Bennett’s eyes were wide with terror, the whites visible all around. Still they flicked occasionally back to the pistol in Frank’s hands, but mostly they stayed fixed on Jesse’s grinning face.
“That’s good, Bennett. We’re gonna start with a couple yes or no questions, alright? Ease you into the whole process?”
The man tried to say “yes” but his efforts were foiled by the ironwork clamping his mouth shut. Cole slapped him across the top of the head contemptuously. “You nod or shake your damned fool head, you idjit.” The growled words were loud enough to raise Jesse’s eyebrow, and Cole nodded in apology. “Sorry, Jesse.”
Jesse shook his head and looked back down at Bennett. “Okay, Bennet. Let’s try this again. You understand?”
Bennett nodded with desperate energy, moving roughly against the metal hand.
“Good. Now, you come through here with Billy yesterday?” A nod. “Nice. I knew you weren’t as dumb as Frank says you were. Billy goin’ to Diablo Canyon?”Another nod. “Good boy. I’m proud o’ you. It’s like you got the hang o’ this. Billy got his whole gang with ‘im?” A nod, with a desperate flick of the eyes towards the unwavering pistol. “Good, good. And that would be what, after his little shindy in the mountains, about twenty fellas?” The eyes flicked back to Jesse, there was a pause, and then a slight shake of the head.
“How many boys he got ridin’ with ‘im, Bennett?” Jesse’s tone was flat and left no room for discussion or debate.
“Fifteen, Jesse.” The man’s voice was high with terror, and he scrambled up with his back against the headboard, as far from Jesse as he could get, as soon as the metal hand released him. “Well, twelve, now. Twenty two, I guess, not countin’ me.”
Cole rolled his eyes. “Oh, Lord preserve us. Billy had to leave his idiot step child behind.”
Jesse ignored the comment and leaned back in to Bennett, pushing the man farther up the wall with the force of his own fear. “So you all ran into some difficulties on the trail, then?”
Bennett nodded. “Ran into a Union advanced patrol coming out of the Coconinos. We fought ‘em off, but we lost three men, and they got me pretty bad.” His eyes flicked down to the bandages wrapped around his chest.
“You’re just shootin’ your mouth off,” there was more hope in Jesse’s voice than certainty. “What the hell would a Union advanced patrol be doin’ out in the middle o’ nowhere?”
Bennett shook his head. “I don’ know, Jesse, honest! Billy, he was totally caught flat footed. They came out of the woods, guns blazin’, and we just went right at ‘em, Billy in the lead.”
Frank spoke up, his voice gruff. “What’d the Union have on the ground, deadbeat?”
Bennett’s eyes flashed again from Jesse to his brother and back. “Don’t know that either. I’m sorry, Jesse, I really am! I got hit right at the beginnin’! Somethin’ blew up nearby, took out my ‘Horse, and I was out!”
Jesse sat back on the bed and stared at the cowering man without seeing him. When he spoke, the change in topic was enough to catch all three other men in the room off balance.
“Where’s Billy goin’ after Diablo Canyon, Bennett?”
Bennett’s face paled even further in the ruby light of the pistol’s tell-tales. “I—I don’t know.” This time his terrified eyes flicked all over room, looking anywhere but at Jesse.
“I don’t believe you.” Jesse’s voice was flat, his entire body still.
“What d’ya mean, Jesse? I don’t know! We was goin’ to meet you in Diablo Canyon! I don’t know more’n that.” His head shook back and forth slowly as if it had a mind of its own. “I don’t, I swear.”
Jesse nodded, then looked down again at the bandage. “Your wound opened up again.”
Bennett looked down in surprise and fear, then relaxed. “No it didn’t, its—“
The man’s scream tore through the room like a banshee wail, echoing off the clean walls, the cross glowing dull red. Jesse’s face was impassive, but one mechanical finger pressed against Bennett’s dressings, a dark crimson circle beginning to seep through the fabric.
“Where’s Billy goin’ after Diablo Canyon, Bennett?” The words were the same, the tone was the same, but the man panting on the bed was now shaking in pain as well as fear.
