Jacob and Esau

[Shoney Mullins]

There was a certain amount of tolerance a person had to possess when in the presence of Patience McQueen, and Shoney Mullins was most certainly not one of the sorts who could stand the other woman for very long. In short, controlled doses it was possible, but for any longer, no. So it wasn't with any amount of surprise that she'd left Patience for quieter pastures, choosing to spend the evening in relative solitude and peace. Staying in town rankled her enough to set up a small campsite on the outskirts. Justice may've been home at one point, but now it was just another spot of angry feelings and bad memories. The town as a whole had once treated her as one of their own despite her kin, though the black hand of warped fate had other plans.

Shoney'd fallen into a restless sort of sleep, tossing in her bedroll for a few hours before finally giving up to simply stare up at the starry sky. Even as the pale glimmers of dawn began to creep across the horizon, she remained still and unmoving.

Zeke had got what was comin' to him, her no good older brother resting in a pine box now. Roy'd come to pick up the body with Kip, and she'd watched from afar as her uncle and cousin took the coffin out of town. Roy. That mean sumbitch hadn't even noticed her, though she was sure that he knew she'd been watchin' from somewhere. Word had a way of travelin' faster'n the Pony Express even, and Shoney had to wonder if her pa and Frank knew she was around also. She'd not seen Seamus Mullins in such a long time that for a while she had to wonder if he was even still alive. In some cursed way she missed him, but growin' up the way she did had a way of bringing her back around to hating him.

As the sun began to rise up over the far-off mountains, Shoney set to making herself her morning coffee. She'd get breakfast in town, but not for another few hour's worth o' time.

Sitting on a flat stone, Shoney stirred the coals in her small firepit until their dull glow became alive once more. She grumbled to no one in particular, suddenly wishing that she was somewhere else.

But, that Mullins streak in her demanded she be vindicated, and there'd be no denyin' the vengeance she was owed.

[Frank Mullins]

Through the pink sky of morning, and the faint cast sunlight off of pine-studded hills, movement could be seen, still a faint two miles off. To anyone with eyes for that sort of thing, it was a rider and his horse, plain as day. The trails into and out of Justice were few and far between, and everyone knew which way they wound back and forth.

Someone was headed toward town.

[Shoney Mullins]

Her horse was saddled and only the remains of her campfire remained. Sipping at her bitter coffee, Shoney gave a look over her shoulder at Justice that matched the acrid taste of her drink.

If she were any other person, she'da thought that Justice looked like a promising town to set stakes and start a living; course, that weren't the case. Not for her. Framed by rolling hills and grazing land, it was a town that was at once heaven and hell.

She turned back to her coffee, gave a tired swipe to the dust on the ground, and hunched herself forward to stretch.

It was the distant sound of hooves that made her instantly alert. One hand still holding her cup, she let the other fall to the revolver nestled in the leather at her hip. Her hat she left perched on the saddle horn and pulling herself up to sit on her horse, the youngest Mullins watched as the rider - still a distance off, drew closer.

[Frank Mullins]

Frank Mullins cleared the last of the rolling hills that melted away to the pastures and outskirts leading into town. Still a couple of miles from Justice itself, he trotted leisurely along the way. He approached a wispy trail of white smoke, the remains of a lingering fire from the night before. Not missing his gait, he edged to the side slightly to spit a thin stream of tobacco.

[Shoney Mullins]

In the morning shade of a small outcropping of trees further down the dusty trail, Shoney watched her older brother approach. Watched him eye what was left of her small fire.

She nudged her horse then, and the animal moved out into the sunlight to amble onto the trail and into Frank's path. She took a sip of her coffee in a strange sort of leisurely way, Another gentle nudge, and her chestnut mare started forward toward the oncoming Frank.

There was dread calm in Shoney's eyes, tempered though it was with the barest fear that her brother always managed to instill in her.

Despite their years apart, it seemed he still had the same effect on her as he did when they were younger.

[Frank Mullins]

The barest of smiles cut across Frank's hard and otherwise expressionless face as he pulled his stud to a halt.

"Been a long time, sis."

Frank dressed in black matching his stud. The two seemed to be inseperable, a four legged obelisk erected in the dusty trail.

[Shoney Mullins]

"S'ppose it has."

His smile was unreadable, and Shoney rested her hand on the saddlehorn, coffee in its' grasp. She wouldn't mince words; not with Frank.

