Work Text:
The Duel
Or
Overdue Reunion
The eyes of Jedediah Curry and Hannibal Heyes were locked. They stood in the middle of the main street, facing each other down - squared up and prepared to draw.
The evening sun already cast long shadows and gilded the sky, yet they stared at each other in silence. Time seemed to stretch as if the whole world would hold its breath.
“Hannibal Heyes, you’re under arrest, in the name of the law! Drop your weapon and nothing worse will happen,” U. S. Marshal Curry ordered but the only response he got from his opponent was silence.
“C’mon Heyes, you know you can’t outdraw me,” he called after a while.
“That’s right. The question is: will you outdraw me, Marshal?” Heyes replied seriously.
“Will you, Heyes?” Jedediah Curry asked softly.
“I won’t return to jail!” Heyes choked hard. “I’m sorry, but I can’t.”
“Then we’re damned, Heyes,” Curry stated sadly. “I can’t let you go. You know that.”
Heyes knew it indeed; too many spectators here. Marshal Curry’s reputation would be destroyed and maybe he would have to face a trial, too. Heyes had no intention of drawing his younger cousin to the wrong side of the law. It wasn’t his fault, that Heyes had made bad decisions in his past that spiraled him deeper and deeper into this mess.
They had been friends throughout their childhood, best friends. Heyes couldn’t remember one single day without him. Even when their families had been murdered and they spent their early teenage years in an orphanage they had been the only comfort for each other. They had shared both – the good times and the bad times.
Maybe they still would be friends and maybe partners, if they hadn’t split up some time after they ran away from the orphanage.
Jed had been a good boy. His kindness, good manners and handsome face opened doors for him, that would always be closed to his rebellious cousin.
Already in his youth, Heyes tended to get into trouble, sometimes without it being his fault, he happened to appear at the wrong time in the wrong place. He questioned everything, challenged everyone and accepted no authority.
Usually his cousin backed him up or talked him out of his less brilliant plans. Jed’s calmness, his different point of view and his distinct sense of justness had always been a good complement to his own passionate nature. But when Heyes was suspected of aiding and abetting a bank robbery, he was on the run before he even knew what else he could have done.
Heyes breathed in deeply and squared his shoulders.
“Then do, what you have to do.” Heyes wetted his lips and added in his mind. ‘At least it will happen by the hand of a friend.’
He braced himself for the final bullet. But nothing happened.
‘He can’t do it,’ Heyes realized. ‘And I don’t want to die. But I can’t live in that hell again either.’
He knew it had been a stupid idea trying to cross the territory, knowing his cousin was around here, but the posse behind him left him no other choice. It played out the way it had to do. U. S. Marshal Jedediah Curry simply knew him too well, to leave Heyes the slightest chance of escaping him.
They had met each other several times during the last few weeks. Always trying to find a way out of their dilemma … always without success.
A Couple of Weeks Earlier
Hannibal Heyes knew it was a risk to take a rest, but his horse wouldn’t last much longer. If it collapsed as he was being pursued he might end up with a broken neck. That damned posse was fast and smart, but his last delaying tactic should have bought him a least an hour head start.
He hunched down at the bank of the small creek to wash sweat and dust off his face.
“Hold it right there!” a strong voice ordered him from behind.
Heyes raised his arms and turned slowly.
Not far away stood a man of about his height and age. His head was covered with blonde curls and an U. S. Marshal’s badge was pinned to his tan vest. Sky-blue eyes fixed on him. The face seemed strange and familiar at the same time to him.
“Jed?” Heyes asked cautiously.
“Han!” A wide infectious smile lit up the marshal’s face.
Heyes could not help but return it. Nobody had called him that in years.
“It’s ‘Heyes’ now, Jed,” he told him softly. “It’s good to see you again. You look well.”
“And you look awful!” Jed Curry replied seriously. “May I trust you?”
Heyes nodded and lowered his hands, while Jed slipped his gun back into its holster.
“Heyes, huh?” the voice was strange to him, but amiable and warm like a campfire in the night. The last time they had met Jed’s voice was just beginning to break.
The outlaw shrugged sheepishly. “They have to call me something.”
Jed Curry nodded slightly.
