The Strider galloped to the gate's of the town with Elias and Alison sitting upon it. The beast was suddenly halted at the entrance by a man in faded green combat armor. It whinnied and reared back with a firm tug on it's reins. Front hoofs kicking wildly with the dry hiss, the man put his hands up and ducked down, backing up a little.

"Hendrix!" Alison shouted, looking around Elias. "What the hell are you trying to do? Get yourself run down!?" Her tone was angry, as was the piercing look in her brow.

John Hendrix was the chief of the town's guard, and had been for the better part of ten years. He knew the in's and outs of daily life in the town, and ran a tight ship when it came to the guards. He was a tall and broad shouldered black man with short black hair. You could see the sense of panic in his eyes and the sweat glistening on his brow. "Thank Christ you're back!" He groveled as Alison dismounted the Strider.

She untied two full satchels of medicine off the strider and handed them to a waiting guard. "Get these to the doctor." She said in a low tone. The guard nodded and put the strap on his shoulder, taking off sprinting for the clinic. She turned her attention to chief Hendrix. "What's wrong now?"

John shook his head then sighed, his breathing heavy. "I don't even know where to begin to explain this shit." He mumbled.

"It's okay." Elias spoke up, hands resting on-top of one another on the hitch of the saddle. "Just take a breath and start from the beginning."

He took a deep breath then let it out, perhaps a little to quick. "I was minding my wards and doing my daily rounds. All was quiet and well, up until about an hour after you left. One of my guards ran up, hands covered in blood, and tells me 'Joe Hodgins' has been shot!' I thought Joe got drunk again and decided to pick a fight with one of my guards, and things got heated."

"But no. I talked to Samantha, and she said it was just some guy. Joe being his drunken dumb-ass self bumped into the man, cursed him out. Some words were exchanged and when Joe put his fists up, the man pulled a gun and shot Joe three times in the torso."

Alison's rage only grew, and you could see it in her eyes. See it in the way her body shifted. "How the hell did he get a gun? Who was he?"

"I don't know, I don't know either of those things! The armory is always on lock-down, that damn turret on the cieling would have lit anyone who wasn't an authorized member up, and I definitely would have heard about that."

Elias wrinkled his brow then slid off the saddle. His spurs chimed against the ground when his boots hit the dirt. Taking off his hat he pushed his sweat dampened hair back, then put the hat back on. His right hand went down and naturally rested on the handle of his revolver. "You get drifter's in town? Like me?"

"Sometimes, yeah, but I have the guards security check them and confiscate any weapons. We even tried to do yours, but saw you bleeding and pointed you to the clinic."

Elias looked past Hendrix into the town which, despite all that was happening, still seemed to be busy as ever. "Do you or Samantha happen to keep a voucher of everyone who's visited the town recently."

"I know I do." Alison said pinching the bridge of her nose with her head bowed, eyes closed tight. "And I know Sam does. Me and Hendrix will go pull up some paper-work, would you go and talk to Sam?"

Elias nodded his head and pulled the trench-coat over his weapon. It's coat-tails blew to the right with a gust of wind not long after, as he headed for the big billboard like sign advertising 'Samantha's Cat-house. Come for the liquor, and cum for the girls.' It had been years since Elias stepped foot in a brothel. He didn't much care for the typical crowed which stayed there, or the typical girls who tried to 'seduce' him.

He opened one of the wooden double doors and walked straight into a somber, gloom filled room. A body laid on the floor with a blood soaked sheet draped over him, blood pooled around it. Crying girls sat around, trying to comfort one another. Elias saw Sam smoking a cigarette and setting next to the railing on the second floor, staring down at the body. He looked down at the sheet and sighed, reaching up and taking his hat off. He hung it on the coat-rack next to him then walked forward, careful to step over the smeared blood in the wooden floor.

