Running the West (Discontinued)

[Seranda]

Whitewater... Once a neat little town, far west of the big cities. Here, things were settled with a good old game of fisticuffs, or if things got too personal, a showdown. Proud Sheriff Kenslay had kept the town in good standing for years and years.

Then came the dry season. The value of our coin dropped, jobs became scarce, food even harder to find. Many lost their jobs and livelihood. Not even the good Sheriff and his deputies could bring about a better future.

When things returned to normal, many of the folks that lost their jobs had gone into pilfering, or just straight robbery. It wasn't uncommon for their to be one big bank robbery every two months or so. The lawmen were outnumbered vastly by the bandits.

Since things were better, why didn't people just get jobs, and start again?

Because stealing was easy, and hurting scared people was fun to some. Not to Kenslay.

Kenslay brought his best lawmen to face off with the cream of the crop in terms of scum. During the showdown however, two of Kenslay's best men turned on him, the kanivers fired on the good Sheriff and he was later hanged by the bandits along with a few of his deputies. Some ran, some joined the bandits, none of the good ones made it past that day.

Whitewater has been under the control of the bandits for several months now. The cowardly governor had no choice but to reach out for new protection, against the will of the bandits. But none answered. The men and women lived in fear, young girls and boys were molested and murdered daily, horses were stolen, property vandalized, even the local stores had to pay protection from the bandits. This needed to end, and only one soul dared answer Whitewater's deadly call...

 

[Risky]

His name is Jack Quinton, he had served three years in the United States Army, deciding to retire after the Spanish-American war in order to take up a more calm life style.. If you could call it that. While the life he chose was a little less hectic than war, it still had its dangers.

He volunteered to go to Whitewater, he had bought a new white cowboy hat for the occasion, going well with his jeans and his flannel shirt. On his left hip he wears a pistol holster, an odd looking revolver, one with a much longer barrel sits inside of said holster. The positioning of his holster indicates his left-handedness.

Jack has some nice features for a war vet, a nice scar on his upper lip from what looks like a knife, possibly a bayonet, and a scar that runs from the tip of his right index finger to his shoulder, from the saber of a Mexican officer whom he had challenged in a dangerous sword fight. The final scars littering his back show off how the American military disciplines their troops, long and angry marks trace across his back in webs of ugly patterns, though they are covered by his shirt.

He walks into the town square, his hazel eyes flick around. He stands at about 6'1, his years of service granted him a strong athletic body, he sees the governor waiting for him, quite the despicable excuse for a man from Jack's perspective. "Things will change around here." He says before pulling the revolver from his holster, not even taking aim before firing. The body of the old sheriff falls to the ground in a heap. "Get a team to bury that man, he doesn't deserve to hang." He says before walking to the sheriffs office.

He walks inside and closes the door behind him, looking around the place, it is old and dusty, looks to basically be abandoned and from the looks, it had been. He sighs, a lot of work would have to be done to fix this place.

 

[Seranda]

The governor had only a few seconds to speak, but in his coward's wisdom, chose to stay quiet. When Kenslay's body hit the ground, immediately the men with the governor rushed to cover it and try to preserve it for a burial.

"We... we're glad you're here... Sheriff..." The governor murmured, likely unheard behind Jack's swift walk to his office.

The office smelled like... Law. If that made sense. Kenslay's work was good damn work, but too much for one man, no matter his skill.

It was quiet for now, occasionally you'd hear a bell or a horse trotting around. And suddenly the door to the office burst open, a mad looking woman with an obscene hue of hair charged inside the office and pointed her revolver at Jack.

The two men who recovered Kenslay's body tried to follow her, probably to stop her.

"Kenslay's dead. Did you put the old dog down, you son of a bitch?" The fury in her voice assured him that she'd be fanning the hammer at any random second. She may have known the previous sheriff, maybe his bitch, maybe his whore or daughter, but whatever the case, her weapon was loaded and extremely dangerous from where she was standing.