""Roy already took the body, so I know you ain't comin' to town for that."

[Frank Mullins]

Frank's smile widened. She shared his affection for candid talk.

"The Old Man figures whoever laid Zeke low's probably still around. I figure about the same."

He eased his stud forward a few steps.

"Lucky I found you here already. Maybe you can shed some light on that."

[Shoney Mullins]

Shoney tossed the remaining dregs of her coffee to the side, upending the tin cup to jog the last few drops out. She made a pained face, then turned back to Frank.

"Maybe."

She didn't move from her position, still blocking his way.

"And maybe I was the one that did it."

[Frank Mullins]

He leaned forward again to spit tobacco, rising to meet her steely expression.

"Between the you and I, neither of us much gave a damn about Zeke, but the old man loved him. Somebody's gotta pay for that blood."

[Shoney Mullins]

She gave a sniff, shoving her now-empty cup into one of the saddlebags behind her left leg.

"You don't give a damn about anyone, Frank. Don't try'n play me like that. I been gone a long time, but I haven't forgotten."

Her mare shifted a little.

"I came for him first; was gonna go for Roy an' Kip next, but things change. Thinkin' now maybe I oughtta find Pa first. Cut the head offa the snake."

Was she goading him? Perhaps. But it seemed there was still a sense of loyalty to the town below them.

[Frank Mullins]

Metal against leather sounded faint as a whisper, as Frank's Navy Colt was out and set against his sister. She was dead to rights, and they both knew it.

Frank's expression, if it changed at all, was one of curiosity. He wanted to see if she'd draw too. She was right, he didn't feel anything. Anything at all.

[Shoney Mullins]

The same words she'd spoken to Zeke, she now spoke to him.

"You gonna shoot your little sister, Frank?"

She didn't draw, but her hand did fall to rest on the butt of the revolver at her waist.

"Take me to the Old Man. It's time we talked."

[Frank Mullins]

Almost disappointed, Frank slowly returned his pistol to its holster. In its stead, he retrieved a bandana, and tossed it to Shoney.

"Put it on over your eyes."

[Shoney Mullins]

"I got as much a right as you do to see where we're going."

She caught the bandana easily, but rather than place it over her eyes, Shoney firmly knotted it around the saddlehorn.

She urged her mount forward until she was beside him, giving him a look that she knew, while hateful, wouldn't even begin to crack Frank's hardened exterior. It was like she'd said before - he never gave a damn about anyone, and that included his own family. Mostly her, she suspected.

"Get ridin'."

[Frank Mullins]

"You do it my way, or you don't. We both know if I was aimin' to kill you what would happen."

He leaned forward and spat again.

"Can't rightly risk your new friends puttin' undue stress on the old man's constitution. Best to keep it simple."

[Shoney Mullins]

For a long while she glared at him, at those cold, killing blue eyes. Shoney hrmphed, ran her tongue along the back of her teeth, and slowly undid the bandana. For however long she'd been removed from her kin, she knew that it'd be for the better to do as he said.

Angrily she tossed a leather reign at him.

"Not particularly concerned 'bout his constitution," she growled, fitting the cloth over her eyes.

[Frank Mullins]

Frank reached over, and plucked the revolver from her holster as she secured the blindfold.

"Didn't figure you were, but he's of a frail sort these days, if you're wanting to share his company."

He took the reign, using it to guide Shoney's horse alongside his own.

[Shoney Mullins]

As they started back the way he'd come, Shoney rolled with the gait of her horse. They rode in silence, her head angled downward and her arms crossed loosely over her chest.

Fnally, she spoke up.

"Where's mom."

[Frank Mullins]

"Typhoid in San Francisco."

It was all that needed to be said. He knew that she favored her mother a lot more than anyone else in the family.

"Was about two years ago."

[Shoney Mullins]

Shoney fell silent at that. She supposed that she shouldn't've been surprised that their mother was gone, but it still stung more than she wanted it to. Leah Mullins had been her shelter from her brothers... and at times her own father, so it was with no great shock that a deep attachment had grown between mother and daughter. As well, plenty of folk had said she was the spitting image of her mother as she grew up, and the resemblance had only gotten more uncanny as time went on. She'd tried to write; tried to send word, but the thought that either Frank or Zeke might intercept her letters kept Shoney from doing anything to keep in touch.

Suddenly, Shoney was glad for the blindfold. It kept Frank from seeing the tear that'd rebelliously escaped from her eye.

