Three ice cubes, already slowly melting, clanked as Lieutenant Governor put the glass aside on the wide windowsill, letting the bittersweet liquid find its way through his throat down to the stomach, where it spread all over with calming warmness. A half-open window allowed the pleasantly cool air to infiltrate his office, which was a little overheated to his taste. He could also hear loud shouts of the errand boy in front of the Brown Palace hotel, who stood at the foot of the main stairs and kept forcing the newest issue of ´The Denver Post´ to hands of each guest passing by.
"Dozens of outlaws on the run! Black Riders stroke again! Reward for any useful information increased!"
With quite a satisfaction, Horace observed the people stopping on the street, reading the newspapers and discussing the recent events. The excited and outraged atmosphere ruled over Denver. Everybody wanted to share their opinion with others, and those discussions were not positive towards the Riders at all.
Tabor stepped away from the window and poured himself another drink from the rich mini-bar. Those naive Riders played right into his cards with that crazy ambush. They turned most of Colorado against themselves even without much of his interference. The more upset the citizens were, the smaller chance for those criminals to slip between his fingers was. As things were going, soon everyone would want to capture them even without any reward.
No matter that it was impossible to find out whom they wanted to get out of the mine, because they definitely did – Tabor could imagine no other reason for them to care about that place – the outcome in overall was positive. Though he had to admit his profits from the so-called Cursed Mine were really significant and thanks to that over-motivated Sheriff he was cut off from it. Not to mention a couple of sniffling reporters and local authorities, who dared to come and ask him questions. Somebody talked, and he would need to find out who that was – to make an example out of that person.
Horace didn´t like the idea of great decrease in his incomes, but if one of the consequences would be having the Riders or at least their leader in chains, it was a small price for the reduction of all those troubles they caused him. Moreover, Duggan and that haughty bounty hunter reported some progress and he expected them to contact him again soon, supposedly with more than good news. The invisible loop around the gang gradually tightened and he was sure that just a little more patience would bring the expected results.
A light knock disturbed Tabor´s thoughts and he turned toward his servant curiously; he didn´t expect any visitors.
"My apologies, sir, but a certain Captain Walker is here, asking for reception," the black servant announced.
Today is a good day, Tabor thought. It seemed that the US Army finally decided to pay an attention to his constant requests for backup to the local Marshals, who, at least according to his opinion, were a bunch of useless idiots.
"Let him in," he beckoned, heading to the spot in front of his table to welcome the captain.
The uniformed man, who entered his office, was tall, fair-haired, recently shaved, with the sharp eyes and he was younger than Tabor had anticipated, no more than thirty five years.
"Welcome, Captain," he shook with the man´s hand. "Have a seat."
"I´ll rather stand, if you don´t mind, sir. I´ve had enough hours of sitting already," the man reacted in a tired voice, but still politely.
"A long trip?" Governor asked.
"Very."
"Serve yourself then… I´m pleased you´ve arrived finally, Captain Walker."
The soldier raised his eyebrows: "You expected me, sir?"
"I definitely expected a reaction from your superiors sooner," Tabor reacted a little caustically.
"Unfortunately, I´m afraid I will not satisfy your needs, Governor," Walker announced.
"What do you mean?" Tabor frowned.
"My superiors are aware of your demand, though I´m just ordered to meet with the local Sheriff for the latest news, and assign the sufficient number of my men to back up the Marshals. But I´ll travel with the rest of them further to the north."
"I´m afraid I don´t understand, Captain," Governor pierced the man with an unsatisfied glare. "You didn´t come here with your unit to put an end to that unfortunate issue with the Riders once and for all?"
"No, sir, not personally," Walker replied stiffly. "But I´m sure that an additional manpower…"
"What else do you need to do that it´s more important than catching those awful criminals?"
The expression on Walker´s face turned quite cold: "There´re also other issues, which request an attention of the Army as well as of the Government, sir. I´m sure that you´re aware of them."
"Be specific, Captain."
"We´ve received dozens of reports about Sioux Indians escaping their confinement in the reservation and raging around towns and farms, burning and killing on sight. When we add that recent slaughter – which still remains unexplained – to the whole situation, we´re afraid that it might lead to another war. I was sent to Colorado to prevent any new bloodshed, sir."
