DISCLAIMER: The characters of the MAGNIFICENT SEVEN belong to MGM, Trilogy, CBS, and TNN. No profit is made from this fan fic in any way, shape, or form except fun. However, I do not want my original characters borrowed or used without my knowledge or consent. If you are unsure if a character is canon or an original, please click here on original characters for an extensive list of my characters and when they were first introduced in my fan fiction.
"Will ya watch yer feet? Damn, they're bigger than a buffalo's butt."
"Hey, you were the one s'posed ta crawl in here. You're the smallest outa the two of us. Quit bitchin' like an old lady." Buck's booted feet were waving wildly around as he tried to convince himself that he was not stuck in the small tunnel in which he was placing the dynamite right above the old decrepit sign proclaiming Sanderson Mining Corporation to one and all.
The old mine had never yielded much in the way of ore, but the old man who had signed it over to Ezra for a stake in a big poker game swore there was still gold deep within if only he had the men and money to reach it. Standish, feeling sorry for the old codger, and encouraged by Wilmington, Dunne, and Tanner, had bought the old mine from Will Sanderson as a favor to Big Foot. In fact Vin's old mentor had given Ezra a tidy sum with which to purchase the property from his old friend. It was enough in fact to let the old man buy a stake in a no holds bar poker game that left him enough money to retire quite comfortably in a little town north of San Francisco.
Ezra and Big Foot had come away big winners from that stellar poker game in Denver. Seeing that Standish had to divide his winnings amongst his willing investors, Big Foot had told him with a wave of the hand that the mine was theirs. He was too old to be crawling around playing with 'die-no-mite' any more, and he had young ones for whom he needed to stay alive and healthy. Gold mining was a game for youngsters like Vin and his rowdy friends.
It was this mine that Ezra had actually asked John Terrell to have his mining experts check out for him. Located halfway between Ivyville and Rosebud, where the train tracks were currently in construction, it was no problem for Terrell to dispatch his experts to check it out. He had willingly told Standish and the rest of the boys that they might want to hang onto it until some newer mining techniques proved more successful at removing the gold that was sure as certain to be there, and when the train came closer to transport it for them. Had they tried to mine the gold now, they would waste more money than they would profit no matter how rich the strike. The gold the experts swore was there was just too difficult to mine. Transportation from the mine's location to the train in Rosebud would also prove too costly since there were no plans at present to extend the tracks to Ivyville. Neither Standish nor the others had plans to change their occupations to gold miners at the present time, so they all decided it would be the perfect lure with which to gain the attention of the miscreants trying to kill Larabee.
Ezra produced such logical and persuasive arguments that Judge Travis was happy to fill out the documents making them appear genuinely legal. Anyone looking at them would think the mine was owned by Ezra with six thousand dollars in shares in the names of the rest of the seven. The judge was careful to name Ezra as the principal owner instead of all of the seven whom Ezra had insisted be named as full partners. The document lacked the legal names already on file in the clerk's office in Denver. If not for that fact that someone with power and money was trying to kill a man Judge Travis considered to be not only a friend but practically family, Travis never would have consented to be involved. However, he felt this was in the best interest of justice. Plus, Chris had given his personal guarantee that Ezra would make full restitution to any innocent caught up in the con.
For some reason, Buck found himself thinking over that speech Ezra had used to convince the judge and Larabee that his plan was indeed the best. Chris had wrinkled his brow in concentration trying to find the loophole in Ezra's slight of tongue, but he could not find a single fault with it. The mention of dynamite being used above the opening in a smaller surface tunnel located almost directly behind the main entrance as a possible means of opening the mine to easier access to the gold within had brought a puzzling frown to Chris's face. Buck had nearly keeled over trying to contain his laughter as Vin jumped in to remind Larabee that Ezra and he had used dynamite before so successfully that Chris had begun to approve of their use of it in otherwise daunting situations. Chris had remembered enough of his time with the boys that he trusted Vin's glib manipulation of the facts.
Ezra had positively beamed at Tanner's mastery of the con. Josiah and Nathan had looked at one another making note to watch Tanner and Standish the next time they all played poker together. JD made a mental note to ask Ezra for the same tips he had obviously been giving Vin. Maybe they would work on Casey when she wanted JD to do something as sissy as help her bake cookies. Not that he minded eating them, but he sure hated wasting his time helping Casey roll out the dough and clean up the mess. Buck had told all the other guys about how fetching JD had looked in Nettie's old apron, and it had taken a good week before the others had stopped teasing him about it.
Vin had tried to tell Mary and Buck later that Chris had said that Vin and Ezra had been real smart to think of using dynamite against the Apaches, but neither this nor Ezra's corroboration got more than a snort of derision from Mary and laughter from the others. Tanner just shrugged his shoulders. He was willing to face the Larabee glare if it meant catching and exposing the men who were trying to kill his friend. It was not that he was directly lying to Chris; it was more like he had merely censored the truth. Ezra had pointed that fact out, and even Mary and Judge Travis had to admit that Vin was right in this case. They just wanted to make sure they were all safely away when Chris regained his full memory and wanted to discuss his friend's manipulation of his returning memory.
It was that same smaller tunnel over the entrance to this mine that Buck Wilmington was stuck in because he had volunteered to climb up and place the dynamite just where Vin and Ezra thought it would do the most good. They wanted a nice show with little clean-up necessary after the fact. Since Vin was still recovering from the wound to his side and Josiah was way too large to try and place the TNT, Buck had crawled up and was busy placing the dynamite just where he had been instructed to place the sticks of explosives.
Placing them too far to the left by three inches, Tanner had merely glared at his friend making him crawl back up to move them. Crawling further back into the tunnel, Buck had discovered to his dismay that his shoulders were wedged tightly in place. Thus, he had been using his wildly moving feet to help him get enough momentum to pry his shoulders loose. No way in hell was he telling Vin or Josiah that he was stuck. They would never let him hear the end of it. He knew that for a fact because if it had been Vin or Josiah stuck, he would never let them hear the end of it either.
Vin, realizing what might have happened to Buck, had been on his way to grab hold of Buck's feet and try to pull him out when Buck nearly took Vin's head off with his flailing boots. Any sympathy had fled with his near decapitation. First, people in Ivyville had tried to kill Larabee and Vin was sporting the graze on his side to prove it. Then, Larabee had nearly strangled him to death not realizing who Vin was. Next, someone nearly shot Vin and Buck on a second attempt at Larabee. His near decapitation at the feet of a friend was too much to ponder, so the normally taciturn Tanner turned the full vent of his wicked wit onto his former and thoroughly stuck friend.
"Call me an old lady agin, an' I'll shoot those big feet offa ya."
"Damn! I hate this!'
"Well, if ya kin yell louder, Buck, they might hear us in the next county. Want me to mosey over an' let 'em know what Ezra's got planned?"
"No, I don't. Now, don't get your dander up. Vin? Vin? You there?" Silence greeted Buck, and he wondered for a moment if Vin would have left him here stuck like a rabbit with a big hungry wolf sitting on top the entrance to his rabbit hole. Buck had no choice but to finally call for assistance. At least it sounded better than begging for help. "Uhm, hey Vin, Vin! Uhhh, ya think ya could give me a hand here?"
"You're stuck, ain't ya?" Tanner collapsed outside the tunnel laughing helplessly. Buck struck out with his boots, but the wily tracker had already moved out of range.
"Vin? I swear, you keep laughin', an' Ezra and them are gonna be here quicker than Miss Molly can get her garters off."
"Polly wears garters? Hell Buck, I thought she didn't wear nuthin' but mother nature under them petticoats of hers."
"What do you know what Polly doesn't wear under her petticoats, Vin?" Josiah's voice brought a groan of misery from Buck and another round of laughter from Vin.
"Buck was thinkin' 'bout Polly or Molly or was it Lillie? Hell, whatever. He was thinking what she didn't wear under her petticoats and how fast she can get her garters off when he got stuck."
Josiah's booming laugh joined Vin's, and Buck sunk his head in his hands. He was hot, sweaty, filthy, and just plain miserable stuck in this tunnel that Ezra insisted had to have an explosive charge rigged. His biggest misery was that he couldn't twist around to grab his gun so he could shoot Vin and Josiah for laughing at him.
"It's Molly, an' I wasn't thinkin' of her when I got stuck. I said Ezra and them would be here faster than Molly could shuck her garters."
"Well Buck, if she ain't wearin' nuthin' under her petticoats, why's she got garters?" Josiah sounded genuinely confused. Had he seen the smile and wink the big man directed at Vin, the scoundrel would have found a way to get to his gun so he could shoot them.
"When you fellas get tired of laughin' at old Buck, you think ya might help pull me outa here? I don't reckon Ezra's gonna appreciate havin' to explain why there are two dead bodies outside this mine."
