“Refill, Roy.” She turns her painted face to Chase with a teasing grin.
"Not sure, yet. That would depend on business." Chase can't help but smile back while he appreciates the view. Addie Dorsey is a wild ride, one that he has enjoyed in the past. A buxom blonde who isn't afraid to play as hard as she works. Her blonde hair is drawn up in a top knot with curls draping around her naked shoulders. The lacey red corset and skirt will undoubtedly bring the men flocking in tonight.
"When you get a minute, look me up, Chase. I know a few ways to cool a cowboy off from the hot, July sun." Addie grabs hold of the tray and maneuvers through the room, smiling and laughing at men who are trickling in the swinging doors.
Chase's smile fades as he sets the empty glass down and glances around the room, counting the number of patrons before looking at Roy. "I hate to do this to you Roy, but it looks like work has found me this time. Is Sassy close?” Roy knows what that means. Under the bar is his other favorite girl. Sassy is a double barrel shotgun, and she's always ready to cover his ass.
“Yep, she’s ready and willing, just say the word.”
“Good man. Send the kitchen boy to fetch the Sheriff. He’s going to need to be here shortly.”
Chase carefully puts the cork back into the whiskey bottle, and his silver eyes flash with a determined glint as he loosens his pistol in its holster. Gone is the teasing rancher and in its place, the U.S. Marshall.
The bar stool creaks as he stands, and the floor sounds hollow as he walks around the room. The voices of conversation follow him as he navigates towards the swinging front doors to see who else is coming into the bar. Not seeing anyone else, he turns smoothly, drawing the Colt Peacemaker on his hip, and aims it directly at Del Pozo’s head. “Silvino Del Pozo you’re under arrest. Manos Arriba!” (Put up your hands!)
Del Pozo doesn’t move, even after Chase repeats the command two more times.
Chase thinks, ‘Fuck, he’s going to be a hard case then.’
Addie is standing next to the table serving drinks when Chase pulls his gun. She stops dead, frozen in fear.
“I just wanted a damn drink,” Chase snarls and pulls a pair of manacles from his gun belt, tossing them onto the wooden table in front of Del Pozo.
"Put them on him!" Chase angrily snaps at Del Pozo's companion. The seconds tick by, and still, no one moves.
“Roy cover him with your shotgun,” Chase barks, “while I cuff him.”
Roy moves around from behind the bar to do as asked.
“Don't shoot!” The second man at the table shouts distracting Roy, giving Del Pozo the moment he needs.
Addie holds a trembling tray and starts to step back from the table when one of the men leaps up and jerks her in front of him. Her scream is short lived as he presses the gun to her throat.
“Looks to me like you are outnumbered, Amigo.” Del Pozo grins, “Drop your weapon!” He stands up slowly with his other companion. When Chase doesn’t respond the pistol is shoved under Addie’s chin and cocked.
“Not gonna happen,” Chase snaps.
"Chase, please," Addie pleads. Her eyes are full of fear, the makeup on her face is smeared from the man's rough hands.
Chase hesitates, and his trigger finger twitches as he weighs the price of letting Del Pozo go over the cost of losing Addie.
Del Pozo stiffens in shock, stunned by the look in the Marshals eyes.
Sensing a standoff, the four men at the other corner table leap up and hightail it for the front door.
Chase seizes the distraction and shoots the man holding Addie in the face, covering her with his blood.
Roy turns with Sassy and lets go with both barrels of the 12 gauge. The impact sends the third man backward into a saloon table, splintering it to pieces. Roy dives for cover reloading, while Addie runs screaming from the bar.
Del Pozo makes a grab for Chase’s shooting arm just as his pistol fires, sending the bullet into the wooden wall with a thud. They struggle for a moment until Del Pozo punches Chase in the face, causing him to stagger back and knocking the pistol from the Marshals hand.
“Shit!” Chase yells and swiftly rolls away, leaping for his discarded peacemaker, and slams through the swinging doors into the bright July sunshine.
Gunpowder smoke from the shots add to the confusion in the dimly lit room, but it allows Del Pozo to draw one of his revolvers from his gun belt and follow Chase out the door.
Chase jumps behind a water trough, to dodge Del Pozo’s impending point-blank shot.
Sheriff Howe is running for the bar when he sees Chase dive for cover. He fires in the direction of Del Pozo forcing the man to dive behind a grain barrel.
Del Pozo leaps around the trough Chase is
using for cover and brings his pistol down to bear, just as Chase lifts his pistol and fires. In a cloud of smoke Chase's bullet strikes Del Pozo's pistol underneath the gun barrel, wedging against the cylinder and jams the gun. The force of the bullet violently drives the barrel of Del Pozo's own gun into his face, breaking his nose. He staggers away, wiping at the blood running down his face and runs, desperate to reach his horse and escape. A few staggered steps and he jumps on kicking it into a run. He yells at the people on the street to move and draws a second pistol from his saddle holster. His horse is galloping at full stride, headed out of town.
Chase scrambles up to