Lieutenant Governor disliked the tone, which the soldier used – it made him feel somewhat inferior.
"Naturally, I´m well aware of other urgent issues. But to remedy the insufficient force, which is available for chasing after those wanted gunslingers…"
"…is the primary task for US Marshals," Walker cut in his upset speech calmly. "That´s why they were established in the first place. Of course, that we will support them as much as we can, but that´s as far as the Army can go."
"Captain Walker…"
"I just follow my orders in this case, Governor. I was supposed to report the presence of myself and my unit in Colorado and inform you about our task. We need to bring those Indians back into line. And now, if you excuse me, I´ve got another appointment. Have a nice day, sir."
With his teeth clenched, Tabor watched as the captain saluted, turned on his heels and showed himself out of the door. He didn´t assume that the unexpected visitor would spoil his mood so much. The Army headquarters didn´t pay an attention to his requests – that happened for the first time ever.
Damn soldiers, they thought so high of themselves still, no matter how much time had passed since the Civil War. And was it only him, or Walker seemed to be almost satisfied that he had another task than dealing with the Riders?
***
A young elk stood still for a while, its blowholes shivering as the animal tried to catch any suspicious scent, which would disrupt the fresh air of its home. But the glade on that side of the brook was absolutely empty and peaceful. Not like the opposite bank, where the elk recognized the most dangerous odor it got to know so far – the human´s scent. The elk retreated from there, quickly enough it seemed, and it could enjoy the late breakfast now.
The tall, light brown owner of still rather small antlers, which were supposed to get much larger that year, stepped on the glade flooded with the faint sun light, which reached that hidden place through the thick crown of conifers above. The animal leant its head down to the first layer of grass and moss, which indicated the real start of the spring season.
The elk didn´t even realize something was wrong, when there was a sudden hard hit right into his chest and something horribly cold reached its calmly beating heart. The petite legs gave in, as the animal fell, with its muzzle still full of bracken. Its ears shuddered just once, faintly hearing a sound of someone approaching, but the darkness got to the elk sooner than the hunters…
*
To his amazement, Jin found out that watching Kame on the hunt was almost fascinating. The youngster moved through the forest as if he was a natural part of it, not disrupting its peace, but adapting to the surroundings in a way, which the older one was not able to achieve.
Very soon, Jin realized that for the success of their task it was better to follow Kame´s steps, as the younger one was always able to suspect a possible catch in advance and stopped their progress before his clumsier companion could startle it. As they were, Jin could enjoy the sight of Kazuya shooting the young elk.
The handsome hunter stood beside the tree, his stance firm and motionless, and the expression in his face was calm, as he fully focused on the target. One of Kame´s hands was raised forward, while the elbow of the second one high as he hold the bow taut for a couple of seconds, before he released the arrow to send it with the lethal precision right into the animal´s heart. Jin just couldn´t tear his eyes off him, until Kame put the bow down.
To the general surprise, they had found the bow and some arrows in the barn, among other very useful supplies, which Oswald left behind for their use. As for how the man obtained them remained a mystery to them. Anyway, Jin couldn´t help but notice that Kame was really glad about putting the firearms away for a while and used the opportunity right away, as their company separated into three groups.
While Leo with Jack remained at the cottage, Jane with Carl and Patrick set off to the city for necessary supplies. Jin himself with Kame, Ryo, Koki and quite stubborn Esler, who insisted he was fed up with slackening around, headed to the woods for a whole-day-hunt, with the intention to catch some meat to feed the bottomless stomachs of certain members of their group.
The others carried the rifles, including Jin, who exceptionally let his precious revolvers hidden back ´home´. He had them along almost all the time, since Kame had managed to get them back for him from Captain Walker, who took them from Grenet during the man´s arrest. But they would be inconvenient for the hunt. Not to mention that it seemed he would have no use for the rifle either, since Kame was so precise with arrows.
"That was pretty damn perfect, considering how you worried that you´re out of practice…" Jin murmured admiringly, as they headed to the spot of the last breakfast of one elk.
Kame smiled: "It´s a good bow, very similar to those which are used by Indians in the north. Otherwise, I´d have some problems getting used to it."
"Recently, I really wonder just what can turn out to be a problem for you," the older one reacted a little caustically.