Slowly they stepped closer while they studied each other. There was no resemblance between them, there never had been. One as bright as the day, the other as dark as the night. One inside, one outside the law. Two sides of the same coin.
A few minutes went by before they simultaneously moved to hug each other.
It felt like coming home after a long journey. They had been separated for years, but there still was a distinctive connection. Slowly they stepped apart, turned and walked down towards the water.
“Heyes, what happened?” Jed asked after a while. “I heard the rumors, but never believed it.”
His friend heaved a sigh before he started to explain.
“I was running an errand for Mr. Goldblum at that day. The bank was robbed by a gang of incompetent outlaws. They came running out of the bank and one of them stumbled right into me, leaving me blood smeared and with a bundle of dollar bills at my feet at the scene of crime.”
Heyes shook his head. “That useless couple of drifters left me there as a suspect. What do you think would have happened to me? Who besides you would have believed me? The sheriff never liked me anyway.”
“You gave him no reason to do so, if I recall it right.” A short smile crossed Jed’s face before he got serious again. “I missed you, Heyes. You should have taken the time to tell me what had happened. I would have followed you where ever you were going to.”
Jed earned a warm glance from his cousin’s dark brown eyes.
“How could I, Jed? You were safe there and my visit would have made you a suspect, too. You were better off without me.” Heyes smiled regretfully at him. “I often wished to have you at my side. You’ve always been more trustworthy to me than my own conscience.”
They fell into a companionable silence.
“You know, I have to turn you in,” Jed Curry mentioned gently.
“Jed …” Heyes tried to object but wasn’t able to find the right words for the first time in his life.
“Please, Han … Heyes …listen to me...”
“Jed, no!” he begged him desperately.
“I can’t!” Jed Curry stated firmly but with regret.
In the blink of an eye Heyes’s gun cleared leather.
“Sorry, kid…” his voice faded while he slowly moved back towards his horse.
“Heyes!” The concerned and desperate sound of Jed’s voice broke his heart.
The dark-haired outlaw shook his head in regret. “You don’t know what you’re asking, Jed. Please, do us both a favor and forget me. Don’t cross my path again.”
Heyes swung up onto his horse’s back and spurred it on.
Jed Curry lowered his hands following his friend with his eyes.
“How could I ever forget you?” he murmured under his breath.
A Few Days Later
It took Marshal Jed Curry some days to track the outlaw down again. Heyes was actually good in blurring his trails and fooled him once or twice, nevertheless he found him - again.
The night fell when he silently approached the small well-hidden fire. He had only noticed it by the fine smell of smoke caused by green wood.
Heyes was about to prepare himself a hot meal. He looked tired and weak and dark rings surrounded his eyes. It was obvious, he’d taken no longer rest since their last encounter.
Marshal Curry revealed himself and stepped out of the bushes.
“Evenin’.”
Heyes twirled around and the gun slipped into his hand as by its own will. In an instant Jed Curry watched down the barrel of a cocked gun. Slowly he raised his hands.
Heyes frowned. “Jed?”
“Yeah, it’s just me. Truce?” he asked cautiously but without any fear in his voice.
Heyes studied him with an unreadable expression on his face. The flickering light of the fire made the situation even more surreal. Eventually Heyes locked his weapon again and slipped it back into its holster.
“Truce,” he confirmed seriously just to bust out a second later.
“Are you crazy, Jed!? You sneak up at me in the dead of the night without drawing my attention at you first! I could have shot you, Jed! Shot you without even knowing what I had done!”
The tone of his voice gave him away. He wasn’t just angry, he was terrified. He was scared to his bones and he wasn’t scared about his own life.
Jed Curry smiled trustfully at him. “You’d never shoot me, Heyes.”
“Are you sure? Sure enough, to bet your life on it?”
“I already did...”
“Then you’re even dumber than I thought!” Heyes snapped and turned around to concentrate on his food again.
Still smiling Jed shook his head and watched his cousin’s back. “Like you’re trusting me right now, huh?”
The dark-haired head turned around and gave him an annoyed look.
“You’re a lawman, Jed. You’re honest. You’re someone to trust. I am not,” he stated seriously.