Silence greeted Buck's sarcasm. Everything was done, charges set, plans followed, hiding spots chosen to cover Ezra and JD, and now it was all going to be for nothing. Four hours climbing up and down rocks, into tunnels placing all the props the sheriff had helped them get from the livery and dry goods store to make it look as if the gold was just lying there waiting to be picked up. It was going to be Buck's big feet that caused the death of all his friends, and then he would be trapped here for all of eternity with the best parts of him stuck in this damn tunnel. When he died here from heat and starvation, he was going to come back and haunt Vin and Josiah for laughing and taunting him in his misery. He was about to yell again when he heard the two arguing about how best to extricate him from his present spot. Their words were muffled and Buck wondered where the hell they were standing.
"Boys? You want to come and get me outta here before we're shit deep in trouble?" No answer. Where were Vin and Josiah, and why did their voices sound so funny, garbled like they didn't have enough air to breathe. Like him. He was going to suffocate before they got to him. Then, he heard the noise. Laughter, they were damn well laughing at him again!
"Ya know, I'm real glad you find this entertainin', but it ain't doin' nuthin' to GET ME THE HELL OUTA HERE!"
"Now Bucklin, Vin wheezed, "me and Josiah are trying to figure out the best way to get you outa there. Only Josiah won't stop laughing at ya long enough to grab hold a your ankles and pull. So, I'm gonna get my rope and lasso your feet and tie 'em to ma horse and let him do it. You don't move now till I get back. Ya promise?" That last part was squeezed out as Vin had started laughing again.
"I swear, Vin, you tie a rope around my ankles and let that horse a yours pull me out like I'm some steer at roundup, an I'm, gonna. . . ."
"Did you hear that? I thought Brother Buck would have called himself a bull. You got somethin' to confess, brother?"
"Aw, don't tell me Polly got wind a ya messin' with Molly an' she got together with Lilly an' found out about Millie an' they gelded ya? Damn, Bucklin, we been warnin' ya that little red head was meaner than a she bear lookin' for the man who shot her cub."
"IT'S MOLLY AN' I AIN'T BEEN GELDED. WHY THAT VEIN IN LARABEE'S FOREHEAD AIN'T POPPED CAUSE A YOU I DON'T KNOW, BUT I SWEAR IF I DIE HERE I'M GONNA FILL YOU FULL A LEAD!"
"Vin, I think Buck wants outa there."
"WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CLUE, JOSIAH?"
"I thought ya was supposed to be real calm after a geldin'."
"VIN!!!!!"
There was a scrambling noise behind him and Buck wondered what had happened. "What?"
"Shhhhh, hush, Buck. Vin's lookin' through his eye piece."
"Josiah, what's happenin'? What's wrong? They here?"
"Naw, I just was waitin' to see if that was really a red-bellied woodpecker I saw in that tree over there. Vin's checkin' it out right now. Woodpeckers with red bellies are rare up in this part of the country."
"DAMNIT TO HELL!!!!!!!!!!!! JOSIAH! VIN! YOU DON'T GET ME OUTA HERE NOW, I'M GONNA REMIND CHRIS JUST WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU AN' EZRA DECIDE TO USE DYNAMITE! THEN I'M GONNA TELL MRS. POTTER WHAT KIND A BALL THAT WAS THAT BROKE HER FRONT WINDA."
Buck heard the riotous laughter and felt some rocks tumbling down. Dirt flew up his nose as the tiny displaced rocks sent the dust and dirt flying around him. His sneeze nearly blew him clear of the tunnel, he was sure of it. Forget his former friends who were laughing at him. A couple of good sneezes like that and he would be free. Then, again, with his luck lately, another sneeze would bring the whole damn mountain down on top of him. Just as he was ready to have the worst case of claustrophobia man had ever known, two pairs of hands grabbed his legs and started pulling.
"Hey, watch it. I wanta keep my legs attached to my body!"
"You want outa there?"
"Hell yes!"
"Then shut up and push with your hands." Just as Buck thought they were going to rip him in half, he felt them let go of him. The muffled 'humphs' indicated the two men must have slipped or something. Buck grinned evilly. Josiah called in that he and Vin had to rest. 'Had to rest, his ass. They deserved whatever had happened to them.' Buck noticed that the pressure had eased up some around his shoulders, and he could twist them now where he could not even move them before. Josiah and Vin did not know that. He decided to let them worry just a little longer.
"Might take some dynamite to loosen ya up." Vin's suggestion was duly noted and Buck decided he did not like the enforced entombment any longer. Sometimes honesty was the best when dealing with friends.
"I'm loose, just pull harder!"
"Man says pull harder, Vin."
"Best do as he says, Josiah. Buck's not real happy with us just now."
"I reckon. On the count of three?"
"One."
Buck braced himself and started to push when without counting any more, he felt them grab and heave one more time. Buck popped out of the tunnel his left boot catching Vin right in the stomach knocking the air right out of him. His right boot connected with Josiah's jaw and both men lost their hold on Buck. They landed in a heap on the ground five feet below with Josiah on the bottom and Vin sandwiched between him and Buck. Three glaring pairs of eyes were shooting sparks at one another when Vin sneezed as the cloud of dirt settled on them. One look at Buck's white teeth gleaming from beneath the grime and sweat sent Tanner's weird sense of humor into high gear and he collapsed into a wheezing laugh that reminded Buck of where his boot had connected. Josiah joined in.
"What happened to two and three?" Buck grabbed Vin's hat off his head and slapped the tracker with it before he succumbed to the infectious guffaws that had infected his friends. They stayed there laughing like idiots until Buck remembered just why they had come out here in the first place. Vin and Josiah sobered quickly, and they all scrambled up making quick work of setting the rest of the plan into action. Had they played around just a half-hour longer, their antics would have been spotted by Averill's sharpshooter as he made his way from the train station in Rosebud to Ivyville. Lady Luck, it seems, had decided to smile upon the seven and their endeavors for the moment.
"Who is he?" Buck handed Vin back his spyglass. Vin had been backtracking making certain no one had seen them at the mine setting any kind of trap. No one thought it was being overly cautious; and, sure enough, Vin had spotted a man either following their trail or making his way to Ivyville. They had taken to the rocks lining the trail up and over the pass and were waiting for Vin to decide if the man was a threat or not.
"Red Curry. Ornery cuss, usually find him in Purgatorio. Got a five thousand dollar bounty on him. He's an assassin, but nobody ever knew who's payroll he was on. Guess we're gonna find out, now."
"And we already know who his target is," Josiah said aloud what they were all thinking.
"Don't think he'll be makin' anyone his target any time soon, boys." With that, Vin dismounted, tossed his reins to Buck, pulled his rifle out, and dropped down grabbing a handful of dirt rubbing a coat of it along the shiny metal of his rifle. Then, looking around, Vin found just the spot he needed.
"What're you planning, son?" Josiah exchanged a worried look with Buck.
"Ain't gonna kill 'im. Slow 'im down an' make it damn hard for 'im to shoot anyone, but not bad enough he can't get to his boss. Don't want Averill to even think we might be on to 'im, but I ain't lettin' Curry get anywhere's near Chris. I'll switch my coat and hat with ya, Buck, an' chase 'im. With this livery horse, he shouldn't recognize me. Make 'im think I'm some bounty hunter got lucky an' tried to take 'im. Fella not familiar with this area's easy to lose. I reckon I can make Curry think I shot too soon an' lost him in that maze down there."
"An' anyone knowin' ya would know you could kill Curry from this distance. It's a good idea, Vin." Josiah nodded in agreement with Buck's statement. Whoever was after Chris had to know about the six of them, the men who'd follow Larabee to hell and back, and these people would know the strengths of the seven. Tanner had already had a name that commanded respect from those who knew him, but the tracker was getting quite a reputation of his own as Larabee's second in command and as one of the best sharpshooters in the territory.
While Vin sighted Curry down the barrel of his rifle, Buck dismounted and took off his jacket. He tossed it to Josiah as he joined the big man to watch Vin at work. It never ceased to amaze him how accurate Vin could be no matter the distance. He was not disappointed. Even though they expected it, the boom of the rifle reverberated throughout the mountains. The horses reacted, but firm hands on the reins made them quiet quickly. Buck and Josiah saw Curry rock back on his horse, and then grab his arm and slump forward. He immediately righted himself looking around for the shooter. Buck and Josiah kept watching him as Vin shrugged out of his coat and pulled Buck's on. He would have grabbed Buck's hat, except Josiah handed him his.
"Use mine. Doubt if either one will fit ya better, but as long as you don't get real close, Curry won't be able to identify ya."
Vin nodded and stuffed his hair into the hat where it couldn't be seen.
