The Third Kind

In the Seminole Village:

There are two kinds of people in this life, my friend. Those who seek battle and seem not to fear death... like them [indicating Chris and Buck]. And those who avoid battle, but will stand and fight to the death if their loved ones are threatened... like them [indicating the Seminole Villagers]. That is true courage.

Later, when riding away alone from the Village:

Then there's the third kind...

-- Ezra Standish, "Pilot", The Magnificent Seven

Ezra's visage paled significantly as he read the telegram in his hands. "What's the matter, Ezra?" JD asked the swindler, concern obvious in the kid's voice. Ezra didn't seem to register the question. JD repeated it. Still nothing. "Excuse me," Ezra finally said and abruptly left the saloon, bumping into Buck on the way out. "What's with him?" Buck asked. JD only shrugged.

As Ezra walked towards the telegram office, Vin noticed the worried expression broadcasting loudly on Ezra's face. Ezra, master of the poker face, did not reveal his emotions unless it was beneficial to do so. Vin realized that it must be something of great importance if it got Ezra this upset. Vin trotted up next to Ezra and asked the same question JD did moments earlier. "Nothing," Ezra answered a little too quickly and picked up his pace considerably. Vin matched his speed.

"Then what's the hurry?"

"None of your concern, Mr. Tanner. If you will excuse me." Ezra harshly brushed aside the other man to enter the office. The effect was opposite of what Ezra intended. Instead of discouraging the other man, Ezra's abrupt manner only managed to arouse the tendrils of suspicion in Vin, and he was going to find out what the rush was about.

+ + + + + + +

"I would like to send a message please," Ezra spoke to the telegraph desk manager, who was a young man of barely twenty.

"Twenty cents please, and put your name, receiver and your message here." The manager pointed to the book on the counter in front of Ezra. Ezra tossed the man the money, and picked up a pen. He dipped its point into the ink, and scrawled in his precise handwriting onto the book. Ezra turned the book back to the manager.

"I've got a dollar for you if you would find me in the saloon as soon as a reply comes," Ezra offered.

The young man smiled. "Sure thing." Ezra flashed one last superficial smile and then left the office. As he stepped out onto the road, he noticed Vin was still around, looking as carefree and nonchalant as always. However, after all this time with the former bounty hunter, Ezra was able to tell that this wasn't always the case. Vin Tanner was anything but carefree and nonchalant. Those bright blues of his tracked every movement, and took in all his surroundings, making careful and precise notes of everything his gaze touched. His mind was probably filled with worry over the bounty on his head, and that any minute, someone was going to come knocking for it.

This time, Ezra knew that Vin was curious over what had occurred to make his usually unflappable self this nervous. However, Ezra was in no mood to play subtle games with him, and despite the nagging thought that Vin would most likely try and find out about whatever it was that had gotteb Ezra so agitated, Ezra left Vin behind and headed for the saloon, praying that an answer would come soon.

Vin watched Ezra going out of view before heading into the office. Vin spotted the young manager and called him over. "What message did the man who just left send?"

"Oh, I'm sorry sir, that's private," the manager replied instantly.

"This is an urgent matter." Vin pierced the young man with his blue gaze, who immediately started to fidget.

"I, ah, I'm not sure about that...." Vin remained silent, continuing to stare at the young manager. He found a long time ago that silence was sometimes the best weapon one could use against another. The young manager pulled the book out and flipped it to the current page. "Here! If I get into trouble with this, I'm comin' to ya, mister!" Vin merely smiled. He glanced down the page and looked for Ezra's entry. For a moment, Vin worried that the message might be in code, making it impossible for him to understand. It was Ezra Standish, Master of Subterfuge, afterall. Wait! There it was!

Ezra Standish K.W. Detour advised. No value. Territorial warning.

What the hell? Vin couldn't understand what Ezra had passed along those telegraph poles. Detour... something about transportation? No value... hmmm, Four Corners was definitely no New York or Boston in counts of monetary value. Territorial warning??? These three phrases made no sense to Vin, but it must be important enough for Ezra to practically run to the telegraph to send them.

"Reply!" The young man smiled, holding the yellow sheet in his hand.

"Can I?" Vin asked softly. The young man frowned, but realized he might as well give in to the older man. Vin took the small sheet out of his hands. He glanced down at it.

From: K.W.
To: E.S.

Detour unnecessary. Friendlies approaching. 4C plans. Join?

This one made as much sense as the one Ezra sent. "Can I go now?" the young manager asked in a quiet voice. Vin handed the sheet back to the young man, who rushed out to give it to Ezra. Vin decided to follow, to see Ezra's reaction to this news.

The reaction was definitely not a good one. When the young manager entered, Ezra tried to smile and settle the butterflies in his stomach. Even JD noticed his discomfort. Ezra accepted the sheet and gave the messenger the dollar as promised. Vin arrived just in time to see Ezra's reaction.

Ezra's eyes viewed the contents. Seven simple words, but the distress on Ezra's face was there for all to see. He closed his eyes tightly as he crumpled the sheet up. When Ezra opened his green eyes again, the fear was replaced with determination. He stood up, straightened his vest and jacket, and left the saloon once again.

"You got any idea what that's about, Vin?" Buck asked the tracker.

Vin shook his head. "No, but I'm gonna find out."

+ + + + + + +

Ezra walked determinedly in the direction of the jail. He opened the door and stepped in. Several moments later, he came out with Chris Larabee. Vin caught up just in time for the start of the conversation.

Ezra glanced annoyedly at Vin. "Do you mind? This is a private conversation."

Chris narrowed his eyes at the agitation in Ezra's voice. He had never seen the gambler like this before. "You said this concerns all seven of us, and Vin's one of us, isn't he?"

"It concerns them indirectly," Ezra clarified.

"I think I have a right to listen to this, even if it concerns us indirectly," Vin spoke up.

Ezra shot Vin a withering look, but begrudgingly complied. "I need to take a leave of absence." Ezra said it so simply that it surprised both Vin and Chris. No fanciness about it. It was just a straight request.

"Why?" Chris asked.

"It's something personal."

"But it concerns us," Vin added.

The withering look turned into one of daggers. "Indirectly."

"Wait, if this personal thing of yours concerns us, I need to hear about it," Chris said.

"I'll take care of it before it concerns you," Ezra insisted.

"I don't think this is a good idea." Chris stared at Ezra. Ezra could see the suspicion rising in Chris before the man himself even felt it.

"You think I'm running!" Ezra accused, his tone carried a slight edge of hurt.

Chris' expression was about as readable as a rock's. "Sounds that way to me."

"I'm not!" Ezra defended himself.

"Then explain yourself fully before going off."

"I can't!"

"Why not?"

For once, Ezra couldn't find the words. "I... I just can't."

"Can't or won't?" Chris asked. Though the words were soft, there was a edge to them that was as sharp as a knife's.

Ezra stared defiantly into Chris' eyes. "I can't. Trust me, Chris. I don't like this anymore than you do, but you should know me enough to trust me."

"That's the problem," Chris replied. The implication shocked both Vin and Ezra.

"You don't trust me?" The volume of that question was considerably lower than the previous exchange. The tone of hurt was more obvious than ever. Chris merely shrugged at the question. The pointed daggers of Ezra's stare dulled to a soft green glow of hurt. "After all this, you still don't trust me?" Ezra demanded, voice verging on cracking. Chris gave no answer. "Then what's the point of staying, if you still don't trust me after all this? I'm leaving."

Ezra turned and started to walk away. Chris took two long strides and placed a hand on Ezra's shoulder, halting his retreat. "Remember what I said? You run, and I'll hunt you down."

"Last time I checked, this is a free country, Mr. Larabee. You don't own my life, and I can do whatever the hell I want without your permission!" Buck and JD were out of the saloon and heard the last couple of exchanges. They glanced at each other, something was up.

Ezra shrugged off Chris' interference. Chris stopped him again. "Like it or not, you made a commitment and you're stickin' with it!"

Ezra turned around and gave Chris a hard shove. "Guess what? All deals are off!" The cardsharp yelled out and started towards the livery for his horse. The shove was a bad move, because right now, Chris was mad as hell.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Getting the hell away from this pit, like I should have done a long time ago." Ezra turned back to Chris and Vin once again, ten feet away from them. "I don't know why I'm out here. I never belonged. Hell, you never trusted me. You said as much. What's keeping me here?" Ezra gave a quick glance at his audience. "Nothing, absolutely nothing!"

"Ezra!" JD approached him.

"What do you want?" Ezra snapped. JD almost flinched.

"You can't leave," JD said softly.

"Watch me." Ezra flipped around one last time, determined not to be distracted once again when he felt the tap on his shoulder. Anger flared and Ezra reeled back, arm pulled back, ready to punch whoever the hell stopped him. His fist connected solidly with a jaw. The jaw owner, unprepared for the assault, fell unceremoniously onto his back from the impact.

When Ezra saw who it was, anger quickly fled. Rubbing his jaw and looking up at his assailant was Vin Tanner. Ezra looked slightly apologetic for a moment. "Sorry," he said softly, and walked away. Several minutes later, Ezra and his horse sped out of the livery, out of Four Corners, and out of the six men's lives.

Part 2

As another day passed the little town of Four Corners by, voices could be heard at the local saloon. "I can't believe he punched Vin!" JD's amazed voice echoed in the strangely quiet and empty saloon. He leaned against the bar while the rest were seated at tables. Vin, Buck and Chris at one table, Josiah and Nathan at another.

"I can't believe it either," Vin commented, rubbing his sore jaw. "I don't know what the hell came over Ezra." Chris remained silent, though Vin could see the turbulence building up in those green eyes of his.

"Are we goin' after him?" JD asked the question the rest had on their minds. All eyes turned to Chris, the leader.

The answer surprised them all, especially Vin. "No," Chris said softly, then he tossed back the shot glass full of whiskey in front of him. "He'll be back soon enough."

Unfortunately, Chris was wrong. Ezra didn't come back, not after a day, not after two days, not after three days. On the fourth day, the six men wondered the same question: would Ezra ever be back?

+ + + + + + +

Ezra dismounted from his horse, tying the reins to the crossbeam of a rotting wooden post. He looked around, noting the curious and mildly hostile glances being tossed his way. Ezra gave them no thought and entered the compound.

"Where the hell do ya thing you're goin'?" a gruff voice asked from behind Ezra.

Ezra turned. "Is it any of your business?" he replied, eyes narrowed dangerously. The other man could see the glint in those green eyes that were somehow requisite of any man formidable enough that you would loathe to call enemy. He was sensible enough to back off.

Ezra merely continued on his way. He wasn't a man of violence, and he hated the use of intimidation to get what he wanted. Sometimes, though, the situation just called for it and Ezra had no choice but to comply. Ezra had the guts and skills to back up whatever threats he delivered, and usually he was lucky enough to get away with nothing more than a glare promising a more serious encounter in the future. But sometimes luck turned bad.

Laughter rang out from the central tent of the compound and that was where Ezra was headed. He flipped the flimsy material separating the outside from in. What Ezra saw surprised him a little, but he chastised himself for it. What he saw was simple enough: a scantily clad male performing what Ezra assumed to be a dance.

A pair of jade green eyes turned onto Ezra. With a dismissal wave of the hand, the dancing male retreated. "I was wonderin' how long it would take 'fore you show up." The occupant of the tent stood up and sauntered casually to the visitor.

"Hello, Kari," Ezra greeted. Kari didn't reply, instead, she inspected him from head to toe, undressing Ezra with her eyes.

"I see you haven't changed. I would even say you look better than before." Kari laid a hand on Ezra's chest suggestively, but ended up drawing random circles on her living canvas.

"Thank you. You look lovely as always."

Kari gazed at Ezra questioningly. "What's the matter?" Ezra shrugged. "Oh don't give me that! Have you forgotten how we used to greet each other? I remember it wasn't with words." Her lips pulled upwards into a promising smile. Ezra looked innocently back into her eyes.

Kari shrugged. "Fine, I guess I'll be the aggressor for once." Without a warning, Kari pulled Ezra in and pressed her lips to his. She pulled his jacket off, leaving it to the ground. Her hands roamed across his back. Ezra finally responded and kissed her just as fiercely as she had. Then, equally without a warning, Ezra pulled away and pushed Kari back.

"What's wrong?" Kari demanded.

"I'm... I guess I'm not much into that anymore."

Kari stared at Ezra for a brief moment before bursting into laughter. "Not much into that anymore? From the way you just kissed me? What's the matter? Found someone else? It didn't stop me before, you know that."

Ezra glared at her for a moment as he remembered their last encounter. "I remember."

Kari inched closer to Ezra once again. "I missed you, you know." Kari reached up and gently brushed his cheek with the back of one hand. "You've seen them outside, none of them can even begin to compare to you." Kari replaced her hand with her lips and planted soft kisses on the curve of his throat. "My bed's getting awfully cold and lonely."

Kari stared puppy-dog eyed at Ezra. She could tell that Ezra was starting to give in. Kari took his hand and kissed his palm equally softly as she had on his throat. Then, she moved back up to Ezra's throat, then his jawline, and then on his lips. Ezra closed his eyes, feeling Kari's lips on his and he couldn't help but succumb to her feminine wiles. Kari pulled back once again, feigned innocence was replaced by full blown lust. "Still not into it?"

Ezra shook his head no. Kari knew she had Ezra exactly where she wanted him to be. Ezra bent down to kiss her once again, but she pulled away. Ezra sighed, recognizing Kari's need to play games. "Playing hard to get again?"

"Why do it the easy way? The hard way's so much more fun. Besides, you want me, so come get me." Kari slowly backed away from Ezra.

"What if I don't want to come and get you?"

"Why wouldn't you?" Kari said as she finished unbuttoning her blouse, revealing soft skin from her neck to abdomen, hinting at the curve of her breasts. Ezra took a step closer to her, only to have her take a step back. Ezra took another step and so did Kari. He took a quick glance as to what was behind her and smiled as he pretended to jump her. Kari turned quickly, preparing to run, only to trip on the edge of her fancily decorated cot and fall flat on her face onto the soft quilts.

When Kari rolled to her back, she found Ezra kneeling over her, amusement sparkling in his eyes. "Not fair," she complained.

"All's fair in love and war," Ezra replied.

"I suppose so." Kari reached up and took off Ezra's vest, tossing it aside. Then, she started on his shirt. "But do you really call this love?"

Ezra made no reply as other garments made the way of his vest. Kari started to giggle, but it was soon muffled by Ezra's lips on hers.

+ + + + + + +

Kari planted a soft kiss on Ezra's firm shoulder. She glanced up at him, his eyes closed in sleep. Kari couldn't help but feel a certain tenderness towards him. Afterall, no one else could come close to make her feel the way Ezra made her feel. But in the end, it was sex, and nothing more. Still, even if it was just sex, no one else knew her body like he did. He knew just where to kiss, or to have a gentle nip. He knew just where to touch or to caress. He was like no other.

Oh, Kari knew that there were other women in his life that probably got the same treatment as she did. With looks and charms like that, what woman wouldn't want to warm his bed? And yet, when he looked into her eyes, he managed to make her feel as if she was the only one. He made her feel special, and definitely no other had ever made Kari feel special. He was different. Even when he hesitated, like today, even when he was upset or agitated, he still managed to make her a part of his world. It was as if he constantly broadcasted the message, "whatever happens, we'll deal with it together."

Sometimes, though, Kari wondered maybe that was the exact reason why he fared so well as a con artist. People trusted him, especially when he wasn't all decked out in that suit. Kari laughed silently at his manner of dress. That screamed "con!" a mile away. He never used to dress like this, but then he couldn't afford to when he had been with her. Kari sobered up almost instantly though. She knew she trusted him and that she had fallen for that charm and good looks package that he dealt out to the world in general. And that was why she feared him, even when they were both naked in each other's arms after a passionate session of love making. She feared him because she loved him, and because of that, he could do whatever he wished of her and she wouldn't be able to retaliate.

There was a time when Kari was sure that Ezra reciprocated that love, when she was sure that he would allow nothing to harm her. Those days were long gone. Kari knew that Ezra still cared, but that love he had for her died a long time ago and nothing she could do was going to bring that back. The more Ezra retreated, the more Kari wanted him.

As Kari stared at his peaceful sleeping form, she decided that she couldn't allow this vulnerability to exist any longer. Love or no love, she would not allow a man, not even one like Ezra, to be her weakness, ever. In her line of work, you had to be ruthless or you were dead. Simple as that.