“Take a seat.” Heyes nodded towards a fallen tree trunk nearby. “Coffee?”
“You still make it like you used to? Strong enough to make a nail stand in it?” Jed earned a smile for his remark along with another nod.
“How do you think, I manage to stay awake? I suppose you know darn well how long it’s been since I have had any real sleep.”
Jed Curry ignored the remark and nodded. “Coffee would be fine.”
He paused and watched his cousin who emptied his mug in one swig before he refilled it and handed it to him.
“We have to share, sorry. I hadn’t expected guests. The next time you invite yourself to my dinner you should bring your own dishes along with you. It’s not like we’re at a restaurant here. Beans?”
Jed took the dented mug and shook his head. “No, thanks.”
He took a sip of the brew and grimaced. Childhood memories returned. Coffee had always been an expensive luxury, but Heyes could never be induced to water it down. There was a good share of stubbornness in both sides of the family.
“So you tell me, you relieve the banks of thousands of dollars and you don’t own a second mug?” he teased his cousin. “Or even a better one than this?”
“What for?” Heyes answered casually. “I ride alone and if all had worked out as planned I would have already joined my men and be having a good time.”
“Aw, Heyes, you hurt me. Don’t we have good times together anymore?”
“I admit I have had better ones,” his cousin replied seriously but with the glint of a smile in the corner of his eyes. He took the small pot off the fire and settled himself down on his bedroll. Picking at his food he glanced at Jed.
“As much as I am enjoying seeing you again, I doubt you’re here for a courtesy call. What do you want?”
“Talk.”
Heyes took in a spoonful of beans and chewed. Gesturing with his spoon he invited his cousin to continue. “Just go ahead.”
“Heyes, you can’t go on like this!”
“Why?” he swallowed and let another spoon of food follow the first one.
“You know damned well why!” Jed blurted out.
“Please, don’t be so rude at my table, will you?” Heyes asked sarcastically.
Against his will Jed had to laugh. “Heyes, you don’t even have a table. But you make me really curious about the habits of your gang. I’m sure up in your hideout real gentlemen with finest manners reside.”
The picture of Wheat and Kyle appeared to Heyes, he choked on his food and coughed. Nothing was more ungentlemanlike than them. It took him a moment to compose himself.
“All right, no. But my camp, my rules! Just let me eat in peace, will you? Arguing while eating is bad for the digestion.”
“Heyes...” Jed trailed off. A warm feeling spread inside him that wasn’t only caused by the campfire. The whole atmosphere was familiar and relaxed. He felt comfortable and he enjoyed the company of his cousin.
Heyes smiled at him and gave silence no chance to spread.
“Jed, I have to admit your stamina is amazing. How do you manage to follow me on foot? I never see you with a horse but you are always close when I try to get a little rest. Are you so fast or is my horse worn out?”
Jed almost spit out his coffee and laughed. In return he teased Heyes about some of the delaying tactics he had used over the last few days that didn’t work out the way they were planned. They went on talking about nothing in particular for a while and with every minute the time they had been separated lost more of its importance.
After the meager meal Heyes set the dishes aside and leaned forward to grab the mug. He refilled it and took a sip himself before he passed it to Jed again. Then he leaned back against a boulder. His eyes were heavy but he looked thoughtfully at his cousin.
“So, you want to talk. What do you want?” he asked forthrightly.
“Heyes ... well now. Now, I don’t exactly know how to start.” Jed paused. “I know the posse has been after you almost all the time since you cracked that safe in Jamiston. You might get rid of them, if you at least leave the loot for them to return it. I’ll make sure they find it.”
Heyes smirked. “Good try, Marshal, but I’m not so easy to bait. Apart from that, I don’t have the loot on me. I handed it over to my deputy when I left my boys to lead the posse astray. They’ll be pretty secure now in their hideout. I just have to return and we’ll all be fine.”
“Can’t you get it?”
“What for?” Heyes shrugged. “I’m almost sure I’ve outrun the posse anyway and we need the money. None of us wants to starve when the winter sets in.”
“You don’t need thousands of dollars to feed your men during the winter!” Marshal Curry objected.
“Probably not, but a man deserves a little comfort now and then. And for us it’s now.” He winked mischievously at his cousin.
