Disclaimer: All the characters from the "Magnificent Seven" TV series are property of Trilogy Entertainment, The Mirisch Group, MGM Worldwide.
This is where it had begun really.
In this forgotten little village where an amalgamation of culture had been formed by the outcasts who fled here and the Indians who welcome them, the future lawmen of Four Corners had shared their first adventure together. Back then it had been just a job, a pittance in payment for a week of their lives. No one knew each other really and trust was even harder to come by. Vin smiled, remembering JD's desperation to be accepted, while Ezra was trying to cope with the notion that a black man could be healer or an equal, and Josiah was determined to die. Even though the odds were great, the truth of it was that none of them had any place to go, really.
It seemed almost destiny when that old man appeared in Four Corners and offered them something far greater than five dollars a week.
Here the seven had come together for the first time in a bond none of them knew would last, but each felt strongly in some inexplicable way. Vin found himself thinking that if he and Chris Larabee had not stood across the street from each other and decided without speaking a word that Nathan was to be saved, it was likely he would still be pushing a broom in that store. The idea of being a shop clerk still made him shudder even now as he moved the through the rocky path that led to Seminole village.
Alex was lying against his back, trying hard not to doze off even though she was fighting a losing battle with fatigue. She hadbeen ridden most of the night to find him and had reached the limits of even her formidable endurance. Unfortunately, she was aware as he, how imperative it was that they get out of sight in the instance that Randall Mason had continued their pursuit. Thus, Alex remained silent about just how much she needed the rest, while tolerating her exhaustion in the hope that the journey's end was not far away.
Vin glanced over his shoulder at her when he felt Alex snuggling against his back. He could not suppress the smile that came to his lips at the feel of her silken cheek caressing him gently as she sought to be more comfortable in her reluctant slumber. He did not disturb her, realizing how tired she must be after her nocturnal adventure. A part of Vin still had difficulty believing she had gambled her life so hazardously to save his own. It felt unbelievably good to know that someone loved him that much, to embark on such a quest. When he had left her home the night before, after making searing love to each other, he knew what he saw in her eyes was no shadowy desire for Ezra masked in a carnal feeling for him. Vin knew then that her heart was well and truly his, as his own had always been hers. However, even Vin was unprepared for the intensity of that love and what she was willing to do in her expression of it.
Vin finally understood why Chris Larabee's dark demeanour had diminished so much since Mary Travis had come into his life.
To have someone love you that much was an experience that was enough to heal even the most battered heart, and Chris Larabee had almost certainly qualified as being the most ravaged soul he had ever seen. While Vin could not confess to suffering so much grief that Alex's love was salvation disguised, he did feel as if the walls that guarded his inner soul for as long as he could remember had come tumbling down in the face of her love.
When Peso was forced to climb up a particularly steep incline of rock, the unsteady actions of that ascent jostled them both as the gelding pulled itself over the uneven stone ground. Alex woke with a start and realized she had fallen a sleep. asleep. This was a rather dangerous undertaking when one was on horseback. Nevertheless she still looked at him dreamily, her fear of harm easing away when she realized that she had not dreamed his rescue butrescue, but it was a reality she had forgotten in her sleep.
"Are we almost there yet?" She asked, stifling a yawn as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She sat up straight and tried not to let the aching limbs or the fatigue in her bones bother her too much. Alex surveyed the landscape and found it to be a notch or two above desert. While it was not sandy and windblown, there was very little vegetation in this mountainous terrain with its dry weeds and rock outcrops protruding on every step of the journey over its peak. It was difficult to believe that this seemingly barren mountain was home to anything, let alone an entire village.
"Pretty much." Vin nodded gesturing to the winding path that led to the top of the mountain range. Once they had scaled that peak, they would then descend into the canyon in which the Seminoles had built their community of outcasts and misfits. They had picked this unforgiving place as their home because no one would want to steal it from them, and its high mountain walls allowed for a formidable defensive capability. The village existed behind a fortress of stone that had only been breached once in their lifetime, when the seven were called on to defend it. "We just need to get into the canyon," he explained.
"Have I been asleep long?" Alex asked again as she looked at the sky and was forced to squint when the glaring brightness of the sun assaulted her eyes after having been deprived of sunlight while she had slept.
"Just an hour or so," he said facing front again. "I ain't seen no sign of Randall and his men yet so I've been taking it easy."
"Would he know to come here?" Sheshe inquired, unable to keep the fear from her voice as she asked the question. Alex could not lie. Randall Mason had frightened her badly, despite the burst of courage that had forced her out the window in her desperate need to save Vin. It frightened her that any man could be so driven to possess her like an object. She knew it was not over, not by a long shot and she sensed a showdown coming over the horizon.
"He seemed to know a lot about us." Vin confessed, refusing to discount the possibility no matter how remote. People invariably talked, and JD had been very vocal about their first adventure together. It was not unreasonable to assume that the story might have been passed on to someone who was smart enough to take account of such thing. "He knew who to take so that Chris and the others would go riding out of town. If he knew that, he may know about this place."
"He is insane," she whispered. She found herself holding onto him tighter as the full potential of that statement seeped into her bones like a poison threatening to kill her. She wished that Randall would simply disappear, so that she and Vin could get back to their lives and deal with the future they would spend together. Alex knew she could bear no future that did not involve Vin Tanner. When she had ridden out of Four Corners doto rescue him, she had done so because she loved him. She had loved him with an intensity she had never felt for Ezra Standish. When she was with Vin, her soul burned with the heat of a constant flame, it made her alive like nothing did.
"Did he ask for your hand before?" Vin suddenly inquired, not knowing very much about her relationship with Randall. For some reason, she did not seem to like talking about it even though Vin's curiosity was piqued. Even after their most intimate moments together the night before, it was a subject she disliked discussing.
"Not that I am aware." Alex answered truthfully. She and Randall had run across each other numerous times over the years before her father's death and not once was the subject approached. She recalled the last time she had seen him, they had been in Egypt, just before her father suffered his fatal heart attack. Father had always known she had not considered Mason as any more than a friend even if he was unaware of their sexual relationship. "I saw him last when my father died."
Vin did not speak but an ugly realization came into his mind that snared it completely once there. "Just exactly how did you pa die?" he asked quietly hoping he was wrong about what he suspected, even though Vin did not believe he was mistaken. Somehow, it seemed plausible in light of what he knew regarding the lengths Mason would go to acquire Alex for his own.
"Heart attack." she answered still gripped with the pain of his loss.
"Are you sure?" Hehe probed, knowing with certainty, even before he asked, that even if she was not sure, he was. After what Vin had seen of the man, the possibility that Randall may have killed her father was more than just supposition. Vin would not be surprised to find that he had. After all, Randall had proved that he was not above murder to get what he wanted. What if he had asked William Styles for Alex's hand and had been refused? How would Randall have reacted to the rejection? If even half of what Alex told him about her father was true, then he was a man who valued his daughter more than anything in the world and would not offer her to an unworthy suitor.
Vin decided he would not even think what William Styles would have made of him.
"Yes, I'm sure." Alex mused but did not sound very convincing now. The knot in her stomach would not go away now and she knew that it would remain as long as there was an ounce of doubt in her mind over her father's death.
"We'll get the truth from him Alex," Vin said firmly, "I promise you."
Alex smiled despite the nature of their discussion because she was touched by his sincerity. "You're good to have around in a crisis situation."
"So are you." Heyou" he pointed out. "No woman ever rode after me like that before." There was a hint of amusement in his voice as he said that. "You must have a real thing for sweet talking lawmen." Vin looked over his shoulder long enough to deliver her a thoroughly suggestive smirk on his face.
