Young Guns: Fire and Steel

Chapter 10: "Dirty Rat!"

Along the edges of the Agua Negra river, a pair of riders appeared. Kristal watched them from her hidden position, only glancing every so often to where she knew McCloskey was. The man's advances had increased after the night in the woods. Billy, Chavez, and now Charlie barely let her out of their sight, even though the only one who knew of McCloskey's advances was Bonney. It was growing increasingly annoying and she was about to stick her Bowie knife in the man's chest if he didn't cut his shit out. The only reason she hadn't done anything was because surprisingly, Dick had laid off her some. Killing one of their own, even though Kristal didn't feel that McCloskey was in any way a true Regulator, would surely cause good old Dicky boy to shit bricks. So, for now, she was trying to restrain herself. And, she had to admit, she was rather proud of herself for being able to hold back.

Now, she sat, hidden among the brush waiting for the signal. They had been trailing two of Murphy's men for a day and a half. Morton and Baker, if she remembered their surnames correctly. And now, here they were. Walking or rather riding right into their little trap. They would have caught them sooner, but because of her little fall, and the headache she had been dealing with, Dick had decided to stay an extra day at their camp. It had been a rare move of kindness by him and she half wondered if it was because he felt bad about hitting her. Either way, she was grateful. It had given her time to recoup so she was up to par.

The two men edged their horses closer. It was only minutes before one, she didn't know which, got off their horse and started talking about horse shit. This is why she felt men were idiots. Perhaps not all; she had grown a deep respect for Chavez, and Charlie had become a dear friend as well as Doc, even though the blond man was often distracted as of late. Hell, even Steve wasn't so bad. Billy and Richard still managed to make her temper rise, but oddly enough Kristal knew she would watch their back, even if they didn't watch hers. However, McCloskey she'd let bleed out if it came down to it.

Loyalty and devotion was something she favored most among others, and sadly it was also sorely lacking in the majority of people she knew. And yet, she couldn't help but be loyal to those she respected and cared for. And somehow, even Dick and Billy fell into that category. How, she wasn't quite sure. Maybe because they had been one of Tunstall's boys and she felt obligated to watch out for them no matter how annoying they were.

Yet, McCloskey never even crossed her mind when it came to loyalty and comraderie. He had never struck her as loyal. Nor as one of the Regulators loyal to Tunstall. In her opinion, he was expendable. Maybe that made her cold, but she didn't care. McCloskey was not someone she trusted, at all, ever.

Chavez's voice drifted to her, and on cue she rose from her spot only to lean against a nearby dying tree. Chavez had his knife around the shit head Murphy man, while the other bastard, still astride his horse, was stopped by Doc's rifle aimed at his chest.

"Buenos dias, shitheads." Richard greeted nodding his head to them, the only Regulator still astride his horse.

To Kristal, Dick appeared like a goddamn king, reigning over his subjects. It annoyed her, but she said nothing as Chavez made Morton stand, removing the knife from his neck to dig it into his back.

Frank Baker still sat astride his horse, turning his gaze on all of them, lingering on the woman before stopping on Richard. "You don't understand, Dick. By killing Henry Hill you all started a war." He shook his head as if it bothered him. "Murphy wants your heads. All of you. Hers included, despite her being a woman and all."

Anger sparked in Dick's eyes and he snarled in response to Baker's words. "By killing Mr. Tunstall, you all started the damn war, Baker."

Morton just scoffed, not at all worried about the boys that were standing around them. After all, they were just that. Boys. "All the same, we're talking 50-60 men against your what 6 or 7? We're with the ring, Dick. What do you got? A few boys and a outlaw whore?"