Lifesaver [Engl.]

28. A Peaceful Morning

Beans looked down in surprise. Actually, she just wanted to go over to the store that morning. She had slept in the hotel again for the night. The sun had just risen as she passed the town hall. She stopped. Rango sat leaning against the town hall's front door frame, snoring softly. He held his revolver in a hand.
Without a doubt, Beans went to him. Then she leaned down and shook his shoulders.
"Rango? Hey Rango?"
Rango blinked. "Who ... what's going on? Oh, hello, Beans."
He stretched, raised his arms, and yawned.
"Nice to see you. What are you doing here?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing," Beans said sternly. "Why are you sitting in front of the town hall? Have you been sitting here all night?"
"Actually, yes," Rango said and stood up with a slightly contorted face. The ground had been a little too hard.
"I thought I'd be careful in case the guys come back."
"You alone?" Beans looked at him in disbelief. "What nonsense! Do you actually know how dangerous they are? If they managed to attack a professional killer, then you have no chance against them. You would be against them alone, but Jake never arrived. Just think about last night. You should have let somebody know about your plans at least. "
Rango looked at the ground in shame. "I'm sorry, Beans. I didn't think of that. It was pretty late already."
Beans sighed. "All right. Did anything else happen last night?"
"No, luckily not. In any case, I haven't heard anything more."

Beans and Rango didn't know that Jake had sneaked unnoticed onto the balcony and was watching the two lizards. He had been awake most of the night. When he heard Beans's and Rango's voice outside, he had crawled curiously to the balcony door.
A strange couple, he thought to himself. They often quarreled, but then they were inseparable again. The chameleon would do anything for her. He had already noticed that when he had Beans in his power and challenged Rango.
Jake sighed. He had never had a thing for such romantic romance. On the contrary. He had always avoided situations like this. He had never seriously felt that he was loved by anyone. Not even really from his own family...
Jake shook his head. A killer like him didn't need a family. He got along quite well alone without any family ties. Although... all alone? He wasn't getting any younger. At some point, sooner or later, his time would come when his strength would weaken. Jake smiled slightly. The possibility that someone like him would die of old age was very slim. In his way of life. But if so, where should he go until the end of his life?
Actually, he had planned to either shoot himself through the head beforehand or to fall in a duel in a glorious battle, in order to die at least one honorable death as a gunslinger. But somehow, he was afraid of that. Nobody liked to be a loser and he had always feared his own death. Usually he had never expected that anyone defeated him at all. But since Rango had once faced him, he had noticed what it meant to be on the verge of his own death. Jake lowered his gaze. He was afraid of his death.
"You must be hungry," he heard Beans say to Rango. "Come on, let's go eat something."
"Oh, okay," Rango agreed and took her hand.
Together they went down the street. Jake watched them go. Life could be so peaceful. He didn't know anything like that in himself. If he was hungry, it often meant death for someone. But here ... here everything was somehow different.
There was a knock. He crawled hastily to the door. His revolver ready to fire as a precaution.
"Who's there?" He asked inquiringly.
"It's me," a child's voice said. Jake knew Priscilla's voice by now, which is why he breathed a sigh of relief.
"May I come inside?"
"Okay," Jake said after some hesitation. What did she want?
When Priscilla opened the door, she held out a package to him.
"Here, Rango told me to give you this."
Jake licked interested.
Priscilla unwrapped it. It was a piece of meat.
"I hope the size is enough for you," Priscilla said with a trace of cheerfulness in her voice.
Jake smiled slightly. "For now, yes."
With an elegant swing of his revolver, the rattlesnake tossed the piece of meat into the air and caught it in free flight with his mouth, where it disappeared immediately.
Jake licked his lips. "Not bad," he said.
Priscilla clapped her hands lightly. "Not a bad throwing technique. Do you always eat your food like this?"
"If I'm in a good mood, then yes." Of course, Jake was just kidding.
"Well, I'll go again then."
"Wait, don't you want to stay here a little longer?" Jake asked hastily, but bit his lower lip at the same time. What should she think of him now?
"Why should I stay?"
"Uh ... well." Jake tried to find an answer. If he told her just to talk, she might be telling it all over the town.
"What's new? What do the townspeople say? What do people tell each other in the city?"
"Well, most of them are afraid of the mongooses. They fear they might make a war on us. At least that's the most fear that many have. What if they attack us?"
Jake raised his eyebrows. "If so, they only want me."
With that, Jake turned around and crawled back slowly to the balcony door.
Priscilla looked after him sadly. She felt as sorry for Jake as Rango did. But what should you do? It had been more than dangerous last night.
"What's going to happen?" Priscilla asked quietly.
Jake looked out the window where he saw Rango still talking to Beans on the street. Apparently, they were having a discussion about what Rango should eat.
"I don't know what's to come," Jake replied thoughtfully. "But if then it will only be an end for me."
His gaze wandered down the street where the cemetery was.
Priscilla's eyes widened. "Rango won't let anything happen to you."
Jake's face darkened. "He should have stayed out of it. From the beginning. Then he would have no trouble on his neck. It's just my business."
Priscilla sighed. "But Rango sees it differently."
Priscilla picked up the paper where the meat had been wrapped in and went to the door. She sensed that Jake wanted to be alone now. Jake didn't turn around, just stared out the window.
"If you need anything, Rango will stay in town for as long. You know where you can find him."
With that, she left the room and closed the door.
Jake sighed. The sinister expression disappeared slowly from his face and turned into a slight worry and thoughtfulness. Where is all of this supposed to lead? With the yesterday's action, he had drawn not only himself, but now the whole city as well. But will the city's protection be enough to stop a whole gang of devious, cunning mongooses?
Jake closed his eyes and thought hard. Will he survive? He opened his eyes. No! The mongooses wouldn't quit until they killed him. The killer felt how his courage to live disappeared with every second and how the fire in his soul threatened to go out. It was clear to him. His last breath was sure to come very soon. He looked determinedly at the sky. If so, he was ready to die. And he was determined to face his death bravely. Next time he wouldn't be afraid of it. No more.