Disclaimer: All the characters from the "Magnificent Seven" T.V. series are property of Trilogy Entertainment, The Mirisch Group, MGM Worldwide. Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of MGM, Gekko, Double Secret Productions.
Julia Pemberton prayed inwardly that they would be able to make it to Forbes without having to pause for a break in their journey. Julia could not say for certain whether or not the notion had crossed the minds of either Inez or Casey, but she knew bringing Isis and Sekhmet to a populated area where they were unknown was a bad idea from the very beginning. Unfortunately with Forbes being so deep inside the Territory and requiring them to cross some rather harsh terrain in order to reach it, it did not appear as if they had much of a choice.
Personally, Julia would have preferred to make this journey through a more civilised mode of transport, for instance, by train where comfortable and luxurious compartments were offered to ease the burden of travel or in a pinch, by stagecoach. Anything that did not require her to ride sidesaddle in this loathsome heat would have sufficed. Julia had come to the firm conclusion that this entire situation was intolerable and the undignified manner in which they were forced to travel was the topping on what was already proving to be a miserable situation. Despite the boasting by Sekhmet and Isis, Julia could not allow herself to believe that getting the men from the infamous Miss Chase was going to be all that easy.
They had been riding for several hours now and Four Corners was well and truly behind them. The sun too, was making its gradual descent and judging by the faint outline of the moon sharing its sky, Julia guessed that dusk was not too far away. The landscape surrounding them was charming in a brutal sort of way, tufts of green vegetation somehow surviving enough to find life in the gravel like soil. In the distance, the mountains offered a spectacular view that somewhat took the edge of the fact that they were travelling in what might be considered semi-desert terrain. Water was occasioned upon in rare water holes dug up by the Indians who knew where to look and puddles that survived the blistering heat that usually followed the rains.
Julia shuddered as she saw a scorpion taking a quick peak from behind the cool shade of the rock that was its home, in order to gauge whether or not the light vibration of hooves against the baked earth offered it any danger. Upon realising it did not, the creature disappeared once again and Julia wiped away another bead of sweat that was trickling down her moist brow. She wanted a drink badly but knew they had to conserve water until they got within acceptable limits of the next town, which was still more than an hour away still. She was trying to keep up with the others who were more accustomed than she was to travelling this way. Casey who was on horse back as much as she was on her feet was completely at ease while Inez, who seemed capable of adapting to anything, took a page out of Casey's book and rode astride instead of sidesaddle, which made the journey pass somewhat smoother. Lord only knew what sort of riding experience Isis and Sekhmet had.
"It would be much simpler if you were to discard those cumbersome clothes and wear something sensible." Isis remarked, seeing Julia's discomfiture. Julia was wearing travelling clothes, which included a riding cloak and the customary long skirt. In this heat it was more of a hindrance than anything else.
"I am fine." Julia said stiffly, not wishing any advice from that creature. Despite her attempts to remember that for the moment, they were all comrades in arms, Julia could not see past the fact that this woman had once enjoyed Ezra's body against his will.
"Suit yourself." Isis retorted indifferently, more than aware of the hostility behind her response.
Inez, deciding a change of subject was required, especially after noting the dislike in Julia's voice in regard to Isis, spoke up quickly to bring them past the moment. "Isis, how did you find out about Mary, I mean Sekhmet." The Mexican swore under her breath because even though these two women looked like her closest friends, they were not and Inez could not help forgetting no matter how hard she tried.
"It was that new singer." Casey answered before Isis could.
"New singer?" Julia looked at her, not recalling that a lady with such a vocation had breezed into town recently but then local gossip tended to bore her so she was unsurprised by her lack of knowledge.
"Yes," Inez nodded, knowing of whom Casey spoke. "The Germans hired her for the hotel. The billboard says that she is the toast of New York. Although what I heard of her singing voice was not very impressive, she is pretty and her performances have been popular." Inez tried to hide the note of annoyance at the defection by some of the patrons from the Standish Tavern to the hotel since the new singer had started her tenure there. "Her name is Diana Belladonna."
"Belladonna?" Sekhmet remarked with a raised brow. "Is that not the name of lethal substance of some kind?"
"Yes," Isis answered automatically, being the authority in any age for this particular subject. "It comes from a plant I believe. Let us hope that the name contrasts the person herself."
"She's very pretty," Casey commented, having seen Miss Belladonna on the street since her arrival in Four Corners. Casey recalled a woman in the kind of finery she often saw worn only by Julia Pemberton and had to confess to being somewhat in awe when she had seen her. Diana appeared to be very much at ease in such clothes, even though Casey was always her most comfortable in her work clothes.
"She has been turning heads since she came to town," Inez remarked with a frown, having seen her husband's roving eye inadvertently drifting towards that direction when the lady had walked past one day. Fortunately, Inez knew that was as far as Buck's interest went these days. Although he was always hungry for an eyeful of female flesh, he was after all Buck Wilmington, he had been quite faithful to her and Inez was touched by his determination to remain so.
"Well entertainment people are usually meant to be an attractive lot," Julia added her own opinion in the matter although she herself had yet to meet the mysteriously named Diana Belladonna. "Still, I can't see what a chanteuse of any note would be doing in Four Corners. It's hardly the most glamorous place to be."
"Four Corners is a lot bigger than it used to be." Casey immediately spoke up, defending the place that was her whole world.
"I know Casey," Julia said with a little smile. "I did not mean to infer that Four Corners was not deserving of a singer but usually, entertainment folk tend to gravitate towards larger towns like Eagle Bend and Silver City."
"Perhaps she does not wished to be found." Isis answered. "If I recall correctly, you came to Four Corners to start a new life and be forgotten by the old. I believe it could be the same for Miss Belladonna."
