Sheriff Of RedRock
A/N: thank you for the reviews. They do mean a lot to me. Enjoy.
Chapter twelve
Lisbon pulled against the rope again and scowled. She had been tied up hand and foot by the rough hands of Marcus Pike and shoved into the general store, along with Cho, Rigsby, Jane and Grace. Grace had been grabbed as the riders had moved through the crowd.
The next two hours had been torture. Her lip had been split by the butt of JJ LaRoche's gun, and the bruise on her cheekbone from his fist was pulling tight. She had been trying to defend Grace, and ended up getting herself injured in the process. Grace was unharmed, thanks to Rigsby, who had managed to get one swing off before being restrained by Timothy Carter and Michael Kirkland.
"Sheriff," said a voice in the corner. "I do not advise you pull those ropes. You know that JJ over there has a very twitchy finger."
Lisbon looked over at JJ LaRoche, who was sitting with his gun pointed casually in the direction of Jane. She looked back at the man who had spoken. "Dr Volker," she said. "Why not cut me loose, and let me show you just how twitchy my trigger finger can be."
Dr Volker laughed and stood up. He opened the door, and vanished, shutting the door securely behind him. LaRoche looked at Grace and smiled. Rigsby scowled and struggled against the ropes holding him back. LaRoche watched the struggle and laughed, before following Dr Volker from the room.
Lisbon pulled violently against her ropes, and toppled over sideways. She hit her head on the floor and lay there for a few seconds, blocking the pain from her bruise. Cho shuffled over to her and turned around. He managed to pull her upright and she rested her head momentarily on his shoulder. "Sheriff," he said. "Let me untie you."
Lisbon shook her head. "Cho, just untie my ankles. I need to see what they are doing out there."
Cho shifted to her ankles and worked hard at the knot. She was soon free, and stumbled over to the window. Jane could see that her dress was shredded up one side, and he felt anger. He watched as Lisbon studied the scene outside, and she turned to face them. Her face was deathly pale, and she stumbled back to her place on the floor. Jane looked over at her. "Sheriff?"
Lisbon didn't react.
Cho nudged her with his arm. "Teresa? Is everything okay?"
Lisbon looked over at him with a look that bored holes straight through him. "They shot him."
"Who?" Cho pressed for information.
"Bosco. Red john just shot him dead in front of everybody."
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Lisbon hadn't moved for half an hour. Jane watched her as she fought back her rage. The bruise on her face was a dark blue, and marred the features he had come to admire. The door swung open abruptly, and everybody except Lisbon jumped. Lisbon merely turned her head, and looked at the man in the doorway. It was Dr Volker. He strode over to Lisbon, with Marcus Pike close behind him. Both men grabbed her and hoisted her to her feet. Volker noted her untied ankles with a raised eyebrow, but said nothing. Pike let go of Lisbon and grabbed Jane.
He pulled the ropes off of Jane's legs, and marched him behind the silent sheriff out into the evening. The sun was just starting to turn the rocks in the surrounding valley a brilliant red, and Lisbon stumbled into the street. The people lined both sides, and the remaining four members of Red John's Gang were stationed around the group, keeping them in place.
Red John stood in the middle of the street, and looked at Lisbon. She scowled at him, and the bruise on her face looked black in the light. Red John watched as she fought against her ropes. While she struggled, Cho, Rigsby, and Grace were all led out to the street. "Sheriff," called Red John. "You're here so your people will watch you die."
Lisbon didn't respond. She looked at Red John, and felt the years of hatred build up to this point. She managed to release her right hand from the rope, but kept it behind her back. She was conscious of her guns pressed into her thighs, and was thankful that she hadn't been searched by these people.
She calculated that she might get one shot off before the rest of the men fired and turned her and her friends into corpses. Not good odds, but Lisbon had a plan.
She turned to Red John. "Before you kill me, I want one request."
Red John looked at the sheriff. "I already know you freed your right arm, what else could you want?"
Lisbon steeled herself. "I want to say goodbye one last time to Mr Jane."
Jane looked surprised as everybody turned to him. He had definitely not expected that. Red John looked at him, and then back at Lisbon. "Ms Sheriff, you have two minutes, right here."
Lisbon nodded and watched at Pike marched Jane over to her and cut his arms loose. She stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He held her close, and bent down to her ear. "Patrick," she said. "Don't let them see you take my gun."
"How will we distract them?" Jane asked.
Lisbon went up on her toes and gently pressed her lips to his. The crowd was shocked, and she could hear the murmuring amongst the people. She slid her hands into his hair. She felt Jane carefully remove one gun from her pocket, and he slid it into his own. He pulled away, and bent down to her ear. "I love you."
Lisbon nodded, but didn't respond. She knew she needed to survive, and turned back to Red John. "That was quite a show, Teresa. Too bad it was the last time you will ever get to hold him."
Lisbon steeled herself against his gaze. She held her arms out to the side. The people could see that her dress was shredded almost all the way up to her hip on the left side. She turned to Red John. "You would fight an unarmed sheriff? You may be a bandit, but I'm sure you have some honour."
Red John walked over to her, and looked her up and down. He paid attention to the shredded hole on the side Lisbon fought back a shudder against his gaze. "Teresa Lisbon. Under different circumstances, you and I could have had something. But now, you are a thorn in my side, and nothing but a woman trying to be a man. You can have one gun. Nothing more."