"You liking his office? Ain't you scumbag?" It was hard to even try to look at the exotic beauty she brought to the table without thinking that in half a second a bullet may be headed towards his chest.

 

[Risky]

Jack had been admiring his new office when he hears the door open, he looks over his shoulder at the woman, stuffing his hands in his jean pockets before turning around and raising his eyebrows at her, his sheriff badge glimmering on his chest.

"If by put him down you mean take him off of that noose, then yes, I did put him down." He says to her while approaching her slowly, seeming to have a lot of confidence. "I just got here, you really going to shoot me?" I asks before reaching out, pushing the barrel of her revolver to the left a little so that it isn't pointed at him.

"My name is Sheriff Quinton, but you can just call me Sheriff or Jack, it's ah.. Nice to meet you I suppose, under the circumstances, that is." He says while taking a step back, putting his back to her while looking around the office.

"So who exactly are you? The only women I've ran into that hold guns are brave house wives and criminals, but you don't seem like either which is pretty peculiar to me, so tell me your story little lady." He says, shaking his head with a quiet chuckle, he seems to be more amused by her sudden aggressiveness more than anything.

 

[Seranda]

"You're... You're the sheriff now?" She seemed confused and as if he was lying. The two gentlemen, glad that the lass didn't blow the sheriff's face off tried to explain.

"Tis true, this man is the sheriff. He brought down old Kenslay's body. Black had him hanged... Right in town square..." The blonde haired, bearded fellow tried his best to not annoy either gunslinger before him.

The woman's eyes narrowed in pain. "I was away on assignment. The old dog should have let me stay with him..." She finally holstered her unique gun and took a deep breath.

"My name is Ellie. I worked closely with Kenslay for the latter part of his career." She removed her deputy's badge. "Since he isn't alive anymore, you can take his badge back." She placed it on his desk. "I have to go show the old dog my respects. He deserved better than to be gunned down by Erron Black."

The blonde man closed his eyes when she mentioned this Black fellow. Maybe he was the big bad honcho and the source of most problems in Whitewater.

"Mr. Sheriff..." He said quietly. "Thank you for cutting down Kenslay. The gov'ner will want you to address the people of Whitewater formally soon. If you're half the man Kenslay was, we are in good hands." He tipped his hat and exited with the other, raven haired man who travelled with him.

Ellie stayed for a moment and would soon leave with the two men to pay her respects to Kenslay. She wasn't in much of a chatty mood at this time.

 

[Risky]

He nods. "I am the sheriff now, yes." He says while leaning against his desk, his arms crossed over his chest as he listens to the men speak to her about Kenslay, who was obviously the old sheriff of the town.

He raises his eyebrows at her as she removes her deputy badge, he watches it hit the table, he picks it up and examines it, waiting for the two gentlemen to leave, giving them a dismissive nod about the whole town meeting idea. "I'll get to it.." He says while rubbing his finger on the badge.

Jack looks up at Ellie. "I'm going to need a deputy, you up for the job?" He asks with the raise of his eyebrows. "If the old sheriff trusted you I have no reason not to.. And I can't do this alone." He admits while trying to hand her the badge.

"I'll go with you to pay respect if you want, then you can tell me more about this.. Black fellow that you call him." He offers.

 

[Seranda]

Ellie raised her hand halfway, as if dismissing the idea. "I failed the old man. You don't even know me, Sheriff. I don't intend to let this town go to shit, but..." Her hands started balling into fists. "We needed that man to help us out. A true good guy, through and through, the old dog..." She held back tears, yet two or three still sipped from her eyes. "Pardon me, Sheriff. Give me a little time to think. I can highly recommend the two gentlemen who were here just now. Good men, not very talented, but good. The people know'em too. It's nice to have familiar faces around you."

For now at least, she'd deny the badge. She did nod when he said he'd head out with her.

"Erron Black is a salted son of a bitch who is both genius and cutthroat. No one's sharper, wittier, or faster than Erron Black... We will speak of him after I say goodbye to Kenslay."