Julia tensed, feeling as if she was being baited, but wisely chose not to take up the gauntlet flung at her. She wanted Ezra back and getting into any kind of argument with Isis for past ills that could not be changed was pointless. Besides, she could not deny that Isis did not speak the truth. She had come to Four Corners to disappear and perhaps it was the same with Diana Belladonna. Still, strangers did not usually pick Four Corners as an arbitrary destination without good reason and a flash of insight, one that Julia could not explain, told Julia that Diana might be like her name indicated.
Dangerous.
The town they finally chose to spend the night was called Avon.
It was a small place, notable mostly for the fact that it was a popular watering hole from travellers on their way to California. During the days when California had first opened up, having passed from the hands of the Spaniards, there had been a rush to exploit the new resources of that coast and the trails across country had brought to life many towns like this one. As always, some stayed and some kept going, the desert swallowed some part of its and plain stubborn perseverance kept the rest from being forgotten. It now became the haunt of drifters moving across the Territory, outlaws on the way from one state or another or just about anyone who preferred the roving lifestyle of the West.
The five women rode into town and were immediately noticed. In the West, where men outnumbered women in figures that approximated somewhere in the region of twenty to one, this was not an unusual happenstance. Sekhmet was careful to keep her staff weapon hidden as best as she could, wrapping the object up in leather as she strapped it onto her saddle during the journey. The town consisted of no more than a few rooming houses, a hotel and one saloon. There was a general store at the corner of the beaten track that passed for the main street, with a blacksmith and livery sitting side by side at the edge of town.
"What a charming place." Julia could not help but comment as they rode through.
"That's one way to put it." Inez said with as much distaste although she was better at hiding it than Julia who was not bothering.
"It will do for one evening." Isis retorted even though she was not pleased herself. As a Goa'uld Queen, she had been accustomed to luxury and conveniences. The semi-primitive world in which the host lived was beyond her ability to tolerate for any length of time. She was actually surprised to admit that she would not be all that sorry to return to limbo of becoming watcher inside the host mind. At least, she would be spared the indignities of being female in this male dominated society that was as primitive in technology as it was in its thinking.
"I do not see what you find so distasteful," Sekhmet retorted. "All of you are too burdened by luxuries. This place though primitive has its possibilities." The warrior goddess turned an interest eye at the saloon. A hint of a smile crossed her face as she studied the place from which music emanated by means of a harpsichord that was clinking its worn tune inside the walls of the establishment. There were definitely evidence of lively activity emanating from within it and it Inez saw just how interested Sekhmet was in the place. It was interest enough to mean trouble in no uncertain terms.
"Don't even think about it." Inez declared firmly.
"To what are you referring?" Sekhmet turned her attention to the best friend of the host.
"Your idea of going into that place to stir things up." The Mexican replied automatically. She had been around enough men in the Standish Tavern to know which one was trouble and almost all of them had the same glimmer in their eye that Sekhmet was presently sporting. "Saloons are off limits to women. You go in there and I can guarantee you, you will be stirring up a hornet's nest."
"I am quite capable of taking care of myself Inez Wilmington." Sekhmet answered quite coolly and the confidence in her voice gave Inez no doubt of that reassurance. However, taking care of herself was not the point, calling attention to herself was.
"She is right Sekhmet." Isis lent support to Inez's argument. "We do not let the enemy know of our existence."
"I go there for the hunt." She responded, not to be deterred in any shape or form. "We have only what I heard to be certain that our destination is a correct one. At the time of hearing those men, I was in the thralled of the substance the enemy had infused in the host body. I would like to clarify what we believe to be true in that saloon. The enemy could not have absconded with an infant and a child without stopping here, if Forbes was indeed their destination. I will find out if they have been here."
"As much as I wary her decision," Isis turned to Inez. "She does have a point. It would be good to have confirmation that our course is a true one."
"It's a bad idea." Inez retaliated. "Men don't like women in their saloons."
"I notice you seem to manage." Sekhmet quipped and drew a sharp look from the Goddess of All for her impertinence at speaking out of town when Isis was clearly in conversation with Inez. Although much of them both had changed considerably, Sekhmet was still conditioned to obey the Goa'uld hierarchy and could not ignore that Isis was still her queen.
"That's different." Inez returned hotly. "I am the bartender and manager. On that level they can accept my presence. If you say you have Mary inside you then you should know that Mary only came into the saloon when she had to and certainly never at night. It is not proper."
"It is a stupid rule applied to stupid men of this culture." Sekhmet grumbled, openly disgusted by the attitude. "Women are the child bearers, the giver of life. We nurture them as children, we wed them as men and we immortalise them in death by the children we produce for them, why can we not walk the same path as they do? Have we not earned the right?" She challenged Inez.
"I did not say that I liked it." Inez answered, finding a great deal of truth in what Sekhmet was saying and why she was so outraged. "It is the way things are."
"Things do not change unless you make them so. A tribe of humans, barely capable of understanding their world let alone a god, challenged Ra and defeated him. They sent a Goa'uld System Lord, one held in reverence even by other Goa'uld, scurrying off this world like a terrified child by one act of rebellion. If you do not chose to perform all those things for men that they consider their right, how long do you think it will take before the reed bends to the will of the wind?"
"An argument for another time," Isis interjected although she was in complete agreement with Sekhmet.
Both women settled down and noted that Casey was smiling.
"What do you stare at me with such amusement, child?" Sekhmet asked.
"I'm sorry," Casey apologised and shook the expression off her face. However, she glanced briefly at Julia and noticed that the Emporium owner was wearing the same smirk. "It's just that when you were saying all those things, you sounded a lot like Mary. I guess, maybe you and she aren't that different after all."
The observation broke the tension running through the group and both Casey and Julia started to chuckle with Inez, seeing the humour in her remark joining in after a moment. Finally all five women, human and Goa'uld were giggling softly, sharing the same joke.
"Inez Wilmington," Isis responded after they had all settled down. "I understand your concerns as I understand Sekhmet's need to have corroborating information. Would it suffice if I accompany her into the establishment? We will remain long enough for Sekhmet to have her answers and then we shall leave."