Sam took a drag of the cigarette between her fingers and blew it out seemingly as heavy as she could. "Fine-fuckin'-mornin' to ya, Ranger." She said watching him walk up to her. He grabbed the back of a chair and pulled it out, taking a seat across from her. Nudging his head towards he pack of cigarettes. "Mind if I had one?"

She handed him the one between her fingers and he took it, seeing the cherry red lipstick on it's butt. "Just lit it." She mumbled, her shaky hands fumbling with the package. He looked down at them then stuck the butt of the stogie between his lips, before reaching out and grabbing the pack, opening it, and pulling one out. He brought it up to the height of her lips, and she looked at it them him for a moment. He could see her mascara had been running from the tears, and felt an overwhelming sense of pity for her.

She leaned forward, taking the butt between her lips and dragging it out of Elias' fingers. He grabbed up the lighter and flicked it open, lighting hers up. He noticed the four sets of fishnet stocking clad legs on the lighter. One near the cap and one on the cap. Once the cap opened, the legs appeared as if parting open. He chuckled and closed the lid, laying it down on the table. "You okay?" He asked softly.

She scoffed, reaching up and scratching the side of her nose as she stared down at the body. She closed her eyes and shook her head. He noticed her eyeshadow was a lime green color and had been painted into a cat-eye style. He took a drag of the cigarette and the Geiger counter on the pip-boy ticked wildly when he did so. They were pre-war, and bound to have been laced with radiation. But all he could taste was her sweet lipstick on it.

"He was right in-front of me." She grumbled. "I was behind the bar, and he was in-front of me. The man, the stranger...had on a coat, but it was weird, it didn't have any arms, it was just kinda draped around him. Joe grabbed his shoulder and spun him around, getting ready to swing. He didn't see the gun just waiting for him."

Elias' eyes looked down to the table before he closed them, thinking back to the first time he saw someone killed. It was a raider who attacked the shack where he grew up. His dad caught him off guard as he came through the door. It happened so fast, and the raider didn't stand a chance. His dad kicked the side of his knee and broke the leg, bringing him down. When he was down, he grabbed his head by the chin and opposite side of the head, then did a quick twist. Elias heard a sickening crack, and the man's head went limp as his body fell forward. He remembered having a hard time believing he'd ever be able to do that to someone, and had a even harder time sleeping in that house for a while.

"What was the stranger doing before Joe grabbed him?" Elias asked, looking down at the covered body.

"Nothing." She said with a waver in her voice. "He had just walked in three minuets earlier and was looking around. I figured he was looking for one of my girls who wasn't taken, so I let him wait. Asked him if he wanted a drink, he shook his head and..." She paused, her expression blanking, then looking over into Elias' eyes. "He had an accent, it was funny like. Not native, I don't even think American. He just said 'no thank you', but I could tell you it was him if I just heard his voice."

Elias nodded his head and sat forward, taking another drag and listening to the electronic clicking. "Did you get him filed in your registry."

She sighed and shook her head in disappointment. "I can only have them sign if they have a drink or partake in some...pleasantries. I'm sorry, I know that would have made it easier. I'll hire a bouncer and put him on the door, make everyone sign upon entry and I'll just keep tally of how much they spend."

Elias nodded. "That's a smart idea." He put the cigarette out in the ashtray and stood up, pushing the chair back into the table. He reached out, laying his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him with her big, teary puppy dog eyes and smiled. "If you ever need anything, I'll be there."

She nodded her head and he slid his hand off her, beginning to walk towards the stairs. "Hey!" She called out to him, causing him to look back. "Is Carter here?"

Elias shrugged. "He wasn't when I rode in, but he may have come back. If I see him I'll send him your way."

She nodded her head, wiping away a tear. "Thanks sugar."

Grabbing his hat, he left in a hurry as his mind swirled with what she had told him. A man, with a strange accent, and was wearing something that sounded like an old duster that fitted over your cloths to keep the grime off them. He was probably wearing a hat too or she would have told him what he looked like.

