She continued up the street, not realizing that her glowing name tag rendered her weapon useless.
A faint sound of horse's hooves caused her to turn. The three mounted outlaws were nearing the treeline, Pete pulling his burro behind him. At least she didn't have to worry about them for a while.
Where was Brownie? If she couldn't find the horse, it would be a long walk back to the hotel. A moment later, she saw the pinto between two buildings, contentedly munching some tall grass.
* * * * *
Thirty feet from the horse, behind a nearby building, the man watched with satisfaction as the girl came in his direction. He pulled a piece of cloth and a small bottle from his jacket pocket. Carefully he unscrewed the top and poured a small amount of the liquid onto the cloth. That done, he screwed the cap back on the bottle and put it back in his pocket.
For a while it looked like he would lose his chance with all the cowboys around. But now they were gone and the girl was alone. All he needed was twenty seconds.
* * * * *
Lara Croft brought a hand to her mouth, trying to stifle a yawn. Sitting at her table in the dining room, she was trying to figure out a way of getting back at Spade. There had to be ...
"Good afternoon, Annie."
As always, Belle Starr was beautifully dressed, this time in a long divided riding skirt with a calico shirt and bolero vest. A pretty little hat topped her head at a jaunty angle and a revolver hung at her right side.
"Hi, Belle, won't you sit down?"
"Did you see what your roommate did this morning?" Belle asked, pulling up her chair.
Lara grinned. "Yes. It was splendid, wasn't it?"
"I warned Bill not to mess with her," Belle laughed. "But no, he wouldn't listen. He an' Wyatt were just gonna 'put that little Britches gal in jail.' I loved the look on his face when she bored him. I wish I'd had my camera. I'd never let him forget it."
"I think she took them by surprise. They must've expected her to surrender quietly since there were two of them."
"Well, knowin' Bill, they'll probably try her again before the week's out."
"You and your husband are really into western things, aren't you?" Lara asked.
"Sure. We love to do cowboy stuff. Square dances, rodeos, we love it all. We do some shooting and we have our own horses."
"You ride? I was thinking about going out this afternoon. Would you care to join me?"
"I'd love to," Belle replied. "But I've got something to take care of first. Why don't you help me, Annie? Then we can go together."
A moment later Lara laughed out loud.
* * * * *
"There you are, Brownie," Britches said to the horse. She gave the animal a pat on the neck and threw the stirrup over the saddle to check the tightness of the cinch. Satisfied that all was in order, she pulled it back down. She was gonna have to practice some more if she ever expected to beat the man in black.
She had just put her left foot in the stirrup when an arm circled tightly around her neck. She was pulled backward and almost lost her balance as the horse shied away in surprise.
"Hey!" she yelled, grabbing at the arm with both hands. "Let go of me." Trying to break the grip was useless; the arm was as hard as a piece of wood.
Then Britches saw the piece of white cloth approaching her face…and immediately recognized it for what it was. She redoubled her efforts to break free, but the man's grip was solid as a rock. Desperate, she kicked backward with her right foot and felt a thud when the heel of her boot connected with her attacker's shin. A male voice swore and the grip slackened momentarily. She yanked with both hands and pulled his arm away enough that she could wriggle free.
Gasping for breath, Britches tried to run. But she'd only gotten two steps when she was tackled from behind and wrestled to the ground. Pinned by the weight of the man, her legs were useless. She pushed herself up with one hand and tried to turn over, reaching for her gun.
She saw a momentary flash of white and the cloth covered her face. She let go of the gun and pulled frantically at the hand holding the cloth to her face. She tried to scream for help, but taking that deep breath only hastened the end.
* * * * *
Daniel Patrick looked up from his desk when a beautiful woman came through the door. Long black hair fell around her shoulders and in her long skirt and vest she was very becoming. She looked around, a little confused, and Daniel jumped to his feet.
"Hello, I'm the manager. Can I help you?"
The woman turned at the sound of his voice and blushed. "Oh, hello. My name's Emily Peters. My husband's here this week pretendin' to be Doc Holiday. I didn't want to stay home by myself, so I came with him."