At the town square of Whitewater, people had come out to see Kenslay's body wrapped up carefully by the two men from before.

The governor, with his stupid black hat and stupid black jacket almost shined at the thought of being publicly seen with the law, as a bringer of justice and good. His moustache, both black and grey deserved a good yanking, for being such a yellow-bellied greedy coward.

"The good sheriff will be buried tomorrow evening. Consider this a sort of... wake... for our good lawman." He turned and noticed Jack (or Jakob?) and Ellie approaching.

"Behold, good people of Whitewater... Our new defender of justice! Hand picked by yours truly from a wide range of possible candidates, I... Earl Bradley, gov'nor of Whitewater, am proud to introduce you to our new revolver against the gangs and criminals that pollute our frontier!"

The people ate his bullshit up. Hand selected? Jack had volunteered since no one wanted to even touch Whitewater with a mile long pole.

 

[Risky]

Jack sighs. "If they aren't highly skilled, then why bother? They'll just end up like Kenslay." He says before following her out of the station, his hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans as they approach town square.

"Maybe this Black fellow will provide a challenge." He says while they join the crowd in the square. He places his hands on his hips as he listens to the governor speak, rolling his eyes at this 'hand picked' bullshit he was talking about.

Jack makes his way to the center of attention. "Hi, I'm Sheriff Quinton, expect a drop in crime rates soon, I will be making progress in taking down whatever intends to harm this sweet town." He says while looking around at them. "It would also help to be provided with any information possible, there will be a small penance available for accurate information provided, stop by my office at any time to tell me any useful and relevant information." He says.

"That's all, if we work together, we can restore Whitewater to its former glory." He says before walking back into the crowd, allowing them to start to pay their tribute to the old Sheriff. Once Ella is done paying hers, he pulls her aside. "Tell me everything you know about him." He says, his tone very serious. "And also reconsider your choice, you may have failed Kensley, but you're failing him again by not avenging him." He says.

 

[Seranda]

The governor sighed in relief that Jack didn't blow his spot. The people...

Absolutely loved him. Their eyes showed hope, and that's something they hadn't seen in a long time, even with Kenslay trying to protect them.

Ellie looked at the wraps, there wasn't much to see. A flag over the cloth and his hat on to of that. "You deserved better... I am sorry, I wasn't here to help you kill Black... or to die with you. I'll never forgive myself Kenny. Please watch over me from heaven. I know your old ass is up there somewhere." A simple, cute prayer for a passed man, suddenly muddled, "But don't watch me while I bathe, or use the washroom... You had your creep moments too, you jerk." Yet it was somehow kept appropriate enough for her. She smiled and gave the governor a look.

"Gov'nor..." She said quietly, tipping her cap and walking ahead before being stopped by Jack.

She looked at his eyes before pulling her arm away. "I don't know how you volunteered for this without knowing the fucker with the biggest, baddest gun in the west." She looked away from Jack, "He's a killer, and good at it. He has many associates, many guns, both from loyalty, and hired. I used to stay with Kenslay, but now I really have nowhere to go. I can probably stay at a saloon for the time being. I know those boys don't have skill, but you do. At least you seem to. If you're as good as we hope, you could try to teach them. They also have a ton of information. They've worked for the gov'nor you know..."

The two men, one blonde with brown eyes and a developing beard, the other with jet black hair, a ghostly face and a stylish goatee. They both had guns, both had hats and boots. The one with black hair even had a stylish sash to help mask his draw and protect him from sands, insects and weather.

They were taking Kenslay's body to the morgue. He could at least be preserved there just a little bit.

 

[Risky]

"You're the only person I trust, because there's no way you could be involved with killing Kenslay.. I hope at least, all of these people could be bandits and you know that, the mind corrupts for a little coin." He explains to her. "Feel free to stay in the Sheriffs office.. Ella I still can't stress how bad I need someone with experience, training new guys will take time and energy, they'll probably die before I finish, this Black isn't going to wait for fresh blood to become veteran blood." He says.