He made his way down the hill as quickly as he could, wondering if Alison and Hendrix had found anything. He watched his footing down the hill, careful not to misstep. When he looked up, he was greeted with the sight of Carter rushing his way up. "Elias." He said slowing down. "Is she okay, is Sam okay?"

Elias nodded, reaching out and shaking Carter's hand. "Yeah, she's fine." He said as he did so. Carter sighed in relief. "She asked about you."

He shook his head, his hands resting on his hip. "I rode in as soon as Hendrix radioed me. Did you find anything out?"

Elias nodded and looked down the hill were he saw Alison walking with Hendrix, talking to him with a clipboard of papers in her hand. "Yeah, just keep an ear out for a man in a classic-duster and a funny accent." he replied not looking at him. "Don't worry about that right now, Carter. Sam's waiting for you."

Carter nodded and patted Elias on the shoulder as he continued his sprint up the hill. Elias could tell that they cared for each-other from the way they panicked without one another. They weren't subtle about it, but Elias didn't mind. There has to be someone-something- for everyone, after-all. He hurried his descent down the hill after Alison.

"Hey!" Elias shouted, stopping Alison and Hendrix. He sprinted up to them, laying his hand on her arm and guiding her towards Hendrix. "You got any paper-work on someone who rode into town with a funny accent?"

Hendrix's eyes suddenly widened with surprise. As if the answer to a riddle told ages ago had finally occurred to him. "I think I do!" He exclaimed. "I remember that last night a man came through and had a weird accent. He sounded...British, but not quiet. Like it was more southern. I don't know, I can only say from what I've heard on old holo-tapes."

Elias paused as he thought back to all the books he'd read as a kid. History books were some of his favorites. He recalled a possible answer and nodded. "Australian. He must have been Australian."

Alison looked at the two of them and nodded. "That should be easy to find, right?"

Elias shrugged. "Depends. From the way Sam talked it sounded like he was looking for something, or someone, and Joe attacked him. When he spun around he had a gun ready."

She bowed her head and sighed, and Hendrix shook his. Elias could tell they had both known Joe for a long time, but perhaps weren't on good relations with him. "We'll get to the bottom of this. Alison, Carter just rode into town and made his way up to Sam's place, can you go see if you can comfort her as well and get any more info?"

She reached down, taking the walkie-talkie off her belt and handing it to Hendrix. He took it and clipped it on his belt. "Be careful," Elias said in a near demanding tone. "whoever this person is, he's sneaky and clever. Just stick with Carter, I'll go with Hendrix up to Vic's place and ask around."

She nodded and turned around, walking down the short hill they had begun to climb. "C'mon." Hendrix said tossing a hand his way in a signal to follow. "Vic's is up here."

If you looked at the town now, as it was, you'd never think anything was wrong. There was still people sitting next to their houses in chairs they had brought out, drinking and laughing. Two kids ran past Hendrix and Elias. It was a normal day, and no-one was the wiser. Elias found it both comforting and disturbing, while Hendrix never payed attention to it.

Elias watched the well built man in-front of him. He had to be in his thirties, and was raised well. He was in good shape and acted more like a soldier then anything else. "Did you serve in the NCR?"

Hendrix glanced back at him. "Two tours." He gruffly replied with a hint of pride in his voice. "So four years. Joined when I was Seventeen, left when I was twenty one. I wasn't anyone special, I wasn't a ranger or anything like that. I was just your typical run-of-the-mill grunt."

Elias nodded his head and caught up to the man, looking over at him. "So how did you end up here?"

He chuckled and smirked. "The year I took my papers and ran, my folks were packing up and leaving for Rolinsville. They joined up with a large caravan heading that way, and I become our own caravan guard. I set my family up in the city, went looking for a job and found out that Prosperous Springs was looking for a man of experience to be the captain of the guard. I volunteered. Now, ten years later, here I am."

"Your parents still around?" Elias carefully asked.

