Vendetta: Missing Scene
Author's Note: HI saw an opportunity for a missing scene at the end of Vendetta, after realizing that after JD is carted from the saloon we never see him again, except for one very brief shot of him shooting his guns from a window over the saloon.
JD slumped against the wall by the window and closed his eyes, exhausted.
Quiet. It was finally quiet, after fifteen endless minutes of gunfire, and screaming, and the undercurrent of frantic praying in the street. JD reached up one hand, rubbed his blackened eyes in confusion. Praying? Who'd been praying?
That woman. The mother of those men who had been hunting Chris' father-in-law, who had shot up the saloon and tried to kill his friends...
JD sat up a little, leaned over to look out of the window. The sun was still high, and in its dusty rays he could see the dead bodies of two of the Nichols boys, sprawled and still next to their hulking armored wagon. A few of the their brothers were wandering aimlessly nearby, the one who had broken his arm clutching his other arm in pain and, it looked like, bewilderment. JD saw Josiah, and Ezra, and Nathan, and breathed a little easier as he watched them go to the Nichols boys to see what they could do. Three of his friends were okay...
JD leaned a little further, and saw Chris standing in front of the saloon, just underneath him, and Vin was walking up to him slowly. Chris was looking down at the body of his father-in-law Hank, motionless, and JD gulped. So they'd got him after all. JD couldn't help staring, he'd actually thought Chris would help Hank get away, thought he had done so that morning, but there he was, dead. What was it Chris had said to the mother, just before she'd dropped that handkerchief and the bullets had started flying? That Hank was sick in the head? Maybe that had something to do with why he came back...
JD sighed, suddenly hugely tired, and leaned back against the wall. So Chris and Vin were okay too, that just left...
"Kid?"
JD opened his eyes and looked at the doorway, surprised that Buck could be standing there and he didn't even hear him come in. Then he saw the blood on the shoulder of Buck's jacket and his hand and opened his mouth to ask.
Buck cut him off, took a step into the room, his fair face serious. "You OK?"
"Um..." JD blinked, realized he hadn't put his guns away yet, began to awkwardly holster them. "Yeah, I'm fine, I said I was, didn't I? I just..."
Buck looked around. "Where's Casey?"
JD winced at the pang in his gut; he was hoping Buck wouldn't bring that up; then he wouldn't have to explain that he'd told Casey to stay in the hallway so she'd be safe, and she'd said all right, and then ran off as soon as the gunfight was over. But it was a fair question, so JD cleared his throat and said simply, "She went home."
Buck furrowed his brow at JD, but the barrage of questions that the youth feared didn't come; instead, the gunslinger came closer and crouched in front of the window, resting his hands on his knees. Peering at JD, Buck said softly, "Say there, pard. They worked you over pretty good, didn't they?"
JD pursed his lips in irritation; if he could see himself he might have agreed with Buck, since he had a swollen lip and a collection of bruises all over his face. But he didn't know how bad he looked, and didn't know that Buck - that all of them - didn't think he was a sissy or a baby for getting beaten up by four men considerably larger than himself. So, JD let his injured pride speak for him.
"I said I'm fine," he grumbled, and got to his feet, or tried to. As soon as he made it halfway up, his bruised ribs and punched abdomen made themselves known and he grunted despite himself.
'Yeah, sure you are," Buck chided gently, and reached out a hand to help his young friend to his feet. For a moment the two men stood in the vacant room, in the deafening quiet; then JD glanced out the window, where he saw the Nichols boy who'd led the attack on him being helped away by Nathan. JD glared at him as hotly as his exhaustion would allow, and tried to swallow his sudden desire to beat that man into next week. It didn't work.
"So, what's gonna happen now?" he asked, hating that his voice sounded so thick; but he had a swollen lip, and couldn't help it.
Buck sighed, ran a hand over his moustache. "Well, I reckon Nathan'll look after the wounded, and we'll see that Hank gets a proper burial. After that, I guess we'll see if we can't get that clan outta town without anybody else gettin' riled up. But I think their fight's gone, so..."