"I haven't an idea why you wouldn't want to be a deputy.. If you help me we can beat this guy, I swear it to you." He says. "I volunteered because I saw a glimmer of hope here, and you're really making me regret it." He says with a chuckle. "Cmon, it's not like I can come back from Heaven if you aren't here for me, and I'll keep you close by." He says. "I'm not going to make the mistakes of those other sheriffs, I hope you know.

 

[Seranda]

She crossed her arms. "You make a good point. But didn't you see the people's faces as you spoke? That confidence you carry gave them hope. People are outside right now... It hasn't happened in days, weeks even, I'm sure."

"The blonde... his name is Billy Cade. Kenslay was his uncle... You could be right, maybe they had something to do with his death, Billy looks surprisingly collected for his only relative to have died... I will consider your proposal. But consider gaining numbers. If we outnumber an enemy, even a novice shot can make a difference."


Meanwhile, Billy Cade wept over Kenslay's body, his shoulders and chest unable to continue to bear the pain. His companion waited at the door, Cade needed some space.

 

[Risky]

Jack nods, clapping her on the shoulder. "Trust me, numbers mean nothing in war, go to the library and read on the Alamo, that'll tell you something." He says before nodding to her and walking off. "Seeya tonight if you decide to show up!" He calls out to her before returning to his office, there's work to be done.

He grabs a map of the area from the desk, pinning it to the wall before marking locations of possible bandit sites with small knives. He rubs his cheek as he studies it before nodding to himself, walking to the Sheriff's armory, which he unlocks with his key. He grabs a lever action rifle from the stock, putting it over his back before locking the door behind him. He walks outside to where he left his horse, tipping his hat to people as he walks by before mounting his chestnut brown horse.

He rides out of town, scouting out each area he marked only to find small camps, nothing that this Erron Black would set up for his regime. He makes note of the camps, riding back to his office to make edits and changes to it. He keeps a big knife stuck in his desk for when he finds Erron's camp. He puts his rifle back in the armory, the ride had taken a few hours so the sun was starting to set on the horizon, he leans against his desk as he thinks about what lay ahead.

This was gonna be a tough one.

 

[Seranda]

Ellie watched him leave town and head out. For a moment, she thought he wouldn't come back. He'd quit on Whitewater, or he'd try to fight Erron Black alone.

She watched from the Saloon's window as when he returned. She was oddly relieved. People had started coming into the saloon again, and it was nice to see the town start to move forward.

She gathered her few belongings and headed into the office. She wasn't sure if he was napping, or just gathering his thoughts, but he sort of looked asleep.

"Hey, you know there is a rest quarter here for you right? You don't have to sleep on that chair." She noticed the map he had been investigating and shook her head slowly at him. "Don't do it alone..." She closed her eyes. "I don't know where you came from, or what you've experienced... you've never tangled with folks like ours."

 

[Risky]

Jack looks up at her when she walks in, he pulls his hat off and sets it on his desk before laughing. "No, I didn't know." He admits to her while stretching out, groaning quietly as his muscles stretch, having been tensed up from sitting in the chair for too long.

He listens to her words, and he knows she's right, there's no way he'll take on this area alone. He stands and walks in front of her, pushing the Deputy badge into her hand. "I'll get others, but if I don't get you and your experience, then I will do it alone." He says, holding her hand and closing her fingers around the badge before taking a step back, his hands leaving her one hand that he had pressed the badge into.

"There's no more considering, this is your civic duty." He says to her. "You know more than I do, you'll make a fine addition to the team, I'm sure." He says.