Ezra stirred and his lashes fluttered softly as he blinked the remnant of any sleep away. "Afternoon," he smiled at Kari.

Kari smiled back, briefly. "So, what do you want and why are you here?"

"Shouldn't you know the answer already since you sent that telegram? '4C plans. Join?'" Ezra quoted.

Kari rolled off the cot and started to dress. "I was surprised that you were even in that dismal little town. I thought you'd moved on to somethin' better by now."

Ezra shrugged. "The town has potential."

Kari glanced back at him, one eyebrow raised in question. "Is that why you sent the territorial warning?" Ezra nodded. "That isn't a nice way to make friends. True, the town's small, but it could deal with more than one of your kind."

Ezra frowned and started to dress as well. "And what do you mean by 'one of my kind'?"

"Small cons. Low risk, low yield. Really, Ezra, you've done better than that. You've been taught by the best, and they certainly didn't give you those skills just to fleece drunk men at poker."

"Don't know what you're talking about!" Ezra huffed.

Kari stood up and straightened her shirt. "Don't give me that crap, Ezra. Remember who rescued you from those hired guns who beat you senseless?"

Ezra stopped as he reached for his shirt. He only stared at the glaringly obvious scar on his upper left arm, a long permanent scar which painfully reminded Ezra of the consequences of being caught. "I remember," Ezra replied, his voice filled with renewed pain.

"Good. Then you remember who also got beaten along side you?" Ezra nodded. "Sometimes I look back and wonder why the hell I bothered to pull those guys off you. One of them could have easily slit my throat and be on his merry way, but I just had to come to your damn rescue. And I always thought that it would be some knight in shinin' armour that would rescue me, not the other way around." Kari chuckled softly.

"Kari, I--"

"Don't apologize, 'kay. I didn't regret it, never did, and I never will." Kari flashed Ezra a smile. Ezra relaxed a little. "I'm not done yet, Ezra. Are you actually gonna join me this time?"

"Yes, Kari. I am."

Kari stared at him. "Seriously."

"Seriously."

Kari shook her head in amusement. "I only asked as a joke. I never thought you'll actually join!"

"Are you letting me in?"

"You kiddin'? Of course, you're always welcome!" Kari pulled Ezra forward for a quick kiss. "I'm sure the other guys will mind, but they wouldn't dare oppose me. You'll fit in fine as long as you stick by me, but I know you can take care of yourself. Let me fill you in on the plans, okay?" Ezra nodded. "Great. You have no idea how long I've waited for this. Together, we'll wipe Four Corners off the map!"

Part 3

Chris?" Vin asked the blond gunslinger sitting silently opposite him. They were outside, seated at the table situated just outside the saloon. A bottle of whiskey stood before them.

Chris glanced up at Vin, his green eyes a turmoil of turbulent storm. "Yeah?"

Vin wanted to ask him about Ezra, but knew that it would only rile the other man up. So, he dropped it and looked away. "Nothin', never mind." However, Chris knew that the thought of Ezra had crossed Vin's mind.

"You thinkin' of Ezra?"

Blue eyes turned back to the gunslinger's direction. "Yeah, just wonderin' where he is. And thinkin' what happened." A short pause. "What happened?"

"I don't know. All I know is that it played out all wrong." Chris voiced Vin's exact thoughts. It was wrong how the scene with Ezra had unfolded. There was something wrong in how Ezra had acted and in how desperately he had wanted to get out of Four Corners, but for the life in them, they couldn't figure out why.

+ + + + + + +

"You wonder where Ezra is?" JD asked Buck, lounging in front of the jail. Buck glanced at the young Easterner.

"Yeah, you?"

JD nodded. "Just don't know what came over him, you know? Arguin' with Chris and punchin' Vin and everythin'. It just seems so wrong somehow."

"I know the feeling, kid. Somethin' ain't right." Buck turned his blues eyes towards the horizon. He hated to admit it, but he had come to care, very slightly, for the cardsharp. And that sense of foreboding lodged deep in Buck's heart was beating almost as hard as his own heart.

+ + + + + + +

"You cannot be serious!" Ezra's voice echoed loudly out of the tent.

"You know I never kid!" Kari argued back.

"I assumed that you were being figurative when you said that we will 'wipe Four Corners off the map'. I didn't think you were being literal!"

"You know me, Ezra, I was never much for figurativeness. That was your department, with all your words and stuff. I meant what I said. We wipe Four Corners off the map."

"And how do you suggest we do so?"

Kari stared angrily at Ezra. She drew herself up to her full height, which was still a far cry from Ezra's own five foot eleven. Sometimes being petite had its advantages, but other times.... It was difficult enough to be taken seriously being a girl, but she just had to be a short girl. "As I explained about five minutes before, we clean Four Corners out. The vaults, the registers, drawers and little safes at home. Shoot the horses and be on our way."

"Four Corners' in the middle of desert nowhere! You kill their means of transport and they die," Ezra argued.

"That's the point, sweetheart."

"Since when did you become so cruel?"

"Since when did you become so soft? I'm not the one who changed. It's you."

"I didn't change!" Ezra stared fiercely at Kari. He couldn't believe what she was proposing. "It started with just the two of us and harmless little cons. Then more people joined in, and then the risks went higher and higher. Bank robbery, stage coach robbery. And now this! Have you gone mad?"

"Mad?" Kari yelled out. "You're the one who wimped out on us. You gave up all that money to go solo."

"That's because I can't handle shooting people in the back for a living."

"But you can handle cheatin' them out of their life saving?! Both ways, they die. It's just that with your way, you don't have to see them die right away."

Ezra turned away and slumped down into a wooden chair. Kari glanced at his dejected expression and her anger melted away. Ezra reached out a hand to her and she took it. He pulled her close to him. "Whatever happened to just the two of us, playing high stake poker with the social elite?"

Kari sighed and glanced momentarily away. "Those 'social elite' can spot a con a mile away. You learnt that after I picked you up. Neither of us were earnin' enough to pay for a roof over our heads and good food was out of the question. I had to try somethin' else. Or did you want me to work--"

"NO!" Ezra interrupted that thought quickly.

"So what else could I do? The first couple of times were easy enough, right? Both of us got a thrill out of that."

"We were lookouts, Kari," Ezra reminded her.

Kari laughed. "I know, but still, our cut was bigger than what we could've earned at the tables." As she remembered more, her good mood shattered. "But you said that it wasn't your style."

"I told you before we ever started about what my mother taught me--"

"I know, I know," Kari interrupted, "You can cheat, deceive, take advantage, or even lie outright, but never steal."

"Never ever steal," Ezra reiterated the thought.

"But I wanted more, Ezra! We were better than those second rate boarding rooms that we were renting. We were better than those two bit crooks that we were hangin' with! You knew that!" Kari pulled her hand sharply away from Ezra's and moved away from him.

"Can't ever say you weren't ambitious."

"Both of us were raised in rat holes! We deserved better and I got it for us." Anger was flaring once again in Kari. She never forgave Ezra for leaving her behind.

"Your better included murder."

"So? You left me behind, Ezra. You took off and didn't even look back. It was hell to control men who think that women are their god-given playthings. I worked long and hard for these men to obey me and if you're gonna work for me, you're gonna have to follow the same rules as they do."

"Work for you?"

Kari glared incredulously at Ezra, her jade green eyes boring holes into him. "Do you actually expect me to welcome you to an open partnership after what you did to me? You're welcome to my bed anytime, but when it comes to business... well, I don't mix business with pleasure."

The determination in Kari's eyes scared Ezra. A lot had changed and not all was for the better. And to think that she changed because of one action he took. She was what she was because of him. "Fine," Ezra agreed.

"Good. You should come in handy. You know the town well. I've heard 'bout these seven hired guns that protect this town. Tell me 'bout them." Kari shifted quickly into business mode.

Ezra got up from the chair and approached Kari. "I still maintain that your proposal is an unwise one."

"What's wrong with it? I have twenty men in this camp, all skilled in what they do. They can go in and out in twenty minutes, and the town would be nothing but a distant memory. The fact that I'm restraining that bloodlust of theirs took quite a bit of control."

"But to slaughter their horses mean condemning them to a slow death. There's barely any water as is in Four Corners. What do you expect them to do? Walk to the next town for water?"

"I'm not in this to be merciful! The point is to obliterate Four Corners."

"Why?"

The question caught Kari off guard. "Why?" she repeated.

"Yes, why?"

"Because I feel like it?" Kari suggested. Ezra continued to gaze silently at her. Kari gave and averted her eyes. "I knew you were in Four Corners."

Ezra's eyes widened. "You planned to destroy an entire town just to get back at me?"

"So what? 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned'. Besides, the money's good. The vaults' got at least several thousands of dollars."

Ezra sucked in a breath and contemplated that answer. However, he decided to push that thought out of his mind and confront something else he had been hiding from. He was supposed to be here to convince Kari from even thinking about entering Four Corners. And now here he was, distracted from his true goal. Ezra hated the method in which he had left Four Corners. He didn't expect the argument and temper, but he got his wish. He was here now, with Kari.

Ezra's thoughts flew suddenly to them, the six others in town. How they must thought of him now? A coward who ran away most likely. Chris' most likely steaming about the seventy-five ways to kill Ezra with his bare hands. An involuntary shiver travelled down Ezra's spine as he remembered the cold fury in those green eyes of Chris'. But there was no other way, Ezra convinced himself. He was the only one who could prevent Kari and her little army from killing his friends and obliterate Four Corners along the way. Chris and the others may be good, but Ezra knew Kari. Her team would be nothing less than elite. The six of them in Four Corners wouldn't have a snowball's chance in hell. Ezra knew he had to stop Kari before she entered the town.

"What're you thinking about?" Kari asked, her tone more gentle this time. When her fury blazed, it was as scorching as the sun. However, when she wished to be gentle, she was just like the ambitious, but misguided, girl that rescued Ezra from certain death almost nine years ago.

"I'm just thinking how impractical your tactics are. Your purpose has changed, hasn't it? I'm here, with you, instead of Four Corners." Kari reluctantly nodded. "Why don't you move on?"

"Move on? I don't think so. We've come a long way, and I'm not about to turn around and ride back. We're goin' into Four Corners no matter what." The cold hard determination in Kari's eyes could not be mistaken. It was a determination Ezra recognized with panic that he couldn't curb.

"Fine, you can relieve the bank vaults of their cash, but leave the people be. At least they'll have their lives to start over," Ezra quickly said, improvising. This would have to do, he thought.

Kari glanced at Ezra, thinking over his proposal. "I suppose you make some sense, but I'm not so sure about my guys. They're really excited about this little field trip. I promised them kills."

"What the hell kind of men did you recruit, Kari?!" Ezra stared at Kari, shock in his bright green eyes.

"Murderers, robbers, just people."

"People who are really excited about killing?"

"Everybody needs a hobby, right? Theirs just happened to be killing."

Ezra shook his head slowly. Nine years ago, Kari would have been deathly afraid of such men. Now, she was capable of keeping them under her control. "If we're to make a simple withdrawal, then I don't see why we need all twenty of your men. You, me, and nine or ten others would be perfect."

"Aren't you afraid of being recognized?" Kari narrowed her eyes at Ezra. She had suspected some trick from Ezra's sudden reappearance in her life.

Ezra hadn't really thought about that. Thinking quick, he replied, "They've been suspecting me for some time now. They probably think this is coming." Ohgodohgodohgod... Ezra knew he had to go with Kari on her heist, to make sure they wouldn't end up killing someone. But if he showed up in town with a bunch of bank robbers... well, better make that two hundred and fifty-two ways to kill Ezra with bare hands and firearms. Hell, Vin would probably use him for target practice. Wait, no, JD would use him for that. Vin was too good of a shot. One shot and Ezra wouldn't have to suffer anymore.

Kari examined Ezra for any evidence of untruth. Finding none, she said, "Well, I guess they had it coming for trustin' a con like you."

Ezra knew an insult when he heard one, but knew better than to object. Chris was right: he had no reason to trust Ezra. Look at him now, betraying the entire town to Kari. "We can scout the town tomorrow."

Kari nodded. "The only uncertain factor in all this are the seven guns. You should know best about them."

"Honestly, I really don't think your men can take them," Ezra replied, trying to believe that statement as much as he could.

Kari snorted. "There's seven of 'em in town and the planned ten of us, I think we can take 'em."

Ezra shook his head. "If you're planning on taking the town's money, they'll fight back. I know, I was a part of them."

"You? You're one of the hired guns?" Ezra nodded. Kari only laughed in response.

"What is so humorous about it?"

"Just the fact that you of all people would suddenly care for others. How much are they payin' you?"

"A dollar a day."

"That's chicken feed compared with what we get! Besides, we'll simply get one man on each of the guns while the rest of us clean out the bank. They're not gonna stop us."

"Yes, they are! You're just going to get yourself killed."

"Ever heard of Shadowside?"

Ezra furrowed his brows in question. "Yes, so what?"

"Heard of what happened to it?"

Ezra thought for a moment. "Yes. There was a gang three months ago, wiped the town clean. All the money had been stolen, the law were executed and the people fled in fear. There's nothing left but deserted buildings...." Ezra's eyes widened. "It can't be...."

Kari smiled smugly. "That's us. There were seven lawmen, just like Four Corners, but they still fell at our feet. No matter how good those six are, there's still just the six of 'em."

Ezra paled. He knew one of the deputies at Shadowside, Devin Calan. He was the best shot Ezra had ever met before coming to Four Corners. If Kari's men could take Calan down, then they could take down Vin, or Chris, or Buck, or anyone else who would dare to try and defend Four Corners. Ezra's faith in the six's ability dropped a considerable notch.

"Now you understand how good we are," Kari concluded.

Ezra knew that the simple compromise of diverting Kari's purpose wouldn't be good enough anymore, he had to revert to his original purpose: to divert them from Four Corners completely. "Now that I think about it--"

Kari shot a burning look that shut Ezra up instantly. "No more ifs, ands, or buts, okay, Ezra. This is a done deal and no more arguin' from you is gonna stop me."

"Kari--" Ezra was cut off by a resounding slap on his face. He was stunned silent. His cheek stung, but the pain was minimal. It was her action above all else that shocked him to silence. Kari, no matter how angry she had been before, had never ever slapped Ezra.

"Whose side are you on?" Kari demanded.

Ezra stared into her eyes, using Trust Tactics #4: "You can trust me because I'm looking straight into your eyes," and said, "Yours, Kari."

Kari blinked, surprised by the sudden, and very convincing, sincerity. "All right."

"I'm just concerned for your safety that's all. I don't want you to get hurt because of this," Ezra stated in the most soothing voice he could manage.

"I can take care of myself, you know," Kari argued.

"I know that," Ezra said as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "I'm just worried, that's all."

Kari immediately softened. "I guess I'm just not used to being overprotected." She smiled weakly at Ezra to which he responded with a smile of his own.

"How about we go scouting tomorrow?" Ezra suggested.

"All right, but Bryan's coming with us. Bryan!" she called out of the tent. A tall, dark-haired man with dark brown eyes walked in.

Bryan smiled at Kari. "Karience," he whispered as a greeting before bending down to kiss her cheek.

"Bryan, meet Ezra," Kari introduced the two. Ezra gave Kari a quick glance of question for Bryan's address of her before turning to the newcomer. The hustler extended a hand and Bryan took it, giving it a firm shake.

"So you're Karience's ex-boyfriend, huh?" Ezra gave a slight nod, though he wasn't quite sure that he should be responding at all. "You gave up one hell of a woman, Ezra, but I can't say I'm unhappy that you did." Ezra smiled, barely.

Kari whispered the plan to Bryan, then he left to spread the word. "Karience? I thought you hate it when people call you that," Ezra remarked as soon as Bryan left the tent.

"Things change, remember? But I reserve the right to call me Kari to you." Kari smiled at Ezra, the sincerity reaching her jade green eyes.

Ezra smiled back the same. "Thank you," he replied softly. "Bryan seems nice."

"What'd you think? I would be with some homicidal maniac?"

Ezra shrugged, mild laughter in his eyes. "Like you said, things change."

Kari shook her head at Ezra and rolled her eyes heavenward. "Sometimes I just don't understand you."

