The late afternoon sun streaming through the windows of the Clarion was a welcome sign. As of late, Four Corners had been drenched in rain. Chris was wondering if it was ever going to let up. But of course, when everyone thought that the world was going to be wet forever, it stopped. The clear weather found many outside, just walking around enjoying the sunshine, but that was not so with Chris Larabee and Mary Travis. They were in the Clarion arguing. About what exactly, no one knew. The two were always at it, and everyone had learned to stay away when they got started.
Chris leaned forward on the table as Mary stood safely behind it. Chris shook his head, not believing they were having this same old discussion.
"Mrs. Travis, I know that this newspaper is your life, but you cannot go around accusing people of horse-thieving!" Chris stated, tiredly.
"Mr. Larabee, I simply stated the facts that presented themselves. I in no way said that Mr. Johnson was…"
Mary's voice trailed off as she looked past Chris towards the door. Turning to see what had caught her eye, Chris saw a man walk through the door. Chris heard Mary move from around the desk and make a move to approach the stranger. As soon as she was beside Chris, the man who was still standing in the doorway reached under his coat and pulled out a shotgun.
Lunging to his right, Chris shoved Mary down, at the same time, pulling out his own gun. The shotgun fired once, missing it's target by about 2 inches. The next bullet hit Chris square in the shoulder, but not before Chris was able to get off a fatal shot the heart. The man dropped to the ground, exposing the open door. Outside, people ran by, trying to get away from the shots.
Chris helped Mary off the floor. As she steadied herself on his left arm, he drew in a sharp intake of air, and she noticed the shoulder wound for the first time.
"Ohmygod!" Some of the color that had returned to her face faded quickly again at the sight of the gunshot wound.
"Come on, we have to get you to Nathan!" Mary led Chris to the door, and as they stepped over the body, Chris kicked the fallen shotgun to a corner of the room. Making their across the street, neither noticed the looks that were cast in their direction.
Mary led Chris into his room, and lay him down on the bed. "Wait here, I'll go get Nathan!"
She quickly walked out the door, and onto the street, knowing exactly where Nathan would be, she did not hesitate at the saloon doors. Looking around quickly, she spotted Nathan at the bar with Buck and JD. Running over, she grabbed Nathan's shoulder, causing the tall healer to turn around.
"Mr. Jackson, please, you have to come quick. Mr. Larabee has been shot!" Mary was out of breath, but Nathan understood her perfectly, and in one second was away from the bar and being led by Mary.
Buck and JD looked at each other, then dropped their drinks on the bar, and ran after the two. They found Nathan and Mary in Chris' room, where Chris was on the bed. The sheets around him were already stained with blood. Chris was sitting up, as Nathan looked at the wound.
"Looks like the bullet is still in there. I'm gonna have to get it out." Nathan turned and faced the others.
"JD, run over to my room and grab my medical kit." The kid was out of the room in a flash, his hurried footsteps could be heard on the hard wood. "Buck, get me some towels for the bleeding." Buck followed JD's lead and was gone. Nathan turned back to face Chris. The gunslinger's eyes were closed, and sweat was beginning to bead on his forehead.
"Chris," Nathan asked, "who'd you piss off this time?" Chris smiled and opened his eyes. His voice came out surprisingly strong and steady.
"Beats the hell out of me." Nathan grinned, and turned as JD and Buck both came back into the room, followed immediately by Josiah, Ezra, and Vin, all with concerned looks on their faces. JD put the kit on the bed beside Nathan, and Buck handed the towels to the healer.
"Buck, take a towel and put pressure on the wound." Buck complied and kneeled beside the bed, putting the towel onto the wound, Chris flinched in pain. "Sorry, pard."
"I want everyone out except Buck." JD and Josiah were the first to leave, and Ezra and Vin followed after them. Mary hesitated before leaving, she felt like she should do something to help, but she knew that Nathan would have everything under control. Sighing, she left, and closing the door behind her, she headed to her home to change out of the clothes that were now stained in Chris' blood.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After Mary had put on a clean dress, she stared out the window of the back-room at the clarion that she had made into her home. She could see five of the hired guns walking towards the jail, and decided to go and see how Chris was doing, even though it had not been 15 minutes since she'd left his room.