“I told ya! I don’t—“ Again the scream. This time there were muffled shouts from other parts of the house. Jesse’s men were being roused from their sleep, flooding into the upper hall to see what was wrong. Cole went to the door to calm things down and get everyone ready to leave.
“Bennett?” Jesse’s voice was calm and reasonable.
“I don’t know! No, no!” Bennett scrambled to escape the clutching metal hand, pressing himself against the headboard with all his failing strength. “I swear! Billy don’t even know! Just what that damned medicine man let slip afore Smiley slashed him! Some canyon out west! Billy don’t know where it is! He’s hopin’, after he gets out closer, he’ll find folks who recognize the name!”
The metal finger began to move towards Bennett’s side again and the man’s sobs became desperate and ragged. “I don’t know, I told ya! I don’t know. He never said!”
Jesse rested his hand in his lap, regarding Bennett with flat, dull eyes. “I believe you, Bennett. It’s ok.”
The man’s gasping breath, half relief, half disbelieving fear, escaped him in a shuddering wave. However, he came up short when Jesse raised the finger again.
“But you gotta remember, that last time we saw each other, what I said?” Jesse’s eyes were hard now, drilling into the terrified man’s mind. Bennett shook his head violently back and forth.
“I didn’t mean nothin’ by it, Jesse, honest! I was just movin’ on! I just don’t know… ” His hands rose in a futile attempt to defend himself.
Jesse sat back on the bed, his hands raised in a gesture of peace and acceptance. “I know that, Bennett. Folks move on. I get it.” Bennett relaxed slightly on the bed. “But I did say—“
The metal arm sailed across Jesse’s body and connected with Bennett’s face in a vicious open-handed slap that sent the man sprawling out of the bed and onto the floor. His screams ended abruptly as he landed badly, one arm twisted beneath him. Low sobs shook his shoulders and he remained on the floor, hunched there as if waiting for the final blow.
Jesse stood up and stared down at the pathetic form. “We’ll start the count down over again now, shall we, Bennett? The next time our paths cross, this time, I’m not gonna leave you enough breath left to cry like a little baby.”
Jesse swept past the huddled form and Frank followed. He stopped by Bennett and leaned down. “I hope you realize how lucky you been today. My brother’s in a righteous mood. If I see you before he does next time, you Jonah, your own sweet momma ain’t gonna be able to recognize you.”
They left the man sobbing on the floor of his room in total darkness.
In the hallway, the gang was gathered, gear in hand and ready to return to the trail. At a nod from Jesse, they moved out and down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs the outlaw chief was surprised to see Elijah sitting at one of the tables, Bob and John Younger standing over him with blaster rifles at the ready.
“Boys, I’m sure you can let our host up.” Jesse took a wad of notes from a back pocket and deftly thumbed several of them flat, pulling them away and tossing them onto Elijah’s table. “I’m sorry for our premature departure, sir, and for the untoward disturbance.” He pulled another note and dropped it. “I hope that will cover any cleaning required.”
Elijah stood as Jesse moved towards the door after his men. “I won’t be trying to stop you. From the continued sounds of distress upstairs I can see that you left the young man alive. But there will come a time in your life when you need the compassion of a stranger, and you might want to think to your behavior today, regarding your expectations for tomorrow.”
Jesse stopped in the doorway for a moment and then looked back. “Sir, if anything had ever led me
to expect anythin’ comin’ close to compassion from any stranger, I might not o’ turned out to be quite the hard case I assure you I am.” He tipped his hat brusquely and closed the door behind him.
In the street, several men were moving around, going about the business of the day. All of them were strong-looking, and each wore the same strange hairstyle that had caught Jesse’s attention last night.
“Okay, boys, I hope you enjoyed our little stay, but we gotta pick up the pace now.” Jesse shouted to his men as he jogged down the walkway towards the Blackjack. “Seems we’re not the only ones in this race now. Union’s got a pony runnin’ too.”
The men muttered to themselves but Jesse put up a hand to forestall the grumbling. “Now, it’s just an advanced patrol, and as long as we know they’re out here with us, we ain’t got a thing to worry about. But I’ll tell you what I am worried about, and that’s Billy havin’ time to prepare a surprise for us before we get where we’re goin’. So we gotta ride hard, and we gotta ride fast.”
