As Vin Tanner burst through the doorway to the roof, he saw the two-by-four coming at him, but could do nothing to stop it. On instinct he threw his arm up to block the blow and felt white-hot pain as the piece of lumber connected with his forearm. With only a seconds' delay, he pushed the pain tot he back of his mind, then jumped up and continued his pursuit of Eli Joe to the ridge line of the roof. Vin lunged forward and grabbed Eli Joe's leg, bringing him down. The killer twisted and fell to his back, kicking Tanner in the chest and sending him rolling back down the roof. Vin quickly regained his feet and continued across the roof in pursuit with a concentrated focus. His mind never register the risk in jumping the expanse of alley separating the hotel and the telegraph office.
As they reached the apex of the building, Vin caught his target once more. They struggled together for long moments, until Vin was finally able to throw the man over his head very similar to the way he had been toss only moments before. The tracker's heart pounded as he helplessly watched Eli Joe rolled over the edge of the roof and disappeared from sight. Vin scrambled to the edge and felt a moment of relief when he saw the killer hanging from the edge of the roof. Without a second thought, he reached down and grabbed hold of Eli Joe.
Vin's arm ached where the two-by-four had struck him moments ago, but he held on with dogged determination. Eli Joe was his only hope of clearing his name in Tascosa.
"We got some unfinished business in Texas," he said through gritted teeth as he hauled with every ounce of strength he could find.
Finally, he felt the strain on his arms and back lessen as Eli Joe slowly climbed his way back to the roof.
Vin let relief wash over him briefly as he continued to pull backwards, giving Eli Joe added assistance to the safety of the roof. He felt the killer shift his weight once more, and looked up as sunlight glinted off a knife. Time seemed to stand still as the deadly weapon arched toward him. The shock and knowledge that there was nothing he could do froze Vin as he braced himself for Eli Joe's killing blow.
A thunderous report echoed across the rooftop, bringing Vin's world back into motion all too quick. Confusion gripped his mind as he tried to grasp the fact that Eli Joe was falling backwards from the roof edge with the glazed look of death already filling his face. Vin shot a stunned look over his shoulder to the source of the gunshot. Chris held his still smoking gun, apparently as stunned as Tanner at the implications of what he'd just done.
Vin turned back in time to see Eli Joe slowly slip backwards and fall to the boardwalk below. As Nathan and J.D. reached the body, Vin slumped against the false front of the telegraph office in despair. The adrenaline that had kept him going since the phony marshal had arrested him, drained away as he numbly stared at the crumpled figure below him. Although he knew Chris had fired to save his life, he also knew that in saving his life, Chris had killed the only witness to his innocence of Jess Kincaid's murder. All the time he had spent tracking Eli Joe and avoiding the law was now for nothing. Dead men couldn't confess.
He closed his eyes with a sigh as he heard Chris holster his gun.
"Vin? You okay?" Chris's soft words came to him through a haze. "Vin?" he asked again.
Slowly Vin roused himself enough to answer. "Yeah," he said hoarsely. "I'm okay."
He sat for a moment more, until he felt Chris's hand on his arm helping him to stand. "Come on, pardner. Let's get you down from here."
In silence, Vin nodded and allowed Chris to help him stand.
+ + + + + + +
The townspeople who had sought safety when the gun battle began, slowly emerged from their shelters to have a look at the body of the dead man, as Vin and Chris made their way from the telegraph office. The two men stood silently as Nathan gave a regretful shake of his head, confirming what Vin had known before he had climbed from the rooftop. Eli Joe was dead, along with any hope he held of clearing his name. Nathan motioned for the undertaker's wagon to move in as Vin slowly turned away. Each of the seven knew what the killer's death meant for Tanner.