Isis seemed the more sensible of the two, as sensible as a Goa'uld could be of course, but there was sincerity in her voice when she made her overture at a peaceful settlement that Inez could not ignore. "Alright," Inez conceded defeat. "As long as you get in and out of there fast." She glanced at the saloon that was drifting out of their sights now that they neared the livery stables where they would house their horses for the evening.
"You will never know we were there." Sekhmet grinned, pleased that she had gotten her way even though she suspected that Isis would not be allowing her to indulge herself. Still, her success in this much was only the first hurdle, she would deal with the rest much later on.
"In the meantime," Inez sighed, realizing in the last few seconds that Sekhmet's notion of ensuring that they were on the right track, was a good one. "We will check into that hotel over there and see if two men had entered town recently with a baby and a young boy."
"You think they would come to town?" Julia asked, skepticism oozing from her voice in her inquiry.
"They have an infant," Isis responded. "I do not believe they are completely up to the task of caring for the host's children, especially one as young as Michael. I believe the journey this far would have caused them considerable difficulty as it is. I am certain they would be grateful to relinquish the duty even for a night."
"They did not plan on taking my children," Sekhmet answered with something akin to cold hatred in her eyes as she spoke. The part of her that was Mary Larabee, was outraged by her children's captivity and the part of that was Sekhmet was ready to kill those responsible for that insult. "Just as they had not planned to harm me. What transpired was an accident and I believe they were motivated out of fear to return to their master with my children as an offering of appeasement."
"I wonder what they wanted with Mary." Casey mused, unable to wrap her mind around the callous intellect or the devious machinations of someone like Laurel Chase.
"If they captured my mate then I would assume that my presence would have allowed the enemy to manipulate him as she pleased." Sekhmet's gaze softened then and she found herself admitting with something that sounded very much like envy as she spoke. "He loves his Mary dearly. I do not doubt that there is anything he would not to in order to protect her. Men like him find it difficult to give their heart as completely as he has given his to my host. It is a precious and rare thing to have someone love so much as they are willing to sacrifice even their soul for the one who has captured their heart. It is unfortunate because for a man who does not have a weakness for most of the time, Mary is Chris Larabee's Achilles Heel."
As the sun descended completely on the town of Avon, the atmosphere at night became somewhat livelier than the lethargic crawl that had occupied the town when they had first entered the place. No one paid much attention to them after the novelty of their arrival had worn off, even if the manner of dressing for three of the five appeared somewhat unusual. Inez decided that a lodging house would serve them better for the night and would not call as much attention as booking themselves into the local hotel. While Inez assumed that not even Laurel Chase could have foreseen the possibility of them attempting to attempting to save the men known as the Magnificent Seven, the element of surprise was something that was too valuable to give up by prematurely giving themselves away.
Inez who knew better than all the others, even Julia, how to immerse herself in anonymity, found a rather decent lodging house on the edge of the small town and advised that they remain there for most of the evening. Excepting that course only when they needed to scour about for information regarding the presence of Laurel's men having passed through recently. The lodging house mostly catered to women and was presided over by a charming old lady called Mrs Collins. Mrs Collins seemed to have the ear of the town but then Inez supposed, what matron who lived in one place for all their lives did not, and was more than happy to inform them that no men of that description had passed through. However, hers was hardly the place where that distinction could be made with accuracy since it was most likely that should they chose to stop the night, the enemy would have probably stayed at the hotel or the lodgings above the saloon.
Once they were settled in, the group went their separate ways in order to make discreet inquiries elsewhere. It was really not necessary that they go to all this trouble but Inez supposed that it was better to be safe than sorry. Besides, it would be more tolerable to be doing something instead of remaining inside their rooms, allowing their imagination to run rife as to what could be happening to their men. Each time Inez thought about Buck, she was filled with a sense of relief that he was not fixated upon by Laurel Chase although in thinking that, she felt terribly guilty when she thought what awful fears Alex and Mary must be having about Vin and Chris. Even if those fears were presently encased inside the personalities of Isis and Sekhmet.
Inez was not lost to the insanity of their situation, that it was necessary to rely upon such dangerous allies to capture an equally dangerous enemy. Although she did not say it to Julia because the Emporium owner was too filled with anger at Isis over Ezra and rightly so, Inez knew that they were outmatched. Even with the sophisticated weaponry that had been provided by Isis, Inez was not entirely sure that what they had embarked was not a fool's errand. If Laurel Chase had overcome Chris Larabee, how could she and her band hoped to pit themselves against such a formidable intellect with any success?
These were questions that Inez tried not to focus too much upon as she, Casey and Julia began frequenting the hotel and lodging houses. Under the guise that an estranged husband may have absconded with Julia's two children, Inez was soon able to learn that two men had come through town the night before. They had stayed in the hotel and were remembered mostly because neither looked at all equipped to handle the care of the infant and relied upon the hotel house keeper for its upkeep until they rode out again a few hours later. They kept the young boy in close reach at all times and thought the child did not speak, the housekeeper had confessed to thinking that something was wrong by the apprehension in his eyes.
Upon having this confirmation, Inez left Julia and Casey as they retired to the local restaurant for a meal and went to seek out Sekhmet and Isis at the saloon. She was more comfortable in such establishments than the other two and knew that she could enter the saloon without causing undue fanfare. Inez was quite certain that Isis and Sekhmet would create enough of a distraction for anyone to notice the slight ripple she would create when she walked through the doors.
However, Inez realised that her arrival would cause barely that because when she reached the saloon, all hell was breaking loose.
It had started the way most things do inside a saloon.
With the swinging motion of worn bat wing doors, following the footsteps against creaky floorboards outside the place, announcing the coming of a new arrival, or in this case, two new arrivals. The minute the women entered the saloon, the harpsichord playing its lively tune immediately ceased as did the rumbling of patrons with their clinking glasses, their raucous conversation and the gentle titter of saloon girls entertaining the paying customers. All eyes shifted to the two women walking into the room, distinguished from the variety inside the saloon because they were extraordinarily beautiful, without requiring the cosmetic accentuation required by the other ladies present. Aside from that, both were well armed and dressed in men's clothing as they strode in, good as you please, oblivious to the fact that they were so different.
