Hehe, last chapter sure was one helluva way to kickstart a story xD... But here's the next chapter, time to find out what happened to Hicks ;P!

*** Chapter Two : Bountyhunters ***

Eleven years later...

The sun was standing high on the sky as the little caravan of two riders made their way over the scorching hot desert. Or, at least one of them was riding, the other one, a light gray, bad looking ferret, had been tied over the back of his roadrunner. To stop the shaggy looking ferret from complaining over the rough treatment, he had been gagged with his own scarf. In front, rode a young, ashblonde coyote, a bountyhunter, and the ferret was a known roadrunner-thief; his bounty.

After a couple of hours of riding under the scorching heat, the ferret finally managed to struggle free from the gag. "OI! Dogface!" He hollered at the coyote, who sighed in annoyance. "Get me down from 'ere NOW! I'm thirsty, I'm in pain an' it's HOT out here! I've got my rights y'know!"

The coyote gritted his fangs and stopped the roadrunners, got down his golden brown bird and walked up to the ferret. "Ya only got the right to shut the fuck up!" He growled as he stuffed the rag-like scarf back into his mouth. "Or I'll put a bullet in yer brain an' I'd hate to waste bullets on vermin like you! You're just worth 350 after all!"

Through the gag, he could catch the ferret say "Bullshit!" as he walked back to his roadrunner and got up again. Thankfully, the town wasn't far away now.

Hicks Red, the coyote, was in deep thoughts as he continued on the road to the town of Bedrock, his hometown at the edge of the Mojave Desert, nestled in between sharp, edgy cliffs, to deposit the 'cargo'. He had been at this bountyhunter business for about a year now, hoping that it would help him find the men who killed his parents. He still remembered that day as it was yesterday, and some days, he wished he had just died alongside with them.

But no, he had been lucky; the smoke from the burning farm had been visible all the way to the town of Bedrock, and as soon as they spotted it, the sheriff put together a small posse to ride out and investigate. The scene they arrived to was haunting; the dry farmhouse and its barn was set ablaze, and in front of the burning remains of the house was three figures: Mr and Mrs Red, both dead with their eight year old son right next to them. At first, they thought the little puppy was dead as well, but then they noticed that he was still breathing and hurried to take him to the town. They arrived to the local doctor not a moment too soon. They managed to get the bullet in his chest out, thus saving his life. If he had been shot slightly more to the left, the bullet would have pierced his heart. It was almost like this little boy had a guardian angel by his shoulder! But that guardian angel hadn't done anything to save his parents...

When he recovered, he was adopted by the general store owner and his wife, Edmund and Jermaine Greene. Sure, they were loving and great parents, and he could finally go to school like the others, but they weren't his real ma and pa. They would never be. He grew up, constantly having the scene of his parents murder repeating itself to him from the back of his head. So he swore that one day, he'd find and kill every single one of the murderers and kill them. He couldn't wait to find Joey Garcia and put a bullet in HIS chest. But until then, he'd just have to settle with picking the small fries, like this roadrunner-thief.

The townspeople of Bedrock had always had a certain sympathy for the poor boy, but since he became a bountyhunter, that sympathy was slowly replaced with suspicion and fear. It was like they thought he'd end up the same as the dangerous criminals he was hunting down. The only one who didn't think of Hicks as dangerous was the sheriff, but he was still trying to talk the young coyote out of it, and try to convince him to put the gun away and settle down with a real job in Bedrock, perhaps helping his adoptive father out in the general store. But without success; Hicks was dead-set on finding Garcia and his henchmen, and kill them.

He arrived in Bedrock around afternoon, and went straight to the sheriffs office to dump off the bounty and claim his reward. Sheriff Mortimer, a middle aged groundhog, was reading through the newspapers when his door was opened and the ferret was kicked inside by Hicks. He closed the door after himself and slammed the wanted poster of the ferret down on the desk. The roadrunner-thief himself was sitting on his knees on the floor with his hands tied behind his back and his mouth gagged, too dehydrated and exhausted to even try to run away.