"Y'all give me 'bout ten minutes to make it look good, then follow me down." Vaulting onto his horse, he was away with a rebel yell that had Curry digging in his spurs and giving his horse its head. Curry pulled out of sight as he rode swiftly towards the trail leading north. Minutes later Vin had reached the foothills and gave the appearance of a determined chase before he too disappeared out of their sight.
"Look at that, Josiah. Think he broke it?"
"Looks like it. That boy's eyesight amazes the hell out of me."
"Put that bullet right where he wanted it. Curry ain't gonna be tryin' to shoot Chris any time soon, and we just might confirm that he's workin' for Averill, too."
"That's a fact." A comfortable silence enveloped them as they waited the requested ten minutes. Josiah had been dividing his time between his pocket watch and the landscape before him. Finally, he snapped it closed and looked at Buck. "Time to go." The big man grinned and Buck tipped his hat.
"Reckon Vin's lost your hat yet, Josiah? It was kinda big on him."
Buck had Vin's coat and hat draped over the saddle before him as he took the lead down the path. Josiah never changed his tone of voice as he answered Buck.
"If Brother Vin knows what's good for him, my hat will be returned without a scratch on it." Buck snorted as Josiah rode up close and grinned at Buck before taking the lead from him. "Just for that, you can eat my dust, brother." The bantering kept up until they reached the bottom and turned to follow the trail Vin had made. The trail that had been dug out of the landscape by constant use made following Tanner as easy as getting Buck to notice a beautiful woman.
They were just about to follow the trail around the bend into a canyon when a short whistle drew them up short. Vin was standing there all but invisible. He motioned them to stay put while he disappeared. Less than a minute later he was back riding the livery horse.
"This is the trail Lawson said led to the ranch Averill lives on that the mayor owns a piece of. Nuthin' else out there but a deserted farm with an old run down shack, couple of graves, one about four years old. Least ways that's what the year carved on it says. Looks like it's bein' used for a line shack, now."
"We been separated all of twenty minutes, an' you found all that out? Hell, you just stop Curry and ask real nice like for him to answer some questions?" Buck looked at Josiah in exasperation. Tanner could track anything blind and trussed up like a turkey at Thanksgiving. Half the time Buck figured Vin was part wolf and could smell his quarry. Josiah just leaned back and watched Vin give that slow grin to Buck thinking how very cat like the tracker was. "Well, his shootin' arm broke?" Vin's nod of satisfaction confirmed what Josiah and Buck had both seen.
"So, with Curry out of the picture, we don't have to worry getting picked off one at a time?" Josiah was really asking if Averill might have any other gunmen handy.
"Whatever Chris knows that Garvey and Averill want him dead for has made them desperate. Too many men on the payroll, someone could talk. I'm willin' ta bet they've been handlin' most stuff on their own keepin' the hired help on a need to know basis. Bet Curry's been kept on a retainer so's he's close enough when they need 'im, but not close enough to know what all's goin' on." Vin paused long enough to drink out of the canteen that Buck handed him. "Curry's a lot like Fowler. Hard to find until he wants to be seen. Good at trackin' an' good at keepin' folks off his trail. Lot's have seen him around right before someone gets killed, but never any eyewitnesses. That alone would keep Averill and Garvey above suspicion. With his shootin' arm broke, it'll take 'em at least a coupla weeks to get someone else of Curry's caliber in here to do it, so I think we got time enough to shut Averill down by then."
"You seem to know a lot about Curry, Vin." Josiah looked intrigued. Vin took a bite of the jerky Josiah had handed him and chewed on it, his brow wrinkling as he pondered just how much he wanted the others to know.
"We ain't ones to go spreadin' 'round what a friend tells us, Vin." Buck's assurance was unnecessary, but Vin nodded at Buck confirming he knew that already.
Never trusting so many people with his past as he did these men, Vin acknowledged that he had always had a lot of folks he knew, but very few close friends with whom he felt he could talk about his life without worrying over what they thought of him. Josiah had once told Vin that he was in no position to cast any stones even if he wanted to. That was what made Josiah one the wisest men he had ever met. The preacher who got a 'little Old Testament' every now and again never preached at Vin or anyone else. He just asked questions that made the man in doubt take a good long look at himself and come to his own conclusions. If necessary, the big guy would nudge you with a word or a fist in the right direction. Vin never said Josiah was the most patient man he ever knew, just one of the smartest.
The others were just as important to Vin for what they brought into his life. Camaraderie based on shared principals no matter how diverse the individuals. They never worried what each other's past held unless it posed a threat to any of them. Like Chris's past did now. They didn't care what Chris had done when he was in Ivyville to make Averill and Garvey want to kill him. They were only concerned with the man they knew now, and that man was worth fighting for. Someone cleared his throat reminding Vin that an explanation had been asked for, not for judgement, but out of curiosity.
"Well, I kept movin' after I first lit out a Texas. Heard tell of a man fittin' Eli Joe's description down near the border. Wasn't him but a trap by some former 'associates' chasin' after me. There were three of 'em. Good men, good hunters, usually brought their men in alive, but they were damn good at bringin' 'em in. One had a purty little wife an' kids. I took out an' headed south. Couldn't seem to shake 'em no matter what I tried, and I sure as hell didn't want to kill 'em. Hell, I'd hunted with one of 'em for a spell. So I took a turn towards Purgatorio." Vin watched Buck nod in appreciation of his dilemma, and the grin Josiah threw him let him know the preacher might have found himself at odds with old friends more than once. That made Vin grin picturing Josiah arguing his version of God with some of these straight-laced preachers Vin had run across in his life. "I'd finally almost given' 'em the slip when my horse pulled up lame. Had one canteen with half a day's water left, Purgatorio to my back, only water for miles around was the river they were settlin' down near waitin' for me to make a run past 'em. Knew I was a dead man if I opted to try my luck in that hell hole behind me, an' knew they knew it. I was plumb out of luck and ideas. Bout ready to give it all up an' try my chances on escapin' on the way back to Tascosa, when I heard three shots. Three shots an' those men dropped like flies on a honey cake. I could've dropped 'em like that, but I just couldn't kill three men I'd called friends just cause they thought I'd turned killer."
"You were never a killer, an' your friends shoulda been helpin' ya hunt Eli Joe instead of huntin' you. They only wanted the money on ya. Men who'd hunt ya without ever hearin' your side, weren't friends, Vin." Buck sounded pissed off and Vin had to duck his head to hide the shy grin that sprung to his face at his friend's swift defense. Leave it to Buck to put it in perspective. The man surely knew what the word friendship truly meant.
"I reckon, Buck, but they died for it. Anyways, it was Curry. Bounty on him was up to two thousand by then, an' he thought they were after him. I was so busy tryin' to get away from 'em without havin' to kill one of 'em, I didn't even know I was practically travelin' with Curry I was so close behind him. Curry had ground tied his horse an' come up behind me on foot. Was aimin' to take me out when he noticed them three weren't workin' with me but chasin' me. He shot 'em an' then turned around an' offered me a shot of Tequila. He was plumb tickled they hadn't caught wind of him but were after me. I told 'im I was trackin' 'im cause I figured his word would keep me alive in Purgatorio until I could find a way outa the mess I was in. Curry's the type that thinks his shit don't stink, so he bought that lie hook, line, and sinker. Told me about a sweet set up he had just found an' offered to put a good word in for me if I was that good at followin' his sign. I told 'im I'd come look 'im up in Purgatorio once my horse could take me there, an' he rode off sayin' he'd be lookin' for me. Soon as I could, I turned tale an' got as far from him as I could. That's how come I ended up in Four Corners."
"Damn, you were lucky you got out of that alive! Bet you were plannin' on layin' low for a spell and restin' up." Buck was grinning ear to ear now.
"You're right as usual, Brother Buck. Brother Vin here laid real low by deciding to stop a lynchin' with no more help than a man who had nothin' left to lose. It's the way I woulda chosen to rest up."
"Me, too, Josiah. Hell, no one knows how to keep in the shadows better than Vin and Chris."
Vin shook his head and laughed at his friend's heartfelt sympathy of his predicament. If they didn't lay off him soon, Curry would not be the only one carrying lead around inside them. Buck's horse pulled up next to the tracker and he saw the grin on Buck's face. "Best thing that ever happened to Chris and me was meetin' up with you." Buck meant it, and Vin decided maybe he would not have to shoot Buck after all. Then Josiah appeared to his right.
"Nathan says he had almost lost his faith in humanity until two strangers came out of nowhere and fought for him, a man of color being saved by two white men for no other reason than lynching him would be wrong. I'd say you showin' up in Four Corners when you did was the work of a higher power. A miracle almost."
