HD novella

[Truckinbutch]

"Thought you went to shit and the hogs ate ya ," SOH said by way of greeting .
I grinned . "Woulda been easier thataway , missus . I just couldn't see you gettin my life insurance that easy ."
"Put that horse up while I get your supper ready . You can tell me all about it ." She got out of her rocker and headed for the kitchen . I headed for the barn .

>I'm as tired right now as I was that evening . I'll pick this up when I'm more rested .

[Truckinbutch]

The smell of fresh coffee awakened me the next morning .SOH was already up and getting ready to see me off as she had so many times before . A dark cloud of premonition hung over me as I dressed . That nawing rat in my brain that had stood me well in times past .All was not well in the Skodies .
I'd spent the past evening getting SOH up to speed after a good meal she fixed for me on the wood cookstove . As I talked I could see the frown wrinkles beginning on her forehead and it troubled me . She has the 'Gift"
as do I . Never enough to know what Lottery number to play . Course we never abused the spirits out of greed and personal gain , neither .

>When she turned from the stove I could tell from the look on her face that she had felt it , too . There was trouble in the Skodies ...................

>As she placed my plate in front of me she said ," Mister , that girl is fixin to get trouble visited upon her . You best find her as fast as you can ."
>"Yup , I felt it , too . I'm fixin to carry my Winchester across my saddle bows ."
>"You take that Sharps along ,as well . I think you may need it ."

>That stud horse saw me come in the barn with full war gear and acted like he'd like to go hide somewhere . He'd done some hard travelin for several days and he was some wore out . I grinned as I scooped him a measure of oats . Gave him a pat on the neck and said ," Relax , old son , you've done your part for a few days . That high country up in the Skodies is no place for you when you're tired . Time for 'Steppin Woman' to earn her keep ." I swear , I saw relief flood his eye like he understood every word I said .
>Steppin Woman had been listening ,too . She pulled her head out of her oats to try to take a bite out of me when I started currying her . No offence intended , it's just mule nature . Saddled up and packed down , I lead her outside and stepped into the leather .
>SOH was at the gate to let me out . "Mister , you come back and bring that girl with you , you hear ?"
>"Yes , missus , that's what I intend to do . Keep the coffee pot on . C'mon dog ."

[Truckinbutch]

About the time Butch got to his groundhog still and started casting for Corene's track heading for the Skodies she and Sarah were finishing putting together a squirrel stew . Sarah allowed that it would fee them two suppers . Corene agreed .
"Day after tomorrow I'm going to head up to that next higher meadow and see if I can't get us a deer or an elk to hold us for a while . A person could starve to death eatin just squirrels ." Her curiosity about the two strangers was getting the best of her .

[corene1]

As Sarah and Corene started making supper Corene mentioned the men she had seen while up hunting squirrels. Yes, Sarah replied I have seen them too and I have kept a close eye on them for a while now. They have a little shanty set up below thier still site to use as a cover for their operation. They are definitely not small time, I have seen the still , 200 gallons or better as I can tell, and they aren't selling it local either. Every Thursday night just like clockwork a couple of fellas come in with some big mules and drops off supplies and picks up the finished shine and heads off. Nobody in Pagosa would ever need that much shine but it is the only place I can figure that they are working out of . Corene's mind started spinning like crazy now, and untrusting as she was at times she started thinking maybe Jed wasn't walking away from his drunk Fed friends, maybe he was sneaking out to warn these shiners of the Feds investigation and she had way laid him on his way out. Hell maybe it was him that got them drinking that cheap liquor knowing it would keep them down for a good long while , at least long enough to do his business and get back without anyone missing him. She needed to go up and check out the still sight the next morning. What do you think of the stew asked Sarah? That was a fine dinner miss Sarah tomorrow I will go up higher and look for something a little better for the table. Well you might want something a little bigger than a bow for what your are going to be hunting tomorrow. She is a wise lady , thought Corene, for sure she knows I am going to scout out that still set up. Yes Sarah I will be taking the big gun with me ! It's the only good thing Ike left when he went away. It was made by a man named Ackley as I recall. Nice .270 Winchester model 70 with a Unertl 10 power scope. It will shoot a silver dollar at 700 yards no problem. Thanks for the great supper Sarah, think I will go sit by the creek for awhile. Care to join me?

[ga flatwoods]

That morning TB had headed down to the sheriff's office wanting to get a little more information on the free pass to making liquor that the Feds were talking about. As he was walking down the hall he heard a voice that sounded like Jeds , he was talking to a couple of fellas that TB didn't know . As he got closer he could here Jed talking about his amorous adventure with Corene the night before. Almost bragging is what it sounded like to TB . He couldn't hold back and stepped into the office and looked Jed square in the face. Jed . he said , I don't know what happened between you and Corene last night and It ain't my place to know. It also ain't anyone else place to know either. You are showing some of that city life that you are trying to leave behind. Round here folks don't kiss and tell. You are sounding like a feller that just bagged a trophy buck on opening morning, You need to show a little more respect for that moment you shared with Corene. By the way , TB said as he turned, Miss Corene is known to hold a grudge and if she finds out you been bragging about that night she is likely to make good on it.