"Shame."

[Frank Mullins]

"Two of you were close, yeah."

Frank mentioned it matter-of-factly as they rode along the trail to carry them away from town, and to the spot where old Seamus was holed up.

"A lot closer than you've been to the rest of your kin, that's for sure."

[Shoney Mullins]

And once more her indignation and hurt at being so spurned by the rest of her family flared up to overshadow whatever sentimental feelings she felt over their mother's death.

The resentment in her voice was thick.

"Hard not to get close to a person that keeps you, Zeke, and Pa from beating on me."

[Frank Mullins]

"Not my intention to cast judgment."

With a smirk, Frank picked up the pace as they headed up a hill.

"Old Man figures it's about time for you to come back to your senses though."

[Shoney Mullins]

Leaning forward slightly to compensate for her mare heading up a hill, Shoney made a face.

"Sounds like somethin' he'd think. Something tells me you're not of the same opinion though."

[Frank Mullins]

"Don't much matter to me, one way or another."

The horses labored a moment, but they were soon over the grade.

"You're old enough to make your own decisions, and be responsible for them."

[Shoney Mullins]

At that she fell silent, allowing quiet to rule between brother and sister. They rode on, to wherever Frank was taking her. What would her father say when he saw her? What would he do? Shoney could only guess. Without her mother to temper Seamus Mullins' cruel undertones, it was nothing but a ame of chance that she was playing now. Of course, if what Frank said was true about their father, she figured her chances of leaving the old man's company alive and in one piece were just a little higher.

Then again, for as much as age might duel a man's cruelty, it was equally possible that it sharpened it as well.

[Seamus Mullins]

The camp wasn't too far away. Maybe the next valley this way or that. Not that it mattered.

Seamus rocked back and forth in his wooden rocker, plucking idly at the strings on his guitar. Kip and Roy leaned against an opposite wagon, alongside a half dozen other hired guns.

The old man paused as he saw two horses crest the hills. Kip tensed to shoulder his Winchester, but Seamus shooed his intentions down with a gentle wave of his hand. He slowly set his guitar aside and rose from his seat.

[Shoney Mullins]

She could hear the sounds of a camp, and Shoney finally took it as a sign that she could remove the blindfold Frank had forced her to wear. The bright sun hit her eyes harshly, and she squinted into the unforgiving daylight. Her gaze was cast upward as if looking toward the sun would help to quicken the diminish the brightness, and she absently accepted the reign that Frank returned to her.

She caught sight of Roy and Kip, but the figure rising to stand was who her eyes snapped to.

Just as slowly as he'd eased himself from his rocker, Shoney dismounted. She stood alongside her horse for a few short moments, staring at him, and with a silent curse that no one could hear, she started forward at a gentle pace.

She would remain as calm and genial as needed for now, playing the long lost daughter finally come home.

What happened next would be dictated by Seamus.

[Seamus Mullins]

Seamus slowly approached his only daughter with a wistful expression on his face. Nearing her, he at last opened his arms to embrace his estranged child.

"Shoney, welcome home."

[Shoney Mullins]

It felt odd, to hear those words. 'Welcome home'.

But, she never-the-less returned his embrace. He'd grown far older during the years that she'd been gone, but the fact that he was here now, expecting Frank to exact revenge for Zeke's murder, only meant that he may've become older, but he'd not grown soft.

"Papa."

Shoney closed her eyes as she rested her cheek on his shoulder. In some perverse way she wasn't but ten years old again.

"Frank told me about mother."

[Seamus Mullins]

"It was the loneliest time of my life."

He confided to her, still within an embrace.

"We looked for you, when it happened. You must not have wished to be found. I can understand. I'm glad you're here now though."

[Shoney Mullins]

Did he truly mean it? Shoney would've liked to believe him, but that one part of her mind, the part that was forever trapped in the memories of her childhood, refused to acknowledge any chance of sincerity coming from the head of the Mullins clan. Her own father.

Her eyes tracked over to Roy and Kip, but she didn't look at them for very long.

"I was up in Oregon."

Standing back finally, she searched his face. Her own features neutral, Shoney eventually let a frown twist at the corners of her lips.

"But now I'm here."

[Seamus Mullins]

A smile creased the old man's face, and he nodded at the affirmation.

"I'm glad, Shoney. I really am. This family's taken another cruel turn, and we need some good news to come down."

