Don't Poke the Bear!

Chapter 35

I nod at Wing. He slides the bolt and lifts the floor boards up and swings them all the way back. The only thing between us and Bose is the second set of wooden slats. I nod and Wing unlocks that hatch, too, then lifts it out of the way. Now Bose's head is about two feet from our boots. Rose tosses him his gun belt and holster. He can see his gun in the holster.

"You're gonna shoot me and pretend I'm tryin' to escape!" he says.

I point to my gun. It's in my holster. I put my hands up.

"Shoot me," I say.

I'll give Bose credit for one thing. He can recognize an opportunity when he sees it. Before I got the words completely out of my mouth, he pulls his gun and makes it click three times. He frowns and checks to see if there are bullets in it.

"What've you done to my gun?"

"Nothin'."

"You've ruined my bullets somehow!"

"Nope."

Bose tries to fire three more times, turns the gun sideways, pops the cylinder, lets the bullets slide out, pulls six more from his gunbelt, takes careful aim, and pulls the trigger six times.

And gets six clicks.

"This is bullshit!" he says. But he holsters his gun and straps on his gun belt anyway.

"Try mine," I say, tossin' him my gun.

He catches it, turns it toward me and pulls the trigger.

Click. Click. Click.

"You think that's funny?" he says.

"I do. Toss it back and I'll show you how funny it is."

He tosses it back and I shoot a hole in the bottom of his holster. The sound is deafening. We hear Gentry outside the door, tellin' the folks in the main room, "Don't worry, Emmett's just shootin' a rat. A small one," she adds, "Not Bose Rennick."

I hear the customers laugh. If Bose is right, and a bunch of men come for him in a little while, these men won't be a party to it. They're steady customers.

I toss my gun back to Bose.

"You try it," I say.

He does. And gets two more clicks.

"Reload it with your bullets," I say.

He does.

"Shoot me a couple times."

He shoots twice.

Click. Click.

I hold out my hand. He frowns and tosses me the gun. I shoot his gunbelt again.

"Another rat!" Gentry calls out.

"Remind me not to order supper!" one of the customers shouts back, which causes a loud roar of laughter from the others in there.

The customers ain't worried, since Gentry ain't.

I toss the gun back to Bose. He tries to shoot it again, gets another click for his trouble. Then tosses it back to me.

"I don't know what type of trick you're playin'," he says, "but I ain't buyin' she's a witch."

"Wing," I say. "Toss him the shotgun."

He does. Bose turns it on me, cocks one of the barrels, pulls the trigger.

Click.
He opens the action to see two shells inside, shuts it, cocks the second barrel, and pulls that trigger.

Click.

"Toss him two more shells," I say to Wing.

He pulls two shells from his pocket and tosses 'em to Bose.

"Load 'em both, but just shoot one," I say.

He does, and gets a click.

I reach for the shotgun and he hands it over.

"You ain't gonna shoot my gun belt with that thing, are you?"

"Do you think this barrel will fire?"

He nods.

"How many bullets you need in your gun belt?" I ask.

He counts. "Eighteen."

I fetch a box of bullets from one of the kitchen drawers and toss it to him. "Load it."

"Why?"

"We're gonna let you escape."

"Why?"

"What do you care?"

He shrugs. "You're right. I don't care."