"Luke Esteban, 'runner-thief" Hicks said lowly as sheriff Mortimer put his newspaper down and picked the poster up.

"I'm guessin' that'cha want yer 350 dollars now, huh?" The sheriff asked and glanced up at the young bountyhunter, who nodded silently. Mortimer sighed and began to rummage through the drawers underneath his desk. "I'm afraid I'll have to send you to the bank with a check, I've just got enough for the man who'll be here with that Jack Bell fella. I reckon he'll be here anytime soon!"

Hicks cocked an eyebrow. "Someone's caught Railroad-Jack?" He asked, and Mortimer nodded. "Who?"

"Oh, I dunno..." The groundhog said with a shrug and began scribbling out a check. "I think he goes by the name of 'Rango' or somethin'... Accordin' to the other counties, he's a real hotshot! An' he gets very cranky if he doesn't get all his money at once!"

The coyote gritted his fangs and nodded. He had heard of Rango, the bountyhunter all dressed in black, riding a black roadrunner who was said to have been hatched in hell itself. As if emerged from nowhere, this man was said to be death impersonated, and people wouldn't be surprised if he was the brother of the Grim Reaper himself! But Hicks wasn't too impressed with rumors; he'd much rather see the man perform the legendary deeds for himself!

With a snort, he turned to the billboard, cluttered with wanted posters while he waited for the sheriff to write the check. There was the usual: roadrunner-thieves, murderers, bank-robbers, deserters, and the poster for the train robber Railroad Jack was nailed down in the corner. But if this Rango-fella indeed had captured him and brought him here, the poster would surely be taken down later. He turned his head to keep an eye on his prisoner when a poster caught his eye. The reward was set really high, but that wasn't why it had gotten his attention. It looked new, and it didn't take long for Hicks to recognize the lizard it was picturing: Harry Cold. The very same man who had been the one to pull the trigger on his parents!

He froze up as he stared at the poster. Flashbacks from that night played before his eyes as he once again stared at the face of one of the killers. Hell, just seeing the poster made his blood boil! Harry Cold had been the one to hold the gun. He had killed Eugene and Carla Red in cold blood, and almost got their little boy as well! And he had done it all in orders from Garcia...

But suddenly, a muffled mumbling interrupted his thoughts, and he glared down at the ferret, still lying tied up on the floor. He growled something low and walked up to his bounty, Luke Esteban, and forced him up on his knees so he could pull down the gag.

"Look, man..." Luke said in a weak, raspy voice and licked his cracked lips. "Can I NOW have some water? I'll even say please?" Hicks muttered something and gagged him again, Luke gave up a whining groan when he was dragged up on his wobbly feet.

"My deputy is off on a break, but ya could lock him up in one of the cells" Sheriff Mortimer said and handed the bountyhunter a keyring and the check. "I'll git him some water later... Not that a 'runner-thief deserve any though..." He added with a snort, and went back to his newspaper.

Hicks went to the jailhouse in the back and threw the ferret into the first, best, empty cell he could find, untied the ropes holding his hands behind his back and locked the door. He ignored the ferrets nagging and pleading and returned to the office. He threw a look back at Harry Colds poster and then turned to the sheriff.

"Where was he last seen?" He asked, and the sheriff looked up over his newspaper and gave the bountyhunter a puzzled look. "Harry Cold"

Sheriff Mortimer frowned and put his newspaper down again. "Ya outta yer damn mind, Red?!" He exclaimed. "Ya ain't seriously thinkin' of goin' after Cold now, are ya?"

"He was there, sheriff! He shot my parents!" Hicks replied, raising his voice as well. "An' where he is, I'll find Garcia too!"

"I'm sorry fer what happened to yer family, Red, I really am, but I can't in good conscience send ya out after someone like Harry Cold!" He shook his head and picked his newspaper up again, picking up from where he left. "B'sides, I'm gonna ask someone else to go after him later"

Hicks growled and slammed his palms on the desk, making the sheriff jump and stare up at the snarling coyote. "Who?!"

