Slim pushes Alamo hard once he leaves Wyatt Cobb's ranch, silently apologizing to the horse as they eat up long miles. He doesn't bother to stop and look for signs that Jess has passed through, he's not ashamed to admit he's not half the tracker the other man is and it seems there's only one road Jess could be following. Every half hour or so he slows Alamo's pace down to a light canter, giving him a rest, but fear pushes him forward again each time. To hear that Albers, and he'd bet his bottom dollar whoever had caused trouble at the Cobb's yesterday must have been Albers, is so close on Jess's trail had sent a cold thrill down his spine. He can't fail now, not when he's so close.
It's that blind panic that perhaps dulls his senses a mite too far, and when the bullet tears into the ground just in front of Alamo's feet he nearly slips straight out of the saddle as he rears with a frightened squeal. It takes him a few precious seconds to wrangle back control, and he wonders for a moment if it's going to be him getting bushwhacked on the trail not Jess after all. When Alamo's four feet are back on the ground though and he gets a good look at the shooter, he nearly laughs out loud, a relief so heady washing through him he feels suddenly a little drunk with it.
"Hey there, partner." He calls, grinning so wide it makes the edges of his mouth hurt. Jess stares back at him, blinking like an owl, and Slim chuckles lightly at the flabbergasted look on his face.
"Slim, what the hell are you doin' out here?" Jess asks, sounding a little stupefied. Slim gives him a once over and is pleased to see he looks hale and hearty, if a bit dusty. He tilts his hat back on his head, settling into his saddle.
"Well, lookin' for you, what else? Surely not down here on a vacation." Jess just blinks again, real slow, and Slim can nearly see the wheels spinning in his head. So he says, a bit more softly, "I'm here to take you back to the ranch, Jess."
"Take me back to the ranch? If my memory serves me you said I shouldn't bother with that. Think you said weren't a place I could just come and go as I please." Jess says at last, with a fair bit of acid sharpness. Slim winces a little, though he figures he deserves the jab. Dismounting he takes a step towards Jess, some of that light-headed euphoria from finding his friend alive and well finally giving way to the regret and shame he'd been carrying all these weeks.
"Those things I said, I was angry, and well, guess I was a fair bit scared too. They were wrong, and I didn't mean 'em. The ranch is your home much as mine, always will be. Come home Jess, we- I need you there." Slim's words are a plea, one he finds he's unashamed of, and he watches Jess's face carefully. There's a heartbreakingly cautious hope in those dark blue eyes that make him look suddenly very young. Slim takes another step forward, one hand lifting unbidden, like reaching out to a drowning man. Jess, body tense and wired as a skittish animal, stumbles a step backwards, shaking his head. The light in his eyes starts to fade away, turning to dark unreadable pools.
"No Slim, I'm not comin' back. I can't." He says, and for a second Slim feels that familiar anger flare to life in him, and the wounded feelings underneath it it's trying to cover. This time though he takes a breath and waits for it to fade. He'd gotten angry last time, and look where it had landed the both of them. Jess is hurting, he knows that, has to be to run like this. Angry isn't going to help Slim and it sure isn't going to help Jess either.
"Why Jess? Why can't you?" He asks instead, voice firm. He'll push this time, hard as he has too, hard enough to hurt if it means Jess will come home.
"Because I'm nothin' but trouble, everywhere I go I bring it with me! Couldn't even hang around somewhere a month 'fore someone came lookin' for me, and it's always goin' to be that way Slim. I- I think I done too much bad in my life to ever wash it off me." There's an awful hopelessness now to Jess's voice, a dull certainty that makes Slim's skin crawl.
"Jess, I know what happened yesterday, I just came from Wyatt Cobb's this morning, and I think I know who it was too. That's half the reason I'm here, a fella came through the ranch lookin' for you about a week after you left. It was the brother of that man you shot. He's mad about it sure, but it isn't your fault what he chooses to do. None of it's your fault."
Jess's head jerks up, eyes sharpening again, and there's a sudden focus to him Slim doesn't like. Slim has the feeling he only heard about half of what Slim just said, and it isn't the half he wanted him too.
"Henry Alber's brother? He's the one on my trail?" Slim nods.
"Pretty sure. He's been asking about you same places I have." Jess nods brusquely, fingers playing at the handle of his gun. It's the pearl-handled one, Slim notices.
"Alright Slim, well I appreciate the warning. You better turn around and head back to Laramie now."
