Chapter Text
You can find more of my ASJ and non-ASJ stories on my webpage at https://eleanorward.wixsite.com/asjfics
-1-
"Is that him?" the scruffy, red haired man nudged his partner and nodded towards a dark haired man, dressed in a brown jacket and black hat, striding towards the hotel.
"Yeah." growled his partner, a tall, scrawny man with long, mousey brown hair that looked like it hadn't seen a comb in a long time. "That's him. That's Hannibal Heyes." They watched from a gloomy corner of the boardwalk outside the saloon as the object of their surveillance disappeared inside the hotel.
"Don't look nothing special." the red haired man said disparagingly. From what he'd heard about the outlaw, he'd expected someone a lot bigger and a lot more threatening.
"Don't be fooled." replied the other. "He looks like butter wouldn't melt in his mouth, but he's as crafty as they come, and as slippery as an eel, an' even though he aint as good a shot as his partner, he'd still out-draw most folks."
"Where d'ya suppose Kid Curry, is?" asked the red haired man.
"Dunno, I aint seen him. Maybe Heyes is meeting him here. One aint never far from the other, so if he aint here now, you can bet he soon will be."
"Whoo-hoo!" the red haired man whooped excitedly. "Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry! I've always wanted to meet them guys."
"Hush up, Zeke." the other man hissed. "D'ya want everyone in town to hear?"
Zeke looked contrite. "Do you really think ya can persuade 'em to help us out?" he asked presently.
The other man grinned, showing a row of tobacco stained teeth. "Oh, I'm sure I'll be able to." he replied smugly.
Hannibal Heyes entered the hotel and went upstairs, opening the door to the room at the far end of the landing, which overlooked the town's main street.
Closing the door, he crossed to one of the two beds where his partner was lying in a half upright position, several pillows propped behind his back, his eyes closed.
"Kid?" Heyes called softly.
Kid Curry opened his eyes.
"Are you OK?" asked Heyes, reaching out to place the back of his hand against Curry's forehead to check his temperature.
"Yeah." the Kid swatted Heyes' hand away and pushed himself into a sitting position. "I'm fine." he snapped.
"Just want to be sure you're fully recovered." Heyes grinned at his partner's petulance. "Don't want you having a relapse."
The Kid had started feeling unwell three weeks ago, just after they'd left Walcot, sporting a temperature and, by Kid's standards, a distinct lack of appetite. He'd then begun to complain of pains in his back, chest and shoulder. By the time they'd arrived here in Rawlins, two weeks ago, he was in so much pain he was barely able to breathe. Worried, Heyes had insisted on calling the doctor in, even more worried when Kid hadn't protested, knowing he must feel really ill not to object. The doctor had diagnosed pleurisy, and the Kid had spent the last couple of weeks cooped up in the hotel room and being fussed over by an anxious Heyes.
The Kid tutted in mock irritation. He hadn't minded being fussed over for the first few days, when he'd felt too ill to do anything, but, although he'd felt more or less recovered for the past two or three days, Heyes had still refused to allow him up until the two weeks the doctor had told him to rest for was up which, the Kid was relieved to note, was today, being sure to lock the door behind him, when he went out, to prevent him from sneaking out, and chastising him if he found him out of bed upon his return, and the Kid had had about as much as he could stand.
"I keep telling you, I'm fine." he said now, trying to sound irritated, by Heyes' over-zealous nursing, but failing. In truth, he was grateful to his friend for taking such good care of him.
Heyes raised a sceptical eyebrow. "If you're ‘fine' how come you were you asleep when I came in just now?"
The Kid gave him a withering look. "I was asleep because I'm BORED!" he growled.
Heyes raised his hands in mock defence. "O.K, O.K." he said with a grin. When the Kid didn't reply, he said "Well, are you getting up then, or what?"
The Kid glared at him, and then, with a wry shake of his head, threw back the covers and got up.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
"I ordered a bath for you." Heyes told him, crossing to the door. "When you've had that, if you're up to it, we'll go over to the restaurant for lunch."
"Yes, Mother!" the Kid replied sarcastically.
Heyes picked up one of several oranges, from a bowl on the dresser, which Heyes had practically been force feeding to Kid, after the doctor had told him to eat plenty of oranges, and other fruits, to boost his body's resistance to infection and, with a grin, left the room, beginning to peel it.
* * *
An hour and a half later, they sat in the local diner eating a very tasty pot roast.
"I wired Lom to say we'd be there in a day or two." said Heyes, a satisfied look on his face to see the Kid tucking into his meal like his old self. It was rare that anything put him off his food and Heyes had been real worried when he'd lost his appetite. He couldn't handle it when the Kid was sick. He could cope with things like cuts, and broken bones, even gunshot wounds, because he knew how to deal with those, but sickness was a different thing, especially when it was something serious. When they'd arrived in Rawlins, Heyes had been worried that the Kid was dying.
"D'ya think he'll be mad?" asked the Kid, eyeing Heyes across the table. They had been on their way to Porterville, at Lom Trevors' summoning, when the Kid had fallen ill, for discussions about their amnesty, and should have been there two days after they'd reached Rawlins. They weren't sure what it was that the sheriff wanted to see them about but, when Lom summoned them, he expected them to be there, on time, and, although Heyes had wired him to say the Kid was sick and that they would be held up, it was always possible that Lom would think they were just making excuses.
"I don't see why he should." said Heyes. "I let him know we wouldn't be there the day before he was expecting us, so it's not like we just didn't turn up."
The Kid shrugged. "You know what a stickler he is about arrangements. Especially when it's anything to do with the Governor's office."
"Well, you couldn't help getting sick," said Heyes, "and if he thinks we didn't turn up because we've been up to no good, it's easy enough for him to confirm with the doctor that you've been ill."
"I guess."
"Are you sure you're up to the journey?" Heyes asked now. "'cause I can wire him again if you're not, tell him you're not fit to travel yet."
"I told you, I'm fine." retorted the Kid. "It's only two days ride, and the weather's still pretty good. It's not like we've got to camp out for weeks in freezing weather."
Heyes nodded.
"Are you up for a few games of poker this afternoon?" he asked presently. He hadn't had much opportunity to spend time at the poker table while he'd been looking after the Kid and their money was getting a little low, and he was keen to get into a game or two to try and boost their funds.
The Kid grinned. "I'm not bothered about playing. I always lose more than you win. But I wouldn't mind a drink or two."
A mischievous smile lit Heyes' face. "Deal." he grinned. "You done?" he asked, nodding towards his plate.
The Kid nodded and, after paying the bill, they adjourned to the saloon, exiting five hours later, Heyes with a satisfied smile on his face, after boosting their funds by almost two hundred dollars.