"Yeah." Hendrix replied with a smirk. "Gettin' old and cranky, but they're still around. My sister takes care of 'em up in Rolinsville. I wanted to bring them out here, but...we're kinda on the edge of no-man's-land, and that means getting attacked a lot."

Elias looked over into the window of a house, where inside a bunch of little kids gathered around a young woman who was reading them a story from an old faded book. "You guys seem to have a well run operation out here, though."

Hendrix twisted his body to avoid bumping into two men carrying freshly distilled liquor down the hill in boxes. Most likely were heading towards Sam's where they'd get a nasty surprise. "Yeah, Alison runs it well. We're missing a few key players, though."

"Such as?"

"Well, what you see is what you got. I have a second in command but Alison is running it all by her self, Carter-despite how good he is at it-is the only runner we have, The Doc has an apprentice in the making but she has no real training before that, and when it comes to law and order me and the guards are it. Half the time we're busy patrolling the walls, and the entire time nobody wants some young kids in armor with guns telling them what to do."

"Ah," Elias said nodding his head. "Authority problems. You guys need to be on the walls, but no one's there to watch over the people."

"Exactly. Always looking for trouble outside but paying no mind to the fire inside." Hendrix said keeping his eyes on the wooden door of the saloon that was approaching quickly.

Elias pulled the door open, and Hendrix stepped in first. The sound of old country music filled their ears and the smell of fresh coffee filled the air. Elias closed the door behind him, and Vic looked up from behind the bar, smiling at the two men. "Afternoon to ya!" He said tossing his towel over his shoulder and leaning forward on his hands. "What can I get for ya?"

Elias looked to the left and saw that their were only a few people in the place. A couple sat a table, the man talking about something that was making the girl giggle. To the right were booths that were almost all empty. All but one man who sat reading a book with a cup of steaming coffee in-front of him. "I guess you heard about Joe?" Hendrix asked taking a seat at the bar.

Vic somberly nodded and bowed his head. "Yeah, I did. It's a damn shame. But I don't know how many times I told the old coot to stop getting blasted and picking fights."

"Bound to happen then." Elias spoke up.

Vic nodded. "Sad but true. Are you guys...looking for who did it?"

The man took a sip of his coffee, looking up from his book to glance over at the two men who came in. Both had guns, but at-least one was a guard. 'The other could be a mercenary.' he thought to himself. He didn't know. He just knew that he looked like trouble. Then he took another sip of his coffee and went back to his book. Elias looked like trouble for everyone.

"Yeah," Elias replied, leaning forward against the bar on both his arms. "Has a man walk through here with a strange accent?"
The patron at the booth looked up from his book one more time, but kept his eyes straight ahead. "Hmm..." Vic rubbed his chin and thought to himself. "Well, all kinds come through here. I've at-least five people with funny accents. What kind are you looking for?"

The man at the booth sighed, closing his book and laying his hands flat on the table. "Australian?" he spoke up in the exact same accent.

Elias looked over at him, the man's accent registering in his head. His eyes widened then dilated as he pushed himself back off the bar and drew his right revolved, pulling the hammer back. Vic reached under the counter and grabbed the sawed-off shotgun he had stashed under it, and Hendrix pulled the hunting rifle from his back and aimed it at the man. "Easy!" the man in the booth said slowly raising his arms above his head. "Easy there, cowboy."

"Get up." Elias growled at him, staring him down and not even taking the chance of blinking. The man didn't move, instead he swallowed hard. "Get the fuck up!" Elias shouted, worrying the other couple in the room as they had their backs pressed against the wall. Vic turned around to them and nodded to the door. The man grabbed the woman's hand they both carefully bolted for the door, leaving in the fastest fashion they could.

The man in the booth slowly slid one leg out, then the other. Then he stood, took two steps away from his booth, and turned to Elias. "I'm unarmed, your town guard took my guns away from me. I pose no threat to you or-."