"Yes, ma'am. I hope you're havin' a good time in Silverado."
"It's pretty here, but I don't like all the shoot-em-up. It's too much noise to suit me."
Daniel smiled. She was a real looker, definitely the prettiest woman they'd seen here in quite a spell. "Yes, ma'am. It does get noisy from time to time. What brings you out this morning?"
"Well, my husband's off playin' cowboy. So I thought I'd take a walk. See the sights, meet the people here. That sort of thing. Everybody's so friendly, that's what makes it nice for me."
Daniel nodded. "It is a friendly place. Folks who aren't don't last very long."
The woman looked around. "So this is the bank. It's a lot smaller than I expected." The lobby was only was about 20 feet square, with a further small area for the two tellers and a small office in the back. "Is it all right if I look around?"
"Yes, ma'am, help yourself. We're not very busy this afternoon."
She spent a few minutes wandering around, while Daniel watched her covertly from his desk. Wouldn't it be something to be married to something like that! Man, alive!
She turned and saw him staring at her, blushed and dropped her eyes. In a moment she came over to the rail that separated the lobby from the office area. "Do you think I could take a look in the safe? I've never been in a bank vault before."
He got to his feet. "Sure. Come on in." He held the gate open. "We don't have any real money here, of course. The bank is just part of the attraction." He walked to the door of the vault and pulled it open.
She wandered inside. "What're all these boxes along the wall?"
He stepped in behind her. "Those are safe deposit boxes. In a real bank, people would keep valuable papers in them."
"Oh, I see." She turned toward him…and suddenly Daniel found himself one foot from the face of the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. She blushed again. "Uh…do you ever have a problem with people being locked in here?" She dropped her eyes. "Kind of like we are now? I think it would be scary."
"Um, well, no," he stammered. "The lock's been disabled. And you can open the door from inside, too."
She looked up shyly. "That's cause you don't keep real money, right?" She reached over and fingered a button on his coat. "Why would anybody want to hold up the place if there's no money here?"
"It's all part of the adventure, I suppose. S…so guests can say they've held up the bank in Silverado."
She looked up shyly. "You're a very nice man, Mr….uh…?"
"Patrick. Daniel Patrick."
"Well, Mr. Patrick, I surely do appreciate you letting me look around." Her eyes were wide and trusting. "I…I guess I should be going now. Unless there's something else I should see while I'm here?"
"Oh. There's not much else except my office in the back."
"Could we take a look?"
Daniel backed out of the safe, unaware that the two tellers were staring at him with open mouths.
"It's…ah…right back here, Miss Emily." He led the way toward his office, but suddenly realized that she wasn't following him, but had wandered over to the rear entrance.
"Where does this lead, Daniel?" she asked softly.
He hurried to join her. "Oh, that just goes out to the rear of the building. We have a storage shed back there."
"Could I see it?" she asked demurely.
Why would she want to see a storage shed? Daniel wondered, but he pulled a set of keys from his pocket and unlocked the door. "It's right out here," he said, pulling the door open, "and…"
Daniel Patrick stood frozen at the sight of the masked figure in front of him.
"Oh, my goodness," breathed Emily. "Who are you?"
"This is a hold up," said a feminine voice and Daniel dropped his gaze to the twin revolvers in her hands.
"A holdup!" cried Emily and promptly fainted.
"Back up, Pilgrim," demanded the woman forcefully. "And get your hands up!"
Daniel backed, the woman's guns in his face. She was about average height, with long auburn hair. Daniel thought he detected an english accent, but he was distracted by her narrow waist and long legs.
"You two, get your hands where I can see 'em," the woman ordered the tellers. "Step back from those cash drawers." She turned to Daniel. "Mister, you write a note saying the bank's closed for one hour."
Daniel didn't hear the last part. He stood frozen, his gaze on her shirt. But it was a short look, because she grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around. It was necessary for her to repeat her instructions, but a minute later the note was completed and placed in the now-locked front door.
