The Big Score

[CorralDust]

June 1868
Little Black Water, New Mexico Territory

​

The robbery of the Wells Fargo bank transfer from the Southern Pacific Railroad Line had been a fantastic success. Flinch, David, Charlie, and Dorothy had traded shots with the express car guards while One-Eyed Bobby, Sparrow Hawk and Smitty boarded the train, grabbed the safe, and hauled it to the back of the train. They’d detached the caboose, rolling away with the prize: $50,000.

Most of the cash had been stashed once they’d crossed over the Texas line and into a little one horse town in New Mexico Territory. But they'd kept a little bit handy so that they could celebrate their success.

The little saloon was on edge when the bandits came rolling in. But once it seemed obvious that they were here to spend money and not shoot up the place, the owner had been anxious enough to cater to them.

Smitty, David, and Charlie were playing poker, downing whiskey, and flirting with the saloon girls, well on their way to getting roostered. Flinch and Dorothy were nearby, also sipping on whiskey, trading daydreams about what they were going to do with their share of the money.

Bobby and his right hand man, Sparrow, were at the bar. Perhaps already planning their next job.

-----​

"Mebbe I'll go back east," Dorothy said, taking a small sip of her whiskey as she twirled the end of her braid absentmindedly with her index finger. For the first time in a long time... she was at least thinking about it. But it was probably just a passing notion. Besides a visit with her older sister, the thought of going back to live in Pittsburgh really held little appeal. And she wasn't even sure Emma would be happy to see her. "What about you?" Dorothy asked, quickly shifting the subject away from the unpleasantness her thoughts were headed toward.

Flinch shrugged, taking a puff of his smoke and exhaling it out the side of his mouth. "Dunno... mebbe get me one of them mail order brides, settle down, raise up a whole mess a kids."

He grinned and Dorothy couldn't quite tell if he was joking or serious.

"Oh boy... a gang of little Flinches running wild, tearing it up from Texas to California," Dorothy joked.

"Nah, Arkansas," Flinch said, somewhat seriously, which made her think he wasn't completely joking. For a moment, they both lapsed into their own private thoughts. Flinch probably daydreaming about his imaginary wife and kids. Dorothy feeling a small sinking in her stomach... she'd had hopes and dreams once upon a time, but they'd gotten lost and trampled upon in the last 6 years. So now what?

 

[GreenPhoenix3]

It was a bust. Actually, the Musgrove gang’s recent outing was a disaster. Daniel knew stealing horses from the Manitou Ranch was too risky, too public. But Musgrove listened to Abner, not him. Then Sanford and his trigger finger killed a cop. Now the whole gang was wanted for murder and horse-stealing in all of Colorado, including his brother Gabriel.

“W-w-we’re a-a-alive.” At the stuttering whisper, Daniel glanced down at Gabriel. Gabriel was sitting next to him, crossed-legged on the floor. Shaky hands were disassembling a Colt 1848 Dragon. Daniel let out a huff.

“That’s Edward’s,” Daniel grunted. Gabriel nodded, not taking his eyes off the gun.

“S-a-afe, here?” Gabriel bit his lip and paused his cleaning. Daniel glanced around. They were the only two in the woman’s small but clean room. Esperanza, if he remembered it right. She was Musgrove’s informant for the New Mexico territory. A local of the territory they were hiding in. They were ways away from Colorado, and he doubted any vigilante gangs or sheriff after them, would be showing up this far south. But Abner came with them. And with his track record of encouraging Musgrove to do stupid things, Daniel had a feeling it wouldn’t be long before more people were after them.

“We’re hiding.” Daniel settled on that. Gabriel nodded and resumed his tinkering, hands less shaky. Daniel sighed and went back to staring at the small room.

There wasn’t much to stare at. No window, one bed with a few blankets, an oil lamp, drawer with a vanity, two nightstands, two chairs, and a fairly new suitcase under the bed. It wasn’t much to observe. No wonder the others went down to the saloon.

“Señor Anderson,” Daniel looked to see Esperanza at the door. “Do you want a drink?” Daniel noted how she gestured towards the saloon frantically. Daniel glanced back at Gabriel. The gun was clean and reassembled.

