Kid was startled into wakefulness, by a hard kick to his side, quickly followed by the click of a rifle. He looked up blearily, though his hand was already heading towards his gun as he did so, though he halted his progress when there was a snarled. "Don't even think about it, boy. I don't shoot to wound."
Kid blinked, and a steel haired man, with a young man behind him, both armed, and with their weapons pointed at him, slowly came into focus, and he raised his hands, and said carefully. "I don't want no trouble. Just borrowed your barn for the night. I can pay for it, or work off the debt. Kid figured a couple of days mending fences, would settle it to everyone's satisfaction.
The man however grinned down at him. "Oh boy, you sure will...the circuit judge is in town...and he's a real good friend of mine..." He turned to his companion. "David take his gun."
The Kid stared up at him, not resisting while his gun was taken, though he said fiercely. "Now c'mon, I didn't steal nothing, and I haven't done any damage!"
"Well, boy, where you come from, trespass might not be anything to worry about...but here we take it real serious."
"Trespass? What kinda game you playing?" Kid scrambled to his feet, aware of the danger he was putting himself in, but angry enough as to not care. But when the man raised his rifle he took a deep steadying breath to calm down. This situation was bad enough as it was, without adding a gunshot wound, so taking a more even tone he said carefully. "Sir...I understand I didn't ask permission to sleep here...but..."
But at the look in the man's face, he knew he'd not get anywhere, a fear confirmed when the man interrupted him. "No buts fella, this is my land, and no one gets to use it without my say so..."
The younger man grinned and said smugly. "You tell him Pa..."
The Kid's anger flared hot at their unreasonable manner, but before he could react, the man nodded somewhere behind his head, and said. "Martin, you know what to do..."
At the words, the Kid half turned to look over his shoulder, and swore under his breath at himself. He'd been so intent on what was in front of him, he hadn't even noticed this third man. He got a glimpse of a moustachioed face, and grey eyes, then a rifle butt came flying towards him, and after a sharp pain in his head, everything went black.
ASJ
The Kid woke to find himself still in the barn, but curled on his side, his arms tied behind him, and his feet secured by tight rope, and with his gun gone. He wriggled fiercely against his bonds, but when he achieved nothing except to tighten the knots securing him,causing them to bite even deeper into his skin, threatening to split it, he soon gave up, with a muttered curse. Into the frustration, there came a low laugh, and he looked up angrily, into the smiling face of the young man he remembered was called David, who shot him an unpleasant smug grin as he said. "Pa says I gotta take ya into town, so we can talk to the Sheriff about what happens next."
The Kid wished he could wipe the irritating expression off the idiot's face, but aware of how precarious a position he was in, he satisfied himself with a hissed. "You know this ain't right...all I did was sleep."
David winked at him and said."All I know, is that when you chose my Pa's barn to bed down in, you chose wrong, because we don't like undesirables round here."
Kid replied sharply, not attempting to remove the angry snap to his tone. "Yeah, I've kinda figured that out for myself. You, and your Pa must be real proud of yourselves subduing something as dangerous as a sleeping man."
David sneered. "You got a real smart mouth for a drifter, so I figure you need to learn some respect for your betters."
The Kid tensed as David began to walk towards him, obviously intent on beating him. But at a noise behind him, he stopped suddenly, and muttered under his breath. He sighed heavily in disappointment, as the man the Kid had seen fleetingly behind a rifle before it'd smacked him in the face entered, and asked quietly. "Whatcha doing in here, David? Your Pa asked me to take him into town."
David gave a shrug. "Just checking on him, making sure he wasn't gonna escape on us."
The man looked at him suspiciously, but said evenly. "Well, you can see he's all trussed up still. I'll take it from here."
David turned to look at the Kid with a sneer. "Well thirty days working like a slave, will sort ya out better than a beating." Then he was gone, slamming the barn door behind him.