Kame pondered his remark for a while, before his eyes gathered some mischievous shine: "You," he said then.
Jin froze on the spot: "Hey…" he breathed out in a hurt tone.
Kame glanced back over his shoulder: "Only from time to time, no need to worry about that really," he assured the older one innocently and continued walking.
Jin followed him to the fallen animal sulking in silence. Kame already managed to check on the animal being really dead, ripped off the arrow from its chest and put the bow aside, before Jin even caught up with him. The young gunslinger observed the bloody wound closely – it was a clear shot, the elk couldn´t even realize what was happening.
"I forgot to add…" Kazuya straightened up and approached him with a playful smile. "That you´re my most pleasant problem ever," he finished the statement with caressing Jin´s lips in a slow tender kiss, which left the older one quite dumb founded. When Kame retreated, he reached after him, but the younger one avoided his attempt and pointed at their catch.
"We´ve got a job to do," he announced.
"It seems to me you slept very well this time," Jin noted, still a little insulted, but despite that liking the way Kame teased him.
"It could be better," the younger one replied as he took out a small axe from Jin´s backpack.
"How comes?" he wondered.
"Someone kept trying to slip under my blanket."
Jin´s jaw dropped in shock: "What? Don´t tell me that annoying blonde bastard harassed you in the night…!"
Koki was the one sleeping next to Kame from the other side that night and just that idea made Jin furious.
Kame burst out in a heartily laughter: "No, Jin, what are you thinking? It was you," he informed the older one. "I had quite a hard time to push you back on your mattress in the morning, before somebody could wake up and see you harassing me."
Jin stared at the younger one and felt his cheeks getting unusually warm: "Really? But… I don´t remember… that…"
"I figured. You were half-asleep," Kame reacted still amused.
"Sorry," Jin murmured. "I didn´t mean to…"
"It´s all right!" the younger one assured him quickly. "I wasn´t cold at least," and he gave Jin a smile, which made the older one forget his previous mood right away.
*
They disemboweled the entrails and separated the head right on the spot, leaving it behind for pumas, wolves or any other wildlife. Then they took turns dragging the elk´s body on a few long branches toward their temporary camp, where they planned to skin it, clean up and prepare for taking it back to the cottage.
The other three hunters were not back yet, but they heard two very faint gunshots somewhere in the northerly direction, so they probably had some luck as well and would appear later.
Cooperating, Kame and Jin managed to finish most of the dirty job quite quickly, so after washing their hands in the brook under the camp they ended up adoring the nice view from the hill. Admiring the surrounding woods, and drinking on some coffee that Kame prepared, they had a moment of peace and quiet for themselves.
With the time, Kame treasured those moments more and more. They didn´t have to say or do anything, it felt good enough just having Jin on his side. But unexpectedly, this time it was the older one who started the heavy topic, which they subconsciously tried to avoid that day.
"It seemed to me this morning that Leo wants to talk with me," Jin said slowly, while observing the sea of conifers under them. "I think the rest of the group discussed the situation last night as well, when we weren´t there."
Kame looked at Jin´s serious face a little surprised; usually it was him breaking the peaceful atmosphere with serious questions and conversations.
"When we will talk, I want you to be there too," the older one stated firmly.
"Of course, if Leo isn´t against it," Kame nodded.
"He won´t. This problem concerns both of us, right?" Jin seemed to be eager for some assurance from his side, and Kame willingly gave it to him.
"I´ve already said this before, Jin – I´m with you no matter what."
"Even if it means that we´ll become ´wanted´ too?" his worried lover asked in a deep voice.
Kame didn´t reply right away. So, Jin had realized it as well. It was already painfully clear where that whole thing with the two of them helping the Riders was heading to – no matter how careful they were, soon they would considered as ´official´ members of the gang and that could not be taken back.
"Yes…" he said finally. "But we should try a different approach first. We could try and persuade them to stop this crusade against Tabor. That man is a Lieutenant Governor, Jin. He´s able to send a battalion of soldiers after the Riders and that won´t end up nicely."
"Yeah, I also think that they might listen to us now at least," Jin agreed. "It´s too risky to go against someone like that… Even though I understand their reasons."
"I can understand that too, but… If we go with them to the open war against that man, there would be no way back anymore."