After a quick supper, they crossed the street to the hotel to get an early night in preparation for their journey.
* * *
After a leisurely breakfast the next morning, they gathered their things together, checked out of the hotel and headed over to the livery, to get their horses, before heading down to the store to purchase a few supplies for the two day trip to Porterville. After packing them they set off, westwards, at a sedate pace.
The day was hot and before long they took off their coats and secured them behind their saddles.
"You O.K?" Heyes asked presently, as the Kid took off his hat and wiped his sleeve across his brow.
"I'm fine, Heyes. Will ya stop fussin'." the Kid replied irritably.
"I'm not fussing." Heyes replied indignantly.
"Yes you are." retorted the Kid. "An' stop watchin' me, will ya?"
Heyes opened his mouth to protest that he wasn't, but the Kid spoke over him.
"Yes, you are. I can feel your eyes boring into my back. I'm fine. I'm sweating because it's a hot day, not because I'm sick. Now, just stop, will ya? I know you've been worried about me, but I'm O.K.
"Me? Worried?" Heyes gave a cavalier laugh.
The Kid met his gaze with a reproachful look and Heyes' grin faded.
"O.K. I was worried." he admitted. "Happy now?"
The Kid gave him a rueful grin. They rode in silence for several minutes before the Kid said. "Thanks."
"For what?" Heyes looked puzzled.
"Taking care of me." the Kid flashed him a sideways glance, enjoying watching his partner squirm at his thanks. For some reason, Heyes always got uncomfortable at any expressions of sentimentality, or gratitude, although the Kid had never figured out why.
"Only doing my job." Heyes responded, flippantly, some moments later.
"Job?" the Kid raised an indignant eyebrow.
Heyes opened his mouth, and then closed it again, lifting his shoulders in a helpless shrug.
"Duty." he rephrased.
"Duty?" the Kid was even more indignant. "Well, thanks, partner." he added sardonically.
Heyes looked suitably embarrassed and shut up. They rode on, the Kid trying to hide his smirk of amusement at the discomfort he knew Heyes was feeling at his inference that he'd only looked after him out of a sense of duty rather than from any genuine compassion or concern. He knew it wasn't true, but he enjoyed making him squirm whenever an opportunity presented itself.
A couple of hours later they paused, by a narrow stream, to let the horses drink and to prepare a quick meal, before pressing on again, intending to make camp for the night at the midway point between Rawlins and Porterville.
Their meal finished, they remounted and set off once more, chatting amiably as they speculated on the reasons for Lom's sudden telegram.
Suddenly a shot rang out, and a cloud of dust rose up from the ground a couple of yards in front of their horses, where the bullet hit.
They reined in their horses, which were startled by the shot and dancing about, and looked anxiously around for the gunman as a voice called out. "Hold it right there, boys."
Heyes and Kid exchanged glances. They were out in the open, with no cover for a couple of hundred yards in any direction, except for a rocky ridge off to their left which was where the shot had come from. Any attempt to flee would more than likely result in them being gunned down.
With no immediate means of escape, they sat still, waiting for the gunman to show himself.
"Get your hands in the air." the voice instructed.
"Now," the voice continued, as they obediently raised their hands, "very carefully, using your left hands, reach over and take out your guns, with two fingers, and toss them down."
With a glance at each other, they did as ordered, wondering who the gunman was and what chance there was of getting away from him.
"That's good, boys. Now, just stay sat where you are."
They sat on their horses as two men appeared from behind the rocks and approached them.
"Put your hands behind your backs." the voice in the rocks commanded.
The Kid glanced across at Heyes, but he was staring straight ahead, his eyes narrowed in thought. There was something familiar about the voice, but he couldn't quite put his finger on where he'd heard it before.
"You heard me, boys, get your hands behind your backs." the voice demanded.
Reluctantly, both men did as they were bid and the gunman's two sidekicks bound their wrists tightly.
Only then did the gunman climb down from the rocks and approach them. He walked around in front of their horses, his rifle still trained on them, and lifted his head to look at them.
"Nate!" Heyes and Kid said together.
Nathaniel Marlow revealed his tobacco stained teeth.
“Heyes, Kid. Long time no see.” he said, beginning to chuckle to himself.
Heyes and Kid looked at each other, realising they were in trouble. Nate Marlow had been brought into the Devils Hole Gang by Wheat Carlson, who was a distant cousin of his. Heyes had taken an instant dislike to him, but, since he got on well with the rest of the gang members, Kid included, and pulled his weight around the camp, he had kept his feelings under wraps, dismissing the sense of unease he filled him with as being paranoiac on his part, until, three months later, on their next train robbery, Marlow had tried to rape a female passenger after dragging her into the baggage car. The Kid had been near enough to hear her muffled screams and had arrived on the scene to find Nate on top of her, her dress ripped open.
Heyes had had to physically prevent the Kid from shooting him on the spot, but had then laid into him himself, while the passengers had huddled around looking horrified, as they watched the two men brawling, thinking that they were going to kill each other and then maybe them too.
Wheat, who had been at the other end of the train, had come running up, wondering what all the fuss was about, and tried to intervene, until the other men had told him what had happened, when, with a look of contempt at his cousin, he’d turned his back and walked away.
The brawl had spilled out of the train, onto the tracks, before the other men had finally managed to pull an incensed Heyes from Marlow’s bruised and bleeding body, while the Kid tried to pacify the woman he’d attacked, giving her the jacket he was wearing to cover her torn dress and apologising profusely for Marlow’s actions.
Shaking with rage, Heyes had thrown Marlow out of the gang there and then, threatening to kill him if he ever showed his face again. The one thing Heyes had always insisted on with the Devils Hole Gang was that, whenever they robbed a train, they never took any of the passengers’ personal possessions, and most certainly never harmed, or propositioned, any of them, and he was as affronted himself, by what Marlow had done, as his victim was, and also angry as to what the incident would have done to their reputation as being ‘gentleman robbers’, which Heyes guarded jealously, and felt the need to make an example of Marlow in front of the passengers so that word would get around that what had happened was against his explicit instructions.
Furious, Nate had slunk away, swearing revenge on Heyes for humiliating him in front of Wheat, the rest of the gang and the train passengers.
That had been four years ago, and they’d never set eyes on him since. Until now.
“What’s up? Cat got your tongue?” sniggered Nate.
“What do you want, Nate?” Heyes growled at him, his dark eyes like chips of coal as he glared down at him
“All in good time, boys. All in good time.” Nate replied sweetly. Then, turning to the other two men he said. “Zeke, Abe, meet Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry.”
Ezekiel Jackson and Abraham Cooper just stood, looking up at the two men they’d heard so much about.