Suddenly remembering what had occurred on Kari's bed previously, Ezra asked, "Does he kn--"

"He knows, and he doesn't mind." Kari looked away from Ezra for a moment. True, she adored Bryan, but still, he was no Ezra. Bryan understood her feelings for Ezra. Sometimes Kari wondered how she managed to find Bryan, how such a nice guy could have just dropped into her lap.

"Tomorrow morning, bright and early. We'll scout." Kari pushed Ezra out of her tent and called one of her guys to take Ezra to a guest tent. After Ezra was out of sight, Kari retreated back into her tent. She saw that Bryan had sneaked back in.

Kari reached out to him, and he took her hand. Bryan pulled her to him and held her close. He nuzzled her neck and whispered, "Can't he be lying to you?"

"I don't know, but I don't think he can lie to me. At least, I can't lie to him and I hope that runs both ways."

"What if it doesn't?" Bryan kissed Kari's neck. "What if he's settin' you up? What if he betrays you?"

Kari sighed and knew that no matter how much it would hurt, she would deal with Ezra the same as she would deal with any traitor. Besides, she had Bryan now, that was all she needed.

"I'll kill him."

Part 4

"My dear Kari, are you quite sure about this?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Now quit stalling."

"All right. There are six of them. There's Chris Larabee, Vin Tanner, Buck Wilmington, Josiah Sanchez, Nathan Jackson, and JD Dunne. They're all skilled in what they do, and they're not people you wish as your enemies," Ezra explained to Kari and Bryan as they laid on a rocky outcrop, observing Four Corners.

"If they're so formidable, then why're you betrayin' them?" Bryan asked, voicing Kari's thoughts.

"I wouldn't dream of doing it on my own, but since you are here to back me up, I doubt those six would put up much of a fight." Ezra hoped that his face didn't betray the lie he just told. He remembered how all seven of them took on Anderson's soldiers, outnumbered five to one and still they came out on top. It was incredible. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship, and now Ezra was destroying it. He only prayed that Chris and the others would be able to pull off that kind of odds again against Kari and her men. Ezra knew that Chris would put up one hell of a fight, but Ezra just wasn't certain what the outcome might be. Kari had changed, and that made her unpredictable. Ezra didn't like unpredictable things.

Ezra also didn't like doubting the six's abilities, but his faith in them continually fluctuated. One moment he would believe that nothing in the world could stop them, and the next Ezra was worried to death that Kari was right, that she could take the six on and slaughter every last one of them.

Kari gave Ezra a momentary glance. "I'm glad you decided to have a little more faith in us."

Before Ezra could even think of a response, the soft crunch of a twig alerted the three of them and Bryan was up on his feet with a gun faster than both Kari and Ezra. However, the both of them had their guns drawn and ready a bare moment behind Bryan.

Ezra wanted to jump off the outcrop and die when he saw who it was. Before him stood JD Dunne and Vin Tanner, who was sporting a black and blue bruise on his jaw. "Ezra!" JD was the first to react to the situation, crying out Ezra's name in that patented JD way that made Ezra wince as if stabbed with a red hot knife. "What the hell are you doin' here?" JD was starting to approach the swindler, who was getting on his feet, when JD was stopped by the familiar sound of gun being cocked. That gun belonged to Kari.

Vin's hand was already on his sawed off Winchester, but one look from Bryan told him to toss it away. JD did the same for his six-shooters. Vin's sapphire blue eyes took quick notes of the two strangers. He recognized one of them. "Karience Williams," he said softly.

"Oh goody, a fan!" Kari smiled appreciatively at the tracker. She approached him, intent on getting a better look at Vin's shadowed face. Kari tipped off Vin's hat and smiled again as she gazed upon his handsome features. "And a nice lookin' fan at that." The smile quickly vanished as Kari recognized him. "Vin Tanner? The Vin Tanner?" Vin made no sound, but Kari was already certain of his identity. The corners of Kari's lips pulled back up to a cruel smile. Then she started to laugh softly. "Oh Ezra, thank you for the wonderful present!"

"What?" JD and Ezra cried out in unison.

Kari stared back into uncomfortable blues. "Your Mr. Tanner here tracked me for two long months, fully intendin' to collect on the $300 bounty on my head."

Ezra interrupted immediately, "You have a bounty on your head?!" he asked incredulously.

"People in my line of work tends get that a lot," Kari replied smugly. "Anyway, Vin dearest here shot at me, causin' me to roll down a steep hill, almost falling to my death."

"I thought you were dead," Vin said softly.

"I wished I was dead." Without a warning, Kari backhanded Vin's face brutally. "That is for trying to hunt me down. My face was scratched hideously, you wouldn't have recognized me if you tried. You almost ruined my face, you bastard!" Kari backhanded Vin again. "That is for tryin' to shoot me, and this--" she kissed her knuckles softly and then slammed her fist into Vin's stomach. He doubled over in pain. Damn woman had one hell of a punch. "-- is for the tumble down the hill, and this--" Kari grinned maliciously, and JD could do nothing to help the former bounty hunter. The nozzle of Bryan's gun dug into his back.

Kari closed her right hand into a fist and wrapped her other hand over it. She then slammed down hard on Vin's back. The unfortunate tracker dropped onto the dusty outcrop floor, his soft moans of pain indicating that he was still conscious.

"--is for almost ruining my face," Kari finished.

"How could you just stand there and let her do that to Vin?" JD cried out to Ezra, who watched the scene in pain. Ezra couldn't meet JD's pleading dark eyes.

Kari dragged the writhing Vin by the collar towards Ezra. She gave the gambler a quick kiss on the lips. "I've wanted to do that for the longest time. When you first mentioned a Vin Tanner, I wasn't sure if that was the same Tanner as the one who had hunted me. I can't believe he would be here, of all places."

"Can we let them go now?" Ezra asked Kari.

Kari stared at him questioningly. "Let 'em go? I don't think so. Now that I've finally found Tanner--" Kari kicked Vin's side, eliciting a louder cry of pain, "-- I'm gonna do to him what he tried to do to me."

"What're you talking about, Kari?" Ezra asked innocently, though he already knew what Kari was going to say.

"I'm gonna bring him in to Tuscosa and let him hang. The $500 wouldn't hurt either."

"How could you do this, Ezra? What's wrong with you?" JD cried out once again. Ezra unwillingly matched JD's angry gaze. "I thought you changed, I really thought that. I thought you were gonna stick around afterall. I guess I was wrong. People like you don't change... I'm disappointed in you."

Those words tore through Ezra's heart like a lead bullet. Kari apparently didn't notice Ezra's distress and glanced at the fuming JD. "We don't need him around, shoot him," Kari instructed Bryan.

"No!" Ezra cried out.

"What's the matter now?" Kari asked, exasperated.

"I'll do it myself." The dark glare turned a few thousand degrees hotter. Ezra led JD away.

"Shoot me, c'mon! shoot me! It never mattered to you, did it? Loyalty's nothin' to you, is it? Money's all that matters, right?" JD closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable pain.

It never came.

JD opened his eyes and turned around. He found Ezra still there, gun away. "What're you waitin' for?" JD asked, tone cold as ice.

"Go."

"What?"

"Go, go tell Chris and the others."

"What?"

"Just go!" Ezra glanced unsteadily at the young man. "Tell him what happened and tell him to come get us."

JD stared for Ezra only one moment longer and then he was gone.

+ + + + + + +

Ezra returned to the group. Vin was leaning against the outcrop wall, hand against his side. His sapphire blue eyes drilled holes into Ezra's guilty soul. "We're movin'," Kari declared.

"What 'bout the town?" Bryan asked.

"Forget about it. Tanner's worth more than the town."

"The vaults have over thousands, Tanner's only worth five hundred!" Bryan argued.

"Yeah, but to see his death is worth the world twice over." Kari grinned at the grimacing Vin, who only directed his gaze back to the silent Ezra.

Part 5

"We're movin'!" Kari announced to her troupe. The men grumbled about Four Corners and how Kari promised them a nice little slaughter. "We'll just save Four Corners for another day. Right now, we're movin' to Tuscosa," Kari commanded.

"Tuscosa?" Caleb, Kari's third-in-command, questioned.

Kari ignored him. "We're splittin' into three groups. Caleb, Bryan, Ezra, Kyle, Alex and Austin are comin' with me. The rest of you can divide into two groups, and we'll meet in Tuscosa in a week." The men grumbled some more, but knew better than to challenge Kari's orders outright. The rest of the men split up and started to pack up their things.

Kari motioned Bryan closer to her. "Keep an eye out for Tanner. He'll try to escape as soon as there's a chance. Don't kill him though, I want to see him hang." Bryan nodded and pushed the bounty hunter toward the horses.

"So Tuscosa's going to be our destination?" Ezra asked Kari.

"Yeah, we're headin' out as soon as we're done packin'. I doubt they're gonna realize Tanner and the boy missin' any time soon, but I don't wanna risk it." Kari then left Ezra behind to pick up some more things.

A mere thirteen minutes later, the compound had vanished, and there was no trace of Kari and her gang save for some trampled grass.

+ + + + + + +

It was times like this that Chris Larabee really wanted Vin around. Vin was the tracker of the group, and without him, Chris was having a difficult time trailing Kari's gang. However, with a group as big as Kari's, it wasn't as difficult as Chris originally feared. The instant JD came back with the news of Vin's capture, they were up and ready to ride in a few minutes.

Buck glanced at the kid, and then back to the silent leader. Buck knew that Chris was in a foul mood. Hell, even a blind man could sense the hostility flying off the blond gunslinger. What Buck couldn't believe was how Chris managed to come across this mood. Buck thought that JD had a little too much to drink in the morning when the kid came running into town yammering about Vin and a kidnapping. It took all four men to figure out that Vin was kidnapped, not Vin going after a kidnapper. Of course, that news wasn't exactly better than what they had originally thought.

Chris swore loudly, breaking Buck from his reverie. "What's the matter, Chris?"

"The group split into three here. I can't tell which one has Vin."

"Why don't we just ride to Tuscosa and wait for 'em?" JD suggested.

Chris dismissed the idea immediately. "No, by then it'll be too late. We've got to get Vin back before they're even close to Tuscosa."

"What's that?" Josiah's deep voice rumbled to the group. He pointed to something red on the sandy ground in front of them. The men who haven't dismounted yet did so, and followed Josiah's direction to the red.

Chris stared at it. "That's Vin's bandana," JD voiced everyone's thoughts. "Maybe it's his way of tryin' to tell us where he went. But what does it mean?" JD asked, staring at the red fabric with a large rock holding it down from the wind. Buck, too, stared intensely at the bandana, as if daring it to tell him where Vin was taken.

"Look at how it's folded," Nathan pointed out.

Chris took a small step back and saw that Nathan was right. The bandana wasn't discarded. It was folded neatly, in some sort of a pattern... "It's an arrow," Chris whispered softly, but everyone heard him.

"It's pointin' down one of the tracks," Buck furthered the thought.

Without further ado, all men mounted their horse and raced down the track pointed to them. Clutched tightly in Chris' hand was the red bandana.

+ + + + + + +

"What'd you take my bandana for?" Vin questioned Ezra, the first time the bounty hunter had initiated conversation. The long day's ride towards Tuscosa had ended, and the group made camp. Ezra gazed intently into the fire while Vin stared at him.

Ezra's gaze didn't break away from the fire. "Nothing. It doesn't matter."

"Why're you doin' this, Ezra? Is it money?"

Ezra finally turned away from the fire, but a fiery afterimage still remained in his vision. Ezra redirected his gaze towards Vin. "Like I said before, it doesn't matter."

"You doin' this 'cause of her?" Vin tilted his head towards Kari, who was leaning against Bryan for warmth a distance away from the fire.

"I said, it doesn't matter."

"Karience Williams ain't worth it. She'll only drag you down with her." Vin didn't expect the utterly hollow laughter that came from Ezra. "What's so funny?"

Ezra stole a quick glance towards Kari and Bryan. "She won't drag me down... I was the one who dragged her down with me."

"What?" Vin looked at Ezra in question.

Ezra looked away. "Long time ago," Ezra said as some sort of an explanation.

"Tell me 'bout it," Vin prompted. Green eyes flitted momentarily back to him, then they returned to elsewhere.

"Why're you still talking to me? I... I betrayed you."

"I believe there's a reason why, and I know it ain't for love or money."

Ezra sighed. "You believe... you still believe?"

Vin shrugged, not that Ezra could see that. "I believe in some things."

"Do you believe me?"

"Believe your what?"

Ezra finally turned his sights back to Vin. "Believe in me, just... me."

"It depends on whether or not you think you're worth believin' in," Vin replied after a moment of silence.

Ezra snorted. "You sound just like Josiah."

Vin blinked and realized that Ezra was right. "He's rubbin' off on me. Tends to happen if you hang with the same people for awhile."

Ezra's head tilted downwards. "So, you believe in me?"

"Yeah, I do." Ezra's head snapped up sharply, his line of sight matching Vin's. Disbelief and surprise filled Ezra's bright green eyes. "Why're you surprised?" Vin asked.

"I'm taking you to Tuscosa to hang, I betrayed your trust and you still believe in me?"

Vin nodded.

Ezra stared at Vin, amazed. "It's not wise to have so much faith, Vin. Don't believe me, don't trust me, or you'll end up dead--" green eyes flashed quickly to Kari, "--or worse."

"Why? We trust you."

"Chris doesn't. Besides, you trusted me and look where you are now." Ezra's voice was filled with uncharacteristic bitterness. Vin had never heard that tone from Ezra before.

"You can still turn back. You can still come back to Four Corners," Vin said.

Ezra suddenly remembered something he had said, something he knew to be the truth, something he knew that he could not change no matter how hard he tried. Ezra caught Vin's eyes and held his gaze. "There are two kinds of people in this life, Vin. Those who seek battle and seem not to fear death, and those who avoid battle, but will stand and fight to the death if their loved ones are threatened. You, Vin, fall into the first category, the ones who have courage, bravery, and honour."

Vin raised an eyebrow, wondering where this was going. "What 'bout you?"

"And there's a third kind, those who care for no one but themselves, who only look out for themselves and would do anything to survive," Ezra finished and stood up, moving rapidly away from the now dying fire. Vin kept his gaze on the back of the retreating cardsharp and sighed softly into the descending darkness.

+ + + + + + +

The longer the five tracked their quarry, the more angry certain individuals were against a certain someone in a bright red jacket. JD's fury almost matched Chris', surprisingly enough. JD was there when he saw Karience Williams beat up the unarmed Vin. JD was there when he watched as Ezra stood, motionless, doing nothing to help the fallen bounty hunter.

"When I see that bastard, I'll shoot him! Twice!" JD declared to the fire in front of him, his voice filled with spite and maliciousness. Buck flinched at the tone. He had never heard such words come from JD's mouth before.

"Maybe he had no other choice, JD, maybe he was threatened," Buck suggested, but they sounded hollow, even to himself.

JD stared at Buck. "He was with 'em, and I was there. He didn't do nothin' to help Vin. Always thought he changed for better, turns out he still cared for nothing but cold hard cash!" JD's mind was in a turmoil. He would never ever had believed Ezra capable of such a betrayal if anyone had told him such a week ago. But now... JD saw Ezra's traitorous activities with his own two eyes. Not even naivete could wish that way. It hurt. It actually hurt. Everytime Kari kicked Vin, JD could almost feel the blow himself. He had read of betrayals in dime store novels, of those who wavered and sold out their friends. JD would never have dreamt that one of his own would be as such. Never in his wildest nightmare, ever.

A dark pit grew in the bottom of JD's stomach, growing on the hurt the young boy was feeling. The pit churned as JD remembered once again the sight of that demon woman with Ezra. JD swallowed the sudden burning lump in his throat. He took a deep breath, hoping that he wouldn't meet his dinner again.

How could this happen? JD buried his head in his hands, sick of watching the flicking fire.

"You all right, JD?" Buck called out. JD ignored his friend. All he could feel was the pit in his stomach. All he could hear was the wicked laughter of Williams. All he could see was the stone cold mask that Ezra wore.

Snake, JD thought. Snake. Yes... Ezra, the snake. The insidious snake that had slithered its way into his heart, then squeezed the innocence out of his soul. The snake that had insinuated itself into his life, posing as a friend when it was only a slave to cold, unfeeling cash.

"How could he do this to us?" JD mumbled.

"People change," Josiah said.