“You done with Sanford and Edward’s guns?” Gabriel nodded and presented the Colt Dragon, Edward’s, and Sanford’s Colt Baby Dragon. While worn and scratched, they glistened with oil and there wasn’t any trace of the crimes they were apart of. Daniel nodded. “Good job, Gabe.” Daniel felt a touch of triumph at Gabriel’s smile. “Let’s go give it to them.” Daniel nodded towards the door. The smile left Gabriel as he nodded and wrapped the guns.

“If you are bringing weapons,” The brothers looked at Esperanza. “Make sure they are put away. Another gang is in.” She warned. Gabriel gave the guns to Daniel, who put them under his black coat. Then Gabriel stood up and Daniel instinctively helped him up.

“Hostile?” Daniel questioned as they went out of the room and towards the saloon. Esperanza shook her head.

“They seem to be celebrating.” At the top of the stairs, Daniel could see a more joyful crowd in the middle of the saloon. But in the back and darkest corner of the saloon, sat Musgrove, Abner, Edward, and Sanford, observing the joyful patrons with keen interest. Sanford and Edwards were eyeing a blonde girl patron with an animal like interest. Abner was whispering in Musgrove’s ear as they observed the other patrons. Abner caught Daniel’s eye. Daniel glared at him as a smirk grew on Abner’s face.

Daniel wished that the other gang was hostile.

 

[CorralDust]

Dorothy’s brown eyes flicked toward the top of the stairs as two men she hadn’t seen before appeared there, momentarily pulled away from her thoughts. It was starting to become a habit … sizing up strangers. It was something she’d picked up from Bobby, Flinch, and the others, always a little on edge, never knowing when some bounty hunter might’ve caught up. Except maybe when they’ve been drinking’ too much corn juice. Smitty, Dave, and Charlie were all apparently too soaked to even take note that one of the men had let his gaze rest longer than necessary on them.

And then the stranger exchanged what seemed to be a meaningful look with somebody behind her, which immediately made her uncomfortable, but she kept herself from turning to look. That would have been too obvious.

Since the three poker players were doing a piss-poor job of watching their backs and Bobby was engrossed in conversation with the barkeep, she and Flinch - she kicked his shin under the table as he seemed to be still daydreaming, eliciting a quick ‘ow’ - were it.

She thought the stranger had a confident air about him, much more so than the man right behind him, that Dorothy barely gave a second look. And he was handsome. Of course, that didn’t preclude him from being a bounty hunter.

“Could be trouble,” she said lowly to Flinch. “Comin' down the stairs.”

“I dunno. Looks like a carpet bagger to me…” he commented dryly, then took another long drag on his cigarette.

If Dorothy thought the poker players were too sloshed to take note of threats, they sure weren’t too far gone to see the pretty saloon girl returning. “Hey there doll…” Smitty called out to Esperanza, giving a wide, exaggerated gesture with his arm for her to come over to their table. “Come ‘ere… come ‘ere.”

“Nuther round a drinsh…” he slurred, then tried to catch her arm if she came close enough while he fished out an extra silver dollar and held it out to try to tempt her, then patted his lap like he wanted her to sit in it. “Hey … you … you wanna ride my pony?” The smile he sent her was meant to be charming - or at least suggestive, though the effect was dampened by the amount of whiskey he’d consumed.

 

[GreenPhoenix3]

When a bust went bad, the trouble never stopped with just the bust. Just like death never stopped at one person.

“T-t-there,” Gabriel couldn’t finish what he was saying. There was a blonde eyeing them as they came down. It was odd to Gabriel. Out of everything in the room, the thing that made him feel unsafe was the number of people in the room, and if his brother was tense. A glance told Gabriel that his brother’s back was taut as he glared at Musgrove and Abner. If Gabriel had to guess, either they were going to fight, or Sanford did something.

Gabriel looked around for Sanford. Instead, he saw the woman with a pretty name, Esperanza, get touched roughly by another man. The way that man grabbed her made him squirm. He flinched at the slurred words.

“I-i-it’s gonna’ happen ‘gain,” Gabriel whispered to his brother. Daniel nodded and went down the steps quicker. Gabriel followed, looking around for somewhere to go or hide.

“Ya pony ain’t nothin’ but a fallen log!” Sanford yelled out. Gabriel froze and looked to the cackling Sanford and Edward.

“I bet his pony is a mare!” Edward added. Gabriel glanced at the mocked man and saw Esperanza trying to slip away from him. Rubbing his hands on his pants didn’t slow the rapid beating of his heart. He tried to do it faster.

