Blackwell Bounty

Chapter Four

"I look in the mirror and what do I see. A lone wolf there starin' back at me." -Travis Tritt

"Come with me." Bill stood up from his stool and waited for Cal to do the same.

Cal just raised an eyebrow. The thought crossed his mind to just say 'to heck with the plan!' if he actually had to work to hear it. Couldn't Bill see that Cal was trying to drown in self pity right now? "Must be one helluva plan if we can't even talk 'bout it over whiskey," he grumbled.

Bill smirked, unfazed by the words of his friend. He'd obviously seen Cal's surly attitude while intoxicated before. "You can play it like you ain't interested all you want, Cal, but I know you, and pigs'll sprout wings and fly 'fore you don't look into a plan like this." With that said, Bill strode out of the saloon into the darkness of the town outside, knowing that Calvin McClain wouldn't be far behind.

Sighing heavily, Cal grabbed the whiskey bottle and followed his friend, though his steps were a little slower and noticeably less steady. He found Bill outside on the boardwalk, leaning against one of the support posts that held the short roof over their heads. It had begun to rain again, but it was a considerably more peaceful rain than the storm of the early morning hours at the beginning of that day.

There wasn't a soul in sight and Cal was sure that this had been the reason for Bill telling him to come outside in order to hear the idea. Neither wanted anyone overhearing their plans of course. Nosy, loose-lips around town wouldn't be able to stay out of the business of the latest strangers to Blackwell, but hopefully, with the darkness of night slowly sinking over the town like it had been covered with a blanket, Bill and Cal would be safe to discuss the situation at hand.

"I wired for Amos. He's on his way here with his gang."

Cal, who had been in the process of sipping another swig from the bottle of alcohol, spewed whiskey from his mouth like a fountain spurting water. His dark eyes widened and he looked at Bill with open-mouthed shock. After a moment needed to gather the words in his mind to formulate a sentence, Cal wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and furrowed his brow, taking a strong step closer to Bill. "Oh, really? And what fiery demon from the depths possessed you to do that?! You're crazy, Bill. Off your damn rocker!"

Surprised by the man's outburst, Bill Young quickly turned to Cal. Normally Cal was fairly collected, so long as his temper was in check. Must be the whiskey, Bill decided. "Would you hush?! Stop shoutin' or people's gonna think you're the crazy one. If you'd just quieten down for a minute-"

"Don't tell me to quieten down!" Cal shouted, raising his voice on purpose in the process. "Why in the world did you wire for Amos? I'm just 'bout certain he ain't gonna come here to have tea with us after takin' a nice stroll on the boardwalk, Bill! That man wants us dead and we was doin' a real fine job of keepin' outta his sights. Until now, 'course."

"Calm down, Cal. You ain't even heard the plan yet. Don't go gettin' your feathers ruffled for nothin'." Bill sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair. He shook his head as glanced out at the town of Blackwell again, pale eyes settling on the bank across the street as he licked his dry lips before speaking once more with intent to explain his thoughts to his comrade. "I wired for him to come help us get somethin' done. You was all worked up 'bout that sheriff shootin' at us, so I thought if'n we had a few extra guns then the job would be might bit easier!" Bill grinned proudly as he glanced at Cal once more. Surely Cal would be pleased! Bill had carefully thought this plan out while washing up for supper in his hotel room. The idea had hatched so suddenly he'd known that he had to get to the telegraph office before the man on duty went to supper. The thought hadn't even crossed Bill's mind to reveal the idea to Cal before taking action, since it seemed like a great idea to Mr. Young.