"Yeah," she replied, deciding to play his game and give him more than he bargained for in return. "I just couldn't get enough of that silver tongue." Alex knew he was being mischievous and enjoyed it when they jousted verbally. It was almost like foreplay. At that thought, she recalled their encounter on the kitchen table, the wall of her bedroom, her dressing table, not to mention the heat they generated when they finally got to bed. Alex blushed furiously as she recalled how completely uninhibited she had been with Vin, and felt a rush of desire because she wanted to hear him moan her name again, when she took him into her mouth. "And everything else." Sheelse" she returned as her finger made slow circles on his shirt, just above his nipple.
Vin shuddered slightly, leaning back into her as she teased him. "I liked you better when you were a mean old maid."
"No you don't," she whispered in his ear, allowing her breath to breeze across the sensitive skin.
Well, he could not tell a lie, especially when he was leaning further back against her as he relished the sweet torture she was making him endure. When he felt the first twinges of arousal, Vin reminded himself that he was not about to even think about having sex on the back of a horse. As it was, the only prevailing thought in his mind at the moment was the overwhelming need to find a kitchen table.
"Woman," he grumbled as he straightened up a moment later. "You go no shame." trying to focus on getting to the village.
"And that's just how you like it, cowboy," she laughed as she returned her hands to a less distracting position.
Vin joined her laughter and then added. "Maybe the Seminoles have a big kitchen table...."
Wickestown had not changed since their last visit to the place. Its founder, the infamous Mister Wickes had built himself a small fortune in the lucrative trade of flesh and as a whoremaster, there were none as brutal and sadistic as the man who enjoyed making women whores as much as he enjoyed breaking them. The seven had done most of womankind a favour when they finally put an end to Wickes, who would not allow his charges to leave their servitude. Most of the working girls who found themselves in his employ were almost bonded slaves.
With Wickes' demise, the denizens who counted as the refuse of humanity made their way to Wickestown to peddle in the flesh and any other villainy that pleasure could buy. Instead of Wickes reigning supreme as he had in life, there were now a dozen whoremasters, varying in degree of scum, who now resided in the popular fleshpot.
As Ezra Standish and his companions rode into the place, the idea that Julia and Inez might be in the keeping of such men sent a shudder of horror down his spine. He knew Inez would rather die than allow herself to violated again, and feared her reaction if any whoremaster got in his mind to use her for business purposes. He knew Julia would land on her feet in a place like this because the love of his life had the amazing catlike ability to never let anything get the better of her. Ezra loved Julia Pemberton, but he knew her ability to survive lay in the fact that she had no morals to hold her back.
Wickestown had grown without the exclusive monopoly of its founder, and Ezra saw numerous more buildings where there had only been open land. The place made Purgatory seem respectable, as Ezra tipped his hat in the direction of a young working girl who offered him a seductive smile as they pastpassed the row of tents.
"Hold on a minute, Josiah." Ezra said to the group as he nudged his horse in her direction.
The young woman who was clad in very little, sauntered over to him, realizing she had captured his interest. She was a pretty thing with blond hair and blue eyes that looked like a pale imitation of Mary Travis. "Can I do something for you honey," she smiled suggestively, switching into a voice that Ezra was certain she only used for business.
"Why thank you young lady," Ezra smiled at his most charming, "actually I am need of information."
"Oh" she said, disappointed, and Ezra could see she was preparing to depart when he produced a crisp note just beyond arm's reach. She brightened at the colour of green before returning her undivided attention back to him with the promise of easy money that did not require her to be on her back for a change.
"I am wondering if a large group of men may have come riding in here in the last day or so, accompanied perhaps by two women?"
"Working girls?" she looked at him, wondering what need he had of those when she was here and willing. She did so want to offer him her services because he and his companions appeared to be most handsome men, even the older one with the sombre face.
"Certainly not." Ezra returned quickly. "A Mexican and a white woman," he continued, dangling the note a little closer but still not close enough to reach.
"I seen a group of men come in late last night, about ten of them," she answered after a moments thought "Didn't see no women with them though, just a wagon."
It was better than nothing Ezra decided and certainly worth investigating. It would be far simpler to keep two female captives in a wagon than it would be forcing them to ride peacefully on the back of one's horse. Anyone attempting that with Inez would have reason to regret it quickly. Ezra turned back and saw Josiah and Buck's similar assessment of the situation.
"You would not have any idea where these men would be, my dear?" Hehe asked, turning to her again.
"Well they're up at Hill's," she answered. "He runs a saloon and a couple of girls." Her eyes never moving from the fresh five-dollar note that was close enough for her to breathe its crisp scent.
"You assistance has been invaluable," Ezra smiled and handed the note towards her. Furtively she snatched it from his hand before securing it into a tight roll she slipped through the crack of her ample cleavage. Ezra estimated her master would not be made aware of this sudden boon and saw no reason to begrudge the girl the money.
"You sure I can't help you with anything else honey?" Sheshe winked at him, running a light fingertip over his leg.
"Come on Ezra." Josiah said abruptly, cutting into the conversation with enough of an edge to indicate that they could ill afford to waste any more time here. Ezra shrugged at her as if he was powerless to the whim of his friends and continued riding past her.
"Hill's, she said." Ezra announced to Josiah, Buck and JD.
"I'll scout around." Buck said because he always seemed to be able to blend into places like this and get people talking. Buck was one of those naturally disarming personalities that put people at ease, in particular women. "Find out what I can about this Hill's fella."
"I got a better idea." Josiah said coming up with a plan. "I say we go down to Mr. Hill's establishment and find us some female company." Before Buck could open his mouth to speak, Josiah turned to him sharply and added. "I mean that figuratively Buck."
JD stifled a laugh and Buck frowned at him in annoyance. "Josiah, what do you take me for? Inez is out here somewhere," his eyes surveyed the ramshackle collection of buildings and tents in the surrounding area. "I couldn't possibly imagine being with another woman until she's back safely among us." He paused and then added. "Besides, I don't have to pay for it. I still got a half a dozen fillies just waiting for me to come calling tonight."
Josiah and Ezra exchanged glances before shaking their heads in disbelief. "As long as your priorities are straight." Josiah sighed.
The room was hot and steamy. Although it was fall, the heat from the sun had turned the room with the steel roof into a roasting oven. Inez could feel the hot wafting air stifling her as sweat began to seep through theher clothes and plastered the thin fabric to her skin. Julia, who was in a formal dress, was in an even worse state for the heavy silk was slowly suffocating theher skin. Her mood was slightly cooler than the temperature in the room and being tied back to back with Inez for the sixth straight hour was slowly raising Julia's ire to the point of no return.
"That is it!" she hissed. "I have had enough!"
"Be quiet!" Inez hissed, perfectly aware that they were in a brothel of some kind and that the men outside in the saloon were becoming liquored up and uncontrollable. It was best that either woman did not bring their attention when they were in such a dangerous state of inebriation. "Do you want them to come in here?"
"As opposed to what?" Julia snorted, trying to turn around in her confined position but having little room to move in the ropes that kept her bound to the chair. "Them coming in here and doing their worst?"
"I'm thinking of a plan!" Inez winced, wishing Mary Travis was here. The newspaperwoman was better in a crisis situation than she was. Mary always seemed to come up with the most radical solution to escape, while Inez could do little but be swept away in the chaos.
"With all due respect," Julia growled. "I have little faith in your ability to get us out of this!"
"Well you think of something!" Inez retorted, feeling the heat snapping her temper irrevocably. If she were free right now, she would knock the snotty woman on her ass just to shut up that incessant whining. "You know, Ezra has to be a saint to put up with you!"
"I should say the same!" she snapped. "If what I hear about your relationship him with is anything to go by, you're like a cross between a dog and his mother!"
"A dog!" Inez's jaw dropped in outrage before she narrowed her eyes in anger and slammed her head back against Julia.
Julia swore as she felt the back of her skull flare in pain from where Inez had hit her. "Are you crazy!"
"After being tied up with you all night, you bet I am!" Inez shouted in retaliation.