[Shoney Mullins]

Was it some lasting bit of respect that wished to give to him a kind word before bringing cruel reality crashing down upon his head? Like a woman possessed, Shoney's mouth opened to speak before her mind could silence it. She grabbed at her father's sleeve.

"Papa, I... I have a boy."

[Seamus Mullins]

"You have a son?"

It gave Seamus pause, and he pulled back to take another look at her. The smile remained on his face.

"Is he in town? Who's his father?"

[Shoney Mullins]

The words continued to come out unbidden.

"He's still in Oregon. It's not safe for him here."

She finally wrestled control from her younger, eager to please self, and fell silent before bringing out into the open the dark secret that only she knew. Her father needn't know about any of that.

But, she wasn't entirely cold-hearted about the matter of her son. For as hot and cold as he'd treated her during her childhood, he was still her father and at least deserved some amount of information on the matter. She'd at least tell him his grandson's name.

"His name is Seamus."

[Seamus Mullins]

He clasped her hand in his, and held it to his chest.

"Saints be praised, you are your mother's daughter. I'm glad there's some grace and dignity still left in the family after all."

He at last released her hand slowly.

"When we finish this business in town, I'd very much like to see my grandson."

[Shoney Mullins]

And now was when the cruel reality of it all would be released upon him. Shoney scuffed at the dirt with the toe of her boot, squinted up into the sun, and absently untied the knot of the bandana still around her neck. She shook her head, her eyes returning to him. The look she gave him was one of sorrow, resentment, and anger.

Now they were on to the heart of the matter.

"No more business in town to be had."

[Seamus Mullins]

The smile on his face eased away. He looked at her with a knowing expression.

"Shoney, I'm not an unreasonable man. What I aim to do, I'd do the same if it were you in Zeke's place."

[Shoney Mullins]

She scowled at that.

"No you wouldn't. If that were true, you'da never put me out."

The lack of any weight in her gunbelt was tangible, and she wished that Frank had returned her revolver. She stood rigid however, facing her father.

"I came back to settle accounts with all of you. Zeke just happened to be the first I came across."

[Seamus Mullins]

"Zeke had his problems."

Seamus conceded with a nod.

"I don't think any of us will disagree on that. But he, same as you, are family. That doesn't change, Shoney. We might disagree and quarrel, but we all come back."

[Shoney Mullins]

"Family shouldn't spurn one of their own."

It was said with such acid that Shoney surprised even herself. She let her eyes wander once more to Roy and Kip, then to Frank before going back to Seamus.

"I'd be dead if it weren't for Mom stopping you and the others."

[Seamus Mullins]

Seamus spoke with a careful and somber tone.

"I'm sorry if you feel that way, Shoney. It was tough times for the family then. It made for all of us having to become tough people."

[Shoney Mullins]

She stared at him, an almost unbelieving look to her face as she slightly leaned forward, head angled to the side.

" 'Tough times'?"

The bandana in her grasp was tossed to the dusty ground.

"All you did was turn into a pack of rabid dogs; no wonder Roy keeps his own- they remind him of all the rest of you."

She glared at him, then shook her head slowly.

"I'll not let my boy near any of you."

[Seamus Mullins]

"Don't be unreasonable."

The old man spoke with a degree of iron in his voice for the first time.

"You think I don't know what happened in that town? You think the truth of things just exists in your own private monopoly? I know you were there when Zeke died. I'm willing to forgive you for what you did. Don't you dare turn your back on that."

[Shoney Mullins]

In the past, that familiar tone in his voice would have sufficiently cowed her into murmured obedience. Now though, it was plain to see that Shoney had developed steel in her spine from her years apart from them, and she stood firm against her father.

"What're you gonna do to them."

[Seamus Mullins]

"Depends on what they do. I'm just here for the Mayor. I'll paint the main drag red with his blood. After that, I'll wash my hands of this one-horse watering hole."

His sharp eyes studied her face carefully.

"After that, I'll consider my revenge sated. I'm a man of my word to you."

[Shoney Mullins]

It was tempting, to think that he'd actually keep his word.

"Killin' a man won't bring the dead back to life," she finally offered.

[Seamus Mullins]

Seamus nodded.

"No, but it'll even the balance. Folks gotta know there's a price in blood for killing a Mullins."

[Shoney Mullins]

"They're loyal to their mayor. You'll start a war."

She bit her lip, giving him strange look.

"With Two Dollar Jim in town, is it something you really want?"

