Paco Valdez
You stay in the shadows, pulling your horse along with you. You whisper for Betty to keep quiet and she complies. Watching the fire you see two horses with riders trot up to the camp site, silhoettes against the flames. One of them is male, the other is female. These may be your friends, but you stay in hiding until you're sure.
"Where the hell is he?" Says the man with a gruff voice. You are certain it is Gus.
"What kind of an idiot makes a fire and then hides?" Annie asks him.
"You underestimate the depth of his stupidity, Annie." He says to her as you step out of the shadows.
"There you are." You say. "For once, I was the one on time. What took you so long?"
Gus and Annie share a look for a moment. Then Annie says what they were thinking. "We were trying to decide whether we should go with you or leave you to your destiny and concentrate on the bank."
Loyalty runs rampant with your friends, you think with sarcasm. "Well I'm glad you decided to stick with me." You say.
"You just make sure I don't regret it, lover-boy." Annie says to you as she dismounts her horse. Gus slowly gets off of his and pats it's neck. They tend to thier horses while you tend to the fire, stirring it up to keep it going. You sit down beside the fire and roll a cigarette. Eventualy Gus and Annie sit down near you, Gus at your side, Annie as far from you as possable. You get the impression that Annie isn't pleased to have given up the bank heist for your lack of self control. There is much silence shared between the three of you before it is broken by Annie as you light your cigarette.
"What in the hell were you thinkin' anyways?" She asks you in a very unfriendly tone.
"I didn't know who she was." You say.
"The boy is a fool." Gus says as though it justifies your actions. "We knew that when we met him."
"That was completely stupid of you." She says to you, throwing a rock at you in the dark. The rock hits your chest with a heavy and painful thump.
"Ow." You say. "That was unnecessary."
"What's unnecessary," She says beginning her retort, "Is sleeping with a gang leaders woman to get your jollies when you're supposed to be keeping a low profile so's we can rob a bank. What's unnecessary is running out into the middle of the desert to help your stupid ass. You're lucky we came. That bank coulda been a two man job."
"'Cept you ain't a man." You say.
"I'm as tough as any man out there." She says to you. And you don't deny it.
"You smell as bad as any of them too." Gus says to her.
"Fuck you both." She says. "Go to sleep. I'll keep an eye out for them Vigilantes for a few hours. I'll be waking you first lover-boy."
You nod to her. You and Gus learned long ago not to argue with her when she starts swearing. There's no winnning the argument when she starts on it.
You lay down and rub at the bruise on your chest from the rock that hit you. You close your eyes and are surprised at how fast you fall asleep.
How much time has passed? You don't know. All that you know is Annie is shaking you in an attempt to wake you.
"Get up. There's riders approaching." She tells you.
You strain your ears but don't hear anything. You don't doubt her though. You've learned to trust her ears. Gus says she was borne part bat, and that the bat side of her family accounts for her supreme hearing and ugly face. She usualy punches him when he says that.
You stand up and stretch. Gus is getting up too. He looks at you.
"I reckon we should get out of here." He says.
"I don't think we need to," says Annie, "There's only five of them. I figure you stay by the fire while me an' Gus hide behind the rock. We could ambush them no problem."
Gus shakes his head. "I don't know about that, Annie. You're a crazy bitch, and I don't think you're thinking this through. They's got five. We's got three. I don't like them odds."
Annie looks to you. "What do you think?" She asks. "And don't go thinking with your pecker again. Use your head." She says.
Gus guffaws. "You're askin' this sorry son of a bitch to decide."
"Yeah." Annie replies.
"Fine." Gus agrees. "Lead on, boy."
They look at you eagerly awaiting your reply. You can hear the horse hooves in the distance now. There isn't much time.
"Where the hell is he?" Says the man with a gruff voice. You are certain it is Gus.
"What kind of an idiot makes a fire and then hides?" Annie asks him.
"You underestimate the depth of his stupidity, Annie." He says to her as you step out of the shadows.
"There you are." You say. "For once, I was the one on time. What took you so long?"
Gus and Annie share a look for a moment. Then Annie says what they were thinking. "We were trying to decide whether we should go with you or leave you to your destiny and concentrate on the bank."
Loyalty runs rampant with your friends, you think with sarcasm. "Well I'm glad you decided to stick with me." You say.
"You just make sure I don't regret it, lover-boy." Annie says to you as she dismounts her horse. Gus slowly gets off of his and pats it's neck. They tend to thier horses while you tend to the fire, stirring it up to keep it going. You sit down beside the fire and roll a cigarette. Eventualy Gus and Annie sit down near you, Gus at your side, Annie as far from you as possable. You get the impression that Annie isn't pleased to have given up the bank heist for your lack of self control. There is much silence shared between the three of you before it is broken by Annie as you light your cigarette.
"What in the hell were you thinkin' anyways?" She asks you in a very unfriendly tone.
"I didn't know who she was." You say.
"The boy is a fool." Gus says as though it justifies your actions. "We knew that when we met him."
"That was completely stupid of you." She says to you, throwing a rock at you in the dark. The rock hits your chest with a heavy and painful thump.
"Ow." You say. "That was unnecessary."
"What's unnecessary," She says beginning her retort, "Is sleeping with a gang leaders woman to get your jollies when you're supposed to be keeping a low profile so's we can rob a bank. What's unnecessary is running out into the middle of the desert to help your stupid ass. You're lucky we came. That bank coulda been a two man job."
"'Cept you ain't a man." You say.
"I'm as tough as any man out there." She says to you. And you don't deny it.
"You smell as bad as any of them too." Gus says to her.
"Fuck you both." She says. "Go to sleep. I'll keep an eye out for them Vigilantes for a few hours. I'll be waking you first lover-boy."
You nod to her. You and Gus learned long ago not to argue with her when she starts swearing. There's no winnning the argument when she starts on it.
You lay down and rub at the bruise on your chest from the rock that hit you. You close your eyes and are surprised at how fast you fall asleep.
How much time has passed? You don't know. All that you know is Annie is shaking you in an attempt to wake you.
"Get up. There's riders approaching." She tells you.
You strain your ears but don't hear anything. You don't doubt her though. You've learned to trust her ears. Gus says she was borne part bat, and that the bat side of her family accounts for her supreme hearing and ugly face. She usualy punches him when he says that.
You stand up and stretch. Gus is getting up too. He looks at you.
"I reckon we should get out of here." He says.
"I don't think we need to," says Annie, "There's only five of them. I figure you stay by the fire while me an' Gus hide behind the rock. We could ambush them no problem."
Gus shakes his head. "I don't know about that, Annie. You're a crazy bitch, and I don't think you're thinking this through. They's got five. We's got three. I don't like them odds."
Annie looks to you. "What do you think?" She asks. "And don't go thinking with your pecker again. Use your head." She says.
Gus guffaws. "You're askin' this sorry son of a bitch to decide."
"Yeah." Annie replies.
"Fine." Gus agrees. "Lead on, boy."
They look at you eagerly awaiting your reply. You can hear the horse hooves in the distance now. There isn't much time.