"Well maybe you need to be tied up with a man to loosen up!" Julia retorted.
"As opposed to sleeping with everything that moves like you do?" Inez returned just as sharply.
"At least I admit I'm a woman with needs, the only one in town who doesn't think you're lusting after Buck is you! Just sleep with the man for God's sake and do yourself a favour!" she shouted, having no idea how to stop this unproductive screaming match but quite certain that she did not want to stop since screaming at something was doing wonders for her irritation.
"I do not lust after Buck!" Inez said horrified by the possibility that the whole of Four Corners believed such a thing. Just because she refused vehemently to have anything to do with him did not mean her indifference was based on some deeper feeling she did not wish to identify.
Suddenly, the door swung open and the blond man who had viewed Julia so salaciously during their journey here came staggering into the small room. As he slammed the door shut behind him, it drowned out the sudden rush of drunken voices in the adjoining room. Judging by the look in his eyes, he was not only drunk but eying Julia like she was the main item on his next Christmas list. Inez knew that look all too well and felt her rage at the woman dissipate in the face of the danger coming at them.
"You're mighty loud in here." Hehere" he said to them both witha slurred speech indicating just how drunk he was. "You're supposed to sit here quiet until we get the signal to let you go."
Well that was a good sign at least, Inez thought silently. Mr. Rihs had promised that she would not be harmed when he had initially kidnapped her. While at the time, Inez did not give any credence to the vow however, it did appear that the man was true to his word, such at it was. Inez guessed accurately that their kidnapping was to provide Randall Mason with a decoy while he abducted Alexandra Styles. However, this did not help their present situation because the man before them was leering at Julia with lustful eyes, and keeping them alive did not necessarily extend to his not having whatever urges satisfied before their release, if Rihs even bothered about such things after Alex was in his hands.
Julia was sick of this whole situation and she knew the look in his eyes just as well as Inez did, but while the Mexican saw the potential for disaster, Julia Pemberton saw an opportunity for escape. She raised her eyes to meet his and curled her lips into a slight pout.
"I'm sorry Mister," she said in her softest voice. "We're just so scared."
"Well, you got reason to be." Hebe" he muttered and took a swig of the bottle he had in his hand and swallowed the amber liquid thickly. "Rihs said we had to keep you two alive, didn't say nothing about not letting us have our fun." A slight smile crossed his face and his eyes travelled up and down the length of Julia. "They're outside right now discussing whether or not we pay for Hill's whores or just use you."
He was trying to frighten them, Julia guessed and she offered Inez a silent look that conveyed to the Mexican not to give him a chance. guessed. Instead of begging and weeping like the man expected them to, Julia tried a different tact. "I'm in for fun." She smiled at him, injecting every ounce of suggestion in her voice that she could produce under the circumstances. His eyes widened at the possibility and he took another step towards her.
"How much fun?" Hehe asked gingerly, preferring to have her willingly if he could. This was the kind of woman, men like him dreamed of having but knew were completely out of reach, unless taken by force, kicking and screaming.
"As much as you want to have." Julia replied as Inez watched in a mixture of horror and fascination, hoping to hell that Julia knew what she was doing.
His hand touched her cheek and immediately Julia turned her head so her lips could ensnare one finger which she sucked insistently. The man's jaw dropped slightly as arousal began to set in and roughly, he lowered so that he was able to force Julia's mouth to his. She felt her stomach knot in revulsion at his whisky breath but endured it nonetheless, reminding herself that this was a means to an end.
"If you let me go," she whispered as she moved her lips from his and let his hungry mouth move down her neck. "We can get to know each other really well." There could be no mistake what she was offering him.
The man looked into her eyes and whatever reason might have told him that this was a bad idea was quickly swept away in the tide of his desire for athe prime piece of flesh under his ministrations. Without thinking twice, he dipped into his boot and pulled out a knife, which he quickly used to cut through the bonds that held Julia in place ofon the confining chair. Completely oblivious to Inez, the man grabbed Julia from the chair once she was freed from the ropes.
Julia endured the kisses and the hands roaming her body, her eyes ever trained on the knife that was still in his hand. She allowed his hands to slip past the fold of her dress, until his fingers made contact with her skin. She heard his sharp intake of breath at the feel of her flesh before her hands slid down the length of his arm while she buried his neck in tentative kisses.
He was starting to groan, becoming lost in the sensations and becoming more distracted by his fevered desire when her hands reached the hilt of blade. She started swirling her tongue in the soft skin of his neck, hoping that the action would completely destroy any thought in his mind of the knife she was attempting to reach. The groan that escaped him told Julia she had succeeded and without showing any signs of what was on her mind, she quickly snatch the knife from his grip as she brought up her knee.
He barely had time to cry out in pain as she connected with his groin, the intense pain forcing any sound from his throat. As he went down, Julia stepped back and grabbed the chair she had been sitting down and brought it down across his bent over form without wasting further time. The seat collapsed as it struck him hard, sending him crashing to the floor. For a moment, Julia was too terrified to move, in the instance thatcase she had not incapacitated him because he was going to be plenty mad if he was still awake.
"Cut me loose!" Inez snapped her out of her reverie and Julia skirted around the edge of his unconscious form as she approached the Mexican. In a moment, the ropes keeping Inez trapped to her chair were cut and she stood up immediately, taking the chair with her as she hurried to the door.
"What are you doing?" Julia asked before Inez jammed the chair against the door, barring anyone else from making an unexpected arrival.
"Making sure no one comes looking for him." Shehim" she gestured to Julia's unconscious would be lover.
"Oh good," Julia frowned wiping her mouth with her back of her hand as if that alone could get the awful taste of that man from her lips. "I'm going to need a bath to get rid of that man's stench."
"Well, you did it for a good cause." Inez said abruptly, once she had secured the door firmly with the chair and turned her attention the unconscious man. Using remnants of the ropes that had been used to hold them captive, Inez quickly bound his arms and legs in case he decided to make a sudden recovery. "I must commend you on your ability to seduce." Inez replied.
That did not sound like a compliment to Julia. "Hey, I got us out of here!" she hissed.
"No," Inez said as a matter of factly, "you got us out of the chair. We haven't got out of anything else yet."
"Its just detail." Julia grumbled to the small window that was barely large enough for them to fit let alone reach without a chair. through, if they could reach it. Unfortunately, going out through the front door was not an option since the bulk of Randall's hired guns were currently in the saloon. Drunk or not, neither Inez nor Julia had any wish to try making their way through that sea of inebriation.
"We're going to have to go through that window." Inez pointed out the obvious.
"Really?" Julia frowned and searched around the room for something that could allow them to reach it. There was an old table languishing under years of dust in the corner of the room that did not seem very strong but at this point, there was a scant selection to be so picky.
"Just help me with this." Inez groaned as she went towards the decrepit piece of furniture and started heaving it beneath the window. She heard Julia swear slightly before coming forward to help her. Within minutes, they had manoeuvred the heavy desktable beneath the crack of a window.
"You first." Inez urged Julia once they were ready to make the attempt.
"Why me?" Julia looked at her suspiciously.
"Cause you should go first since you're the one who to kiss that thing." Shething" she gestured distastefully at the fallen kidnapper. "I never I said I wasn't grateful." Inez threw her a sarcastic smile.
"Your appreciation is overwhelming." Julia muttered as she mounted the surface of the table and reached for the window. There were cobwebs and dust all over it and she wrinkled her nose in disgust as she pulled the glass forward. It was a narrow fit but with enough manoeuvring, she could make it through with little difficulty.
Julia had pulled herself half way through the window, wriggling past the dirt and tendrils of cobwebs when suddenly;suddenly, they heard the doorknob twist. Both women froze for only an instant before Inez turned her attention to Julia and ordered with a loud hiss. "Move it!"