 

[Seranda]

She took the badge in her hands and nodded. "Fine then. Let's hope I myself don't work for Erron Black. He'd love to have the Sheriff of Whitewater killed by one of his goons." She again took a good look at the map. "You are missing a lot of information." She moved towards the map and started marking. "Whitewater is one of three sister towns. Our Lawmen consist of a Sheriff in each town, along with deputies and volunteers. You are the Sheriff of Whitewater... and I'm you're only deputy... To the north, we have Cold Stone. The place feels like hell, don't know where the hell they came up with the name... Cold Stone is where most of the crime goes after it's raped Whitewater... and then there's Maribelle, the third town. Maribelle is further west. I am willing to wager anything that this is where Erron Black is... right now. There is a ton of activity from Black's posse, and they only get bigger and bigger. Erron has made certain that the sheriffs in all three towns remain dead, no matter how many times a new one is appointed. Erron Black isn't the only threat... he's just the biggest. People are dying Jack, people like the ones in this town are falling victim to this man and his massive empire of death."

Just then the doors opened slowly to reveal the same two men that have been working together since Jack met them.

"Sorry Sheriff." Said Billy, removing his hat for a moment and wiping his brow. "Billy Cade. Nephew of the late Richard Kenslay. This here is Lance Preston, born and raised in Cold Stone."

Lance didn't bother removing his hat, he simply watched closely.

"I know you just got here and things are mighty messed up as they are... But Lance and I would like nothing more than to help you, especially after what you did today." Billy paused. "I didn't have the nuts to cut down my own Uncle. And you did it without even being here for an hour." His eyes started to well as Lance turned away, seeming annoyed.

Ellie walked towards Billy, and comforted him. "Rich Kenslay was the last sheriff who stood against Black... I know I'd never be sheriff. But I have to avenge my uncle..."

The door then again burst open, Lance immediately drawing at the civillian who entered. "Sheriff! It's the Dusters! There are Dusters starting problems in the saloon! You said we could speak to you about this, please!"

 

[Risky]

Jack watches her start to mark the map, rubbing his chin as she points out the highlights that he had forgotten, he soaks in the information, already able to tell that Ellie was a good choice. He turns his head as the two partners at the morgue walk inside, he holds his hand up to them to shut them up while he approaches the map, about to point out something when the door bursts open.

"God damnit.." He mutters, looking back at his rag tag group. "Thanks for the information, I'll head over in a jiffy with my deputy." He says, dismissing the man. "Now, you two, you have no training, but I'll take you under my wing." He says. "You see this map? Study it for patterns, it's been marked on Erron Black's raids, let's try to get two steps ahead of this son of a bitch." He says.

"Ella, let's go sort out these Dusters." He says while walking out of the office with her, leaving the two new recruits to decipher the map patterns for themselves. He walks across the street to the saloon, walking inside and looking around, immediately spotting the so called Dusters. Though he isn't quite sure who they are, it's pretty obvious from the commotion they're causing. (Actually have little idea on what they are, so if you could pick up on this I'd appreciate it)

 

[Seranda]

Lance turned and frowned at Jack, "Training... I can handle myself, Sheriff..." He said calmly as Cade just shook his head at him.

"We'll help the Sheriff however we can... We know the terrain better than Sheriff Jack."

Lance frowned, "We also know how to ride, shoot and brawl. This man in underestimating us."

Ellie walked out with Jack. "Long story short, the Dusters are a gang. They originated in Maribelle. They are mostly small time, as Kenslay did massive damage to their ranks. And I helped with that. Since they are from Maribelle, there is a chance that they somehow work with Black. These guys probably don't."

Busting through the door, it was easy to tell who the Dusters were. Their bandannas covering their faces as if they were some sort of famed gunslinger.

Ellie scanned the room. "I count four, boss... I'm good to fight two of them if we have to."

The men were obviously harassing the women who worked there, touching what they shouldn't touch, and not paying for a cent of drink, food, or comfort.

"Who the fuck are these two cunts?"

Ellie's fingertips shook. "Ask them nicely, or bust some teeth. I'm with you... Whatever you do, let them know you're sheriff here."

 

[Risky]

Jack studies the men in the bandannas, his eyes flicking to their holsters. "Four revolvers, a switchblade and a toe knife, watch the one on the right, if he goes to kick you, shoot him." He says before splitting off, allowing her to take the two on the right while he got the two on the left.