After TB left the sheriff's office Jed tried to save face with his fellow officers by digging a deeper hole for himself. After one of the local guys had had enough he told Jed he had best listen to what TB had to tell him. There was no room round here for a fed let alone a braggort. Jed said "Don't worry about me, I know how to handle those hillbilly boys! I came from that you know!" With that said Jed left the sheriff's office himself. Uneasy he was as he had tried to play everything that had just happened as if it didn't bother him but deep down he knew he could be in deep shit with the locals. Especially, he thought, if TB went and told what he had heard. Perhaps a walk in the woods would do him good and give him a chance to think how to best go forward.

Jed had been walking for about an hour into the woods when he suddenly came upon an old man sitting on a hickory stump while propped on a long walking stick. It startled Jed when he called out to him by name. "It has been a long time Jed!" said the stranger. "Odd seeing you here like this. I was just passing through and thought id take a rest here on this stump and take a pull off this here jug when I heard you coming along."
Jed was at a loss. Who in the hell was this guy? How is it he called me by name? What is he really doing way out here all alone and as old and feeble as he appeared to be. He noticed the the walking stick was so old and worn that it was slick and twisted as a serpent yet comforting in its lay to the hand and support of the old mans body almost to the point of providing strength to the old man. Jed noticed the hard sharp chiseled appearance of his face, narrow and drawn tight though wrinkled with years of strife. His eyebrows were particularly pronounced. They went all the way acrosss his forehead somewhat less pronounced over his nose bridge but with sharp pointed ends on the outsides of each eye. He had a long thin mustache that worked its way into a burly goatee, pulled down tight and sharp. All of this put Jed on a defensive posture and the hair on his neck stand up.
"Here JJ have a pull of this, its good for what ails you!" The old man shoved the bottle into Jed's hand before he even had the chance to realize that he was as close to the stranger as he was. He almost missed the fact that he had called him JJ! "Who are you? " Jed managed to stammer out of his mouth. "No one has called me that in many years! I find you out here all alone where no one else should be, and you know me? Who the hell are you!?"
with that Jed drew his pistol and pointed it at the old man.
"Well now! I see they trained you well Joseph, or it is Jed these days aint it? I am an old friend of the family." The old man lifted his hand and pointed at the pistol gradually lowering his hand as he said "Now put that away before someone gets hurt!" As the old man lowered his hand Jed felt obligated to put his gun away as suggested, against his better judgement as well. "Now tip that bottle son and dont be hording it all for yerself!" This too Jed did as directed. The whiskey was unlike most Jed had ever tried but he could somewhat recall something similar many years ago again given by a stranger. It was smooth yet cooling and burned all at the same time simlar to a menthalatum rub is to the nose he thought. "That's a mighty interesting drop there stranger, what is it?"Jed asked. "Its called 'Old Scratch ' and it is from an old family recipe from deep within the flatwoods.And by the way, you can call me Mr. Black. That whiskey has a way of easing a man off to where the worries of the world are no longer a problem for him. You feeling what I mean?" Mr. Black asked Jed. It was with a sudden realization that Jed DID INDEED know what he meant. For the first time in a long while his guts were not clinched and in conflict with themselves. He didnt have a worry that he didnt have an idea of how to rid himself of each problem. The old Mr. Black encouraged Jed to sit down as he appeared to be in need of a rest. Jed noticed the tiredness for the first time and agreed and sat as requested. Just as Jed was about to ask for another oull off of the bottle, Mr. Black had taken it back and turned up and drank the remainder of the bottle. "That flatwoods 'Old Scratch' seems to have something magical about it wouldn't you say Jed?" By this time Jed felt like a bird being glared down by a snake. He nodded in agreement as Mr. Black arose and looked down upon Jed. "I must be off JJ. You sit here and rest for a while and enjoy the sip. It was good to see you again Son, it has been too long. Remember, if you have a problem then get rid of it and it wont be no bother any longer! I'll see you again soon Joseph!" And with that, the old man was gone.
Jed thought he had only blinked for a minute but it had been much longer than he thought. When he arose all he could think of was of the problems befronting him back at the Springs and he knew those that were causing him the problems and what he needed to do.

[Truckinbutch]

Trackin is slow work at best . I knew Corene was headed for the Skodies but that's a wide range . I was about gonna have to about stay right on her track . Rough job on account of that woodswise gal don't leave much
more sign than a piss ant crossin a concrete sidewalk .