“Zeke, you go fetch our horses.” Nate ordered, as he bent to pick up Heyes’ and the Kid’s guns from off the ground. “Abe, put lead ropes on their horses.” he added, nodding towards their mounts.
The two men moved to obey his orders, while Heyes and Kid sat watching him, stonily.
Zeke returned with the horses a short time later, and the three men mounted up.
“Blindfold them.” Nate ordered Abe. “We don’t want them knowing our hideout.”
Abe brought his horse around alongside Heyes’ and, leaning over, untied his bandana from around his neck, folded it, and then fastened it over his eyes before moving around to the Kid’s horse and doing the same to him.
Then, with Nate leading Heyes’ horse, and Zeke leading Kid’s, the men headed off in a North Easterly direction, up into the hills, with Abe bringing up the rear.
* * *
It was two hours before the group arrived at their camp, and the sun was just beginning to dip below the trees surrounding the little clearing that housed an old, log cabin, a small pole corral and a couple of what looked like storage huts. Two hours during which Heyes had been speculating on why Nate had taken them prisoner instead of just killing them, or taking them back into town to turn them in, and not liking the possibilities he was coming up with. It would have been preferable, he mused, had their captor been a bounty hunter. They might have ended up in prison, but at least there was a chance they would have arrived there alive and in one piece. Whatever Nate had in mind for them, it was probably going to be painful and, more than likely, end up with them being dead.
Abe and Zeke pulled Heyes and Kid roughly from their horses, and then yanked the blindfolds from their eyes. They blinked, trying to refocus their eyes, and then looked around at their surroundings.
Abe took their horses and put them in the corral as Nate approached, his rifle cradled in his arms.
“Well boys, welcome to our humble abode.” he grinned.
“What’s this all about Nate?” the Kid spoke, his blue eyes like ice as he stared at him.
“Well, Kid, I have a little bit of a problem that I have to resolve.”
“What does that have to do with us?” asked the Kid.
“Well, y’see, we figured on carrying us out a nice little bank robbery, in Rawlins.” said Nate. “Had it all planned. Wasn’t ‘til we went to case the joint that we discovered they’d got ‘emselves a new safe since the last time we looked… a Pearce and Hamilton ’78.” He looked at Heyes, who stared back at him with an unreadable expression, even though he was already one step ahead of Marlow and his heart was sinking.
“Well, I was all set to abandon the robbery. After all, no-one’s ever managed to break one of those… except you Heyes… and no-one’s seen much of you two this past year or so. Even heard you’d been killed. So, imagine my surprise, when I sees you in town last week… and I decided that you could help us out, by opening the safe for us.”
“You really think I’d do that?” Heyes said now, his voice hard.
“Well, truthfully …no, I did think you might be a little …reluctant” replied Nate. “which is why I brung you here. If you want to stay alive, that’s what it’s gonna take.”
“Killing me aint gonna solve your problem.” said Heyes. “Safe’ll still be there – unopened.”
“Well, that’s true,” Nate nodded “but I did hope you would be keen enough to stay alive that you might be persuaded to help us out.”
“We retired from the safe breaking business.” Heyes told him. “That’s why you aint heard of us for the last year or so.” He shook his head. “I’m out of practice. There’s no saying I could break one after this long, even if I wanted to.” he hedged.
“Well, you’d better hope you can, Heyes, if you want to get out of here alive.”
Heyes grunted cynically. “Yeah, like you’d just let us just walk out of here.” he said flatly.
“Well, if you don’t do the job, you aint gonna know, are ya Heyes?” grinned Nate.
“Well, it seems to me that the outcome is gonna be the same whether I do or I don’t, so you may as well get it over with here and now, ‘cos the answer’s no.” said Heyes, his hard gaze never wavering from Nate’s eyes.
Nate shook his head and gave a theatrical sigh.
“Well now, Heyes, I sort of guessed you’d take that attitude, which is why I waited until I could bring Kid here along too.” he said, jerking his head in the Kid’s direction. “You might not be prepared to do it to save your own life, but I’m sure you can be persuaded to do it to save his.”
Heyes’ eyes hardened even further. “You won’t kill him.” he said coldly. “ ‘cos if you do, you’ve got nothing left to bargain with.”
Nate nodded, ruefully. “Maybe I won’t kill him.” he acknowledged. “Maybe I’ll just shoot him up a little… maybe in the knee caps or somewhere… or I might just let my boys loose on him. Abe here is a whiz with a knife - you should see the way he skins a rabbit… and Zeke… well he’s got somewhat of a short fuse, on account of his red hair’n all. He gets mighty riled up over pretty much nothin’, and when he’s riled, well, there’s no tellin’ what he’ll do to a body.” He looked at Heyes now, his expression almost leering. “Unless you’re prepared to be responsible for him being cut up, and crippled for the rest of his life, you’d be wise to reconsider your answer.”
Heyes continued to stare coldly at him, knowing that, if they wanted to have any hope of getting out of this mess, he was going to have to agree to do the robbery. But if he did do it, the authorities would know immediately who had done it and any hope for their amnesty would be out of the window and they would be hunted down and sent to jail for twenty years, assuming that Nate didn’t kill them afterwards, which was a slim hope at best.
“You might want a little time to consider your choices.” Nate said with a smirk. He turned to Zeke and Abe, his smile vanished. “Tie them up.” he ordered. “Good and tight, feet to hands…”
“Aw, now come on….” the Kid began to protest, but Abe kicked his legs out from underneath him, sending him sprawling to the ground with a bone crushing thud that all but knocked the breath out of him.”
“Hey…” Heyes yelled, taking a step towards him, but was silenced with a backhand across the face, from Zeke, before being pushed forcibly to the ground.
“…Those two are as slippery as eels.” Nate continued speaking with barely a pause. “I don’t want them getting loose in the night and trying to break out of here.”
The Kid’s wrists were already bound, but Abe straddled him and secured a rope just above his elbows, pulling it tight to pin his arms even more rigidly. He then secured another around his legs, just above his knees, before taking another length and tying his ankles, leaving a portion of each end of it’s length over. He then pulled his legs up and fastened the leftover portion tightly around his wrists, before threading the ends back around his ankles and tying them off.
“Blindfold them …” Nate ordered “…and gag them too.” he added, while Zeke tied Heyes in a similar fashion. “I don’t want them whispering to each other and making plans.”
Heyes gritted his teeth and tried not to groan out load as Zeke pulled the rope around his upper arms tight, pinching his flesh through his shirt sleeves. At this point, he was more worried about the Kid than himself. He’d only just got over his illness, and he’d hit the ground pretty hard when Abe had kicked his legs out from under him. The last thing he needed was to be trussed up like this for any length of time.