He gestured at the sweeping plains off to the north and east. “I’m sure ya’ll have noticed the local terrain. Ty made a good suggestion, sayin’ we go overland, down around the south end of the lake, and shoot north over the plains. Frank and I agree. It should cut some serious time off our travels. You boys think you can take your sorry ass machines off the trail?”
Cole grunted as he pushed a bushel of tobacco into his mouth for the trail. “You think you can take your shiny new toy off the trail, Jesse? I’m pretty sure our flyin’ ‘Horses’ll be able to make it without a hitch.”
“We’re still goin’ to Diablo Canyon though, right Jesse?” Ty’s high voice was clear in the morning air.
Jesse turned sharply to stare at the young kid in disbelief. Many of the townsmen around them had stopped to watch the outlaws depart. “Ty, I swear, you are hell-bent on makin’ me regret takin’ you in on this.”
The boy raised his hands. “Sorry, boss! I didn’t know… we still… yeah, Okay, Jesse!”
The outlaw leader shook his head in disbelief and swung his leg over the barrel of the Blackjack.
“C’mon, boys, before I decide I’m better off leavin’ half of ya behind.”
Jesse gunned his machine back down the main road the way they had come, back towards Mary Lake Trail. They were behind schedule even more now, with even more need to hurry. It was bad enough, knowing that he was up against Billy, not even knowing quite what for. Now, with the Union in the region, and Carpathian’s acting strange, even for that strange old man, Jesse was starting to feel a might crowded. If you included the Warrior Nation that Billy had run into that put the whole kit and caboodle in motion, there were not many players in the territories that were not somehow tied in now.
Jesse snarled, echoing the sound of his rumbling Blackjack, as he tore out of Sacred Lake heading south. The growling thunder of twenty Iron Horses leaping into the air and rushing after him bounced off the houses and outbuildings all around. Still, another benefit of going overland that he had not told his men was the fact that the trail they’d laid down up to Sacred Lake would now take anyone tracking them far off course. If anyone was tracking them, that was. He could feel the phantoms drawing in from all around him, and he knew that there was every chance most of them did not even pose a real danger. Still, better to take care now and not need the extra slack than to need it and not have it.
In the street, the men all stood and watched as the outlaw band sped down south, leaving the town once again silent except for the disconsolate sobs from the upper hall of the lodge.
*****
Wyatt knew, as they pulled into Sacred Lake, that something was not quite right. He also knew that whatever it was, it was not anything he had been expecting.
The marshals looked at the small collection of buildings. Groups of men worked the fields or stood silently in the road, watching the approaching lawmen. Wyatt brought his Hog rumbling down the center of the packed-earth street and pulled up in front of the largest building, a long two story structure with a sign proclaiming it Sacred Lake Lodge. The building was set apart from the street by a split rail fence, with hitching posts for real-live horses spaced along it. Wyatt shook his head. He could not remember the last time he had seen real hitching posts in a town.
With a practiced flick, the Over-marshal shut off the engine of his vehicle, and soon the rest of the Interceptors grumbled into stillness.
“Damned if this ain’t the quietest burg I’ve ever seen.” Virgil muttered to his brother. The other marshals were standing in a wide circle around their leaders, watching the townsfolk with calm, professional faces. Wyatt nodded and looked around, surprised to see that there were no RJ-1027 recharge stations in front of the tavern. In fact, as he took a more careful look around him, he saw that there was no sign of any RJ-1027 tech to be seen, anywhere.
The UR-30 units stalked into the street, playing their crimson beams across the area in front of the lodge and revealing many interwoven Crimson Gold trails hovering above the dust of the street. They had been moving far too quickly for the robots to track the residue on their way to Sacred Lake, but clearly, the men they were following had been here, and judging from the intensity of the trails, not too long ago.
Wyatt pulled his gloves off and stuck them into his holster belt as he stood at the gate looking up at the lodge. The door swung silently open and a large man with iron-gray hair stepped out, an honest smile on his broad face. The man’s hair was cut in a strange pattern, nearly shaved on top with long locks down the sides and back. Looking around, Wyatt noticed that the rest of the men he could see wore similar haircuts. He filed the curiosity away for later scrutiny as he moved toward the large man, hand outstretched.