"Oh yeah, Josiah. Next you'll be tellin' me that Ezra is God's way of keepin' me honest."
The laughter that erupted from that comment had all three men in the mood to end this stand off and end it soon. They were men on a mission, and their ultimate goal was to save the life of a friend.
Surely that was a just cause, and it was one shared by two other men who were on their way to the livery to arrange a carriage with which to take Garvey and the Hansons out to the mine. Nathan was waiting on them to let them know that Buck and the others were back and everything had gone according to plan. When told about Curry and how Vin had handled him, Ezra nodded. From what he had learned at their luncheon from Mrs. Hanson, Averill would be occupied for the rest of the night having decided to take Pepper out to the ranch. Averill and two women had left over an hour after the others had gone to the mine. Word was that Averill preferred taking his pick of the newest saloon girls, and then he would take her and his current paramour out to the ranch where he could play some of his more inventive games without prying town eyes. Their plans were set, and even if Curry came to town looking for Averill or medical attention, he would have no way of knowing that he had been taken out of the action by friends of the man he was supposed to kill.
That only left the others to explain to Chris all that had gone on while he was resting. They had no idea that Larabee was even closer to solving the mystery than they were for Averill's exit had been witnessed by the one man the former Avery Franklin feared most. Unable to actually sleep during the day and plagued by recurring memories that were coming faster now that his mind was unoccupied, Chris had finally gotten up and was standing by the window watching the street. A movement across the street caught his eye as a carriage pulled up in front of the alley by the saloon. There were two women getting into the carriage, one somewhat younger than the other. Then, a man stepped out and the older woman reached out and knocked his hat off his head kissing him.
The man did not seem pleased as he pushed the woman back into the carriage and turned to retrieve his hat, looking up to see if anyone was around. Chris stepped quickly back into the shadows of the room, but he could still see the man's face. As quickly as he had seen him, the man turned and climbed into the waiting carriage. The image slammed into Chris's mind causing the hair to stand up on the back of his neck. Warning bells echoed in his mind and Chris knew him, or at least felt like he knew him, should know him.
Death, explosions, fire all rolled into his mind, but from where? Were these memories real? Had the man had something to do with Sarah's death? Had he tried to kill Chris during the dark time when Chris had laughed in death's face? Who was he? Not fully healed, the room began to spin as quickly as the images in his head. Cradling his splitting head in his hands, he stumbled towards the bed and collapsed in a heap. He faded into a restless sleep plagued with nightmares of that face and explosions and men screaming in pain and horror. It was in the throes of this nightmare that Buck and Vin found Chris after they had returned and told Nathan the information to give to Ezra.
Not knowing what triggered the nightmares, they could only try to wake him. Buck tried first laying a hand on Chris's good shoulder and calling his name. That only caused him to mumble something under this breath too low for either man to hear. Vin bent closer trying to make out what the words were when Chris suddenly sat up. A head on collision between the two men was avoided only because of Tanner's quick reflexes. Startled green eyes popped open looking straight past Buck and Vin to something behind them, but not actually seeing them. Chris was looking into the fiery past.
"LOOK OUT, BUCK! THE FIRE IS SPREADING!" Chris slumped forward and both men moved swiftly to catch him. Buck held Chris by his upper arms trying in vain to avoid causing his friend any more pain, but it was the pain that brought Chris out of the nightmare he had been reliving. A gasp and then the sound of rapid breathing permeated the air.
"Chris, you with us, pard?" Vin was holding out a glass of water and a haggard Larabee took it, nodding his thanks before gulping it down.
Buck released Chris as Vin pulled the pillows up behind Chris to prop the man up. Larabee held out the empty glass and opened weary eyes, seeing his friends this time.
"I saw Franklin Averill today. Cept his name ain't Averill. It's Franklin, Avery Franklin."
"Avery Franklin?" Buck looked worried and angry all at the same time. "Ya sure?"
"Who?" Vin had no idea what the two were talking about.
"Yeah, I'm sure."
"Son of a bitch, Chris. I thought he was dead."
"Averill's Franklin? Who the hell is Franklin?"
"Didn't look dead to me. He was getting into a carriage with two very lively women."
"Damn! That means Garvey's got to be Gerald Radcliffe. No wonder they want you dead."
"Well, hell, don't mind me. I'm just here to shoot people."
"Shoot people? What the hell are you talkin' about, Vin?" Buck frowned at him. "Chris don't need you confusin' him more."
"I think that's what he was askin', Buck." A wry grin had formed despite the revelation of the nightmare. It was good to have friends like these two. At least he wouldn't die bored.
Tanner was not going to budge until he knew what in the hell his two friends were talking about. Their conversation was actually making him dizzy, but he would never admit that. Looking at the expressions on his friends' faces just made him more certain that whatever Chris knew about these two men was much bigger than some old enemy holding a grudge. That revelation in itself was enough to rid him of any anger he might have been harboring towards the two men talking in riddles around him, but he couldn't protect anyone if he didn't know what in the hell was going on. Chris knew exactly what Vin was thinking as he watched his younger friend try to process what little information he had already heard.
"Can you get all the others here without Garvey knowin'? I'll explain everything at one time. We're gonna need the sheriff's help again, too."
Vin looked at Chris and then Buck, his eyes narrowing in silent contemplation. In a split second he made his decision, nodded, and slipped quietly from the room.
"You saved a lot of lives that day, Chris."
"A lot of good men died, too, Buck."
"I know, 'specially that new commander we had. What was his name?" Buck was leaning back in his chair watching the emotions that raced across Chris's face. Chris had leaned back against the pillows and closed his eyes. The pain in his shoulder and head were now just a dull ache, but Chris felt drained physically and mentally. He was thinking back many years ago, and he remembered everything that had occurred that horrific night. Buck knew Chris was remembering more now that seeing Franklin had triggered his memory, but he wondered just how much more Chris could take before all of this came crashing down around him. Knowing Chris as he did, Buck correctly suspected that Chris was running on adrenaline right now, a sheer force of will that made him determined to see none of his friends hurt over a mistake from his past. This was no mistake, however. Chris had not caused this danger from anything he had done. This situation was caused solely by the two men whose greed outweighed any humanity either man might have possessed at one time.
Chris had seen his new commanding officer go into the rail car where the gold was being guarded closely followed by Avery Franklin and Gerald Radcliffe, and the hair on the back of his neck had literally stood on end. Both men were little better than clerks for the government, and Chris had distrusted them from the moment he had laid eyes upon them. Ratface was a good name and description for Radcliffe. The little man was like a rat scurrying before Franklin to see things were done just as Franklin had demanded. Chris knew something was incredibly wrong; he had felt a fear seize his gut, knotting it until he had finally turned and yelled at Buck to get the men out of the compartment. He and Buck were the last ones out as a terrific explosion occurred, and they were thrown from the train as smoke, fire, ripping metal, screeching brakes, and screams of pain filled the air blinding and deafening them. Chris hit the ground and blacked out. Buck hit further away. Despite his broken arm, he crawled over, grabbed Chris, and pulled him to safety just as one of the derailing cars dug a huge furrow out of the dirt where Larabee had come to rest. Buck would never forget that night as long as he lived. He thought Gettysburg was bad, but that had been a battle in the war. What Franklin and Radcliffe had done was pure slaughter. All those men dead and more wounded. Not one man had come away from that horrific night without some kind of scar, emotional and physical.
This was worse than Buck could have imagined. Franklin and Radcliffe had every reason to kill anyone who could identify them. They had killed over a hundred men for that gold, and seven more would not present any problem to them. A small town like Ivyville wouldn't either. That was what had him worried. Just how many more men like Curry did those two murdering bastards have on their payroll? How many more people would die over that gold? Buck had assumed along with everyone else that Franklin and Radcliffe had fled the country with the gold as soon as word leaked out that Chris Larabee had identified them as the two men who had entered the rail car with the commanding officer just before the explosion. Colonel Lawson had been a good man. Lawson! Damn! That was too much for coincidence.
"Chris, his name was Lawson." That's all Buck had to say. Chris's eyes shot open and he sat forward. His lips were a grim line that heralded the fire in his eyes.
"Damn! It's time the sheriff tells us what he knows. Get Ezra and JD. No need to put them in harm's way any more. And, I want Radcliffe and Lawson in here now!"
His heated words bit on the heels of Buck's boots as Buck was already on his feet and moving out of the door. Mary stopped abruptly with her hand poised to knock as Buck came barreling through the door. Judge Travis was standing beside her and Vin had walked up with Nathan and Josiah right behind him. She stepped instinctively back and stepped right into Vin who caught her as they both lost their balance and went barreling back into the wall known as Josiah. Josiah staggered just one step backward before his size stopped their backward momentum and he righted himself and his two friends.