"Yeah, for the worse!" JD cried out, releasing his anger. The kid looked at Chris, but the gunslinger's face was expressionless. Chris was letting his temper burn within him. His green eyes predicted storms ahead that wouldn't be acts of God.

Josiah looked upon the faces of his angry comrades, and yet he couldn't summon such anger from within him. Something inside him told Josiah that something was wrong with this, and that Ezra just might turn out to be innocent. Despite such suggestions, however, Josiah could sense a slow burning deep in his stomach. It was a nasty feeling, one that was rapidly spreading throughout his body. It was almost like anger, touching slightly upon hatred, but still ill-defined at this stage in time.

Or it could just be that so-called 'dinner' Buck had cooked for the group.

The preacher would wait first for some good hard evidence of Ezra's betrayal. He didn't want to accuse an innocent man, even if the situation didn't look good for him. However, if this did turn out to be the truth....

"JD, calm down. It wouldn't do you good if you charge in like an angry bull. We'll just deal with Ezra when we find him." JD sucked in a deep breath and exhaled, reluctantly taking Josiah's advice. However, swirling in his head were six words: There'll be hell to pay, Ezra.

+ + + + + + +

"Why is he starin' at me like that?" Ezra whispered to Kari the next night.

Kari gave a quick glance to Austin. "Don't know. Maybe he's interested in you." Ezra shot Kari a strange look as she laughed. "Just kiddin', Ezra. Lighten up. You know what? We should have a card game."

"Did someone just mention 'card game'?" Austin asked, approaching the two.

Kari grinned. "Ezra here's quite the poker player."

"Really? Perhaps I can give you a challenge. I've been told that I'm quite adapt at poker." Austin settled himself down opposite Ezra.

"Sure," Ezra replied as he pulled out his deck of cards.

"Five card stud, eights are wild," Kari added. Ezra gave her a look, which she ignored quite easily. So, the green-eyed gambler returned his attention to his deck. He shuffled the deck expertly and dealt out the cards swiftly to each player. Vin, from a small distance away, watched the game.

"I'm afraid I didn't quite catch your name," Ezra spoke to Austin.

The young man stuck out his hand to Ezra. "Austin Wright."

"Ezra Standish," Ezra introduced himself, shaking Austin's hand. That name bothered Ezra though. There was an oddly familiar ring to it. "Have we met before?"

Austin seemed caught offguard with that question, which only heightened Ezra's suspicion. After a moment of hesitation, he replied with a "no".

Ezra wanted to pursue this matter, but a warning glare from Kari prevented it. Instead, he concentrated on the cards in front of him. Two tens, two eights and the ace of clubs. Strange, Ezra was sure that he dealt himself three eights. He puzzled over this while maintaining the illusion that his cards were perfectly fine to his opponents. Ezra realized that if he were able to make a mistake in his own hand, he could have easily made a mistake in the other two.

Kari's face was unreadable, of course. As for Austin, he wore a slightly smug smile on his face. Ezra speculated that the eight might have ended up in his hand. Kari rearranged her cards, and suddenly in her hand was one of her own cards, held up for all to see. Vin recognized it as Ezra's callsign: the ace of spades.

Ezra frowned, wondering what Kari was going to do with it. With a small smile, Kari flicked it deliberately towards the newly made fire. "Oops," she said as the card caught on fire and burnt away. She looked innocently at Ezra. Vin wondered what his reaction would be.

The reaction was surprisingly minimal. Vin expected more from Ezra. Instead, he placed an imitation smile on with as equal ease as Kari had and said, "It's perfectly alright, Kari--" with a swift flick of his wrist, a card appeared out of nowhere, held between Ezra's second and third finger, "--cause I always carry a spare." The card? Obvious enough, an ace of spades.

Vin smiled as he watched the surprised expression on Kari's face. So that's how you've been winnin' our poker games, Vin thought.

Ezra held the card out for Kari to accept, and she did without a single word.

+ + + + + + +

Two games passed by quickly, with Ezra winning both, but came perilously close to losing to Austin. Kari and Austin retreated, claiming fatigue. They disappeared off into the darkness.

+ + + + + + +

"He isn't as impressive as you made him out to be, Karience," Austin whispered to Kari just outside her tent.

"You just haven't spent enough time with him yet," Kari whispered back.

"Oh, I think I've already spent as much time as I could possibly want with Ezra Standish. I don't see why you would prefer him over Bryan, or me, for that matter." Austin leaned in closer to Kari. She turned away. "See what I mean? You made a perfectly good life for yourself without him, and now that he has shown up, you go all obsessive on me."

Kari turned his head up to match Austin's stare. "You got a problem with that?"

Austin snorted. "Yeah, obvious enough isn't it?"

"Then what're you gonna do 'bout it?" Kari challenged him.

"There's nothing I can do to get his face out of your mind. Even if I kill him, he'll still win."

"I'm glad you understand that."

"I just don't understand why you keep on insisting to make him out to be this hero of yours. He's nothing but a liar and a cheat. He stole your heart, broke it, and still you want more. Can't you see that's what he does for a living?"

"I know what he does for a living, I was with him."

"But you don't really see, because you're in love with him. You're blinded, and that's why you refuse to see that Standish is not what you need."

Kari laughed derisively. "And you are?"

Austin pressed closer. "I want you, Karience. You know that, and I've told you that plenty of times before. Ezra Standish's just going to use you again, like he used you years ago. I won't."

"What would you know about Ezra?"

"I know enough to understand that being associated with him would cause nothing but pain and misery." Anger revealed itself in the young man's eyes.

"Austin, there's something you're not telling me," Kari warned.

The anger dissipated rather quickly. "It's nothing, nothing that you need to worry about. Please, just get rid of him." Austin pleaded with his brown eyes.

"And I should get rid of Bryan along the way too, right?"

"I would be so much better as your right hand man. He's a lousy shot, and he can't make a single decision without your approval. Besides, I know I'm much better than he is, in other departments." Austin leaned in once again, pressing his lips to Kari's. They shared a passionately kiss, leaving them both breathless. Austin moved downwards, kissing his way down her neck, stopping only to take a quick nip at one of Kari's soft spots, which made her moan with pleasure. Austin pulled up again and gazed into Kari's eyes. "I'm plenty sure that Bryan can't make you feel the way I just made you felt."

"I like Bryan," Kari defended her lover. "He understands me, he adores me."

"So do I, Karience." Austin kissed her again, to prove his point.

"But, Bryan..." Kari started.

"What about him? You don't want him to get hurt?" Austin asked, laughter in his eyes. Kari didn't reply, instead, she reached up for another kiss. Austin obeyed.

"Bryan would be furious when he finds out," Kari said after they broke off their kiss.

"So? Deal with him like you deal with any other obstacle in your path."

"He's not an obstacle, Austin, he's... he's..."

"Your lover? So? He's your ex-lover now, and I'm--"

"What I want," Kari cut in as she pulled Austin into her tent.

+ + + + + + +

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Ezra yelled at Caleb and Kyle the next morning. Ezra rushed to the still form on the dusty desert floor.

"Just havin' some fun," Caleb snarled at the hustler.

Ezra glanced up for a brief moment, fire burning within his green eyes, before turning his attention to the still form. "Vin?" Ezra asked as he turned the barely breathing tracker on his back. Vin opened his eyes, and they seemed coherent. "Vin?" Ezra repeated.

"Yeah?" Vin whispered. Ezra moved Vin against a boulder, where the bounty hunter could rest a little while.

"Who said you could touch him?" Ezra turned back to Caleb. Ezra remembered Caleb as the same guy who had threatened him the day he entered the compound.

"Who said we couldn't?" Caleb challenged Ezra. Ezra redirected his gaze for a moment, turning it full force at Kyle. The smaller man quickly moved away. "I'm in charge here," Caleb said, ignoring Kyle's quick retreat.

"Who said you are?" Ezra asked, mocking Caleb's previous tone.

Caleb narrowed his eyes. "Just who the hell do you think you are? You're just some fancy coat that Karience's sleepin' with for the week. By next week, you'll be gone."

Hostility and violence, Ezra knew, were the only way sometimes. Without a warning, Ezra delivered an uppercut to Caleb's jaw. The bigger man staggered back a step. He recovered quickly though. "That was a mistake, runt!" Caleb pulled a long jagged knife out and jabbed the air with it. "You're dead!"

Ezra quickly dropped his jacket off at a safe distance, enabling him to move more swiftly. Caleb swiped at Ezra, but the smaller man dodged the knife easily. Ezra may be smaller and less muscled, but the bigger you were.... Caleb was at the end of his knife swing and couldn't pulled back fast enough. Ezra took this opportunity to deliver another sharp uppercut to Caleb's jaw. Caleb dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes. A loud 'oof' could be heard all around the camp.

Ezra picked up the fallen knife and approached the fallen Caleb. Caleb stared at Ezra in pain, fear taking over the anger in his murky blue eyes. Ezra examined the blade carefully, flicking off imaginary dust. Then, he swung it down towards Caleb's head. Caleb closed his eyes in terror. When he opened his eyes again, the blade was precariously close to his neck, but buried safely into the dirt next to his head. Caleb's sight turned from the blade to a smiling Ezra on top on him.

"So, who's in charge around here?" Ezra asked, voice feigning a tone of friendliness.

Caleb stared at the man in fright. "Y--yo--you."

"You, who?" Ezra stared innocently at Caleb.

"You, sir." Ezra smiled and backed away. Caleb got up and rushed away, leaving behind his knife. After making sure that the crowd had retreated and that Caleb was far enough away, Ezra rushed towards Vin. "You all right?"

"Better, after watchin' that nice show you put on for me," Vin grinned at Ezra.

Ezra, unthinkingly, grinned back. He caught himself and lost all amusement. "Will you be all right?"

Vin tried everything out. "I'm fine, just some bruises and cuts, nothing more." Ezra checked him over nonetheless, just to make sure. Vin was kicked twice in the side, but fortunately, his ribs weren't broken, just a little bruised. The rest were minor stuff.

"Why didn't you fight back?" Ezra asked. He thought that Vin would have taken better care of himself in that situation.

"That guy was twice my size, Ezra, and he had help. Besides, my hands were tied up 'til the moment you came along."

Ezra winced. "I guess you'll be fine... I've got to go." Ezra retreated. "Look after him," the gambler said to Alex, who was passing by, "and if you don't...." Ezra trailed off. Alex grimaced, knowing the consequences. He nodded quickly, and Ezra stalked off towards where Kari would be.

Part 6

Ezra flipped aside the linen doorway and started to walk in. He halted his progress abruptly, turning around and left without a word. The heat of embarrassment crept onto the back of Ezra's neck, eventually travelling up to his entire face.

"What is it, Ezra?" Kari's quiet voice asked.

Ezra jumped at the unexpected presence. "Uh, I didn't-- I thought, I, ah, I assum--"

Kari laughed. "It's okay, you didn't interrupt anything. I was just taking a nap and Austin joined me."

That statement didn't help ease any of Ezra's embarrassment. "I didn't realize that you and Austin were, ah...."

"Lovers?" Kari offered.

"That's the word," Ezra agreed.

"What do you want, Ezra?"

Ezra jumped at the subject change. "Why'd you allow Caleb and Kyle to attack Vin?"

Kari stared at Ezra as if he had grown a second head. "Why shouldn't I? I hate him. He deserves whatever he gets. Don't tell me you're friendly with him?"

Ezra shook his head quickly. "I just don't think that violence is necessary. After all, he's going to die in Tuscosa."

"That's the difference between you and me. You abhor violence, I embrace it." Kari sighed. "That's why you left. I understand." Without another word, Kari re-entered her tent.

Ezra walked away, bumping into Bryan along the way. Bryan ignored the bump and continued on his way to Kari's tent. "Karience?" he whispered, knowing that she usually napped at this time of day. What he found was something he never thought he would see: his Karience sleeping in the arms of Austin Wright. "What the hell?" Bryan said, loud enough to awaken the both of them.

"Bryan," Kari calmly acknowledged. Austin, on the other hand, had a smug grin on his face. He mockingly saluted the second-in-command.

"What're you doin' in here?" Bryan asked Austin, who was slowly rising from the bed.

"Obvious doncha think?"

"Austin, shut up." Kari snapped, then slowly approached the stunned Bryan. "It's not what-- oh, what the fuck am I saying. Yes, Bryan, it is what you think."

Bryan slowly recovered. "You're sleepin' with him? You're sleepin' with Austin Wright?" he cried out.

"Yeah," Kari replied.

"How long has this been goin' on?"

"Last night."

"Last year." Kari and Austin replied at the same time.

"Which is it?" Bryan demanded.

Kari took a deep breath, no point being weak now. "Last year, while you left for the week long scouting mission to Shannon Valley, I slept with Austin."

"How many times?"

"I lost count after seventeen," Austin cut in. Kari glared at him.

"Why?" Bryan finally asked. "I can understand about Standish. You were young, you were in love. But Austin?"

"I don't know why. I guess it's because we're over."

"Over? Just like that?"

"Yeah, just like that."

Bryan looked distraught, but he didn't stay long after that announcement. He left the tent, leaving Kari with Austin. "Thought you handled that rather well," Austin commented.

"I would've done better if you didn't keep interruptin' me!" Kari pushed Austin playfully back a step.

"Honestly, why did you come to me that time?" Austin asked.

"When Bryan left for Shannon Valley?" Austin nodded an affirmative. "I was lonely, and your gorgeous personage was there, so I took the advantage."

"You mean, you didn't fall for my magnetic personality?" Austin feigned a look of hurt, staggering back a step. "You hurt me so!"

Kari laughed, then sighed softly. "Thanks for tryin' to distract me, but I doubt that's gonna work. I was going to talk to Bryan 'bout us, but you came in and I got... distracted."

"Bryan's just going to have to deal with it. We're happy, right?" Kari nodded and fell into Austin's embrace.

+ + + + + + +

"Why?" was the only word Vin said after Ezra checked up on him again the next day.

"Pardon me?"

"If it's true 'bout what you said, about the third kind, about carin' only for yourself, then why're you still checkin' up on me?" Ezra didn't answer, instead, he kept his eye on the path ahead, gripping his reins a little tighter. "Why're you doin' this, Ezra? I know there's a good reason for this."

"Take your pick of two: money or Kari. Or maybe it's both. The lure of woman and cash is quite overpowering," Ezra finally said, still refusing eye contact.

"You're lyin'."

"So what if I--" The rest of Ezra's sentence was cut off as the group came to a screeching halt. Ezra didn't think they would have caught up so quickly, but there they were: Chris, Buck, JD, Josiah and Nathan were right there in front of them.

Ezra stared at the group. He saw the anger in their eyes and knew it to be directed at himself. Kari pulled her horse a little closer to Ezra. "That them?" she asked. Ezra nodded.

Chris saw the pitiful state Vin was in, and his anger raised a notch. "Karience Williams?" he called out.

"Yeah? What'd you want?" Kari called back.

"We just want our men and then we'll be on our way."

"But Tanner here's a fugitive from the law, just doin' the world a favour by bringin' him in!"

"He's falsely accused."

Kari shrugged. "Don't matter. You ain't plannin' on harbourin' a fugitive, now, are ya?" Kari challenged. Ezra shot her a look, warning her not to rile Chris up.

Chris' lips pulled up to a mirthless smile. Ezra had seen that expression one too many times. It was a smile that promised dead bodies. "That's exactly the plan!" Chris announced

"Let me talk to him," Ezra offered to Kari. She swept her hand grandly in Chris' direction, offering Ezra the chance. Ezra led his horse ahead of everybody else, getting a little closer towards the fire of fury.

"Mr. Larabee," Ezra greeted.

"Ezra," Chris said simply.

Ezra hated it when he had to put on the macho, fearless desperado routine. Ezra despised the times when he had to be nasty, but he was past the point of no return and he couldn't very well just defect back to Chris' side. No, if Ezra was going to play this out, he was going the whole way.

"I suggest you turn back the way you came, gentlemen."

"Ain't happenin', Ezra," Buck replied. JD nodded an agreement to that statement.

"It would be much better for your own personal health if you would turn around and ride back the way you came," Ezra insisted.

"You're dead wrong if you think we would give up," Nathan spoke up. His face was solemn and dead serious, but there was a bubbling pot of question deep in his heart. After all that Ezra and the rest of them had been through, Nathan truly thought that the "ol' Southern boy" had changed for the better. Now here came this mess. If Ezra was truly the smooth con operator that he had claimed himself to be, Nathan doubted that this would the way Ezra would play out his con. Having once been desperate, Nathan knew a little of what desperation would make some men do. As Nathan stared at the grim determined face of Ezra, the healer knew that he was looking at the face of desperation.