[Seamus Mullins]

He shrugged nonchalantly.

"A gunfighter with a name, it won't be the first time. I calculate Frank will keep that from being a problem. As for the rest of the town, do you really think they'll put their necks on the line regarding something that isn't their fight? There's no profit in it."

[Shoney Mullins]

"Profit don't mean much to some people."

That he would use Frank as his instrument of death was no surprise. Seemed as though it'd always been like that.

When she spoke again, it was in a whisper that only he could hear.

"You aim to murder your grandson's uncle."

[Seamus Mullins]

He looked at her sharply.

"In the great scheme of it all, he isn't a Mullins. Best it be this way, while he's young at least."

[Shoney Mullins]

For a long while she stared at him. In the very back of her mind, she knew that her returning would eventually lead her to this decision.

"I'll not be a part of your vengeance. Mother would've never wanted this."

[Seamus Mullins]

He smiled thinly.

"That's alright. Don't have to if you don't want. Just don't get in my way."

[Shoney Mullins]

Shoney gave a hrmph at that. She stared at him for a moment longer before turning half on her heel. Her time here was at an end. She'd seen her father, talked with him, and that was that.

She moved to stand beside her mare, pausing before pulling herself up into the saddle.

"Me getting in your way never stopped you before. And with Mother gone, just means I don't have anywhere to go when you're through beatin' me senseless."

[Seamus Mullins]

"Shoney."

He paused as she saddled up, making sure she could see him squarely before continuing.

"If you ride out of here and into that town, I can't guarantee what will happen."

[Shoney Mullins]

Frank was at least decent enough to hand her her revolver, and Shoney reholstered it with little emphasis.

"I can."

She looked down at her father one last time.

"I'm sorry, Papa."

[Frank Mullins]

Frank watched her mount up without a hint of emotion on his face. He ran his hand lazily down the button-holes of his duster as he watched his estranged sister depart for possibly the last time.

[Roy Mullins]

Roy'd watched the whole thing from where he leaned against one of the wagons. Kip, standing beside him, hadn't made a move beyond shifting his feet in the dust. Which was a good thing; even Roy knew that his brother needed to have his own time with his little girl. Only, Shoney wasn't a little girl anymore. She'd grown up, and it seemed she'd done so with a vengeance.

Watching in silence as Shoney turned her horse back toward Justice, Roy finally pushed himself away from the wagon to stroll in Seamus' direction. He stood beside his elder brother, watching Shoney as she crested a hill and disappeared from view.

"Spittin' image of Leah," he finally spoke up.

"You want me to send some boys out to start inquirin' 'bout that boy of hers?"

[Seamus Mullins]

Seamus turned to look to his younger brother.

"She's never gonna let me see my grandson. I think it's best you do. And Roy, be quiet about it."

[Roy Mullins]

Roy gave a nod, but before turning back to the small group assembled, he let his eyes linger on Seamus.

"I'll find 'im. And I'll bring 'im back here."

A cruel smile touched his lips.

"If your intentions are to bury your girl next to Zeke, at least wait till the young'un is here so's you can assure her that he'll be raised up right, like a Mullins."

[Frank Mullins]

None of this really concerned Frank. What they did with Shoney was neither here nor there. He was more concerned with the bigger picture.

"She seemed to think Two Dollar Jim would back the Mayor's play. I've heard of the man. I want to meet him."

[Roy Mullins]

Sneering almost, Roy looked at Frank.

"Aw hell, she's just tryin' to throw a name out to scare us. I'da thought she'd know better than that, what with you here. Don't matter if its' Wild Bill or Two Dollar Jim. We all know what you're here for Frank, and it ain't to share tea an' cakes with the preacher an' his wife."

Turning away, he gave a wave of his hand.

"But you go an' meet the man. Last I was told, he an' the McCall whore were spendin' time together."

[Frank Mullins]

Seeing a nod to the affirmative from Seamus, Frank didn't waste any time. With Shoney's ride already cresting the mountain trail leading south, he took another meandering trail to the west.

Wasn't any sense in subterfuge now. Let Justice come to terms with the fact that the Mullins Clan was on their doorstep.

[Shoney Mullins]

Once out of site from the camp, Shoney urged her mare into a lope which soon enough sped into a full gallop. It wasn't even noon yet, but the urgency with which she traveled made such a thing like time seem unimportant. It wouldn't matter when; her father would send his jackals down upon Justice at any point.