Mary was still a bit stunned, but Vin grinned at Josiah from over his shoulder.
"Thanks, that coulda been ugly."
"And Buck hates ugly." Nathan made Mary laugh as Buck helped her regain her footing, but before he could ask where the fire was Buck told them where he was rushing off to.
"Chris wants Ezra and JD back with us now. He also wants the sheriff and the mayor. We need to have a chat with them."
"The sheriff ain't in on this, Buck.' Vin trusted his instincts, and he knew the sheriff was a good man.
Chris appeared at the door. "I don't think he's in on it, but I know he hasn't told us everything he knows. I think it's time he did."
Vin caught Buck's glance and a chill went up his spine. Whoever these two men were, they had to have done something that was truly heinous because Vin rarely witnessed the rage boiling beneath the easy-going nature of Buck Wilmington. If it was bad enough to get Buck's dander up, then neither JD nor Ezra needed to be out there on their own. Without further questions, Vin gently moved Mary to his left as he spun on his heel and headed out with Buck. He tossed his comments to Josiah as they left.
"We'll get Garvey after we get the sheriff. You go get Ezra and JD." Vin stopped abruptly, and Buck stopped long enough to turn around to see why. "Don't take no for an answer, Josiah." Buck slapped Vin on the shoulder showing his approval.
Sanchez merely nodded as he followed Buck and Vin. Chris motioned the others into his room. Mary looked up into his face and realized that something momentous had happened. She also knew better than to question Chris when he had that look on his face. It would be better for all concerned to be patient and wait until the others showed up. She knew then that they would learn together who the men were who were trying to kill Chris and the reason why. From the way Buck and Vin were acting, she knew that something was very wrong in Ivyville. Had she been privy to who Avery Franklin was and just what he was up to at that moment, her reporter's instincts would have told her that she was going to have an exclusive that would bring her even more respect from her male peers than she already possessed. Things were slipping from Franklin's control, and he had no idea that his carefully laid plans and identity were rapidly deteriorating. However, with the instincts of a man used to lying and cheating, he was ever alert for any situation that did not feel quite right. Fortunately for the seven, Franklin was too distracted by the women who had joined him in his drive back to the ranch and by the man he found wounded there.
Clenching the delicate glass in his hands, Avery Franklin watched in fascination as the glass shattered, digging into his hand and drops of red blood bubbled out and then dripped onto the floor below. Pepper gasped, grabbed her employer's pristine white handkerchief, and wrapped the bleeding hand tightly.
Shrugging off her unwanted attentions, Franklin turned in rage towards Red Curry. "What do you mean you don't know who shot you? Didn't you wait for them? Were you followed here? Did you stop to find the bastard and kill him?"
Curry looked at the enraged man in front of him; the impassive look on his face no indication of what he was feeling. "It was some bounty hunter. Had to have been. Shot at me from above. Left the fool looking for me in the canyon. I watched him take the trail into town." His broken arm hurt like hell, otherwise he would have shot Franklin on sight. Still might shoot him if the bastard didn't lay off him soon.
Young Tammy Jo just looked on with big frightened eyes. The things Averill had done to Pepper in the carriage had shocked her even though she had been making her living catering to men's carnal appetities for well over a year. She had seen a lot and done a lot, but Pepper and Averill's games were way out of her league. They had scared her with their rough treatment of one another. Lucille had warned her about going. First, there was the ambush in the saloon when those men opened fire on those two men right in front of her. She was still having nightmares about that. If she hadn't screamed when she saw the one man pull his gun, the other two would have been worm food by now. Desperately hoping Averill wasn't finished with Pepper yet, she had jumped out of the carriage, running inside right into a man who was covered in blood. The blood had gotten all over her dress as the man had grabbed her with his good arm and pulled her out of his way confronting Averill. Now that same man was exchanging heated words and looks with Averill. Tammy Jo thought if looks could kill both men would be lying dead on the floor by now. Wishing she had gotten on that stage this morning and gone on to the next town instead of trying to make just a little more money, she had stayed like the idiot she was. Having saved a tidy sum, Tammy Jo was beginning to wonder if she would ever get as far from her past as possible. The way her luck was going here in Ivyville, she would never get that new life she had been planning on. There was about to be an explosion of violence the likes of which she had never seen; one that could in all probability claim her with its force. And, there was nowhere to hide. That was when Pepper's practical yet amused voice sliced through the tension-laden room.
"You boys gonna bleed all over the place while you set out to prove who's the bigger man, or you gonna settle down and figure out what's goin' on?"
Tammy Jo could not believe how calm Pepper sounded as she sauntered up to Averill and once more wrapped his hand with a cloth she had just picked up off of the table. Her audacity amused Averill. In fact, he was going to miss Pepper. She was sane and much more inventive than Ella had ever been, but he could not afford any loose ends. She and the girl with her would die tomorrow out at the mine with Larabee, Garvey, and anyone else who tried to make Avery Franklin conform to anyone's law but his own.
"Why don't you make yourself useful, my dear, and fix Mr. Curry's arm." Grabbing hold of Tammy Jo's arm with his bloody hand, the former Avery Franklin's eyes raked appreciatively over Tammy Jo's young and plush body as he ran his whip from her throat downwards. "This young lady and I have unfinished business." Pepper actually laughed as Tammy Jo gasped in fear. "You will join us when you're finished here." It was not a question he posed to Pepper as he dragged the now semi-reluctant Tammy Jo up the stairs. He planned to enjoy this night since neither woman would see another nightfall.
Lawson took one look at Buck and Vin when they walked through the door of the jail and stood without a word. Nodding his head at his deputy, he joined them.
"Larabee remembered?"
"With a vengeance. Saw Franklin. Triggered some ugly nightmares. Woke up an' knew everything." Buck stopped to look Lawson in the eye. He heard Vin come to stand next to him, but he never once took his eyes from Lawson.
"You're here for them, aren't ya?" Lawson did not look at Tanner, but he didn't need to. Tanner believed him. It was Wilmington he had to convince of his sincerity. Lawson's answer was quiet but filled with a determination that made Buck grin at him in appreciation.
"Oh yes, I mean to make them pay for every child left an orphan, every wife left a widow, and most especially to every brother, father, sister, or mother who lost a son or a brother to those greedy bastards."
Vin observed Buck and the sheriff intently. He was learning more and more about what had occurred all those years ago that had marked Larabee for murder the second Franklin and Radcliff had set eyes on him. He did not have long to wait as a myriad of emotions chased one another across Lawson's face ending with a rather amused yet embarrassed grin.
"I'm supposed to be undercover, just a sheriff, but these two men made it personal when they murdered my brother. Larabee wants to talk to me and Radcliff, too?" Buck nodded, accepting that Lawson had remained silent more out of duty than lack of concern for Larabee's health. His nod also answered Lawson's question.
"Don't want him running off to warn his partner."
Lawson spoke once more before they turned towards the Mayor's office. "Radcliff is the brains of the outfit, but what say we lock him up nice and tight until I explain what's at stake if we don't get both of these men and their money as soon as possible."
"Got someplace quieter than the jail?" Vin had nonchalantly been observing the people milling about and had spotted Ezra and JD making their way through the alley to the boarding house. Having seen two men lounging on the saloon steps, he cleared his throat loudly. That slight noise took the men's attention away only seconds before they could turn and see Ezra and JD standing just within the light created by the one ray of sunlight that had managed to streak into the otherwise dark alley. Without breaking stride or giving any indication he had seen Josiah appear quickly to grab Ezra and JD each by an arm pulling them out of sight, Vin continued. "There's a nice little closet right upstairs in the hallway where they keep the sheets and stuff." His grin had Buck and Lawson grinning back at him.
"You got an evil mind, Vin Tanner." Lawson's comment was a compliment, and Tanner took it as such giving a feral grin that made Lawson grin in anticipation. That hunter's look of satisfaction right before the kill combined with the Larabee glare and the backing of five men whose determination to capture and bring to justice anyone who would harm one of their own, would surely break Radcliffe and break him quickly.
"He's a mean one all right; meaner than a she-bear that's been stung one too many times without any honey to show for it. I like that in my friends." Buck was ready to end this. Vin had watched Chris's back when Buck couldn't, and for that alone Buck would always be thankful. He had admired the quiet way Tanner had accepted Larabee's amnesia and continued to watch both his friends' backs even if one of them could not remember who he was for several days. Buck had been with Chris through good times and bad, but he did not know if he could have handled Chris as well as Tanner had when they realized that Larabee had no clue as to whom Vin Tanner was. His young friend looked at Buck and for the first time Buck actually knew how it felt to have an instantaneous knowledge of what the younger man was saying before he even spoke the words.