Julia needed no encouragement as the persons attempting to enter the room, realisedroom realized that the door had been barricaded from the inside. She forced herself through the window, emerging into the sunlight in the back of the building where a few people were staring at her in confusion. She dropped onto the dirt at the base of the wall, swearing as she felt sand and gravel underneath her palms and knees. Immediately, she looked at the window and felt a knot of anticipation as she waited to see if Inez would make her appearance soon.
Inez jumped onto the table as soon as Julia's feet had slipped through the opening, pulling herself up by the ledge as the men behind the door, started slamming their considerable weight against it. The chair shook dangerously with each impact and Inez realized it would not take much before the temporary barricade gave way completely. She was half way through the window when the sound of a loud crash signal the ultimate yielding of the chair as it clattered aside. Inez forced herself through the confining passageway, ignoring the sound of the door breaking open or the feet that thundered towards her.
"She's getting away!" she heard someone shout as she dangled precariously over the wall of the room from the outside. Deciding that she was out of time, Inez took a deep breath and let go. She tumbled to the ground as her weight yanked her through the rest of the way. She hit the ground hard and saw Julia let out a sigh of relief.
"Let's go!" she said scrambling to her feet. "They're right behind us!"
"No arguments from me." Julia called out as they started running down the hill into the greater municipality of Wickestown. "Where are we going?"
"I don't know!" Inez shouted as she saw a bunch of furious men emerging from the front of the saloon with their eyes firmly rooted on them.
Julia rolled her eyes in exasperation. "I'm glad we both don't know what we're doing! I'd hate to think one of us would be left out!"
Josiah and the others were riding towards the yet unknown Mr. Hill's saloon when they heard a commotion in the distance. Although they could not see the source of the excitement, they did notice a group of men running after an unseen prey. The manmen cut a swathe through the visitors of Wickestown, shoving working girls and customers aside as they ran through the meandering lanes throughout the length of the town. Josiah tried to see what they were chasing, wondering whether it was worth the effort to investigate, except this gnawing feeling in his gut told him that nothing happening today was a coincidence.
"Did you see that?" Josiah asked Ezra as they saw the cloud of dust left in the wake of the men who had run by in the distance.
"Yes I did." Ezra frowned, thinking the same thing. "Perhaps it should be worth examination."
"What's to bet if there's trouble," Buck followed the dust cloud as it moved further away from them. "that our girls are right in the middle of it?" Without saying another word, he dug his heels into the sides of his horse and sent the animal sprinting forward in direction of the chase.
Ezra, Josiah and JD watched Buck go and decided after a moment that it was a bet that they were willing to take.
"Have you come up with an idea yet?" Inez demanded as she and Julia ducked into another side street. Working girls were looking at them in bored indifference as if scenes like this were common place in this harsh world of theirs. Inez did not know what outraged her more, that they refused to lift a finger to help or that they believed her to be a working girl.
"No!" Julia barked back, looking over her shoulder to see the man gaining. The meandering streets of Wickestown made it impossible to navigate in this labyrinthine place. With tents and corrugated metal shacks in place wherever anyone felt the need to build it, it was has virtually impossible to find their way out of this maze. The worst of it was, they did not know what they could do even if they did know the layout of the land. Wickestown had no form of law to help them.
They had not gotten very far when suddenly, a trio of men appeared from another lane. Inez and Julia froze and quickly changed their route down another lane when they saw that path similarly blocked off. With a sinking realization, both women realized that they were surrounded and that there was no way out.
"I think we're in trouble." Inez said in the understatement of the day.
Julia looked at her slowly as their kidnappers closed in. The men had stopped running but were fast trapping Inez and her in the enclosure of their presence. The working girls watching the drama, as well as the customers, had wisely chosen to disappear into their respective tents, content that their witnessing of events was no longer required.
Hobbling through the group was the blond man that Julia had seduced to secure this temporary freedom. The rage in his eyes was unmistakable as he stormed towards her, his walk indicating thatthe he had yet to recover from the injury she had delivered to his groin. He strode right to her and without any warning, delivered a backhanded blow across the cheek. Julia fell to the ground, feeling white-hot pain as she saw stars.
"Bastard!" Inez shouted. "Leave her alone!" The Mexican took two steps forward to help Julia when an arm locked around her throat and held her in place.
"You ain't going anywhere!" Thethe man behind her sneered, tightening his arm around her neck with enough force to ensure she would have cause to regret it if she tried to reach Julia.
Julia's attacker grabbed her by the hair and fairly dragged her to her feet. The small petite woman stood up painfully as he held her face close to his. "We're going to finish what you started," he sneered, his fetid breath inches from her as he made his vicious threat. The others with him merely laughed and egged him on as he dropped a hand to Julia's breast and squeezed roughly.
"Take your hands off me!" Sheshe shouted in defiance and sank her teeth on his fleshy lip, biting down so hard she could taste blood.
He screamed in rage and pulled her away, a rivulet of blood running down his mouth. When he saw the red on his fingertips after a quick examination, he glared at Julia in black rage and struck her again, except this time he did so with a balled fist. When Julia fell, she did not get up again.
"You animal!" Inez cried out, watching in rising fear when the woman did not stir. Without thinking, she grabbed the arm around her throat and shoved it in reach of her mouth. Following Julia's lead, she bit down hard into the skin of his arm, tasting salt as her teeth dug in.
"Bitch!" Thethe man cried out and released her. However, instead of making the attempt to retrieve his hold on the fiery woman, he reached for his gun and took aim to fire. Inez had little time to react when suddenly a single shot rang out. For a moment, she thought she had been hit but saw no stain on her blouse. Instead her would be killer dropped to his knees as the blood began pouring from a newly made fissure in the dead centre of his forehead.
Chaos ensued as she heard shouts and screams, followed by gunshots that tore through the place like thunder. Inez paid no attention to any of it. All she could think to do was to keep down as she scrambled towards the unconscious form of Julia Pemberton on the ground. The woman was still unconscious, red hair loose and splayed across her like a crown of blood. Inez kept her head down as she saw men falling down around her butInez swept her fear aside and focussed her concentration on Julia. Rolling the woman over, she saw the ugly bruises that had formed on the side of Julia's creamy skinned face.
Julia was going to love that, Inez thought sardonically.
Ignoring the pandemonium that was ensuing around her, she shook the unconscious woman. "Snap out of it!" Inez barked and drew no response. Shaking her harder, Julia started to come around at the sound of blazing gunfire around her.
"Why do they always have to hit the face?" Sheshe mumbled as her hand instinctively went to her bruised jaw.
"They must know you." Inez retorted. "Can you move?"
"Yes I'm fine thank you." Julia said sarcastically as she became aware of the gunfire around her. "Yes, I can move."
Inez and Julia quickly scrambled away from the shooting, mindful of the bullets whizzing past them and the bodies that were starting to pile up around them. Neither had any idea of what was going on but decided there was no particular necessity to satisfy their curiosity until the shooting had stopped.
"Inez!"
She and Julia were about to round the corner when Inez heard that familiar voice crying out through the gunfire. With a burst of relief that flooded her chest like nothing else, Inez turned around and took stock of what was happening when she realized who had called out to her. Amidst the gunfire and chaos, Inez caught sight of Buck Wilmington firing at her kidnappers while hiding behind the cover of some crates.
"Stay where you are!" Hehe ordered and Inez thought she had never been so happy to see him.
"That's Buck!" she turned to Julia, unabashed relief in her face.
"Buck!" the redhead sighed in happiness. Where Buck was, Ezra could not be far. The two of them took cover behind some empty barrels, carefully keeping an eye on what was happening while ensuring they did not become targets themselves. The firing continued for another ten minutes, with bullets leaving holes in almost every surface in the immediate area. There was so much gunfire in thatthe intersection of buildings and alleys that it looked like the scene of a battle, with the dead strewn about the ground like uncovered graves.
