It seemed as if they were never going to stop, the blonde man wasn’t concerned. This was nothing compared to the days in the saddle he’d done before.
He kept a sharp lookout where they were going, a hell of a lot deeper into the badlands that was for sure. The whole way, the blonde man started to go through what and how he was going to kill Greely.
He knew that if he didn’t plan this right there would be no going home. He thought of his wife, her fierce determination. Hell, knowing her, if he was killed, she’d probably have a shaman revive him so SHE could shoot him.
A shudder went through him that he had to hide, she was as fierce as any that he’d gone after. It was what had drawn him to her in the first place. Well, that and the fact that she could shot damn near as good as he could.
He scratched his head, he was sure he got away after he left the note, though now? He wasn’t so sure, he could swear he could feel someone on his trail though he’d seen no sign.
A slight shake of his head, he was sure she wouldn’t come after him. Then again, he could swear he could feel someone following, a feeling almost as eerie as the warriors he’d met, the week before.
The more he thought about it the, more he was certain. Then a realization hit him. Damn it! His wife was part Kiowa herself. Though, they didn’t teach the females, warrior skills.
It was rapidly approaching sundown when they rode into a poorly constructed corral. Looking around, the blonde man saw some hastily constructed cabins.
All of them got down, tying their mounts up. “Them’s the bunk houses, such as they are. Get some shut eye, we start early.” The leader said, then moved off to another cabin.
The blonde man along with the two from the saloon, fell in line with the other three that had been with the leader. Heading straight to the cabin, the blonde man had to hold his bile at the smell of unwashed bodies that met him.
Obviously, he thought, bathing isn’t too high on the list of necessary things here. Walking in the room the stench grew even greater, moving to a bunk by the window the blonde man pulled a pistol.
“Move this is mine,” he said making it more urgent as he cocked the hammer on his pistol.
“Get your own, this here is m…” the young man started to say the swallowed hard when he saw the pistol an inch from his face. “Hey, I thought,” the young man tried again.
“Either ya get or I’ll plug ya. Then I’ll have to explain another body, now get!” The blonde man said poking the man with the barrel.
“I’m a going, no sense in a shooting when we need sleep.” The young man grumbled as he moved his meager possessions.
The blonde man laid in the cot like bed, fully clothed.
It was an hour later that a movement cause the blonde man’s eyes to pop open. The blonde man laid as still as he could, watching the young man from before along with another young man move toward his cot.
The first young man made a slashing motion across his neck as he pulled a large skinning knife. The young man made a motion for the second young man to smother the blonde man. As soon as the second man agreed, two shots rang out, the first blowing a hole in the young man’s head. The second, caught the second man in the chest, blowing him back across the room.
The blonde man cocked both pistols again, then he sat up, “I aim to be left alone. Seems there are a few that don’t wanna do that. So, anyone else wanna try, come on so I can sleep. Happy ta kill anyone else, good.”
He watched as they hauled the bodies out of the cabin, staying as far from the blonde man as they could.
A moment later the, same large man that had led them there appeared. Looking around the room, his eyes settled on the blonde man.
“I suggest,” he stated to the room, “that all of you leave this one alone. He’s fair piece faster, than any of you that I have seen draw a gun. Done lost enough help,” Here the man leaned close to the blonde man. “Try to not kill all o them.”
The blonde man nodded as those that had taken the bodies out returned. Immediately, all in the room moved their cots as far from the blonde man as possible.
A smirk briefly crossed the blonde man’s lips, now I might get a nap he thought.
It seemed that he’d just closed his eyes when, there was a commotion, then they were all being roused. Getting up the blonde man looked warily around the room sizing up all there.
With a nod of his head, he could see that almost all there weren’t really a match for his guns nor his speed with them. Though he thought, there were a few young bucks, that appeared to be far more confident than he thought they should.
Everyone was slowly filing out, the blonde man last, still keeping his eyes on everyone. He was stopped by the large burly man that was the obvious boss.
“I can appreciate that you wanna be left alone. We need the men, kill anymore it’s gonna cost you an’ your cut.” the boss said.
“Sure thing, boss. They stay off me, they don’ die. They continue to keep at me, well it’s not gonna be pretty that’s for shur.” The blonde man replied.
“Just remember, the less of the men you kill, the more you make. Now, get some vitals, hittin’ the trail in an hour.” The boss replied.
The blonde man nodded as he hit the chow line, holding in his bile at the smell of grease and burned meat.
As soon as he entered the building, almost all conversation stopped. Almost all eyes were on him, following his every movement. He could hear a few of the whispered conversations about him.
What little he got of the supposed food, had his stomach clenching. He’d eaten some right poor food, though this put all of those to shame.
Every bite was almost a torture, making him wish he had a bit of whiskey to wash it down. He wasn’t sure what he was eating, he also wasn’t sure if it was completely all cooked. He had half a mind to volunte… no, he was here for a job, not to make nice with this band of killers.
Finally, through the almost raw meal, the blonde man moved out to check what was going on.
He nodded to the apparent boss of this group, he also noticed that the man was sizing him up. Hmmm, this one wasn’t as big a fool as the blonde man thought he was.
