Heyes woke up early, like he did every day, and set about making a pot of coffee in the small but tidy kitchen in the 3-room house where he had lived by himself for the past year since his amnesty finally came through. Bickleburg was not a big town and that's just how Hannibal Heyes liked it. His neighbors were, for the most part, welcoming; even though they knew of his past as a wanted outlaw. As far as he could tell, most of them didn't spend a lot of time thinking about what he used to do for a living as long as he did his current job well. And coincidentally, and unbeknownst to any of the townfolk, save himself and one other, Bickleburg was conveniently close to Heyes' former hideout, Devil's Hole.
Coffee mug in hand, Heyes wandered out to the porch where his favorite wooden rocking chair waited. Inhaling deeply of the cool, crisp morning air, he savored his life and his still-new freedom while he sipped his morning brew. His thoughts wandered peacefully as he watched his street awaken from its slumber as neighbors young and old ventured from their houses to get on with their days. Soon though, his thoughts settled where they often did, wondering where Kid Curry might be at that moment and what he might be doing; and when this happened his thoughts were no longer peaceful at all. Instead, they are filled with worry and sadness and pain for his oldest and dearest friend.
Jed Curry hadn't managed to get his amnesty. They'd fallen on particularly hard times, with little money and fewer prospects about a year and a half ago. The Kid had never been especially patient while waiting for the promised amnesty to come through and he'd become increasingly agitated as month after month, year after year passed with no sign of the governor making good on that promise. Eventually, not even Heyes' affection for Jed or his eloquent arguments could keep his friend in check while the younger outlaw grew more angry and resentful, often flying into uncharacteristic rages that could only be quelled by resorting to time spent looking for the bottom of a bottle of whiskey.
One day, he woke up to find Kid Curry gone, his bedroll and horse and all his meager belongings gone with him. Heyes held out hope for a while, believing that Jed would come to his senses before doing anything hasty, and he spent every day searching for his friend but his tracking skills left much to be desired and he heard nary a whisper about where he might have ended up; all the while becoming more and more afraid he might one day hear of his friend's death at the hands of some gunslinger he'd had a run-in with after too much drink.
But then one day, about five weeks later, while drinking alone in a rundown saloon, he caught wind of a bank robbery that had happened in the next state over. Intuition told him that Kid Curry was involved but it wasn't until, sick with worry, he'd sent a telegram to Lom asking if he'd heard anything about The Kid's whereabouts. Lom relayed back to him that the law believed that Kid had joined back up with the Devil's Hole Gang and was a suspect in the robbery, along with Kyle and Wheat and Hank (who, surprisingly, was rumored to be the new leader of the gang).
Ironically, Lom also informed Heyes, via that same telegram that doomed Kid Curry, that he'd been trying to find the boys for the past several months to give them the good news that the governor was ready and willing to finally grant the amnesty that they'd been working toward for so long together. This news cut Heyes even more deeply than the news of Kid's involvement in the bank robbery. He remembered how devastated he was to think that if he'd only found Kid before his magnificent fall back into crime, they'd both be looking at a life of new freedom, no longer having to look over their shoulders every minute of every day waiting to be discovered and sent to prison for their past crimes.
He couldn't help but feel that he'd failed his friend on so many levels, even though he'd put his own well-being behind that of Jed's so many times, while his friend did likewise for Heyes. Even after all this time, sleep was often elusive as he'd lie awake and dream up elaborate schemes in which he'd somehow rectify all this and get Jed's amnesty…somehow.
In the time since he'd learned of Jed's fall back into crime, the two men had managed to reunite for brief periods, usually under cover of darkness on some abandoned homestead or other. Once, Heyes had woke up in the dead of night to find Jed in his room, silently observing him from the shadows. Jed had found it inappropriately amusing to see Heyes scramble for his gun in the dark, getting tangled in his sheets in the process and tumbling out of bed; especially since he'd moved it out of reach just in case of that sort of reaction. "No sense getting shot," he'd laughed, lending his friend a helping hand to get back onto his feet.
But these brief moments in time did little to relieve the anguish of not being together as they'd been in the past and it was Heyes' most fervent wish that Jed would someday still be able to get amnesty.
These days, Heyes spent most of his time in the sheriff's office or at Mr. Purcell's law office where he worked as an apprentice under Mr. Purcell himself. Because being an apprentice paid little, he also worked as a deputy under Sheriff Lom Trevors. He'd sought out the apprenticeship, even though he was quite a bit older than the average legal apprentice, with the sole goal of learning something that might help Jed. And Lom had sought him out to be a deputy because he knew he was the perfect man for the job. Heyes had found Lom here in Bickleburg shortly after the telegram and decided this was as good a place to settle down as any.
Did he miss life on the road with Jed? Grifting? Moving from job to job? Smoky saloons filled with drink, cards and loose women? Hell yeah, he missed it sometimes. But mostly he missed Jed. Otherwise, life seemed pretty good.