"Shut up." Elias cut him off with a snarl. "I don't want to hear how innocent you are. I want you to give me one goddamned reason why I shouldn't vent your fuckin' brains all over this floor."

The Australian man stared seriously into Elias' eyes. "If I were the one who shot your friend Joe, why the hell would I have spoke up?" Elias went quiet, keeping his eyes and his gun trained on the man. "Why would I have made myself known if I was the man you were looking for?"

"Then how did you know we were looking for an Australian?" Elias growled in return.

"Ever occur to you that there may have been more then one in your fuckin' town? I rode in a week ago, and have been staying in one of the apartment's Victor here rents out. I'm paid through Thursday, I've ordered a cup of coffee, black, each morning, and am fond of gecko and mole-rat, blackened."

Hendrix looked over at Vic, who looked at him in return. He nodded his head in agreement with the man's story. "He came in a few days before you did, Elias." He spoke up. "Asked for a room, paid up until Thursday."

"But you know who we're looking for." Elias responded, getting a nod from the man. "Who?"

The man sighed. "That's a long story."

"Give me the short version."

The man nodded his head then drew in a deep breath. "My name is Avery Malcolm. I'm a former Mercenary...Hired escort mostly, but I got hired on and worked for a company known as The Vagabond's outside of Washington D.C. for a few years. I decided I'd had enough of that life, and retired, also deciding to go back to New Vegas where I grew up. Upon my return, I was greeted by some thugs who claimed I owed one of the houses a lot of caps. Ten thousand to be exact. I said that's impossible, I had only just gotten here. They demanded I pay up. I had no choice but to refuse. They drew first, but I was the one who walked away."

"Ever since then a man by the name of Race Burton has been hunting me. I think he's either a Mercenary or a Bounty Hunter, or one of the houses hired goons, I don't know. I fear he's caught up with me. And in the process of looking for me, has wrongfully taken a life. And believe me, you have no idea how much guilt that thought brings me."

"Great," Elias grumbled, relaxing his stance but keeping the gun trained on the man. "at least you have a grasp on the magnitude of shit you've brought down on this town."

"I do apologize, sir. And I will make every attempt to-."

"Elias." he corrected him as he holstered his pistol with a huff, confusing Hendrix who still had his rifle trained on the man's head. "We call out father's sir. I'm Elias."

Avery nodded. "Elias." He repeated his name, not sure if he should lower his hands or not. He feared the city guard was more trigger happy then he first thought. "I swear to you, I will make this right."

Elias titled his head curiously and slanted his brow. "I've never met a man so willing to throw himself on a blade, before."

Avery chuckled and bowed his head. It was an act Elias knew all too well. It let him know the Avery was infinitely more then what was shown on the surface. "I don't intend to fall on any blades, Elias." He looked back up at him with his hands on his hips. "I intend to help see to this man's capture."

"That's great." Elias said with a smirk, nodding his head. "You can help me by telling me what he looks like."

Avery paused then exhaled slowly. It was another tell. Elias had seen people who were disappointed in themselves, or their actions, do the same thing. "I didn't see his face. He ambushed me on the road, I never got a clear look at him. The last I saw though was he was wearing some lighter toned leather armor and a black duster. Not like yours though."

"Fuckin' perfect." Elias mumbled as he looked away. A sense of rage suddenly flowed through his veins, like someone had went out of their way to personally offend him. Maybe it was because he knew his job had just gotten much harder. Or maybe he didn't like the fact he knew Avery was keeping details from him. Deep down he knew he was, that Avery wanted to be the man to settle his own debts. And Elias would just be party to witnessing his death.

"Look, this man attacked like a season vet." Avery said, also talking in expressions with his hands. It made Hendrix nervous. "He knew where I was, what route I was talking. He didn't give any sign he was there, he didn't rush things. He opened fire and had me pinned down. Announced himself afterwords like I should know his name, then said 'I've come to collect.' Then we were attacked by a raider group. I barely had time to escape."

