Jacob and Esau

[Shoney Mullins]

"No, you can't."

Shoney stared at him a moment before going on.

"I keep askin' myself why you did what you did, runnin' me out like that even though I had my right to fight back. But now I s'ppose it doesn't matter much at all anymore. When I left here I went up to Oregon; figured that was enough distance between us all to make everyone happy."

She shook her head.

"But I can't raise my boy without a family, so I might as well try an' salvage what I got that's worth anything."

[Harold Alexander Truss]

"Justice is a mining town, and a ranching town. Give us time. Maybe then, it'll be a place people can put down roots. It's not there yet, and we've got a long way to go to fix that, starting with driving the Mullins clan out."

Truss gestured with his cigar to the door.

"If you're serious about this, open the door and let the sheriff and deputy in. Then, pull up a chair."

[Shoney Mullins]

For a long while she sat, staring at him with a degree of stillness in her gaze. It wasn't too long however, before she slowly rose to her feet.

Her hand fell on the doorknob, staying there for a moment as she gave Truss a sidelong look.

"Jim Ballard is gonna find him you know. You can't keep lettin' him run to you every time he done something. Man's gotta atone for his sins one way or the other. You stopped me from doin' it all those years ago, but Judgment Day is gonna come callin' and the Good Lord don't suffer bastards like him to go on livin' like they do."

[Harold Alexander Truss]

The mayor's jaw set, as he was obviously not in any mood to discuss that prickly issue.

"Jim Ballard's vendetta's the least of my concerns right now."

[Shoney Mullins]

Giving him a half-hearted hrmph, Shoney turned the knob, opening the door enough so that the sheriff and deputy knew they were welcome in the mayor's office once more.

As they returned, she resumed her seat opposite Truss.

[Harold Alexander Truss]

"Sheriff, I'm authorizing you to extend emergency office of deputy to Miss Shoney Mullins here."

For emphasis, Truss gestured with his cigar to alleviate some of the shock the two law enforcement officers were naturally experiencing.

"We got the Mullins clan riding deep as a heathen high tide and we need an edge on the family, and another gun hand."

[Shoney Mullins]

Shoney looked thoughtful, a much different expression on her features than the previous stormy countenance she'd worn when first coming into Truss' office.

"Ran into Frank this morning," the thought of her brother and his ever-impassive, blue stare made her drum her fingers on the armrests of the chair she sat in.

"Might want to start lookin' for the best gunhand you can find."

[Harold Alexander Truss]

It didn't take a lot of empathy to divine the source of her meaning.

"You mean Two Dollar Jim."

Wasn't a question inflected in his tone.

[Shoney Mullins]

Shoney gave a nod.

"It wouldn't hurt your chances."

[Harold Alexander Truss]

"I'd never ask him, and he'd never agree to it."

Truss dismissed the notion with a shake of his head.

[Shoney Mullins]

Fixing the mayor with a cool stare, Shoney pursed her lips.

"Then I'll ask' 'im."

[Harold Alexander Truss]

Truss stayed silent on that. He wasn't about to quash the idea, but he wasn't going to goad it either. Two Dollar Jim was an unknown quantity, and no friend of the Mullins clan, but the mayor couldn't help but feel that he was dealing with the dregs to go to war with the greater evil.

"Do what you feel like. You know why I'm passing the silver star on you. I'm already compromising my morals, so I guess I won't stop and risk sacrificing the town."

[Shoney Mullins]

Shoney only gave him a nod, knowing it would be best to leave the matter at that. She'd find Jim Ballard.

Beyond that however, the youngest Mullins could only guess what the Mayor had in mind; how he meant to meet the oncoming storm. Staying silent, she waited for Truss to continue.

[Harold Alexander Truss]

"While you're turning over stumps to find Ballard, might want to see about any other folks that can hold a gun. Not a whole lot that'll put skin in the game against your kin, but you beg, borrow, and steal for gun hands. I'm doing the same."

He looked at her appraisingly.

"Don't frankly understand what in this town's caught your attraction, but I hope there's something of it left after we're done."

[Andy McCall]

* * *

Andy stood in front of the vanity mirror in her bedroom, leaning forward to inspect her teeth. It was a morning ritual of hers, and one that she never failed to miss. Wearing a clean pair of pants and an unbuttoned shirt, the blonde gave one final look to herself, satisfied.

She was hungry, and there wasn't much of anything short of a full lunch that would satisfy her.