The Kid let out a breath of relief, then he turned to the newcomer and said. "I think you just saved me from some bruises to go with the headache ya gave me, so I ain't sure whether to thank you, or dislike ya. I'm gonna go with saying thank you, and do whatever ya tell me to." The man seemed less dangerous to his health than David would be, so he figured cooperating was in his best interests.
"Smarter than you look then, boy." The man paused, then with an almost sympathetic look on his face, hauled him firmly but not roughly to his feet.
As the world tipped, the Kid wavered, and had to take steady breaths to settle his stomach, as nausea threatened, and as he blinked rapidly, a thought struck him, and he asked. "Where's my gun, and my horse?"
The man shook his head a little, but answered easily enough. "Well, the Boss has taken them both into town, probably given the gun to the sheriff, and taken the horse to the livery."
The Kid frowned then replied with irritated resignation in his tone. "Guess that's the last I'm gonna see of either of them, eh?" He'd miss them both, the horse was a steady boy, and the gun was the same one he'd bought in Kansas City and he was really quite attached to it.
The man looked offended and replied angrily. "You'll get them both back, when you've paid your dues...we aren't dishonest in this town."
The Kid gave a short bark of laughter, thinking that was a matter of opinion, but at the fierce look on the man's face, decided not to say anything else, because his head was still throbbing from the blow it'd taken. It was typical that the town he'd chosen to replenish his supplies in, appeared to hate strangers. He'd chosen to sleep in the barn rather than in town, in an attempt to avoid trouble, that sure had worked about as well for him as his attempts usually did. The man prodding him with his rifle pulled him out of his thoughts, and as he looked over at him. "C'mon boy, the boss is expecting us pronto, and he don't like being kept waiting."
Kid shrugged best he could restrained, and let the man guide him out of the barn, relieved that at least the man seemed reasonable enough, unlike the landowner's son.
ASJ
Restrained as he was, the Kid was unable to shift position, and by the time the wagon arrived in town, his head was throbbing so hard he felt slightly sick, his ass was aching, and his back felt bruised. He groaned when the man pulled him almost gently out of the wagon, the Kid sighed in some relief as his feet were freed, and the man steadied him. With his face showing the same slightly sympathetic expression as from the barn, he said evenly. "We ain't a bad town for the most part, son, but the depression has made folks here desperate." But before the Kid could reply his face turned stern, and he shook his head before saying firmly "Sheriff is expecting us."
The Kid fighting the remaining slight nausea followed the man to the Sheriff's office, where the lawmen, and the landowner from the morning were stood talking. Accepting that it was in his best interests to stay quiet, the Kid bit down in his annoyance, determined not to say anything to make things worse. The landowner turned to them with a nod and said. "Good job, Martin." He then turned back to the sheriff with a smile. " 'Nother trespasser."
The Sheriff stared over at the Kid, and his escort, gave a satisfied nod, before turning back to his companion. "Been a busy week for them, Mr McLeod. Will sure help our labour shortage some."
The man named McLeod grinned. "Sure will Sheriff, but I gotta warn you, this one was a bit more of a problem than some, and tried to resist."
The Sheriff looked back at the Kid, his face flickering into a smug smile."Judge Morley is all booked up till tomorrow, so we'll have to hold you in a cell, that oughta settle ya down some."
"Now, hang on..." Despite his resolve to stay quiet, the Kid blurted this out, which earnt him a warning shake from the man holding him and a quiet. "Easy boy."
The Sheriff glanced over at him, and nodded, as he said. "As Mr McLeod told you, trespass is taken real serious here. I'll get you processed, then get one of my men to take you down to the cells."
The Kid slumped, as he thought damn it all, was anything ever going to work out for him, because it seemed lately, that any luck he got was bad.
ASJ
When the Kid was pushed into the cell, furthest from the door, he was surprised and a little uneasy to see it already housing two other men. He was also more than a little puzzled to note that all the cells had three people in them. He thought it a lot for what he presumed was only a small town, but then he remembered the sheriff's comment about it being a busy week, and sighed.