"Damn right," Buck agreed with Nathan. His normal sparkle of amusement had turned into a glint of anger and something much more dangerous. He stared furiously at Ezra, seeing only betrayal. All rational explanation had been tossed out the instant Buck saw the state Vin was in. Traitors would not be tolerated, was Buck's personal philosophy. "My personal suggestion to you, Standish, and to your lady friend, is to turn Vin back to us. That'll save any unnecessary bloodshed."

Ezra winced inwardly at the halt of the use of his first name. However, outwardly, he remained perfectly calm. "I'm afraid that wouldn't be possible. We're going to escort Mr. Tanner to Tuscosa, whether you're in our way or not." The instant those words left Ezra's mouth, he knew that he made a mistake. Chris couldn't be intimidated, never could be, and never will be.

Chris decided then that this was it, this was the final straw. Vin must not be allowed to be taken to Tuscosa even if it cost Ezra Standish his life. However, just as the storm was about to break, Chris was stopped, by Vin.

All attention had been directed at Ezra previously. For a brief moment, however, Chris' eyes met Vin's. And curiously enough, Vin's silent communication was a simple one. But the message was shocking enough to almost knock Chris back. The message was merely a single word: don't.

That single word was enough to knock the doubt back into Chris' mind. There was something fishy about all this, but Chris' suspicions were buried by the news of Vin's kidnapping. Now, that suspicion was back full blown. The abrupt notice of departure by Ezra, his behaviour, and his subsequent appearance with a wanted criminal. There was a reason why Vin didn't want this confrontation to take place, but for the life in him, Chris couldn't figure out why. However, Chris' faith in Vin's judgement was enough to halt the gunfight that was about to happen.

Ezra was puzzled. He fully expected the bullet from Chris to have struck home by now. Instead, Chris merely smiled again and turned his horse around. The others, eyes widened in surprise, followed silently without a word. Kari also observed this in amazement. "Those words must really work," she commented.

The troupe continued on their way.

+ + + + + + +

"Why'd you turn around?" JD questioned Chris as they rode away.

"Vin told me," Chris answered.

"Vin? He told you, how?" Buck asked, catching up to Chris on his horse.

Chris did not answer. Instead, he said, "We'll follow behind Williams and act when it's time."

"And when is 'time'?" Buck asked.

"Vin will let us know."

+ + + + + + +

"It was you, wasn't it? Chris stopped because of you," Ezra spoke to the sitting Vin. It was more a statement than a question. Vin shrugged. "Why?" Ezra asked.

"There's no point in you being a martyr for your guilt."

"Martyr? Only heroes get to be martyrs. I was only going to get what I deserved."

"Do you really believe that?" Vin looked at Ezra, his blue eyes neutral and calm.

There was a moment of silence, and Ezra glanced away toward the pitch black night. "I don't know."

"Tell me what you know then."

Silence.

"Why?" Ezra finally said.

"Why what?"

"Why're you being so friendly?"

"You asked me that before," Vin answered.

"Then answer me again."

"'Cause I don't believe that you're that third kind of person. 'Cause I know you care for others, no matter how much you don't want people to know that. You're a good man, Ezra, don't hide that behind some mask." Silence. "Ezra?" Vin called out. He could barely make out the outline of Ezra's body, much less any details of the gambler's expression.

A muffled sob broke the silence.

"Ezra?" Vin tried again. He could see that Ezra's face was buried in his hands. Another muffled sob echoed out. Vin glanced around his surroundings. He guessed it to be near midnight. Everyone was asleep except them. The fire in front of them still gave out some heat. Vin turned his sight back to the crying Ezra. The bounty hunter got up and walked closer to Ezra.

"Don't," a low, hoarse voice came from the hunched figure. Vin stopped and sat down where he was, a mere two feet from Ezra. Ezra finally peeked out, his green eyes liquid with tears. Smudged trails of wetness streaked his face. "Why do you care so much, Vin? Does it matter why I'm doing this? Does it matter whether I live or die?"

Vin thought for a brief moment that probably Josiah would be better at this type of conversation, but he kicked himself for the thought. "Yes, yes it does," Vin replied. He searched for the words. He had never spoken much before, much less about his own feelings. Vin had always been a quiet man, never much for words. He would fade into the background, unassuming and observant. Quite the opposite of Ezra. Vin didn't know why he felt compelled to speak his thoughts all of a sudden. Even more surprising was how much he cared for the crying cardsharp sitting in front of him. How did this happen? How did Vin Tanner, the quiet and aloof, managed to come to care for someone so different from himself?

All this time in Four Corners, Vin had always believed that he had the least in common with the fancy gambler. They rarely spoke, and even then, they were usually sharp words laced with invisible barbs. It was nothing like the bond Vin had with Chris. Vin realized with a start that even though they were all in a group, Ezra always seemed to be the loner. Vin and Chris, Josiah and Nathan, JD and Buck. Ezra always seemed to be left on the outside looking in, a loner even in a crowd. And it was that, it was that simple, but sad, fact that made Ezra and Vin the same. They were merely drifters in life, wandering from place to place, alone always.

It was that fact that bounded them closer than any common similarity could. They had a common ground now, a simple starting platform for something that would be stronger than any friendship, bounding them closer than blood.

"Why?" Ezra asked finally.

"Because I understand," Vin replied with full sincerity. "And that is not some meaningless phrase. I truly understand how you feel." Ezra stared at Vin blankly. Vin explained, "Remember the price on my head?" Ezra nodded. "My bounty tricked me into hauling the wrong body back to Tuscosa. I was accused of murder and got that $500 bounty on my head. No one believed that I was innocent. Those who thought I was a hero before changed their tune, callin' me murderer."

Vin paused, looking at Ezra again. "So I do understand what it feels like when it seems as if no one believes you."

Ezra glared at the tracker, the fire reflecting from his eyes, along with hurt. "No you don't, Vin. Don't you ever say you understand, because you don't!"

"Then tell me why I don't?" Vin prompted once again, hoping that Ezra would bite this time.

Ezra did.

"Because no one believed you then, but no one ever believed in me, ever. Not that I gave them much of a reason to anyway..." Ezra trailed off, and tears threatened him again. He held them back, refusing to embarrass himself in front of Vin.

"But I believe in you now."

"Like I ask many times before, why?"

"I know that money isn't the object here. If that $500 really meant that much to you, you would have tried this long ago. And Williams is with that other guy... but you care for her."

"I'm not in love with Kari, at least, not anymore.... I don't know."

Vin remembered something. "You said somethin' before 'bout you draggin' her down?"

Ezra closed his eyes tightly. He wanted to let this out long ago, but he didn't want his mother to know that her son was capable of such a failure. So, Ezra kept it from her. Ezra opened his eyes again and saw Vin waiting silently. Vin's blue eyes were muffled curiosity and a clear broadcast of willingness to listen. So, Ezra began,

"Eleven years ago, my Mother decided that I had been taught enough of her 'trade' to fare well on my own. And so, she left me again, like she always did. I did small stuff at first, since I was unsure without her. I didn't want to go find her because I didn't want to disappoint her. Six months after that, I was caught at a minor con. Fortunately, he was an old pro. His name was Ian McTavert. He thought I had potential and took me under his wing. He told me that his own son never approved of his own trade and left him. So Ian recruited young potentials to try and take his son's place. Ian taught me to take chances, that money was the purpose of everything. It was nothing different from what my Mother had taught me.

"After two years, Ian left me. He just left a note saying that he had taught me all that I would ever need to know, and that he had left for elsewhere. I was disappointed again. I was alone again for a year, playing cards at saloons. Then, came my chance to prove my skill as a gambler. I charmed the daughter of a wealthy gentleman to give me an invitation to a high-stake poker 'tournament'. I thought it would be my way to stick up to those who were fortunate enough to be born wealthy, and yet still have to flaunt it in the faces of the poor. I was doing well, winning over $200 earlier that night. Then the stakes went a little higher...."

Part 7

Spring of 1871, Howser Manor, Baton Rouge, Mississippi

"I'm so glad that you made it, Mr. Standish! I see that you've been lucky tonight," a charming female voice purred into Ezra's ear.

Ezra beamed at the young lady. "I'm very glad to be here, Miss Howser. I must thank you for the invitation." Ezra took her hand and brushed his lips delicately across the back. Miss Howser blushed slightly.

"Please," the young hostess blushed a deeper red, "call me Virginia."

Ezra smiled once again. "I extend the same courtesy, Virginia. Please call me Ezra."

Virginia's heart fluttered at the way Ezra said her name in that sweet Southern accent. "Of course, Ezra."

A maid interrupted Virginia's bliss by announcing loudly into her ear, "Miss Howser, your father wishes to see you."

Virginia frowned at her maid. "Yes, Patty, I'm coming." Turning to Ezra, she said, "I have to leave you now, but I'm sure we'll see each other again during the party."

"I look very much forward to that." Ezra kissed Virginia's hand again, causing her blush to return. After Virginia disappeared off, Ezra turned to one of the tables. "Mind if I join?"

"Not at all, as long as you've got money to lose!" A young man laughed cheerfully. Ezra recognized him to be Virginia's younger brother, Jeremy.

Ezra laughed along with rest of the table as he sat down. "So, who's the dealer?"

"I am," Jeremy replied. He shuffled the deck of cards with easy. The soft burr of cards being shuffled was like music to Ezra's ears. "Five card stud, deuce's wild," Jeremy announced as he dealt out the cards, "and no limit at all."

+ + + + + + +

Virginia accidentally bumped against someone. "I'm sorry," she apologized. Looking up, she realized that it was Jeremy. "Jeremy, what's the matter? You look as if you've lost your life saving!"

"I did!" Jeremy whined.

Virginia merely looked at him. "I was just joking."

"I'm not! I just lost $250 at the tables!" Jeremy whined louder this time.

Virginia stifled a laugh. "Daddy told you that it wasn't a good idea to play tonight. He said that you're not good enough."

Jeremy grumbled softly. "I'm good enough, it's just that the other guy's better."

"Who?"

"That guy you're sweet on, Ezra Standish."

Virginia stared at Jeremy angrily. "I'm not 'sweet' on anyone!" she protested.

Jeremy laughed. "Half the world could see you being charmed by that fellow." Virginia merely stared fiercely at her brother. Jeremy sobered up a moment later though. "But no man should be that lucky. He's been winning straight all night. I think he's cheating."

Virginia was amazed. "Ezra? He wouldn't cheat. He looks harmless enough. He's just very lucky, that's all."

"Virginia," a deep voice behind the young woman called to her. She turned.

"Daddy." She smiled at her father.

"Excuse us for a moment, sweetheart, I have to talk to your brother."

"All right," Virginia agreed and wandered off to greet guests.

"What is it, Dad?" Jeremy asked.

"You've played with that Standish fellow right?" Jeremy nodded. "What'd you think of him?"

"Gina's sweet on him," Jeremy replied, grinning ear to ear.

Howser shook his head. "I meant cards."

"Oh. He's been lucky all night, winning straight through. Too lucky in my opinion."

"I was thinking the exact same thing."

"You suppose he's cheating?"

"Don't have to suppose, I know."

Jeremy glanced at his father, surprised. "Know?"

"David told me that Standish has been palming cards, among other things."

"Really?" Howser nodded. "What're you going to do?"

"What we do to all cheats in this house," Howser replied solemnly.

"What about Gina? She likes him."

Howser glanced momentarily at his young daughter, then to Jeremy again. "Virginia likes everybody. She'll get over it."

David McTavert, the Howser family's close friend, approached them. "Have you decided on what to do?" David asked. Howser nodded.

Unable to contain his curiosity, Jeremy asked, "How'd you know Standish was palming cards?"

David looked at the younger man and merely said, "Let's just say I know a thing or two about cons."

+ + + + + + +

Ezra's face pressed against the cold hard ground. The rain beat on him, but then, so did three other muscled men. Ezra hurt. Even his short hair hurt. Ezra knew why he was here, being beaten up under the dark night sky. He violated one of the rules that Ian had repeated to him over and over again: never be too successful. Ezra was caught cheating and now he was paying for it.

The young hustler was flipped onto his back. The cold rain splattered onto his bruised face. His jacket and vest had long since been stripped and searched for winnings. All money had been taken, even the cash that wasn't won from the tables.

A thug held up a knife. Faint light bounced off the blade and into Ezra's fearful green eyes. Was he going to be killed? Was the promising gambling career of Ezra Standish going to be abruptly terminated in this dark, wet alley? The thug holding the knife grinned. The other two pinned Ezra down, restricting all movement. The blade moved closer and closer to Ezra. The tip pressed lightly against his upper left arm. The coldness of the blade could be felt through the fabric of Ezra's soaked shirt.

"Let's see you bleed," the thug whispered. He pressed down hard and sliced across Ezra's arm in one quick stroke. Ezra could see the flesh of his upper arm being sliced, and blood poured from the wound. For a brief moment, Ezra stared in wonderment at the blood dripping knife of the thug.

Then, the pain hit.

Ezra writhed, but his arms and legs were pinned down. He screamed and yelled, not caring who heard him. He howled at the fire that burnt from his upper arm to his spine, then to his brain. All he could see was his own thick, red blood being spilt onto the ground like the clear rain water. Dark crimson stained Ezra's white shirt. The stain began to spread considerably.

"Betcha that hurts," the thug asked stupidly.

"Fuck you!" Ezra swore loudly at him. He rarely swore, but he was willing to make an exception this time. "Get the fucking hell away from me!" Ezra screamed out as the knife approached him again.

Without a warning, one of the thug holding Ezra down disappeared. Ezra could hear faint struggling and the thud of a body onto a puddle. A few moments later, more struggling.

A young, dirty face appeared into view and a pair of curious jade greens peered at Ezra. "Hi," the face said. Ezra passed out.

+ + + + + + +

Ezra opened his eyes tentatively. The pain hit him again. He clamped his eyes shut, trying to make the pain go away. It didn't. So, Ezra opened his eyes again. "Hi," the same face greeted Ezra again. Ezra examined the face and was surprised to find that it belonged to a young woman. The young gambler was also stunned to see a black and blue bruise on her jawline and a small cut on her forehead.

"You all right?" The gentleman in Ezra asked.

The young woman laughed. "You almost bled to death and you're askin' me if I'm all right! I'm fine. How do you feel?"

"Like I've been trampled by a horse." Ezra turned his gaze to his left arm. A bloody bandage was secured around his wound.

"It's been stitched up and disinfected, so you don't have to worry. You'll be fine."

"You took care of me?" Ezra asked incredulously.

"Yeah, so? Just 'cause I'm a girl don't mean I'm stupid," the young woman answered defensively.

"No, that's not what I meant. It's just... it's just that strangers usually don't help other strangers."

The young woman shrugged. "You got a name?"

"Ezra Standish. Yours?"

"Karience Williams, but everyone calls me Kari." Kari smiled at Ezra, and he felt as if the world was all right afterall.

+ + + + + + +

Present

"That's how we met. She was nothing more than a street kid who gave help to someone she thought had needed it." Ezra paused, looking tired. "Who knew that it would turn out like this." Ezra sighed, staring up at the pitch black sky. The fire was dying.

Vin remained silent, knowing that there was nothing he could say that would be in place. Instead, he waited for Ezra to continue.

+ + + + + + +

Late Fall of 1871, Mireille's Saloon, New Orleans, Mississippi

"Full House, read 'em and weep, boys!" Kari announced cheerfully to the table. The rest of the men groan.

"You're good girl, very good," one of the men said.

"Merci beaucoup!" Kari grinned at them as she collected their money. She made her way to another table where her partner sat.

"Royal flush," Ezra announced to his table, smiling at his opponents. The others threw their cards down in disgust and tossed their money to Ezra. Ezra noticed Kari's arrival and smiled genuinely at her.

"Six fifty," Kari reported.

Ezra counted the money deposited at the table. "Eight twenty-five. That's fourteen seventy-five. Should be enough."

"Should be?" Kari asked, unsure.

"Enough for two rooms for a week and a nice full dinner for you."

Kari sighed. "Why don't we just share the room and save the extra money?"

Ezra looked mildly horrified. "A gentleman does not put the reputation of a lady at risk," he said to Kari.