JD nodded a little, watched Nathan and his patient retreating from their view. He thought of Casey again, of how her eyes had sparkled after she'd talked to that damned city slicker, and felt doomed. Oh, she'd said she was sorry, said he was right, and that soothed JD's vanity, some; but he knew he was no city boy, could never talk to a girl so's her eyes sparkled and she felt like wearing a dress and putting ribbons in her hair, just for him. And it was just a matter of time before some other fella, from San Francisco maybe, came along and turned Casey's head away from him for good. Well, maybe city life and fancy dresses was what Casey really wanted, and he'd just been too blind to see it, but...but... that sure wasn't the Casey he knew... it was all so...
Complicated.
"JD?"
The youth felt a hand on his shoulder, turned and blinked. He felt like he'd been asleep.
Buck's eyes were concerned. "You think we oughta get over to Nathan's, he can check us both out? I don't know 'bout you, but I need a clean bandage and a bottle of whiskey."
"Oh." JD looked around for his hat, saw it on the floor and picked it up, biting his lip to keep from grunting as his ribs protested. He turned back to Buck, saw the worry there, but was grateful when his friend didn't ask why he was so down. At least you can count on some things, JD thought in deepest melancholy, and brushing his hair out of his eyes allowed Buck to shepherd him from the empty room.
The sun was finally setting as Nathan walked Buck and JD out of his room, and onto the wide porch beyond.
"Now you take it easy on that arm, Buck," the healer cautioned as the men paused in the doorway and turned toward him. Buck's shoulder was neatly bandaged and his arm was settled in a small sling, not really a hindrance, just a reminder.
"You got it, doc," Buck said lightly as he set his wide-brimmed hat back on his head and grinned, "You know I always do appreciate your sound medical advice."
Nathan nodded. "And then you ignore it."
Buck shrugged, then winced. "Well..."
"And you," Nathan turned his eyes to JD, who had walked a little away and was staring gloomily at the boardwalk below them until Nathan addressed him, "You go get some rest, and come on back if that nose starts bleedin' again. Hear me?"
JD nodded halfheartedly and looked at the floorboards, and took as deep a breath as he could. Damn ribs.
Nathan watched as JD began to wander toward the stairs, then shook his head and muttered to Buck, "It's a good thing I patched up the Nichols boys before you two came. Don't think I coulda treated 'em ethically if I'd seen what they did to JD first."
"I hear ya." Buck replied in similar low tones.
Nathan took a half-step back inside. 'You'll see he don't dawdle about gettin' home? He needs to take it easy for a night."
Buck nodded, "Don't you fret, I'll see to it - " He glanced over at JD again, and paused.
Casey was standing there, just behind JD, but the youth was staring at the street below and didn't see her. She changed her clothes, Buck thought, was back to the comfortable pants and vest that she'd taken to wearing; her hair was still loose though, and drifted around her face in the light warm evening wind. She was looking at JD, and twisting her hands in silence.
"Ah - " Buck said in a louder tone, turning to Nathan, "Say, there, Nathan, you mind takin' another quick look at my shoulder? Danged if it don't feel like it's about ready to fall off."
Nathan smiled, stepped all the way into his room. "Sure, come on in."
And swiftly closed the door.
JD looked at the shut door curiously, wondered why Buck was acting so funny. Oh well, that was Buck; he'd just go to the saloon and see if Ezra had a card game set u-
JD turned around and almost bumped right into Casey.
"Oh - " Casey gasped, and took a quick step back.
"Tarnation, Casey!" JD snapped, suddenly peeved. "You shouldn't sneak up on... I mean..." he stammered to a stop, involuntarily remembering what had happened the last time he'd said those words. His face began to hurt.
"I'm sorry." Casey said softly, taking a few steps back so there was enough space between them. Then she stood there, and didn't say anything.