"All right, folks, move into the safe. All of you." She gestured with the guns. "You've got my complete attention, so let's move quickly. I certainly wouldn't want to shoot anyone.
"Give me your tie, mister," the woman said to Daniel once he and the two female tellers had been herded inside.
"My tie?" he stammered. It was difficult to get it off, tightly wedged as he was between the two tellers.
"Yes," she answered. "Your tie stands for all the money we'd have gotten if this was a real bank." So saying, she shoved the door closed.
Daniel Patrick found himself suddenly in complete darkness. He was wedged tightly between two good looking women...and unable to see either one.
* * * * *
The instant the door closed, Belle Starr got up from the floor and helped Lara shove a heavy desk against the door.
"That should be enough to hold 'em for a little while," Belle said. "There's plenty of air, if they don't breath too heavy."
Lara pulled down her mask and gave Belle a hug. "Belle, that was awesome. Just awesome."
Belle just smiled. "It was, wasn't it? Now let's make tracks."
They went back through the rear entrance and Lara turned toward the livery stable.
"Not that way, Annie," Belle called. "This way."
Lara hurried to join her. "Aren't we gonna get our horses and ride into the sunset or something like that?"
"Not just yet, Annie. C'mon, we need to take care of something else first."
"But where are we going?"
"Why, to rob the other bank, of course."
Lara stopped dead in her tracks and watched Belle walk away.
"The other bank?"
Belle looked back with a grin. "C'mon, Annie. If we get away with it, it'll be the first time it's ever been done."
They did get away with it. And soon they swung up on horses at the livery stable, the two neckties in their saddlebags.
"This is too easy, Belle," laughed Lara. "We've robbed two banks, but it's not enough. We've got to add insult to injury."
* * * * *
"Don't feel too bad," Matt Branson said, his eyes twinkling. "Just because the two of you got beat by a girl, that doesn't mean it's the end. You've still got the rest of the week to bring her in." The two men had just come into his office with a highly embarrassed look on their faces.
"Man, I couldn't believe how fast she pulled that gun," Wyatt said in awe.
"She was pretty fast all right," the sheriff allowed. "But we got a guy here who could take her in a heartbeat. His name's Arizona."
Hickcock got up and walked to the coffee pot. "Tell me about what happened between Spade and our hotshot Miss Oakley last night."
"Yeah," agreed Wyatt. "He shot her in the back like he promised?"
The sheriff nodded. "But not before she killed fifteen of his men."
"All by herself?" asked Wyatt in amazement. "She…"
There was a knock at the rear entrance.
"Get that, would you, Bill?" the sheriff asked.
Hickcock opened the back door…and quickly backed up, his hands in the air.
Branson's jaw dropped open and he was half way to his feet when two armed women stepped into the room. They were masked, but anyone could see it was Belle and Annie.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen," said Annie, her guns covering them. "Sorry to interrupt, sheriff. But you need to let the folks out of the bank safe."
"The safe?" he stammered. "What are they doing in the safe?"
"Because we held them up," said Belle. "We don't want 'em to suffocate in there, seeing as how we're such good citizens and all." Even behind the mask Branson could see the grin on her face.
"Belle, you put that gun down, right now," demanded Hickcock.
"Not a chance, Bill," his wife replied. "Just stand still and eat a big piece of humble pie."
"This is ridiculous," he declared. "Give me that gun this instant!" He grabbed the barrel of Belle's revolver and tried to wrestle it from her hand. But Belle wasn't the dutiful wife now. She was playing another role and she struggled with him over possession of the gun.
Annie walked up behind Hickcock and lifted her gun. Swiftly she brought the barrel down toward his head. For an instant Matt thought she was really going to hit him. But then she stopped just in time to lightly touch him.
"I just pistol-whipped you, marshal," she declared forcefully. "Hit the floor!"
The women's attention distracted, Branson saw his chance.
Hickcock let go of Belle's gun and turned. "You can't…"
"Annie! Look out!"