“Heyes, stop kidding me! You’re in trouble! Serious trouble. The reward on your head is rising steadily, the railroad and bank managers are fired up about you.”
“Fine, that was part of my intention!” the reckless outlaw retorted.
“That raises the question of who is the stupid one here! I don’t know why you’re supposed to be so smart.”
“Sure, I am! My plans work out perfectly and no lawman ever catches me!” Heyes retorted.
Jed raised his eyebrow and gave him a suspicious look. The statement didn’t merit an answer.
“Yeah, well. All right. Mostly,” Heyes relented.
“Come on, Heyes, look at you. You’re run down and I could have caught you twice if it had been my intention to take you by surprise.”
“You’re no ordinary lawman, Jed.” Heyes smile showed appreciation, pride and affection. “I know about your reputation and I know you deserve it.”
Jed Curry lowered his eyes embarrassed but nodded in confirmation. “I just do my best.”
“I know. You always did. I’d expect nothing less from you,” Heyes said. “Tell me something I don't know. They're right on my tail and they detest me but what can I do, Jed?”
“Stop it, Heyes! While you still can, stop it!”
“While I still can?” he asked sarcastically. “I’m way beyond that point, Jed! There is no other way for me! They already locked me up once and I would still be rotting behind bars if my boys hadn’t busted me out!”
“There must be a way, Heyes!” Jed objected. “Don’t you see what you’re heading for!? The old ways are dying, the speed of telegraphs is changing everything and those managers aren't fooling around anymore. You pushed it way too far! Why do you think I’m here? They called for the best – and it’s not only lawmen. Rumors spread. They want to get rid of you with or without the law.”
Heyes listened with his big brown eyes fixed on his cousin. There once had been a time when Jed could have easily read the thoughts behind those eyes, but that was long ago. Now it was disturbing for him to be addressed by those dark gleaming depths. It’s said if you stare too long into the abyss, the abyss stares back. Something similar was happening to him right now. His voice trailed off.
“Jed ... I appreciate what you are trying to do for me,” Heyes replied in a low voice, “but there’s no way out. If I don’t run anymore, they’ll catch me. And they’ll break me. Better they shoot me straight out of my boots than let me rot to death all locked up and bound. At least I’ll go as a free man.”
Jed’s chest constricted. “Heyes – what you’re talking about? This isn’t you!”
“You don’t know me anymore, Jed,” Heyes told him gently. “You think you do but you don’t.”
They studied each other for a long time. Only the crackling campfire disrupted the silence. Jed started to speak several times, but never voiced his thoughts. Sadly, he shook his head.
It was Heyes who finally broke the silence. “Let me be, Jed. You can’t help me.” He lay back and closed his eyes. “This evening was a gift. I thank you for that. But leave me – please. It’s my fate, not yours. I chose it. You can’t make things unhappen. None of us can.”
“Would you, if you could?” Jed asked in his soft amiable voice.
“Oh, yeah ... Jed, we never would have ended up here ... or there ...” he admitted quietly.
Silence spread again. After a while Jed noticed that his cousin’s breathing had become deeper and smoother. He had fallen asleep.
“Sleep well, Heyes. I’ll watch over you,” Jed whispered. “Tomorrow, you can run away from me again.”
His feelings about Heyes were ambivalent. Sure, Jed was a lawman and his cousin an outlaw, but truth was never that simple. At least not for him. There was so much more about Heyes. He didn’t fit a simple black-and-white-scheme. Nothing about him was simple, it never had been. It would take more time for Jed Curry to decide how to go on, but for tonight he had learned enough. He wouldn’t turn him in as long as nobody knew about their meetings – and as long as nothing worse happened.
He had told the truth – he hadn’t come to detain Heyes. His true intention needed some more contemplation. Yes, sure he came to talk to him, warn him, fathom Heyes’s character and purposes.
But Jed’s mere presence also meant protection for the man on the run. No one would take him by surprise nor would a posse claim him, when he already was in custody of an U. S. Marshal. Things might become complicated but not hopeless. Nobody would dare to shoot him under Jed Curry’s eyes. At least he would get some rest now.