JD fiddled with the pockets of his jacket, supremely self-conscious, and found himself wishing Casey would go away. Bad enough she has to see me looking like I got kicked by a horse, he thought. But now she's probably waiting for me to say how pretty she is or some dumb thing, and I can't. Not so it makes sense. I just want to go home.
Casey wasn't leaving, wasn't even moving, so JD decided to just stand there and see if anything was going to happen, or if they were just going to hang around on Nathan's porch until the sun went down and came back up again. Finally he glanced up a little, saw Casey's clothes and frowned. "What happened to your skirt?"
"I don't wanna talk about it." Casey said, very quickly, and JD kicked himself. Great, you made her mad. Keep this up and you'll have a new bruise in a minute.
There was another long pause, and JD folded himself up in it, heard the horses going down the street, somebody calling out to a friend on the street, a dog barking somewhere. I gotta say something to her, he thought in a kind of panic, but what? What would I say if I was Buck, or that Nichols brother? Eww, never mind that. What do I wanna say?
Casey, why do you want to be complicated? Ever since I first laid eyes on you, you were as simple and clear as spring rain, and I liked that. I liked that you didn't put on airs or act like I had to figure you out, because girls like that always made me feel...dumb, like I didn't know what was going on. You ain't a girl to me first, Casey, you're my friend, and I like that about you, that the friend comes first. It means I don't have to worry about impressing you. Or, I didn't. Maybe I was wrong...
Finally the frustration got the better of JD, and he abruptly turned toward the stairs.
"Where you goin'?" Casey asked, a little nervously JD thought.
"Home." he answered, sharper than he'd intended to, but it had been one hell of a day and he was frayed to the last thread. He took ahold of the railing and started down.
"Well...I'll go with you." Casey said, and fell in behind him.
JD didn't know how to respond to that statement, so he just shrugged. "Free country."
They walked down the stairs in silence, JD going as fast as he could -which wasn't very - and feeling more and more exasperated that Casey wasn't leaving him alone. But wait, he didn't want that, did he? He wanted her around, but not if she was gonna run off and leave him and break his heart. It kind of hurt already. Oh, dang it all! It was getting so 'complicated' was too simple a word for what was going through JD's mind. It was more like...he didn't even know.
They reached the bottom of the stairs, and JD paused for a moment, winded.
"You OK, JD?" Casey asked, at his side in an instant.
"I'm fine." The youth insisted, wishing he was home already and didn't have to worry about all this anymore. Then he glanced up the street and froze.
The Nichols brothers were there, or what remained of them. It looked like Chris and Ezra were herding them into the jail, although JD didn't know if they were being arrested or if they were going in there for some other reason. He counted them - out of seven originally, only four were limping into the jail. The mother was there too, her long black veil now drawn over her face, hiding it. She followed behind her children, obviously stricken. It was almost too sad to watch.
Nuts, JD thought, I gotta walk past them to get home. If Casey wasn't around he'd have just found something else to be interested in until the Nichols boys were inside, but they were moving slow and damned if he was going to let Casey see him intimidated. If nothing else, it hurt his pride. So JD squared his shoulders, set his bowler hat at what he hoped was an intimidating angle - whatever that would be - and started for his home.
As they walked by, JD saw the Nichols brother who had been eying Casey from the start turn in their direction. Crap, JD thought; of course, as soon as he saw Casey the young man broke into that slimy, charming smile, despite being bandaged from here to Sunday and a criminal to boot. What nerve.
Ignore them, JD pleaded silently, c'mon Casey, please ignore them, but she didn't. She stopped the moment the Nichols brother caught her eye, and JD inwardly groaned. The day could not get worse.
"Keep moving." Chris said to the Nichols boy, none too politely, and put a hand on his back to push him along.
"No, wait a minute." Casey said, and walked closer to the boardwalk.