>I burned up all day winklein out her track . Found a decent place to camp just before dark and made a cold camp for the night . I'm prone to do that when I'm man , in this case woman , trackin . Ate a bit of jerky and a cold biscuit from the grub sack the missus had put together for me . At false dawn I saddled the mule and gave her a ration of oats . Dog didn't seem to think there was anything to be worried about so I built a hat full of fire in a depression and boiled me up some coffee . I ain't what you'd call a picky feller , but I do value my morning coffee . As I sipped my coffee I pondered on where that gal might be headin . A man figgerin out what's in a woman's head is just a wasted effort . I poured the dregs of coffee on what was left of the fire and mounted the mule . I was to the edge of the Skodies and it was time to get back on the track .
>About three hours later I topped out on a high ridge that forked three ways . I studied her tracks and contemplated while the mule rested a bit . She was stridin those long legs without any sign of haste straight off down the center track . With my binoculars I could see a small , park like meadow down in the valley . I was just about to fork that mule and head down it when I heard a rifle shot in the distance off to my right ......
And then another , with a different sound ............. And then another with yet a different sound .............. Just spaced , I don't know , Just kind of different . Made the hair stand up on the back of my neck ....... I climbed up on that mule and turned her to the right . I'm not a nosey sort , but I just like to be aware of my surroundings . Kept hearing a shot now and then again later . Each one from a different rifle . Gave me an uneasy feeling . I checked the load in my Winchester and eased my pistol in the holster . That hair on the back of my neck just hadn't laid back down . Rode that way for nigh on to an hour hearing an occasional shot until a glimpse through some blown down timber showed me another meadow and I heard another shot come from it . Right past that patch of blow down I turned the mule off the ridge to find a vantage point to scout that meadow . The dog was out ahead on point so I moved along at a decent pace . Still hearin a shot now and a shot then . Came out on a bluff overlooking the meadow that gave me a fair view of all of it . Dismounted and started glassing the whole thing .

>60-70 acre meadow with a small jumble of rocks in the center , timber around the edges . About that time a shot rang out from the tree line and dust rose from one of them rocks in the jumble in the center and then another shot from a different point in the trees . And another puff of dust from another rock in the pile in the center . SON OF A BITCH ! I'd wasted all this time off the trail I was follerin to come and watch some jackasses killin rocks for sport ! Cursin myself for three kinds of a fool I had turned to go to the mule when another shot rang out . Them rocks was shootin back .

>I focused my glasses on the rock pile and , sure enough , there was an hombre in them rocks makin this a 3 gun match . Another shot came from the left of the tree line and ducted a rock mighty damned close to the hombre in the center . Then one from the right that hit too close to be comfortable for the hombre in the middle . They was flankin him . He was forted up good but , if they kept flankin him , eventually one of them was gonna get a clear shot .
>None of my affair . Personal matter twixt them . And then that hombre in the center moved position enough that I could get a full view of him . ........... It just became my affair ! That hombre in the center was Corene ! I snaked over to the mule and swapped my Winchester for my Sharps . It was time , again , to go to war .......................................................

[corene1]

Corene had done pretty much what Sarah thought she would do . Daybreak saw her watching the still sight looking for any type of clue that would tip her off to what was going on. For some reason it was strangely quiet down there so she decided just to lay low and keep an eye open. As she lay there she went over some of the things that she and Sarah had talked about while sitting on the creek bank. Sitting at the creek , they talked about all the peace and quiet of the mountains surrounding them and it reminded her that these mountains were made for us hill people and no matter what, she wasn't going to stand by and let some type of city element move in and destroy what she had called home or so many years. You have to protect what is yours she thought and she knew the boys back home were thinking the same thing. There fathers fathers had grown up here , generations of memories. She couldn't just step aside and do nothing. Then she saw one of the fellows moving down below her she couldn't see the other one but knew he was close. Her first shot landed in the dirt a couple of feet to the left of the first fellow, and he quickly headed for cover and was moving to her left side then the other fellow showed his cards he was coming straight up the hill at her . She sent another round at him and again cleanly missed but the round threw a bunch of gravel in his face. They started to return fire and move in on her. The one in front of her kept laying down cover fire and the other kept moving to her left . She knew if he got around on her she was done for, but they had her pinned down and there was no egress to be had, poor planning on her part. Little did she know TB had heard the firefight and was moving in to see what was going on. Strange thing he was thinking , Miss Corene is missing a whole lot of shots , that just doesn't seem right but I gotta get in there and give her a hand. He spotted the guy that was moving to her left and knew he had gotten into a firing position on her, that is when he heard the fourth rifle go off. That fellas rifle blew into a couple of pieces of scrap metal then the rifle went off again and sent that other guy to running. Corene moved in and took down the first guy , hell he was still in shock so it only took a second to get his hands tied. A couple of minuets later Sarah came out from the rock out cropping she was using and said , this here rifle of yours is a dandy, but I still don't like you using yourself for bait to pull them fellers out of there. Guess we can get this one to town and turn him in. Jesus Corene! What the hell do you think you are doing! She looked up and saw TB running , more like stumbling down the hill , she hadn't ever seen him move like that before. She gave him a smile and said we really wanted to talk with these guys but figured they wouldn't be in the talking mood so we had to draw them out. TB noticed she was shooting an old 30-30 lever action , that's not your gun ,he said. Nope, Miss Sarah has mine I just needed to get their attention We are going to take him back to Sarahs cabin for the night and start for town tomorrow. Care to join us for some hot squirrel stew? As they turned and headed for the cabin TB was going back to get his mule and scratching his head , Corene heard him mumbling something about , Christ , there's two of them now.

