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azombiewritesTitle: A Dark Past
Second story in 'The Continuing Ezra Standish Saga'
Rating: PG
Warnings: Bad writing ahead!
Fandom: The Magnificent Seven
Genre: Hurt/Comfort
Summary: The seven hired lawmen are asked to escort a stagecoach and witness to Rock Falls. Amongst the passengers is Ezra's Uncle who has a dark past.
Main Characters: Ezra Standish and the rest of the seven
Disclaimers: The guys are owned by CBS, MGM, Trilogy Entertainment Group, and The Mirisch Corp.
Beta: Not betaed – written in the early days when I didn’t know what the words grammar and edit meant. *shamed*
Notes: Second story in the ‘Continuing Ezra Standish Saga’.
Spoilers: None.
Word Count: 19,173
Part Six
Ezra had stayed inside the saloon all day while someone sat with him. The others kept an eye on the town as the Sheriff had requested. Ezra had improved through the day as a great burden had been taken off his mind. He even had something to eat which was a relief to Nathan. The day had been long for him though and he retired early for the night. Making his excuses to the others, he went to the room that Josiah had rented for him the day before. He entered his room and walked towards the bed. He heard a noise behind him. He turned around to see his Uncle standing in front of the door as though to stop him from getting out. Another noise made him turn towards the window and he saw Langton aiming a gun at him.
Ezra had removed his derringer from his right wrist so was not able to return the favour as he did the last time Langton put a gun in his face.
Langton walked up to Ezra and smiled at him, "Where's your gun this time fancy man."
Ezra was about to make a retort but the butt of Langton's gun against his forehead stopped him. Ezra crumpled to the ground as the darkness overtook him. Jack opened the door and looked out to make sure no one was watching. He motioned to two men to come into the room. They picked Ezra up off the floor and carried him out of the room. They headed for the back stairs. Once they were at the back door Jack once again checked to make sure that nobody was watching. They put him on a horse and headed out to the abandoned cabin where the DeAblo gang were hiding.
Ezra had woken by the time they reached the cabin. Langton dragged him from the horse and took him into the cabin where he roughly shoved him into the corner. Ezra grunted at the pain as he hit the wall hard and fell to the floor. The wound on his left upper arm re-opened and it started to bleed again. He knew that there was also going to be a large bruise on his shoulder tomorrow. He made himself more comfortable and wondered what the rest of the night had in hold for him. He looked up at his Uncle as he walked in through the door. He had no idea why his Uncle was with Langton and then it accrued to him that he must of helped Langton to escape from the coach. He decided to voice his views and regretted it instantly.
"You helped him escape didn't you?" He nodded towards Langton.
Jack Standish walked towards Ezra. He looked down at him and smiled. Ezra recognised that smile. The muscles in his stomach tightened as Jack landed two hard kicks to his side. Ezra felt one of his ribs crack. His grimaced in pain but didn’t cry out; as he knew that, any noise would only make what he was doing more enjoyable.
"Nobody asked you to speak. You should know better than that, Ezra."
Langton came over then and saw the pain on Ezra's face.
"Mind if I join in," he asked.
Together they beat Ezra until he lay unconscious on the floor in the corner of the cabin. They had used their feet so most of the damage was to the lower part of his body until Jack landed a hard kick to the side of his head.
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"Ezra's not in his room and his bed hasn't been slept in," called Nathan from the stairs of the saloon.
"Do you think he's gone after his Uncle?" asked Buck.
"I don't know, Buck, but we’re going to search this town to find out just in case he didn't leave of his own free will."
The others frowned at this, as they didn’t think that Ezra's Uncle would go that far not with all of them in the same building.
Chris moved towards the door. "Look everywhere you can think of. JD, check the stable to see if his horse is still here. We'll meet back here in an hour. Let's go." Chris was worried, he didn't think that Ezra would go after his Uncle - not yet anyway - something must of happened to him.
They hadn’t yet considered the DeAblo gang.
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"How are we going to let them know we have him? That's if he's going to be any use to us. It looks like you nearly killed him." DeAblo looked over at Ezra. He hadn't woken up yet from the beating they gave him the night before.
“We’ll just send them a message. Simple as that. And then the messenger will return with their answer," said Jack.
"And who is going to do that and when are they going to do it? The trial is tomorrow," asked DeAblo.
"I’m going to deliver it and I’ll do it tonight. I want to see their faces," smile Jack. He was enjoying himself. He had finally given Ezra the lesson he wanted to for the last four days. He looked over at Ezra. Saw the blood on the side of his head, a result from his boot. There were not many marks on his face as they had used their boots on him. He knew the pain that he was going to be in when he woke up.
