by D. Sallen
Fritz shoved Olivia out of the way, aimed at Clint said, “Get in here. Fly boy!”
“Fritz! What the hell?”
“Shoulda got out of here when I told you, Greybull. You’ve been a real pain in the ass.”
Clint took in El Gordo’s body, but couldn’t see Marie-Elena’s behind the bar. “You know I couldn’t just leave because you wanted me to. I was assigned here. You’re in so much trouble, why don’t you just turn yourself in. Crazy as you must be, you’d get off on an insanity plea.”
“Crazy am I? You don’t know how crazy. I’m gonna make you soooo sorry…I’m gonna cut your nuts out too.”
“Hell you are!”
“Yore right. I’m not gonna. One of these ladies…is gonna do it for me.”
The huddled women moaned hysterically. AAHHHHGHNOOOO. Olivia collapsed against the wall. “OOHHH no, no, we can’t…we can’t do that. No, no, no.” All thee sobbed. Olivia saw Marie-Elena sit up with a dazed look on her face. She felt of the wound on her scalp. Out of Fritz’s sight, Olivia motioned Marie-Elena down.
“Sure ya’ can. It’ll be easy. Know why? Because he’s gonna just let ya’ do it.”
Clint said, “Go to hell, Fritz. You’re crazier than a warped signal.”
“You want to know why you’re gonna be so helpful, Sergeant. Cuzz. I expect you might be some kind of a gentlemen. I think you’d rather lose your nuts…than see me shoot these ladies…one at a time…right?”
Olivia screamed. “He’ll kill us, anyway. Marie-Elena’s dead back here. We Won’t do it!”
BANG!
Fritz shot at, but missed Olivia.
Fritz’s gun wavered from him, Clint reacted. He leaped on Fritz, knocked him off-balance, grabbed at the gun hand…both fell, Clint over Fritz’s chest. They struggled for the gun. Fritz couldn’t aim at Clint; with free hand, struck at Clint’s head. Clint let go of the gun arm with one hand, jammed his elbow into Fritz’s throat. Gasping, Fritz pummeled Clint’s head again. For more leverage, Clint pulled up on his knees. Fritz squirmed from under him, wrenched his gun arm away from Clint. Both on their feet-desperate. Clint flung himself at Fritz. Got one hand on pistol wrist. The gun went off…
BANG!
Didn’t hit either man.
The thee women came out of their daze and scrambled to the door. Olivia shoved Tawny and Sherry out. “Get Help!” She turned back to the fighting men. She stooped, grasped a knife from El Gordo’s boot. Standing, she tried to stab Fritz, feared cutting Clint. Fritz tried to bring his arm around to shoot her. Clint jerked his gun hand up. Clint’s body open to him, Fritz kneed him. Collapsing, Clint couldn’t hold onto the gun hand. Fritz turned to swat Olivia down with his gun. The knife flew away from her.
“Hunnh uhnhhhh unnnh.” Fritz tried to catch his breath, his gun pointed at Clint, who writhed in pain on the floor, Olivia nearby. Fritz’s back was exposed to Marie-Elena crawling toward him.
Still breathing hard, Fritz said, “Well Fly Boy. You God damned son of a bitch. I’m about to even up the score. NO, No, don’t move, or I’ll shoot Olivia first. Now you just lie there until I’m ready to pull the trigger.”
“You crazy dip shit. Do you really know how nutty you are?”
Fritz sneered. “Big talk, Mr. psychologist. I’m really going to enjoy what you’ve got to say when I shoot your nuts off!”
Marie-Elena reached El Gordo’s knife. If he shoots Sergeant Greybull, it’s too late. She slid the knife towards Clint. To disguise that motion she groaned “Oooohhhh,” and rolled away.
Fritz whirled around, turned the gun towards her. “Well, I’ll be damned. You weren’t dead after all. Just as well. I’m really going to enjoy you this time. How about that? If I’d really been the first one to fuck you, I’m damn sure going to be the last.”
“OHHHhhhhh, NO…NO. Please don’t kill me Fritz! You’ve nearly killed me already. People have lied to you. They’ve lied about me! Got to stall him…as long as possible. You’re the only man who’s ever fucked me. And now you can fuck me all you want. Please don’t kill me. I don’t want to die.”
Recovering and watching Fritz, Clint thought, she’s got him wondering. He looks like he wants to believe her.