"Sounds like you got off lucky." Elias spoke bluntly and in a tone that suggested he was getting fed up with this conversation.

"Perhaps so," Avery replied hastily. "but it wasn't lucky for your friend who was killed. If you're going after this man, I want to come with you. I want to help you."

Elias chuckled and crossed his arms, leaning back against the wall and raising one leg, pressing it against the wall behind him. Avery couldn't help but to think of what characters the wastes make out of people. Elias was the spitting image of a cowboy, right down to the southern draw in his voice and the hat on his head. "The thought's appreciated." Elias groveled at him. "But you'd only get in my way. And from here on, every man who dies by the hands of this Burton fellow, I'm putting on your head."

Avery sighed heavily, more irritated this time, then looked over at Hendrix who still had the rifle trained on him. Elias turned his head and looked at the guard. Hendrix wasn't a judging fellow. He was a by the books and rule following man. Therefor didn't know how to weigh a man's character as well as Elias did. Elias was surprised that he was the first to lower his gun, usually he was the one who kept it up until the end. Perhaps old age was tearing at his sensibility, or perhaps he truly did believe the man's story. He did feel an honesty there, even if it was veiled.

Finally Hendrix gave in to the over bearing stare of Elias, and lowered his rifle. Avery sighed again, this time a breath of relief, and slowly let his hands drop to his sides. "Thank you." he said to both men. He then turned and looked at Elias. "Are you the town's peacekeeper? The Sheriff, so to speak?"

Elias was once again taken off guard. The man was unusually well mannered, well spoken, and he sensed there was something deeper there. That was the first time he was taken off his guard. This time came with that question. Something he didn't realize he was acting as. He was simply helping where he could, and hadn't realized he'd fit the place of a sheriff.

He shook his head no. "Just a man, Mr. Malcolm. But a man who's gonna do what needs to be done."

Avery paused then titled his head as he looked at Elias. "And just what is it you think I intend to do? Let him kill me, or capture me?"

Elias chuckled indignantly and reached up, taking his hat off and running his finger through his sweat dampened hair once again. He pushed it all back, then put the hat back on over it. "I don't give a solid shit." He replied with a snarl. "I intend on finding Race Burton and putting a hole through his fuckin' head. What happens with you is completely up to you. If another person dies because of him, I'm gonna find you and I'm gonna kill you. If you hurt a person, I'm gonna find you and I'm gonna kill you. If you piss me off, I'm gonna find you and I'm gonna kill you."

Avery stared at him for a moment, then leaned against the table of the booth next to him. "And what if I prefer living?"

Elias stared at him for a moment then pushed himself off the wall, standing straight up and drawing in a deep breath. "Then you'd best not piss me off, and hope I kill that sumbitch before he can hurt anyone else." He then turned and made for the door, opening it and casting light into the dim room along with a gust of hot air. Turning his head and looking back at Avery, he spoke up one more time. "Hendrix, put a guard in his room with him. Make sure he doesn't go anywhere." Then he departed, closing it behind him.

Alison was walking up the hill as Elias was coming down. "Hey." She exclaimed with a tone that suggested she was happy to see him. "You find anything out?"

Elias sighed. He grumbled "Situation just got a whole lot more complicated." as he walked by her, causing her slight smile to fade away to a grim look. She turned and followed him down the hill. "There's two Australians in the town. I just met one, Avery Malcolm. Claims a man named Race Burton has come to collect a blood debt. I told Hendrix keep an eye on him, so he's not going anywhere. He'll regret it if he does."

"Fuck." she silently mumbled. "Do you know where or how we can find Race?"

Elias shook his head. "Coulda skipped town, but he's most likely laying low somewhere. I think Avery was waiting for him."

Alison looked over at Elias. "Really?" She asked in a tone of disbelief that matched the look in her eyes.