But before the sheriff could answer, the door to the office was briskly opened and a dark figure stepped inside. "Sorry to keep ya waitin', sheriff" A dark, yet young, voice said and the figure took off his hat to dust it off. "We got lost on our way here!"

The stranger was a lizard, a green and yellow basilisk, all dressed in black; black jeans, a black shirt and a black jacket. He appeared to be just over twenty. Hicks frowned suspiciously, but then flinched in surprise when another figure pushed her way through the door; a black, female roadrunner, carrying a limp body over her back. Hicks moved out of the way when the roadrunner walked up to the equally confused sheriff Mortimer and dumped the body of a tall, slim silver fox on the desk.

"Jack Bell, aka Railroad-Jack! Now, my three grand please?" The black clad basilisk, obviously a bountyhunter too, said and walked up to the desk as well, standing beside the roadrunner.

Sheriff Mortimer gulped and poked at the fox with his pen. "Oh, s-so you're Rango, I presume?" He asked and glanced up at the lizard.

"The one an' only!" The bountyhunter nodded.

The sheriff looked back down at Jack Bell and poked at him one more time. "He seems a bit... Absent?"

"Good, he should be; he's dead" Rango ignored the shocked expression of both Hicks and the sheriff. "The poster DID say 'dead or alive', an' speakin' of which, it also said this piece of flesh would be worth three thousand American dollars..."

"Oh, right!" Sheriff Mortimer gulped one more time and hurried to rummage through his drawers. "I-I was told to keep the m-money ready..." He mumbled and laughed in relief when he found the envelope. "Ah, here you go! Three big ones!" He handed them over to the bountyhunter in black, who quickly snatched the envelope out of his hands and opened it to count the money.

Hicks watched the other bountyhunter with suspicion. He had heard a lot about this man, who had appeared in the bountyhunting business three years ago, just half a year before Rattlesnake-Jake, or the Grim Reaper, became known all around the Mojave Desert. He was a bit younger than what Hicks had thought though. Suddenly he felt someone staring at him, and looked at the roadrunner that had followed the bountyhunter into the office. She was staring straight at him with her pale yellow eyes narrowed and the crest on her head slightly risen. That a roadrunner would follow into the office wasn't exactly a common phenomenon, and he found himself returning the glare the bird gave him...

A sudden, short whistle made the roadrunner look back at the bountyhunter, and Hicks frowned. "C'mon, Arrow, we're done here!" Rango said and nodded with his head at the door. Arrow, the bird, gave Hicks one last, weird look before following her master to the door, but halfway there they were both stopped.

"Umm, Mr Rango? There's just one more thing though!" Sheriff Mortimer said and got up from his chair, walked over to the billboard and yanked the wanted poster of Harry Cold down. Hicks angrily gritted his fangs as the sheriff walked up to the other bountyhunter and handed him the poster. "I just got this one, Harry Cold. He was recently seen in our neighboring town, Rimrock"

The bountyhunter whistled when he saw the reward. "Wow, five thousand for this fella? What did he do?"

"He's a henchman of this troublesome youth Joey Garcia-...!"

"Garcia, huh? I heard 'bout him, he's quite the nutjob, ain't he?"

"Umm, yeah... Nutjob... Ahem, I was thinkin' that maybe you'd wanna go get this guy, he seems to be within yer league!"

Rango snorted out a chuckle. "Buddy, nobody's in my league" He said and inspected the poster with a smirk, but then nodded at the sheriff. "Sure thing, just point me in the direction of Rimrock an' I'll-...!"

"Sorry to break it to ya..." Hicks growled and pushed the sheriff to the side so he could stand face to face with the lizard. "But I'm already gonna go after Cold, he's mine!"

"No ya aint, Red! We've talked 'bout this already!" The sheriff objected, but was ignored by the coyote.

Rango first looked at Hicks with a skeptically raised eyebrow, but then he grinned and chuckled. "You're gonna go after someone with five k on his head, kid? Ya got guts, that's for sure!"

"I ain't goin' after him for the money, if that's what you're thinkin'! Or a sense of glory!"

