“Oh, shut up you big baby! Get dressed, Mary is serving breakfast.” Roosevelt said, rubbing his palms together. After getting dressed they both headed downstairs to the kitchen where Bud was already sipping on a cup of coffee.
“Morning.” Bud said, lifting his cup to greet the two men.
“Y’all sleep alright?” Mary asked, setting down two fresh cups of black coffee in front of them.
“Like the dead.” Roosevelt replied.
“I don’t remember the last time I slept so good.” Johnny added, sipping on his own cup of coffee.
“After breakfast we’ll head down to my office and show you guys what we're willing to part with.” Bud said.
“Sounds good. What’s for breakfast anyway?” Johnny asked.
“Pancakes and sausage with homemade maple syrup straight from the maple tress out back.” Mary said, setting down a massive plate of cakes and sausage in front of Roosevelt and a much smaller plate in front of Johnny and Bud as they were the only ones up so early.
“You sure we have to leave?” Roosevelt asked with a huge smile on his face?” Mary chuckled.
“Sweetheart if it was up to me you boys could stay as long as you liked.” Bud cleared his throat, annoyed at Mary’s words.
“It’s not up to you though so maybe you should keep your comments to yourself.” He said, glaring at the older woman.
“Don’t you eyeball me! I’ll say whatever I damn well please! If you don’t like it, then go have your breakfast elsewhere.” She scolded and aimed her finger toward him.
“Sorry Mary. I’m just looking out for our people.” Bud replied sheepishly after being set straight. Mary turned back to Johnny and Roosevelt and smiled warmly.
“If y’all are still hungry after that’s gone just let me know and I’ll bring you another plate.” Roosevelt smiled back and thanked her before smashing the entire plate of pancakes in less than five minutes. After breakfast Bud led them down to the sheriff's office. They entered through a back door and followed him through a long hall to a set of steps that led down into the lower level of the building. At the bottom they entered a short hallway with several doors set into the wall. Bud headed for the second door on the right and then pushed a key into the lock and twisted the handle. He pushed open the door and stepped aside, his arm perched out for Johnny and Roosevelt to enter first. Inside sat multiple racks of AR style rifles, deer rifles, shotguns and a few specialty weapons cops used for breaching a building. There were tables full of every type of pistol a man could ever want and boxes of different caliber ammunition.
“Alright fellas I’m going to let you get one of our AR-15’s, two shotguns, a pistol each and a hundred rounds of ammo for each gun. Pick your poison.” Bud said standing to the side as they moved over to the racks and started scanning the weapons. Roosevelt stepped over to the AR-15’s and pulled a Smith & Wesson down and then stepped over to the pistols. The table was full of Glocks, Berettas, Sigs, and other various makers. He grabbed a Kimber 1911 and held it up feeling its heft.
“Bingo.” He said as he started to stick the gun in his pocket.
“Don’t put that in your pocket. Grab a holster for it.” Bud said, pulling a large box full of them out from under a table. Johnny was still looking at the pistols while Roosevelt searched through the box.
“If I were you guys, I’d get the same caliber weapons, maybe even the same gun. It's better to have the same gun and ammunition that way you are both looking for the same ammo and parts if one should break.” Bud said. Johnny looked at Roosevelts pistol and then grabbed a similar looking one made by Kimber as well. He looked back at Bud who just nodded his approval. Johnny shrugged and started looking through holsters with Roosevelt. They each grabbed kydex owb holsters made by a company called Vedder.
“Going to need some jeans and a belt to wear these correctly. Roosevelt said as he set his items on the table and headed for the shotguns. He grabbed a couple of Mossberg pump actions and headed back over to the table. Bud stepped in and grabbed the ammunition they would need, setting it down next to the rest of their stuff.
“Not bad for free.” Bud said, looking over each of the items.
“You’re not wrong.” Johnny said.
“Alright let’s get you boys some clothes that fit. I have a couple of big boys here that can use those overalls and will be damn happy to have them.” Bud said, helping them carry the stuff out of the room.
"We can't thank you enough for everything Bud." Johnny said, as they followed the man out the door. Bud paused and turned, quickly locking the door behind them.
"Don't mention it." He replied as they walked down a long dimly lit hallway.
The walls throughout the building were made of brick and painted brown, the grey carpet was old and worn. The walls were lined with photos of Sweetwater's past sheriffs. Three doors down, Bud stopped in front of a door that had been painted the same color as the walls. He twisted the silver knob and pushed the door inward.
"Ain't all pretty, but it'll keep you warm and dry. Find something that fits." Bud instructed.
The room was large and square, the back corner was lined with wooden lockers numbered one through sixteen. Low wooden benches sat bolted to the ground in front of them. A wide opening to the left of the lockers lead into a smaller room with tile floors and shower heads lining the wall. In the middle of the room several wooden tables had been set up and clothes, a variety of sizes and colors, had been piled several feet high on top of each.
"Grab some extras, we'll have 'em cleaned, before you leave in a