She left through the back door, not wanting to see the blood stains in the main office. As she crossed the street, she heard her name being called. Turning in the direction of the voice, she saw Vin wave at her. She turned and walked towards Vin and the others, who were gathered on the steps to the jail.
"Yes Mr. Tanner?" Mary hoped her voice wasn't shaking.
"How are you doing?" Vin's voice sounded sincere, and as she looked at the others on the wooden steps, she saw nothing but looks of concern.
Mary cleared her throat, "I'm fine. Just a little shaken up."
"You're a very lucky lady," Buck's replied in his normal deep voice.
"Yes, I know," thoughts of the gunshots flooded back into her mind, "How is Mr. Larabee doing?"
"He's gonna be fine." Vin smiled at her. JD spoke up from behind the bounty hunter.
"Mrs. Travis, we were just wondering…who was the man shooting at; Chris, or you?"
Mary looked JD right in the eye. "You mean you don't know? I mean, Chris didn't know him?" Mary couldn't quite understand what they were saying.
"No ma'am. He said that he's never seen the guy before." Josiah looked sympathetically at the widow. "So Chris may not have been the target. Had you ever seen him before?"
Mary looked to the others, then responded, "No, he was a stranger to me…So you're all telling me that man walked into the Clarion and shot at two people that he didn't know?!" Mary's tone was exasperated.
"No ma'am. He obviously knew either Chris or you, but we're just not sure who. Chris never let us have the chance to find that out, thanks to him being such a good shot and all."
"Personally, Mr. Wilmington," Mary's voice was beginning to rise, "I'm extremely grateful that Mr. Larabee is such a 'good shot' because I am alive right now thanks to him." Mary's face was flushed, and she felt embarrassed that she had gotten so worked up.
The others simply stared at her, then one by one they tipped their hats and went inside the jail, until only Mary and Buck remained.
"You're right ma'am, I apologize." He said and walked across the street not following the others, to the boarding hose, and disappeared inside.
- - - - - - -
"And you're sure you'd never seen the guy before?"
"For the third time, Buck, no, I didn't know him!" Chris was beginning to get annoyed by his friends constant questioning. The two were sitting outside the boarding house, against Nathan's orders that Chris get some rest. Buck smiled at his friend.
"Right. Sorry. So, looks like you're getting slow in your old age." Buck smiled broadly at his old friend. Chris knew he was kidding, and smiled. "No, I'm still as fast as I was."
"So how do you explain you getting shot?"
Chris shrugged, "Shoulda ducked faster." Buck and Chris both smiled. A few moments of silence went by as a man walked past them and into the boarding house.
Buck shook his head in disbelief. "I'm just a little unsure of why this guy would have done that if he didn't know you." Buck looked at Chris expectantly, but the gunman just shook his head.
"Not sure Buck. Did you talk to Mary? Did she know him?"
Buck shook his head. "Nope. Never seen him before." The two men were quiet for a few minutes. Chris'
harsh voice broke the silence, "Is she okay?"
"I'm fine, Mr. Larabee."
Both men looked up and saw Mary Travis standing on the steps in front of them. Buck smiled at her and looked at the ground.
"I wanted to thank you, Mr. Larabee. You seem to have saved my life once again." Her voice was shaking slightly.
"You're welcome ma'am." Chris smiled meekly.
"I'm just glad you're alright."
Buck cleared his throat and looked at Mrs. Travis. "If you'll excuse us ma'am, I think I need to get Chris inside before Nathan comes around and sees him out here." Taking the hint, Chris got up from his chair slowly, exposing his left arm that was in a sling around his shoulder.
Mary looked from the sling to Chris' eyes, and for the briefest moment, thought she saw what appeared to be a twinge of pain. Buck nodded his goodbye, and Mary smiled, continuing on her way to the Clarion. Tears welled up in her eyes as she realized that she was the reason Chris was in pain. If he didn't have to go around playing everybody's hero, maybe this wouldn't have happened!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The man was not going away. Nathan watched him pass the livery for what must have been the fifth time in the last 20 minutes.
