OOM : New Mexico Territory

[scurlock]

OOC: Was co-written between docscurlock & young_gun_billy muns.


It wasn't hard finding the cows, it wasn't hard moving the cows. The hard part for Billy was holding back his laughter as he and the boys rode into town with the cows.

"Howdy." He grinned as they rode into a stockyard with the intent to sell their pilfered herd. "Found some cows."

And that's all it took. Chisum gave them the money they needed for the trip down to Ol' Mexico after all.


The sale went quick, Billy gave the guy a pretty good deal, and there were just a few stray matters to take care of. One of which Henry was discussing with Billy as they walked along.

"I guess what I'm trying to say, is, yer called 'Kid' and, ah, Rudebaugh's called 'Arkansas Dave' and, ah, I daresay Doc's Christian name ain't 'Doc'..." Henry said, gesturing and holding onto his hat.

It wasn't hard to guess what he was getting at, though Billy did let the man go on for a spell before making the point for him, "You want a name."

"Yes sir!" Henry nodded with an enthusiasm, "I would like that, I would like that very much indeed."

"You have to earn it, Henry. Until then, you're stuck with plain ol' Henry." Billy told him, patting his shoulder. "Sorry."

*****


They spent that night in a stand of adobe ruins, waking the next morning to the loud crack of gunfire.

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[scurlock]

Most of the boys scattered like scared chickens at the gunfire, but Doc didn't even bother moving. It was a six-shooter...two six-shooters. Billy's. And if Billy was actually shooting that fast...

"What'd they do, spell yer name wrong?"

Doc rolled over and tried to go back to sleep once the bullets stopped flying.

Billy's trademark smile and mirth were no where to be seen as he picked up the newspaper he'd been shooting at and unfolded it. "Got a new Sheriff on us, boys. Goes by the name of Pat Garrett."

Pat Garrett... "Jesus Christ." Doc scrambled to throw the blanket off and climb out from under the half roof he'd tucked himself under. "What the hell'd he do that for?"

"Make yourself famous, be a known man like me." Billy answered, holding the paper out as the others gathered around behind him to read over his shoulder.

"What about me, what'd they say about me?" Dave asked, crowding in to get a look a the headlines.

"Nothing, Dave." Billy pulled the paper away as Dave made to grab for it. "Just playing the game, Doc." He handed the paper over to Doc and looked out towards the New Mexico prairie. "We'll give him a game, alright."

Billy shook his head. So much for Pat's eatin house. It was one thing to leave your pals, it was another to put on a badge and help hunt them down.

Billy went to his horse and the others gathered things quickly and mounted up. Dave jumped aboard his own horse and called out with authority, "Alright Dave's Boys! We ride now! We are gonna give Pat Garrett the ride of his miserable two faced stinkin' life. Let's skin out, c'mon!"

He spurred his horse and started riding, pulling up short when he realized he was heading off alone. "Well c'mon!" He commanded.

Behind him the others stood around on their horses. Annoyed Dave spoke down to his horse, "Can you believe this?"

Billy's smile made it's first appearance of the day and he mounted up, talking to Tom as he did so. "Hey Tom. Last one out of here drinks dirty dishwater. C'mon!"

He rode out and the others followed, leaving in the opposite direction Dave had chosen.

"Son of a bitch." Dave muttered and then kicked his horse to catch up.

[scurlock]

Doc's gut was twisted in a knot as they headed south through the brush and across the desert, his eyes constantly scanning the horizon, looking for that flash of metal in the sun that signaled trouble.

Dave was grumbling on about something but Doc wasn't listening, just thinking to himself about their entire situation. Pat was supposed to be on their side. One of them.

Now one of their own was on their tail. The hideouts weren't safe. The people weren't friendly. Chisum wanted them dead. The governor wanted them dead. Hell, the president probably wanted them dead.

Old Mexico was their only option.

The piles of rocks in the distance gave them something to aim for, but as they began to ride through the brush, Chavez suddenly stopped and held up his hand.

"Ho." He was looking at the ground in front of them, piles of rocks. "Burial ground. Warm Springs people." A pause. "Apache."

Tommy's voice said it all. "...we'd better get goin'."

Chavez shook his head. "We'll go around."