“And you really expect me to believe that? Believe I’m the only ones who’s been in your pants? And even after some sorry airman ate your pussy? You must think I’m a real fool. There’s only one thing you can do to keep from dieing…You cut off Greybull’s nuts, NOW!
“Ohhhh No. How can you expect me to do that?”
“With Olivia’s knife of course. Now where did it get to?”
Meanwhile, Clint grasped the knife. Doubting his ability to effectively throw it, he gathered his legs under him. When Fritz started to turn back to him, he launched himself against the rancher’s side. Surprise, and Clint’s momentum drove the rancher back. Trying to regain his balance, Fritz tried to shoot. Clint blocked his arm down, stabbed him in the kidney. Shocked, Fritz turned to aim at Clint. Close, Clint stabbed Fritz in the side, pushed him hard.
Fritz tumbled back over El Gordo’s body. Dying of blood loss from the kidney wound, energy gone, he dropped the gun. His mouth open, Fritz gave a last gasp. His eyes clouded, then closed as his bowels and kidneys flushed…overpowering the smell of blood.
EPILOGUE
“That’s right, Sheriff Radecker. Olivia And Marie-Elena’s quick thinking saved my life, and probably theirs too. That sonovabitch had the upper hand until the women were cool enough to act. They had a lot of guts.”
“Yeah. Darn good thing Olivia knew her bodyguard carried a knife. I reckon her thinking Fritz murdered Marie-Elena was enough for Olivia to try to kill him.”
“I’m sure glad Marie-Elena wasn’t dead. That scalp wound will mess up her hairdo for a while.”
“Well, Lilith McCune dressed it up well enough for her to make the trip to the hospital in Glasgow.
“What surprises me, is two such evil men in the small population here.”
“Got nothing to do with it. Rotten people are everywhere.”
“Being in the law, I guess you are far more aware of it than us outsiders.”
“Yeah. Fritz has caused a lot of consternation around here. We’ll be a while cleaning up this mess after him. You can expect to testify in court some time or other. How about sitting down right now and writing out all you know?”
“Sure. You bet.”
“Good. I’ve got to see if Olivia and those other two girls are calm enough to write out statements too.”
Through with his paperwork, Clint headed for another late meal at Gilman’s. He wasn’t surprised that the rest of his troops, and a lot of town folk still sat around in the restaurant when he got there. After hellos all around, he hugged Dorris (to Lilith’s chagrin) and said, “I’ll tell you all what happened, but right now I’m starving. When I’ve had some chow, I’ll talk over coffee.”
When he was through narrating the events in the Boar Pen, a local stringer for the Glasgow paper asked, “Why do you think Fritz was so mad at you?”
“Well, after he killed his son and mother, much less Basil, he had to be crazier than a two headed cockroach. He seemed to think my coming here started all his problems. Seems far-fetched to me, but he was nuts, so hard to follow his thinking. Perhaps underneath it all, was his loss of power, a big comedown for a man who thought he was king of the hill.”
After he answered a few more questions, Clint said, “Hey folks, I’m about all talked out. That’s enough of it for me. Sergeant Patton says he owes me a drink for helping to remove one of our obstacles, so we’re heading for Chet’s now.” Before leaving he said to Dorris, “I’ll be back to talk to you later.”
“Don’t be too long, Clint.”
As he and the troops filed out, Lilith followed them, and said, “Maybe y
ou need some rest after that terrible time.” Clint didn’t hear her, but a frowning Dorris did.
Later that night sitting in Dorris’ living room she asked, “So what happens now?”
“For me and the job, I don’t see any change. We’ve got a lot to do and this Fritz calamity doesn’t change anything.”
“After all that happened earlier, don’t you feel you need to rest?”
“Not particularly, why?”
“Lilith asked the same question as you left.”
Clint shrugged. “I didn’t hear her…no way I would have gone with her. She scares me.”
Doris sat in his lap and put her arms around him. “I’m glad of that, she angers me.”
“Yeah. I’m gonna have to move out of the McCunes.”
“So where are you moving to?”
“In another circle. Back here…to live in sin with you.”
Dorris looked into his eyes. “Is that right? You think if I have the reputation as a loose woman, I might as well enjoy it?…”
Clint merely raised his eyebrows. Dorris said. “Sounds good to me!”
THE END