Jin kept looking at him for a while, with a deep emotion in his eyes, which Kame could not decipher. Then the older one raised his hand and took the end of the black scarf wrapped around Kazuya´s neck with his fingertips.
"Kazu… Do you think there´s still a way out of this?" he asked seriously, soothing the cloth slowly. "After everything what we did with them? After that mine?"
Kame stiffened a little. He didn´t fully realize it, until Jin said it, or he didn´t want to, but they really got themselves involved too deep. They both killed for the Riders already. No matter if it was self-defense, didn´t it make the criminals of them as well? Not to mention that they already considered most of the Riders as friends… And according to everyone´s behavior, it was not only one-sided feeling.
It that case, was there even any space left for keeping their distance? Hardly. And Jin got to be aware of it even sooner than him… Kame closed his eyes, feeling somehow defeated.
"You´re right," he admitted heavily. "There´s not any..."
"So, we´re in this with them no matter how they decide, right?" Jin probably gathered the courage to resolve the question of their attitude once and for all and Kame was glad it was him saying it.
"Yes," he reacted quietly, with his mind heavy, knowing that this could turn out as a pretty long trip to Colorado and Liwan popped up on his mind, as well as the rest of the tribe. Who knew when he would be able to see them again?
When he felt a gentle tug on his scarf, which he accepted a few days ago without much thinking, Kame opened his eyes, just to notice a glimpse of Jin´s relieved expression, before the older one´s lips gave a gentle peck to his.
Kame frowned a little: "This felt like a ´thank you´, but I assure you that´s not necessary, Jin…"
Hearing those words, Jin´s face brightened and then he leant down to Kame´s lips for the second time. That kiss was longer, deep and demanding, as Jin didn´t let go of the scarf and held Kame close. But he stopped right when Kame parted his lips, leaving him with the quickened heartbeat and desire for more.
"How did this feel?" Jin asked grinning a little.
"Damn hot," Kame informed him fiercely, grabbed both lapels of Jin´s coat and dragged him back to the no-distance from him, taking on the challenge and capturing the full lips, which left no space for Jin to grin anymore.
The older one allowed Kame to have an upper hand for hardly a moment before his arms circled around the younger´s slender form, capturing him in a tight hug and his tongue slipped out teasing Kame´s lips, until they parted with an eager sigh.
From some reason, at that moment, Kame was hit with the happy realization that no matter how many times Jin kissed him, it always had that warm and exciting effect on him. Quavering a little, he let himself being overwhelmed by the possessive attack, feeling so safe in those strong arms and did his best to pay the older one back with the equal urgency.
Jin noticed how Kame snuggled inside his arms, shifting against his chest a little and fighting for space in their kiss and it made him feel… really lucky. Sometimes, he wondered if he should not fight that attraction towards the younger one somehow. But Jin already knew he wasn´t the only one being affected by the presence of the other so much, so it was all right, to feel so hungry after Kame´s lips and skin, as well as after the whole body.
Engulfed in their connection, the couple failed to notice the approaching voices first, but a laugh resonating somewhere between the trees finally made them rip their lips apart and look around, in the direction of the camp more than thirty yards away from them. The other part of their group was nowhere in the sight yet.
"They´re coming back…" Kazuya breathed out with his lips full and red, and started to disentangle his fingers from Jin´s hair.
The older one snorted something inaudible and ignoring Kame´s efforts to step away, he shifted with him a little and made the younger one lean over the nearest tree. Holding him there, he peeked out from behind the trunk.
"Jin! What are you doing? Let me go!" Kame urged on him in a hushed voice.
"I won´t let us be interrupted every damn time," there was a growling response from the other one, before he prevented Kame from more objections by pressing against his lips again.
Kame pushed against Jin´s chest, hearing the voices of three men getting closer; they were probably already in the camp. When the older one finally let him go, Kame gasped for breath to say something, but Jin was faster.
"They´ll notice us if you keep pushing me away," Jin informed him whispering, with one palm pressed against the tree next to Kame´s head, and with the other on his shoulder, while his breath heated up Kame´s cheek. He stepped as close to him as possible with one foot between the younger´s boots.