Jed watched his sleeping cousin whose posture was everything but relaxed. Uneasy he turned, his eyes flickered underneath closed lids. Even in sleep he was on the run. Jed pitied him, but he didn’t know any way out for him at this time.
He remembered the nights in the orphanage. There it had been him, getting no rest, no sleep, haunted by nightmares, still missing his family. Han – Heyes - had been there for him, took him into his arms in the night and gave him comfort. He couldn’t count how many nights he had rested his head on Han’s skinny chest, soothed by the steady beat of his heart that guided him gradually into sleep.
How must Han have felt at that time? Much too young to care for his even younger cousin and shaken to the core himself? He never had asked. And he never would. No answer would lessen the gratitude he owed him.
As the night wore old Jed fell asleep, too.
When he awoke, he was alone.
Heyes was gone.
About a Week Later
Heyes was quite sure that he had eventually succeeded in getting rid of the posse. Its members had become gradually fewer but some of them had been more persistent than expected. Now they were gone but he was anything but certain that the same held for Marshal Curry. Heyes hadn’t seen him anymore since he had stolen himself away that night at his campsite.
The memory conjured a smile on his face. He really had enjoyed spending the evening with his cousin. Jed had grown to become an admirable man. Heyes would have liked to get to know him better – if only there hadn’t been his profession making that wish impossible. He sighed. No time for regrets, time to make decisions. The low level of his supplies demanded it.
He could trust his abilities and join his men or he could lay low for a while, just to be sure his cousin really wasn’t on his tracks anymore. In this case he had to restock his supplies. He could simply steal some food but actually that was far beneath the dignity of one Hannibal Heyes.
Safety defeated comfort and he rode on. He couldn’t take the chance to guide Marshal Curry straight to their hideout. Somewhere close there must be a town or at least a farm where he could get supplies.
The first two places he found were deserted and decayed. Only the well turned out as a useful resource.
It was evening when he eventually reached a farm that was still inhabited. He sighed in relief. Finally, a place where he could buy some food. Maybe he could even get a hot meal and a place to rest for the night. Nice company and a little bit of comfort would be a most welcome diversion. He wasn’t meant to be alone for so long with no one to talk to.
He was about to lead his horse to the front yard when a strange feeling alerted him. Covered by a bush he reined in his mount and scanned the scene in front him again.
The house and barn were in good order. In the yard he noticed three horses, some chickens and a cat that observed the place lazily draped on top of a fence. His eyes wandered back to the horses. Something didn’t fit the picture. Two of them were strong and sturdy obviously a team, the third one a nice dark brown mare of a finer breed than he’d expected out here. She kept a distance to her companions and turned her back towards them.
In a distance he heard subdued voices talking and laughing but nobody was in sight. A nervous prickle ran down his spine. The sounds came out of the barn and seemed to get louder. The door swung open and two men left the building. One of them was Marshal Jed Curry. Heyes cursed under his breath.
He didn’t believe in fate but he couldn’t believe in such coincidence either. That man was like a curse! He wasn’t able to get rid of him since they had met again. Every time he turned around he seemed to stumble over him!
Heyes kept his horse calm and held his breath. Moments later both men disappeared into the house and he dared to breathe again. Cautiously and in silence he turned his horse and left the property. So much for his plans for the evening.
His trade had been thwarted by Jed Curry but he took a chance on picking some ripe apples from the orchard, which lay a few yards from the house. He waited for darkness before he sneaked between the trees, choose one with strong wide limbs and climbed up. In a branch he found a comfortable place to settle down for his task.
The night was falling but the temperature was still mild. Night birds started their concert and last scents of late summer surrounded him. He tasted one of the apples right away. It was a bit sour but juicy and aromatic. Sitting in the tree the flavor of fresh apple on his tongue, he remembered a night like this long ago.
Jed was still too small to climb that high and reach the sweetest fruits. He was some feet closer to the ground and begged him to throw some of his loot down to him. Heyes could easily recall the high pitched quiet voice and see the shimmer of moonlight in the bright blue eyes.
Heyes swallowed his bite and smiled. It would be nice to have him here again. Instantly he became serious. He was here! Only a few yards away and he had better hurry. It was a strange feeling to avoid discovery from Jed instead from their parents. He choked the lump in his throat away and finished his task.