The entrance though dramatic was not unusual. In a world where notorious outlaws, infamous gunslingers, notable lawmen and other such legends could drift in with the next breeze, their presence garnered interest for as long as it took for the novelty to pass before the music resumed and people returned to what they were doing. As Isis and Sekhmet moved slowly through the smoke filled establishment, their eyes took note of everything, including who was armed and who was not. Cat calls and wolf whistles followed them to the bar, courtesy of a group of men that appeared to be the main body of a trail herd.
"These people are beyond primitive." Sekhmet remarked with distaste as they reached the bar counter. An old prospector type with rotten teeth and frizzy white heard toasted them with a smile and a shot glass of whisky upon approach. He had one bad eye and used the good one to throw a wink in their direction. Not wishing to be rude, Isis returned the smile, choosing the less provocative action for the moment.
The saloon master, a rather fat greasy looking man who had nothing to redeem himself except perhaps the proprietorship of this establishment, came to them. He was wiping a glass with a rag so dirty that it made the point of the exercise rather meaningless as he approached them and spoke in a grizzled voice. "We don't allow women in here."
Sekhmet was about to respond caustically when Isis put a warning hand on the warrior goddess' shoulder as an indication to let Isis do the talking. "We will not remain long." She said smoothly. "We only require information."
"We don't allow women information either." The man sneered in derision.
"We will pay for it." Isis chose to take a tactful approach for the moment even though she could see the hostility building in Sekhmet's eyes. In the past, had they wished for information, this would not be the path they took to acquire it. Had they still been Goa'uld, this offensive creature would have been flayed alive for the insult he was delivering to them with his impudence.
"Not with money." He leaned forward, eyes gleaming over her form with suggestion.
It was about as much as Sekhmet's patience could take. Almost graceful like, her hand snapped forward, grabbed a handful of hair and brought down the man's face hard against the counter top. With her other hand, she reached just as smoothly for the gun hanging at her hip and unsheathed it from its holster, holding it up for anyone who might think to intervene to see it and consider their actions. The man's face had made a terrible squelch at it impacted against the hard surface, the sound of a bone snapping in concert with the cry of pain.
"Now you have upset my friend." Isis sighed. "That is most unwise."
A few men rose to their feet and the quiet descended the room once again as all eyes were turned on them. Isis saw the faces contemplating whether or not they wished to become embroiled in this affair, while the trail drivers congregated around their table, stared at the women in watchful silence, waiting to see how things would unfold before they opted to commit themselves.
"You bitch!" The man groaned in pain, his voice a muffled cry of outrage against the wood that was quickly being soaked in a widening pool of blood. "You broke my nose!"
"You have two hundred more bones in your body," Sekhmet hissed. "If you do not tell us what we wish to know, I will start on them as well." Turning to Isis, she said with just as much intensity. "Goddess of All, ask your question."
Isis kept the little smile off her face because she knew it would not be at all received well by the men in the room and for the moment, the directive was to avoid trouble as much as they could possibly do in light of what Sekhmet had just done. She leaned closer and asked her question of the groaning man, still racked in pain over a shattered nose, not to mention that he was having some difficulty breathing through the blood that was pulling under his face. It was odd how such a minor injury could create such profuse bleeding but she supposed the organ in question contained numerous capillaries that had a tendency to burst when subject to that much concussion.
"We seek two men," Isis asked calmly, seemingly unconcerned at the man's plight and in truth she was. "They would have passed this way last night or earlier this day. They would have had a young boy with them." Isis did not believe they would have brought the infant into this place.
"Ain't seen no one around here looking like that!" He grunted in pain.
"Think carefully," Sekhmet responded. "I do not wish to begin on your fingers. It would be most inconvenient in your present vocation for you to be without the use of your hands for a time."
He managed to meet her gaze despite the fact that his face was held firm against the counter and realised that she was not joking. Gulping visibly, he began to understand his predicament with surprising speed and stammered an answer.
"They were here this morning. Stopped by to get a drink." The man began to speak faster. Once his initial hesitation had been breached, he was a veritable fountain of information. "Ain't never seen them before and didn't look like they were too happy neither. The boy didn't say much but he looked a little scared. I thought one of them might be his pa or something but he didn't look either of them. They didn't stay long and didn't like socialising. I figured they were anxious to get on their way."
"Do you know which way they might have gone?" Isis inquired once more, not really expecting an answer of any value. As far as she was concerned, knowing that the two men had come through this way was evidence enough that they were on the right track; anything else was an added boon, nothing more.
"No," the man answered truthfully. He was in pain and he wanted these women gone. If cooperating was going to accomplish that, as humiliating as it was for him to be set upon two women, he would do so. "I didn't see nothing else."
"The child." Sekhmet demanded. "Was he harmed?"
"I don't know!" The man snapped. "They had him in a corner, he didn't move and he didn't say nothing without them giving him leave to!"
"Those animals!" She glared at Isis in unmasked anger.
"Alright I reckon that's enough." The voice a man suddenly entered the mix and Isis turned around to note that the group of trail drivers had finally come to a decision on whether or not they would interfere in the situation before them. "You let the man go."
"Sekhmet," Isis looked at her and nodded the warrior goddess to obey. They had what they needed; there was no reason to prolong this interview any more than necessary. Besides, she sensed they were nearing the edge of tolerance in this establishment. The men who were making the demands seemed peaceful enough but that could change at any moment. They did not appreciate that two women were making one of their kind cower like the weakling he was and it would only take a nudge for the situation to escalate.
Sekhmet let go of him without question and the bartender immediately uprighted himself, clutching his bleeding nose in his hands. The pool of blood where his face had been showed how severe a break it had been and he stood back, lips covered in red and rage quickly entering his eyes. Staggering backwards, he pressed himself against the wall, rivulets of red running down his forearms. His eyes took on some measure of calculation and Sekhmet immediately detected the stink of an animal about to strike in defence. Isis' attention was on those who had intervened on his behalf so the Goddess of All did not see.
