The Villain Wrangler | Overwatch

Chapter 9

"So there Ah was, with nothin' on but my hat and my boots, all my kit all over yonder, with these six banditos starin' me down. And do yah know what happened?" Billy shook his head, eyes wide from under the brim of his own cowboy hat. He had been ecstatic when Jesse had sauntered into the room, and completely enthralled with each of the man's stories.

Angelica was fairly sure he was making all of them up as he went, but she had to admit that the cowboy was an entertaining storyteller.

"So, what happened?" Billy asked. The nursing staff around the room murmured an agreement. Several of them had heard bits of the stories and joined in the audience. Several of the other children from the ward had also joined in, and no one seemed inclined to leave anytime soon.

"Well, Ah'll tell ya. I was backin' away, hopin' to get to my kit so's Ah could shoot these varmints, when one of them shot at me. Well, he missed, but that ain't gonna matter none, since there's six of them and only one of me, and they got a fair number of bullets more'n Ah do. So's I start edgin' back to the right, and he shoots at me again. Then, I start edgin' t'other way, and this time, they don't shoot at me. So's I'm just hopin' Ah can make it to my belt, cause Ah know it's behind me somewheres, and I'm backin' on up, real slowly-like, and won't you believe it?"

"What? What?" Billy was practically vibrating with excitement now.

"Ah backed right on up to a cactus."

The room erupted into roars of laughter, and Jesse waved his hands for quiet.

"Hey, now! Hey, now! I ain't done!" Slowly, the room quieted back down, and Jesse returned his attention to Billy. "Now, I'm standin' there, with cactus spines in my... posterior... and these six banditos just start laughin' and laughin'. Now, they ain't payin' any attention to me, so's Ah rush on over to my gun, and I manage to shoot all of 'em in the leg, one right after t'other. Well, after that, they ain't lookin' to be shootin' nobody, so's Ah take their guns, an' tie 'em up, an' dress their wounds."

"Why?" Billy interrupted.

"Why? Well, hell, they'd managed to track me that far, an' they didn't shoot me in my sleep, an' that's worth some respect. 'Sides, they had a mighty fine reward for their capture, too. Woulda gotten less if'n they's dead. So's I patched 'em on up, and once Ah was decent, I hiked 'em on out to the nearest town for the reward. O'course, I had to skip on out right quick once the lawman realized Ah had a bigger price on my head than the banditos did."

"How did you get the cactus spines out?" one of the nurses called out over the laughter.

"Hmm? Oh, well it was a saguaro Ah'd backed onto, right? And most of the spines stayed attached to the cactus once Ah'd extricated myself. The ones that broke off, Ah just pulled out, 'cept for the one that broke off under the skin. That one dissolved, no problems."

Angelica stepped forward before someone could set him off again, but she didn't need to. Jesse straightened up and tipped his hat at Billy. "Well, now, I need to be mosyin' on outta here, pardner." The audience groaned and Jesse shook his head. "Come on, now. You're gonna deny a cowboy his right to ride off into the sunset?"

Angelica glanced at the window, startled. The sun was indeed setting, and she cursed mentally. She really didn't want to be late to movie night. Although, maybe they'll start without me and turn it into a date night. But she doubted it.

As they drove back to the safe house, Jesse watched her out of the corner of his eye. "So, Gabe said y'all were doin' a movie night tonight. That a private showin', or can anyone swing on by?"

"Oh, anyone. I just need to get snacks and drinks first. Oh! And your check should arrive in a week or two."

"Wait, I'm gettin' paid for this shindig, too? Hell, sign me up as much as ya want!" He smiled as she laughed at him. "Anyway, what's the flick of choice this evenin'?"