Kame watched Jin´s face wordlessly, feeling his resistance slackening, as he let the older one cover him almost completely. Just like that, pressed between the firm body and the tree, Kame felt imprisoned in a way, but it awoke a very nice reaction in him at the same time. He raised his hands, slipping up with them, caressing both sides of Jin´s neck and shifting the hair away with the move. The older one´s skin was hot and his pulse a little off, as Kame´s fingers ran alongside his jaw.
"Hey! Guys! Where are you?!" the calling, which they recognized as Ryo´s, was heard.
"Kame-chan!!" Koki joined him right away. "I want to show you my catches!"
"You want him to cook it for you," his black-haired companion corrected him, still sharply enough for his words to be recognizable. "Jin! Kame!"
Totally ignoring the calls, Jin opened Kame´s cloak and hugged him around the waist. Very slowly, he leant his head down and placed a kiss on the younger´s neck. And then another, just a little further, and another. Kazuya sighed and closed his eyes, enjoying the tender treatment.
"Damn it, shut your mouths already!" finally, someone more reasonable cut into the furious callings of their names. "They´ll be somewhere around, the fire is still flaming," Esler assumed.
"Shouldn´t we look for them?" Ryo wondered.
"Do what you want, but my feet hurt already," the blonde one announced loudly. "I´m gonna sit here, on this pretty warm place and…"
"Wait for your favorite cook to come," Ryo completed Koki´s response sarcastically.
"Both of you sit down and shut up for at least five minutes!" Cullen snapped. "My head aches from your constant talking already."
Ryo answered something, probably insulted, but for the time being it seemed the hunters would remain close the fire. As they started to talk more quietly, the couple behind the tree couldn´t recognize the words anymore, but they probably wouldn´t even if the small group was sitting closer.
Jin already explored the other side of Kame´s neck too and ended it with biting his earlobe gently. He already knew that Kame enjoyed that ministration and smiled satisfied, when the younger one shivered in his arms. He loved teasing Kame like that, knowing that the younger one had neither strength nor will to refuse him.
Jin straightened and observed Kazuya´s flushed face with half-closed eyes, as he altered their position just a little, so that their crotches brushed against each other. No matter the layer of cloths, Kame gasped for breath and flung his eyes open. When he saw Jin´s expression, his eyes gathered a kind of dangerous shine. His fingers grabbed Jin´s hair and he uncompromisingly pulled his head closer.
"Just months ago, who would say that you would like to tease me so much?" he whispered hoarsely, just inches apart from Jin´s lips.
"You probably influence me more than you think, Kazu…"
"Really? Let´s confirm that theory then."
With Kame´s hot lips attaching to his again, Jin threw any reasonable thinking out of the window. It was impossible to say who was kissing whom, as they tried to devour each other equally.
Kame felt the back of his head brushing over the hard bark under the demanding pressure Jin put on him, but he still didn´t let him have a full control. He couldn´t let him have it; his knees were already weak enough. He felt Jin´s hand reaching lower, finding a comfortable position on his bottom cheek, squeezing it a little. Kame moved away from that alluring touch and Jin almost threw with him back against the tree, surprising him with the increased urgency.
"Damn it, Jin," he cursed hoarsely, when he felt the squeeze on his butt getting stronger and heard the older one´s breath getting heavier. "We can´t do this here!"
"I don´t hear you complaining much," Jin reacted with a mischievous smile.
"They´re just a few yards from us!" Kame whispered urgently. "Since when you´re so perverted?!"
Jin could help but smile even more widely: "Since I got to know your ass…"
Kame´s face turned even redder than before, as he stared in Jin´s eyes, trying to comprehend, if the older one was just making fun of him or he was serious.
"Stop teasing me or you´ll regret it," he stated slowly.
"I don´t think so," Jin disagreed immediately. "Let´s have a date," he suggested suddenly.
Kame´s jaw dropped.
"I think I´ve heard something…" they noticed Ryo´s murmur from the camp.
"What?" surprised Kame asked really quietly now.
"You don´t know what that is?" Jin asked with a pretended surprise. "A rendezvous. Meeting or tryst, whatever. This evening, in the barn, after dinner. You can try to make me regret this teasing…"
"Hey, guys! Is that you?!"
The unwanted witnesses were the last thing which Jin needed at that moment.