As Josiah and Nathan loaded the body to the wagon, Chris stepped to it's side. He looked into the dead man's face one last time with a silent curse. Vin stepped forward and tossed a battered old hat into the wagon bed as Nathan and Josiah wordlessly retreated. A clinched jaw was the only evidence of the ex-bounty hunter's turmoil as the wagon slowly ambled down the dusty street, but Chris Larabee knew the man was torn by emotion. He moved to stand beside Vin as they both watched the wagon.
"I know you wanted him alive."
It sounded lame, even to Chris, but it was all he had to offer.
"You did what you had to. Can't clear my name if I'm dead." Vin told him, sounding as if he was trying to convince himself as much as Chris.
Chris felt himself clinching his teeth at the defeated tone of Tanner's voice. He knew that if the choice came again, between saving Vin's life and keeping Eli Joe alive to confess, Chris would make the same decision. He would be willing to help his friend dodge the law for the rest of his life, if need be, but he refused to let Eli Joe add Vin Tanner to his list of murder victims. Silently, he vowed that they would work it out together, no matter what it took.
But for now, Chris knew Vin needed a little time to himself to come to grips with his loss of hope. He would let him have that time, but he would also make certain he was not far away. For the moment, he offered the tracker a hand to his shoulder to let him know he had his support and was not alone.
As Chris left, Vin's eyes were drawn back to the disappearing wagon. He caught sight of Buck and J.D. silently watching him from the boardwalk and acknowledged the ladies man's nod and the young sheriff's pat on the shoulder as they both walked away and gave him some much needed solitude.
It took every ounce of strength Vin possessed for him to rein in his despair and control the helplessness he felt. Ever since Eli Joe had framed him for Jess Kincaid's murder, he had held on to the hope of one day catching Joe and forcing him to confess. Sometimes, when he was dog tired and the melancholy settled in on him, it had been the only thing that had kept him going. Yet, he always seemed to be one step ahead of the law and one step behind Eli Joe.
So what did he do now? He didn't even have the solace of anger. Chris had shot to save Vin's life. He couldn't fault the gunslinger for that. And as much as he'd like to, he couldn't take his anger out on Eli Joe. The man was about as dead as you could get. So what could he do, but hold his feelings inside, the way he had learned to do a long time ago.
He gritted his teeth in frustration. He would find some way to deal with the disappointment. Lord knew, he'd had plenty of experience in doing that. It was hard to accept, but he knew he could manage and despite the situation, he found himself almost smiling a little. He was used to going at things alone and depending on only himself. Knowing that Chris and the others had been willing to go against a federal marshal, even though they didn't know he was a phony at the time, left him with a feeling of kinship to the other six men that he had not been aware he had been capable of before.
In the months since he and Chris had stepped out into that dusty street in defense of Nathan, the seven of them had forged strong bonds to one another. It was strangely comfortable to know they accepted his innocence without question.
With a final look toward the wagon carrying Eli Joe's body away, he heaved a silent sigh then turned and walked in the opposite direction.
+ + + + + + +
Chris Larabee watched from the shadows of the alley beside the boarding house as Vin walked away. There had been very few times since he had first picked up a gun after Adam and Sarah's deaths that he had allowed himself to feel the consequences of his actions during a gunfight. Right now he was torn between feelings of regret and gratitude. Vin Tanner had become as close to him as Buck had ever been and when Chris had topped the edge of the roof and seen Eli Joe's knife arching toward the tracker, his heart had skipped a beat. Without hesitation he had pointed his gun and fired, not daring to take the time for a wing shot. He knew Vin wanted the killer alive and it was possible the man would have survived the wound, but when Chris had seen him go over the edge of the roof, he knew the man was done for.
For the first time since he'd picked up a gun, he questioned his killing a man. Not because of the injustice of Eli Joe's death, no one was hardly going to miss that bastard, but for what that death meant to Vin Tanner. At least Vin seemed to understand Chris had not had a choice. When everything had come down to a decision between shooting Eli Joe or watching him kill Vin, Chris didn't regret the killer's death one bit.
He had made the right choice.
The End