Lisbon watched as Red John motioned for Volker to give her one gun. When she was once again alone, she looked at Red John again. She raised up the gun, and pointed it at the bandit. He looked at her, and smiled. Lisbon held the gun in her left hand, which Cho thought was odd. He leant over to Rigsby. "Isn't the sheriff right handed?"
Jane smiled. "She is."
She pulled the trigger on the gun.
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There was a click, and nothing else. Red John smiled at the sheriff. "Did you really think I would let you have a loaded gun, Teresa?"
Lisbon smiled back. In one swift movement, she pulled her gun out of her dress pocket and fired one shot. She hit Red John in the right shoulder, cocked the weapon, and fired at Volker. She hit him in the chest.
She heard a shot ring out behind her. She recognized the sound of her other pistol, and turned to see Michael Kirkland lying bleeding from his stomach. Jane pointed the gun at Pike and fired. He missed and chipped the sign on Bertram's bar. Cho worked himself free of the ropes and grabbed the gun from Jane. He fired at Pike again and hit him in the chest.
By now the people had scattered. Jane and Grace bolted inside the general store and ducked down behind the counter.
Outside, Lisbon took a shot at LaRoche and hit him in the thigh. Carter took a shot at Lisbon and missed. She fired back and got a perfect headshot. The dust cleared, and Lisbon heard screaming from inside the general store. She looked at Cho, before running inside to help. Grace was cowering in the corner, and Jane was standing between her and Kirkland. She saw Kirkland taking a swing at Jane with his good arm. Lisbon cocked her gun and fired once. The bullet hit Kirkland's ribcage, and ricocheted around inside his chest cavity, causing maximum damage. He was dead before he hit the ground.
Lisbon looked at Jane and Grace before heading back outside. She watched as Cho put the kill shot into LaRoche's head. He went over to Michael Kirkland and did the same. He spotted Red John, but didn't move any closer. He looked over at Lisbon, who nodded. She strode over to the bandit, who was in the process of crawling frantically away from her.
Lisbon watched him for a moment, but felt nothing but disgust for the man. He had been an enigma, and entity the people feared, but he was no more formidable than the next man. This man had taken away all that she had loved, and Lisbon vowed to return the favour. He had watched his entire gang die, and now he had nothing. The disgust built, and she watched the man for a moment longer as his blood seeped into the ground in a long trail.
Lisbon gave Red John a kick in the ribs, flipping him onto his back. She put her foot onto his right shoulder, and pressed down on the wound. He gasped, and she leveled her final shot onto his face. He looked into her eyes, and she smiled. "This is for my mom. This is for Bosco. This is for every single person who could never do this for themselves. Bastard. Time to rot."
Lisbon pulled the trigger, and a final shot rang out.
The people of RedRock appeared from where they had hidden, and began to cheer. The sheriff had done it. Red John's reign of terror was over.
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Epilogue
August 17, 1886, RedRock Valley, Northern California
Red John and his gang had been buried in unmarked graves where Reede Smith had been buried. The news had spread quickly, and the death had been celebrated as far away as Washington DC. Lisbon had been celebrated as a hero around the state, and not a day had gone by that she hadn't had a reporter knocking on the door of the mayor's office asking to speak with her.
Lisbon had been chosen by the people to be the new mayor, and she still held the position of sheriff until a new sheriff was to be appointed by the state. The town mourned the loss of Bosco, but all moved on quite quickly. Life was moving too fast to dwell too long on what was lost. Lisbon managed to hold the many snooping reporters at bay, with the help of Cho and Rigsby.
That afternoon, she headed out to the general store. As she entered, Jane smiled. "So lovely to see you, Mayor Sheriff Teresa Lisbon Jane."
Lisbon smiled. "The ceremony is not until tomorrow. For now, its just 'Lisbon'."
Jane laughed. The town had been gearing up for the wedding since the week before, when Jane had produced a beautiful emerald ring and asked Lisbon to marry him. The town had begun to prepare, and Grace had even contacted Lisbon's three brothers and invited them to join. Two had already arrived, and the other was to arrive that afternoon.
Lisbon smiled at her husband-to-be. "Patrick, I stopped by to say that I will see you tomorrow, and that I can't wait."
Jane smiled. "Teresa, don't forget to say, 'I do'."
She laughed and left the store, the excitement growing. Lisbon had been living with Grace until the ceremony, and then was going to move in with Jane.
The rest of the evening passed quickly, and soon she was preparing herself for the ceremony. Grace helped her into the white dress, and then dressed herself in purple. Lisbon rode through the back of the town in a wagon, and Cho hoisted her off the back. She smiled at him and hooked her arm through his. Together, they walked out into the open field where everybody stood. Jane stood at the other end under a lattice of white roses, and smiled blindingly as his bride walked towards him. He looked dashing in a pale beige suit, with a white rose in the button hole. Grace and Rigsby stood with him.
Lisbon arrived at the end, and they smiled at each other. They turned to face the preacher, and Lisbon smiled as she saw the dried log she had first shot at in the distance. She looked back at Jane, and knew her life had changed forever.
A/N2: Thank you for following this story. I know it's been a long time in the making, and I thank you for your patience. Please leave me a review and tell me what you think.
Until next time,
S