A few hours later the rag tag, swath of fetid dregs of humanity, climbed into their saddles. Again, the blonde man had to hold in his bile at the overwhelming stench of unwashed bodies in front of him.
They rode for more than three hours before they stopped. “Alright, dismount we’re here.” The boss said.
A younger man walked up to the boss, “what the hell we doing here? I thought we was,…” A shot rang out as the younger man fell, a bullet hole through his stomach. Screaming a moment, the younger man cursed, “you shot me you bastard!” He then drew his revolver only to have the boss shoot him through the head.
With a turn and a hard stare, the boss looked at all the men, “do your job, what and when I tell you. Don’t worry, lot to kill, might be a few bitches too. Just don’t get greedy, you might live through this.”
The big man turned eyeing the blonde man, his eyes roaming over the tied down pistols that the blonde man had. The hard look on the blonde man’s face also made him cautious. This was no average killer, no, this man was far beyond that. Judging by what he’d seen so far, the blonde bastard was very fast too.
“Bed down a while, be a few hours ’til they pass.” The big man told all of them, then watched as the body was dragged away.
They had finally settled down a few hours later when there was a long whistle. Everyone was up immediately, checking that all the weapons were loaded again.
A loud sound started to grow, then a wagon was seen, this was followed by a good number more.
“There they be boys. Enough to keep us going for a few months.” Looking over all the men, he picked five, including ther blonde man. “Ride around to that pass over there, as soon as they are close enough, I want you to take out the first few drivers keep them boxed in.”
All of the five men nodded as the mounted, then lit out. Almost an hour later the boss heard the reports of rifles and revolvers. Whistling, the boss led the rest of the men out. They all immediately started to fire at the wagons. though surprised the people on the wagons tried to fight back.
Ahead, the blond man stood over the bodies of the other four men that, had come with him. He’d grabbed a rifle taking a hiding spot, trying to pick off as many as he could of the attackers.
He’d already managed to hide a few of the people that the other four had tried to murder. What he didn’t know was just how long they’d be safe. He’d managed to take a few of the other attackers, though he knew he wouldn’t get enough to make a difference.
Sure enough, the battle was soon over, a total of ten women were taken, along with eight girls. Cursing silently, the blonde man smeared more blood on his arm and leg. Limping out, the boss was surprised that the man was injuried.
“Where’s the rest of the men?” The boss asked.
“Dead, damn near got me killed with them. Damn fools, started firing ‘afore all of them were in sight. Got three of them in a few minutes.” The blonde man hissed.
The big man eyed the blonde man a minute then nodded accepting the story.
“You’ve the damnedest luck, ‘nother inch it’d been your head, not the shoulder. Plus, it seems that my men wind up dead a lot ’round you. Might have to put you on scout duty, whether or not you know how.” Here the boss looked closer at the blonde man. “Got a feelin’, you’re good at that too.”
The blonde man winced a bit as another man ripped his shirt to reveal the burn of a bullet path. The blonde man barely grimaced when the man started to apply a foul smelling, greasy, concoction to the wound.
“Ah, just a graze, ya’ll live,” the man commented. “Though you ought ta watch it. Infection is a common killer here.”
The boss nodded about to say something when there was a female scream not far away. All three men took off to find a man that had ripped the dress from one of the women. He’d fallen on her trying to release his member, while still holding her. The cocking of three hammers was the only thing that stopped the man.
“I don’ remember saying that you could use the women yet.” The boss growled.
The man slowly turned over, his member still hanging out, “you said there’d be plenty of bitches. Now’s as good a time as any.”
“Told all of ya, ya follow orders. Ya don’ you’re out.” The boss said as he put the barrel of his pistol to the man’s head. “Since we stopped you before you harmed ‘er, I’ll give ya a chance.”
The boss pulled his pistol back, then shot between the man’s legs, blowing the man’s cock off. The man started to scream; the boss kept the rest back. “Shouldn’t we help him?” Another man asked.
“No,” the boss said, “said I’d give ‘im a chance, if he lives, then he’s still got a job. If he doesn’t? Then it’s a lesson to the others, follow orders or you don’ get a chance to not disobey again.”
The boss turned his back walking to the others, the blonde man not far behind him. “Any orders boss?”
The boss whirled looking at all the men. “load the women and girls on a wagon. We head out soon. No telling if they had any others with them trailing.”
“What about ‘im?” One of the men asked, pointing a finger at the man, the boss had just castrated with his pistol.
“If’en he can ride, he can catch up with us, if not? The buzzards eat good tonight.” The boss said as he had all of them start preparing to move out.
It was a good hour, when what was left of the men, started out with a wagon full of women and girls.
One of the men was staring at a blonde woman in the front of the wagon. “Can’ wait to get ya under me, gonna pump you ’til you beg me to take you over and over.” The man then reached under the woman’s dress, only to have her kick the man in the face. This also knocked the man out of the saddle, causing most of the men to laugh.
Angry to the point of his face growing red, the man drew his revolver, though froze when he heard a hammer drawn back next to his ear.