After a while, it was simpler for Julia and Inez to sit quietly and let the gunfight run its course. The deafening roar of bullets impacting on in wood, brick and dirt soon fused into one cacophony of noise that only raised the apprehension of both women in their silence. Until the shooting was over, there was no way tono know if the men who had come to their rescue had been successful in their attempt or would they find themselves in the same dire straits.
Finally the roar of gun fire came to an end and both women held their breath as they emerged from their hiding places, scanning the grisly scene of bullet ridden corpses, hoping there were no faces that were familiar to them. Julia saw the man who had struck her among the dead and felt a thrill of satisfaction as she instinctively reached for the cheek that was still throbbing in pain.
"Son of a bitch." she muttered.
"Inez!" Buck emerged from the far corner of the street and prompted the Mexican forward with a wide smile on her face when she saw Josiah, Ezra and JD behind him. The four men seemed unhurt as they walked over the dead abductors, while at the same time reloading their weapon in case they had misjudged the situation and these men had more to their number than originally estimated.
Inez embraced Buck warmly, caring about little now that she was assured that he was safe. Buck returned her hug with a grin of his own, pleased by the passionate reception. "Am I going to have to pull your butt out of the fire every time?" Hehe asked once she had regretfully pulled away. Despite himself, Buck was disappointed at her withdrawal, always relishing the scent of exotic spice she seem to wear in on her person.
"This was not our fault," she protested. "Those men kidnapped us to lead you out of town from Alexandra." she informed dutifully.
"I know." Buck replied, ever mindful of the fact that at this moment Chris Larabee was trying desperately to reach Vin before the tracker arrived in Tascosa, and the good doctor before she made a foolhardy attempt to save him.
"Gracias." Inez said thanking Josiah and JD. Ezra had merely tipped his hat in her direction before going to Julia.
In a few moments, the gambler and his lady were engaged in a most passionate kiss. The others were keeping a discreet eye in another direction while Ezra greeted Julia in his own way. He noticed when he pulled away from her that she was sporting some terrible bruises. "I take it your wining personality was not quite up to deterring someone from inflicting these injuries on you?" Hehe asked tenderly. Despite his outward calm, Ezra was furious that someone had done this to her.
"No." she fumed, wincing at the awful marks that must surely have marred her lovely features. Julia detested injuries to her face;face, she dealt so much in her looks that she took special pride in how she maintained herself. Although Ezra was trying to hide his concern, she could tell by the look in his eyes that the bruising was prolific. "I did manage to get us free though."
"That's true." Inez agreed. "She had the man who did that to her eating out of her palm." she threw Julia a smile, and to her surprise, Julia found that the respect she saw in Inez's eyes touched her more than it was supposed to.
"I do not think I wish to know how well." Ezra admitted as he ran his fingers past her cheek. He leaned closer to her ear and whispered with a faint smile. "When we return to Four Corners, I will make every effort to soothe your pains."
"I do like the sound of that." she purred.
"If you two are finished." Josiah said impatiently. "We need to get the ladies back to town and track Chris down."
Ezra shrugged and offered Julia his arm as they prepared to take their leave of Wickestown. "You know something Mr. Sanchez, I think you aremore looking forward to making that sermon this evening."
"Of course not." Josiah grumbled, feigning mock outrage.
"Did you finish writing your sermon Josiah?" JD asked as the group fell into stride and made their way to the horses.
"I'm formulating a new and exciting approach to the format." the preacher answered.
Buck and Ezra exchanged glances and replied in unison. "Right."
"You think Miss Alex and Vin are alright?" Nathan Jackson inquired as they rode into the small town in the middle of nowhere. When Chris had escorted Mary back to Four Corners, it had fortunately coincided with the arrival of the healer who was just returning from the Indian village where he had been dealing with a small epidemic of influenza. Although Chris hated to make him ride after that taxing ordeal, Chris had no idea how many men were involved in Vin's abduction and with Alex in the mix, the whole situation was much too unpredictable for him to be caught short handed.
"Vin can take care of himself." Chris replied as he rode through the town, studying its old buildings and stagnant atmosphere. It was one of those dying towns scattered through the forgotten parts of the Territory, soon to be absorbed by the land when its people decided that there was nothing worth staying for and left. "It's Alex, I'm worried about."
"I never figured her for running after Vin like that." Nathan remarked, and he could be forgiven for his ignorance because he had no idea of what had been transpiring since his departure from Four Corners. "I didn't even think she liked him all that much."
Chris tried to stifle an involuntary smile when he thought of what he had seen when he walked into her kitchen in search of Vin. "They went to the dance together." Chris informed neutrally.
The healer's eyes widened in surprise at the news. "I knew there was something going on there." Nathan said after a moment. "I just knew it! No two people can get that fired up at each other without there being more to it than just that."
"Well, she's a little more than fired up about him." Chris observed as they made their way down the main street of the town.
"I guess she is to ride after him like that." Nathan said with a bittersweet smile, hoping that Alex would be in one piece to tell him all about it later. Nathan and Alex had been close friends ever since she had saved his life during her first night in Four Corners. He was aware that she was a very private woman, hiding a great deal behind her medical degree. After Ezra, she had thrown herself into the work, with scarcely a moment left to think about the pain of seeing the gambler with someone else. Nathan had never heard of her speak about Vin Tanner at all, and now that he thought about it, realized the tracker was a subject she often gave a very wide berth.
Chris and Nathan had stopped at almost every backwater town in this out of the wayon this out-of-the-way trail to Texas. So far, their search had yielded very little success, and the gunslinger was starting to entertain notions that perhaps Vin's abductors had not brought him this way at all. However, if that were the case, they would have run into Alex already because she would not have found Vin. He noticed the cantina that was in the heart of town and decided the eatery and watering hole was as good a place as any to begin their search through this principality.
The morning crowd was scant and most of the patrons were more interested in eatingrather than drinking. Chris and Nathan walked into the place to be greeted by the enticing aroma of Mexican food wafting through the place. After riding most of the night, Chris was tired and hungry, and the scent was terribly inviting. No one paid them much notice as they moved towards the bar. The bar tender and apparently the owner as well, was a Mexican dressed in white shirt and pants that was appeared more yellow than white.
"What can I get you Senores?"
"Whisky." Chris said simply.
He went away to fill their order and Chris looked around the place, finding no difference between this and any other establishment like this scattered across the West. They all had the dark, smoky look that cried seediness and disrespectability that only men like Chris Larabee found atlike home. Nathan seemed out of place here. There was no grim look in his eyesto his eyes, and his face clearly showed hope. Premises like this were very much for those without that precious commodity.
The bartender returned with their drinks and Chris reached into his pocket to pay the man when the gunslinger held back for an instant. "Looking for someone who might have come through here."
"Everybody's looking today Senor." The man grumbled. "If you are after a beautiful woman with gold coloured skin then you are not the first."
Chris' eyes showed no reaction but Nathan's did. "Are you serious?" he demanded, taking the role of interrogator often played by Vin so that Chris could watch carefully for weakness in the answers given.
"Do not tell me that you are searching for her too?" The man sighed when he realized that his joke was indeed right on the mark.
"What do you know about her?" Nathan asked.
"Only that she came early this morning." The man answered nervously, not missing the look in Chris Larabee's eyes. He could see that the gunslinger was not someone to be toyed with and decided not to take the gamble of offending the man. In his lifetime, he had seen fools killed for less. The other men who had made the earlier request had posed the same threat.
"These five men came in late last night and they would not leave," he explained. "They kept drinking and drinking, except for the one who was tied up."
"Vin." Nathan said automatically and Chris nodded in agreement. So Alex did actually find Vin. "Go on." the healer urged, pleased that they finally had some news.
"Well, the young lady gave us money and told us to go home and she went out to serve the men." he narrated. "When I opened up this morning, four of them were still here. They were asleep but the young Senorita and the man who was tied were gone."
