The Five Dollar Mail (Book 1: The Green & Book 2: Lynch's Boys)

119: Friends In Low Places

Cover painting by Angela Taratuta. Chapter artwork of Bender by Melissa Zayas. All graphics by me. 

Bender was gobsmacked. Logically, he knew that it wasn't so unlikely that Galloway, the same drongo he'd thrown off the Green almost literally by the back of his collar and the ass of his pants, might be here in the Rocks Saloon.

After all, the man had clearly been paid by someone who had their hands dirty with this "mysterious deed" affair. Lawyer my arse, standover bastard, more like...

But still, seeing him standing here in front of them was still more than a little jarring. His mind went back to the mental image of the faint marks on Miss Lil's forearm, Jesse staggering in the kitchen, his eyes red and streaming from being doused with pickled peppers, this...this...buggering whacker reaching inside his coat for a pistol...and the still-fresh memories made his blood boil. He was on his feet before he knew he was moving, barely aware of Miss Lil's hand on his wrist.

It had been Miss Lil who'd seen him, who'd locked eyes with him as he walked past in the close quarters of the primitive saloon. She'd gasped and grabbed Bender's hand, and Galloway had done a double take, his mouth falling open.

Jesse  leaped to his feet, rage flashing across his face. "You! You son of a bitch! What the hell...?"

The low murmur of voices in the pub suddenly got louder and several men at nearby tables were clambering to their feet. Ah, bugger me with a broomstick, of course he's got friends here.What a bloody cock up...we can't get into a brawl..not here...not with Miss Lil with us and us probably outnumbered...

"I didn't come here looking for trouble..." Galloway spat, his eyes darting around the room, taking inventory of other possible foes that might be in the room. "You came in here, not the other way around. Why don't you sit down before things go bad in a way you can't handle?"

"Just keep walking, mate," Bender hissed, fighting to suppress the unwanted mantra in his head, he put his hands on Miss Lil. He may have been the one to try to kill her...

Jesse clearly had the same voice in his head, only it was obviously louder, angrier, and less willing to be reasoned with.

"No." Bari was striding over, a desperate look on his dark face. "No fighting...not now..."

Bender's eyebrows shot skyward. This from him? Mister Fight-Now-And-Don't-Even-Bother-To-Ask-Questions?

Galloway, evidently mindful of allies in the room, smiled. "Hello again, Mr. Bari. It would seem we finally agree on something." His eyes went back to Jesse, looking him over. "Mr. Hanson." He nodded, the corner of his mouth tugged upwards in a smug smirk. "How're the eyes?"

Bender never saw Jesse move. One minute Jesse was standing beside him, and the next, he was grappling with Galloway. Struth, that bloke moves the way a snake strikes.... He heard a frightened cry from Lily, and he grabbed her by the arm, pushing her behind him and backing towards the wall. He saw someone shove Bari from behind, throwing him onto a table. Bari rolled, kicking out with his legs and then Bender's view was obscured by someone stepping up in front him. A chair was coming at his head and he parried painfully with his arm, driving a fist into the soft spot between his attacker's ribs. The man collapsed over a table, gasping. Lily screamed Jesse's name.

His arm throbbed. Ah, bloody hell! Shite!  Gasping in agony, he flexed his fingers. Thank God they still work...I can't have a broken wing right now... Lily pressed against his back, her fingers digging into his shoulder as he swept her with him along the wall, hoping desperately he didn't end up having to pull a weapon. He looked about wildly. Bari was shoving someone with a bloody face over the bar. Jesse looked to be on the verge of pinning Galloway to the floor.

A glass bottle shattered high on the rough wooden wall nearby, slivers and the remnants of whiskey exploding in every direction. The bartender stood on a table, her arm still outstretched with the force of the throw, a pepperbox pistol in her other hand. "I'll shoot the next one of you drunken bastards that moves," she barked at Jesse, who had a fist poised above Galloway's face. "You too, Blondie, don't think I won't put a piece of lead right between those pretty blue eyes of yours."

To Bender's vast relief, Jesse believed her and stopped mid-punch. Bender believed her, too. He thought it was best to follow the lead of every man in the pub, seeing as how they all knew the woman a whole lot better than he did. So he froze.

"All you sons of whores have some nerve, coming in here tearing up my place." She slapped a nearby brawler across the scalp with her pistol, knocking him against the bar. "I want this mess cleaned up. All of it."

She hopped down from the table, glaring balefully around the room. "Richard, you and your new friends come over here and tell me just what the hell is going on over there. Then get a broom and sweep up that broken bottle."

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