"I'm gonna kill you, lady," he hissed in her ear.
She struggled with him, but he kept pulling the gun higher. Her arms were being forced up over her head. It really hurt. Much more and she would either have to let go or get pulled over backwards.
She tried to pull the gun down, but she couldn't, he was too strong. Movement caught her eye and she saw Reggie picking up his Uzi.
Increasingly desperate, Lara reacted out of instinct, moving her left foot eighteen inches to the side. At the same time she yanked suddenly downward on the gun with all her strength. Cal was off balance, too, as he struggled with her, and the quick move pulled him over her left hip.
The Uzi came down and Cal's finger forced her's against the trigger as they fought for the gun. The roar of the weapon shattered the stillness of the night and bullets flew everywhere. Three hit Reggie just as he was turning to face them, and flung the big man aside like a rag doll.
Cal lost his grip on the gun and sprawled on the ground. Lara glanced anxiously at Reggie. It was an accident. It was. She didn't mean to…
The next instant she was flying through the air.
Lying on the ground, Cal had swung his leg and swept her feet right out from under her. Lara crashed to the ground, landing on her back. Pain shot through her as her body protested against more abuse.
Cal got to his feet, pulling a large, wicked-looking knife from his belt. One step and he dropped to his knees next to her, lifting the blade high in the air. "Die, you stinkin' wildcat!" he shouted.
But the big knife was only half way down when Lara Croft shot him. Five rounds from the Uzi struck Cal in the chest and knocked him over backwards, the knife flying from his grasp.
The echoes of the gunfire died slowly away and for a moment, Lara didn't move, a little stunned by what had happened so quickly. Finally, she got slowly to her feet, the Uzi forgotten, and made her way to the other body on the ground.
Reggie was still alive was she knelt beside him. Blood was coming from his mouth and Lara tried not to look at the dark stains on his chest.
"Looks like you won this round, lady," he said with a weak smile.
"Reggie, I'm sorry," she replied sadly, taking his hand. "I wish there was something…"
He squeezed her hand. "Thanks, Miss Lara, but ain't nothing gonna help me now."
"Is there anybody…"
"Nah, nobody." He coughed weakly. "But I'd take it kindly if you'd think of me once in a while. I wouldn't have hurt you, you know."
"I know, Reggie."
"He was always soft when it came to hurtin' women," said a voice behind her, and something hard touched the back of Lara's head.
"Get up," said Max, and he kept the gun pressed against her as she got slowly to her feet.
"You've caused me a lot of trouble, Miss Croft," he declared. "And now I'm gonna put a end to it." Lara heard the click of the gun being cocked.
"You can't hurt her, Max," said Reggie. Lara glanced down in surprise at the unexpected strength in his voice…to see him trying to bring up the gun in his hand.
"Reggie! No!" she cried. "Don't…"
The flash of the gun behind her preceded the crash of the shot by only a split second. A small hole appeared in Reggie's forehead and the gun fell from his grasp as his hand flopped lifelessly back to the ground.
Speechless, Lara whirled around, rage filling her and ready to beat Max to a pulp for killing the helpless man.
Max swung his gun toward her. "Don't say a word," he hissed. "Not a word." He stepped toward her. "I'm through messin' with you, lady." He jabbed the gun in her stomach and forced her backward. "You've stuck your nose in my affairs for the last time." He jabbed her in the stomach again, forcing her back another step.
"You leave her alone," said a feminine voice. Lara glanced around to see Britches standing on the sidewalk, holding a pistol in both hands.
"Drop the gun, Max," she demanded, but Lara could hear the uncertainly in Britches' voice.
"Ah, Miss Darwood," replied Max, keeping the gun pressed against Lara's stomach. "So nice of you to join us. It saves me the trouble of having to look for you."
Britches took a step forward, the gun in front of her. "Don't you hurt her, Max. You drop the gun, right now, or I'll shoot."
"Oh, I don't think so," Max said with a sneer. "Ever shot a person before?"
Britches made no reply, but Lara could see she was afraid.
"It's easy," he said. "Want me to show you?" He removed the gun from Lara's stomach and pressed it against her forehead. "See, now all it takes is a little squeeze on the trigger."
"Please!" Britches cried. "Don't hurt her."
"I will if you don't throw down that gun."
"Shoot him, Britches," Lara urged. "Do it now. Once you drop your gun, he'll kill me anyway."
"True," said Max and deftly stepped behind Lara, slipping an arm around her stomach. "Now drop the gun, Miss Darwood, or I'll shoot you." He removed the pistol from Lara's head and pointed it at Britches.
"You can't shoot her, Max," Lara said. "She's your ransom money."
"Correct, Miss Croft," Max allowed. "But that won't stop me from shooting her in the leg. Or maybe both legs." He lifted the gun. "How about it, kid? Should I shoot you in the leg, to prove I mean business?"
Britches lowered the pistol. "Just don't' hurt her, Max. Please. She's my friend."
Lara could feel Max's grip around her waist loosen slightly.
"That's better," he gloated. "Now just drop it on the ground, like a good little girl."
Quick as a flash, Lara grabbed Max's arm with both hands and brought up her knee. She slammed his wrist against her knee twice and saw the gun fall from his grasp. Now if she could…
She was shoved hard from behind and stumbled, landing face first on the ground. Recovering quickly, she turned, looking for Max's gun. It was three feet away. She lunged for it, seeing Max's hand reaching behind him for his other gun.
She wasn't going to make it, her brain told her. She was going to be a second late. Her hand had not yet touched the pistol when Max brought his small automatic around in front of him. She saw the sneer on his face as he lifted the gun.
The shot, when it came sounded loud. There was another. And another. And with each shot, Max staggered backward.
Lara glanced around in surprise. Julie Darwood's face could have been carved out of stone. She stepped forward, the pistol held straight in front of her with both hands. The weapon flashed again and the shots crashed out, again and again, until the weapon clicked empty.
Hit multiple times, Max toppled over and lay still.
Lara hurried to her friend's side. Britches lowered the gun, tears streaming down her face.
"Easy, honey," Lara said, slipping her arm around Britches' waist. "It's over." She took the gun gently from the younger woman's fingers.
"But, Lara," Britches looked up through her tears. "I didn't want to shoot him. I didn't. I…I just had to. He was going to kill you."
Lara squeezed Britches' shoulders. "I know you didn't want to, Julie. But you didn't have any choice. You saved my life."
"I did okay?" Britches asked anxiously.
Lara smiled and gave her another hug. "You did just fine, Julie Darwood. Now dry your tears. Looks like the cavalry has arrived, late as usual."
Indeed. Three big pickup trucks came up the street and soon the women were joined by Spade, Arizona, Matt Branson and other members of the outlaws. And to everyone's surprise, a police car from the county sheriff's department arrived one minute later.
Spade had a white bandage around his forehead, but seemed much better. He pushed Lara and Britches into one of the trucks and drove them back to Silverado, where, to their surprise, he fixed them breakfast.
A frightened Mansfield was apprehended a few minutes later, found hiding in one of the buildings. A thorough search was made of the ghost town, but no trace of Ned was ever found.
Go to Chapter Seventeen