“A storm is brewing.” Gabriel stopped his rubbing pants when Daniel spoke. Gabriel looked around and decided to stay close to the stairs as Daniel walked toward a standing Musgrove. If there was one thing Gabriel knew about Musgrove, he didn’t like people touching his things without his permission. The last time Gabriel took Musgrove’s gun to clean it, Musgrove tested it by shooting his tools. Unfortunately, Musgrove had his gun now.

 

[CorralDust]

Smitty (Paul Smith)

​

Paul Smith (a.k.a Smitty) was of pretty average height, but he was broad across the back and shoulders with thick limbs. He carried a little extra weight, but just used that to his advantage when it came to pushing people around. In the hierarchy of unofficial leadership beneath Bobby, Smitty seemed to fall just under Sparrow Hawk. But probably only because he knew Bobby from way back and was good at knocking heads rather than on any great merits of charisma.

In the competition for biggest asshole in the group, it was a tough call between Smitty and Dave in Dorothy’s opinion. Both of them liked to give her a hard time that went beyond the ‘friendly’ banter they liked to pretend it was and claimed it to be when she got bent out of shape about it.

Never-the-less, Smitty let Esperanza go once she tried to pull away from him. He might be a pushy pain in the ass, but wasn’t so drunk that he’d force a woman against her will. He much preferred a willing and friendly gal, even if it cost him a dollar or two for her affection.

“Whadyou boys shay,” Smitty slurred as he turned in his chair to face his hecklers, waving his half-full glass of whiskey around so that it sloshed over the sides a bit.

Bones (David Goller)

"Smitty, I think he just called you a limp dick mare," David Goller (a.k.a. Bones) chimed in helpfully, grin plastered across his face as he found the comments amusing. Dave was the youngest member of the group at just 19, though was so thin that he was often thought even younger. He grew a pair of scraggly mutton chops, probably to make himself look a little older. He was cock-sure and quick with his six-shooters, leading to an inflated sense of invulnerability.

Still on edge about that look that had been exchanged between the man on the steps and the ones now ragging on Smitty, Dorothy couldn't help but feel there was more to the comments than normal banter. And why was that second man rubbing his pants? Was it some kind of signal?

Smitty seemed to be taking the bait and started to stand up, his gaze landing on Sanford. "Look... lookit thish ugly lunk. You could back a buzzshard off a gut-wagon."

"Smitty..." Dorothy said, trying to calm things down before they escalated. "They're jest tryin' ta get a rise outta ya."

"Nobody assed you, Calico Queen," Smitty replied.

 

[GreenPhoenix3]

"Stay here,” Daniel ordered Gabriel. Gritting his teeth, he continued forward, toward Abner and Musgrove. Sanford and Edward never listened to him. So, he walked behind them and straight to the other two. He stood in front of them, hands in his pockets. “You gotta stop those two tangle-footed fools from starting something.”

“Don’t be an addle-pot, Danny Boy,” Musgrove smirked as he took a swig of his beer. Daniel noted how Musgrove was still fingering his gun.

“These high-binders are just talk.” Abner took a sip of his drink, his eyes narrowing on the woman. “Letting a twofer talk them down,” he scoffed. Daniel looked at the woman. The Calico Queen, he heard.

A glance at the woman being addressed told Daniel that she truly was no regular cat and definitely not a twofer. Even in her rough manly clothing and with her golden hair braided, she was pretty, for an outlaw. The gun on her side, a Schofield Revolver, was probably the most eye-catching thing about her. Though, when he caught a glimpse of her stern brown eyes, they entrapped him.

“Gut-wagon?” Sanford sneered, going to a stand. The rising tension pulled Daniel’s attention to the trouble brewing.

“Our high-binders aren’t.” Daniel pushed out through gritted teeth. Abner just shrugged and Musgrove smirked.

“Well, if they beef one, that's one less for us.” Musgrove snickered and Abner smirked, as they shared a look. An unsettling feeling bubbled in the pit of Daniel’s stomach. He was distracted by Sanford’s yell.

“I don’t need some unsalted barrow-tram,” Sanford pointed to the tall skinny drunk one. “To tell me what’s dung from wild honey, chucklehead!” Sanford picked up his glass and threw it at the other patrons.