For someone Sekhmet had considered to be no more than a snivelling piece of meat, he moved with remarkable speed, his hands shuffling behind him to slip forward the long barrelled weapon that he was soon swinging forward to take aim.
"Watch out!" She shouted as he swung the barrel to fire. His first victim would have been Isis since she was in his direct line of sight.
Isis ducked just as the gun went off. The bullet whizzed past her and struck the shoulder of one of them men who had interceded. He went flying back into a table. His companions, believing one of them had fired, immediately lunged towards Isis. Sekhmet in the meantime had leapt over the counter and set upon the shooter. He took aim to fire and pulled the trigger just as Sekhmet reached him. She narrowly avoided a face full of lead by shoving the barrel of the rifle towards the ceiling where it deposited its deadly payload into the wood and plaster. The impact caused fragments of each to drift towards the floor.
"Bitch!" He growled as she snatched the weapon at him and forced her palm into his face once again, this time connecting with his chin. Though it did not break bones, there was enough force behind the strike to send him reeling into the bottles of liquor perched on top of the shelves against the wall. His collision caused the shelf to slip off its ledge and its detachment brought the full weight of its contents down on the others below it. The entire construct collapsed spectacularly, sending bottles and glasses raining over his head. Sekhmet did not need to advance her attack as she saw him letting out a frightened cry as glass and wood fell on top of him.
Instead, she turned her attention to Isis who was fighting off four men on her own. Leaping across the counter once again, she landed just in time to see one of them turning their attention to her. He was a towering hulk who intended to rush her and someone who had spent her life overcoming the limitations of being feminine was capable of sidestepping him easily. As he staggered out of control past her, Sekhmet grabbed his arm and used his own momentum to flip him onto the bench. He landed on top of several shot glasses, his bulk crushing them as he landed and cursed with pain. As he tried to get up, Sekhmet threw a succession of punches against that formidable jaw and left him almost as incapacitated as the bar tender who was struggling to surface from under the mountain of glass and collapsed shelving.
Isis felt arms around her.
Someone's thick arms were keeping her own pinned to her sides. Her assailant was behind her and she saw one of his companions approaching her with a sneer on his face. While the onlookers watched this curious brawl between two women and a bunch of men, there seemed to be a feeling of unreality about it even though the punches being traded were by no means imaginary. Isis did not worry. These men fought like bears, all brawn with nary the brain to match. There was not one among their number that could really be considered skillful and it was almost amusing if not for the fact that they were going to be terribly hurt for their ignorance.
Isis waited until the man approaching her was near enough and then she kicked out her foot, using the centre of his chest to propel herself backwards, causing both she and her captor to stumble uncontrollably. He was less coordinated with his steps than she who was prepared for the fall when they finally toppled over and Isis made certain that the brunt of her weight landed hard against his sternum. She felt ribs buckled beneath her as they met the obstruction of floor beneath them. He let out a bellow of pain and immediately released her. Isis scrambled to her knees just in time to see him attempt to sit up and lashed out with her fist. The first punch connected with the side of his head and he reeled with further injury.
"I'll kill you!" He swore as his head whacked the hard floor once more and Isis progressed her journey upright as far as her haunches. As he tried once more to sit up from her strikes, Isis decided it was time to put him down for good. Giving him barely enough time to recover, this time the ball of her palm landed hard against his throat. Isis chose not to deliver a crushing blow, for a hit in that part of his anatomy could very well kill him, it had more than the ample effect she required to finish their battle.
"Horace!" His friend cried out, having sufficiently recovered from the kick she had delivered to his chest enough to advance upon her. He took no more than two steps when suddenly, a powerful kick slammed across his body in mid thorax. It moved with such swiftness that for a moment it seemed completely unnatural. The power behind that kicked nearly lifted him off the dirt-covered floor and he landed hard into the table behind him. His weight buckled the legs beneath it until the whole thing simply crumbled to the floor in a resounding crash. Sekhmet's movements were almost panther like as more of his comrades came to aid him and once again those formidable legs spun into action.
A carefully placed back kick sent one man flying through the window, trailing glass and fragments of the wooden frame around it with him as he was ejected outside the establishments with bystanders trying to get clear of the carnage. Once he was dispatched, she saw a flurry of movement that might have been someone attempting to unholster their gun. She was on them in seconds, grabbing the hand that attempted to raise the weapon to fire. They pulled the trigger as she shoved the extended hand towards the wall. The shootist kept firing, sending six projectiles into the wall, causing customers and saloon girls a like scurrying in fear over the sound of gunshots. Once his ammunition was exhausted, Sekhmet wasted no time in snapping the wrist so far out its usual position that bones gave way immediately and the gun clattered to the floor, the sound muffled by the commotion of running feet and cries of those attempting to escape.
Someone approached her from behind, she jumped into the air and spun around like a marionette being twirled in the graceful hands of the puppeteer, delivering a powerful kick that shattered bones, sending jagged fragments slicing through organs. She fought well and for the first time in too long; she was able to focus. The memory of the hunt and the scent of the fight were alive and running in her veins. It was to Sekhmet's surprise to realise that even when she was still the Goa'uld symbiote occupying the host body, she had not felt this thrill. Death and torture had given her pleasure then which was rather peculiar because she recalled a time when these things did not interest her as it did other Goa'ulds. Sekhmet was always a warrior goddess and on the battlefield, warriors had a code of honor. She had a code once but during the thousand years of imprisonment by the Nerfertum, which seemed fleeting now, it had been lost. Resurrection had not only seen herself restored but also that
honour and warring spirit.
