Young Guns: Fire and Steel

Chapter 15: Meetings in Secret

(Author note: There may be some trigger warnings in this chapter. I tried to make it subtle, but I can get carried away sometimes with detail if I'm not careful. Enjoy!)

The sun was setting in the distance as Kristal rode away from the camp the Regulators were settled at. It was well hidden, thanks to her suggestion. And to her surprise, the men all listened and agreed. They would still need to move by morning though, if they wanted to keep the law off their tail.

Still, Kristal needed answers from Wilkes and she was bound and determined to get them. It had been hard to convince Billy, Chavez, Charlie and Doc to let her go meet this acquaintance of hers. It came as no surprise to see Steve shrug it off, and not really care one way or the other. But he did tell her to be careful, which had been shockingly unlike him. The others all wanted to come with her, or at the very least back her up. But she had promised she would meet Wilkes alone.

Billy had threatened to really hog tie her this time, not liking the idea at all. It had taken everything in her to not punch the man in the face. She understood their concern though. And if she really thought about it, she would have found it endearing. However, she was still sore about the whole ordeal of them not trusting her and thinking she abandoned them.

After some convincing that she wasn't going to go far and would be back before the middle of the night, she had finally headed out. With a relieved sigh, Kristal guided Midnight through the dark wilderness.

Little did she know, Chavez had decided to follow and Billy tagged along. They stayed well out of sight, knowing how well Kristal could track and how suspicious she was of every sound. Thankfully, Chavez was good at tracking too. They followed up to the plateaued peak of Capitan and hid behind some bushes. They made sure to be silent as Kristal left her horse a distance away and then strolled on foot towards a man with a lantern. Thankfully they managed to move within hearing distance to gauge whether this was a trap or not.

"Glad t' see yeh still keep t' yer word, darlin'. It's refreshin'," came the red-headed man's voice leaning against a large boulder.

"Have I given ya any reason not ta trust me, Wilkes?" Kristal's voice was cool, without emotion, but held that confidence they all knew she had when faced with possible danger.

"Well, yeh did put tha' sharp, pointy knife t' me throat earlier in town. Certainly brought back memories." Wilkes was smirking at her with a fondness that made both the hidden Regulators glance at each other with furrowed brows.

Kristal chuckled dryly, "ya deserved it then, jus' like ya deserved it earlier. I don't take kindly ta those who sneak up on me."

"Fair enough, I suppose. I'll try an' keep the sneakin' t' a minimum." The man was shamelessly flirting, even though he knew the woman didn't care for it "Yeh came alone. Guess yeh trust me a li'l. Admit it, lass, ye like me."

"Wilkes, the only reason I haven't killed ya yet, is 'cause ya got information I want. Information, that if I don't get, I may end up havin' no use fer ya." The woman gave a half shrug, which was not lost on the red-headed man. "'Sides, I don't need no one ta fight my battles fer me. I can do that m'self. Now tell me 'bout what ya were talkin' 'bout earlier. What exactly does Belle know?"

At the mention of Belle, both boys hidden among the shadows once again looked at each other with a frown. What was Kristal talking about? Didn't Belle think she was dead? Or had their stint with Henry Hill really announced that Kris was alive to the Outlaw Queen? The boys had many more questions too, like who exactly this man was to Kristal? And how well did they know each other?

"Aww, come now, Kris? Cannae we jest catch up a li'l 'afore we talk business? Tell me 'bout wha's been going on wit' ye? Wha's wit' all t'is talk 'bout yeh bein' Bonney's gal?"