Chris and Nathan were sitting in the chairs in front of the saloon talking about various topics, and then out of nowhere the man had appeared. He had come out of the boarding house, and seeing the two men across the street, had begun his back and forth trek, trying his hardest not to look suspicious, but failing miserably. He was not from Four Corners, and Nathan did not recognize him, nor did Chris.
It was beginning to piss Chris off.
Nathan laughed at the look of the gunslingers face. "Why don't you just go over and deck him?" Chris smiled, the idea was getting more and more appealing.
"What do you suppose he's waiting for?" Chris asked the tall healer.
"Who knows. Maybe a lady friend." Smiling again, Chris leaned over and reached down to the wooden boards on the porch and picked up the cup that was sitting there. Taking a sip of the hot Coffey, he locked eyes with the stranger. Trying to get a better look at the man, Chris squinted against the sun, which was a bad idea. The man somehow took it as a challenge, and in the blink of an eye, a gun was drawn and he fired one shot at Chris. Nathan's gun was drawn just as fast and returned fire, knocked the man to the ground.
"You alright Chris?" Nathan looked over at his friend who was just staring at his Coffey cup.
"Yeah. Well, I guess we figured out what he was doin over there." Stepping off the porch, Chris slowly made his way over to where the man lay bleeding from a wound in the shoulder, but still alive. Nathan bent down and retrieved the strangers weapon, and handed it to Chris.
Quietly, Chris kneeled down so that he was face to face with the wounded man. As he lay looking back at Chris, his eyes were filled with intense fear, more than Chris had ever seen.
Almost in a whisper, Chris asked, "What's your name?"
The man swallowed. "H-Harris."
Chris nodded. "Well Harris, better luck next time." And without a word, Chris fired a single shot into the man's chest, silencing him. Nathan had not even seen Chris draw his gun. The shot startled him, and he turned as Vin, Josiah, Ezra, and JD, and Buck came up behind him. JD drew in a breath, wondering what he should do about Chris since he was sheriff.
"Jesus Chris!" Bucks voice boomed as Chris rose. "What the hell was that for? The man was already down!!" Chris stared at his friend, then put his gun back into his holster without tearing away his eyes. Adjusting his sling with his good arm, Chris pushed past them all and disappeared through the boarding house door, as residents scampered to get out of his way.
Josiahs deep voice broke the silence. "Well, at least we know now that it is Chris they're after, not Mary."
"Yes, and if any of you gentlemen know the details, would you be so kind as to explain them to me?" Ezra's voice jokingly asked the others.
Vin smiled. "Beats the hell outta me. I always thought people liked him." JD laughed and helped Nathan carry away the body, while the others headed back to the saloon as Buck headed to the boarding house after Chris.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Chris knew that Buck was coming after him long before Buck burst through the door. His heavy boots and spurs made rhythmic clanking noises as he made his way up the stairs and down the hall. Without hesitating, Buck threw open the door to Chris' rented room and stormed inside. Standing in the middle of the room, Chris simply just looked at him.
"Did you want something?" Chris' voice was casual, and Buck could tell that he wanted no trouble.
"Since when do you go executing men once they're already down?" The scoundrel had known Chris a long time, but never thought he'd see the day when the gunslinger would go that far over the edge.
"He tried to kill me, in turn he got himself killed. What's the big deal?" Larabee continued to stare at his friend. After a few moments of silence, Buck finally dragged his gaze away from Chris'. "That wasn't right Chris and you know it. How do you think the people of this town are gonna react? They're all scared of you enough already."
Without warning, Chris walked up to Buck until there was a mere two inches between their faces. His reply startled Buck. "So let 'em be scared. You know as well as I do that if there are men going around looking to take my head as a prize that I'm not just going to sit around and let that happen. The man was down, you're right. You think I shouldn't have shot him. Well, you're wrong. I should have shot him twice."