He saw Abe secure the Kid’s bandana over his eyes before Zeke did the same thing to him. Then a wad of fabric was pushed into his mouth before another bandana was tied around his face.
“Put them in there.” Nate ordered, as Abe finished securing the Kid’s gag, pointing to one of the two small storage huts a short distance from the cabin.
Zeke bent to grab Heyes by the collar with one hand, and by his belt with the other, and dragged him unceremoniously across to the storage shed, while Abe did the same to the Kid.
Zeke dragged Heyes inside the hut and positioned him, face down, up against the side wall. Then Abe dragged the Kid in, and, on Nate’s instructions, positioned him, at a ninety degree angle to Heyes, so that his knees were pushing into Heyes’ rib cage, his head almost against the other wall of the small building. Nate didn’t want them to have any opportunity to try and untie each other. Not that they could, he thought with a grin. The way Zeke and Abe had tied them there was no possible way for them to get loose, and, even better, as time went by and the weight of their legs pulled down on their arms, they would soon be in agony as the circulation was cut off to their hands and feet, their muscles beginning to seize up from being immobilised and their bones aching from the unnatural, and backbreakingly painful, position they were tied in.
“Sweet dreams boys.” sniggered Nate before Zeke swung the door shut and padlocked it.
As the men’s footsteps faded away, Heyes tried to call out to the Kid, but all he could manage was a muffled grunt, the sound taken away by the thick wad of fabric in his mouth and the bandana tied tightly across it. He was rewarded with a similar grunt from the Kid.
Heyes tried to shift his position, but couldn’t, wedged, as he was, between the wall and the Kid’s knees. He felt the Kid’s knees move against his ribs as he too tried and failed to shift position.
Even though he knew there was no way of escaping from his bonds, Heyes made a valiant attempt to do so, but soon gave up. With the gag in his mouth, and his upper arms tied back, restricting the expansion of his lungs, it was hard to breathe and movement of any kind was exhausting, and painful.
He wondered how they were going to get out of this mess, not coming up with any answers. If he refused to do the robbery, the Kid would be hurt. If he did the job, Nate would probably kill them afterwards anyway, but if he didn’t, and they got away from him, the law would hunt them down and then they would spend the next twenty years in prison.
He sighed through his nose and tried once more to shift position. He guessed they couldn’t have been here more than an hour, yet already his hands and arms were tingling, the muscles in his thighs were beginning to tremble and it felt like someone had plunged a knife in between his shoulder blades. He assumed that Nate planned to leave them tied up in here all night, and he was concerned about the Kid. He wasn’t sure whether he would be able to stand up to it after his recent illness. He wasn’t even sure whether he would be able to stand up to it himself. He silently cursed their bad luck. Just twenty four hours from Porterville they’d been. That was all. Twenty four hours, from Lom’s, and safety. As things stood at the moment, Heyes reckoned it would be a miracle if they ever got to see Porterville, or Lom, again.
* * *
“D’ya think he’ll do it?” Zeke asked Nate after they’d eaten supper and settled down to play cards.
“He’ll do it.” Nate replied. “What choice does he have? He won’t stand for the Kid getting hurt.”
“Whoo-hoo!” shrieked Zeke. “Just think… all that money. How much y’think they got in that there safe Nate?”
“I don’t know, twenty thousand minimum, maybe a lot more.”
Zeke shrieked again. “That’s… sixty six hundred a piece!”
“At least.” nodded Nate.
Zeke and Abe contemplated that for a while.
“What if he can’t break the safe?” Abe asked presently.
“I’ll kill him …after we’ve had a little fun with him first.” growled Nate, his eyes glowing at the thought of eliciting his revenge on Heyes for the humiliation he had inflicted on him before throwing him out of the Devils Hole Gang. Then he’d kill Curry, after first making him watch Heyes’ agony.
* * *
Heyes woke, shivering, from a fitful doze. He had no idea how long they'd been locked up in the hut, but, from the chill air, he guessed it must be well into the night. Although it was early September, and still warm during the day, it got cold at night, especially up here in the hills, and with no heat and clad only in their shirtsleeves it cut to the bone.
The sound that had roused him from his fitful sleep now drew his attention - the Kid trying to cough through the gag in his mouth. He hoped he wasn't getting sick again, lying here in the cold after sweating earlier in the day. He tried to shift position, moaning as pain sliced through his back and shoulders. He'd tried to keep his feet pulled up to ease the pressure on his wrists, but, after a time, the tension on his leg muscles had become so painful he was no longer able to keep them up and the weight of his legs pulling against the ropes around his wrists had cut off the circulation to his hands. His upper arms and thighs were burning with pain, and his chest hurt from the effort it took just to keep breathing through the gag.
The Kid heard Heyes' moan of pain and knew he was suffering just as much as he was.
He'd tried not to make too much noise, knowing that Heyes would be worried about his health, but hadn't been able to hold back the urge to cough. His throat felt clogged, and his ribs hurt from where he'd hit the ground when Abe had kicked his legs out from under him, which, combined with the effects the gag was having on his ability to breathe, was what had started him coughing, but even that was difficult with the gag. He too was unable to feel his hands, the muscles in his arms and legs were screaming in protest at the pressure being put on them, and his back felt like it had been snapped in half.
He guessed Heyes would be having agonies of conscience about what to do about the robbery, that his head would be telling him to refuse Nate's request rather than throw away their chance for amnesty and condemn themselves for the rest of their days, while his heart would be telling him to give in and do it, to protect the Kid himself from being crippled or disfigured. He knew that in Heyes' shoes he would be having exactly the same agonies, but he'd given a lot of thought to the dilemma while he'd lain here in the dark and had come to the conclusion that Nate couldn't be trusted, either not to harm him, if Heyes agreed to do the robbery, or to let them go afterwards if Heyes did succeed in opening the safe, and he wanted to tell him not to agree to do it just to protect him. He would rather be dead than spend the next twenty years in jail, which was what would happen if Heyes succeeded in breaking the safe, and while he didn't relish the thought of what Nate would do to him, and to Heyes, if he refused to do it, at least it would be over fairly soon and then they would either be dead, and so wouldn't have to face any more agonies, or, maimed or crippled, in which case, they could put themselves out of their misery if they so chose. In jail, they wouldn't have the luxury of a choice, and the prospect of 20 years hard labour was worse, to the Kid, than being dead. He tried to call Heyes' name, or make some sort of sound that might convey his thoughts, but it was lost through the gag.
Don't do it Heyes' The Kid repeated silently, over and over again, trying to will the thought into his partner's mind. He heard Heyes groan in pain again, and, in the only gesture available to him, he flexed his knee a few times, hoping that the pressure of it against Heyes' ribs would give him some sort of comfort and reassurance. A moment later, Heyes gave a short grunt in acknowledgement of the gesture.
