A Wild West Night at the Smithsonian - outlaw - young gun - Billy the Kid

Chapter 8

"There's another door to this joint!" Capone shouted, "You sure they didn't amscray? Go in one door then out the other just to give us the slip?"

"I told you what I saw!" Napoleon shouted back returning from the other side of the planetarium to argue with Capone.

"How do you see anything? You can't even see over a desk!" Capone shouted back.

"You are wasting time." Ivan called joining the other two, "We should be going after the man with the tablet."

"Why?" Capone asked, "It's useless without the combination."

"Kahmunrah said to –"

"Blah, blah blah, Kahmunrah said. Kuhmunrah just needs the combination, so why are we wasting time chasing his enemies? Let's just get the damn combination ourselves." Capone whistled, "Boys! We're outta here! Let's go see what the folks here know about our friend Daley."

"What about the other two?" Napoleon asked.

"Didn't ya hear me short stuff? They split! Probably met up with the two in the plane. Now we're stuck playing catch up. Let's go!"

Feet hustled to the doors and Ivan called, "Streltsy, we go."

Once the planetarium fell silent Billy and Anna waited a moment longer to make sure they weren't being played.

When no sound came from any corner of the planetarium Anna took her hand from her face and curled into Billy. His arm tightened around her and he carded his fingers through her hair.

"That was so scary." She muttered into his neck as he put his gun away and used his free hand to rub her back, the other still running through her hair soothingly.

"You're okay. We're okay, just take deep breaths."

She tried, but they all came out shaky.

"Deeper." He told her and she inhaled, held it for a moment, then exhaled. She continued the pattern until the panic subsided as the adrenaline ran out of her bloodstream. Then she remembered.

"You're shot." She said pulling away from him and turned to his leg.

"Not the first time." He smiled.

"Does it hurt?"

"Not much. More uncomfortable then anything else." He chuckled, "This leg must be a magnet for bullets."

She took her navy infinity scarf from around her neck and tore it. Then she began wrapping it around his leg. There was an exit wound and no blood but not knowing what Billy was made of she didn't want to risk him falling apart. With Larry and Amelia somewhere in the sky right now he was all she had. She tied the scarf securely then tucked the knot under the wrap so it couldn't get caught on anything.

She could feel him staring at her as she worked and when she looked up a blush took over her face when their eyes met. They were also seated incredibly close making the moment uncomfortably intimate – at least for her, innate shyness and all. That wasn't a problem Billy had to deal with, which she was a bit envious of.

Thankfully at that moment something flashed above them and they both looked up as the Planetarium, now alive, showcased stars, comets and of course the planets.

It was so much more extraordinary then the stars they'd been gazing at outside. Above them in the dark mix of indigo and navy were round cyan orbs spinning like far off planets while a sheet of tiny white stars dotted the entire ceiling over their heads like someone had spilled glitter. An orange spiral appeared, moving slowly like it was suspended in water as the galaxy orbited along its path. A comet shot from one end of the room to the other as the stars fell lower and began to dance though the air, peeling themselves away from the dome. Some of them were close enough that if they stood Anna could reach out and touch them.