"Yeah." He simply replied. "When we came in, he was just sitting in a booth reading a book. But he kept his eye on me the entire time, I could see him. So I do be he didn't know much of Race outside of a name. They ran into each-other, and Avery didn't get a good look at him, or the man was wearing a mask."

"Shit." She replied, suddenly looking around nervously. "So what do we do, where do we even start? Should I put the town on lock-down?"

"No." Elias said as quick and sure as he could. "That would likely spook him or make him more reckless, and the last thing we need is more people getting hurt or-god forbid- ending up like Joe."

Alison somberly replied. "Then you have a plan?" Her tone was hushed and a little breathy. Elias looked over at her and saw the emotion in her eyes. He stopped and reached out, putting a hand on her shoulder and stopping her as well as turning her towards him. "Listen," He said softly. "I'm sorry about your friend, I truly am. I'm gonna come up with something, don't you worry. But I need you somewhere safe."

She shakily exhaled and nodded her head, reaching up and wiping away the formation of tears. "My house is as safe as it gets. I'll even bring Carter and Sam."

"Alright." Elias said with a nod, then began to turn away.

There was a sudden and vice-like grip on his hand, stopping him with a cry out of her voice saying; "Wait!" He looked back at her with concern written across his face. He hadn't expected her to outburst like this. Her eyes gazed up into his, longing for an answer. Seeking the truth in them. She found only a cold and bitter wasteland, just like the one outside the gate's. Softly she spoke to him; "What are you going to do...?"

Elias paused, considering the weight she put behind her words. He stared down into her eyes, emotionless but clinching and relaxing his jaw, gritting his teeth as he thought about the answer. It was an answer she didn't want. And perhaps one he didn't want either. Gripping her hand tightly in return, he spoke in a low grovel. "I'm gonna do what I do best."
He let go of her hand and turned away, walking with a sure-fire determination in each step. He could feel a hot, boiling rage building inside of him as he thought about Race being somewhere in the town, smiling as he watched the guards scramble to find answers. Elias didn't want answers, though. He wanted blood.

A knock came from the front door of the clinic, and the doc looked over his shoulder from what he was doing. The door opened quickly, and a man stepped in, closing it just as quick. He took his leather cowboy hat off, the doc taking notice of the left side being pinned up against the side of it.

The man beat the dust off the hat, sighting at it's condition. Looking over at the doc he gave a smile and nod, hanging the hat on the coat-rack next to the door. "Howdy." The doc said with a nod, wondering if the man was new to town.

The man looked back at him as he undid the leather straps around his neck, taking of the absent-armed-duster and hanging it on the coat rack. "Howdy back at ya, good sir." The man spoke with a peculiar accent.

The doc gave a smile and laid the broom against the wall. The man was wearing a set of very lightweight leather armor. No shoulder padding, more just a jacket and pants then anything else. His hair was shoulder length and a dirty brown color. He kept it pushed back, out of his just-as-light brown eyes. "What can I do ya for?" The doc asked, brushing his hands off.

"Well," The man shifted, touching his left side. "I'm afraid that, in my rush to get to town before the sun set on my arse, I ran into some unsavory types and got grazed." He gently touched his side where the armor had a small cut in it.

"I see." The doc said, staring at the wound. "I'd be willing to patch it for you, if you got the caps."

The man smiled and patted the pouch on his belt. "Never leave home without 'em."

"Well alright then." The doc said turning away and walking back to the storage closet. "Have a seat in that room in-front of ya, and take yer jacket and shirt off."

The man stood in the hall and watched the doc reach into his shirt, pulling out a key around a chain out of his shirt and taking it off his neck. He fit it into the lock on the door then opened it right up, flicking on the light as he went in. The wounded man could see metal shelf after metal shelf of supplies. He smirked and walked forward, entering his room.

He liked this town. Took a liars debt to get him here, but he found it quaint and charming. He figured there was no harm in hanging around for a little while longer. Seeing what sort of entertainment the town presented to him.