"Asleep?" Chris spoke, trying to understand how Vin's captors could simply sleep and allow them to escape, if that was what indeed happened.
However, Nathan was thinking hard. "You said she served them." the black man asked the bartender. "Drink?"
"No, tortillas." The bartender said not understanding why the menu was of such importance.
Nathan met Chris' gaze as the gunslinger started to understand what the healer was alluding to. "She drugged their food." He found himself unable to suppress a smile.
"She must have knocked em all out." Nathan said with some measure of wonder in his voice at Alex's ingenuity. They had underestimated the lady doctor when they assumed she had gone after Vin without a plan of how she would free him from the bounty hunters. The truth was, the doctor was simply too much a creature of habit to attempt such a foolhardy enterprise. If there was one thing Nathan had come to learn about her since her arrival in Four Corners, Alex rarely did anything without a plan first.
"You said someone else was asking for them." Chris asked the bartender this time. "Who?"
"Si, two men, one very fair haired and the other one had a strange voice. Not Americana." He replied, remembering having some difficulty trying to understand the one in the fancy clothes.
"Rihs and Mason." Chris said firmly, informing Nathan because the black man had never seen either man since he had been away. "What did you tell them?"
"The same thing I told you Senor." He replied promptly. "They left some hours ago and took the four men with them."
"That makes six men.' Nathan said unhappily, not liking those odds if Vin had to face that number alone.
"Not six," the bartender added helpfully. "They were five with them already."
Nathan met Chris' gaze. Six was bad enough but combined with five more that changed the face of the situation considerably. Vin Tanner was resourceful and he was good with a gun but 11 to 1 odds were too much even for his formidable skill, not to mention he would have to protect Alex as well. "We better find them quick." Nathan declared, stating the obvious.
"We didn't see them on the way here." Chris mused, all thoughts about the bartender forgotten as the man slinked away to serve other customers. The urgency of the situation was paramount now and Chris felt the pressure of time pounding in his ears.
"Maybe Vin thought that it was safer to hide out a bit, make sure no one was following Miss Alex." Nathan suggested.
"Could be." Chris nodded aware of Vin's habits enough to know that it was possible that he might do just that if he felt that there was enough danger to warrant such an act. Particularly if Alexandra Styles was with him. Considering what was at stake if Randall Mason got his hands on Alex and how Vin felt about the doctor, it made sense to Chris that Vin would try and find some place to hide rather than a risk a direct confrontation. However, he also knew that tracker well enough to know that if did not want to be found, that was the way it was going to be. Unfortunately, with Alex in his company his options were severely limited. Vin would avoid towns because it was too easy to be discovered, however, the immediate terrain did not allow for concealment either. Most of the land up this way was flat with little or no vegetation.
"He'd avoid the towns." Chris stated firmly. "Alex ain't that easy to hide." A beautiful woman in a place like this was noticed immediately and Vin had enough sense to know that. "Still, there ain't a whole lot out his way," he was forced to admit.
"There is one place Chris." Nathan looked up after a flash of inspiration struck him. "We're not that far from the Seminole village and I seem to recall they owe Vin and the rest of us a favour."
Chris drained his glass of whiskey with one swift tilt of his head before turning to Nathan. "Drink up," he said with a faint smile. "We got to go visit some old friends."
There was only one thing that either Vin or Alex were interested in doing once they arrived at the village and had gone through the formalities of greeting old friends, and that was to get some sleep. Between the both of them, neither had more than an hour or two sleep and it was starting to wear them down by the time they had arrived at the village. Vin explained the situation to the old chief who was more than happy to offer sanctuary for the day that they required it. Alex finally met Rain, the young woman that Nathan periodically disappeared to see, under the guise of 'checking up on these folk' as he often put it.
Naturally Rain had a dozen questions about how Nathan was and Alex had the impression that she was disappointed that the healer was not with them. Finally, they were shown a place to sleep and Alex never thought an uncomfortable bed made of wicker and wood could be so enticing. Both she and Vin slipped onto the mattress together, oblivious to what anyone might think about the arrangement because they were simply too exhausted to care.
Slipping his arm around her, they fell asleep in each other's arms. Vin held her as she lapsed into a fitful sleep, wondering how he was ever going to stand not having her in his bed and almost understanding the insane passion that inspired Randall Mason to pursue her like he had. Vin knew that he could not imagine being without her now, not after those hours they had shared together the night before. How he felt about Charlotte paled in comparison to this fire burning inside him when he was with Alex. This was wild and fiery passion the likes of which he had never known and yet was capable of slipping into warm and tender at the same time.
With Charlotte, Vin had felt confusion and anguish because there was never a complete certainty that the relationship was right for him. He had more or less slammed every effort of help made by his friends, back in their faces. At the time, he felt incensed by their intrusion but now he knew his anger had been more to do with his own guilt. What he had done with Charlotte was wrong. The moment Vin had learnt she belonged to another, he should have withdrawn and left it at that. He had pursued her because she was beautiful and smart and the kind of woman who normally never gave him a second glance without any idea that what she saw in him was what she longed to see in her husband.
With Alex, it had always been different.
From the moment, she stepped off the stage Vin knew with a certainty that was astonishing even now;now, that she was the loveliest creature he had ever seen. Opportunity had allowed Ezra to win her affections first, and Vin reacted to his own desires by staying away. That night in the cabin, she more or less confirmed what he had suspected since her arrival in Four Corners, that they were made for each other despite her commitments to Ezra. Everything about that moment seemed to scream a passion that demanded unleashing within them both, and yet he admired her when she had pulled away. No matter how much she had wanted him, and Vin knew she had wanted him just as much he had desired her, she would not betray Ezra. Charlotte had no difficulty abandoning her husband for him and Vin wondered if he had failed to make her happy, would Charlotte have left him in similar circumstances?
Vin drifted off to sleep onsleep, the scent of their lovemaking still on her skin while savouring the warmth of her body against his. TheHis last conscious thought as the dark overtook him was the idea that Mason would never get his hands on her, not while there was a breath left in his body.....
"You better be right about this." Randall Mason grumbled as Rihs led him and the men they had hired to retrieve Alexandra up the rocky mountain path. This entire trip had left the foreigner seething with anger to make Alex pay when he finally had her in his clutches. When he and Rihs had discovered the men hired to take Vin Tanner to Tascosa, lying unconscious on the floor of a cantina in some blight of a town, Randall was beside himself with rage. Not only had she openly defied him by escaping after so carefully manipulating him into a position to allow her flight, but she had now freed Tanner as well. The depth of her determination to retrieve the tracker was what incensed him the most.
"It is logical." Rihs replied, oblivious to Mason's annoyance. As far as the hired gun was concerned, he was barely remaining under Mason's employ, remaining only because of some misguided notion of honour. honor. "We didn't see them when we were riding from Four Corners and Tanner knows that we could be after them."
"He might have taken an alternate route back to town." Randall pointed out.
"No, I don't think so." Rihs retorted as the trail of horses continued up the meandering track up the side of the mountain. "I think they have taken refuge in this village mostly because it is close enough from where he was freed and also because he suspects that we may know nothing about it."
"How did you find out about it?" Hehe asked, wiping the sweat off his brow.
"When I was making my inquiries around town, I learnt Tanner's group originally banded together to drive some rabid confederate general from a village in this area. It did not take much of a leap to pinpoint that this was the village."
"They will protect him and Alexandra then." Randall stated firmly. He did not want this to take any longer than it already had. He was furious that he was being forced to such lengths to retrieve Alexandra, not to mention the jealousy was he felt at knowing that she would rather endure such pursuit because of a damn primitive! Randall would be satisfied with nothing less than Tanner's death before this day was over for he was never going to allow Alexandra the hope of thinking she could return to him.
"It's likely." Rihs answered but he had prepared for that contingency. Although he did not know exactly what their defensive capabilities were, he had some idea of what was required to take the village with very little force.