"Chavez, why don't you go peck shit with the chickens, huh?" Dave snorted at Chavez. "You know what they're paying for Apache bone in Silver City right now? Christ Almighty, they're makin' ashtrays, they're makin' combs, they're makin' knife handles." He turned and explained to the others.

"You can git fifty cents for a good Indian leg bone. It's all out there so don't you go gettin' all sentimental an' all that, alright? C'mon." He waved out into the burial ground and then nudged his horse forward intent on making some easy money.

Chavez threw his hand up and it came to rest against Dave's chest.

"You go in there, smart gringo," he threatened, "And I'll bury you there."

Doc merely arched an eyebrow and waited to see how the scene would unfold.

[scurlock]

Dave looked from the hand on his chest to Chavez, "Okay."

Billy leaned on his saddle horn, watching.

When Chavez removed his hand Dave rolled his eyes and clucked his horse forward into the burial ground, jumping off and diving into a pile of stones and quickly casting them aside. "Silver City, here I come!"

Chavez just stared for a long second before his face twisted into an expression of pure anger and he jerked the reins of his horse to follow Dave, screaming a war cry at the top of his lungs.

As soon as he was close to Dave, he lunged off the horse and tackled him to the ground, quite intent on burying him here like he'd promised.

All the rest of them could do was watch.

The wild cry got Dave's attention and he turned just intime to throw his arms up as Chavez came crashing into him.

Trying to draw his gun Dave had it knocked away and resorted to wrestling with the crazed Mexican-Indian.

This was one crazed Mexican-Indian cowboy.

The two of them scuffled and once they were in a bit of break Chavez grabbed for his knife, twirling it between his fingers.

They both faked a few slashes but it was Chavez who landed the first strike, the knife cutting through Dave's shirt and getting him on the arm.

When Chavez drew his double bladed knife Dave drew his Bowie knife, the blade long and thick. They circled and made feinting strikes. Dave was wary of the famed knife fighter he was facing but still ended up getting slashed by the other man's blade.

The wound was bleeding and Dave needed to try and even things up a bit. Pulling a move from the outlaw handbook of fighting he threw a handful of dirt up into Chavez's face and attacked him with a long bone pulled from one of the graves.

The blow knocked him back wards and Chavez tasted blood in his mouth, then he rolled over and tried to block the advancing move from Dave.

Only the knife missed his chest and instead lodged in his arm, with a sickening sound. Chavez stared at it for a long moment and then stared up at Dave, before he made a move to slash Dave across the stomach and shoved him backwards into the dirt, knife still lodged in his arm.

[scurlock]

The hit got Chavez backing up and Dave saw his chance. With a hard downward strike he aimed for the chest, and sunk his knife into the other man's arm instead. He was surprised at the sight of the blade sticking through the way it was, and more surprised how Chavez took it.

The slash across his stomach snapped Dave out of it and he took a jump back and found his gun again.

As he aimed it at Chavez there was several ratching sounds behind him and Dave froze.

"I don't think so, Dave." Billy said cooly, his and all the other guns pointed down at Arkansas.

Doc aimed his gun at Dave and made it quite obvious that there would not be any shooting in a fight won 'fair and square' and especially when it was Chavez at the end of the gun.

Chavez looked at Doc and nodded, then looked at Dave.

"You want your knife back?"

Dave put away the gun and eyed the hole in his shirt and the blood seeping through.

"Shit." He said as he stood up and walked over to Chavez. He glanced back at the others with thier weapons still on him and looked at the knife through Chavez' arm. Grasping the bone handle firmly he pulled on it and drew it out, nodding at Chavez and holding it up. "Thank you."

What else do you say in a situation like drawing a blade out of the arm of a member of your gang?

With that taken care of Billy put away his gun and took to the trail again.

Going around the burial ground.

*****

Doc offered Chavez a look at the arm -- when your nickname was Doc you had it for a reason and he did study a bit of medicine, after all -- and after cleaning it a bit when they found a spring and wrapping it up when they stopped for a bit of a break they were headed into town.

White Oaks was different these days, it appeared.

For starters -- was that a church?

Wasn't a church last time...but at least one familiar place was.

The whorehouse.

Some things never changed.