Knowing that he had made his point more than clear, Chris turned and left the room. Buck stayed behind for a few minutes, letting his friends words sink in. Chris Larabee, an already extremely dangerous man, had lost his conscious, and that made him even more dangerous. Especially to those who trusted him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The next day as the sun was making its way higher into the sky, a stage made its way nosily into the center of town. Stopping in front of the Restaurant, a man stepped down, taking stock of his surroundings. Leaning back into the stage, he pulled out a single brown bag, and crossed the street. Making his way towards the hotel, he paused in front of the door. Looking back into the street, he paused briefly watching the people of the town going about their business. Turning, he went into the hotel. After I get a room, I'll take care of business so I can get out of here.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The saloon was filled with all the normal sounds of people laughing, and talking. In the corner, a man played the piano as a lady hung on his arm. Making his way to the bar, Brian ordered a whiskey. He took the glass and turned around so that he was facing the crowd. Looking around again, he saw no sign of the man he'd come for. His wandering gaze stopped as he spotted a table way back in the corner that was occupied by five men. Immediately he knew what they were like, simply by reputation. But two were missing. As he sized them up one by one, his gaze lingered on the last man. His draw dropped to the floor. I'll be damned! Downing the shot, he placed the empty glass back on the counter and adjusted his hat. Walking over to the table, all conversation stopped. A couple of them watched him approach with cautious eyes, but he was not deterred. Reaching the table, he realized that now not only did he have the entire tables attention, but everyone's in the saloon. Josiah stood up. The two simply stared at each other with rock hard faces, in the dead silence, until finally, Josiah burst out laughing.
"Brian, How the hell are you?" The two men embraced one another.
"I'm good Josiah. You look well." Brian grinned, showing a perfect smile.
"You oughtta see it from this side. Here, let me introduce you." Josiah turned and faced the table. Working clockwise, he introduced his comrades. Brian took complete notes in his head. Buck Wilmington, Nathan Jackson, JD Dunne, and Ezra Standish. They all nodded politely and Brian tipped his hat.
"Fellas, this is my old friend Brian. Come on, join us." Brian accepted and Josiah pulled over an empty chair from the nearest table. Sitting down, he felt somewhat in awe, for the first time in his life. In front of him sat five of the seven men that were known across the territory and farther, and here he was, having a drink with them. He wondered where the other two were. The one that he learned was Buck Wilmington cleared his throat.
"So Brian, what is it that you do for a living?" Josiah got a very uneasy look on his face.
Brian noticed the look, and paused before answering. "I'm a bounty hunter."
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Vin walked across the main street of four corners and over to the saloon. Pushing the double doors opened, he srtod into the saloon and over to the bar. He soon spotted a few of his compainions over in the corner. As he was about to make his way over, he noticed a starnger sitting at the table with them. He stopped in his tracks, wonderfin if he should interupt them or not. Before he could make his decision, Vin locked eyes with Nathan. The healer said a few words to those at the table then quickly stood up, and walked straight to Vin. Gently grabbing the former boutny hunters sleeve, Nathan ushered a very confused Vin outside. Once they were out under the evening sky, Vin stopped and faced Nathan.
"What was all that about?"
"Sorry Vin, but that fella in there is an old friend of Josiah's," Nathan paused, "and a bounty hunter."
Vin looked behind them in the direction of the saloon, and then looked back to Nathan.
"Know what he wants?" Vin asked quietly.
"No, but I didn't wanna take any chances. Figure it be best if he didn't even know you were here."
Slapping Nathan on the shoulder, Vin smiled. "Thanks, pard." He walked towards the jail and disapeared inside. Now alone on the street, Nathan turned and walked back into the saloon and to finish his drink.
It was the hand of fate that kept Vin from walking into the saloon. If he hadn't been out at Nettie Wells' place mending the railing on the porch, he certainly would have walked into the saloon while Brian was there/ And if that happened, the number 7 would go down one in value, to six. At least until the others could come up with a plan to break him out of prison.
Fully aware of this fact, the other five at the table talking with Brian decided to take advantage of the situation.
"What brings you to Four Corners, Brian?" Buck asked, breaking the silence.