The Deputy who pushed him in gave a him a small malicious smile. "Guess you'll be finding a place on the floor for the night, boy..or maybe you can offer 'em something they might want...or they could just take it of course."Then with another smirk, he was gone,
The Kid hiding his sudden worry, took as an aggressive stance as he dared, and faced the two men already occupying the cell. The man on the nearest bunk, glanced over at the second man, rolling his eyes, before turning back to face the Kid, his expression amused. "Don't look so worried boy, you might be pretty, but you're not the kind of pretty me and Clint are interested in. And seeing as we're figuring we're gonna be spending quite a lot of time together in the coming weeks, there ain't no point getting off on the wrong foot. "
The man Clint had addressed, frowned, then sighed heavily. "Yeah, me and Clint been here a couple of days, and we've figured it all out, well Clint did mostly. The landowners, and the law here, have got some scheme going. Pick up drifters, charge them with some half-assed crime, then pay the judge to give 'em thirty days on some work farm. Free labour is mighty useful in a depression."
As the Kid squinted at them, everything suddenly making a lot more sense to him, especially with the conversation between McLeod and the sheriff. But still he asked carefully. "How is that even legal?"
Clint snorted. "Well, son, when you're at the bottom of the food chain in a depression, you're fair game, and not meaning to insult you, but if you're getting caught up in this scheme, I figure you're as bad off as we are. And we bin in this situation more than a time or two, so we know how it goes. Ain't that right Rich?"
He nodded over at the man who'd spoken first, who shrugged and said. "Sure is, and while it ain't fair, and it ain't right, you gotta accept it, or get hurt fighting it, 'cos. money talks." He paused then said. "The name's Rich Clayton, and my partner is Clint Simpson, what's yours?"
He instinctively liked the men, but figuring he should be careful about drawing attention to his growing reputation in a town like this, he hesitated before answering, "Name's Jed...got caught sleeping in a barn on the McLeod's property, I think that's what they were called anyway." He started to head to the back of the cell, resigned to passing an uncomfortable night on the floor, which would only addi to the discomfort he was already feeling from his bruises, and the chafing that being tied so tightly had left behind. But two years in Valparaiso had taught him to sleep however sore he was feeling.
As he passed the bunks to sit down at the back of the cell, he noticed the men exchange a speaking look that was, despite the difference in age, so familiar to him, that it almost hurt to see , because it reminded him quite forcibly that leaving Heyes behind hadn't been his smartest plan.
Clint gave him a warm smile. "Ain't no need to sleep on the floor all night, we'll share the bunks, a few hours each, till they haul us out to see the judge."
The Kid gave them a grateful smile, and nodded. "That's real neighbourly, thanks."
ASJ
The Kid was tired, but not as tired as he might've been, because with Clint and Rich's generosity, he had managed to snatch a few hours sleep, when the deputies came to wake them. "The Judge is ready for ya."
When he was escorted into the courtroom, he was ushered to sit on the uncomfortable benches, as the two lawmen sat down next to him. As he waited, sandwiched between the two men, he overheard the judge the man he now knew as Macleod talking quietly.
"Now, Roy, you know how most of our labour has left here for richer pickings in the city. Especially bad for Barlow, as with that mine of his, he's sitting on a tonne of copper he can't do nothing with. So he's offering a mighty fine commission, to anyone who helps him get it hauled up, so he can fulfil that contract of his, and if its done quick enough, Barlow says his buyers are offering a bonus, and he's offering a cut on that too."
The judge winked, and said quietly. "Well Hal, we both know that trespass is a real serious offence round here, so I'm figuring thirty days for 'em all, then we can discuss terms over a drink, once we know exactly what the amount we're talking about is."
The Kid tried to stand, furious at the unfairness of it all, but one of the deputies grabbed his arm and shook his head. "Son, Mr Macleod,Judge Morley and most of the other rich folk round here, have this town all tied up, and pretty much can do what they want. So you complain, it'll just be sixty days, maybe even ninety instead."
The Kid slumped back down, and shook his head in disgust. "This ain't even close to being right, and you both know it."