"Aw thanks, Buck. I learned all about friendship from you." Then, when the big man looked as if he would grab Vin and hug him, Tanner waggled his eyebrows, leaned closer, and whispered for only Buck to hear. "The mean part I learned from Larabee."
Wilmington threw his head back, his booming laughter echoing down the street. Josiah paused from shoving JD through the window Nathan had opened earlier to share a quick look with Ezra.
"Our friend appears to have found something quite amusing in this strange little town. Perhaps he will be kind enough to share the source of his amusement with us thus ending this horrible ennui that has plagued me since we arrived here."
JD, standing again and dusting himself off having landed on his head, stopped long enough to look at Nathan who was helping him and say, "Huh?"
"Ezra doesn't want to get his pants dirty doing something as undignified as crawling through a window, so he's complaining about being bored." Nathan flashed a quick grin from the window making sure no one had discovered them as the gambler cast a haughty look upon his friends.
"A Standish does not crawl through windows." JD snorted and Josiah' eyebrows rose in disbelief. Nathan shook his head. "Well, at least the windows through which I have been forced to crawl were very expensive and belonged to very well-endowed establishments."
"Hell, Ezra, I seen you climb through windows before. Moved real fast, too, what with the bullets flyin' right at your ass." JD was proud of how much like Buck he sounded.
Ezra pulled himself through the open window with all the elegance of a man entering a ballroom through the front door in full evening dress. Pulling JD's hat over his eyes, Ezra pushed past the laughing healer and walked with as much dignity as only he could into the boarding house. Nathan closed the window, and Josiah continued walking through the alley smoking the rest of the cigar he had been seen smoking when he had entered the alley earlier. Since that was a common route to the outhouses behind the boarding house, no one thought it odd at all.
Meanwhile, Sheriff Lawson, Buck, and Vin had walked straight through the front door of the mayor's office, and Buck set about distracting the ubiquitous Wilma Hanson. Lawson stood in front Radcliffe, the grim smile on his face all the more frightening when Radcliffe felt Vin move into position behind him.
The fear shot through the little man as Tanner's soft, yet menacing voice penetrated the smug assurance that he was untouchable. "Time you met the man ya wanta kill so bad, Mayor."
Lawson's smile grew even wider as he used the same tone of voice as Tanner had used so effectively. "You're going to walk out of here with us without so much as breaking a sweat, Radcliffe, or I'm going to let Mr. Tanner and Mr. Wilmington teach you what happens to men who try to kill their friends."
Gerald Radcliffe knew for certain now that everything he had done to protect himself had all been for nothing. These men knew who he was. He had no idea if his partner had already been caught, but his astute mind began rapidly producing all sorts of ways he could get out of this alive. His partner had set the explosives, shot the unfortunate commander, hired all of the killers who had murdered all those innocents besides Larabee's family. If he played this right, he might not end up with a noose around his neck. But what if Franklin had double-crossed him and left him for Larabee in order to escape with all the money?
This was all Avery's fault. He had tried to make Franklin leave after Ella had played her hand and Handsome Jack had been killed. Radcliffe had been trying to get Franklin to leave even before that when he had heard that Cletus Fowler had failed to kill Larabee. But no, Franklin had insisted they were safe for Fowler would die silent never betraying them. Franklin had been right and his greed had made them stay too long in this little hellhole. Radcliffe was fully prepared to throw his partner to the wolves, now, if it would prevent him from hanging. If he could convince Larabee that he had only gone along with Franklin because he was afraid for his life, he might even get out of this with his hide in tact. He would tell Larabee everything, about Ella and her connection to Avery and Fowler as well as the girl they murdered to keep Larabee in the dark. Yes, he would give this gang of men what they wanted, and he would prove that he, Radcliffe Garvey, was a man to be reckoned with. There was still a chance for a man of his intelligence and wealth to survive this if he used his wits and Franklin's money. Gerald Radcliffe looked at the men surrounding him and made his decision.
"There are two men watching the boarding house and one watching this office from the dry goods store across the street. If anything happens to me like my being handcuffed, or I tug at my tie when I exit, they will go straight to Franklin." Buck, having convinced a shocked Mrs. Hanson to sit quietly without raising an alarm, looked quickly at Vin. Nodding, Tanner went out the back door followed closely by Lawson. Buck took Wilma's hand and tucked it under his arm hiding his gun with one end of her shawl.
"Why don't we take a nice walk over to the boarding house for some dinner. You walk in front nice and quiet like, and we'll send someone over to fetch Mr. Hanson to come and get his missus. You ain't gonna say anything about what you heard here today, are ya, ma'am?" Buck smiled engagingly at the woman trembling on his arm. He regretted involving her in this, but it was necessary. For once rendered speechless, Wilma nodded silently. If this big man with the gun wanted the mayor, who were Wilma and her husband to stop him? Buck smiled again at her and then turned a stern eye on the man in front of him. "You so much as look like yer gonna tug on your ear, an' I will shoot you in both a your knees. You understand?"
Radcliffe nodded in agreement and walked quietly out of his office just one step ahead of his fate. Wilmington did not know it, but there was no profit in dying before Radcliffe could be certain that his partner would either take the majority of the blame or that he would swing with him. Either way, Gerald Radcliffe was smart enough to know that the man behind him would shoot him without blinking if he tried to warn Franklin. There was no chance of that for the two men who had murdered so many for gold would never think of trying to save the other man. They were not friends; they would not know what the word friendship meant. They were partners, and there was not an ounce of loyalty anywhere in their minds or bodies.
Buck did not know that, so he kept a hawk's eye on his prisoner. He missed seeing Vin grab Josiah as he exited the alley and point to the two men watching the boarding house. They were the same men Vin had distracted earlier. While they managed to quickly and quietly dispatch those two men, Lawson knocked out the remaining man who had been watching the mayor. Draping the man over his shoulder, he met Josiah and Vin with their trussed up prisoners at the back door to the jail.
"Evening, Sheriff. Cleaning the town of vermin before supper time?" Josiah was feeling good. Nothing like a fist in the face of evil thwarting the devil's plans. Tanner looked like the cat that just ate the canary. Lawson knew how both men felt. This mystery was only hours from being solved. The moment he had waited for since he had found his brother's mangled body with half of his head blown away was within his grasp. He would finally see those two murderers hang for their crimes. Grinning, he turned to two of the Magnificent Seven.
"Just doin' my job and keepin' the peace, boys. Seems these here boys were gonna break Polecat outa jail. Can't have no jailbreaks in my town."
The young deputy jumped to his feet astounded by what he had just heard. As the sheriff walked by toting his burden over his shoulder, he took the keys from the nail behind his desk and unlocked the door leading back to the cells. Josiah, walking by next with his burden, leaned over to the young deputy.
"Close your mouth, son."
Tanner, who had dumped his groggy prisoner onto his feet at the first signs of his return to consciousness, just grinned and tipped his hat to the young man who had closed his mouth with a snap. Shoving the man ahead of him, Vin was the last to enter the cell area. Polecat hissed at Tanner who punched the outlaw in the nose between the bars without breaking his stride. He pulled his knife out of his boot and cut the rope binding his prisoner's hands. Closing the cell door and locking it with the keys that Lawson had left him, he paused long enough to return his knife to his boot. Polecat was holding his hands to his bloody nose glaring at the tracker.
"I'm gonna kill you slow, boy."
Josiah was leaning against the door watching as Tanner stopped and walked up to the cell bars. His voice was low and feral. "More like I'm gonna see you hang, Polecat. You done killed innocent folk once too often."
Josiah added his glare to Vin's before banging the outer door to the cells shut. That would be the last Polecat saw of them before his trial the following week. Josiah waited at the backdoor while Vin handed the keys back to Lawson.
"No one talks to the prisoners except me. Got that, son?" The young deputy nodded to his boss as Lawson joined Tanner and Sanchez at the backdoor.
"Let's go and parley, boys." The three men walked through the back alleys until they split up and entered the boarding house entrance, Tanner and Lawson walking in just minutes after Josiah. Lawson was seen laughing, but no one heard Tanner's mumbled, "Now, I finally get to hear who the hell Radcliffe and Franklin are," but the sheriff.
Vin Tanner was not a happy man. The story that had unfolded had indeed satisfied his curiosity, but he was wise enough to know that curiosity and dangerous reality often went hand in hand. He had listened along with the others and had been just as disturbed when they began to understand the infamy that enveloped Gerald Radcliffe and his equally villainous partner. The two men who had plotted to kill Chris Larabee were one in the same as the two men wanted for murdering hundreds of soldiers for a fortune in gold. Vin had heard about the robbery as had most of the soldiers on both sides of the War Between the States, and he had been just as appalled then as he was now to know just what greed could lead men to do.