Those who watched her fight did not know if she were a creature of combat, for her movements was smooth and agile like a dancer not someone who was teaching a bunch of men what a folly it was to underestimate a beautiful woman. Gold hair flying, blue grey eyes aflame with cold fire, she was a sight they would remember for the rest of their lives, even when she was gone from this place. They would never know her name and perhaps legends live best when they are anonymous. When she was done, she and her exotic companion were the only participants of the brawl still left standing. The fallout saw groans of pain and disbelief rippling through the debris of the battle.
"What in the hell have you done?" Inez gasped as she fought her way through the vacating crowd to see the destruction that had been caused by her two comrades.
Sekhmet let out a deep breath, unable to deny that she repented nothing as she saw broken bodies crawling away in an effort to escape. She had killed no one and that pleased her for she did not wish to take the lives of opponents who were so unskilled. It was not at all sporting.
"The situation escalated beyond our control." Isis explained dusting herself off as she surveyed the destruction around them and could not deny that they had created something of a mess although it was never their intention to begin with. At least it was never her intention, she thought to herself. One could not say for certain when it came to Sekhmet.
"Escalated?" Inez allowed her horrified gaze to sweep across the room.
The immediate area surrounding Sekhmet and Isis was something out of war zone. Tables and chairs were broken; glass covered the floor in sparkling fragments beneath the illumination of the lamps inside the room. Plaster and paint was still drifting to the wooden floor from where a rifle and several gunshots had torn through it during the stray fire. Bullet ridden walls and broken windows capped off the list of damage. She did not even want to mention the men who were pulling themselves away from the two women, choosing to leave while they still could. Despite herself, Inez could not deny that Isis and Sekhmet had proved quite irrevocably that they were more than capable of protecting themselves.
"We did learn what we wished to know," Sekhmet replied innocently, not at all sorry for what she had done. After what she had learnt about how her son was being treated by his captors, she was rather surprised that she had left anyone alive instead of merely incapacitating them. Sekhmet knew that she was capable of far worse if her ire was properly inspired.
"So did I," Inez exclaimed with exasperation. "Only I did it without turning the place upside down!" A part of her was still unable to come to grips with the destruction before her or the fact that it had been caused by two women. Perhaps she was too much a product of her times to be able to accept their capabilities so easily.
"It is unfortunate," Isis had to agree with Inez's annoyance as she took stock of the damage they had caused. Inwardly, she knew it was time to get out of sight. While she did not believe they were in any immediate danger since the men who might have posed it would be requiring medical attention for the next few hours anyway, it was wise to vacate the area for the time. "However it is a deed done Inez Wilmington."
"You're not kidding," she said as the trio of women started towards the door. "We better get you indoors." She looked around apprehensively and knew that sooner or later, retaliation for this would come. "We don't want any of their friends coming after us."
"The only enemy that I am concerned with," Sekhmet sighed in resignation as if she was dealing with a duo of alarmists, "are the ones who have imprisoned our mates. The rest is merely distraction."
Inez stiffened, wondering what it was about being Goa'uld that gave one such supreme arrogance. While Sekhmet was very capable, this was still the Territory and Inez wanted nothing to hamper their progress in reaching Buck and the others. It was too important for them to get where they were going for Sekhmet to be indulging her violent tendencies in this manner. "Distraction maybe," she stared at Sekhmet with justifiable harshness. "However, we're no good to them if we get killed before we are in position to help them in any way."
Isis listened to the back and forth between Sekhmet and Inez, unable to deny that Inez had a point. Isis found the Mexican very practical and capable of surprising logic for a woman with little education and born in these times. "You are correct of course Inez Wilmington," Isis broke into their conversation, intending to keep the debate from escalating into a shouting match. Sekhmet's display, she was certain, was more than likely Mary Larabee's own voice communicating its sense of outrage regarding the treatment of her child by the enemy. "This was foolishness and we will ensure that there is no repeat of this situation. However, for the moment I think you are correct in your desire to leave this place."
Temporarily disarmed, Inez paused and the bickering between herself and Sekhmet died down a little. As the three women left the saloon, she noticed that everyone gave them a wide berth and under the circumstances, she could not blame them for their caution. No doubt, no one would be giving them much trouble during their stay in Avon. Still, she decided that they ought to leave as soon as they could once they had taken a few hours of rest.
Glancing over her shoulder, she caught a glimpse of the wreckage inside the saloon once again and shuddered inwardly at the thought of what Sekhmet's reaction would be when they finally found Laurel Chase.
Vin Tanner was becoming irritable.
He sat inside his cage and felt his skin starting to crawl. He did not like the bars. He did not like the walls. The inability to the see outside in this sunless prison was robbing him of any sense of time. He needed something to do and began pacing the floor of the cell, back and forth. He kept thinking of escape. He kept thinking of how he would like to try and see if he could pry the bars from their housings in the metal and hopefully force his way through. He did not like being caged. Cages were for animals. He was not an animal. He was a man. He was a thirsty man.
He would not drink anything that Laurel Chase provided. Vin was not that stupid. Instead, he kept a small canteen of water inside the folds of his buckskin coat. A good tracker did not leave his home for the open plains without provisions and while the main bulk of his stores were still in his saddle, he still had sense enough to keep some caches of it on his person. A horse with a mind of its own could bolt and heaven help you if you were stranded out in the middle of nowhere. This was the Territory and she was a place so harsh that she would find a dozen ways to kill you before the sun went down.
The cool water doused the fire that was emanating from the rest of him. The throat that was parched was immediately given relief and he savoured the journey down his gullet to his stomach. Although Laurel had proven that their food and water were not tainted by forcing Mr Zhang to act as food taster, Vin was still suspicious of a woman that devious. Mr Zhang seemed sincere in his claim that his Mistress had plans for them that were too important to waste on a simple poisoning. Vin succumbed enough to try a few morsels of bread but nothing more. He was determined to resist as long as he could even though the water in his canteen was dwindling into nothingness and would be gone the next day at the rate he was going.