The older deputy looked at him in some sympathy in his expression, then shrugged and exchanged a look with his colleague, as he said. "But that's how it works, and we both need this job too much to fight it, so I'd just settle down, and accept it, son..."
Accepting unfairness had never sat easily with Jed, but with all he'd lived through since losing his family, it was something he had grown used to, so he sighed, and reluctantly relaxed to wait his turn with Morley. He hoped that once he and Heyes were back together, his cousin's nimble brain, would find a way to avoid this kind of thing happening, without them having to resort to conning folk, and while he did so, the Kid would concentrate on keeping the two of them safe, while they did whatever was needed.
ASJ
The Kid's resentment at being made to work like a dog, just for some rich bastards to be able to save a few dollars, was always threatening to burst out from his fatigue. But he knew far too well, that any kind of resistance, would be fruitless, and only end in a likely painful punishment, or even worse extra days in this hole. So everyday over breakfast, he counted down the days left in his head, and told himself to hang on. This ritual somehow made it easier to bite down on his temper and lose himself, in the backbreaking rhythm of the repetitive bend, whack, ping of swinging his pick, and avoid lashing out at anyone.
ASJ
Into the heavy crack of metal on stone around him, there came a noise that seemed familiar to him, but he wasn't sure why, he'd certainly not heard it down here before. Then the place he'd heard it before it hit him hard, the livery in Denver. A loud unpleasant creaking moan of collapsing wood.
Ignoring the glare from the man guarding him, he stopped working, and swung round, and his eyes widened as he saw the support beams near where Rich was working beginning to bow. He waved frantically over at his escort, who simply shrugged as if to say what do you want me to do, and placed his hand on the Kid's elbow.
Jed glared, then turned away from him angrily, to wave frantically, in an attempt to get Rich's attention, but when this failed, he quickly shoved off the guard's restraining arm, and dived for him instead. He just managed to pull him out of the way as the beams collapsed with a thud, the heavy struts merely throwing up dust as they landed, but doing them no damage, the beam hitting the ground was quickly followed by the sound of sliding rock.
As they lay panting for breath in an untidy heap, their ears ringing, another of their escorts, Vickers, the Kid thought he was called,came running over, with Clint on his heels, as the other men simply continued their work, paying little attention to the barely avoided disaster.
Vickers looked down at them, then over at the collapsed struts and the small rock pile in front, and shook his head, as he said. "Boss won't be happy, means he'll lose access to the copper behind that mess."
Jed clambered to his feet, as Clint helped his partner to stand, and said heavily. "Yeah, its a real shame ain't it?"
The man looked at him suspiciously, but then just sighed. " Which just means you guys will have to work harder to make sure he meets his quota. Now get back to work!"
The Kid was about to voice his thoughts on that, but luckily the man was already walking away, and the moment was gone.
Clint coughed, and patting his partner on the back, said wearily. "Better do what the man says..."
Rich humphed and shook his head, but nodded tiredly, and the Kid seeing nothing else for it, walked back over to his spot, picked up his discarded pick and started over. Heave, crack, ping.
ASJ
As dusk fell, the Kid, and his fellow slaves, were escorted back to the bunkhouse they were being housed in at night. It was not comfortable, but at least they didn't have to sleep on the hard ground. The Kid, was so tired, he stumbled as he entered, on;y saved from falling by Clint's steadying hand under his elbow. He grunted his thanks, too exhausted to talk, and let the man steer him to his bunk. Once he was perched on the edge, the older man gave him a weary smile, and said quietly. "You saved my partner's life today, son and we won't forget it." With that, after a gentle pat on the Kid's shoulder, he walked away/
The Kid through half closed eyes, watched him join his partner, and as they sat shoulder to shoulder, sighed, their closeness as usual always stinging a bit, as it reminded him of Heyes. With a small grunt of pain, he removed his boots, then simply half fell, face forward onto his bunk. He was so quickly asleep, he didn't even hear the bunkhouse door being locked.