Jess says, looking away, his tone flat. For a moment Slim feels exasperation rise in him at his partner's stubborn hard-headedness - as if Slim had left behind Jonsey and Andy and ridden hard across half of Colorado just to turn around and go back empty-handed.
"I'm not goin' anywhere Jess, don't be a fool. If you're dead set on not coming home, then I guess I'll just have to come with you instead." Jess crosses his arms, leveling Slim with a glare.
"The hell you are! I don't think this fella is out for anyone but me, way he was shooting at the ranch was mighty careful, but he's shown he ain't afraid to throw lead around." Slim just glares back, resisting the urge to cross his own arms petulantly.
"All the more reason for me to stay. You need someone to watch your back." He returns, keeping his voice even and watching Jess's face grow stormy.
"You tryin' to get yourself shot, is that it?" Jess near on shouts, hands clenching at his side. Slim just keeps his stance steady, eyeing those hands a little warily. It wouldn't be the first time Jess has popped him a good one to keep him out of what he thinks is trouble and Slim has no interest in a sore jaw right now.
"Jess, you've never left me behind when I was in over my head. If you really expect me to just turn around and ride away the second you are you'd be more of a fool than I thought." He tries. For a moment he thinks his friend might really hit him, but then his fists relax, the fight going out of his shoulders.
"Fine! Fine. But you'll listen to what I tell you to do, alright? And no fuss about it." Jess growls and Slim just grins, knowing he's won the battle.
Jess glances back at Slim as he goes to retrieve Traveler from where'd he'd left him, shaking his head half in wonderment and half in frustration. There's a part of him, a large one if he'll admit it, that's glad Slim's here, and he can't help but marvel at the way just Slim's presence seems to ease something in him. Still, there's another part that wishes his friend had never arrived, not when there's a chance he's going to catch a bullet meant for Jess. Having Slim with him wasn't in the plan and since he seems dead-set on sticking to Jess like glue he'll have to change things around a bit.
By the time he's unhitched Trav and led him back to where Slim is waiting he's made his decision.
"Look, there's a spot, few miles back, got some good high ground and cover. Either way this fella is comin' on the trail he'll have to pass by it. You're goin' to go up in the hills and take a perch, I'll wait for him on the trail and see if we can sort this out." Slim frowns, obviously not impressed with Jess's plan. "And what if he decides to just shoot you soon as he sees you?" He asks sharply. Jess just shrugs, pulling himself up into the saddle.
"Then you shoot him, I figure." Slim looks like he's about to protest, but Jess holds up a hand.
"You said you'd do what I said, alright? Well, this is what I'm tellin' you we're gonna do. You can either come with me, or you can go back by yourself." Slim's mouth clamps shut, his jaw working, but finally he nods. "Alright, now let's get goin', we're burnin' daylight here." They work their way back up the trail in silence, the only sound the hoofbeats against dirt. Slim keeps glancing at him unhappily, his brow all furrowed like it gets when he's chewing on something, but Jess doesn't give him any opening to start a conversation. He pulls his hat low, keeping his eyes forward and his mouth shut. It's not so much that he wants particularly to get shot, but he figures he's owes it to this man to at least give him a chance to talk after what he's done. He hopes Slim can understand that.
When they reach the spot they both dismount, Jess giving an appraising eye to the scree-covered slope. There's a decent sized boulder about halfway up, well within range for a rifle, and big enough to fit even Slim's considerable frame behind it.
"Listen, we'll hitch Alamo a ways off the trail. Trees should keep him hidden from someone who's not lookin' too hard. You get up there behind that rock with your rifle, keep an eye on things."
"I still think this is a bad idea. You're exposed down here, and from what I saw of him he wasn't feelin' real friendly towards you." Slim says, reluctantly sliding his rifle out of the scabbard.
"Yeah, well, I killed his brother. Don't imagine he would be feelin' friendly." Jess replies bluntly. Slim sighs, that familiar look in his eyes that tells Jess he doesn't really get it, not in a way that matters.
"It was self-def-" Slim starts, the same tired words Jess has heard since the begining of this, but he doesn't let him finish.
"Self-defense, I know that, Slim. But sometimes, something hurts bad enough, you don't go thinkin' so logical about it. If someone up and shot me, or Andy or Jonsey, and said it was self-defense, you think you'd be able to let it go just like that? I don't think you could, I know I wouldn't iffen it was you. Look, he had the chance to put me in the ground back at the Cobb's, and he didn't. I'm bettin' he'll give me chance." "That's a big chance, Jess." Slim says lowly. Jess nods.