"So? What do you say?" he asked hastily, already also aware they should finally appear in the camp.
Kame could not prevent a smile spreading on his lips, though he still felt a little over the head from Jin´s behavior. He didn´t mind him to be more daring at all, he just didn´t expect Jin to be so open. But it was a damn good feeling.
"Well… I´ll consider it," he mocked the older one a little, as he leant closer whispering the words into his ear.
As a response, Jin joined the right hand on Kame´s butt with the other one possessively: "Don´t think I´ll let you go until you say ´yes´."
"I don´t like this… Have your guns ready, boys," they could hear even Esler´s concerned murmur now.
"Come on, Jin… Like this, they´ll shoot us the second we appear," Kame hissed, unsuccessfully shifting away from the older one´s grip.
"Say yes," Jin insisted stubbornly.
"All right, yes, we have a date! Satisfied?" Kazuya agreed, already a little impatient, but at the same time excited about that Jin´s lovely idea.
"Not now, but I will be," the older one grinned and finally released Kame from his arms.
*
"Aah, look who´s here! Where have you been?" Koki exclaimed as soon as he noticed their missing companions popping out from the woods and with an obvious relief, he lowered his rifle, as well as Ryo and Esler, whose faces were two big frowns.
"At the brook, to wash our hands a little," Kame informed them sheepishly, while Jin followed him to the little campfire wordlessly. "I see you had some luck…" the younger one noted the display of hares and fish.
"Sure, but it seems to me you had a bigger one," Ryo remarked, pointing at their catch.
"We called you out; didn´t you hear?" Esler asked suddenly, his sharp eyes piercing Kame first, then also Jin.
The older one shrugged: "Yeah… I thought I heard some idiots revealing our position to anyone who might be nearby."
Esler stiffened; too upset knowing that remark was reasonable that he could not think of a response, while Koki and Ryo chuckled over the reaction. Kame eyed the older one with an unreadable expression, smiling for himself. Considering how distracted they were just a minute ago, he was kind of proud that Jin was able to provide such a clever answer.
***
Their beloved sanctuary grew unusually quiet after the departure of both the shopping and hunting group. But Leo didn´t mind it at all. No matter how he treasured his friends, brother and girlfriend, it was a relief not to deal with questions, serious significant glances and constant reminders of the situation, of which he was well-aware. He didn´t want to think about anything, at least for a while; he had already decided to talk with Jin and Kame as soon as they were back from the hunt. And they would make it work out somehow, he was sure about that.
"I´m surprised you didn´t insist on going along with them," a voice of the only one remaining of his companions disrupted Leo´s peaceful moment on the veranda.
"Someone had to stay and look after you. You´re supposed to rest, Jack," the leader scolded his friend right away. "You know what Kame said – the concussion should not be taken lightly."
"I know, I know," the youngster sighed and slowly sat down next to Leo, completely wrapped in the thick blanket. "But I´m fine, just my damn head won´t stop aching…"
Leo frowned: "You shouldn´t have drunk so much last night; it didn´t do any good to you."
"Come on, Leo, you sound like my mother! Or even like Kame… You pay quite a lot of attention to what he says, it seems."
Leo kept silent for a while, eyeing the peaceful line of the forest, which surrounded them.
"He has already earned our trust," he stated slowly.
"I definitely agree with you in that," Jack grinned, but then his expression turned more serious. "Do you want them to stay with us?"
The younger Akanishi sighed deeply: "Of course, I do… But I know it´s selfish. I don´t want to drag them into my problems."
"Thus, firstly, it´s our problems," Jack emphasized fiercely. "And secondly, don´t you think that if they´d mind it that much, they´d have run away already?"
"Jin doesn´t give up so easily," Leo murmured. "He realized that he can´t turn me away from you guys, but still – he wants to stop me. Or more precisely – he wants us to stop our fight against Tabor."
Jack pondered his words for a while, before he spoke again quietly: "And do you want to stop?"
The Riders´ leader looked at him with surprised: "What makes you ask that?"
The younger one shrugged: "There has been a lot going on recently and… I don´t know, but it´d have been definitely less dangerous if we didn´t poke a stick into a hornet´s nest."
"What do you think, Jack?" Leo asked, staring at him with an unreadable expression. "Do you think we should let it go?"
