Paco Valdez
You shoot her one last glare of hatred and storm out of the room. You don't say anything but let the door slamming shut behind you speak the volumes of your anger.
You step out of the hotel and onto the street to meet a large imposing Mexican with a thick mustache who blocks your way. He has ammunition belts crisscrossing his massive barrel of a chest. You try to walk around him but he moves with you to continue to block your path. You look down and note the tattooed 'V' on his hand, marking him as a member of the Vigilantes.
You turn around to find a smaller Mexican pointing a revolver at you. From your left and right come two more men, one bearing two six-shooters the other holding a shotgun.
The little Mexican starts to speak to you. "Did you think you could just fuck Paco Valdez's woman and then run off?" He smirks at you. You do not reply so he continues. "It is not so simple, senor. Mr. Valdez would not like that."
You stare back at him. Neither of you speaking for a long while. Then he says something to the man behind you and makes a gesture. You start to turn when the big mans heavy fist slams into your ear, knocking you hard to the ground.
You get up to hands and knees, your head spinning with dizziness. You take a hard kick hit your stomach, lifting you a bit off the ground. You hit the dirt again and spit out a little blood before trying futilely to crawl away. You feel another kick and see the foot go back for third when a loud clap of thunder sounds from somewhere above. The man who was kicking you falls to the ground with blood spilling from a hole in his head. His eyes gaze at you in surprise as the life fades from them. Another burst of thunder and another man goes down, clutching at his chest. The last two men run from the street.
As you struggle to get to your feet you hear horse hooves charging toward you and you turn to see Annie riding your way; your horse Betty beside her. "Get on and hurry." She says, pulling to a stop beside you.
You mount up and ride off with her, leaving your traveling case on the ground. The two of you ride for close to an hour until you reach the huge boulder known as Coyote Rock. It towers some fifteen feet above your head.
"It don' look like we was followed," Annie says.
You nod in response. The two of you care for your horses in silence. "Thank you for helping me back there." You say when you are finished. She nods gruffly. "I take it Gus will be joining us whenever he's finished shooting up Vigilantes?" You ask.
Annie shakes her head. "I don't know when Gus'll be along, but that wasn't him back there. I was in the stables when I heard them gunshots and I figured it was you so I grabbed your horse and got on mine and rode over to see if I could help you. Might be the stupidest thing I coulda done. I had no intentions of helping you out. I planned on hitting that bank in a few more weeks with or without you an' Gus." She tells you. "I coulda been filthy rich off that there bank. But I ain't," she says, fixing you with a cold stare; "On account of you." She spits on the ground and walks back over to her horse. She drinks from her canteen.
"I didn't know who she was," you tell her.
"Save it," she responds dismissively.
You stand there looking out across the desert thinking about your brush with death. If it wasn't Gus who'd shot those men then who could it have been? There were a few people in town who liked you. But you didn't figure any of them would risk themselves for you like that.
Several hours pass. Annie starts building a fire while you go off into the desert to look for some food. Hoping for a snake or a desert lizard or something you can eat aside from the bit of dried jerky in your saddle bag. Coming from town you see a rider on horseback far in the distance. You can't make out who it is, but you figure it can be none other than Gus. Out of the corner of your eye you spot a desert hare hopping out from behind a rock. Instinctively you point your pistol at it, but then you have a second thought. What if that rider isn't Gus? Then you'll alert whoever it is of your where-abouts.
So do you shoot the hare or go tell Annie about the rider?
You step out of the hotel and onto the street to meet a large imposing Mexican with a thick mustache who blocks your way. He has ammunition belts crisscrossing his massive barrel of a chest. You try to walk around him but he moves with you to continue to block your path. You look down and note the tattooed 'V' on his hand, marking him as a member of the Vigilantes.
You turn around to find a smaller Mexican pointing a revolver at you. From your left and right come two more men, one bearing two six-shooters the other holding a shotgun.
The little Mexican starts to speak to you. "Did you think you could just fuck Paco Valdez's woman and then run off?" He smirks at you. You do not reply so he continues. "It is not so simple, senor. Mr. Valdez would not like that."
You stare back at him. Neither of you speaking for a long while. Then he says something to the man behind you and makes a gesture. You start to turn when the big mans heavy fist slams into your ear, knocking you hard to the ground.
You get up to hands and knees, your head spinning with dizziness. You take a hard kick hit your stomach, lifting you a bit off the ground. You hit the dirt again and spit out a little blood before trying futilely to crawl away. You feel another kick and see the foot go back for third when a loud clap of thunder sounds from somewhere above. The man who was kicking you falls to the ground with blood spilling from a hole in his head. His eyes gaze at you in surprise as the life fades from them. Another burst of thunder and another man goes down, clutching at his chest. The last two men run from the street.
As you struggle to get to your feet you hear horse hooves charging toward you and you turn to see Annie riding your way; your horse Betty beside her. "Get on and hurry." She says, pulling to a stop beside you.
You mount up and ride off with her, leaving your traveling case on the ground. The two of you ride for close to an hour until you reach the huge boulder known as Coyote Rock. It towers some fifteen feet above your head.
"It don' look like we was followed," Annie says.
You nod in response. The two of you care for your horses in silence. "Thank you for helping me back there." You say when you are finished. She nods gruffly. "I take it Gus will be joining us whenever he's finished shooting up Vigilantes?" You ask.
Annie shakes her head. "I don't know when Gus'll be along, but that wasn't him back there. I was in the stables when I heard them gunshots and I figured it was you so I grabbed your horse and got on mine and rode over to see if I could help you. Might be the stupidest thing I coulda done. I had no intentions of helping you out. I planned on hitting that bank in a few more weeks with or without you an' Gus." She tells you. "I coulda been filthy rich off that there bank. But I ain't," she says, fixing you with a cold stare; "On account of you." She spits on the ground and walks back over to her horse. She drinks from her canteen.
"I didn't know who she was," you tell her.
"Save it," she responds dismissively.
You stand there looking out across the desert thinking about your brush with death. If it wasn't Gus who'd shot those men then who could it have been? There were a few people in town who liked you. But you didn't figure any of them would risk themselves for you like that.
Several hours pass. Annie starts building a fire while you go off into the desert to look for some food. Hoping for a snake or a desert lizard or something you can eat aside from the bit of dried jerky in your saddle bag. Coming from town you see a rider on horseback far in the distance. You can't make out who it is, but you figure it can be none other than Gus. Out of the corner of your eye you spot a desert hare hopping out from behind a rock. Instinctively you point your pistol at it, but then you have a second thought. What if that rider isn't Gus? Then you'll alert whoever it is of your where-abouts.
So do you shoot the hare or go tell Annie about the rider?