WRONG TRAIN TO BRIMSTONE
Drena
Hills
TIME: RIGHT AFTER BRISCO ORDER’S THE BANNERMEN TO
MAN THEIR POSTS, TRAIN HAS BEEN STOPPED BY A LOG AND THE SECOND GANG IS ABOUT
TO ATTACK. YOU SEE SARAH AND DAILY
PEERING OUT WINDOW WIDE EYED.
Note: Though the guns are out
the window…no shots have been fired.
CUT TO COMMERCIAL.
HERE’S WHAT
THEY LEFT OUT…..
“Heyes you are the genius
you think you are,” Kid grinned relieved as Brisco slammed out of the luggage
car screaming for coffee and leaving them alone. “Heyes? Ah Heyes!” Kid
groaned seeing the worried look on his cousin’s face. “Now what?”
“We’re
not in the clear yet, we gotta stop that massacre.”
“Look
Heyes I don’t want any part of this either, but how?”
“By
convincing Brisco he’ll get more out of not killing them.”
“You’re
a good man Heyes,” Kid said sincerely impressed. “Saving them fellas from dying like that.”
“I
ain’t doing it for them I’m doing it for us,” Heyes snapped. “Word gets around that we helped Bannerman
mow down outlaws and there won’t be a hideout west of the Mississippi we’ll be
able to hold up at.”
“And
that’s your only reason?” Kid said dubious
“Of
course it is, now come on I gotta convince that idiot he needs them alive.”
**********************
“Alive! Are you crazy!” Brisco roared.
“Mr.
Brisco hear me out. You got one
Bannerman in on this, don’t you want to find out if you have more? Dead men don’t tell tales. Think how pleased Mr. Bannerman is gonna be
when he finds out you took them alive to interrogate them, not a shot
fired. Think how good it will look you
marching that miserable band of outlaws and traitors off the train before the
cheering crowds.”
“Without
a shot fired? How much of that whiskey
you had Smith!?”
“Exactly! Didn’t I tell he’d see the answer right
off,” Heyes said admiringly to Kid.
“Yup
you did,” Kid agreed.
“What
answer?” Brisco asked.
“Well
the men won’t come in shooting, might hit the man in charge, why if he waves
them in and they find everyone passed out drunk, they won’t even draw their
guns. As soon as we got them
surrounded, men instantly ‘sober’ up and get the drop on them.”
Brisco
stared at them,” That might work.”
“And
instead of a blood bath, that some folks might call cowardly, you got live
prisoners to show off,” Kid pointed out.
Brisco
stared a little longer, “Grady!!!!!”
***********************
“That’s
the last of them Mr. Brisco,” Strothers said as the last of the gang was tucked
inside the baggage car roped and tied.
“Captured without a shot, never seen anything like it, papers gonna love
this.”
Brisco
looked over and Kid and Heyes who were standing innocently off to the
side. Both men smiled and tipped their
hats. Shaking his head he walked away.
“Heyes?”
“Yea?”
“You
really do this just so we could have an out if a posse was after us?”
Heyes
looked uncomfortable, “Maybe.”
“The
fact you saved 16 men’s lives wasn’t part of it huh?” Kid said his grin giving
away that he didn’t believe him for a minute.
Heyes
opened his mouth and then surrendered, “Let’s just say Kid I’ve seen enough
massacres for one life time.”
********************************