[Truckinbutch]

(Imagine the gravely voice of Sam Elliot narrating as TB . Folks say I sound like him and I've got a love/hate relationship with him . Admire all his acting and am jealous of him because he nailed Ms Ross before I got a chance to sweep her off her feet .)

>Looked to me like , from her position , Corene was going to get a decent shot on the feller on the left first so I left him to her . I had to wonder if she had been hit on account of she had fired an awful lot of shots without drawing no blood . That ain't like her . I focused on that ranny circlin to her right .

>Me and that old .45/70 Sharps had been friends for a lot of years . Outdated piece of machinery for sure . Still just as lethal as the day it was made in the right hands . I got a solid rest and got him in the Vernier sight
and was ready to settle his hash when a fourth rifle spoke and the bastard taken out runnin ! That put rust on the blade , DAMNIT ! Now I got to take a quarterin shot at a target that's jinkin and dodgin at 700 yards , give or take . Beggars can't be choosers . What had been a clean head shot turned out to be a meat hunt . I touched off that old Sharps and heard the thump of a 500 grain cast bullet hitting soft meat . He went down .
Swiveled to the left and glassed back to where Corene had been . She was nowhere in the rock pile . Looked higher to the left and there she and two other people were . The one in the middle looked to be tied up . T'other one looked to be another female woman . I taken out best I could over that steep bluff to get to them . Some of a chore for an old fart like me , but I made it .
>Corene made some hasty introductions and explained their side of the recent business .
>I declined their invitation for squirrel stew . Told them I had to go get my mule and dog . Might drop by later after I retrieved them .

>It was a hard climb back up the bluff . I found my dog and my mule guarding each other just like they had been trained . I wouldn't tackle that pair myself with bad intentions in my mind . Now we had another job to do : follow up my shot . I heard my bullet hit meat . That wet thump that comes back after a shot before the echo of the rifle shot . Ya always are obliged to track up a wounded critter .

[Truckinbutch]

We worked ourselves around the sloping bluff and made our way down into the meadow . Quartering from the upper end , it didn't take long for the dog and the mule to go on alert . I dropped the reins to ground tie the mule and worked ahead with the dog running point . Didn't take long to hear the whining . I circled until I found him lying on his side ,curled in a fetal position , whimpering . I eased up behind him and rolled him on his back . No weapons , just a gut load of misery and a set of pleading eyes .
"Help me , mister ."
"Ain't no helpin you , boy . You took cards in a rough game and you lost ."
"You gotta help me !"
"Funny , you beg for mercy now and when you could have given it you chose not to . You are gut shot , boy , and peritonitis has done set in . Was I inclined to do so ; by the time I could pack you out of here to medical help , you would be dead . And , I ain't so inclined .............. You talk to me , boy , for the time that you got left and I promise to stick with ya and bury ya when you are gone . Keep the buzzards and coyotes offn ya . Otherwise , me and mine got other places to be .
Them buzzards and coyotes don't always wait until a feller is gone before they start on a feller alone .........."
"What is it you want to talk about ?"
"Who hired you and what their game is ."
"But ,but , they told me that they would kill me if I told ......."
"Boy , you already been killed and I'm losin patience . You gonna talk to me or die alone and unburied ?"

>We had a lengthy conversation that tied up a lot of loose ends for me before he passed . I was a man of my word . I kept the critters off him until he was gone and then buried him in that high meadow . Fittin restin place for people better than he was . Read over him from the 'Book' like my Ma would have wanted , too .

>With that youngster gone and buried I gathered my critters and headed on down the valley to where those two women folk was holed up with their prisoner to share information .
Couldn't help but think about the interpretation of a Chinese character that denotes discontent and strife : two women under the same roof ..........

[Truckinbutch]

Casting call intermission here . We got to put faces to the folks we are writing about here . I'm proposing me portrayed by Sam Elliot , Corene by Katherine Ross . Tom Selleck would be Flatwoods . John Wayne is not an option since he is not extant .

>If we write a good novel it has to become a good movie so we may as well start the casting call now .

[corene1]

Casting call intermission here . We got to put faces to the folks we are writing about here . I'm proposing me portrayed by Sam Elliot , Corene by Katherine Ross . Tom Selleck would be Flatwoods . John Wayne is not an option since he is not extant .

>If we write a good novel it has to become a good movie so we may as well start the casting call now .

That will work TB except I have dark auburn hair and not blond and green eyes. I believe that Sarah looks a lot like Rhona Mitra. Jed can be Mark Wahlberg. good looking but he can be a jerk too. See they are already taking pictures of us. This must be a good story !

TB2.jpg (11.02 KiB) Viewed 1192 times

Here is Sarah

RM.jpg (6.19 KiB) Viewed 1192 times

[ga flatwoods]

Charlie Sheen is definitely Jed. Nicholas Cage and Kevin Costner and Val Kilmer must be in there as well as Harvey Keitel as the Judge. Jack Nicholson could be Uncle Moe the mobster with John Travolta as his enforcer.

