To Tame the Wild: a Red Dead Redemption fan fiction

Chapter 20 - On Borrowed Time

Jack was wide awake before the world was even stirring. It's best I get the hell outta here and finish with my job, he thought as he swung his legs out from under the bed sheets and set his feet on the cold wooden floor. The room was black; he felt around for his boots, duster, and hat at the foot of his bed and dressed in the dark. He dressed slowly and carefully due to the fresh waves of pain that afflicted his shoulder and collarbone. Within a short while, he was fumbling around for a lamp. His hand brushed against glass and a wooden box. He dug into the box, retrieved a match, and struck it against its container. Light burst into life; he squinted and inhaled sharply as his pupils dilated. "Son of a bitch," he whispered as he lit the oil inside and turned the nob on the side to the lowest possible amount of light. He stood in place for a while to let his eyes adjust before turning back to his bed.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement. The sigh of bed sheets wafted into the stillness of the room, and Jack turned his head and watched as Maddie rolled over onto her side facing him. She exhaled in her sleep and moved her head into a more comfortable position on the pillow. Her hair cascaded down her arm, blanketing her chest and hand. She looked so at peace and beautiful to him; he felt an adoring grin pull up the corners of his mouth. What a darlin', he thought affectionately as he strapped on his firearms. As quietly as he could, he walked out of the room and eased the door shut.

It was eerily quiet and still in the saloon; Jack guessed it must've been an hour before dawn as he descended the creaky stairs and out of the building. He walked briskly in the cold twilight of dawn and made his way to the livery. He saddled Gypsy first out of courtesy to Maddie. Getting the bridle on the horse was easy: Gypsy took the bit with exuberance, happy to be out on the road just as he was. The black mare stood patiently in her stall as he struggled to lift the blanket and saddle up and over her back, and he ended up using only his right arm. Staggering stabs of pain attacked his left shoulder and collarbone; he sucked in air through clenched teeth and cursed incessantly. What should've taken him ten minutes took him half an hour as he tightened the cinches and made necessary adjusts wherever needed.

He couldn't help but sigh with displeasure as he went over to Sundance and began saddling him up. Sundance took the bit in tired acceptance; the stallion was half-asleep as his rider slipped on the bridle and buckled the throat lash. Once more, it was a struggle for Jack to get the rest of the tack on the horse, but with a pained grunt of determination, he saw it through and gasped as the pain flared to a new height just as the saddle settled down onto the palomino's back. He leaned against his horse in excruciation and waited until his pain ebbed away before he began on the cinches. By then, dawn's light had begun to pour into the livery.

"You're in one hell of a hurry, Mister Marston. You goin' somewhere?"

Jack flinched and looked over his shoulder; a cold wash of fear flooded him as he laid eyes on a man dressed in a black suit and wearing a bowler hat. He stood leaning against the livery door with his arms crossed and a knowing smirk on his smug, cleanshaven face. A high-powered pistol hung at his side; a badge rested on his breast.

As the man pushed himself away from the door and strolled up to him, Jack turned and faced him with a glowering scowl. He felt his body grow rigid when the man came to stand before him, only a foot away from him and easily within striking distance. The two sized each other up for a solid moment.

"Who the hell are you?" Jack asked. He smirked and raised his chin defiantly. "Shouldn't you be in the police station wastin' time and tryin' to look busy?"

"I'm Archer Fordham, head of the Bureau of Investigation, Mister Marston, so I'd watch that uncivil tongue of yours." He looked the young man over with what looked like contempt and shook his head. "So, this is Madeline Ross' bounty hunting partner." He crossed his arms over his chest. "I honestly don't know why I'm letting you walk around scot free in my town."