In the long hours before dawn, Heyes despaired of making it through the rest of the night. He was so cold it heightened the already agonizing pain in what parts of his body still had any sensation left to feel it, and made it even more difficult to breathe as the cold air constricted his chest, further preventing his already restricted lungs from expanding. He wheezed, painfully, as he tried to expand his throat to suck in some extra air through his nose. His back and shoulders felt like someone had plunged an axe into them and his arms felt as though they were being pulled from their sockets as the weight of his legs pulled down on them. He could feel nothing below his elbows, nor below his knees, the blood supply cut off by the ropes that bound them.
The only thing that kept him from slipping into the black void that called to him, was the Kid. He had to stay alive, or the Kid would surely be killed - if he wasn't dead already. Heyes could hear no sound from him, and prayed he'd just fallen asleep and not succumbed, to the bitter cold or from lack of oxygen. The thought sent a rush of anger through Heyes' body and he determined to survive, if only to elicit revenge on Nathaniel Marlow if his friend was dead. He forced himself to concentrate on keeping breathing, and began to plot, to keep his mind off the urge to slip away into a hypothermic sleep.
* * *
Heyes and Kid were roused from semi-consciousness the next morning by the sounds of the door of the hut being unlocked.
"Well, good morning, boys. Sleep well?" Nate's sniggering voice greeted them.
Before Heyes knew what was happening, he was grabbed once more by the collar and belt and dragged outside by Zeke.
Abe approached, knife in hand, and sliced through the ropes binding his hands and feet together, allowing his legs drop to the ground. Heyes groaned, loudly, as the sudden jolt sent lightning bolts of pain up his spine. Abe then moved to slice through the rest of his bonds while Zeke bent to remove the blindfold and untie the gag, pulling the damp wad of fabric from his mouth.
Even though his bonds had been removed, Heyes was too numb and too stiff to move. He lay there, helpless, still only partially conscious, his eyes tightly closed against the bright morning sunlight after being blindfolded all night, while Nate stood watching, a smirk touching the corners of his mouth.
If Heyes had thought that being tied up was painful, it was nothing to what he felt as the circulation began to return to his body, sending red hot pokers of pain through his limbs, causing him to cry out in agony despite himself. He wanted to curl up into a ball, to rub his limbs to try and alleviate the pain, but his body wouldn't respond. All he could do was lie there, moaning at the pains wracking his body, his limbs twitching, convulsively, as the blood slowly began to circulate to his extremities.
Hearing Heyes' agonised cries, the Kid could only speculate on what Nate and his cronies were doing to him. Had Nate decided to pay Heyes back for beating him half to death, and throwing him out of the gang, by inflicting some of the same treatment on him? If only he could get loose from his bonds so that he could go to his aid.
It was some time before the pains began to subside and Heyes was finally able to move, struggling, first, up onto one elbow, and then, eventually, into a sitting position. He sat, head bowed, rubbing his wrists and arms, as Nate approached him.
"Well, Heyes, have you reconsidered your position?" he enquired, looking down on Heyes who was still trembling as his limbs recovered from their ordeal.
"Heyes?" Nate prompted, when he made no reply.
Heyes lifted his head to look at him. He still looked disorientated, and his face was flushed from the agonies he'd just suffered, but as he met Nate's gaze, there was a murderous look in the depths of his dark brown orbs.
He tried to speak, but couldn't get the words out, breaking into a fit of wheezing coughs.
"W-water..." He managed to croak finally.
Nate eyed him, contemplating whether to make him answer before he gave him any, but, after a moment, he signalled to Zeke to give him a canteen.
Zeke stepped forward and held the canteen out to him. Heyes took it and raised it to his mouth. His arms still shook as he held the canteen to his lips, drinking greedily, his mouth and throat dry after having the gag in all night.
"Well?" Nate asked when he finally lowered the canteen. "Have you reconsidered your position? ‘cos you can have a little more time in there to think on it, if not." he added with a snigger.
Heyes gave a tremulous sigh and then raised his eyes to meet Nate's.
"Alright... I'll do it..." he croaked. "...but only if you let the Kid go."
"Aw, now Heyes, you known I can't do that." said Nate reproachfully. "If I let him go, I lose my bargaining tool. How do I know you'll do it when I aint got him here to give you incentive?"
"You've got my word." said Heyes.
Nate chuckled, cynically. "Now, Heyes, I mightn't have been with the Devils Hole Gang too long, but I was there long enough to learn that your ‘word' don't mean a thing to anyone, 'cept maybe the Kid. If I was to let him go, he'd be off to get the rest of the Devils Hole boys to help him try and rescue you, and you'd be plottin' all kinds of ways to get out of doin' the job, an' gettin' away." He shook his head. "I can't afford to let him go, so, we're back to square one. Either you do the job, or the Kid gets hurt."
Heyes sighed, heavily. "Alright... I'll do it. But only if you let him out of there and let him stay in the cabin."
Nate thought for a moment and then nodded.
"Alright. I was going to let you stay in the cabin, but if that's the way you want it, he can stay in the cabin, until we go to do the robbery... an' you can have his place in there." He nodded towards the hut, chuckling to himself. "But when we go to do the robbery, he's going back in there, tied up again, just as a little extra insurance, in case you try some smart trick to double cross us, in which case you'll end up dead, and he'll be left in there to starve to death."
"No." Heyes shook his head. "When we go to do the robbery, he comes too. I need him to help me with the safe." he told him, horrified at the thought of them leaving the Kid behind.
"Aw, come on, Heyes, how stupid d'ya think I am?" said Nate. "You don't need him to help you with the safe. He's just your bodyguard." He shook his head. "He stays here."
Heyes had hoped to be able to come up with some plan to get himself and the Kid away from Nate and his men before robbing the bank, or, if not, find some way to pin the robbery on Nate and so keep their chance for amnesty in tact. But, if they left the Kid here, locked in that hut, and they either got captured, or killed, during the bank robbery, then the Kid would surely die. But, at this point, Heyes didn't see that he had any choice but to agree to Nate's terms. If he didn't, then the Kid would be hurt, and himself too, before Nate killed either one, or both, of them. He was sure Nate planned to kill them after the robbery anyway, but, maybe, if he agreed, he could find some way to escape and rescue the Kid before then.
He gave a deep sigh and nodded, knowing he wasn't going to talk him round. "Alright." he agreed. "But if you harm one hair on his head, the deal's off." he told him.
Nate grinned. "I'm glad you've begun to see sense." he told him.