"I want him dead." Randall said through clenched teeth.
Rihs did not have to ask whom.
"I want him dead by the end of the day. I want her to know that she will never have him again before I'm through with her."
The hired gun merely nodded in response. In his opinion, killing Vin Tanner would only ensure one thing. If by some miracle he did take Alexandra away and did succeed in marrying her, it would be a marriage that would never allow him to close his eyes or turn his back on her. She was not a woman who would take the murder of her lover without desiring revenge. Kill Tanner and Randall Mason could be ensured that he would not live long enough to enjoy marital bliss.
A woman who was capable of drugging four men was capable of far worse, and Randall Mason was on a collision course onto finding out what that actually meant.
Vin woke up abruptly and knew he should not have slept so long. Until he had actually closed his eyes, the tracker had not guessed how tired he was, and the lapse of time left him disorientated and on edge. He sat up immediately and saw that Alex was still asleep. At the sudden disappearance of his warmth, she snuggled closelr to him but Vin knew something was wrong. He listened carefully outside and could not hear the sounds of the village. The silence made him reach for his shotgun that was never far out of reach.
"Alex." Hehe whispered in her ear. "Wake up."
Alex woke up suddenly. "What is it?" she asked quietly, aware by the tone of his voice something was wrong.
"I don't know." he replied as he moved soundless of the bed and went towards the door of the small hut they were currently occupying. "Stay there." he ordered as he peered outside.
Vin could see no one about, and that disturbed Vin greatly for there were always children running about the town. When they had fought Anderson and his armies of renegade Confederates, Ezra had barely been able to move without tripping over them underfoot. It almost seemed like the place was deserted until his eyes shifted towards the town square and he saw a collection of men lead by Randall Mason and the steely eye Mr. Rihs, who had most of the inhabitants penned under the vigil of their guns.
Vin withdrew into the hut and swore under his breath. "He's out there." he told Alex simply.
Alex closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. "What are we going to do?"
"You're staying here." he said firmly without any thought on that point. "I'm going out there."
Alex said nothing for a moment. "Do they have the villagers?" she asked quietly as he prepared to walk out.
"Yeah." Vin said reluctantly and knew that the problem was much larger than he was telling her. However, Alex was no fool and he was aware that she could see through his attempts to down play the urgency of the situation.
"You stay here." she said instead. Vin openned his mouth to protest when she cut him off abruptly. "I'll got out there because maybe he'll let them go if he has me. You stay so you can figure out how to get me back."
"No." he shook his head, unwilling to consider that an option under any circumstances. "I'm not letting you go out there alone."
"If I don't go out there, they'll kill those people and I won't let anyone else get hurt because of me." Alex replied softly as she crossed the floor to him. "You can get away and find the others. He won't hurt me, he wants me alive but he'll kill you Vin."
"Alexandra!" Randall's voice called out. "I know you and Tanner are here! If you do not show yourselves I am going to instruct Mr. Rihs to start shooting."
"I've got to go." she said, starting towards the door, realizing that their time had just run out.
"No!" Vin hissed and grabbed her arm, stopping her before she could leave. "I won't let you."
"I'll be okay cowboy," she tried to smile but could not quite manage it. Alexandra placed her hand on his cheek and drew him to her in a soft but lingering kiss. His mouth felt wonderful against her and still Alex marvelled at the power of his kisses. "I love you." she whispered after a moment, meeting his gaze with a look in her eyes that made that truth all but irrefutable. She saw the effect of those words had upon him and knew that he felt the same way.
"Alex, I won't let him have you." Vin repliedyou" Vin replied, holding her because if he let go she was going to walk out of here and sacrifice herself to Mason but she was right and he knew it. If he got away, there might be a chance for him to reach Chris and the others. They could get her back and finish Mason once and for all. However, Mason could also kill her if he could not have her and Vin was fairly certain that he was capable of doing that simply out of spite.
"He'll never have me Vin," she removed his hand from around her arm and held his hand to her lips. "I'm yours. I always will be." She produced the smile that she had been incapable of a moment ago.
"Alex," Vin wanted to say something but she broke away from him and walked out before he could stop her, probably doing so for that very reason.
Vin hesitated for less than a second and knew he did not care what happened to him, he was not letting her face Randall Mason alone. Whatever happened would happen, Vin decided and took a deep breath before following her out.
Randall Mason saw Alexandra Styles emerged from one of the huts and found himself filled with satisfaction. Rihs' plan to sneak into the village had worked perfectly. The eleven11 men had managed to infiltrate the village and subdue its men while gathering any one else who might offer resistance into the square. After that it had been a simple matter of rounding up the others soundlessly. Rihs saw no need to search the individual huts when this action would draw out their quarry far easier than any prolonged search.
Alex glared at him as she walked across the square when suddenly Vin Tanner appeared behind her. She looked at him in surprise and question, wondering why he had followed her instead of escaping. Vin offered her a warm smile, conveying to herwith his dark eyes that he had no intention of allowing her to endure this alone. For better or for worse, they would weather whatever calamity Mason had in store for them together.
"By the way," Vin said as they started towards Mason again. "I guess I love you too, for an old nag."
"You shouldn't be here." Alex sighed as Vin took her hand in his. "But I'm glad that you are."
They stopped before Randall and Rihs, with this men watchingon closely, guns brandished with no hesitation in their eyes about gunning down the villagers if Mason did not get what he wanted. Vin knew that if Alex were to leave her with Mason, he would never find her again, and being dead was preferable to losing her forever.
"I'm here Randall." Alex spoke. "I'll go with you, just let Vin and these people go."
"I'm afraid that's not possible." Randall declared, his eyes fixed on Vin Tanner and could only tolerate that picture if he was dead. The idea that this primitive had the love of his precious Alexandra drove him insane with jealousy and it was a fire that would not be extinguished unless his rival was dead. "You come to me and I won't order Mr. Rihs to kill all these heathens. However, Mr. Tanner's fate is not negotiable."
Alex's gaze hardened at that. "You bastard." she said sharply. "If you harm Vin, I will kill you Randall, make no mistake on that. You'll never know when but I can make you hurt."
"You are a paper tiger Alexandra," Randall laughed. "You don't have in it you to kill, Madame Healer. No, you will come with me and your lover will die today. I'll not have you wishing for him for the rest of your life with me. Rest assured, I will keep a tight rein on you. You will be the compliant, obedient wife to me as you were dutiful daughter to your father." He paused and then added. "And there will be no more of this doctor nonsense. You will be my wife and my wife only. I'll not share you with anyone."
Vin grit his teethgritted his teeth, feeling powerless at the life this man had planned for Alex, and came to a decision. It was wild and desperate but he was all those things right now. If he did not so something, he was sentencing Alex to a life of horror that he would not have her endure under any circumstnaces. circumstances. If death was the only answer then perhaps they should give Randall Mason what he wanted. Without warning, he went for his gun.
Rihs and his man reacted just as swiftly, weapons drawn as the tracker pulled out the sawn off Winchester but he did not aim it at Randall, instead, he grabbed Alex to him and held the weapon to her head.
"I'll kill her first before I allow you to put her through that hell." Vin warned.
"You wouldn't dare!" Randall cried out in disbelief at the sudden turn of events.
"Yes he would." Alex said fearlessly. "And I would prefer him killing me to save me from being your pet slave!" She honestly did believe that death was preferable to what Randall in store for her andher, especially if he intended to kill Vin and make her suffer that torture as well. "Do it if you have to cowboy." Alex whispered softly so that only he couldonly hear. "I don't think I want to live if you're dead."
"Mr. Tanner, do you take us for fools." Rihs said calmly. "Do you seriously expect me to believe that this is anything but some pathetic attempt to save both your necks?"