"Good morning, Miss James." Heyes tipped his hat to the elderly woman as he strolled casually down the dusty road toward the center of town. She smiled sweetly back at him and returned his greeting. Heyes had had a hand in documenting her will a few months ago just as he had done for several of the town's residents since settling here. Wills, contract work, estate planning—those were the kinds of things he was mostly learning about under the competent tutelage of the only lawyer in town. And in his spare time, he dug more deeply into Purcell's law books, quietly seeking some bit of knowledge that would help him in his quest to gain Kid Curry his freedom.
But today, he was not headed for the Law Office of Jerald Purcell. Today he was on his way to the sheriff's office to work with Lom. If you asked Heyes which position he enjoyed more, he'd have a hard time with the answer. Both jobs suited him just fine.
"Morning, Lom," he said, entering the building that housed the sheriff's office. Lom was sitting at his desk, drinking his morning coffee, which he liked strong and black. Heyes could smell the potent brew as soon as he opened the door.
"Coffee, Han?" the elder lawman offered but Heyes waved the offer away. A man needed a stomach of lead to drink too much of Lom's coffee. "Suit yourself. The baby didn't sleep much last night so I might need the rest of the pot to get through the day."
"Sorry to hear that," Heyes said with a chuckle. He picked up the newly-arrived stack of wanted posters on Lom's desk and flicked through them, grateful as always not to see Kid Curry's face on any of the pages. "Uh, any word on what we talked about yesterday? I know it's a long shot but—"
"Long shot is an understatement." Lom blurted this out but regretted it immediately because of the melancholy look that settled over Heyes' face. "Anyway, let's just give it a little time. The new governor is a pretty reasonable man. And as far as anyone can tell, Jed hasn't been involved in any more criminal activity since that bank robbery."
Both Lom and Hannibal knew that Kid Curry had indeed been 'involved in more criminal activity', but the important thing is that no one else had managed to put that information together. Yet. And if Heyes had anything to say about it, no one would. Unfortunately, he knew he had little control over Kid's activities or when the law or the newspaper men would catch onto that too.
"So, Lom, what do you want me to do today? Any big capers to be solved?"
Lom chuckled, "You know, I almost wish there was. It's been too dang quiet around town these past couple months. The worst thing that's happened hereabouts lately is old Clyde here being drunk and disorderly more'n usual."
As if on cue, the guttural sounds of the old drunk waking up, most likely with a raging hangover, rose from the depths of the cell in the adjoining room. "Speak of the devil," Heyes said with a chuckle. "He doesn't sound so great this morning. Probably needs a little more time to sleep this one off. I heard from one of the dance hall girls that Clyde was in rare form last night. The boss has threatened to ban him from the establishment for a week, but if he did, profits would drop off pretty steep." The two men shared another laugh at this.
"Listen, Heyes. I think I can handle the office today. No sense both of us sitting around doing nothing. Why don't you just take the day off. Maybe go check in with Purcell. Maybe…go take a ride; get some fresh air. If I need you for anything, I'll send Ben to come find ya." Ben was Lom's son who had just turned seven a few weeks ago; a fine boy who was sure to grow up to be a fine man like his father.
Heyes figured what Lom really was telling him was to go spend some time with Kid Curry to see how things were going with his former partner in crime; but Heyes was reluctant to do that. It seemed like it got harder and harder to see Kid as time went by and Heyes became more a part of the community and Kid became more and more a part of the Devil's Hole Gang. In truth, sometimes Heyes felt like his heart was going to burn out of his chest with the pain of it.
"Thanks, Lom. I'll do that," he said, but he doubted his heart was up to the task. He tipped his hat to the sheriff and took his leave.
"Rise and shine, Curry. Hank wants everyone to get ready to ride this morning. He's got a plan for a job." Kid groaned and rolled over in his bunk to see Kyle standing over him, unshaven and unwashed from the smell of him.
"Get away from me, Kyle. I think I'll sit this one out." With obvious deliberation, he pulled his blanket back over his face and faced the wall.
"Oh, now. You know Hank ain't gonna like that, Kid. You best get up now."
"You let me worry about Hank," he answered, his voice muffled by the heavy blanket. In fact, Kid Curry wasn't the slightest bit worried about Hank. And both Kyle and Hank knew it too. By rights, Kid would be the rightful leader of the gang, if he had shown any desire for the title. But Kid didn't want to be leader. Kid didn't want to even be in the gang. What Kid really wanted was to go back in time and not make the same mistake twice; the mistake that landed him here with the gang in the first place.
Kyle looked uncomfortable with the notion of relaying Curry's message to the leader of Devil's Hole Gang. Without looking up from beneath his covers, Kid could feel his presence and could almost picture Kyle's face as he tried to figure out what to do next. Heaving a deep sigh, Curry decided to take pity on the older outlaw and dramatically threw his bedclothes aside, sitting upright with an irritated look on his face. "Ok, Kyle. Go tell Hank I'll be out soon enough."