Kari smiled sweetly at Ezra and shook her head lightly. "I ain't no lady, Ezra. It's okay, really."

"You sure, Kari?"

"Absolutely."

"All right," Ezra agreed reluctantly. "Let's get that room and buy something to eat." Kari nodded an agreement.

+ + + + + + +

"You can have the bed," Ezra said as Kari gazed adoringly at the soft, comfy looking bed in the room. Ezra knew that Kari rarely got to sleep on a mattress before, and so, he granted her that luxury.

Kari glanced back at Ezra. "We can always share..." Kari began and burst into laughter at the expression on Ezra's face. "Just kiddin'! Really!"

Ezra shook his head at Kari. "Rest a little, I'll get us something to eat."

Kari nodded and plopped onto the soft mattress. She touched the linen of the pillow, tracing her finger across the stitching of the sheets. Kari rested her head onto the pillow and soon fell asleep.

+ + + + + + +

Kari's eyes opened groggily. She looked around and saw Ezra's smiling face. Kari's lips turned upwards into a smile as well. "About time you woke up. Your dinner's getting cold," Ezra said teasingly. He reached to a table and grabbed a plate of food. "Here you go." Ezra handed the plate to Kari and she dug into the food immediately.

Kari swallowed a mouthful of potatoes and asked, "What 'bout you?"

"Ate already."

Kari nodded absently, returning her attention to the food. After a couple of mouthfuls, she stopped and looked up at Ezra. "You know, I've always been wonderin' why you don't teach me anythin' more than just 'five card stud, eights are wild'. I know how to deal myself a coupla of eights easily. Why don't you teach me somethin' a little harder?"

"I don't want to pull you in too deep, Kari. Cheating isn't safe. One day, you're going to get caught...." Ezra stopped, remembering too well the last time he got caught. He rubbed his arm unconsciously. "Players usually don't catch the simple stuff because they don't expect it. They assume that con artists would pull something more elaborate. That's why I don't teach you the fancy skills."

"But you use 'em."

Ezra didn't answer, and Kari eventually resumed eating again. The hustler got up and strolled casually to the window. His stomach rumbled softly, protesting his lie about having eaten. Ezra glanced back to Kari, who was too engrossed by her potatoes to notice the rumble. The cardsharp reached into his pocket and pulled out an old and worn coin. Twenty-five cents. That was all that was left of their income.

Instead of buying his own meal, Ezra bought something else instead. Ezra pulled at the drapes and looked out. Victoria's Clothing. Kari's clothes were old and tattered, so Ezra went and got her a new pair of pants and shirt. Of course, if Kari knew what Ezra gave up to get those clothes, she would protest loudly and demand Ezra to return the clothes immediately.

"I got something for you," Ezra said, as soon as he heard the clunk of the plate being set down.

"Really?" Kari asked, her voice filled with surprise.

Ezra turned back to Kari and gave a slight nod. He reached into the little closet space of their room and pulled out Kari's new clothing. Kari's eyes widened and she hopped off the bed to Ezra. She hesitantly touched the new fabric. "Wow," she whispered.

"Try it on, I'll go outside." Ezra pulled open the door and stepped outside, leaving Kari with her new clothes. Kari brushed her hand against the fabric again. No one had ever got her a gift before. She pressed the shirt against her face and she gave it a soft kiss.

"You can come in now." Ezra heard the muffled voice of Kari out in the hall. He opened the door and stepped back in.

"You look wonderful," Ezra complimented. Kari blushed. She turned around for him.

"Thank you so much," Kari said. She reached forward and pulled Ezra into a hug. Ezra held Kari close to him, feeling her warmth permeating through to him. When Kari finally let go of Ezra, she did another turn. "Thank you, thank you!" Kari tiptoed up and kissed Ezra at the corner of his mouth. She smiled at him, beaming happiness and thanks.

+ + + + + + +

Late Spring of 1872, Mireille's Saloon, upper floor, New Orleans, Mississippi

"No! You heard me, no!"

"It'll be great! Our cut's gonna be higher than what we've earned before."

"No means no, Kari, you heard me," Ezra protested.

Kari wanted Ezra to join a bank heist. They were going to be mere lookouts, but Ezra flatly refused even though they would earn much more than they usually did. "No stealing," Ezra reiterated.

"I know what you always did before. You would lie to me about havin' eaten and stuff. Instead, you use the money for somethin' else, for me. If we do this, you don't have to keep givin' me everything no more."

Ezra looked surprised. "How'd you know?"

"I've suspected. Now I know." Kari reached out and touched Ezra's cheek. "Please? Do this for me?"

Ezra gazed into Kari's pleading jade eyes and couldn't help but commit. He reluctantly nodded. Kari broke into a smile. "Great!"

+ + + + + + +

Early Summer of 1873, outside a bank, Ridgeside, Alabama

Kari loaded her rifle expertly and aimed quietly. One shot fired out and a man went down. "Kari!" Ezra's surprised voice cried out. Kari turned back to Ezra, handing her rifle to Mike, their 'accomplice'.

"What's the matter?" Kari asked nonchalantly.

"You just killed the law," Ezra said. Kari nodded. "In the back," he continued.

"So?"

"You killed someone in the back," Ezra repeated.

"Yeah?" Kari stared at Ezra as if he was suddenly a few cards short of a deck. Ezra pulled Kari away from Mike and into somewhere relatively private.

"What happened to you?" Ezra hissed.

"What?!" Kari asked, surprised.

"You never used to be like this!" Ezra continued.

"So? Things change, people change."

"They're supposed to change for the better."

"And I haven't? Look, we stay at first class hotels, eat the best foods. Our pockets are full of money, what more do you want?" Kari replied.

"The old Kari back," Ezra answered. Kari looked hurt.

"I'm the one who should be askin' what happened. And just what happened to you, Ezra?"

"Nothing."

"Really? What's with the doubt? Wasn't money always the object?"

"It was part of the object. You made it everything. Now you've made killing a part of it."

"A part of what?" Kari asked.

"Your life! You're not who you were anymore." Ezra was interrupted by a pair of lips on his own. He was pulled into a passionate kiss and his mind protested. The protest died away. "What was that for?" Ezra asked after they pulled apart.

"To show that I am still who I was. Nothing's change, Ezra. We're still together," Kari replied and kissed Ezra again.

+ + + + + + +

Present

"She couldn't have been more wrong," Ezra said, as tears rolled down his face once again.

Part 8

Spring of 1874, Ben's Hotel, Dalton, Georgia

"I can't do this anymore," Ezra whispered softly.

"Pardon?" Kari asked.

Ezra sat up in bed and moved from the warmth of Kari's body. He pulled his pants on, then his shirt. He was starting to button up when Kari stopped him. "What the hell are you talkin' about, Ezra?"

"I can't be with you anymore," Ezra replied, only raising more questions in Kari.

"You're not goin' anywhere till you tell me what the hell's goin' on!"

"I can't be with you, Kari. You've changed. You're not the person I met and loved." Kari stared blankly at him, daring him to answer her unasked questions. Ezra met her gaze. "Remember about a half year ago, you shot that lawman in the back?" Kari nodded, wondering where this was going. "I can't deal with that. The Kari I knew wouldn't shoot someone in the back. Hell, she wouldn't even pick up a gun.

"You leavin' me?" Kari whispered, stunned beyond words. Ezra didn't answer.

+ + + + + + +

Present

"I left her there and never looked back. I saw Kari only once before now, and she almost killed the woman I was supposedly involved with. It all started with a simple deck of card, god help us where it'll take us," Ezra concluded and looked back at Vin, who listened intently to every word.

"I didn't know," Vin said finally. Knowing those three words to be frightfully inadequate, Vin remained silent after that.

Ezra smiled mirthlessly. "It doesn't matter."

Vin thought for a moment. "If you're not doin' this for her, then why are you doin' this?"

Ezra pondered on whether to tell Vin or not. He voiced it over in his mind and realized that his reasons sounded stupid and moronic. What the hell, Ezra decided, it wasn't as if he would live to be embarrassed about it. "I'm doing it for you. For Chris, for Buck, for JD, for Nathan, for Josiah."

Vin looked puzzled, and Ezra continued on to explain, "Kari was angry... furious for my leaving her. She planned on taking revenge on me. That meant killing me and sending the town along with me." Vin's eyes widened slightly.

Ezra laughed at Vin's expression. "That was my reaction. I knew Kari could do it. Her men are elite, and Kari herself is an incredible shot. I was the one who had first taught her how to hold a gun." Ezra's gaze drifted downwards.

"You didn't know what would happen," Vin offered.

"But I should've. And I shouldn't have left her. I was a coward. Instead of dealing with her, I ran away. I'm no better."

"Yes, you are Ezra. You know enough to try and deter her from the town."

The fire died out and left the two men in darkness. Their eyes soon grew accustomed to the darkness, and they could see each other again. The chill of the night air nipped at Vin and Ezra.

Ezra snorted. "Look at how that worked out. She got you instead."

"At least you tried, and the town's still around 'cause of you," Vin tried desperately to make Ezra feel less guilty. Nothing seemed to be working.

"And you're going to die because of me." Silence fell for a brief moment. "I can't let her do that to you." Vin heard Ezra rise and was moving toward him. Then, the former bounty hunter felt a figure near him, and the knots around his wrists loosened. Vin brought his hands to the front and rubbed his wrists.

"You can't--" Vin started.

"Why not?" Ezra interrupted.

"She'll kill you."

"I should be dead." Vin's heart froze with the deathly cold tone of the last statement. "Go."

"I can't go, I won't go," Vin protested. However, before he could protest any more, a blunt object connected with his head and Vin collapsed onto the dusty ground, unconscious.

Ezra pulled the unconscious Vin to the horses and saddled the tamest one. Ezra stroked the animal's mane, whispering light nothings to it, gaining the horse's trust. The horse nudged Ezra, as if saying that it could be trusted. Ezra smiled. He had some difficulty in loading Vin up onto the saddle, but Ezra finally succeeded. The cardsharp gave the horse one last pet and whacked it to get the horse going. The horse sped on into the night, hopefully in Chris' direction.

+ + + + + + +

"You hear that, Chris?" Buck asked Chris, both on watch.

Chris nodded. "Horses... one horse," he corrected himself. The horse eventually came into sight.

"It's riderless," Buck remarked.

"No, there's something...." Buck and Chris looked at each other and realized what the horse was carrying: a slump body. They rushed to the horse. Buck calmed the animal down while Chris unloaded the saddle.

"Vin!" Chris cried out.

"Vin?" Buck turned from the animal to Chris and the unconscious figure.

Soon enough, everyone woke up, except Vin. Nathan checked him over, announcing that Vin had nothing more than a nasty bump on the head and some bruises and cuts from some time previous.

Vin's lashes fluttered and his eyes opened, revealing disoriented blue eyes. "Vin? You all right?" Buck asked. Vin sat up deliberately, blinking several times. He looked around, taking in the worried faces surrounding him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Vin finally replied.

"How'd you escape?" JD asked.

"I didn't."

The puzzling response, well, puzzled the four men. "What'd you mean?" Chris asked.

"Ezra let me go," Vin replied.

"Ezra?!" JD repeated angrily. "That sonuva--" JD was cut off by an angry look from Vin.

"You all misunderstood him," Vin said.

"Simple facts are a little hard to misunderstand, Vin. Ezra betrayed us and joined that little witch," Buck spoke up, not understanding the fiery gaze that Vin shot at JD.

"The facts aren't that simple. Ezra didn't want this to happen and he's gonna die 'cause he let me go." Vin got up from the ground. He raised his hand to his head, gently rubbing the sore spot on the back of his head.

"Good riddance!" JD replied.

Vin didn't even bother to compose a response to that. Instead, he approached the horse that carried him to Chris' camp. "Where're you goin'?" Chris asked.

"Back," Vin replied.

"Wh--" Buck started to speak but Chris motioned for him to be quiet.

"I don't have time to explain, but Ezra's not the man you all think he is. And I've got to get back before anyone notices that I was gone." Vin mounted the horse and galloped off.

"Why didn't ya stop him?!" Buck demanded of Chris.

"He knows what he's doing," was the reply.

"He's gonna get himself hanged," Buck argued.

Chris started to walk away, but Buck ran ahead of him and stopped in Chris' path. "You sure?" Buck stared into Chris' green eyes and saw unwavering assurance of Vin's actions. Chris broke eye contact and began to retreat.

"You just gonna let him go?" JD asked Buck.

"There's nothin' else we can do, kid."

"Yeah, there is! We stop that witch Kari and Ezra 'fore Vin gets himself killed!"

"Calm down, JD, there's no arguin' with Chris," Josiah offered.

JD glared at the world in general, then called out loudly so that Chris could hear as well, "How could all of you just stand by and watch Vin get himself killed? I know Chris has good judgement, but can't he make a mistake some time?"

Chris would normally be furious at such a statement from the kid, but this time, he was strangely calm. "JD, as much as I would like to believe that Ezra is a scumbag out for nothin' but cash, there's plenty of suggestions otherwise. Why did he let you go? Why did he allow Vin to leave? I know Vin, and he ain't the type to trust easily. If he trusts Ezra, then so do I."

JD pondered on Chris' words. He thought back to the scene at the outcrop and remembered the great pain and reluctance in Ezra's words and actions. Then JD remembered the look in Ezra's green eyes. In his fury, JD had completely forgotten any suggestion to Ezra's innocence, but as JD thought long and hard about what had occurred for the past couple of days, he realized the truth in Chris' words. Why would a traitor do the things Ezra did, unless he wasn't a traitor at all.

Colour crept onto JD's face as he remembered the nasty words he said to and about Ezra. JD realized it wasn't him speaking, but the rage within. The burning fire in his dark eyes cooled down as he reflected on his hasty judgement.

+ + + + + + +

"What're you doing back?" Ezra's astonished tone didn't surprise Vin. According to the gambler's own self-esteem, Ezra was no more than pond scum.

"'Cause I can't let you die for me," Vin replied and got another amazed look. "Look, things will work out, I know it. There's no point for you to die over it. Kari's the bad guy here, not you."

Ezra remained silent, but he looked thoughtful. "You sure this will work out?" Ezra sounded surprisingly weak and uncertain. He did not seem like that confidence-filled, charming hustler that Vin had first met.

Vin nodded, projecting confidence, hoping that Ezra might be able to catch some of it.

Part 9

"You're just gonna let Vin get himself killed, is that right, Chris?" Buck's hushed voice whispered to Chris as they rode steadily closer towards Tuscosa.

"We settled this last night, Buck. There's no use arguin'. I know what I said about not lettin' Vin near Tuscosa 'til we're good and ready to clear his name, but that ain't gonna happen."

"It ain't gonna happen 'cause of Ezra," Buck hissed.

Chris shot Buck a look. "It's not Ezra's fault. You heard Vin said so."

"I don't care what Vin said. He's wrong. I saw with my own two eyes and my eyes tell me that Ezra's at fault here. He's the one who left us and joined with Williams. Ezra's the one who's now holdin' Vin and he's not gonna live if Vin hangs."

Chris didn't know how to reply. One part of him wanted to agree with Buck, that Ezra was the dirtbag responsible for all this, and if Vin hung, the hustler wasn't going to outlive the bounty hunter by more than a day. And yet, another part of Chris wanted to believe what few words Vin said in defence of Ezra's actions before he returned to his captors. Chris wanted to believe that somehow, Ezra was able to change. Chris himself might not be able to alter his own ways, but he would be glad to see that Ezra Standish was able to.

A sudden memory flashed across Chris' mind: his last conversation with Ezra before he ran off. The things that the blond gunslinger said came back to haunt him. Chris normally chose his words carefully and thought about the things he had to say before he said them. However, something possessed Chris that day to say those nasty things to Ezra. Something brought out every single doubt and suspicion in him about Ezra, and it came out in every word Chris had said. In a span of several minutes, seven months of friendship became undone.

Whatever left of that bond shattered when JD came back with the news that Ezra and Williams kidnapped Vin for the bounty on his head and were heading towards Tuscosa to collect on it.