Heyes just glared at him, hating him even more than he had before. He couldn't believe someone like Nate, who wasn't the sharpest tool in the box, in his opinion, had managed to capture them so easily, and had made it virtually impossible for them either to escape, or refuse to do his bidding, if they wanted to stay alive. Normally Heyes was never stuck for some sort of plan, but, at this point, he was completely stumped for any ideas of how to get out of this mess.
Zeke entered the hut and dragged the Kid outside. Abe cut his bonds and removed the gag, although the blindfold was left in place, on Nate's instructions, as he didn't want him and Heyes to have any contact with each other lest they try to conjure up some sort of escape plan, and Heyes had to watch him go through the same agonies that he himself had just suffered, as the circulation was restored to his body. He had the urge to go to him and comfort him, but, not only were his legs not recovered enough to stand up yet, Nate had his rifle trained on him all the time, daring him to make a move.
Once the Kid was able to move, Zeke and Abe half dragged-half carried him inside the cabin.
As they passed Nate, he turned and said something to the two men, too quietly for Heyes to hear the words, before he turned back to look at him.
"Right, Heyes, we got ourselves some plannin' to do." he told him.
"I'm not doing anything ‘til I see he's alright." growled Heyes. "And he'd better stay alright, or the deal's off."
Nate sighed, looking irritated, but, after a moment, waved his rifle in a gesture for him to stand up, and, nodding towards the cabin, said. "Inside."
Heyes struggled to his feet, his legs still tingling, and began to walk, somewhat unsteadily, towards the cabin, Nate following, his rifle still trained on him.
Inside the cabin, Nate nodded towards the bedroom.
"You can look around the door, but that's all." Nate told him. "And no talking... or else..."
Heyes moved to the door, Nate moving alongside him, his rifle pressed against his ribs. He peered around the doorframe to see that the Kid had been placed on the bed, still blindfolded, his hands now bound in front of him. His boots had been pulled off and one ankle was handcuffed to the bedframe. Heyes sighed. It wasn't ideal, but at least he was indoors, in the warm, and would be relatively comfortable.
Nate waved him away from the doorway and moved to pull the door shut, leaving Abe on guard inside the room.
"Does that meet with your approval?" he asked, sarcastically.
"No, but I guess it'll have to do." Heyes replied, his voice hard. "But I ‘m warning you, if you harm one hair on his head--"
"Yeah, yeah, I know..." Nate interrupted. "...the deals off!"
Heyes nodded firmly.
"Turn around, and put your hands behind your back." Nate ordered.
Heyes glared at him, but complied with his request.
Zeke moved to tie his wrists behind his back.
Heyes winced as Zeke fastened the rope on his already raw and bruised wrists. "There's no need for this." he protested. "I'm not going to do anything to put the Kid in jeopardy."
"Just making sure." sneered Nate. "I know you, Heyes, you're always scheming. I aint givin' you no chance to get the drop on us. Sit down." He waved his rifle at one of the chairs around the kitchen table.
Heyes sat down and Zeke took a length of rope and hobbled his ankles, giving him just enough length to walk unaided, but not to be able to make an attempt to escape.
"Right, let's get down to business." said Nate. "How you gonna break the safe?"
"You got a pen and paper?" Heyes gave Nate a questioning look.
"Pen and paper?" Nate repeated, his tone bemused.
"To make a list."
"A list?"
"A list of materials." said Heyes.
"Materials?" questioned Nate. "We only need dynamite, don't we?"
Heyes shook his head. "Blowing a P&H '78 is a lot more complicated than that."
When Nate didn't reply, Heyes said, mockingly. "Can you write?"
Nate's eyes narrowed in indignance. "Yeah, I can write." he snapped.
"Good." said Heyes. "You can write it then."
"Who says?" Nate looked annoyed at being given instructions by his prisoner.
"Well I can't do it, can I?" said Heyes, indicating his bound hands. "Of course, if you want to untie me..." he added, giving Nate a sweet smile that didn't reach his eyes.
Nate looked at Zeke.
"Zeke, make a list."
Zeke looked uncomfortable. "I caint write." he admitted reluctantly.
Heyes' smirk wasn't lost on Nate. He jumped angrily to his feet.
"I'll do it." he growled, going to fetch a piece of paper and a pencil.
* * *
In the bedroom, the Kid attempted to reach up and remove the blindfold from his eyes, but stopped as he felt the muzzle of a gun against his temple.
"Leave it on." Abe growled.
The Kid carefully dropped his hands back down onto the bed. "Why?" he asked. "It's not like I aint seen what you guys look like."
"Just do as you're told." growled Abe. "And you'd better leave it on if you know what's good for you. If I find you've tried to take it off - and don't think I won't be able to tell - you won't be needin' it... ‘cause you won't have any eyes left to see with ...y'follow?"
The Kid sighed, heavily.
"Where's Heyes?"
"Never you mind." growled Abe. "All you need to know is that you're staying here until after he does the robbery, as insurance... and if anything goes wrong, you're dead."
The Kid closed his eyes tightly underneath the blindfold. ‘No, Heyes. Don't do it. Not for me.'
* * *
"....Putty?" Nate looked puzzledly at the list of items in front of him. "What the hell d'ya need putty for?"
"Just write, will ya?" said Heyes.
Nate shrugged. "Go on."
Heyes sighed. "A bar spreader... and, last, but not least... a Bryant Pump."
"What the hell's that?" asked Nate as he wrote it down.
"Look, I said I'd do the job, I didn't say I'll give you the know how." said Heyes. "Just get the stuff and leave the rest to me."
Nate sighed and stood up, folding up the list.
"We'll go into town tomorrow morning to try and get this stuff."
"If I were you, I'd be discreet about it... unless you want everyone to know what you're planning." said Heyes.
Nate glared at him. "Don't tell me what to do." he growled. "I ain't in the Devils Hole Gang no more."
Heyes gave him a withering look. "Suit yourself." he said, lifting his shoulders in a nonchalant shrug. "It's your funeral."
Nate leaned down so his face was level with Heyes'.
"And yours too." he said, in a menacing whisper. Then, with a sniggering laugh, he straightened up, putting the list in the pocket of his jacket.
Heyes sighed, acknowledging the truth of Nate's words. He didn't want to do the robbery but, unless he did, and unless they got away with it, there was a good probability that it would end up in not only Nate, Zeke and Abe's funerals, but, his and Kid's as well.
While Nate had been writing the list, Zeke had begun preparing breakfast.
After Nate, Zeke and Abe had eaten their fill, Zeke put out two plates of scrambled eggs. Abe took one in to give to the Kid, while Zeke took a spoon and moved to sit next to Heyes in order to feed his to him.