"Gentlemen, bar rules say you can't be doing that here, I'm Sheriff Quinton, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave." He says to them. One of the Dusters chuckles, spitting on Jack's boots, which had been newly shined. Jack raises his eyebrows. "Now that was uncalled for. Leave before you regret it, friend." He says.

The Duster shakes his head, his hand drifting down to his side, where his revolver is tucked. Jack acts fast, grabbing his own nub revolver, one that was kept in his back jean pocket and pressed it against one of the Dusters' neck, cocking back the hammer. "Hands up, both of you." He growls.

The one being directly threatened puts his hands up, the other makes a run for it, running towards the exit. Jack moves his attention away from his prisoner, grabbing his long barrel revolver and firing a shot, the round piercing the back of the runner's leg, making him topple into a couple of tables and chairs, completely unconcious from hitting his head.

Jack turns his attention back to his prisoner, moving his nub revolver to put cuffs on the man while reciting his rights. He looks over at Ellie. "How's it going over there?" He calls out as he cuffs the other man, lifting him to his feet, two prisoners, one who was barely wounded.

 

[Seranda]

Jack studies the men in the bandannas, his eyes flicking to their holsters. "Four revolvers, a switchblade and a toe knife, watch the one on the right, if he goes to kick you, shoot him." He says before splitting off, allowing her to take the two on the right while he got the two on the left.

"Gentlemen, bar rules say you can't be doing that here, I'm Sheriff Quinton, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave." He says to them. One of the Dusters chuckles, spitting on Jack's boots, which had been newly shined. Jack raises his eyebrows. "Now that was uncalled for. Leave before you regret it, friend." He says.

The Duster shakes his head, his hand drifting down to his side, where his revolver is tucked. Jack acts fast, grabbing his own nub revolver, one that was kept in his back jean pocket and pressed it against one of the Dusters' neck, cocking back the hammer. "Hands up, both of you." He growls.

The one being directly threatened puts his hands up, the other makes a run for it, running towards the exit. Jack moves his attention away from his prisoner, grabbing his long barrel revolver and firing a shot, the round piercing the back of the runner's leg, making him topple into a couple of tables and chairs, completely unconcious from hitting his head.

Jack turns his attention back to his prisoner, moving his nub revolver to put cuffs on the man while reciting his rights. He looks over at Ellie. "How's it going over there?" He calls out as he cuffs the other man, lifting him to his feet, two prisoners, one who was barely wounded.

"Dusters... huh... aren't you boys a little far from home?"

"Fuck off, cunt... Unless you want to suck on my fat cock..."

He and his companion laughed.

Ellie laughed a little too, "Now seriously... get the fuck out of here... by word of the Sheriff of Whitewater..."

They then hear the commotion with Jack, and immediately, Ellie is swung at! Her reflexes got her out of trouble, as she pushed the second thug aside, rushing the one who threw the initial blow. Jumping at him and hitting his face with a crushing right forearm, the thug stumbles back onto the bar, Ellie palming his nose upward, before taking it to his body. Punching as fast as she could, she lines him up for a final blow before she turns and notices the kick Jack warned her about. Ducking under and twirling her revolver in her left hand, she pushes the toe knife into the thug she had beaten down quite badly. With the knife now stuck, the kicker was left in that position, and Ellie quickly swept the fucker's balls with a hard whip of her revolver, the man screaming loudly. She slung her gun to her right hand, crushed the gun onto her enemy's head and then she heard Jack's check, holstering her gun.

"Everything's fine." She said, slightly out of breath. "One of them got stabbed. Non-lethal."

 

[Risky]

Jack chuckles before tossing her two pairs of handcuffs. "Success, minimum casualties, I knew you'd be good at this." He says with a quiet chuckle, patting one of his Duster's on the shoulder. "Y'all messed with the wrong Sheriff's department, that includes Deputies." He says. "Excellent work Ella, I'm looking forward to seeing more of your work." He says with a grin.