Silent as a shadow he fled the orchard and farm and left no sign of his visit. Almost none. In the morning Jed Curry found two beautiful fresh apples on the window sill.
-o-o-o-
During the next two weeks Heyes was more successful and managed to restock the most needed supplies in nameless towns and remote farms.
Heyes didn’t see his cousin again but noticed signs that he was still somewhere around. It was like a pas de deux performed by blindfolded partners. None of them knowing where the other one was - searching and evading were pure instinct. And Heyes had to admit that Jed’s instinct was darn good.
The next time he ran into him, he was on his way up to the hills. Heyes hadn’t noticed any sign of him for two days and had decided to make his way back towards the mountains. It was time to return to his men before Wheat got too comfortable in his position as leading man.
He wasn’t far into the foothills when he rode around a long bend just to see his cousin at the crossing at the end of it. He was close. Too close to avoid another meeting.
Heyes cursed, shoved his hat back on his head and nudged his horse forward.
“Jed, nice to see you!” he called with a false smile on his face.
“Heyes.” His cousin tipped his hat to greet him. “You’re late.”
“Late?” The smile dropped.
“You could have been here much earlier. What took you so long?”
“You waited here for me?”
Jed nodded.
“Why?”
“C’mon, Heyes, I’m not stupid. I followed you long enough so I can see there is a pattern to your movements. Your boys must be somewhere beyond the hills. The best pass is 5 miles east of here and the second-best trail to it is this one, less frequented and not much worse for a single rider than the best one.”
Heyes jaw dropped.
Jed Curry laughed. “I usually don’t talk that much, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think that much. I make my living with that sort of thing.”
“Guess I underestimated you,” Heyes admitted with amazement in his voice.
“I hoped you would. We have to talk.”
“Jed, everything is said. What do you still want to talk about?”
“We have to find a way out of this. Maybe we can find one together. I can’t let you run away forever. Come with me, please. It’ll make it easier.”
“Yeah, easier for you!” Heyes accused him hotly. “It won’t take one single day off my damned sentence! What was so hard to understand about ’don’t cross my path again’?”
“Heyes, it’s just a matter of time ‘till they get you! When you’re with me you have at least a chance!” Jed shouted back.
“Not before hell freezes over! Now, what will you do about it?” Heyes yelled his challenge towards him.
“Whatever is necessary.” Jed’s voice was calm and certain again but his blue eyes were filled with an icy blaze.
Heyes lifted his brows and asked seriously. “Whatever?”
Silence spread.
The words sank in.
Something changed.
“Maybe we can get a deal for you, when you surrender,” Jed suggested half-heartedly.
“Surrender!? I won’t surrender! Never!” Heyes burst out desperately. “They’ll lock me up in a hole from where I will never see daylight again! There’s only one way to turn me in!”
He kicked his horse into a spin. “Will you shoot me, Marshal? Will you shoot me in the back?”
Heyes turned his horse, spurred it and left hell bent for leather.
His horse hadn’t even begun to gallop before he began to curse himself. He couldn’t believe what he’d done! Life was strong in him, stronger than ever before, pulsing, flashing through his veins while he pushed his horse faster and faster over the plains.
He didn’t expect a bullet in his back but he was still terrified.
‘Jed,’ he thought and cursed his own temper. ‘Oh, dang, Jed. What have I done?’
Jed Curry didn’t even reach for his gun. Crestfallen he watched Heyes leave.
With him his last hope fled.
He lost him.
Finally.
A Couple of Days Later
Heyes was running out of money – ironic that quickly after a robbery – and the question was what he should do about it.
Displeased he rode on. He was pretty sure he had finally got rid of his cousin but preferred to take some time to be certain. This meant he was forced to live on his small change.
He was fed up being followed by him! Heyes wouldn’t admit it but the the thought of meeting him was as painful as the thought of never seeing him again. Since the last disastrous meeting he tried to avoid even thinking about him and so he shoved the thought away.
Instead Heyes chose to hit the next town and check out his possibilities there.
When he arrived and read the town sign he shook his head. Why the hell would someone name a place ‘Deceit’?
He discovered why that evening. The place was damned or had at least pretty bad karma.
