An Outlaw's Silence (manxman)(second story in The Crane Gang series)

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

"He's supposed to be holed up down there somewhere," Zachariah said as he and Wyatt lay belly down on a hilltop and studied the abandoned ghost town below.

Wyatt pulled his looking glass from his belt and took a closer look at the dilapidated buildings. He saw several men standing and chit catting with rifles resting loosely in their arms. They seemed to be focused around one building in particular—what appeared to be an old saloon.

Wyatt handed the looking glass to Zachariah and waited patiently as he scanned the scene as well. Zachariah's hand tightened dangerously and his knuckles whitened.

Wyatt reached over and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. Zachariah glanced his way and Wyatt managed a smile. 'Ready to shoot some people?'

Some of the worry faded from Zachariah's face. "Yeah. Yeah, I reckon I am. It looks like they're probably holding her in that saloon—at least I hope so. We'll go with your plan. You sneak in the back and I'll go through the front door. I'm not real good at sneaking. You slip inside, unnoticed and silent f you can and find her if she's there. I'll take care of those guards." Zachariah clicked his tongue. "And Wyatt?" Zachariah added turning his head to face him.

Wyatt raised his brow. Zachariah sighed. "Be careful."

Wyatt nodded. The two men slipped back away from the hilltop and came up with a plan. Wyatt was to sneak in while Zachariah waited. Once Wyatt found Eleanor, he would start shooting and Zachariah would come charging from the front to take out the outside guards.

Zachariah hadn't liked the idea of Wyatt sneaking in alone at first but Wyatt had reminded him of just how quiet he could move about and so the other man had finally agreed. They needed to find Eleanor and ensure she was safe before bullets began flying—Zachariah was far too big and far too angry to make stealth or subtlety a possibility.

"Wyatt, whatever you do, don't get yourself killed. If you get in trouble, just fire off a shot and I'll come to you. If I don't hear anything after ten minutes, I'm coming in after you."

Wyatt patted the other man on the back as he adjusted his gun belt. 'We'll have your sister back in no time.'

Zachariah nodded. "I'm trusting you."

Wyatt saw something flicker in Zachariah's gray eyes....something that had him swallowing hard and nodding as he stepped back. He ensured that his shot gun and revolver were loaded, patted the knife on his leg and slipped away—hoping he could do his job without letting Zachariah down.

***

Zachariah watched Wyatt go and wasn't at all happy. He didn't want the other man sneaking in alone but, once he'd seen the outlay of the town, Wyatt had made the suggestion and Zachariah had been forced to agree it was the best and most obvious choice.

Hell, Zachariah knew how sneaky Wyatt could be. The man was like a shadow and had snuck up on Zachariah more than a few times. If anyone would be able to slip into the building without alerting the men outside it would be Wyatt. And, given Zachariah's knowledge of this particular gang, he knew that there would only be two to three men inside for Wyatt to deal with and the four out here were Zachariah's.

All Zachariah could do was hope and trust that Wyatt would find Eleanor alive and safe inside that saloon. If she wasn't there.........

Zachariah shook his head.

She would be there.

***

Wyatt took advantage of the darkening evening and stuck to the shadows and he slipped through the deserted town and made his way to the dilapidated saloon.