“Now then, if you think you’re fast enough, try it. Boss said no playing with the bitches, I aim to make sure his orders are followed. ‘Course we could take it up with him.” Came a voice almost as close as the barrel that was now touching his head. “Well? Ain’t got all day, decide, die here or put’em away.”
The man slowly holstered his pistol, then turned to stare into the stone cold, eyes of the blonde man. Shit the man thought, it looked like he was staring into the face of death itself.
“How I know ya not gonn’ tell him anyway?” The now very nervous man asked.
“Ya don’t though, I’m feelin generous, leave then ALL alone, ya might survive, got it?” The blonde man said punctuating his point as he poked the man in his ribs.
The man swallowed hard as he looked at the blonde man, then the pistol that was poking his ribs. “S-sure mister, don’ wanna not get paid.”
The blonde man looked hard into the man’s eyes then nodded holstering his gun. Turning, the blonde man rode ahead of the wagon. He stopped heading back when he heard a female voice call out to him.
A scowl on his face, he stopped at the wagon. “I got work ta do what ya want?”
“I just wanted to thank you, he…” the blonde woman started.
“Don’t thank me, more than likely you’ll be under the men in a few days. They train their whores a hell of a lot before they put them out there to make coin.” The blonde man told her.
“I am no whore; I am a lady. I will never…” The blonde woman started.
The blonde man turned his stone cold, piercing eyes to look directly into the woman’s eyes.
“It doesn’t make a difference; they will take you over and over and over ’til there is nothing left. Better to accept your fate YOU are now a whore nothing more nothing less. They own your ass ALL of your ass! Get used to it!” The blonde man spit out the turned to ride further up the line of men.
The blonde woman was still staring at his back as he moved further down the line. For the sake of the others, her mouth was still gaping as the man moved almost out of sight. Just as suddenly, a slight smile crossed her face as she settled back in with the others.
It had taken her a month of tracking but she was here now. Damn, she’d seen him determined before though, not as much as he was now.
The blonde man could only shake his head, so she’d managed to catch up to him after all. He swore that she was more indian than white, this was dangerous, far more than she realized.
They rode on for the better part of two days, given the slow speed of the wagon. At least he wasn’t going to have to fight off this bunch for a while. Then again, he thought as he saw the boss eyeing him more than a few times, that might change really quick.
They finally pulled to the top of a ridge; the shanty town spread out below. The blonde man tensed up, if anything happened this was the place it would happen.
Sure enough, three men pulled in front of his horse, blocking his way. “Then four were our compadres. I ain’t buying that shit you spewed, ’bout ’em shootin’ early. They were pretty dumb, they weren’ stupid. I’m thinkin ya might a had a hand in their deaths. I aim to find out afor we get in.” The obvious leader stated.
“You might want to rethink that.” The blonde man said as he watched all three pull revolvers. The blonde man’s hand tightening on his own revolver.
“Well,” the leader of the men said. “Seems mister speed here thinks he’s faster than all of us. In case you missed it? We already have ours drawn, now take that peace maker out real slow, then…”
The blonde man drew and shot all while falling off his horse. Even as the leader was falling, a shocked look on his face, the blonde man was already firing at the other two as he hit the ground.
Another man fell from the saddle a hole in his gut, while the third had also thrown his self from his mount. A thundering of approaching hooves, alerted the both of them that they were about to have company.
Taking a risk, the blonde man rolled out keeping his sights on the last man. The last man was caught unaware with the blonde man drilling him down his face into his body.
A few moments later a good number of men arrived. The boss for the mission could only shake his head. “I thought I told you about…”
“Not my fault if they are stupid boss, thought they could kill me before we got in. I tried to persuade them, they decided they knew better. I showed they was wrong.” The blonde man said.
The boss’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the two dead, then the one screaming. With a shake of his head, he drew his revolver, then shot the screaming man in the head.
“Damn son, like I said gonna have to make ya a scout. Havin’ you with the rest of them men, seems to be dangerous to their health.” The boss said as he holstered his pistol turning to the other men. “I suggest ya get to town, boss’ll divide up everything soon.” Here the boss looked back at the blonde man. “I also suggest, you leave this’en one alone, that is if’en ya want ta live.”
The rest of the men were nodding their heads as, they all gave the blonde man a wide berth. The boss watched closely as the blonde man saddled up, with a slow turn the blonde man rode behind the rest.
Finally the blonde man thought, he could get this over with. If the boss was actually here in the town, then he might finally have a chance to finish it.
As he rode along, he thought of the blonde woman. The mere fact that she was here complicated things a hell of a lot. A small sigh escaped his lips, she was good, almost as good as him, though there were a lot of men here.
The realization that he might have to help her, put a damper on what little good mood he’d had. Looking ahead at the rest of the men, he could sense that, there was still a few that he was going to have to kill.
A ways back, the boss was saddling up when a thought came to him. The way the blonde man moved; he could swear he’d seen something like that before. Deep in thought a moment he nodded his head; it had been a law man. Thing is, this man was no law man, at least he’d ever seen before. No, this man was a stone-cold killer, no, there was something else about him that made the boss weary.
A quick turn the boss took off at a full gallop, he needed to inform the big boss ’bout this.