There were two saloons in town and Heyes chose the cheaper one. He sat at the poker table, playing at low stakes to multiply his money. He expected nothing worse than to waste time and he had plenty of that, at least he thought so. It turned out he was wrong.
He knew it instantly when Marshal Curry entered the saloon, he didn’t even need to look up. The atmosphere changed. Without any deliberate attempt Jed Curry dominated the room; voices were lowered, glances changed, background noises faded.
Heyes chest constricted and he cursed under his breath. He had got him! They’d driven each other into a corner with no way out. Decision day had arrived.
The game would be over the very moment their identities were known. Would he spare him? Heyes wouldn’t bet on it. The odds were against them. It needed only one witness who recognized him to bring trouble on both of their heads. And he wasn’t sure anymore where he stood with Jed after their last argument.
Stalling for time he continued the game as if nothing had happened. He wore self-confidence like armor, waiting for Jed Curry to make the first move.
Heyes had his back turned towards his cousin but his senses told him his every move. The young marshal went to the bar, ordered a beer. Then he turned around and scanned the crowd. Heyes could have sworn he even felt when his eyes met him. The glance tickled down his spine. Footsteps came closer, a heavy hand dropped onto his shoulder.
“Heyes.”
One single word.
Over.
His heart sank.
“Time to fold,” the same calm and quiet voice told him.
Heyes tensed. His thoughts raced. A plan! He needed a plan! Now!
Sedately he shoved the cards together, placed them on the table and showed a winning smile to the other players.
“You heard the friendly marshal, gents. Thanks for your pleasant company.”
He rose slowly and turned around. Jed nodded greeting at him and looked as unhappy as he himself felt.
“Marshal.” He returned the nod. No reason to be rude.
Jed Curry motioned him towards the front door. Heyes obeyed.
He didn’t know why his cousin hadn't put handcuffs on him straight away or even taken his gun. Negligence, regret, guilt? Heyes wouldn’t ask. He would take every advantage he got and be grateful for it.
Murmurs started and spread. When they reached the batwing door it swung violently open as a couple of cheerful cowhands rushed in.
Heyes didn’t waste a second. He grabbed one of them by the lapel whirled him around and pushed him towards Jed. Immediately he ducked down, dodged the following men and slipped outside the saloon covered by the confusion behind him. Once outside he started his run.
He didn’t get far until a strong familiar voice called him.
“Stop, Heyes! Don't make this worse than it already is!”
Heyes froze.
Damned, he had done it again! He’d put a mark on his back!
Exhaling, he turned his face slowly towards the sky, fighting to retain his composure.
That damned idiot had sold him out! It only needed one lucky shot to make one of the spectators a rich man.
“I wish I’d never seen you again,” Heyes murmured, but knew it wasn’t true the very moment he voiced the thought.
Slowly he turned around to face his cousin.
Blue eyes and brown eyes locked.
Back at the Duel
Still they stood in the middle of the street in silence. The spectators were getting tired and some of them had already left.
Several emotions flashed upon Heyes’s expressive face but he was too far away for Jed to read them. Although he knew his friend had made a decision. His chest constricted.
Jed still hesitated when Heyes’s hand reached out for his gun, but his colt cleared leather faster anyway.
One shot sounded.
Heyes was thrown back when Jed’s bullet hit him. A dark spot spread where blood seeped into his shirt. His gun dropped to the ground. Unbelieving he lowered his eyes, just to face Marshal Jed Curry again with a questioning look.
“You’ve ever read a warrant that explicitly calls for ‘turn in dead’?” Jed noted dryly while he strolled to his friend. “You really thought your clumsy trick with the back drawn shoulder would make me shoot my cousin?”
“No?” Heyes asked, each word dripped with sarcasm. “You prefer to send me back to hell instead?”
“I would - ‘Where life is, is hope,’ Grandpa Curry used to say,” Jed confirmed seriously, “but first I’ll turn you in to the doctor. You’re badly injured and not in any condition to travel.”
Heyes followed him with questioning eyes and furrowed his brows. Jed patted his good shoulder.
“Don’t ask! This will give us more time to come up with a plan,” he murmured.