Not only were they unrepentant murderers, Radcliffe no more knew what the words loyalty and honor meant if they had been dogs and jumped up and bit Radcliffe on his skinny ass. There was no telling how many others they had killed in order to preserve their identities. They had almost succeeded in killing a man Vin Tanner respected and admired more than any other man he had ever met. Chris was more than just his best friend. Chris was family, and Vin Tanner had lost too much family over his short span of life to sit idly by while that little man singing like the proverbial canary had nearly succeeded in killing his brother.
Vin had hunted murderers just like these two men, but the men he had brought to justice had never killed so many on so large a scale. To him, that crazy Winston fellow was just a scary dream compared to the nightmare represented by two men who would kill so many for so paltry a thing as gold. It was beyond Vin's comprehension as to why gold infected men with good sense with such evil. Polecat was a petty criminal next to these two, but the rage the murder of innocents never failed to evoke in Tanner sprang forth now within him like wildfire on the prairie. Hanging was too good for the likes of Gerald Radcliffe and Avery Franklin. Both murderers deserved to be staked out in the grueling sun on a bed of fire ants and covered with honey. They deserved to be torn apart by wolves, or better yet blown to bits as they had blown away all those unsuspecting men. Radcliffe had sworn he had been too terrified of Franklin to stop him. As Radcliffe had given information about his partner that would ensure his capture and hanging, Vin had stalked from the room. He had to escape the enveloping claustrophobia being in the same room with a rabid animal like Radcliffe had caused Vin. The room he had claimed as his own when he was not helping guard Chris was a welcome relief, and he opened the window thankfully as he breathed in the cool evening air.
It was here, leaning out of the window as far as he could, that Nathan Jackson had found Vin just half an hour later. Nathan watched silently as Vin turned his mare's leg over and over in his hands wiping it with an oilcloth. Josiah had been right. He had nodded to Nathan to follow Tanner when the younger man had abruptly stalked out of the room where just one glare from Larabee had crumbled Radcliffe like a tree felled by a mudslide.
When Radcliffe had told of the connections between Franklin, Fowler, and Ella Gaines, Tanner had watched as his friend grabbed the sides of the chair where he was sitting. Chris's knuckles had gone white as he struggled to control himself, intent on wringing every last drop of information from Radcliffe before he wound his own hands around the murdering thief's scrawny neck. Tanner knew exactly what Larabee wanted to do, and Vin knew he and the others would have to physically restrain Chris from exacting his own revenge. It was the fact that Vin did not want to restrain Chris from killing one of the men who was responsible for the murders of his wife and son that made him stalk from the room in anger.
Sanchez, who knew the unbreakable ties that bound the seven together, also knew how Vin felt. He, too, had felt a helpless anger that he wanted to but could not allow Chris to succumb to the murderous rage that filled all of the men. One look at Buck had verified that Wilmington would sacrifice his own need for vengeance in order to save Larabee from the uncontrollable desire for revenge. Vin Tanner was torn, however. Josiah had seen the look of tightly controlled anger in the normally affable tracker. The look, so like the constant look of anger Chris Larabee had sported the first time Josiah had met the shootist had disturbed the preacher. Tanner had needed a healer right then. He needed a man of compassion, not a man who was known to get Old Testament like Josiah, so Sanchez had sent Nathan Jackson after Tanner. Josiah had turned back to see Ezra give him a two-fingered salute to his hat in approval and the grateful look from Buck. Both men had seen Vin pulled further and further into his anger and knew Josiah had sent the best person to diffuse the confused anger Tanner was feeling at that particular moment. Nathan had his work cut out for him for it was usually Josiah who tended to the wounded soul and left the other healing to Nathan. He stood silently waiting for Vin to speak first.
"You ever wonder what makes men like Radcliffe and Franklin tick? What makes a man kill innocent folk for gold?" Vin's voice was a low growl. For all intents and purposes, he was too involved cleaning his gun to have noticed Nathan enter the room, but the healer knew his entrance had been duly noted and marked as non-threatening.
"I stopped wonderin' a long time ago why some men kill an' the reasons they kill for. I decided to spend my energy on tryin' to right the wrongs them kinda men do by healin' as many folks as I can."
Vin stopped wiping the mare's leg and looked sideways over at Nathan. The moonlight caught the anger and the confusion in his eyes, and Nathan knew he was treading on dangerous ground here. Vin was like some of the walking wounded Nathan had seen during the war. Since Polecat had shown up in Four Corners, Vin had been placed in one deadly situation after another. Tanner had had to shoot Polecat and disarm him just hours before setting out with Chris and Buck to escort the murderer to Ivyville. He had listened to and smelled the foul man throughout the journey for Buck had told the others how Chris had finally had enough of Polecat's threats as to how he would exact his revenge on Tanner for shooting him in the butt. Larabee had stuffed Polecat's own smelly bandanna in the man's mouth just to shut him up.
After finally being rid of the vermin, Tanner had been shot while trying to save his best friend's life. Then, not wanting to leave Buck to the mercy of the Ivyville law, Tanner had had to shoulder the responsibility of leaving Buck on his own in order to tend to Chris. He had not only extracted the bullet from the wounded man's shoulder by himself and dressed the head wound, but he had also kept the vigil while losing a good deal of his own blood. Next, he had no time to recover from his own wound when he had to face Larabee's amnesia and the repeated attempts on Larabee's life. Finally, just that day Vin had had to shoot a man to keep him from finding out about their scheme to trap the assassins for JD's and Ezra's lives depended upon total secrecy. Just one of those things preying on a man's mind could weigh him down, but all of those combined had Tanner walking a fine line between justice and vengeance. Even the best of men could buckle under that pressure if no outlet could be found for the anger building inside. So, being the healer that he was, Nathan opened the wound in order to cleanse the festering wound. It was painful, but Nathan had no intention of allowing any of his friends to be felled by an infected wound turning gangrenous even if that festering wound was in the mind.
"Don't know 'bout you, but I sure thought Chris woulda killed Radcliffe by now."
"It's his right, Nathan!" The passionate answer told Nathan all he needed to know. The festering wound had been scraped opened and now was the time to pour in the carbolic to cleanse the wound. "Chris's got the right to kill one of the men who paid to have him killed and cost him his family. Hangin's too good for the likes of Radcliffe and Franklin."
"Judge Travis would say different."
"That's cause the judge ain't never lost as much as Chris. He ain't never had to stand aside an' watch the murderers of his kin go an' lie an' try to weasel out of trouble like Radcliffe is tryin' to do!" He had no sooner said it than his head told him that it was a lie. Vin didn't want to hear Nathan point it out, but Nathan was between Vin and the door, so listen Vin did.
"You think the judge didn't hear his son's murderers try to blame everything on each other? You think the judge didn't want to shoot them himself? You know better than that, Vin." His calmly spoken words brought Vin's head up and angry blue eyes blazed into his, but Nathan stood his ground. "You don't think I wanted to go an' beat the livin' shit out of that lawyer who tried to get my daddy hung? You think Mary didn't want to shoot those men who tried to kill Billy, or Buck don't want to ride out and help Chris pump Franklin full of bullets after they stomp Radcliffe to dust? We all feel the same way Vin, but if we let Chris exact his own vengeance we become just like Radcliffe and Franklin. We make Chris our Fowler, our giver of death to men we don't think got a right to live. Do you want that for him? Do you want him to face a noose, have what you had to live with for so long? Do you want to see the judge have to order a bounty on Chris for murdering a man in his custody cuz that's what we'd all be guilty of if we let him have his vengeance."
Tanner was quiet for a while. The anger had gone from his eyes as Nathan pleaded his case. Knowing he had Tanner thinking with his head instead of following his heart was enough for the healer. He had cleansed that festering sore as well as he could. Now it was up to the patient to do the rest. He saw a glint appear in Tanner's eyes that made Nathan expel the breath he didn't realize he had been holding. That made Vin quirk his mouth into an almost grin.
"I reckon I ain't been thinkin' too clearly the past hour or so." Then, the grin turned into a full-fledged smile that forced an answering one from Nathan. "I think you been hangin' around Ezra an' Josiah too much, Nathan. You not only preached me into penance, but you done conned me into a better mood without pourin' some of your nasty tastin' ditch water down my throat. I'm gonna have to watch you careful next time we play cards."
"You jest now figurin' that all out? Hell, I got all y'all thinkin' I'm some sorta miracle worker. Thought by now y'all woulda figured out I'm jest a man like any a y'all."
"You're a better man than me, Nathan."
"No, I'm just a man like you doin' the best he can in a world he don't always understand. 'Sides, I got to keep you in line. Buck tells me you did a fine job diggin' that bullet outa Chris. You figure on givin' me some competition in the healin' arts?"