[S-Cackalacky]

Y'all gettin' a little ahead of ye'selves here. Next thing you know you'll be dreamin' uv polishin' up Oscar. You got to find your way to ye mama's table before you can set down to supper. Now, make ye way down to Sarah's cabin and get to noodlin' this thang out.

[ga flatwoods]

If the dogs aren't going to enjoy the chase SC they had just as well stay under the porch!
Ga Flatwoods

[Truckinbutch]

If the dogs aren't going to enjoy the chase SC they had just as well stay under the porch!
Ga Flatwoods

I nominate that line for the 'Notable and Quotable' section . Katy Sagal can take the part of SOH scripted same as she was in Sons Of Anarchy in the early seasons .

[Truckinbutch]

I rounded up on the cabin just before supper time . Corene had seen me comin across the meadow and come out the door to the porch with a cup of coffee as I was tyin up Steppin Woman . I admire a woman that understands priorities . We settled on the porch and Sarah came to join us .

>They told me that they had locked the feller they caught in the smoke house . He was showin no inclination to talk at all . Claimed he was just a janitor . What ever the hell that is . Corene explained Sarah's history to me and I made my apology to her . Ya see , you can pick friends but you got no control over family . Their thought was to carry that janitor feller down to the law and turn him over . Given what I'd gotten out of that other feller before he 'left' I advised them that that wasn't a real good idea as a bunch of them 'laws',Jeb included , was crooked .

>That put them at a loss . They caught that critter 'stead of killin him and now they was stuck with him . They couldn't turn him aloose , couldn't turn him in , and couldn't bring themselves up to killin him in cold blood . Something most folks don't take into consideration when they set out to take prisoners ........

>While Corene and I were talking further , Sarah went in and heated up supper . Called us in to table and we ate . She'd made up a plate for the prisoner . I had my mule to tend to so Corene volunteered to cary the food to him .

[ga flatwoods]

Corene had prepared a good plate for the stranger, better than he deserved she thought. Now this not being her smokehouse she wasnt expecting what happened next. As she opened the door to provide the meal, the door suddenly sprang open hitting her and knocking her down as well as causing the plafe of food to go a flying. The former prisoner had apparently found the knife that Sarah kept in there to whittle off a small slab of something from time to time. With Corene on the ground, Sarah in the house, and TB seeing to his mule, the stranger bolted from that smokehouse like a quail flushed from a covey. The house sitting in the meadow where it was left a long yard for the stranger before he could make the treeline. After hearing Corene and the
commotion, TB was quick to see what was happening. By this time the stranger had made 50 of the 200 yards it would take to get to the trees. TB sized up the situation quickly and walked casually back to his mule and pulled out the big rifle. Now the guy was at 150 yards out. TB loaded the gun and flipped up the sight. He then took a second to exhaust the last of the smoke from the Bugler he had rolled and watched the smoke roll and which direction it headed off in. Then he laid the rifle across the mule and looked down the barrel. Now the guy was at 195 yards and zigzagging and jumping and bobbing. As he made the treeline and headed for the closest one TB squeezed off the trigger. T H U D! Z I N G G G ! B O O O M M M ! There was only silence when the echos ended. TB went to help Corene up and to clean the dinner from her hair, face and clothes.

[corene1]

There she was , flat on the ground squirrel stew and a biscuit all over her , TB looking down at her and she knew she could see a bit of a smile on his face. As TB started to help her up she said well I guess we know where that other fella went now. You know TB, people have a habit of disappearing when you are around. Meanwhile back in town Jed was making himself quite at home in Corene's cabin, He had pretty much searched it from end to end looking for any type of history he could use if need be. While looking around he saw the rifles in the cabinet and knew they would come in handy if he needed to set up some evidence to save his own hide. He should have looked a little closer though as all the bolts had been taken out of them and locked away somewhere else. He found her stash of drinking whiskey and took it upon himself to drink it freely whenever he pleased. The only pictures she had were of her father in his Army uniform and one of a ragged looking old Indian. He picked the lock to her shed and found nothing but some old tools and a workbench where she made her arrows and bullets for her rifles. Not really much of anything to use against her if he needed too, but he was starting to see that TB wasn't lying about her ability to take restitution on a grudge if need be.

[HDNB]

Wooteck sat impatiently in benches. not much of a docket today. Springs was a quiet town and most of what Judge RAD had in front of him was BS traffic court and the odd criminal actually daring to try trolling the locals for some fare.
Today the courtroom was packed to learn the fate of the Feds, everyone waiting for the charges to be laid out.