“Welcome, gentlemen, to Sacred Lake Lodge!” The man’s handshake was firm without being overbearing. He looked over Wyatt’s shoulder at the lawmen standing behind him, the deputies fanning out across the street, and the UR-30s walking the perimeter of the parking area, heads tilted down and coherent beams sweeping back and forth over the ground. Wyatt was curious to see a look he could not quite decipher cross over the tall man’s face at the sight of the robots.
The man did not miss a beat, however, and his smile never slipped, as he focused back again on Wyatt’s face. “My name is Elijah, proprietor of the Sacred Lake Lodge. Can I get you and your men refreshment, sir? It seems a little early to be stopping for lodgings for the night.”
Wyatt nodded, turning slightly to scan the streets again. He assumed a consciously casual pose. “Yeah, no, we’re right as rain, sir.” He looked at the gray-haired man out of the corner of his eye. “That accent of yours, ain’t from around here, no?”
The man’s smile widened even further. “Very perceptive, Mr…. ?”
Wyatt smiled. “Marshal, actually. Over-marshal, in fact, if we’re getting’ technical. But you can call me Marshal. Marshal Wyatt Earp.”
“Ah!” Elijah’s smile grew even warmer. “We have heard good things of you, sir, and the work you have done. It is truly an honor to welcome you to our little enclave!”
Wyatt could not have said why the man’s words made him uncomfortable, but for a moment he had a hard time meeting Elijah’s gaze. “Yes, well, thank you very much. Actually, we’re following a band of wanted criminals, headed by Jesse James. Maybe you’ve heard of him as well?”
That saw the smile fade from Elijah’s face, but even in its new, neutral configuration, there was a pleasant openness to it. “Well, no, Marshal, I can’t say that I have. We do take in travelers, of course, and we never turn folks away who aim to behave. But once they’re gone, they are no longer our concern here. We cannot allow ourselves to be sucked into the conflicts and struggles of the world outside.”
Wyatt nodded, looking back at Virgil and Doc by the gate. “But a group was here.” He looked back at Elijah. “We know they were, so please, think carefully before answering.”
Elijah nodded. “You will find no duplicity here, Marshal.
Those questions we answer, we answer honestly.”
Wyatt grimaced, looking down at his boots for a moment. “Would there happen to be any other guests here currently, Elijah?”
Elijah smiled. “There is one sojourning wayfarer currently with us, yes. A poor man who seems to be the very personification of ill luck. Jonah returned, if you will.”
Wyatt looked quizzically back at his brother. It was Doc who answered, his eyes smiling over the mask. “This boy must have powerful bad luck indeed, Wyatt.”
Wyatt nodded thoughtfully again, then looked back at the man standing on the stoop beside him. “I’m going to have to see your guest, Elijah. I believe he may well be helpful in following our current trail.”
“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that, Over-marshal.” Elijah’s stance was casual and relaxed, but something about the man’s demeanor registered as a threat in the lawman’s mind. He also noticed the gray-haired man look out into the street, giving a minute shake of his head.
Wyatt turned to see several strong-looking men approaching from various angles. The deputies were pulling back slightly, pistols and rifles rising in warding gestures. The RU-30s had abandoned their lamp sight, crouching slightly in gunfighter’s poses, metal hands hovering over the butts of their massive pistols.
“Boys, stand down!” Wyatt barked to his men, and they reluctantly lowered their weapons. “AZ-24, you’re with me.” One of the UR-30s immediately pivoted and approached the front of the lodge. Wyatt turned back to Elijah.
“My metal deputy and I will be going into the lodge, and we’ll be in there for a few minutes, and then my men and I will be leaving.” For the first time since the front door opened, Elijah’s face assumed a dark aspect. “Now, if you or your people are feelin’ uppity, sir, I’m afraid things won’t be goin’ that smoothly. We will be questioning this man. Other than that, there is all sorts of unpleasantness we can avoid.”
The Jessie James Archives Page 24