Josiah Sanchez watched the young man whose cell was next to his with growing alarm. He knew that Vin found imprisonment very hard to take. After all, Vin was a tracker, a man used to having the open plains as his playground. Vin did not even like sleeping indoors and felt the need to take off for a day or two just to experience the sky overhead despite the fact that he was now married. He was at the nature of things, a free spirit, one who needed space to roam, to feel fresh air in his lungs and the cool breeze against his face. To cage him was to cage a bird from the sky.
"Nate," Josiah went to the bars that separate his cell from Nathan's and motioned the healer over to him. His manner indicated to Nathan that Josiah wanted their discussion to be as discreet as possible for the moment. Besides, if what he suspected was right then the secrecy would not last for long because Vin's manner would allow them all to guess the truth soon enough.
"What is it?" Nathan asked. He was just as weary of this confinement as the rest of the seven but unlike the others, he had a great deal of experience in being trapped with no way to escape. For the first seventeen years of his life, that was the one thing he had learnt to tolerate with ease.
"Look at Vin." Josiah said softly.
Nathan knew that Vin was jumpy. He had attributed it to the fact that the tracker was not used to being jailed like this. When he had turned himself in to the authorities at Tascosa, Vin had sat in jail for days and his manner had been abrasive although, Nathan had to confess that he was nowhere as on edge as he was now. With the preacher's suggestion, Nathan allowed himself to take a good look at Vin Tanner. Even now, Vin was still pacing the floor of the cell, back and forth. His face glistened in sweat and his eyes darted about, being conscious of every sound. He looked like a man with all too much energy inside his body and was aching to expend it in some way. The inability to do so was driving him to distraction. Now that Nathan was observing him closely, the healer started to feel a constriction in his chest.
"Oh shit." He whispered softly.
"That's what I thought." Josiah nodded sombrely. "I thought I was imagining things. You know how he can be."
"Yeah," Nathan nodded in complete understanding because he had believed the same thing. "I don't understand." The healer tried to reason this out in his head. "His reaction looks pretty extreme but he ain't eaten enough to get this way for no reason."
"I don't know," Josiah shook his head, unable to answer that question himself because he had been aware of Vin's adamant desire to ignore the food and water that Laurel had fed her prisoners.
Nathan rose to his feet so that he was standing up and facing Vin Tanner at eye level when the healer called out to him. "Vin, how you feeling?" He called out across the cells.
His question captured the attention of everyone in their enclosures, even Chris Larabee who had been silent for much of the day following the devastating news about Mary and the intolerable situation of his children being in Laurel's hand. Vin paused in his pacing and regarded the healer's question. "I'm fine. Why?" His voice oozed with suspicion.
"You seem kind of twitchy that's all." Nathan said smoothly.
"What the fuck am I supposed to be?" Vin barked at him. "I'm trapped like a fucking animal inside this fucking cage. Let me out here you psychotic bitch!" He slammed his fist against the bars, screaming.
"Vin, calm down." Nathan spoke quickly. The others had risen to their feet, understanding now with growing horror what Nathan and Josiah had guessed.
"Don't tell me to calm down!" Vin fairly roared, his voice bouncing off the walls and causing everyone to jump a little from the sharpness of the sound.
"Oh Jesus." Buck Wilmington gasped as the ripple of realisation moved through them.
"What?" Vin glared at the big man.
Buck did not know what to say and looked about helplessly for someone to step in, to tell Vin what it was that has happened to him. As it was, Buck was at a loss to understand how Vin could have been reduced to this. They had all been mindful of what they had been consuming while they were prisoners, especially after what Chris had been through and how he had been affected when Laurel had tainted his food.
"Vin," Chris Larabee's voice spoke for the first time in a day. His voice was hollow and sounded like grated glass but it was nonetheless the voice in which no one could disobey. "Try not to be angry. Think about Alex. Keep her in your head."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Vin growled, wondering why he was suddenly the focus of everyone's attention. Whatever the reason, he did not like it. He was a grown man, capable of taking care of himself and them too, whenever the situation warranted it.
"You've been dosed with Venom." Chris replied, padding nothing. Vin was edging farther and farther away from himself and unless, he received an abrupt reality check by his friends, there would be nothing to keep him from tumbling into the abyss that had almost destroyed Chris Larabee.
If nothing else had penetrated inside Vin Tanner that did.
The tracker froze and stared at his best friend, still feeling the churning inside his mind but the quagmire of turbulence had been stilled for a moment with that astonishing revelation. "That's impossible." He stammered.
"You got the signs, Vin." Chris said simply. "You want to get out don't you?" Chris continued. "I can see it in your eyes pard. You want to get out of this cage so bad you can taste it. You feel it rolling around your head something fierce. Its in there taking root and suddenly, you're thinking that you don't mind going through all of us to get past those bars."
"No." Vin shook his head with a strangled whisper. "That ain't true. She didn't get me." He insisted. "I'm starving Chris! I ain't eaten nothing but crumbs of what she's been feeding us!" He screamed desperately, "I know it!"
"Its not in your food Vin," Chris looked at him and realised it when Nathan had brought Vin's condition to light. "It's in the water in your canteen."
"You're wrong!" Vin just about screamed. "I'm fine!" He declared. "You're the one who's acting crazy. Its because of Mary and the boys that you're thinking this way!"
And if there was any confirmation in his mind that Vin was under the influence of Venom, it was that statement from the tracker. Vin would never say that to him and although Chris was racked with grief for his wife and fear for his children, not to mention being left in the stasis of vengeance towards Laurel, Vin's plight had made him brush aside those agonies. This man had proved more than enough times that he would ride through hell for Chris Larabee. When Vin needed it most, Chris was not about to abandon him.
"Maybe it is." Chris said coolly. "But maybe I'm right."
"My canteen hasn't left my side!" Vin insisted.
"Mr Tanner," Ezra spoke for the first time. "We were unconscious for a long time before we awoke to find ourselves here. The lady would have had plenty of opportunity to fill your canteen with that odious substance."
"I don't believe you!" Vin growled in answer, refusing to believe it and in part, unable to believe it because the Venom had seeped into his mind and effected him with its sickness. He could not be certain of what was truth and what was lie. Inwardly, he knew he had to trust in his friends but they could be wrong!