Heyes bit back the urge to refuse it. There was no point biting off his nose to spite his face. It wouldn't matter to Nate and his men whether he ate or not and, in truth, he was ravenous, not having eaten for twenty four hours but, having to sit there, helpless, and be spoon fed, like a child, under Nate's mocking gaze, was almost more than he could stand.
Silently he accepted the food, his gaze fixed on the window in front of him so he wouldn't have to look at them, his hatred for Nate growing stronger by the minute.
When he'd finished, Zeke held a cup of coffee to his lips for him to drink.
As he drank, Abe exited the bedroom carrying the Kid's now empty plate.
Once Heyes had finished the coffee, he was taken back to the hut, pushed inside and the door locked.
Now that the sun was up, it was hot inside the small wooden building, and before long he was sweating heavily.
He spent time trying to work free of the ropes binding his hands, but Zeke had tied the knots well, and by the time Zeke came to release him to take him back to the cabin for supper his wrists were raw and he'd still barely made any impression on them.
Nate inspected the bindings, tutting, reproachfully, when he saw the blood on Heyes' hands.
"I wouldn't bother wasting your time, Heyes. One thing Zeke knows how to do is tie a knot, aint that right Zeke?"
Zeke grinned proudly. "Sure is. My Grandpappy was a sailor. He showed me all kinds of knots."
Zeke fed Heyes a meagre plate of stew from a large pot on the stove. Heyes had had worse meals, but not many. Nate stood nearby leering at Heyes. A dark bruise stood out on his face where Zeke had backhanded him the previous evening and, after being locked in the stiflingly hot hut for most of the day, his clothes and hair were damp with sweat. When given a choice between coffee and water, Heyes chose water and greedily drank from the canteen Zeke held to his lips, demonstrating the depth of his thirst. Nate smirked. He'd waited a long time to get his revenge on Hannibal Heyes, and now he was going to get both that, and a small fortune from the bank too. Nate's smirk broke into a grin as he contemplated some of the tortures he was going to inflict on Heyes after the robbery.
Once the meal was finished Nate ordered Zeke to take him back to the hut for the night.
At Heyes' disgusted look he said, "We made a deal, Heyes. You wanted the Kid to stay in here, so you gotta stay out there... Unless you'd like to swap with him?" he added with a sneering grin.
Heyes said nothing, as Zeke took his arm and led him outside, Heyes struggling, with his ankles hobbled, to keep up as Zeke pulled him towards the hut. They reached it and Zeke pushed him inside and ordered him to sit down. Then, after checking the security of the rope around his wrists, he also tied his legs before locking the door and departing.
Heyes managed to maneuver himself back against the wall of the hut, his knees drawn up in front of him. Instinctively he began to try to loosen his bonds, but gave up after a while. What was the point? Even if he succeeded, which wasn't likely with Zeke's knots, there was no way out of this hut, and even if there was there was no way for him to get to the Kid past Nate and his cronies in the cabin.
He closed his eyes, trying for the umpteenth time to think of some way out of this mess. But he couldn't think of one and eventually he fell into fitful sleep.
* * *
After he'd heard Abe leave the room after feeding him his supper, the Kid was tempted to lift the blindfold for a while, but then decided not to risk it. With his hands bound, it was unlikely he could put it back exactly as he'd removed it and he didn't want to risk incurring Abe's wrath.
When the cabin grew quiet and he knew they were all asleep, he sat up and felt his ankle, hoping that he could free himself from his bonds and slip out of the cabin, disappointed when he found himself handcuffed, rather than tied, to the bed.
He lay back down with a sigh of frustration.
Where was Heyes? he wondered. He didn't think he was in the cabin, which probably meant he was locked back up in the hut. He hoped they hadn't tied him up like the previous night, and that he was OK. He prayed his partner was working on some kind of plan to get them out of this, otherwise they were both going to end up dead.
* * *
Heyes woke with a start as the door to the hut was opened, screwing his eyes shut as the bright morning sunshine flooded in, blinding him after hours in darkness.
Zeke entered and, after untying the rope binding his legs together, hauled him to his feet and, taking hold of his arm, pulled him outside and over towards the cabin.
It had taken Nate three days to gather up all the items on Heyes' list. Heyes was surprised they'd managed to get hold of a Bryant Pump so quickly. It was an item than most stores didn't keep in stock and had to order in, and Heyes had had the faint hope that, if they'd had difficulty obtaining it, they might change their minds about doing the job. But their resolve had held firm.
During those three days, Nate had kept him locked in the hut except for twice daily trips to the cabin, for breakfast - when he was allowed to briefly check that the Kid was still alright - and supper, and the effects of being confined in the small, dark, building, which was boiling hot in the day and freezing cold at night, with barely just enough food and water to keep him alive, were beginning to show. His face looked gaunt, and there were dark circles of fatigue under his eyes. His clothes, damp, and grimy, from days of sweating in the stiflingly hot hut, clung to his lean frame, leaner still from the weight loss generated by dehydration and lack of food, and his unkempt hair and growth of beard made him almost unrecognizable. The only consolation was that at least the Kid was relatively comfortable, and for that Heyes was prepared to put up with his own uncomfortable situation knowing that, one way or the other, it would be over fairly soon, although he was finding it increasingly hard to keep up the act of stoic indifference to his treatment in front of Nate.
"Come on." growled Zeke, as Heyes struggled, with his ankles hobbled, to keep up with him.
"I'm going as fast as I can." Heyes snapped, irritably.
Aggravated by his tone of voice, Zeke swung a backhand blow to the side of Heyes' head. The blow caused him to stumble, and, with his wrists bound behind him and his ankles hobbled, he couldn't stop himself from falling. He landed heavily on his knees and would have sprawled full length had Zeke not been holding on to his upper arm.
Zeke raised his arm to strike him again, but paused, his arm still in mid-air, as Nate's voice boomed out from the doorway of the cabin.
"Zeke! Leave him be. We need him in a fit state to break the safe. There'll be plenty of time for that afterwards."
Zeke looked from Nate to Heyes and back again before, with a grunt of annoyance, he hauled Heyes up and dragged him towards the cabin.
"Nice to see one of you has some forethought." Heyes quipped, as Zeke pushed him inside. At this rate, he wouldn't be fit enough to do the robbery even if he wanted to. Heyes marked that down as bad planning on Nate's part.
"Shut up." Nate smacked him across the face with the back of his hand.
Despite the stinging pain in his cheek, Heyes glared defiantly back at Nate, swallowing and tasting blood where his teeth had cut into the flesh.