Eck had a hard time sitting still, he had spent most of yesterday holed up in the hotel room listening intently to the FBI brass in the next room. He was replaying the day in his head; the SSA's had been on the phone with Virginia pretty much all day , on and off and when SSA williams had returned from visiting her compadre's in the hoosegow, agent Adams enquired:
"What's the statre of the union, Hazel?
"Those stupid pricks have cocked this up good" Williams replied "They were pissing and moaning about how they'as set up, with the likker and chicken, but not one of 'em could explain how all that likker made it's way down their gullet without them knowin' what hit 'em" she continued "if that judge locks them up it serves them the fuck right. I can't believe those idiots ever got field operational with their heads that far up their asses!"
SSA Williams was frothing "I mean REALLY, the laws the law. And they should damn well know better..."
Adams cut her off, "whad'd that young recuit Roy have to say for hisself?"
"Stupid prick just sat there like he's being milked! dumb ass doe-eyed expression on his face, i'm not even sure the stupid fuck knew he was in jail!"
The phone jangled and she picked with a brash "SSA Williams here!"
"uh yessir, i understand sir. Yessir. Can you repeat that sir? Ya OK, got it Sir."
Wooteck thought, damn... I need a phone bug.
Williams then relayed some information on the counterfitters to Adams, courtesy of head office, when Eck had heard from the other wall a few men speaking in hushed tones and a door close. He went and had a gander out yon window, into the gravel lot and spied a low slung silver towncar. "Fuck!" wooteck exclaimed, "Thats a Pierce Arrow! what the hell is that doing up here in these hills?"
Forgetting all about the Feds, Eck checked about and saw Ledbetter getting into his Ford to follow the Pierce Arrow out of the lot. When they made the corner, he pulled out a smoke and lit up as he strolled the boardwalk up towards the payphone beside the highway. As he came around the side of the motel Eck saw the cars pull into the Chevron next door.
The three men made their way to the side entrance of the mechanics shop. Eck made a quick "call" and sauntered back down the boardwalk and made cover of the building, heading quickly to the northside of the motel, right past the FBI's headquarters Eck made as stealthy as he could walking quickly and quietly past their door and window and into the brush behind the motel. Moving fast, Eck closed the distance to the back of the service station in seconds and flattened himself against the back wall and made his way to the only window on that side. He never even looked in, just closed his eyes and concentrated on the words bouncing off the glass, he let his mind form the image for him.

Sitting here in the courtroom, Wooteck was thinking, this better be good dammit. I should have been after them boys in the Arrow! as he mused on the yesterday... the baliff barked "All Rise! The honourable Judge RAd presiding!"
Eck made to his feet as RAd came into the courtroom looking resplendant in fresh flowing robes. The Bailiff then led in the prisoners in and as the three lined up at the defendant's table, Judge RAd banged his gavel three sharp raps and bellowed " All Ye be seated" as the room settled RAd continued " I'm gonna be delivering some news here this good mornin' and you all'll be on your best behaviour!" his teeth glinted in a sneer as RAd passed the barrel of his "gavel", a Smith and Wesson .357 magnum pistol over the heads of the gallery.
"Understand?!"
The room went quiet.
"OK. you all know i'm not a man to mince words, so here it is: there has been new evidence uncovered since Friday, that exonerates these men from any criminal charges." a gasp came up from the crowd, and RAd raised the Smith, instantly bringing order. " This new evidence shows that while these men will not be brought up on criminal charges, the State of Colorado has agreed to turn these men over to the FBI to meet with administrative actions, as they see fit."
a hushed mumble worked through the crowd and Judge RAd declared " The State is done with ya's" pointing the revolver at them "get outta my courtroom!"
Eck swore under his breath.

[corene1]

TB was just getting back to the cabin after burying the remains of that second fellow. Corene and Sarah were cleaning up the place and getting ready for the next day. What are you gals up to now? he asked . Oh we are just getting the cabin ready to lock up tomorrow, you don't think we are going to let you go down there without us do you? She started giggling and said , someone has to make sure you don't get lost heading home. Now I know you have more information than you are telling us so you better fill us in on your plan and don't leave nothing out. I am not leaving Sarah up here by herself with what has already happened around here today, that just wouldn't be smart. Beside she is looking forward to seeing Joseph, or Jed as he is calling himself now, face to face. I might have a little something to say also.

[Bigbob]

EXTRA EXTRA EXTRA THE PAGOSA SPRING EXTRA EXTRA EXTRA
Judge Rad finds defendants not guilty!!!! Released to their superiors. Citizens in uproar!!!
In court today Judge Rad released the defendants of all charges. Siteing new evidence that exonerates all charges and released the agents to their superiors. The new evidence was not revealed at this time. The agents where quickly lead out of the courtroom.
In other news.... Strangers in town with a fancy car..

[Truckinbutch]

I had pretty much figured that them gals wasn't ready for the hard part of dealin with a prisoner . I wasn't too much surprised when he came bustin out of that smoke house with Corene's knife stickin out of his side .
Figgered he would have got himself loose in there and calculated a way to take off arunnin at the first chance .
Walkin Steppin Woman over to the barn , I had stayed on her near side while I got the Sharps in order . When that ranny takened off from that smoke house I seen Corene stagger out the door behind him . I knowed that she was at least alive , so I focused on that runnin feller .
>I let him go about as far as I could . Steppin Woman had had a rifle rested across her back before and stood dead still . I eared back the hammer and set the back trigger . When he'd got far enough away from the cabin to not stink (I judged about 10 yards short of the tree line) I touched the front trigger .
ONE ONE THOUSAND , TWO ONE THOUSAND , THREE ONE THOUSAND . I had recovered from the first shot , reloaded , and was linin up for the next shot when I heard the THUMP ! He was far enough away to not stink and that was the limit of his travels .
>
> I hustled over to check on Corene . When I asked if squirrel stew mousse was a new beauty parlor hair treatment I found out that she could SWEAR ! Even more than I had expected was in her