"I know. But it's one I'm willing to take. Now get up there, and try not to shoot me in the butt, huh." Slim sighs but obeys, heading off to pick his way up the slope. Jess takes care of moving Alamo before he returns, settling down against a tree to wait. He's been doing a lot of that today.
The sun sinks in the sky, casting long shadows across the ground and dying everything a soft gold by the time the man arrives. Jess hears him before he sees him, the clank of spurs and hoof falls echoing against the hills. He stands, making sure his gun is seated and the loop is off, stepping forward into the middle of the trail.
When the man comes round the bend in the trail Jess can see the resemblance to Henry Albers immediately, the same dusty blonde hair, those same ice-blue eyes. Zachariah Albers puls his horse up to a halt, his face a mask as he looks Jess over.
"You Henry Albers' brother?" Jess asks calmly, keeping his hands tucked in his belt, safely away from his gun.
"Yes I am. And you're the man who shot him." Zachariah says coolly, looping his reins round his saddle horn and hopping off his horse. It's not so much phrased as a question, but Jess answers anyways.
"I did shoot him, but only after he drew on me, and I didn't take any pleasure from it. I wished it hadn't had to have happened" Zachariah's mouth twists, but there's no arrogance in the grimace like there had been in Henry's, just hurt.
"Oh you had to shoot him, did ya. He was only twenty-two years old! He was just a stupid kid and you killed him! What does it matter if you didn't take pleasure from it, he's still dead, and I still gotta live with that." He spits, suddenly furious, any semblance of calm lost to his anger and his pain.
"Now listen here!" Jess snaps, feeling his own temper flare. "You're brother might've been young but I saw the way he wore his iron, he was a gunslinger and he called me out. I was in my rights to defend myself. I tried to talk him out of it but he wouldn't have it. Like I said, I didn't want to do it, but he didn't leave me much choice!"
There's a moment Jess thinks the other man is going to go for his gun right then and there, but instead he takes a deep breath, jaw twitching. There's a look in his eyes like he's making a decision, one Jess doesn't like.
"Look, I knew Henry. He weren't any angel, I know that. He was impulsive and he had a quick temper, liked the drink a bit too much, but he was young. I should've done better by him, been harder, taught him how to live like a real man. That's on me. But he was still my brother, and I loved him. He died, and I have to make that right."
"I told your brother to turn around and go home, and I'm tellin' you the same thing mister. I know you don't like to hear it, but it was made right. Sheriff cleared it, and the boy's buried. He's dead but neither of us has to be, please." Jess knows he's begging but it feels so much like that night back in Laramie, back in middle-of-nowhere Texas, back in so many places before that and he just doesn't want to do it again, doesn't want to be exactly what they all seem to think he is. He's tired of dreaming of dead eyes, he's tired of having blood on his hands. The man falters, indecision flickering across his lean drawn face, his eyes unsure. Jess presses him, desperate to turn this around, to make him see sense.. "You don't have to do this, Albers. I understand what it's like to lose someone you love, but you gotta let them go sometime. Go, live the life your brother can't."
Zachariah shakes his head though, misery hardening his expression. "I- I have to. There's no one else, you understand, everyone else is gone. It was just me and Henry, and I let him down. I gotta answer for that, and so do you. I'm sorry." He whispers, a wretched sort of tone to his voice, and Jess knows then with a hollow certainty that there's going to be blood spilled today one way or another. He just has to decide whose it's going to be.
Slim watches anxiously as Jess and Albers' converse down on the trail. It's too far to make out the words, but he can see Zachariah's expression, all twisted up and hurt. He can't see Jess's face, he's got his back to him, but his shoulders are tense and stiff. Neither man has made a move for their gun yet, but Slim has the feeling it'll only be a matter of time. He shifts a little, trying to get a better angle on Albers, wishing he was down there with Jess, wishing Jess had listened to him. Wishing for a whole lot of things he's not going to get.
Whatever they're talking about has reached it's boiling point, loud enough that Slim can start to pick out some words now. Mostly it's Jess's voice he hears, gruff and desperate, though half of it is snatched away by the wind.
"Albers…. your brother's sake… DON'T!"
The last word Jess yells, but it doesn't do much. Slim watches in a sort of numb horror as Zachariah moves to draw, Jess following only a moment behind. It happens fast, too fast for Slim to do anything, and before he can even think to aim his own gun a shot rings out. For a moment Slim waits, hardly daring to breath. Then Jess sways, stumbles forwards a step, and crumples face first into the dust.