Why was she even choosing sides? If she'd wanted, Shoney could've stayed up in Oregon and lived quietly with her son without ever having to set her eyes on this cursed town or her family again. But, through it all, she knew that it would always come to this. Justice had been home after her own family threw her to the dogs, and up until the end they'd treated her as one of their own. For as close-knit as the Mullins clan was to one another, she had become just as close to Justice.

And as she crested the last hill that would send her in to town, she supposed that even Truss was a part of it.

Her mare thundered down the main drag, onwards inexorably until she pulled the animal to a stop in front of the mayor's office. She knew he was in there, and sliding from the saddle, Shoney didn't even bother to tether her mount to the hitching rail.

The front doors banged open, and Shoney Mullins stalked through them, moving past the front offices like a dread storm descending upon the land, drawing ever closer to that familiar door along the back wall that served as the entryway to Truss' private domain.

It was time to lay bare the consequences of that horrid night so long ago.

[Harold Alexander Truss]

Truss set the document he was browsing on the desk as Shoney barged into the office unnanounced. With him was Sheriff Dufresne and Deputy Bartow.

He rose from his seat, removing the cigar from his lips, knowing full well that Shoney would rather be a lot of places than in this office. If she was here, something dire was happening.

[Shoney Mullins]

She stood just inside the threshold of the doorway, and staring at Truss, Shoney slowly eased herself the rest of the way inside. A cursory glance was given to his guests, but it wasn't long before her eyes were once more on the Mayor.

"Tell 'em to leave."

[Harold Alexander Truss]

Truss gave each man a glance, which was enough to tell them to get gone. They left out the front of the office, loitering in the foyer of the building until they were called on again.

He looked back to Shoney once they vacated.

[Shoney Mullins]

Alone with him, she moved to stand in front of his desk. How long had it been since she'd been in his office? It seemed as though it'd been an entire lifetime ago.

"Where's your brother."

[Harold Alexander Truss]

That was why she was here?

"Get out!"

[Shoney Mullins]

Shoney stood her ground against the mayor, the expression on her face matching his.

"Or what - you gonna throw me out like you did all them years back?"

For long moments she glared at Truss.

"I ain't here to finish what I started with him, not with my Old Man waiting outside of town.

"But your brother's got a right to know that what he done back then... he's got himself a son b'cause of it."

[Harold Alexander Truss]

He jabbed his cigar hand at her with emphasis as he spoke.

"And what? You want to confront him on it? He doesn't have the marbles up there to comprehend what you're sayin' anymore!"

He eased into his seat, the other part of her revelation coming down hard on him.

"So, where do you stand with Old Man Mullins anyhow?"

[Shoney Mullins]

Shoney watched him sit, trying to parse what it was he meant exactly. She'd been run out of Justice before Truss' brother had been able to regain consciousness, and once she was out of town, word had never trickled outward to her.

She frowned at his last words.

"I'm here, not there, aren't I."

In that moment, and despite all the wrong done against her, it was clear as a cloudless morning what that meant.

[Harold Alexander Truss]

He carefully tucked his cigar back in the corner of his mouth. Watching her stern expression, he reached to a drawer and pulled it open, retrieving a very familiar dread box.

"Keep runnin' it through my mind like it's a bad dream."

[Shoney Mullins]

It was then that she slowly lowered herself into one of the chairs opposite him. She watched as he pulled out the box that held his revolver.

"Weren't a dream."

It was said so stoically, and with such finality, that the phantom ringing of the gunshots on that fateful day seemed to once more ring out through the confines of his office.

"Old Man wants to paint your blood all over town."

[Harold Alexander Truss]

Truss slowly closed the box again, caring not to look at the thing.

"Why'd you come back?" He asked her candidly.

"You don't have a stake here, and we've got no love lost between. I calculate you burned the family bridge, but if that's so, you can just ride along and stay out of harm's way."

[Shoney Mullins]

She'd asked herself that very same question so many times, and every answer was the same.

"Of the two that I'm stuck between, there's only one family that my boy deserves to be around. His father may be a no-good son of a bitch, but I know the rest of you ain't.

"I won't have him grow up to be a Mullins."

[Harold Alexander Truss]

"I won't lie when I say I still have my doubts about you."

He studied her face, and drew his cigar down to the ash tray.

"But, it's a strange time for us all. Guess I can't rest on my suspicions."