Then he grabbed him and guided him off the street. His stance left no question to the spectators as to who was master of the situation. U. S. Marshal Jed Curry deserved his outstanding reputation.
-o-o-o-
Dr. Martin, an experienced man in his mid-fifties, took care of Heyes’s wound. The bullet had just grazed Heyes’s upper arm and the bleeding was soon stopped. With a wink towards Jed he declared the patient mustn’t be moved for at least a week, due to his injury. He patted his patient’s back and left the cousins alone.
Heyes endured the treatment in silence. His eyes took in every detail of the room and the exchange between the two men.
“He’s someone you can really trust,” he stated when they were eventually alone.
Jed nodded. “He owes me a favor.” He studied his cousin in silence.
“Heyes, what happened to you after you left me way back then?” he finally asked.
“That’s a long story. I hope I’ve got time to tell you about it someday,” he replied. “Let’s just say I hooked up with the wrong crowd and made the wrong choices. One day I realized that there was no way left to repent. Now I run that little gang of mine. Certainly, you have heard about us….”
Jed smiled and nodded.
“What about you?” Heyes asked. “You just had to become a lawman, hadn’t you?”
“Sure. I always wanted to protect good folks.” Jed smiled again. “Just like I did today.” He thought it over and added, “At least a pretty good bad fella.”
“Strange kind of protection, you showed lately, Jed,” Heyes complained. “Couldn’t you have become a bank clerk instead?”
“You mean we would have met earlier then?” Jed grinned. “Obviously you threatening me?”
Heyes shrugged sheepishly before he grimaced in pain.
“Will you give me your word, you’ll stay here until we make a decision how to go on?” Jed asked him seriously.
“Sure,” Heyes smiled at him, looking like innocence personified.
“Heyes, I know when you’re lying…” Jed scolded him softly. “Do I really have to put handcuffs on you?”
Jed’s sad and worried glance wasn’t lost on his friend, but he still hesitated. He didn’t always tell the truth – indeed he was an outstanding liar – but he never broke his word, once he gave it.
“Say it!” Jed ordered him strictly.
Heyes sighed and rolled his eyes.
“Well Jed, I give you my word, I won’t leave until we find a solution together for our mutual problem.”
Jed Curry gave him an acknowledging nod and smiled in relief.
“Thanks. I know, I can trust you - now.”
A Few Days Later
They had argued about their situation for days. Still they hadn’t got a plan that helped them out of their dilemma. Heyes refused to return to jail and Jed had no intention of letting him escape. Not even the silver tongue could make a change there.
It was about noon when Jed Curry entered the doctor’s house again, bringing lunch and a folded paper.
“See what I received in the latest mail.” Jed handed the paper to his friend.
Heyes scanned it rapidly. “Amnesty?”
Jed Curry nodded.
“It’s not, that you’re the greatest threat to the West, Heyes. Neither you nor one of your gang has ever hurt anyone seriously. It’s all about the money. Is there any chance you could return some of it?”
“Nope, already spent most of it. But I could get us some…” he grinned deviously.
“Heyes you will have to change your habits, if you want to go straight.”
“Will I?” Heyes asked dubiously.
Jed nodded.
“But where will be the fun then?” Heyes sounded a bit frustrated now.
“Gone with the danger of being shot or imprisoned!”
Heyes pursed his lips. “That’s a good deal, huh?”
“Sure.” Jed Curry grinned and nodded again. “C’mon Heyes, we’ll find something else for you.”
“What might that be?” Heyes asked sullen.
They thought it over in silence, finally broken by Heyes.
“That’s it - security specialist!” hope flashed across Heyes face.
“What’s that mean?” Jed Curry looked dubiously at his friend.
“I’ll check the security of banks and trains.”
“You mean …?”
“Yes, I try to bust it and get paid for it.”
“And you think that’s working legally?” Jed asked still not convinced.
“Why not?” Heyes shrugged but his eyes started to sparkle again. “And the best is, I already have the reputation to be a safe specialist! I could license a vault as ‘Heyes safe’!”
Grinning they faced each other.
“Heyes, you’re a genius sometimes!”
“Sure, I know that, but I’ll keep quiet and enjoy it! I’m sure, I won’t hear that often again.”