They had to be.
As if she knew what was transpiring, the door leading to the corridor that ran between their cells swung open and Laurel Chase made her entry. No doubt the guards she had stationed beyond that door had alerted her of the commotion was taking place and Chris knew the woman well enough to know that she enjoyed her opportunities to gloat. It was quite sobering to be reminded so starkly that not everything in his life had been ripped away from him with Mary's death and the kidnapping of Billy and Michael. Chris had thought things could not get any worse. Yet as he watched Vin starting to succumb to the same ravages he had when he had been addicted to Venom, Chris was suddenly aware that there were still some things he had left to lose.
His friends.
The seven had proceeded Billy and Michael; they had come even before Mary. His friendship with these men had allowed him to begin the painful road to recovery and to starting his new life in Four Corners. He felt intensely ashamed that in his grief he had more or less disregarded the fact that he had a responsibility to these men who had ridden at his side and done everything he had asked of them, without complaint. As he saw Laurel entering the room, almost swaggering with triumph, Mr Zhang following her closely behind as always, Chris made up his mind there and then. His grief and his vengeance could wait. When there was time, he would indulge them but for right now, he had to be strong not only for his children but for his friends because he was not losing them too.
"How are you feeling Mr Tanner?" Laurel asked with a smile as she regarded Vin inside his cell with a little bit of a smile.
"What have you done to me you bitch!" Vin threw himself against the bars, his hands clawing into air as he tried desperately to reach her. However, Laurel was not foolish to be anywhere within reach for him to be a threat to her and she found his reaction amusing more than anything else.
"In excellent health I see." She replied with complete innocence.
"I underestimated you Laurel," Chris glared at her with clear hatred. "I keep underestimating you and that's a mistake. I gotta admit, I wouldn't have guessed you'd put that poison of yours in Vin's canteen."
"Well Mr Tanner is a suspicious sort," she looked at Vin. "I guessed he might avoid any sustenance that I may provide so I had to make alternate arrangements."
"Why?" Buck Wilmington asked. "You don't want him like you want Chris. Why did you want him like this?"
Laurel cast her gaze on Buck Wilmington. She had observed him earlier but this was the first time she had a real opportunity to look. "So you are Mr Wilmington," she took a step towards him as if examining a particularly interesting specimen.
Chris did not like the interest she was showing Buck and wondered what game she was playing at this time. She had mentioned Buck once before and his skin started to crawl thinking she may have some darker purpose in mind for his oldest friend, just as she had planned to avenge herself on Vin Tanner twice before. "Don't say a word Buck." Chris ordered.
"Now Chris," Laurel glimpsed briefly at him over her shoulder. " You should not be so inhospitable. I may take it out on Mr Tanner."
"You'll never get near enough to touch me!" Vin hissed. "Anyone who comes in here is gonna die!"
Laurel did not answer but instead continued her advance to Buck Wilmington. She could tell that he was affected by her femininity. As much as he feared what she was, Laurel was rather surprised to see something in his eyes that wanted to understand her. She had no doubt that as men went he was cut from a different cloth. When she had made her study of Chris and his friends, she had been amused to know that for a womaniser, the ladies he left in the wake of his conquest were not entirely hostile as some tended to be after being discarded. All who had been interviewed spoke of him with affection and that sparked Laurel's curiosity somewhat.
"I think you and I require a private audience Mr Wilmington." Laurel said as she paused at the bars of his cell.
Buck was confused. He did not know what she wanted of him but his gut feeling told him he was in no immediate danger. Although Buck had met many women in his time and anyone who knew him with any depth could attest to just how numerous was meant by the word 'many', he had to confess that Laurel Chase was the most beautiful woman he had ever cast his gaze upon. However her kind of beauty was frightening. She had the kind of woman that drove men mad in their efforts to possess her. Like Romeo preparing to die for his Juliet, like Paris ready to bring down the walls of Troy for his Helen and Caesar inspiring the wrath of the Roman Republic for Cleopatra, loving Laurel was courting disaster.
"I think I rather stay with my friends." Buck answered cautiously, aware of the fear he saw in Chris' eyes. If there was one thing they had all learnt about Laurel Chase by now, her gender did not make her any less dangerous than any enemy they had faced in the past with a gun.
"Oh you'll join them soon enough," Laurel returned immediately, her eyes moving up and down his form, still examining him with deep scrutiny. He was very handsome and to her astonishment, the charm and the look of him, which so often captivated so many other women, was also working its magic on her. "However, for the moment I require you in private. This was not an invitation and you do not have a choice in the matter."
"Deal with me!" Chris shouted from behind her. "Or is being a coward the only way you know how to get at me?"
Laurel spun around and faced him, eyes blazing for an instant before the anger died down and that look of cold calculation seeped back into her eyes. "Be warned, I still have your children."
Chris kept the tough mask over his true emotions in place, not about to let her see the fear in his eyes for his children. However, when Laurel had claimed earlier that she would not hurt either Billy or Michael, Chris had believed her. She would not hurt them, not unless he gave her reason to and at this moment, an insult did not seem reason enough for a woman like Laurel Chase who seldom acted on impulse or squandered her advantage.
"And you're still a coward." He retorted.
Laurel broke into a smile. "Sticks and stones Chris," she shook her head in reproach. "I thought you better than that."
"You bring out the best in me." He said sarcastically.
She ignored that statement and started to walk out of the room. "Zhang, bring Mr Wilmington along."
"Laurel!" Chris shouted. "Take me instead."
"Take you?" She whirled around and faced him with almost a playful expression on her face. "I can't do that. However, I will promise you that I won't give Mr Tanner any more Venom. Not until he asks for it."
"You can go to hell with that bitch!" Vin barked venomously before Chris could respond.
"Oh Mr Tanner," Laurel laughed as she pulled open the door. "In a shorter time than you think, you'll be begging me for it."