[Truckinbutch]

TB was just getting back to the cabin after burying the remains of that second fellow. Corene and Sarah were cleaning up the place and getting ready for the next day. What are you gals up to now? he asked . Oh we are just getting the cabin ready to lock up tomorrow, you don't think we are going to let you go down there without us do you? She started giggling and said , someone has to make sure you don't get lost heading home. Now I know you have more information than you are telling us so you better fill us in on your plan and don't leave nothing out. I am not leaving Sarah up here by herself with what has already happened around here today, that just wouldn't be smart. Beside she is looking forward to seeing Joseph, or Jed as he is calling himself now, face to face. I might have a little something to say also.

So there it was : I'm traipsin down out of the mountains headed toward my place and trailin two looksome women . HOWINHELL am I gonna 'splain this to SOH when we show up ?
She normally expects me to be carrying in meat and pelts from dead critters when I come down from the mountains . I guess TRUST is going to be a major player here .
>As we rode down out of the mountains I spent a good bit of time 'splainin things to Corene . I knew I could trust her . Sarah was an unknown . When the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing you have achieved harmony .

[Truckinbutch]

Intermission :
Get off your asses and help a little bit , folks . Be nice to entertain all of ya with a novella that a few of us wrote but that just wouldn't be in the spirit of the op's request .

>Take it from here : What I've shared with Corene is that a bunch of the feds is dirty . Tryin to corner an illegal likker market for their own gain and launder a shit load of counterfeit money they had grabbed and kept for themselves . Jed is a self serving bastard that would break a superior's dick in two so he could suck both ends . I been trying to get ahead of Corene to keep her from kilin him out of hand instead of followin the plan that me and Forrest started formulating to roll the whole bunch into a ball . We want to con the whole bunch into one place and bring down the whole house on their heads without putting S3 in jeapordy . Sarah is a loose cannon given the years that she has been fermenting her hatred for Jed and the way he did her wrong .

>I can't continue to be the 'Cleaner' here or I'm gonna be type cast as a serial killer . Feudal , honorable , honest I am . Homicidal maniac I am NOT .

>Pick up the ball , folks , and run with it .

>For those of you that are not familiar with my cousins , the Bondurant brothers , check out the movie 'LAWLESS' . Gives you a fair idea of what went on in the 'Blue Ridge' during Prohibition .

[ga flatwoods]

TB you ever quote Ephiasians before capping someone like in Pulp Fiction?

[HDNB]

The Baliff was under orders to bring the Feds directly to his office post- trial. The courtroom had emptied quickly when JUdge RAd had dismissed the case and allowed the prisoners to go free. The townsfolk who had managed to wrangle a seat were mightily disappointed they did get to see them interfering interlopers drawn and quartered by their angry Judge.
As the FBI agents filed in to RAd's office with smug looks on their face, RAd opened with a generous wave of his hand, "gentlemen, please come in and have a seat"
the baliff had neatly arranged three chair in front of the massive mahogany desk, just prior to calling the courtroom to order.
When the feds had seated themselves RAd continued.
"Gentlemen. We here in Pagosa Springs are small community, most folk here go back generations to the homesteaders and we don't really take kindly to the Fed'l gov'ment coning up here all unannounced and such, lookin to make an example of some of the fine citizens here in these hills."
One of the fat ones, Fred Hammersmill opened his mouth to say "sir, I believe we have been mistaken."
RAd held up his hand for quiet. "Be that as it may, thats not my concern. I'm here tellin' you boys...this here, this is the end of the line. I want you to pack up, and git from my town, and i don't want to see you all around here agin!"
RAd rose from behind his mighty desk and turned the dial on his wall safe. Turning around with grim stare, he dropped the photos from T-Pee's Recon mission on the desk in front of them.
The young one, Roy, with his curiosity piqued leaned forward and spread them out with a finger. The color drained from his face and he turned to the side a vomited all over RAd's persian carpet.
"oh My GAWD!" cried the other fat one, scooping the photos up and stuffing them towards his partner Fred, "Oh my GAWD, Fred" he shrieked, another octave higher.
Fred Reviewed the evidence in front of him and went quickly scarlett, followed by a very distict white-green line rising quickly across his face and draining all color from his jowls.
"I see." Fred said.
"Just in case you are missing the point here gentlemen, you may keep these copies. The negatives will stay right here with me, safe and sound." In the unlikely event that you keep your jobs, i fully expect if your offices decide to come pokin' 'round these parts again, that i'll be getting a call well in advance of their arrival."
Fred went to speak again, but RAd rose his hand again and spat, "get out of my office! Get out of my town!" "NOW!"
and he exited quickly past his smirking baliff who had been standing watch at the door the whole time.
"C'mon Roy" Fred offered a hand to pull him from his chair. But Roy just looked up with fire in his eyes and said "fuck off." He pushed himself up from the desk and was out the door, bouncing rudely off of the bailiff's belly.