Jack left for town six hours later. He took one last look at Ezra who had still not regained consciousness. He didn't care if he woke up again or not. It even seemed deserving that he might die the same way his father did. His father had disappeared, never to be seen again. People thought that he had run off after trouble with a poker game but Jack knew better.
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The remaining six gunmen were gathered in the saloon. They had searched for Ezra but they couldn’t find him. JD had found his horse still in his stable and after checking his room, a second time Nathan found his guns including the small derringer. They didn’t know what to do. There was no trace of him. No one had seen anything. They were worried sick that Jack Standish may have had something to do with his disappearance. They were about to get up and leave to search for him again when Jack walked into the saloon. He saw them all sitting at the same table and walked over to them. Chris saw him coming but before he could get up and hit him, he spoke. What he said froze Chris and the others in their seats.
"If I don't return to the DeAblo gang within an hour Ezra is a dead man," he was still smiling. He saw the expressions he was expecting to see. "Now what we want is an exchange. Ezra for the witness," he looked at Chris and saw the cold stare that he had seen so often during the trip to Rock Falls. "Tomorrow at 9am on the western side of town. You bring the witness and we’ll bring Ezra." he began to turn around but stopped. "Oh, and if you try to follow me he will be killed," he left them all sitting there with those expressions still on their faces.
“What are we going to do Chris?" asked JD.
"There’s nothing we can do at the moment JD except wait till tomorrow and hope that they haven't done anything to Ezra." Chris knew that Ezra's Uncle wouldn't be able to help himself.
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Jack arrived back to find Ezra awake and in a lot of pain from his injuries.
"Nice to have you back with us, Ezra."
Ezra didn’t say anything, he just returned the stare and Jack saw that the stare lacked something. Fear, he longer saw any fear in his eyes. He looked away from him.
"Did they agree to the deal?" asked Langton seeing the exchange of looks between Jack and his Nephew.
"Yes, tomorrow morning at nine. Make sure that you have your men posted well before then."
Ezra listened to the conversation as best as he could. He was in a lot of pain. Especially his head. His headache was bad. He also felt pain in his legs and his sides and the flow of blood from his arm had only eased. He knew that he now had more than one cracked rib. He was in no condition to try to get away and warn the others. He would have to think of something to do tomorrow. He didn't know what the agreement was but he knew that it was going to be a trap. Jack saw Ezra watching them and he didn’t like the look that was in his eyes. He moved over to Ezra who hadn’t taken his eyes off him. Jack reached down and hit Ezra hard enough to smack his head against the wall. Jack watched him slump to the floor once more. He preferred Ezra to be in this condition.
Early the next morning most of what was left of the DeAblo gang left so they could get into their positions on the outside of town and be ready for the ambush. They hoped their boss knew what he was doing this time. Ezra had woken but he was groggy. They managed to get him on a horse and kept him there while they rode towards town.
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What DeAblo didn't know know was that the hired gunmen had the same thing in mind. They were already set up and waiting. Chris and Vin would be in the open with Forster. They had managed to get the sheriff to agree to this by assuring him that Forster would be safe and the gun in his face helped convince him.
They silently waited all hoping that Ezra was okay.
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From their vantage points on the roofs of the buildings at the edge of town, they could see members of the gang heading towards town.
"Riders coming in," called JD. "But Ezra and his Uncle aren't with them."
"We'll have to take them out quietly so the others behind them don't hear what’s happening," Chris called back.
Everyone ducked down. Chris and Vin moved Forster out of sight. There were only four riders left of the gang and it didn't take long to deal with them. Nathan heard one climbing up onto the roof that he was on.
"Seems to me that we have the same idea here." The outlaw looked at him in surprise. Nathan pushed him off the roof and he landed on the ground without a sound coming from his mouth. That's where he stayed.
Buck didn't even let the guy know that he was there he just hit him across the back of the head and then left him lying there. He then returned to his position and waited like the others.
Another decided to go down the alley that Chris and Vin were hiding in. The man came face to face with Chris Larabee. He wanted to ask the man about Ezra but knew that there wasn't time. He hit him twice and lowered the man to the floor. Forster looked at him glad that he was not part of the gang that they were intent on destroying.
Josiah took care of the last one. He had also climbed to the roof and instead of finding it empty, he found Josiah standing there with his gun pointed at him. The man thought that he was dead but instead Josiah hit him with it and dragged him onto the roof.
It only took five minutes. They all then motioned to Chris that they had taken care of them all. Fifteen minutes later, they heard JD informing them of more riders and that this time they included Ezra. Chris and Vin moved back into the street.