Zeke dished up a bowl of sloppy porridge and, crossing the room, pushed Heyes down onto a chair and began to spoon feed it to him. Heyes didn't care for porridge when it was made well - it reminded him of their time at the orphanage where porridge, equally as foul as this concoction, had been served daily for breakfast - and almost gagged when Zeke spooned this slimy and over-salted mixture into his mouth. After Zeke had shoved five spoonfuls into his mouth, he turned his face away, fearing he would throw up if he ate any more.
"Not good enough for you is it?" growled Zeke, seeing the look of distaste on Heyes' face.
"I don't like porridge." Heyes muttered, not looking at him.
Seeing an opportunity for a little sport at Heyes' expense, Nate drew his gun and aimed it at Heyes. "Eat it." he commanded. "You're going to need some water to keep you going through the rest of the day." he said, in reference to being locked in the hut. "If you want some, you'd better finish the rest of that." He nodded towards the bowl of porridge. "Can't afford to waste good food."
Heyes eyed him. They only gave him barely enough water to survive as it was. If he didn't have any now, he'd be hard pressed to make it through the rest of the day. In one way, it would be a blessing, because he wouldn't be in any condition to do the robbery, but if that happened, the Kid would be hurt. He knew Nate was getting pleasure from taunting and humiliating him, but he had to stay strong, for the Kid's sake as well as his own, and so he allowed Zeke to feed him the rest of the porridge, trying to think of other things to take his mind away from the urge to throw up, while Nate looked on, enjoying the sick look on Heyes' face.
Afterwards he was allowed to drink water from a canteen, which did help to wash away the foul taste of the porridge.
"More." he said, when Zeke pulled the canteen away after only a few mouthfuls.
Zeke tantalisingly brought the canteen towards his lips and then repeatedly snatched it out of his reach as he attempted to drink from it.
For once, Nate intervened on his side.
"Let him have it." he told Zeke. "We're gonna do the robbery tonight. I want him fit enough to open that safe."
Heyes shot him a startled glance. "What's the plan?" he asked anxiously. Although he had no desire to do the robbery, since he had to, he wanted to be as sure as he could be that they stood a chance of getting away with it, otherwise they might just as well let Nate kill them now because they'd be dead anyway if they were caught in the act.
"Since when is it any of your business?" snapped Nate.
"Since you forced me into taking part." Heyes snapped back. "If I'm going to be a part of this, I want to know how you plan to pull it off."
Nate glared at him, but then began to relate his plan.
"It's too risky trying to negotiate these trails after dark." he began "So we'll leave here mid afternoon, to arrive on the outskirts of town by sunset. We'll camp outside town until midnight, and then we go in. There's an alley at the side of the bank. Abe will be on guard there, while you, me and Zeke break in through the side window and then you blow the safe."
"And after?" asked Heyes.
"We'll have the horses waiting. We skedaddle, split up outside of town, hide out in the trees until its light enough to see and then make our way back here."
"And if we're discovered, before we get away? Or they get a posse together?"
"We'll kill whoever we have to, to get out of town." said Nate. "And if we split up, a posse can't track all of us in the dark."
Heyes shook his head. He didn't like it at all, especially the bit about killing whoever they had to, to get out of town.
"Just you worry about opening that safe." said Nate, seeing Heyes' perturbed expression.
"That's the problem. If I open that safe, Kid and me are gonna get blamed for that robbery, and if anyone dies, we'll get blamed for that too."
"Then you'd better hope we don't get caught then." Nate told him. Then, before Heyes had chance to protest any further, said "Zeke, give him the water and then take him back out to the hut."
Heyes opened his mouth to speak, but Zeke shoved the canteen in it, cutting off whatever he'd been about to say. Heyes drank the water greedily, draining the canteen. When Zeke took it away, Heyes turned to look at Nate.
"If you want me to open that safe without blowing us all to Kingdom Come, you'd better untie my hands. I've been tied for so long, I can't feel them. It needs a steady hand to use that nitro. One slip and we're all gonners." The note of fear in his voice wasn't all put on. His hands were numb and it wasn't a lie about needing a steady hand to use the nitro. If he tried to do it in his present condition it was more than likely that he would blow them all up.
Nate thought about that for a moment, before nodding.
"Alright." he said presently. "Zeke, get some rope and tie his arms down. Then you can untie his wrists." Turning back to Heyes he said "But I‘m warning you, don't try anything smart, or the Kid gets it."
Heyes said nothing as Zeke approached and secured a rope around him, just above his elbows. He then coiled it around him three or four times, the last one stopping just below his shoulders, pinning his arms to his sides, Zeke pulling each coil as tight as possible so that Heyes could hardly breath by the time he'd finished, unable to expand his chest beneath the unforgiving rope. Zeke then cut the ropes around his wrists, which gave him a little movement, although not much, with his arms pinned, but at least the blood flow began to return to his hands and fingers.
"Take him back to the hut." Nate ordered, when Zeke had finished tying his knots.
"Not ‘til I've checked on the Kid." said Heyes, his eyes daring Nate to refuse.
After a moment, Nate nodded and Zeke pulled him to his feet and across to the bedroom. He opened the door for Heyes to look in. The Kid appeared to be asleep, rolled onto his side, his free leg pulled up towards his stomach. Zeke pulled the door shut again and pushed Heyes towards the door of the cabin. Just as Zeke opened it, Nate said "Don't forget what I said, Heyes. Don't try anything smart. If you tamper with any of those ropes... or try anything smart during the robbery tonight..." he trailed off, but Heyes knew what he meant. Without a word, he turned and hobbled after Zeke.
When they reached the hut, Zeke pushed him inside and locked the door, and darkness was upon him again. The only light that came into the hut was from the narrow crack under the door and that was barely enough even to see his feet. Heyes moved to the wall, leaned his back against it and slid down to sit on the ground.
He tried to flex his arms and wriggle his shoulders in the hope of loosening the ropes, but Zeke had pulled them so tight they wouldn't move at all and, after a few moments, he gave up, the effort having made him short of breath. He leaned his head back against the wall, his eyes closed, as he tried to suck in enough air to breathe properly. He couldn't expand his chest at all and could only take small shallow breaths.
'Oh, God', he groaned inwardly. How the hell was he going to get them out of this mess? He'd gone over every possible plan, and several impossible ones as well, and was still no nearer coming up with a way out.
Sweat ran down his face as he sat there, trying to think of some solution to their predicament. It was almost noon now and it was stiflingly hot inside the small hut. Heyes was desperate for a drink. He licked his lips, tasting the salty tang of sweat which just served to increase his thirst. The sweat ran into his eyes, stinging them. He bowed his head, and, with an effort, managed to reach his hand up far enough to wipe his eyes, which alleviated the stinging a little, but not his thirst. He cursed Nate to hell and vowed to get revenge on him for this.