"You ever had any feeling for a woman, Mr. Rihs?" Vin asked as he held the gun in place wondering if he was truly going to have to do this and knowing if he had to pull the trigger on Alex, he would not be long after her in death. Still, that fate was preferable than knowing his death would sentence her to a live of sexual slavery as Randall Mason's creature. Alex knew it as well.
"Can't say that I have." Rihs said still refusing to believe that this suicide attempt was anything but a ploy.
"Then you don't know anything for sure, do you?" Vin stared back at him with dark eyes.
"If you harm her, I'll destroy you Tanner!" Randall screamed, possessing none of the self-restraint that Rihs had. Behind him, the hired guns seemed uncertain at what to do. The whole object of the exercise was the woman they had come to retrieve. If they attempted to shoot Vin, there was every chance she could die anyway in the crossfire. "Just like I destroyed her father."
Alex looked up at him at that and stared hard as the entire group fell silent at that statement. Even Rihs was quiet as Alex glared at Randall with nothing less than pure hatred. "You killed my father?"
"He was interfering." Randall stated, seeing no reason to hide the truth. "I wanted you Alexandra and he stood in the way, just as your Mr. Tanner stands in the way. I will dispatch him as easily as I had your father murdered."
"Do it Vin." She said coldly. "Pull the trigger and finish this." she said softly. "I'd like to die knowing he did not get the pleasure of what he wanted."
"Alex," he whispered painfully, not knowing if he was going to find the courage to do this because it had always been a desperate bid for some poetic justice. However, the undertaking was nothing like saying the words. "I don't know if I can."
"You have to!" She said trying not to cry. "He'll kill us both anyway. It will just be faster for you."
Vin was at a loss over what to do because his bluff had well and truly been called. How could he kill her when he still held her like a lover? Vin looked at Rihs who knew he was faltering even though Randall still believed him capable of such an atrocity. Behind them, Vin saw the frightened faces of the villagers who would not doubt suffer the brunt of Masons' vengeance if he did not get what he wanted. The quandary before Vin was immense even if the answer was painfully clear.
Slowly, his fingers tightened around the trigger of the Winchester.
Suddenly, out of nowhere a loud explosion rocked the air. The impact blew out a portion of the canyon wall, sending a thick wall of dry earth and rock tumbling to the ground. Vin dropped his gun to his side and turned around to see the cannon that they had liberated from Anderson peeking through the doors of its hiding place. Behind it, Vin saw Nathan Jackson preparing for another blast.
Randall screamed as the first bullet slammed into his knee and brought down the foreigner. Chris Larabee was taking cover behind a scab of rock but both of his guns were drawn. Vin needed no more than that encouragement to release Alex and aim his gun at Rihs. The fair haired hired gunman saw the Winchester swing in his direction and went for his gun however, the man had neither the time or the speed to draw the weapon as Vin fired. The back of his skull exploded outwards, splattering Randall in grey matter and blood as pieces of bone dug into the man's skin. He uttered a horrified cry as he saw Rihs go down.
Vin barely fired the first bullet when he joined the chorus of gunfire that erupted. "Alex, take cover!" He shouted at her and she nodded wildly, scrambling away to the huts behind her. Vin pulled the trigger again, cutting down two more of the men who held their guns on the villagers. Taking advantage of the pandemonium, the Seminoles affected their own escape, some scattered while the manmen leapt at the confused gunmen who were trying to escape the cannon fire.
Nathan was not aiming at the village but rather over it. The roar of cannon fire served its purpose as a distraction and created disarray as the men ran for cover trying to avoid being obliterated by a cannon ball. Chris Larabee was dropping them like flies before they had even taken two steps since the gunslinger was not about to give them the opportunity to take hostages or escape for that matter.
Vin paused to reload since alland every bullet he discharged met theirits mark with ruthless efficiency. Not one had been wasted and all had met their mark. The numbers of elevenwasted. The 11 men were soon cut down to two or three under his and Chris' shooting skills. Nathan had abandoned the cannon now that it had created enough of a diversion to allow the hostages to escape. The healerstarted added the gunfire from his own weapon to the fray and further decimated the would be plunderers of the village. He had not seen Rain among the hostages and was grateful that she was probably out in the fields harvesting instead of being in town when this trouble started.
Randall Mason clutched his bloodied foot and looked around to see Mr. Rihs lying in a puddle of blood while he was covered in the man's brain matter. He saw the black garbed gunslinger at a vantage point on the canyon wall, picking off the hired guns he had paid so much money for with the ease of a man accustomed to firing at targets in a shooting gallery. Vin Tanner was lying on his stomach on the ground, doing the same with his Winchester. Randall's eyes searched for Alexandra and saw her running towards one of the huts with the rest of the villagers. He watched her run to safety and knew that she was not simply putting distance between herself and he but also slipping out of reach completely.
"Alexandra!" he screamed.
She looked over her shoulder at him at the sound of her name. Even Tanner had averted his gaze from the battle to Randall when he called for Alex. Randall drew his weapon even before he knew what he was doing and aimed carefully...
Vin heard the explosion of chemical gases as the bullet escaped the barrel of Randall's gun. He was vaguely aware of shouting at Alex to get down but the sound never left his throat when he saw it smash into her back, halting her in mid step. He could not tell exactly where she was hit but that one bullet was enough to bring her down immediately. She fell on her side, blood spurting from the wound. Vin watched her collapse and could only utter a strangled scream as he dropped his gun and scrambled towards her frantically.
She was unconscious and judging by the blood pouring from the wound in the left side of her back, she was hurt badly. Just rolling her over had soaked his buckskins in blood and he could see the life draining from her body fast. Vin was beyond emotion. He felt cold and numb as the terror of her loss gripped him with such force that it drove all the sense from his mind. Covered in her blood, he glared at Mason and went completely mad with fury.
"You fucking animal!" Vin was on top of the man before he was even aware of crossing the space. Pummelling him with savage blows, Vin was conscious of nothing as his fists flew in rage. The red haze over his mind drowned out all sounds from his mind and the world became the colour of Alex's blood. He was aware of nothing as his fists did their worst until Randall was no longer fighting him but taking the blows in incoherent agony.
"Vin!" Chris grabbed him and shook him back to reality. "He's done, Vin!"
"He shot her in the back!" Vin fairly screamed, his fist still pounding against the unconscious man. "What kind of coward shoots a woman in the back?"
Chris had to physically pull Vin off Randall Mason. He had seen Randall drop Alex and by this time most of Randall's men were dead or ready to cry surrender. Chris had descended from his hiding place when he saw Vin going after Mason and was perfectly aware that the tracker was going to kill him. He was not far wrong. By the time that Chris had reached Vin, Randall was no longer capable of fending off the relentless blow crushing his face into pulp.
"Enough!" Chris ordered, knowing how Vin felt but unwilling to let him go any further. Vin was many things but he was not a murderer and allowing him to beat Randall Mason into a mess of blood and bone would make him one, no matter what the justification.
Vin glared at him Chris wrenched him away from the man. He let out an anguished sob as he tried to force away the rage tearing his soul asunder.
"I need help here!" Nathan's voice entered the mix. The healer had also seen Alex gone down and once Randall's men were taken care of, hurried quickly to the doctor who was very much in need of her own skills.
Nathan was kneeling over her when Vin ran back to her. "Can you help her?" He asked, now that his senses returned to him. How could he have left her to bleed while he was vented his rage on Randall Mason? Vin was mortified by his behaviour. behavior.
"She's hurt bad." Nathan answered tautly before looking up at them both. "I don't know whether I can save her or not."
"You gotta do it Nathan." Vin said desperately, almost hysterical from the fear of losing her. "You can't let her die!"
Nathan met Chris' gaze helplessly because he could not make that promise, no matter how much Vin might want it to be so. Chris, who was standing next to Vin, placed a hand on the younger man's shoulder and responded. "Nathan will do what he can."
Nathan wished Chris had not said that because the healer was not sure whether what he could do was going to be enough.