 

[CorralDust]

Dorothy’s eyes narrowed as Smitty called her Calico Queen, a slight flush highlighting her cheeks that had nothing to do with the whiskey. He knew damn right well she hated the nickname, even more so in front of people she’d never met before. So… whatever… if he wanted to get his drunk ass kicked, she’d already done all she was going to do to prevent it from happening. She waved her hand dismissively and turned back to her drink, trying to pretend like she didn’t care and wasn’t even paying attention. Though her gaze flicked discretely a few times toward Gabriel, checking to see if he was sending the other men more signals. If things turned too exciting, she didn’t want to be caught in the middle without warning.

Sanford’s thrown glass hit Bones right in the arm, who was drunk enough that he barely flinched. He’d thought this whole affair was highly amusing until Sanford turned his attentions to him. And he stood up when Sanford called him ‘unsalted’, over-sensitive about being thought of as an untested youth. “Ya know, Smitty, seems like this fella ain’t ever been taught no manners…”

“Waishtin’ good alca-hal like ‘at too… sure ain’t been raished right…” Smitty agreed.

Charlie Goller

Charlie Goller was a couple years older than Dave, but the brothers looked a good deal alike. If Charlie dropped some weight and grew some mutton chops, the two might be hard to tell apart. But while Bones was nearly always spoilin’ for a fight, Charlie was a bit more easy going and usually did his best to try to keep his younger brother from getting them both into trouble: a task at which he did not always succeed.

"You fellas lookin' for a game of cards?" he tried. Probably too little, too late, but it was still worth a try. "Ain't no need for anyone gettin' their knickers in a bunch."

 

[GreenPhoenix3]

Gabriel flinched and cowered a bit when the crash of the glass was heard. Going up the stairs seemed like a great option more and more. But he couldn’t leave Daniel. They never left each other behind, even in the war. They stayed together; they were brothers. He looked up to see his brother standing on Musgrove’s left side and Abner sitting on Musgrove’s right side. As they did before or after a job. Now, Gabriel definitely couldn’t leave. Something was going to happen and guessing by the retaliation of the other people, most likely a fight. As the man spoke, he felt eyes on him.

The girl, Calico Queen, was glancing at him. And it wasn’t curious glances, it was like the glances his brother made when things were not safe. Like the glances he gave Abner. Gabriel knew that he was nothing like Abner, so why was she looking at him like that? He sat down on the stairs, hoping to evade her eyes. If he was lower, she wouldn’t see him, hopefully. Though, sitting gave his fingers access to drum against his legs faster as his heart rate increased.

Refocusing on the scene in front of him, he caught the end of another man’s offer to play cards. He also noticed Daniel whispering with Musgrove. There was a wicked smirk on Musgrove’s face, and from here, Gabriel could see Daniel gritting his teeth.

“There’s a way out back.” Gabriel jumped at the soft accented voice. He looked to see Esperanza cleaning a table but she glanced up at him, her eyes going somewhere towards the back. Gabriel only gave a shaky nod. He wanted to take it, but his brother told him to stay, and his brother was still here. He wouldn’t leave, but he will watch.

“That dog won’t hunt.” Edward chuckled at the long-haired fellow that offered a game. Edward took a sip of his drink. “I think we all want to see a fit over a game of faro with any of you flat foggies.” Edward smirked and Sanford let out a cackle.

 

[CorralDust]

Smitty, with all the subtlety of a bull in a china shop, started toward Edward, his meaty hands balling into fists. He was too drunk to take note that Edward and Sanford were not his only two adversaries, failing to realize the three other men just a short distance away where part of the same group.

"You two scrawny assed barrel boarders ... " Smitty slurred. He might be drunk, but he'd spent a lot of years working cattle. So threw a punch at Edward's jaw and then, regardless of if the punch hit home or not, tried to tackle the man like he was wrestling a calf to the ground for branding.

"Well, shit... here we go, huh?" Flinch shook his head.

"Whoooo! Get 'im Smit!" Bones cheered on Smitty. The skinny young outlaw's fingers hovered dangerously close to his revolver while Charlie put a warning hand on his brother's shoulder that was likely to be disregarded here in a moment.

Dorothy couldn't help herself - she turned to watch right after she lost sight of Gabriel.