"Now cmon, back to the station." He says while walking the two Dusters he has in custody out of the Saloon and into the station, where he drops them off in a cell. He disarms them both completely before locking the door, looking to the two new recruits. "Can one of y'all grab the doctor? They're wounded." He explains. "Also, tell me what you found on those maps." He says while sitting down in his chair, figuring that Ella can handle locking up her Dusters.

 

[Seranda]

Ellie cuffed her guys and brought them in. The saloon's customers were certainly happy that they had turned up to help, especially the worker girls.

Billy and Lance were in the office. Lance exactly where he was when they left, by the door. And Billy analyzing the map carefully.

When Jack gave orders Billy stood up and jogged out. "I'll grab the doc. I can't believe these Dusters were grabbed without a gunshot." He then exited and ran out.

Lance remained with his arms crossed. "Had a look at your little makeshift map... You don't get ahead of someone like Erron Black. You draw him out." He walked towards the map. "Understanding the chain of command and different gangs will help you make your next decision. The punks you just locked up are Dusters. They were once very dangerous especially in Maribelle. They've fallen from grace and are barely tougher than bandits. There are literally dozens of independent bandit groups. They are dangerous in large numbers, but are sloppy, and tend to be easy to scare. Some of them are misguided, and can make fine townsfolk if given the chance."

Ellie sighed as Lance spoke. He was so tough and cool.

"Erron runs the gang called the Outer Brotherhood. Rumor has it that Erron isn't even the top honcho. So imagine us chasing Erron Black all over the West to just find out there a nastier fucker waiting for us."

Ellie snapped out of her daydream. "That's never been proven though. Erron consistently kills whoever opposes him. His signature is a strange ricochet shot that he bounces off surfaces that he shouldn't be able to bounce shots off."

Lance nodded. "That's how he got Kenslay..." He rubbed his chin. "He's been seen using these strange grenades, using sand. Odd as it is... they seem to be wildly effective."

"There are a couple other gangs, but they've mostly fallen in with the Outer Brotherhood, fearful of their best gun..." Ellie stated, walking towards Lance, who backed away from her and headed by the door as Billy returned with the doctor. He was older, but looked competent enough.

 

[Risky]

Jack watches the map as Lance speaks. The moment he finishes Jack holds up his hand, his face lights up. "See, the problem is, this guy has a tendency to disappear, right? He doesn't want you to find him, if he's ever in front of you, he wants you to find him, Kenslay took the bait and ate dirt for it, but I'm not taking that." He says. "The only way we can take this guy down is coordination, so what if we got all three Sheriff departments together and got those telegram things, y'know with the dots and dashes, we used them in the military all the time, we can make a system, make it so Black is expecting one Sheriff and a few deputies but he gets the whole damn army." He explains.

Jack rubs his chin before nodding. "It's late, but tomorrow everyone is going to meet here, and we're gonna start planning, I'll have tasks for you all, for now go home and rest, maybe lock your doors and windows a little tighter, these guys will want every opportunity to kill you, and we have no idea if they know that you are working with me." He says. "Have a nice night everyone." He says, watching Lance and Billy leave before turning his attention to Ellie.

"You can have the bed if you want, I'll just sleep in my chair." He offers, leaning back in the leather chair and putting his hands behind his head as he speaks to the beautiful woman in front of him, he hadn't failed to notice how astonishingly gorgeous she was.

 

[Seranda]

Jack watches the map as Lance speaks. The moment he finishes Jack holds up his hand, his face lights up. "See, the problem is, this guy has a tendency to disappear, right? He doesn't want you to find him, if he's ever in front of you, he wants you to find him, Kenslay took the bait and ate dirt for it, but I'm not taking that." He says. "The only way we can take this guy down is coordination, so what if we got all three Sheriff departments together and got those telegram things, y'know with the dots and dashes, we used them in the military all the time, we can make a system, make it so Black is expecting one Sheriff and a few deputies but he gets the whole damn army." He explains.

Jack rubs his chin before nodding. "It's late, but tomorrow everyone is going to meet here, and we're gonna start planning, I'll have tasks for you all, for now go home and rest, maybe lock your doors and windows a little tighter, these guys will want every opportunity to kill you, and we have no idea if they know that you are working with me." He says. "Have a nice night everyone." He says, watching Lance and Billy leave before turning his attention to Ellie.