Buck was about to demand an answer when he saw the internal debate within Chris. Buck didn't have the thoughts that Chris had. True, Buck had became sort of friends with Ezra, playing a couple of games of poker and drinking together. Buck had seen the gradual changes within Ezra, but the blue-eyed scoundrel, with all his humour and cheer, didn't believe that men like Ezra could change. Men like Buck himself couldn't change, hell, they wouldn't. They were used to this way of life, and nothing could motivate them to change it. Buck believed that Ezra merely adapted, as all skilled conmen should be able to do. When the situation changed, Ezra simply changed with it.

Yes, it was betrayal, Buck believed, even if it was Ezra's nature. And yet, there was a certain "I told you so" quality to that betrayal. It was as if Buck had seen it coming all along, but was still stunned when hit in the face with it. Optimism liked to win, and it did often. However, that victory often had its price.

"Chris?" Buck asked. Chris tore away from his thoughts and turned his green eyes back to Buck.

"You're right, Ezra won't live if Vin hangs. But I would like to believe that Vin wouldn't, and Ezra's gonna make it that way." Chris paused for a moment. "Even if he doesn't, we'll make it that way."

+ + + + + + +

Kari stared at Ezra, scrutinizing everything facet of his being. After she was satisfied with whatever answer she came up with, she walked away. Ezra blinked and swallowed a sigh of relieve. Kari turned to her group and announced, "We'll be on our way in two minutes. Tuscosa's just half a day away."

Ezra turned his gaze to the tied Vin, who was sitting on the ground, trying to get a drink of water from the downpour of the canteen held above his head by Austin. Vin started to choke and coughed violently. Austin stopped pouring. Not out of the kindness of his heart, but because the canteen was out of water. Austin walked away without a word towards his grey horse.

Kari turned her head towards the coughing, and Ezra caught the nasty smile spreading across her lips. Then, she turned away again, paying her attention elsewhere. Vin continued to cough and he tipped over, falling onto his back. The coughing finally ceased and Vin wheezed in a couple of breathes, trying to replenish the air in his lungs. Eventually, his breathing was back to normal again.

A sudden conviction seized Ezra's heart, and he knew what he had to do.

Ezra turned away and mounted his horse.

+ + + + + + +

A shot rang out and a man fell to the ground, never to get up again. "Caleb!" Kari cried out, suppressing her urge to run to her second-in-command. "You shot him in the back! Have you no honour?"

The man holding the gun laughed. "You said once before, and I quote: 'People like us don't have honour, Ezra. All we have are our lives, wits and skills. We don't need anything else.'"

"Don't you dare throw my own words back at me!" Kari threatened.

"How many times have you thrown my words back at me? Besides, you're the one who taught me that it's perfectly all right to shoot a man in the back."

"I am but what you made me to be," Kari argued.

"I am but what you forced me to be," Ezra argued back.

Vin watched the exchange for a brief moment before he launched into his own escape plan. Well, one extremely tiny section of it. The part where he would untied himself and get Ezra and himself the hell out of wherever. Vin had intended to go through with his plans after they entered Tuscosa, but Ezra jumped the gun. The bounty hunter knew he should have informed Ezra about his plan. He really should have known that Ezra would do anything to prevent Vin from entering town.

Kari cocked her gun. "What do you think you could accomplish, Ezra? There's still the five of us to kill you."

"You would kill me?" Ezra asked, knowing full well the answer.

"Yes," came the reply.

Ezra shrugged and fired again. Fair-haired Kyle went down. "One down, four to go."

"You can't kill me," Kari said softly, carefully noting down all the little emotional notes that Ezra dropped for her. Kari had notebooks full of these notes. After being with Ezra for so long, Kari knew the man inside and out. While most other men couldn't read the cardsharp, Kari could read him like an open book.

Kari smiled, knowing that she would win in this situation. Then, amusement drained from her face.

Something changed within Ezra, something that made the gun in Kari's hand drop a little. The book was still open, but it just changed language. "Yes, I can, because the Kari I knew is long dead. And you're nothing more than a small reminder of what she was." Ezra's soft green eyes hardened to steel. "It was never about the town, never about the money. Even after you took Vin, it wasn't about vengeance or the $500 bounty. It was about me, it had always been about me."

"You have a high opinion of yourself in my life, but that's true. It has always been about you," Kari admitted.

Vin stopped whatever he was doing and listened. He did the exact opposite of what Ezra wanted. Ezra was distracting Kari, so Vin could escape. Instead, the bounty hunter was enraptured by the unfolding of the scene.

Ezra flitted his eyes quickly in Vin's direction and back to Kari again. Bryan stood just slightly behind Kari, Austin to Bryan's left, Alex to Bryan's right. All with their guns drawn. Ezra could tell from Bryan's expression that he wasn't informed of the full depth of Kari's obsession over Ezra.

"My life revolved around you ever since March 19th, 1871, the day I found you. I've never stopped thinkin' about you since then. You were my life, Ezra! I loved you!" Kari paused for a moment. "You left me," she spat out.

"There was nothing else I could've done."

"Really?" Kari took a step closer. "You could've stayed. You could've been with me. I wanted you so badly." Something changed within Kari too, something much worse than the alteration within Ezra. "Nothing else mattered. I have enough money to live out the rest of my life in luxury, but the only thing I wanted, the only thing I ever thought about was you! Did you ever think about me? When you're lyin' in bed, alone at night. The rowdy noises outside, the couple fuckin' each other in the next room, and you start thinkin' about all the good times you had and wonder where the fuck it went. And I have to ask, when did it all stop?"

"When money took over for us." Ezra glanced to Vin again, trying to get Vin to get the hell away before he was killed.

Kari raised her head and laughed at the sky. "It didn't, it never did. The money was for us." Kari stared at Ezra with those jade green of hers, piercing through all protective armour he wore. "Then you ended us. It became you, and me."

Vin could see the effect Kari's words had on Ezra. The guilt was back again. Bad timing. Ezra's gaze faltered downwards, emotions clouding his eyes.

Kari smiled mirthlessly and tilted her head in a peculiar way. "I've told you again and again, and it's true. This is what I am, and you made me this way. I'm sick, and I'm twisted, and it's because of you. You left me and this is what I had to do to prevent myself from goin' insane." Kari laughed again, a chilling sound which sent shivers down everyone's spine. Kari's own men began to stare at her strangely. "Despite the fact that I'm a bit screwed in the head, that I've found Bryan, then Austin, this little fact is the eternal truth: I've never stopped lovin' you, Ezra. Never did, and never will."

Ezra's head snapped up, tears streaming down his cheeks. His head came up just in time to see Kari turn around and fire a bullet into Bryan's head. The absolutely stunned look on his face bore into Ezra's soul even as Bryan's lifeless body crumpled to the ground. Kari turned back to Ezra. "He means nothing to me, but you... you mean everything."

Two seconds and two bullets later, Austin and Alex joined Bryan's body on the dusty desert floor. Vin stared at the bodies and couldn't even begin to contemplate the drive behind Kari's actions. Ezra understood, though he knew he would never feel it. He prayed to god that he never will.

"I would do anything for you, absolutely anything. Lie, cheat, murder. Anything." The bright jade of Kari's eyes no longer contained any seductive lust, feigned innocence, or burning hatred. Rather, a crazed affection, a warped version of love that scared the living daylights out of Ezra. True love could fuel almost everything, this warped love would fuel anything.

Kari turned her head for a moment and saw the dust cloud containing Chris and others coming steadily their way. "Come with me Ezra, we don't need anyone and anything. Just you and me, we can start over."

Vin stared at Ezra, waiting for anything to happen. Vin's sapphire eyes suddenly fixed onto Ezra's. There was something strange, something inexplicable in those green eyes, something that was frightening akin to the craze emotions swirling within Kari's eyes. Before Vin could really identify it, Ezra had already turned away. Vin turned his head briefly in the direction of the dust cloud. Chris was already visible, and undoubtedly watching the events before him.

"Come with me, there's not much time left," Kari urged Ezra on.

Vin was frozen. He couldn't do a single damn thing. He could only watch as Ezra dropped his gun to the ground. "I'll come with you." Ezra walked to Kari, and she smiled at him. She gave him a soft kiss on the lips.

"He'll have to go," Kari said as she pointed her gun in the direction of the unarmed Vin.

"No, no, no," Ezra whispered softly and eased the nozzle towards the ground. Kari stared deep into Ezra's eyes, reading everything, interpreting all in view. Absolutely everything.

And Ezra knew that fact.

He also knew the consequences of turning around, but he did so anyway.

Ezra turned slowly, his face struggling to be an emotionless mask. "Go, Vin, leave," he said to the frozen bounty hunter. "Go!"

Vin didn't move a single step.

Chris was approaching at full gallop, just one tiny minute more and they would be here.

Vin flinched at the sound of the gunshot and watched silently as Ezra sank to his knees. Ezra didn't look down, he didn't even look surprised. Ezra merely stared at Vin for a brief moment before he fell forward onto the ground.

Vin stared at Kari, who was standing behind Ezra. She held the smoking gun in her hand. Kari stared back at Vin, her eyes were swirls of madness, but they contained a certain wisdom that only children or madmen had. "He loves you," Kari said, surprising Vin, "he can't love me, because he loves you." Kari stared deep into Vin's blue eyes, as if trying to find some justification to her hypothesis. She seemed to have found it, because she smiled one last time and pointed the gun to her own head, and fired.

Vin walked silently to Kari's still body, still numbed by the events. The bounty hunter bent down and picked up the six-gun from Kari's hand. Vin released the cartridge and relieved the gun of its last bullet as he took the couple of steps closer to Ezra. Vin clutched the bullet fiercely in his hand and shut his eyes tightly as he fell to his knees before Ezra's body.

Vin opened his blue eyes and saw the closed ones of Ezra's that would never open again. Tears fell from Vin Tanner, the long-haired, blue-eyed boy who vowed never to cry again after his mother's death. Only nine words came from Vin's mouth as the others finally arrived, "Never the third kind, Ezra, never the third kind."

Epilogue

The funeral was only one day away. What more could be said? Maude, in New Orleans, had been contacted through the telegraph. Vin wondered what she looked like the instant she was told that her son, her only son, had been murdered by a wanted felon. He thought it must be stunned silence and shock at first, a reflection of his own face when the gunshot rang out. Then... then what? A gnawing pain in the heart perhaps? An emptiness somewhere in the soul? Vin didn't even know that his soul had been whole until a chunk was ripped out by Ezra's death.

Vin stared at his hand: it was shaking. It had been shaking for the last day or so. He didn't know why, it just happened. Vin, somehow, found himself wishing that it was all a dream. He wished that it was a simple nightmare from too much whiskey. He wished that he could just wake up and find Ezra at the poker table, eagerly waiting for the next unsuspecting victim.

Fantasy, that was all it was.

The ride back to Four Corners was a blur. The return trip took a lot shorter period of time than going where they came back from. Still, it was a complete blur. Vin didn't remember explaining the situation to Chris and the others when they arrived. Vin assumed that they came to realize the truth of Ezra's motives since no one had approached him for answers. Perhaps Vin should clear things up more, wipe clean the smeared record of Ezra, but Vin stayed in his room and watched his hand shake.

Maude would be here some time today. She insisted on being here for the funeral and that was the reason why Ezra wasn't in the ground yet. He laid in a wooden coffin in the undertaker's place, all by himself, as always. Alone in life, alone in death... No, Vin screamed out in his mind, he had me. I was there. A part of Vin's mind demanded him to feel guilty. It told him that he could have done something to prevent Kari from taking Ezra's life, but Vin knew the futility of blaming himself. In the end, the only person he could blame was already dead and in the ground.

The thundering hooves of horses and the whirr of wheels notified Vin of the incoming stage. He rushed out of his room, determined to be the first to meet with Maude. The stage came to a halt and Vin came forward to open the door to the wooden coach. Vin offered his hand and the graceful lady took it, stepping down to the dusty street.

"Thank you," Maude whispered. She was dressed completely in black, but she still retained that aura of fashion and dignity. Her eyes were red, no doubt from crying, and the hanky in her hand was visibly damp.

"Ma'am." Vin tipped his hat respectfully to her.

"Pardon my aging memory, but you are Vin Tanner, correct?" Maude asked.

"Yes, ma'am." Maude gave a thin smile, as if recollecting some memory.

"May I have... a meeting with the rest of men?"

"Of course, I'll go arrange it. Do you need help with your luggage?"

Maude gave a quick glance to the stage. "No, all I have is that." She gestured to the lone piece of baggage on the ground where the stage driver deposited it. "I shall be at the hotel," Maude said as she took hold of her luggage and headed away. She lacked her usual charm and smile.

Vin turned away and headed towards the saloon. This would be the first time for him to see the rest of the men since Ezra's death. Vin had ridden back without a single word and retreated to his room, coming out only once to set instructions to the undertaker for Ezra's body. Vin didn't know how they, or himself, would react. He ventured towards the saloon and pushed past the doors.

Whatever the men were doing, they stopped. "Afternoon, Vin." JD smiled weakly. "Is Maude here?"

Vin nodded an affirmative. "She wants to meet with all of us."

"Now?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, now would be a good time. I think I have an idea of what she wants to talk about," Vin replied. Vin noticed the downward gaze of most of the men, especially JD. They were all ashamed and they were going to have to face it in front of each other and Maude.

"Any idea where?" Chris asked again.

"I don't know. Would the church be okay, Josiah?"

"Yeah, it'll be fine."

"All right, we should head there now. I'll go get Maude." Everyone nodded an affirmative and started to get up from their seats. Vin backed out of the saloon and headed towards the hotel.

+ + + + + + +

"Good afternoon," Maude said. Her voice was quieter, softer with a gentle tinge of sadness. Maude held the hands of Mary Travis for support. "I guess I just wanted this meeting to... to thank all of you." Everyone's gaze shot sharply upwards to meet Maude's. Maude didn't expect such intensity. She hesistated for a brief moment, then continued, "I just wish to thank all of you, because...." Maude stopped and gave a short, humourless laugh. "I'm not used to this," she said as an explanation.

"Ezra writ-- wrote," Maude corrected herself uncomfortably, "He wrote me letters periodically. He told me many things, but I also know that there was a whole lot more he didn't write. Still, I know my son and I know that he was grateful for all six of you. He never actually said it, but I know that he admired each and every one of you."

The shame in the room tripled.

Maude didn't notice.

"I must admit that I've never been the kind of mother I had wanted to be for Ezra," Maude began again, her voice even weaker than before. "I've done many things in the past which I regret now, but I know there's nothing I can do now to change the past. The sense I got in his letters was that he valued your friendship very much. Each one of you changed him, and though I hate to say it, I'm very glad you did. You all did things I never could for Ezra, and I'm grateful that he received what he longed for from you. And so, I thank you, for the both of us." Maude stopped, tears overwhelming her. She pressed her damp hanky to her cheeks, but only succeeded in smearing the wetness. Mary was crying as well, but she tried her best to suppress it.

JD sniffed while Buck blinked rapidly several times.

"Mrs. Standish," Chris began after a long silence, "we, too, have done things we regret. We accept your thanks, but I think I need to tell you something."

Maude furrowed her brows. "What is it, Mr. Larabee?"

Chris swallowed uncomfortably. "Perhaps you should sit down." Both Maude and Mary complied. Chris stood up and met the gaze of everyone in the church. "We... all of us, except Vin, owes you, Maude, and Ezra an apology." Chris blinked, his eyes gleaming with unshed tears. "About a week ago, Ezra received a telegram. We know now it to be from Karience Williams, the woman who killed Ezra. She and Ezra had a history together, but they split after she turned into a criminal. Unfortunately, Williams had an obsession with Ezra and tried to coerce him to join her. Ezra, trying to protect us and the town, joined her under the guise of betrayal. All of us were," Chris paused for a moment, drawing in a shaky breath, "we were all led to believe that Ezra intentionally left us. There was no excuse for us, we should've know better. We all thought it was for real. I knew from the start somethin' was wrong, but I didn't pursue it." Chris closed his eyes and bit down hard on his lower lip. "I should've checked and I should've realized that Ezra would never do such a thing. I never even gave him a chance...."

Chris trailed off, and a soft tear brushed down his cheek to fall onto the ground. He was breathing hard and each breath hurt. It was like someone took a knife and craved onto his heart. He never imagined that his soul would ache so much ever since the death of Sarah and Adam, but here he was again, mourning the death of someone who was... no... someone who didn't have the chance to be... family.

"We pursued Ezra and Karience Williams after they kidnapped Vin, intendin' to take him to Tuscosa. In the end, she shot him over an altercation. Each one of us saw him die, and we... I could've prevented it."