[HDNB]

Out in front of the courthouse SSA Williams and her partner Admas were leaning up against the fender of black 4 door. When she saw Roy come boiling out of the front door, she nodded Adams down the street and said "Keep Roy Busy for a few minutes will you Adams?" I gotta have a word with these other two."
Adams rose from his lean, and striding towards the young recruit he piped up "Roy, let's me an you go grab a coffee at the diner here"
Roy made to stride away. He pretty much wanted to be anywhere but here, and put as much distance between himself and the two fat bastards that had, from where he was looking from now, completely ruined his career.
Adams grabbed his elbow and steered him towards the coffee shop " don't be doin' anything you'll regret now, son." he said firmly into Roy's ear.

When the two fat ones made their way through the door Hazel stepped down from the curb and rounded the driver's side, saying "you two, in the car NOW!" Fred and his partner hopped into the back seat like the pavement was settin' fire to their shoes.
When the doors slammed, Williams fired up the Dodge and jammed it into gear, speaking as she pulled from the curb.
"you cocked this up royally, YOU IDIOTS!" her voice rose. "we are so screwed. I'm under orders to deliver you two back to Virginia, and all that queer money you got stashed in your car is being driven back to the divisional office as we speak. If someone opens that trunk, we are all going to end up in jail for a long time" she continued "what in Christ's name were you thinking?!!?"
"UMM." Fred starting getting defensive.
"Shut up." Hazel cut him off.
"Here's what we are going to do." she glanced in the rear view mirror at them " Adams is back there putting Roy off the scent right now, letting him continue to believe that the original story of busting some 'shiner's is what this is all about. we are going to go back up there and pick him up, and all of us are going to headquarters with the same story."
"Roy doesn't know shit from peanut butter about the Chicago connection, and it's gonna stay that way. Once we get you all back to the office, the brass is going to suspend you for sure, and you will accept this with a smile and a thankee-very -much-sir."
"then you dumb pricks are going to find us a supply to get us the likker we need for Chi, even if it means setting a shack up in the hills and running the damn still yourselves."
"Adams is going to beat it over to divisional and take possession of that car and the queer before anyone gets onto it, and we all end up in the slammer, or with a bullet in our brains!"
"YOU GOT IT!???" She barked as they pulled up in front of the diner

[corene1]

As Sarah .TB and Corene were coming down the trails back to Pagosa , They were constantly talking and planning on what to do with the rest of them dirty Feds , and they had those mob fellas to figure out too. Corene told TB , You know them boys are going to be sending supplies up to that still site on Thursday and find nobody there and that will end our chance of finding out what connection they have in town , if their connection is in our town at all. I am thinking someone needs to stay up here and cut the trail they are using and then follow them back to their roost. You know they are going to run straight to their boss and report them other two fellas missing. I hate to say it but I am almost positive someone in Pagosa is working both sides of this deal. That counterfeit money had to come from somewhere and it has shown up in town a couple of times . TB was hesitant to talk too much not knowing Sarah very well but Corene told him straight out , If she was part of it I would be laying dead up in those mountains instead of them other fellas. Neither of us knew you were around and she could have taken me any time. I trust her TB. So I will stay with her and let you go on back down into town alone. Besides you look like you could use a couple of days on flat ground and a nice soft bed. Well I was thinking that you and Sarah wanted get back to town and deal with Jed in your own way. So I think I should stay up here and find them fellers, it's what I do. No TB I think we need them alive so we can follow them back , and don't worry Jed will get his due in time, but right now the town and our people are much more important. When you get back to town keep an eye on my cabin , Jed has been using it so you may find out a little more about him . He may have left some clues to his connections inside , You remember how to get in the back way don't you? I do , he replied . Here Corene, take the rest of my supplies for your hunt and I will see you Thursday night. So Sarah and Corene headed out to where they thought they could find the trails them boys were using to supply the still . TB headed home for a warm shower and a warm wife.

[Truckinbutch]

Steppin Woman was damn glad to see her stall and SOH was glad to feed me a meal and show me to my stall . We 'talked ' late into the night . Takin Corene at her word I had to accept that she would not consider taking prisoners an option again . She was just goin to follow a track . Varmint track as it were , and then report back to me . Yeeeeauppp ! And Jimbo has this ocean front property in Arizona to sell me .
>When i came home from the wars the last time and told SOH I wanted to be home for good she knew exactly what I was sayin . I was goin to be home until the next bugle blew . She just didn't expect to hear it echoing from our ridge down our valleys .

[ga flatwoods]

Alright SC! It is your turn or maybe even someone else new to the script....calling out Woodshed, thecroweater, windycity, Michigan corn husker,bearriver, skow69, wootec, Bigbob, acfixer, wv cooker, halfbaked, Rad, Tate, uncle Jessee, Bushman, anyone. You all have been reading this so now contribute!