Kyle looked much relieved, shooting Curry a lop-sided grin which exposed a mouthful of crooked, badly discolored teeth. Bobbing his head, he backed away from Curry and left the room. Jed Curry watched him leave, then sat for a few more moments gathering his thoughts before running his hand through his blonde locks which were in bad need of a trim. This only made him feel worse because in the past, his best friend and partner, Hannibal Heyes, would be the one to give his hair that trim; and while it wasn't always tidy or even, he realized now how much the everyday things like that were what he missed most about life on the road with Heyes.
Donning his clothes, which were somewhat the worse for wear after living like an outlaw for a year, he went out into the kitchen to meet with Hank and the other members of the gang, his mood darkening further with each step. By the time he got to the kitchen, his face was as dark as a storm cloud and not a single member of the outlaw band was willing to meet his steely blue eyes. In silence, he grabbed a mostly clean coffee cup and filled it with the muddy brew left simmering over the fireplace.
Hank was the first to speak. "Uh, Kid—" Kid Curry fixed his gaze upon the other outlaw, whose adam's apple was bobbing nervously. Hank cleared his throat nervously and started again, feigning confidence in the face of Kid's surly expression, "Kid, me and the boys here have come up with an idea for a job."
Kid took a gulp of his coffee and waited expectantly for Hank to continue, with very little real interest in whatever job Hank and 'the boys' might have thought up. The silence hung in the air for almost a minute before Hank decided to continue. "Yep, we've worked up something big." He paused again, working up his nerve to tell Kid his big plan.
Kid sighed impatiently, "Come on, Hank. You got something to say, you best start saying it."
"Ok, Kid. Here's what me and the boys was thinking. Hear me out now. I know this is a little different than most of our other jobs thievin' and robbin'. But I think, if you give the idea half a chance, you'll see how good this could work out for all of us."
Kid Curry stared at the older outlaw even harder, not liking what he was hearing much. Since Heyes set out to get his amnesty years ago, The Devil's Hill Gang wasn't all that good at thieving and robbing. He didn't see much cause to branch out into other kinds of criminal activities. "Well, spit it out then. Let's hear this great idea of yours. In fact, I can't wait to hear what scheme you geniuses have cooked up."
Hank drew in a deep breath, puffed up his chest and declared, "Kidnapping!" The rest of the rag-tag group of outlaws nodded enthusiastically, grinning with delight. Kid looked from one man to the next, hoping to see some indication that his leg was being pulled, but quickly realized none of the outlaws had the wits to pull off that kind of wit.
"Kidnapping. That's your big plan?"
Kyle grinned even bigger, putting all his snuff-stained teeth on display, and nodded. "It's a corker, ain't it, Kid?"
"I'll say. So who's the intended victim of this…kidnapping."
Hank's grin faded and then turned into a grimace, "Well see now, we haven't rightly worked out all the details yet. Probably a banker. Or maybe a railroad bigshot. Or..or…a politician or something! As long as they got ties to a big pile of cash." His grin returned triumphantly, waiting for Kid's accolades. And waiting some more.
Finally, Kid spoke, "You wanna know what I think, Hank? I think that's possibly the worst idea I've ever heard? You wanna know why? Cuz what do you think the penalty for kidnapping is? You don't know? Neither do I. But I bet it could involve a rope and a tall wooden platform with a floor that drops out of it. Hell, you get caught kidnapping some famous rich person, you might as well kiss your days here on earth goodbye." He shook his head vigorously. "Nah, I'm out. And if the rest of you have any sense, you'll be out too."
Hank drew himself up to his full height of 5 foot, 8 inches, his face turning a brilliant shade of purple. "Oh yeah, you wanna know what I think? I think we don't plan to get caught and that this plan will make us all rich. But if you want out, you got it. I'm thinking you might be better off moving along for a while. Don't want to get your soft little hands dirty, do ya?"
"Suit yourself, Hank. I was getting a little tired of hanging out with the bunch of you anyway. Time for me to hit the road. But I really think you oughta re-think this scheme of yours. I don't see it working out very good for any of ya."
"Yeah? Is that what you think? Well—don't let the door hit you on your way out!"
An hour later, Jed Curry had packed up his meager possessions and hit the trail. He didn't urge his horse to hurry, seeing as how he didn't have a destination in mind. In fact, he let his mount meander freely down the dusty trail leading out of Devil's Hole while he gathered his thoughts and tried to formulate a plan. He spent a moment wishing Heyes was riding by his side, knowing his partner would have already worked up where and what they should do next. It wasn't long before he made up his mind on where he was heading. With a soft clicking noise and a smile on his face, he encouraged his horse to a trot.