Maude stared at Chris, not in anger, but in pain. She knew little of Karience Williams: Ezra had never talked about her, and so Williams ended up being in the taboo subject pile, among many others. "Chris," Maude began, "you can't blame yourself."

"I should've done something... and now... He died to protect us, and we didn't even know it." Chris turned away from Maude's gaze, ashamed to be standing there. JD's gaze drifted downwards once again, spots of salty tears marking the ground he was sitting over. Buck's blue eyes were closed, remembering the scene that would forever be etched into his memory. They were so close, yet so far. Buck watched in muted silence as Kari pulled the trigger that ended Ezra's life. And to find out that they had all blamed him for trying to protect them.

"He died a hero's death," a new voice added. It turned out to be Vin. His sapphire blue eyes were fixed to the ground. Playing over and over in his mind, in vivid colour and detail, was the last scene. Vin knew now that Ezra knew exactly what he was doing. He understood the stare Ezra gave him. Ezra knew what was going to happen, he knew that to turn around meant death, but he did it anyway. Why? For Vin!

Hauntingly, over and over again, were Kari's last words: "He can't love me, because he loves you." Was it true then that Ezra loved Vin? Was it that their friendship truly transcended that level which nothing could hinder its growth? Vin grimaced when he realized that he would never know. He would never experience that friendship ever; he would never play another poker game with Ezra again, never trade insults, or fight side by side, or to understand what it meant to love someone so deeply that you were willing to give your life for them. Ezra certainly felt it, to give his life up for someone who was almost a mere stranger, for someone he barely knew.

The answers, truths, and futures, died with Ezra Standish.

+ + + + + + +

The assembly broke soon after Chris' confession. The men left the church quietly, but not before shaking Maude's hand and giving the apology they felt that they needed to make. Vin left first, unable to hold back his grief. He didn't want to cry anymore, but that seemed to be the only option available to him. Vin walked out without thought as to where to go and he found himself on the stairs that would lead to Ezra's room above the saloon. Vin stopped dead in his tracks. He didn't know why his unconscious mind brought him here.

Might as well go through with it, Vin thought. Someone needed to go through Ezra's belongings and return the personal items to Maude. Vin decided it might as well be him. He continued up the steps with slight reluctance. Eventually, Vin was at the door and he held back the instinctive urge to knock.

No one living here no more.

Vin expected the door to be locked when he tried the knob, but surprisingly, it wasn't. Vin pushed open the wooden door and saw Ezra's room for the first time. Vin almost smiled. Despite the blatant "hotel-ness" of the room, it still felt like Ezra. The gambler somehow managed to rub a part of him off to the old furniture. Vin walked in, closing the door behind him. It appeared to Vin that the occupant had left in a hurry and that departure was unplanned. He was right. A watch here, a book there. It was as if Ezra was still living here and that he merely took a stroll out.

Vin stepped towards the bed and found it to be perfectly made. He turned his attention to the bedside drawer. A candle-lit lamp stood boldly, but the candle had long since been burnt out. A book laid beside it. Vin picked it up and inspected the binding. Othello, by William Shakespeare. Typical Ezra reading. Vin laid it back down onto the table. He then ventured to the closet and found assortments of fancy clothing. Among them was the green jacket that Ezra liked to wear, but not as much as the bright red jacket, the one... The one he's going to be buried in, Vin noted with a sharp pang in his heart. He quickly closed the doors and stepped away. On top of the fire mantel, Vin found the tiny derringer Ezra usually hid up his sleeve. No wonder Vin didn't see its appearance during their time together at Kari's camp. Vin also found a small sum of money in bills and coins casually thrown there. This was strange. Vin knew Ezra's love for money. The gambler would never treat his own money with such disregard. Ezra must really have left in a hurry.

The bounty hunter then went through the drawers methodically, closing those that contained nothing of interest. Then, Vin stopped when he found one that contained a hardcover book. He took it out and checked the binding, assuming it to be another novel Ezra was reading. Interestingly, the binding was blank. Vin flipped open the cover and found two lines of neat handwriting.

Journal
Ezra Standish

Vin paused, not knowing whether to go on or not. Before he was able to come to a decision, the unlocked door opened to reveal Maude standing there. Vin turned around and greeted the woman, "Mrs. Standish."

"What're you doing here, Mr. Tanner?" she asked.

"I'm... I'm just goin' through Ezra's things to see what should be returned to you."

Maude stepped closer to Vin. "What have you found?"

"Nothin' much, ma'am, 'cept this." Vin held up the journal in his hand. Maude took hold of it and stared curiously at Ezra's handwriting on the first page. "I think you should keep it," Vin continued.

Maude then smiled at Vin, handing the journal back to him. "Actually, I think I'll let it stay in your care."

Vin raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Why?"

"As I said at the meeting, Ezra wrote me many letters. What I didn't say was that they were mostly about you and Chris." Vin was stunned to silence, and so Maude continued, "My son had a great deal of respect for the both of you, and he admired you. I know it was you who believed in Ezra's innocence all through the whole fiasco and I thank you for it. And I think Ezra would've wanted you to have this."

When Vin found his speech again, he asked, "Why me and not Chris?"

Maude sighed dejectedly and turned from Vin to walk around the room. "Mr. Larabee still feels responsible for Ezra's death, and I have yet to have a talk with him about that. As much as Ezra respected Chris Larabee, Ezra liked you a whole lot more. You were his friend, the first true friend he had in a long time. He once said that he didn't quite understand how or why, but he liked it."

Vin's gaze trailed down to the hardcover book in his hand, and he wondered what it would reveal. "Thank you," he whispered.

+ + + + + + +

Vin returned to his room and stared unblinkingly at the book. He could almost say he was scared. Not so much scared of what he might find in there, but of how he might react. Drawing in a sharp breath, Vin flipped open the cover once again, reading the two short lines that indicated what he was reading. The bounty hunter hesitantly turned the page and found the first entry in a scrawl of a handwriting. The date indicated that Ezra was only seventeen when he started to record his life down. The first several pages were mostly of rants and whines. Then, Ezra stopped complaining. Vin read it slowly, drawing in every word. Although Ezra only wrote in the journal sporadically, his descriptions and details painted a vivid picture of his life to Vin.

The scrawls began to clean themselves up as the dates grew closer and closer to the present until they became the neat and precise handwriting similar to the one on the front page. Years flew by in a matter of hours, and Vin stopped only once to light the candles to illuminate the darkened room. There was a curious five year gap that spanned from Ezra's twenty-first birthday to his twenty-fifth. The pages had been ripped out almost violently, leaving jagged edges protruding from the binding. Vin winced as he recognized the one word left upon one jagged protrusion: Kari.

Ignoring the gap, Vin continued to read. Sparkling blue eyes scanned each word carefully, and then they closed when they came upon the new entry... the entry made after the day the seven became a team.

August 29, 1880

I met the most fascinating people: Chris Larabee, Vin Tanner, Buck Wilmington, JD Dunne, Nathan Jackson and Josiah Sanchez. Normally, I would not be so taken by run-of-the-mill gunslingers and bounty hunters, but this group was really something else. Together, we defended a small Seminole village from the mad Colonel Anderson. Outnumbered five to one, we cut the Colonel down to size and saved the village from destruction.

That isn't the important part of the story. The important part is... I don't really know. I guess maybe it's this feeling I get when I'm fighting beside them all. It's a very strange feeling... something akin to happiness and belonging. My Mother would most likely laugh and wave it away. I would too, but something tells me not to let this go, that this is important, and if I do let go, I shall regret it for the rest of my life. I don't usually listen to tiny voices in my head, but this time, I did.

October 21, 1880

I don't know what has come over me. I'm actually staying in this god-awful town, even after Mother offered me a lucrative deal that would triple my current income. And guess what? I tried to save the Travis boy, for no reason nor profit! I must be going mad. Maybe it's something in the water since the rest of us are doing these meaningless and stupid heroics. Us... what a strange word.

I guess it isn't all meaningless and stupid. We saved Billy Travis from threat and that's only one of many other daring deeds. The others seem quite accustomed to all of this, and JD wants more trouble than we're getting now. Definitely something in the water....

Vin smiled as he read that entry. He placed the journal down for a brief moment and closed his eyes to rest them. Vin could visualize Ezra sitting in his room, dipping pen into ink and writing down these entries with a smile on his face. Vin opened his eyes again and read on.

October 22, 1880

Sometimes I wonder why I write in this journal. It's not as if I'll forget my lengthy, and sometimes regrettable, past. Or maybe I will. Sometimes I would read back to my earlier entries and wonder what came over me when I wrote those things down. I would realize that most of the time, I was deluding myself as to the reality of the world. When I landed in Four Corners, I fully expected to leave within a week with a nice sum of money. At least, nothing that would be worth this many journal entries. And yet, I find more and more things about this little town that ties me down and makes me want to stay.

I think the major reason would be Chris Larabee. Lone gunslinger in black with a tragic past, classic dime novel hero. Yet, he's much more than the thin, hollow character those dime novels made such men out to be. He has much depth, and pain. Sometimes I would allow myself to wonder why he gave me that second chance. It wasn't as if I've done anything to deserve it. Yet, he gave it to me. Sure he hid it underneath that growl of a threat, but it was a chance, one I can use to prove myself to him. I think I've tried to prove myself. At least he hasn't shot me yet.

Then, there's Vin Tanner. Chris Larabee I can understand to a certain degree, but Vin Tanner is a complete mystery to me. When I would come to a conclusion about him, he would act in such a way that makes me rethink my analysis. He doesn't seem to care very much about anything, but I know now that to be a facade. A carefully made facade, but one nonetheless. There are certain characteristics that are definites in Vin. Loyalty, courage, bravery... just like Chris Larabee. Maybe that's why they tune so well to each other. Maybe those characteristics are the reasons why I don't fit in.

Vin stopped reading. The bounty hunter had never cared what others thought of him or his actions, but to read Ezra's account of him touched a nerve he didn't even know he had. Loyalty, courage, bravery. Vin smiled bitterly when he realized that Ezra had never thought well of himself, and the smile quickly turned into a grimace as Vin recalled a certain moment... And there's a third kind, those who care for no one but themselves... the awful moment when Ezra declared Vin as the first kind, the hero, the one who deserved goodness and respect.

Vin turned away from that thought, and instead concentrated on the fact that what Ezra did for them all wasn't proof of anything, but something that came straight out of the gambler's soul, something akin to instincts. Ezra didn't even think twice about his actions, never even thought of joining Williams in her schemes. That was how much all of them meant to Ezra. The point hit home in Vin as he read the journal entries and as he recounted the time he spent with the gambler in Kari's camp.

A tear fell onto the page, making the black ink run. Vin sniffed and quickly turned away, not wanting to ruin Ezra's journal. Vin closed the cover hastily, not wanting to read on. He placed the hardcover book away from him and turned to lie on his back on the bed. Vin thought as to how to go on and realized just as quickly that that was exactly what had to be done. They would all go on, learning the hard lesson and despite the tragedy. It would be for the best, instead of wallowing on guilt and what-ifs. It was all too late for such what-ifs.

Vin let go of all thoughts and drifted into sleep.

+ + + + + + +

The priest spoke solemnly as Buck, Chris, Vin and Josiah lowered the grave into the ground. Maude stood numbly beside the open grave, as if realizing Ezra's death for the first time. The coffin touched ground and settled into its place of rest. A headstone read simply,

Ezra Standish
1850-1880
Beloved Son and Friend

"Is there anything else any of you would like to say?" the priest asked.

Maude looked steadily at Vin, and Vin met her gaze, understanding what she was trying to convey. Vin moved from his spot and walked to where the priest stood. The priest stepped aside. Vin swallowed and began to speak,

"All of us here thought we knew Ezra Standish, but we don't. We each had our own image of what we would like to think he was: perhaps a gambler, a conman, someone in a fancy suit who was good with a gun. But Ezra was more than that. He was... a friend. Someone who cared deeply, but never had the chance to show it. He cared enough to stay, cared enough to help. He cared enough to give his life so that we may live. Perhaps we were blinded by the past, by our own delusions and expectations, to see him for who he really was, but that don't matter now. What matters is that we all know now. Ezra once told me somethin'. He said that there were two kinds of people on this earth. There were those who seek battle and seem not to fear death, and those who don't seek battle, but will stand and fight to the death if their loved ones were threatened. Then, Ezra suggested a third kind, someone who didn't give a damn 'bout anythin' but themselves.

"Ezra, too, was blinded, to see anything other than the dim gaze of disappointment and failure in other's eyes. He thought himself to be the third kind, and others believed. They searched no more, delved no deeper than the image he gave to the world. But he was not the third kind, never. He cared for us, valued us, respected us. He did not seek battle, but he stood and fought to the death because he knew us to be in danger. And wherever Ezra may be at this moment, I think he'll hear us when we say, thank you."

Vin finished and returned to his spot.

Nathan stared at the open grave. He thought of his remarks of Ezra's character from times previous and how they had managed to somehow patch the bumps and became friends. Somehow... friends. Nathan would never forget Ezra. "Thank you," he whispered.

Josiah heard the silent whisper from Nathan and followed it up with, "God bless, my friend, god bless."

Buck stared at the gravestone. Thirty years old... Buck thought Ezra to be older than that for at least five years. Strange how this rough land could muddle with age. The delightful sparkle in Buck's blue eyes dimmed as he reviewed his behaviour during Vin's kidnapped days. All rational thoughts had left his mind then, and the only thing left was the bitter taste of the desire for vengeance. Buck understood now that he was wrong... men do change, for the better and for the worse. And in Ezra's case, for the better, but he didn't have a chance to live it out. "Thank you," Buck whispered.

JD Dunne's eyes were unfocused, their brown depths swirled in the pits of memory. The little clues and hints in Ezra's behaviour screamed louder than ever. And the loud ring of a fired gun echoed hollowly in his mind. JD had watched mutely on his horse as Ezra collapsed to the ground. At that agonizing moment, everything fell into place: Ezra's actions, Vin and Chris' words, hints and suggestions.... The fire of anger died, with nothing to take its place but a sodden emptiness, an emptiness JD was sure that everyone else could feel. Would it ever go away? JD wondered. Would the sharp ache ever dull and the gunshot fade into static? Would it? JD knew he had sorely misjudged Ezra, but too late for that kind of a revelation. JD sought to blame himself and he wanted to so badly, but Vin's words rang crystal clear in his mind: Perhaps we were blinded... but that don't matter now. There was no point in blaming himself. JD could only accept his mistakes and made damn sure it would never happen again. "I'm sorry, Ezra... and thank you, for all you did for us."

The same revelation took place in Chris' mind. Vin's words affected all, but they sharpened his focus more than anyone else's. Mistakes, yet again. How many more mistakes would he make? How many more would he kill? Chris mentally shook those damning words out of his mind. It was an enticing offer to drown himself in whiskey and bury the pain, but it always came back to haunt him. Chris knew he had to face his errors stone cold sober, for any other way would be unacceptable. I won't run anymore, Ezra. If there's one thing I've learnt out of all this, it's not to run any longer. And I will learn to trust, even if it's the last thing I do. I've misjudged you, and I'm sorry. I promise you, Ezra, I've learnt this lesson well and I shall never forget.

"Thank you, Ezra," Chris whispered.

Chris was given the honour of placing the first shovel of earth into the grave. He stabbed the shovel into a pile of brown soil and lifted it, delivering the soil to the grave site. Then, each of the six men took a turn. Finally, after a long silence, the grave was filled in. The men stood in silence for a moment longer, then began to disperse. Chris was about to turn and leave when he saw that Vin was the last one remaining. Chris could see that Vin saw nothing but the gravestone in front of him.

"Trust, Ezra, trust can kill you or set you free. You trusted us and I trusted you in the end. It was pretty good while it lasted, huh? I guess trust did kill ya, but it set you free. It guaranteed you what you wanted and so I give it to you with all my heart. Thank you, Ezra, and you have my love, always." Vin closed his eyes. When he opened them, they were bright and clear, and the renewed sparkle twinkled once again.

Chris approached Vin, for he knew that the bounty hunter knew he was there. "I guess we move on, right?" Chris asked as he stood next to Vin beside the newly filled grave.

"Yep," Vin replied.

"What will we do without Ezra?"

Vin gave a small smile as he turned to meet Chris' gaze. "I think we'll get by."

The End