Robert Baker, the leader of this ragtag crew known as the Baker's Hounds, & Sparrow Hawk, a navajo man who wore the clothes of a white man and was Bobby's right hand man, had been engrossed in a quiet conversation with the saloonkeep.

"Damnit, what's all this about?!" Bobby yelled across the room without getting up from his seat. His voice was loud and carried easily. "We ain't here to tear up Vern's bar!"

 

[GreenPhoenix3]

Daniel watched the fight break out in front of him, Abner, and Musgrove. Edward got punched first. Sanford caught him, miraculously and unfortunately. Because that meant that as the loud man with an eye-patch, the leader Daniel figured, Sanford quickly gained his feet.

"We ain't gonna stop this." Daniel seethed through gritted teeth. Abner reached out to grab his arm. Daniel pulled away from Abner.

"You can't save people now doc." His smirk made Daniel's hands clench. "Wait till someone gets hurt first." Just as Abner said that, Sanford grabbed the rest of Edward's drink and threw it at Bobby.

"Sh-shut up you one-eyed Lily Liver!" Then he tackled Smitty. Daniel sucked in a breath in his teeth and looked for Gabriel. He couldn't find Gabriel...

 

[CorralDust]

With Sanford now hanging on his back, Smitty plowed ahead, swinging clumsily, but heavily at Edward as the brawl brought all three of them closer to Daniel, Abner, & Musgrove - in danger of crashing into their table in another moment. The whiskey Smitty had consumed made Bobby sound a hundred miles away. And anyway, with two scrawny boys itchin' for a fight, it wasn't like he could just stop in the middle.

The stick-thin Bones came to his buddy's aid, lunging in and trying to pull Sanford off of Smitty... though he was so drunk his efforts were completely ineffective at anything but adding extra limbs to the chaos.

Bobby was no where near as drunk as Smitty and Bones and he did NOT take well to getting whiskey all over his forehead and eyepatch. "You boys are gonna find more trouble that you were hopin' for..." he said, drawing his long barreled revolver from his holster. If Sanford wanted to escalate this spitting match, Bobby was going to oblige them. "NOW KNOCK IT OFF!"

Sparrow stood, but did not immediately involve himself in the fray. Instead, he moved toward the wall, intending to circle to the opposite side of the scuffle. Anyone looking close might notice that a knife had appeared in his hand.

Shit! Things were either going to calm down or they were gonna get REALLY dicey here in the next few seconds. Dorothy, perhaps similar to Gabriel, wanted to get the hell out of the way of danger. But moving from her seat near the center of the room would only draw attention to her. Screw it! She didn't want shot! She hurriedly got out of her chair and backed toward the door... which, quite unintentionally on her part ... might have the unfortunate side effect of appearing that she was attempting to block their exit.

 

[GreenPhoenix3]

Daniel noticed three things off the bat. One, Edward and Sanford were too drunk to realize the danger that they were in. Who was he kidding, if Edward and Sanford were sober they would laugh at the danger they were in. Two, this Bobby guy might have one eye, but Daniel did not think the man would be alive if he was not a good shot. Three, the girl was now blocking their exit. If Gabriel tried to leave now, he would garner the attention of the one-eyed man. Soon he spotted Gabriel by the door, closer to the piano. Perfect. Walking away from Abner and Musgrove, Daniel walked into Gabriel's line of sight. With a hand signal, he gestured for Gabriel to hit the piano.


While the scene and fight brewed in front of Gabriel, his heart raced within him and his hands shook. He couldn't move and he could barely crouch down out of sight. He needed Daniel. Frantically, his soft blue eyes scanned the place, seeing that the calico girl was now blocking his exit, his breathing became shallow. Though his eyes finally reached Daniel, who was intently moving his hands. It took a bit, but Gabriel registered the sign as a signal. Daniel wanted Gabriel to hit the piano. Gabriel glanced at the piano beside him. No one was on it now, but it was open. He couldn't take a step towards it though it was only a stone's throw away. Or a wrench. Gabriel grabbed the wrench from his pocket and threw it at the piano.

TWANG! CLUNK!

A discordant sound echoed from the piano, causing people to cover their ears or freeze in place. Well, most people. Edward, Heartless Edward, took the distraction and used it to throw a knife at Bobby's hand, holding the revolver. The knife hit its mark as Edward grabbed Sanford and barreled past the Calico Queen.