"Yeah, well you saw the stitchin'. Now ya know why I got me so many different shirts. I'm lousy at mendin' things." His snort of laughter mingled with Nathan's. As he walked past Nathan to the door, Vin turned to his friend. "Thanks, Nathan. I needed to hear that I wasn't the only one wantin' to strangle that little rat."
"Hell, Vin, I ain't heard no noise from in there. They coulda already done it without us bein' there."
"Not with Judge Travis in there listenin'. An' I don't think Lawson would stand by an' let us have the pleasure of killin' his brother's murderers when he's got his heart set on watchin' 'em swing. I 'spect it's time you an' me go back in there an' save Larabee from losin' what's left of his temper. He's got a hot one on good days, but with his shoulder hurtin' and that headache he's had, I 'spect he ain't gonna be as reasonable as me. Then, Mary will be all over us iffen we let him get Old Testament on Radcliffe and Franklin."
"I don't know, Vin. Mary was getting' awfully mad lookin' when I left to find you." They heard the shout of outrage and both men ran the rest of the way into the room ready to stop Chris from making the greatest mistake of his life. They stopped stunned and shook their heads trying to make sense of the scene unfolding in front of them. Buck and Josiah had Radcliffe on the floor behind them while JD looked on aghast at the events. Ezra was grinning broadly thoroughly enjoying himself. The judge and Sheriff Lawson watched silently amused while Chris held Mary Travis in an embrace that had the woman pinned up against him unable to move. Larabee appeared in complete control as he kept the furious woman from striking the cowering Radcliffe again. Vin noted with grim satisfaction that Radcliffe already had a small hand print showing up on his face. He looked truly terrified of their Mary.
"So much for Mary bein' all over us if we let Chris go after the little rat on his own." Tanner's amused drawl set off the others.
Mary relaxed against Chris, and even Chris smiled, grateful for his friend's ability to find humor at the oddest of times. It was late, and the pain in his head was pounding in time with his heart as it pounded for justice, Larabee justice. Chris had been on the brink of ripping Radcliffe's heart out with his bare hands. With each word out of Radcliffe's mouth he had been consumed more and more by a blind need to physically inflict half of the pain upon this man who had caused so much pain for so many. He had been shaken from his growing desire for vengeance as he noticed Vin Tanner do a slow burn and descend into the same abyss of helpless rage that Chris had grown accustomed to after finding his life in ashes. Tanner's abrupt departure had been like a pitcher of ice water in his face when he realized his friends wanted to kill Radcliffe for all he had done just as much as he did. Chris knew that Vin had to leave before the younger man gave voice to the rage Larabee was feeling and forced his friend over the edge into an act he would regret. That one of the few people who could talk sense into him was so furious he had to leave the room had had a curiously calming effect on Chris.
However, when Mary Travis had flown across the room to attack Radcliffe as he whined that he had been unable to prevent Fowler from going after Chris's family, it had been the final act to force Chris to leave off his need for vengeance in order to see justice done. He knew Mary cared for him deeply, but for her to physically attack anyone who would harm him or someone he loved had forced Chris to realize he was not alone in his rage and pain. He could no more allow Mary or Vin or any of the others to become anything like this sorry excuse for a man cowering on the floor behind Josiah and Buck for protection from Mary, his Mary. The realization that he was surrounded by people who would fight and die by his side was a humbling experience for a man who had sworn his heart and soul had died with Sarah and Adam. These people had given his heart back to him, and it was with a profound sense of relief that he silently thanked God for their generosity. By morning he might regret he had not taken this opportunity to see Radcliffe dead by his own hands, but for this moment, he knew that it was right to wait for justice in the form of men like Orrin Travis to order Radcliffe to the hangman's noose. He wasn't the only one that night to realize how much he wanted to live in more than just one sense of the word.
A lantern near the table by the door cast an eerie glow to the room casting shadows that danced along the ceiling and walls. Avery Franklin was lying back against the overstuffed pillows of his massive bed drinking a very expensive, imported brandy. Pepper was draped across his chest dozing. An exhausted and subdued Tammy Jo was leaning against the big footboard; the black eye and bloody nose having convinced her that this was the last time she sold her body for money. Keeping as far from that man as she could while he was ignoring her, she decided to forget saving a tidy sum to start fresh in a new town. Once she got back to the saloon, she was going to get on the first stage out of town. His sated smile gave her the creeps. Tammy Jo had finally had enough of this life. She would rather starve than spend another night at the mercy of someone else controlling her body.
It was just an hour after midnight, and Franklin had decided to enjoy the women just a few more hours before he killed them. No sense in leaving witnesses, but it would inconvenience him a great deal losing Pepper. She was the perfect courtesan, giving a man exactly what he wanted all the while acting as if she enjoyed it as well. She was even willing to allow him the occasional third party to satisfy his demands, and she always managed to find some young thing who still had that little touch of innocence that he so enjoyed destroying. This Tammy Jo was so easy to shock, and he planned to shock her even more before he was through. Maybe, if her shock and fear pleased him enough, he might just decide to let her and Pepper live, Pepper especially. He might even take them both with him when he left. That would keep them silent and prevent the necessity of breaking in a new mistress. Ella had fascinated him with her carnal appetites, but he had grown tired of her obsession with Larabee. He was glad of her disappearance, and it made him embrace the idea of keeping Pepper alive at least until he had found a new woman to please him. He drained the snifter and placed it on the table by the bed. Then he dislodged Pepper from his chest and crooked a finger ordering Tammy Jo to come closer. The fear that surged in her eyes made him laugh aloud. He never saw the candlestick that Pepper brought down across his head.
Tammy Jo nearly screamed in shock as he fell back against the white linen sheets that were soon turning scarlet with the blood that gushed from the head wound, but Pepper's harshly whispered commands to shut up and get her clothes on silenced her. She shut her mouth with a snap as Pepper jumped from the bed and hurriedly dressed. Following her mentor's example, Tammy Jo pulled on her clothes and watched as Pepper walked over to the night table and silently took all the money from Franklin's wallet and a key. She smiled knowingly at Tammy Jo.
"Bout time you and me left this town for San Francisco, eh, Tammy Jo?"
Tammy Jo was a quick one, all right. "I hear a body kin get lost real easy in a town big as San Francisco. What about that other one downstairs?"
"Honey, I gave him some laudanum for the pain. He won't wake up until this one comes to an' starts lookin' fer us, an' if we tie him up an' gag him, he won't make no noise for a while. Now quit yer jawin' an' let's get the hell outa here. We ride hard and fast an' we'll be just in time fer the stage outa Rosebud." Pepper was dressed and was busy tying up the unconscious Franklin with torn sheets. She was no fool, and Franklin had the same look in his eye like the time before when he had killed young Daisy. Pepper knew Franklin liked to hurt people, and she realized it was only a matter of time before he tired of her. So, she wasn't surprised when she saw what she called the bloodlust in his eyes. No way was Tammy Jo going to end up dead like Daisy. Pepper knew where the money was kept, and she and Tammy Jo were going to take it and the horses and then hightail it out of there. She knew that this man's and his partner's trail of villainy would end here in Ivyville, and Pepper was not going down with them. She had friends in Frisco; friends who would welcome her, Avery's money, and the pretty Tammy Jo.
"But, Pepper, all my money's in the bank in town." Tammy Jo could not keep the whine from her voice.
"You won't need the money if yer dead. Now, we got us a chance, an' we can take his money. You gonna give all that up fer the few coins you was able to save?"
Tammy Jo saw the wisdom of Pepper's words. "Let's ride." With that, both women made short work of unlocking the desk drawer that contained the combination to the safe downstairs where no less than four thousand dollars was kept at all times. Since Franklin had offered his hired killer five thousand to kill Larabee, the two women were able to get away with the tidy sum of nine thousand dollars. They were in fact rich, very, very rich. Two silent and very satisfied women left the ranch before dawn opened on a new day. It would be a good two hours before they would utter one word so astonished at their good fortune they were. Each would be well on their way to San Francisco before all hell would break loose in Ivyville, and break loose it would once Franklin awoke to find he had been robbed and deserted.
Franklin had woken just as Pepper had begun speaking to Tammy Jo telling her what they could do in San Francisco with nine thousand dollars, and none of the things she had mentioned had anything to do with working in a saloon. With Tammy Jo's looks, Pepper's brains, and Franklin's money, they could easily catch themselves a good man if marriage was what they wanted. The world was theirs right now, and neither one wanted to think of what would happen when Franklin came to and got loose. It was better for them that they did not dwell on that, but Pepper had already decided to wire the sheriff in Ivyville and tell him about certain written records about guns sold to the Apaches and where those records were kept. Then, Franklin would be too busy saving his empire to worry about two working girls and a paltry nine thousand dollars.
Continued in Part Five
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