Gosh, so this is what dying feels like, JD thought to himself, and desperately wanted to hide. But he didn't move, partially because he wanted to see what the hell Casey was up to and partially because it gave him a peculiar sense of satisfaction to see the guys that beat him up so cowed. But a few of them were still glaring...
"Miss Wells," Ezra said, tipping his hat as the girl came close, "Begging your pardon, but these men are hardly worth your - "
"Oh, hush now," The Nichols brother said slyly, his black eyes snapping to Casey's as his smile grew wider, "If the young lady wishes to speak with me, it 's hardly any business of yours."
Ezra's eyebrows went up, and he paused.
JD held his breath, and waited for what he was sure would be the worst moment of his life. To watch the one girl he had half a chance with beg to go to Kansas City with this desperado, and leave him in the -
"I do want to speak with you." Casey said in a curiously hard voice, and stopped only a few feet away from Nichols. Her eyes glittered like diamonds on fire.
The smile grew slimier as Nichols looked her up and down. "Why, even dressed like a boy you're the soul of femininity. You take my breath away, my - "
Casey spit in his face.
Nichols' eyebrows went up.
JD's eyebrows went up.
And Casey turned and walked back to JD.
JD blinked, shook his head a bit. Stunned, he whispered, "Case, what'd you do that for? I thought you liked him."
Casey threw him a questioning look, then shook her head and looked at the ground. She's embarrassed about something, JD realized, and he didn't know what it was, but he could plainly see she didn't want to go with this guy, anywhere. And he was thrilled.
With as smooth a motion as his wounded vanity - and arm - would allow, Nichols reached up and wiped the spit off his reddening face. As he did so, he glanced at JD and said, "You put her up to that, messenger boy? I would have figured as much, you're certainly a worse fighter than a girl."
JD wasn't sure if Ezra and Chris stepped back or if he pushed them out of the way to get to Nichols. All he knew was that the next time he blinked his eyes, he was standing right in front of Nichols, and the taller man was looking at him in surprise. Hit him, something in JD screamed, and he almost listened. Almost.
Then the anger died down a little, enough for JD to feel his swollen lip, the cuts and bruises, to think about what he was doing. Something came forward in his mind, hot and rushing, images -
- four men around him, punching and kicking -
- dead bodies and smoke, curling upward from a wrecked wagon -
- and Josiah's words, quiet and mournful in the dreadful silence. An eye for an eye leaves us...
...blind.
Something in JD recoiled at what he was thinking, and instinctively he backed away a half-step from Nichols, shaking his head in disgust.
"Not enough of a man to take a swing at me?" Nichols muttered with a mean smile.
JD scowled; he'd had it. "No. Too much of one to stoop as low as you."
Nichols' expression changed, went dark, but JD didn't care. He took another step back, glanced at Casey, saw her looking at him tentatively, but she could see he wasn't going to do anything rash and was smiling at him. Smiling, at him, her eyes shining as bright as a pair of the brightest stars. as clear and simple as spring rain.
That was enough.
As Nichols glared at him, JD stood up as straight as he could, straightened his jacket, and gave his enemy what he hoped -what he knew - was a withering look.
Then he cocked his head and said, "I got more important things to see to."
Then JD pushed his hat back on his forehead, turned around, and stepped off the boardwalk toward the slight figure waiting for him. And walked down the street with Casey, into the setting sun.
From their perch on the balcony of Nathan's room, Buck and his friend watched the scene below them, arms folded.
"Damn." Buck groused as he watched Casey and JD walk away. "That was somethin'."
"It sure was." Nathan agreed with a smile. "And now you owe me two bucks."
"Oohh - " Buck sighed, and reached a hand into his pocket. "I guess. I was sure it'd happen this time, but you just wait, Nathan, someday I'll be right about those two. And when they finally get around to kissin' - " He held up two dollars.
"Hopefully soon." Nathan said, taking the money.
"Yep," Buck nodded, watching the two long shadows walking down the street below them, so close, and neither one knew it. Yet. "Then I'm gonna get that money back. With interest."
The End