"I didn´t mean to ridicule our efforts or anything, Chief," Jack replied a little defensively.
"Just tell me what´s on your mind," Leo encouraged him. "We´ve agreed not to hide anything in front of each other, right?"
"Yeah…" the younger man seemed to be relieved hearing his leader´s statement. "So, I was thinking a lot, since you make me stay in bed almost all the time and… Is there even anything more we can do against Tabor? It almost feels like he´s untouchable."
"We knew it wouldn´t be easy from the very start," Leo reminded him, but not upset, he was talking calmly. "There are reasons for which we decided to fight against him. Did you forget what Tabor is responsible for?"
"No, I didn´t. But we´ve made a lot of damage already, so I thought… What about to hit some big project, like a safe in the bank and scram from the country? Tabor can keep Denver for himself as far as I´m concerned," Jack said completely honestly. "We don´t have to sacrifice our lives too."
Leo fell silent after that statement. He repaid Jack´s bright look for a while, before his eyes ran off to the woods again. Suddenly, the younger man felt really uncomfortable, as if he said something what he was really not supposed to.
"I´m sorry… Forget about it, maybe I´m thinking it over too much. We shouldn´t give up so easily. But it seemed to me that even Jane…"
Leo never got to know what Jack thought about his girlfriend, as the sound of a horse´s snorting and hooves revealed somebody was approaching. He hushed the other one with the raised palm, while he took the revolver in his other hand; Leo was immediately on a full alert. It was only early afternoon, too soon for the hunters´ comeback, and Jane was not supposed to return earlier than on the other day.
"That´s Nick…" Jack recognized the stooping figure with fairly-brown hair in the saddle as the first.
Leo stood up with his eyes narrowed. He noticed there was something strange about the man´s arrival; it seemed that the horse was leading the way more than a rider. He scanned the surroundings of their cottage again, but nothing else felt to be out of order.
In the next moment, Nick raised his head and even from that distance both Leo and Jack noticed how pale he was. The rider opened his mouth, but nothing came out of it. Instead, Nick leant to one side and then fell down from the saddle.
"What the hell!" Jack prompted himself up from his chair, while Leo was already on his way to the man. Dashing across those few yards, he already knew his bad hunch was correct; he was just damn afraid to admit it.
"Nick!!" Leo knelt to one of his Riders lying on the back, looking at the sweated face first and then down across his body. Carefully, he opened the gunman´s coat, uncovering the strangely red color under it. Everything squeezed inside of Leo seeing the shirt soaked with blood. "What happened to you?"
Jack had already reached them as well, his blanket forgotten on the veranda, when Nick opened his eyes, trying hard to focus them on Leo.
"Shit," the fair-headed youngster cursed, having the same view as Leo now.
"Leo… I´m sorry…" the words went over the man´s dry lips weakly.
"Just try to relax and tell me what happened," Leo had a hard time to control his voice and he couldn´t do it with his hands – they shook heavily as he pulled the shirt up to see what was under it. It seemed as a deep cut; someone stabbed Nick into his side.
"They… They´ve got Jane… The others… dead. They… sent me…"
All the blood in Leo´s veins turned into ice, as his brain processed the words. Jack seemed to be equally stunned.
"They were waiting for us… in tavern… Flow… talked…" Nick continued with obvious difficulties. "I returned… from shopping… too late."
"Who?" the question dropped from Leo´s mouth like a stone. He even felt like he was one, staring at Nick without blinking. "Who did it, Nick?"
"Harvey… And… another gunman, familiar, but… don´t know… him… Here…" the bleeding Rider shifted with his hand and pulled some paper out from his pocket. "It´s for… you."
Jack was so shocked, he couldn´t utter another word and just listened to the hoarse voice of his companion with growing horror.
Jane captured? The other guys dead? Benny, Sherman, Ian, Todd, Patrick, Carl… All of them were supposed to be in Leadville with Nick. What the fuck happened?
He watched as Leo, who was now almost equally pale as Nick, took the paper and unfolded it. His leader stared at it for a while, turning into a barely breathing statue.
"Leo?" Jack leant forward, but he couldn´t recognize the words. "Leo!" he repeated more desperately. "What the hell is written in there?"