"Why then?"

Hicks hesitated, but then he gritted his fangs. "It's none of yer damn business!"

The lizard held up his hands in front of himself and chuckled. "Nah, you're right! It ain't!" He said and lowered his hands again, looking at the young coyote with an amused smirk and a slightly tilted head. "So, I'm gonna go get Cold, ya wanna go get Cold... Guess this makes us rivals, doesn't it?"

"He's not goin' to go after Cold, he's too young an' inexperienced!" The sheriff snorted and went between the two bountyhunters. The groundhog turned to Hicks with a scowl. "An' if ya don't shut yer trap an' give up on yer suicide vengeance plans, Red, I'll lock ya up in the jailhouse, y'hear me?" Hicks growled lowly and flattened his ears, but didn't talk back. The other bountyhunter chuckled again.

"Too bad, I don't mind a lil' bit of competition..." He folded the wanted poster and stuck it in the pocket of his black leather jacket. "So, what way to Rimrock?"

"It's to the northwest, in the mountains outside the desert" Sheriff Mortimer said and pointed with his finger. "You'll know it when ya see it!" He paused and threw a look at the roadrunner after Rango tapped the brim of his hat as a 'thanks you' and turned to the door. "Though next time, ya don't mind keepin' yer bird outside?"

Rango stopped with the hand on the doorhandle and arched a brow at the sheriff. "Why? Where I go, she go! Or she'll be impossible to deal with!" And with that, he stepped outside, accompanied by his bird.

The sheriff muttered something and scratched the back of his neck before returning to the desk. Hicks was silently staring at the door, his hands balled at his sides. "I meant what I said though, Red..." He heard the sheriff say from the desk, but didn't turn to look at him. "Revenge won't bring yer parents back, an' it'll only help spread sorrow further!" The sheriff grimaced and poked at the corpse on his desk with his pen again. "Can ya go get Mr Down, the undertaker? I can tell this fella has been dead for a while... Yuck!"

…

The sun was starting to set beyond the edgy cliffs, and Hicks stood in front of the general store with his saddlebag thrown over one shoulder, rolled blankets and a water canteen under one arm, and holding his rifle in the other hand. Above the store lived the owners, Mr and Mrs Greene. The couple that took him in after he lost everything and everyone.

They were nice people, and if anyone were to ever speak a bad word about them, Hicks would personally hunt them down and make them pay for it! But, they weren't his real parents, and they never were nor ever would be. Though sometimes, they were probably the only friends he had and despite that he was a bountyhunter, they'd always welcome him back home with open arms.

They were happy to see him when he stepped inside the store, as always. They didn't usually wanna talk about the fact that he's a bountyhunter, but this night over dinner, Edmund tried to talk to him about quitting chasing after dangerous outlaws, but Hicks never answered.

That night he lied in his old room, staring up at the roof. Harry Cold was in Rimrock, barely two days away! He, if anyone, knew where Garcia was, and sheriff Mortimer was a fool if he thought that he'd give up on his revenge! He's had years to prepare himself for the next meeting with Garcia, and this time he wouldn't be some scared, sniveling pup; this time he'd kill the other coyote. With the knife his father gave him. And nobody would get in his way, neither a sheriff nor another bountyhunter!

He had seen that other bountyhunter, Rango, later when he was leaving his roadrunner in the livery stable. Rango had been there, talking to his own roadrunner and had only given Hicks an acknowledging nod when he entered. He didn't know when Rango would leave, but he'd probably leave early the next day. In any case, that's what Hicks would do; both him and Rango were after the same man. And if the rumors about the bountyhunter in black were true, then he'd definitely need a head start!

Yeah, a pretty short chapter...

Rango and Bentleys stories have been more or less like montages of their life, but Hicks story will be a bit different; it'll mostly take place now when he's 19 years old, since that and the death of his parents were the only big events in his life and plot against Garcia, before meeting the porcupine brothers and Coral that is =P

Anyway, I'll see when the next chapter comes, ciao 'til then ;P!