[Shoney Mullins]

"No, you can't."

Shoney stared at him a moment before going on.

"I keep askin' myself why you did what you did, runnin' me out like that even though I had my right to fight back. But now I s'ppose it doesn't matter much at all anymore. When I left here I went up to Oregon; figured that was enough distance between us all to make everyone happy."

She shook her head.

"But I can't raise my boy without a family, so I might as well try an' salvage what I got that's worth anything."

[Harold Alexander Truss]

"Justice is a mining town, and a ranching town. Give us time. Maybe then, it'll be a place people can put down roots. It's not there yet, and we've got a long way to go to fix that, starting with driving the Mullins clan out."

Truss gestured with his cigar to the door.

"If you're serious about this, open the door and let the sheriff and deputy in. Then, pull up a chair."

[Shoney Mullins]

For a long while she sat, staring at him with a degree of stillness in her gaze. It wasn't too long however, before she slowly rose to her feet.

Her hand fell on the doorknob, staying there for a moment as she gave Truss a sidelong look.

"Jim Ballard is gonna find him you know. You can't keep lettin' him run to you every time he done something. Man's gotta atone for his sins one way or the other. You stopped me from doin' it all those years ago, but Judgment Day is gonna come callin' and the Good Lord don't suffer bastards like him to go on livin' like they do."

[Harold Alexander Truss]

The mayor's jaw set, as he was obviously not in any mood to discuss that prickly issue.

"Jim Ballard's vendetta's the least of my concerns right now."

[Shoney Mullins]

Giving him a half-hearted hrmph, Shoney turned the knob, opening the door enough so that the sheriff and deputy knew they were welcome in the mayor's office once more.

As they returned, she resumed her seat opposite Truss.

[Harold Alexander Truss]

"Sheriff, I'm authorizing you to extend emergency office of deputy to Miss Shoney Mullins here."

For emphasis, Truss gestured with his cigar to alleviate some of the shock the two law enforcement officers were naturally experiencing.

"We got the Mullins clan riding deep as a heathen high tide and we need an edge on the family, and another gun hand."

[Shoney Mullins]

Shoney looked thoughtful, a much different expression on her features than the previous stormy countenance she'd worn when first coming into Truss' office.

"Ran into Frank this morning," the thought of her brother and his ever-impassive, blue stare made her drum her fingers on the armrests of the chair she sat in.

"Might want to start lookin' for the best gunhand you can find."

[Harold Alexander Truss]

It didn't take a lot of empathy to divine the source of her meaning.

"You mean Two Dollar Jim."

Wasn't a question inflected in his tone.

[Shoney Mullins]

Shoney gave a nod.

"It wouldn't hurt your chances."

[Harold Alexander Truss]

"I'd never ask him, and he'd never agree to it."

Truss dismissed the notion with a shake of his head.

[Shoney Mullins]

Fixing the mayor with a cool stare, Shoney pursed her lips.

"Then I'll ask' 'im."

[Harold Alexander Truss]

Truss stayed silent on that. He wasn't about to quash the idea, but he wasn't going to goad it either. Two Dollar Jim was an unknown quantity, and no friend of the Mullins clan, but the mayor couldn't help but feel that he was dealing with the dregs to go to war with the greater evil.

"Do what you feel like. You know why I'm passing the silver star on you. I'm already compromising my morals, so I guess I won't stop and risk sacrificing the town."

[Shoney Mullins]

Shoney only gave him a nod, knowing it would be best to leave the matter at that. She'd find Jim Ballard.

Beyond that however, the youngest Mullins could only guess what the Mayor had in mind; how he meant to meet the oncoming storm. Staying silent, she waited for Truss to continue.

[Harold Alexander Truss]

"While you're turning over stumps to find Ballard, might want to see about any other folks that can hold a gun. Not a whole lot that'll put skin in the game against your kin, but you beg, borrow, and steal for gun hands. I'm doing the same."

He looked at her appraisingly.

"Don't frankly understand what in this town's caught your attraction, but I hope there's something of it left after we're done."

[Andy McCall]

* * *

Andy stood in front of the vanity mirror in her bedroom, leaning forward to inspect her teeth. It was a morning ritual of hers, and one that she never failed to miss. Wearing a clean pair of pants and an unbuttoned shirt, the blonde gave one final look to herself, satisfied.

She was hungry, and there wasn't much of anything short of a full lunch that would satisfy her.