let me in on it?"

"Yeah, but I promised Loretta I wouldn't. It was the only way that Mags felt she could at least make a dent in what she did to Loretta by killing her father. That girl deserved a break and I wasn't going to be the one to take it away from her. Besides you can't be too pissed, you got to shoot Dickie and neither he nor Boyd got their mitts on the money."

"Watch your mouth and you're right I'm not disappointed about that outcome, but damn boy." He stood there and looked at his son who looked right back at him with no regrets. "At least I know you can keep a secret." Nate only smiled in return. "Listen to me, there is a very bad guy out there and he is in a very desperate situation."

"Is it that Quarles guy from the bar?" Nate asked already on the scent as usual.

"Yeah, if you see him or anybody that looks out of place you let me know."

"Should I carry my gun?" he asked hopeful.

"No, just be extra vigilant. I don't think he'll come up to Lexington but one can never count on what a deranged, drugged out killer might do. So stay close to home and be smart." Nate hopped off the table he had been sitting on and nodded. "I'm serious Nate." Raylan emphasized.

"Yes sir, I got it. If I see a deranged, drugged out killer I'll run like hell."

"Nathaniel…" Raylan warned.

"I got it Dad," Nate replied. "I swear."

Raylan could only hope that he did. It hadn't been lost on him as to how Quarles had looked at his son that night in the bar.

A big part of Raylan wanted to go back down to Harlan and help sort out the scene where Tom was shot, but he couldn't take Nate with him and he certainly wasn't comfortable leaving him alone. Besides he was beyond exhausted and desperately needed some sleep.

Unfortunately the much needed slumber evaded Raylan as he tried to put pieces of a most bizarre puzzle together. Nothing was quite matching up, and worse, the picture he was trying to form was a blur. So after tossing, turning and thinking himself right out of bed he got up and watched Nate sleep for a while. The rhythmic breathing coming from his son was satisfying and calming. The modest life -bringing action of exchanging air seemed as miraculous as it was simple. So why was life so damn complicated.

Despite his third cup of coffee that morning the fatigue was still etched on Raylan's face. He had woken up at two that morning sitting in a chair his head lying on Nate's bed. He had gotten up and shuffled back to his bed only to toss and turn deeper into the night. Now he was pouring all of his efforts into the large mug in his hand in hopes that it would get him through the day.

"I have to get going down to Harlan. The bus comes in less than a half hour. Stay inside until it pulls up and then after school see if you can hang out at Tommy's until I get home."

Nate set down his juice glass and looked at his father. "Okay, it shouldn't be a problem. When do you think you'll be home?"

"I have no idea, most likely it will be late."

"Okay," Nate said quietly. "Just be careful."

"You too, remember what I told you last night. This is serious Nate."

"I know, but if he shot a cop, chances are he isn't in Kentucky anymore."

"Well I'm hoping not, but we can't be too careful," Raylan reminded him."

It was a few minutes before the bus was due and Nate had been staring at his backpack mulling over its contents when there was a knock at the back door. He sighed and went to the door. He looked out through the top window of the door to see Tommy staring at the ground. He opened expecting him to complain about Nate not being outside at the bus stop already when Quarles stood up behind Tommy.

"Okay boys inside," he ordered, gun at Tommy's back.

Nate backed up and saw the terror on his friends face. "Quarles, you are here for me, so leave him out of it," Nate said looking Quarles in the eye.

"Fine, I like a man who gets straight to the point." Quarles answered pistol whipping Tommy, who crashed to the floor. Nate had reached out and helped break his friends fall to the kitchen floor.

Quarles pulled down the shade on the back door and stepped over Tommy. "Ready?" he asked grinning.

"I need my back pack," Nate said, his eyes flicking to Tommy on the floor.

"Why?"

"My meds are in there."

"Any pain killers?"

"Some," Nate answered.

"Well then, go get it." He ordered cheerfully.

Nate retrieved his bag as he heard the bus roar off down the street. Once it cleared the corner Nate, with a gun pushed into his kidney made his way out front to a waiting car.

"What is it you want?" Nate calmly asked as they headed south.

"Why it's you?" he said grinning. "I think we both have a lot in common."

"You don't look so good. What happened to you?"

"Just a little burn, nothing that some Oxy can't help me with. What kind of pain killers do you have?"

"Some blue pills, I haven't tried them yet, plus some Tramadol."

"What are your meds for?"

"I have an autoimmune disorder, or at least that's what they tell me. I don't think they really know. But I'm on several medications to help ease the symptoms," Nate explained as he pulled out some of his bottles to prove he was telling the truth.

"Well, other than being a little skinny and weary, you look great to me."

"You said we have a lot in common. What did you mean by that?"

"We both have some serious daddy issues, you and me. You see my dad had some drug issues and your dad has some anger issues that often involve killing people, and that my friend, can have some negative effects on ones psyche."

"What kind of drugs did your dad do?" Nate asked, thinking of his father's drinking.

By the time Quarles had finished explaining his tortuous upbringing they were nearly to Harlan. Nate had noticed they had been going south and found it very odd that he would head back to the scene of the crime that he was trying to flee.

"Wow, I'm sorry that happened to you. I was involved in an FBI sting for a pedophile and my dad pretended to be selling me. I can't imagine what it would have been like if it was real."

"Your daddy might not be selling you for sex, but he hasn't given you a very good life. He is constantly involved with people that want to kill him."

"Like you?"

"Nah, I don't really want to kill him. I just want you."

"Why?" Nate asked having a hard time swallowing.

"Because my life is a disaster right now and I just want to surround myself with beauty and innocence."

Nate found it hard to believe that he could be considered beautiful or innocent, and was beginning to realize just how crazy and irrational Quarles was.

As they rounded a curve there was a man on the side of the road who waved them down by standing in the middle of the road. Quarles picked up the gun that had been lying in his lap and pointed it at Nate.

"If you say anything to tip him off, I will kill him and there will be one less hillbilly redneck in the world, which would be fine with me, but his death would be on you. Am I clear?" Nate nodded that he understood.

The car slowed as Quarles rolled down his window. "Hey there." He said brightly, as if he and his passenger were on the way to a picnic.

"Hey neighbor, I have a flat and my spare is dry rotted. Can you give me a lift down the road?"

"I'd love to, but my boy is sick and the doctor said it's really contagious. But I'll make a call for you so somebody can swing by and get you. How about that?" Quarles said with all the charm in the world.

The man looked over at Nate who looked as if he had been run over by truck and nodded. "I would sure appreciate it."

Quarles nodded and pulled out his phone as he smiled and began their journey once again. As soon as they were down the road a few yards he put his phone back in his lap next to the gun. "Well damn boy, I couldn't have asked for anything better, great job."

"You know you'll never get away with this."

"Oh?"

"My dad will find you, you can't hide, the marshals are federal, he won't ever stop looking."

"Maybe, but I bet I can run for a long time."

"You'll never leave Harlan alive," Nate promised.

"Spoken like a native son. Well then, that will be my challenge," Quarles answered almost giddy with the opportunity.

Finally Quarles took an obscure road that led to a small home surrounded by trees.

**TBC**