"You can have the bed if you want, I'll just sleep in my chair." He offers, leaning back in the leather chair and putting his hands behind his head as he speaks to the beautiful woman in front of him, he hadn't failed to notice how astonishingly gorgeous she was.

"Rebuilding the Lawmen is a good idea." Lance said, outlining his mustache with his fingers. "Erron is going to look to pick off new ones as they are appointed. The other governors are a little braver than our fearful Earl Bradley..."

Ellie sighed, "Bradley's a damn coward... He'd let Black run this town if it meant saving his skin..."

Billy sighed, "It may be in our best interest to somehow reach out to Maribelle and Cold Stone. With the three towns united, even the Outer Brotherhood would struggle against the numbers."

Lance nodded in consent, "Erron is recruiting more men every day. Time is against us. I suggest us keeping out of Maribelle. It's the last place Black was reported sighted, and we aren't ready to tackle him. Sleep on it. Cade and I will be here in the morning."

Lance and Billy tipped their hats as they exited. Leaving Ellie to instruct the doctor on which Duster was injured. Honestly enough, he didn't even want to help the crook, but did so anyway.

"We should keep the men locked up, and house the doctor in our own resting quarters. Provided you don't think he's working secretly for Black, which... in all honesty, could be true." She stretched her arms, yawning. "There's enough room for everyone. I thought by now you'd have realized that Kenslay was rather popular. Myself, Billy, we'd stay here all the time. There were two small guest rooms, Kenslay's former quarters with a larger bed, and a personnel room with two small beds. "I'm going to take a bath. Goodnight, boss." She said walking towards the quarters and waving.


-Elsewhere-

"Four of our boys were taken in over at Whitewater..."

"You don't say... thought Kenslay was out of the picture..."

"He is..."

"So who stood up? The blue ribbon bitch he carried around?"

"Yeah, she was like a daughter to him."

"Don't care... Fighting off four Dusters at the same time is too good, even for her."

"She wasn't alone..."

"Really... We'll why didn't you start with that..."

 

[Risky]

Jack nods to her as she walked off, he stands and wanders around until he finds the quarters Ellie had mentioned. He sits on the bed, getting in a little dirty with the dust on his clothes. He unlaced his boots and puts them aside before laying on the bed, his hands behind his head as he thinks to himself.

It seemed like everyone around here loved the old sheriff, which means he has big shoes to fill, he sighs quietly, he could feel pressure starting to knock on his head, as if reminding him of something.. What if he couldn't do it? All of these people are counting on him, the strong and confident side, when in fact that isn't Jack.. Just a character to keep those around him in check whether it's calming them down or making them back down.

He decides to catch some rest, his eyes close as he falls into a dream. He hears the crackling of muskets in the distance, the sound gets closer and closer until he himself is holding a musket, firing a shot into a man with a bag over his head. Then, pain ripples along his back as a whip is cracked against it over and over.

He cires out in pain before sitting up, covering his mouth as the sound of his night terror goes throughout the station. He pulls himself back so that he can rest his back against the wall while tucking his knees to his chest, resting his chin on his kneecaps as he tries to calm himself down. "Just a dream.." He mutters to himself.

 

[Seranda]

Ellie was too tired to even react to the short shout, so she didn't respond.

The doctor was also asleep in a guest room, and didn't hear it.

The locked away Dusters may have heard it, since they weren't sleeping at all.

~

A loud rooster would soon sing in the sun.

There was a bit of a rustle that morning, Ellie coming from the personnel room, wearing a smooth looking robe. She yawned loudly while walking through the living quarters of the office.

"Sheriff..." She said slowly, still groggy and sleepy. "You awake yet..." She knocked sloppily his door, yawning again. She hadn't notice the generous amount of cleavage she was showing off, her blue hair a bit messy as she rubbed some sand from her eyes.