After taking a sip of the drink in front of him, Brian responded, "Business."
Nathan nodded. He was afraid of that. "Someone here?"
"I think so. The last time he was seen was here, at that wasn't too long ago." Taking another sip of his drink, Brian leaned forward, and spoke quietly. "To tell the truth, this ain't just a normal bounty. There has been an additional $5,000 promised if he is brought in dead."
JD's glass slipped out of his hands, and crashed onto the floor. The sound of the breaking glass made the five gunslingers flinch, not so much because of the sound, but because they all quickly became very anxious to warn Vin.
Nathan tried to keep the panic look off of his face when he spoke again. "What's the man's name?" They all waited for the answer, hoping that Brian was after someone else, not Vin. Anybody but Vin.
"Name's Chris Larabee."
Another glass shattered on the hard wood floor of the saloon, this time it was Buck's. No one knew what to think. They were all glad that it wasn't Vin, but Chris?
Brian gave Buck an odd glance, then picked up his shot glass.
"Let me know if you're interested. I'm sure we could all help each other out and share the bounty" He tilted his head back and downed the rest of his liquor, and stood up. With a slight tip of his hat, Brian left with a simple "Gentlemen. Josiah, always nice seeing you again." Josiah simply nodded in return.
Walking across the saloon, he pushed his way past the saloon doors, and disappeared into the hot desert air, leaving in his wake a table of five stunned, silent men.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
From an old, wooden chair on the saloon steps, just to the left of the door, a lone man sat, facing the street. He watched as the saloon doors were pushed open and a man exited, a man that had been seen arriving in Four Corners earlier in the morning. The man on the porch watched as the stranger crossed the street, and disappeared into the boarding house across the way, without ever looking back.
After a few moments, the lone man got out of his chair and stepped out into the street, heading for the sheriffs office, his black duster swirling around him in the wind.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Chris!" Bucks voice pulled Chris Larabee out of his thoughts as he exited the boarding house the next morning. Pausing on the steps, Chris put on his hat, and waited for his long-time friend to make his way over to him. Together they walked off the steps and onto the street, falling into step alongside each other.
"What's goin on Buck?"
"We got trouble again, ole pard."
Chris closed his eyes briefly. What now? He opened them and looked over at his friend. They both stopped walking. "What is it?"
Trying not to forget any details, Buck relayed the story of Brian, and what he was here for. Pausing for a brief moment, Buck told Chris about the extra $5,000. This got Chris' attention. It certainly explained everything that had been going on lately.
"What did he say I did?" Chris asked quietly. When Buck didn't answer, Chris turned so that they were standing face to face, and toe to toe.
"Uh, I think we forgot to ask." Buck said.
"You forgot to ask?" The words came out more like a statement than a question, and Chris' voice was surprisingly calm.
"Yeah, we were all so shocked and all, I think it just kinda slipped our minds."
Chris nodded. "He still here?"
Buck nodded. "Yeah, he's in the restaurant eatin with Josiah." He paused. "What you gonna do?"
Chris turned his gaze to the horizon. "Take a walk." And with that, he started walking forward, leaving Buck standing by himself in the middle of the street. As he watched his friend go, he didn't hear the man come up from behind him. He suddenly felt the hand on his shoulder, and he jumped, cursing himself. Turing, Buck looked into the grinning eyes of Vin Tanner.
"Jesus Vin! You trying to give a man a heart attack!?" Catching his breath, Buck asked, "You hear about the situation?"
Vin nodded. "Yeah, JD told me."
"You know, this Brian guy might be here for Chris, but if he sees you or finds out that you're here too, there's gonna be trouble for the both of ya!"
Vin tilted his head back, looked at Buck and squinted his eyes. "Buck, you ain't scared… are ya?" Vin smiled.
Buck frowned. "Hell no! I ain't scared!"
The look on Bucks face made Vin laughed, and as the he walked past Buck, he whispered into the scoundrels ear, "You look scared to me." Then made his way to the saloon.
"Hey! I ain't scared! I never been scared!! Vin!"
Vin's laugh echoed across the desert.
---