As they drew closer, they saw the blood on Ezra's face. It seemed that he was only managing to stay on the horse. Langton had his gun pointed at Ezra' head. Jack Standish got down off his horse. He then covered Ezra with his gun while Langton got off his own horse. Jack then reached up and dragged Ezra out of the saddle. Ezra fell to the ground in a heap. He let out a cry of pain but he didn't move. Both Langton and Jack kept their guns pointed in Ezra's direction. Vin looked at Chris and knew that Jack Standish was a dead man.
"Are you ready to swap?" called Langton.
"No were not," Chris answered.
Langton looked at him and smiled. He then glanced up to the rooftops expecting to see his men up there but instead he saw the other hired lawmen. His mouth dropped. DeAblo noticed this and looked at what he was seeing. What he saw were not his men. Langton reached down and dragged Ezra to his feet, which was difficult because the man was not capable of standing on his own. He pointed the gun at Ezra's temple.
"You tell your men to back off or I’ll kill him," he snarled.
"You kill him and you’re a dead man," returned Chris. "Looks like you’re in another standoff Langton."
Langton was determined to win though this time. He nodded to DeAblo to backup and he tried to drag Ezra backwards but he found it difficult with Ezra's weight collapsing beneath him, he legs dragging along the ground.
Chris and the others could see that Ezra was not going to be able to help. He nodded to Vin to take at shot at Langton. He trusted Vin to shoot when he had a clear shot at the man. Vin returned the nod to indicate that he was ready. The others also noticed and knew that things were about to go down. Jack saw the exchange and tried to warn Langton and DeAblo but he was too late. Vin fired his gun as soon as he had a clear shot at Langton. He was struggling to keep Ezra on his feet and he shifted his body to get a better hold. This opening gave Vin his chance. The bullet hit Langton low in his right shoulder. He let go of Ezra and his gun at the same time and then they both fell to the ground together. Langton yelling abuse at them and Ezra lying motionless next to him. DeAblo didn’t know who to point his gun at, as he knew that they would all shoot him if he did manage to shoot one of them. So he dropped his gun, he had no hope against six of them. His brother was going to be mad at him when he joined him in jail but he preferred his anger than a bullet from one of the six guns pointed at him.
Jack showed himself to be the true coward that he was. He let his own gun fall to the ground and dropped to his knees, "Don't kill me, they made me do it. They threatened Ezra's life I had no choice."
It only took a matter of minutes before everyone gathered around Ezra. Buck and JD had gotten DeAblo down off his horse and kept their guns pointed at him while Nathan knelt down beside Ezra. He saw the large bruise that had formed on the side of his head where Jack had kicked him. The cut itself was only small but it had caused Ezra to lose a lot of blood. He checked the rest of Ezra's body for injuries. Ezra grimaced and moaned at nearly every spot that Nathan tested.
"The worst is his head wound and some cracked ribs. The rest is bruising but they’re all over his legs and sides. They must of used something to beat him with," Nathan looked disgusted by the injuries that they had caused to Ezra's body.
Chris turned to Jack Standish who was still kneeling on the ground. He kicked him. "Is that what you did to Ezra?" Chris kicked him again. "You kept kicking him didn't you?"
Jack was afraid. He knew that this man was going to kill him. Chris intended to do so until he heard Ezra ask him to stop. He turned to Ezra confused as to why he didn’t want him to return the favour.
"Don't, Chris," Ezra was looking up at him. He struggled to sit himself up.
"Stay down Ezra," said Nathan.
"I'm all right, Nathan, and no I’m not being stubborn, I'm just sore mostly." He looked back at Chris.
"The man deserves what he gets Ezra," growled Chris.
"You told me that you’d be behind me in my decision of what I want to do. And I don't want you to beat him."
"Why not?" asked Chris beginning to understand what Ezra was saying.
"Because I’ve faced my fear of him. I’m no longer afraid of him and if you do to him what he did to me, then you’d be just like him and I don't want you to be."
Chris thought for a moment and knew that Ezra was right. He if beat him to death then it would be the same, the man would not be able to defend himself after a point. They would have to settle with seeing the man spend the rest of his life in jail. Chris gave him one last kick anyway and it landed squarely on the side of his head.
"That was for Ezra," he told the unconscious man.
Ezra couldn’t help but smile at this. It brought a grimace of pain though from the wound on his own head. Buck, JD and Vin had DeAblo half drag and half carry Jack Standish to the jail while Langton had to manage on his own under the cover of one of the lawmen's guns. Once they did this, they intended to go back and get the rest of the gang. The others helped Ezra to his rented room at the saloon where Nathan saw to his injuries. After Nathan cleaned and bandaged his arm, head injury and strapped his ribs and made sure that he was okay emotionally he left Ezra to sleep.
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It was another two days before Ezra came down from his room. He had spent most of those days sleeping. Nathan had said that he was going to be fine. He wasn't going to go through the sort of thing that he did last time. It was another week until they began the journey to return to Four Corners.
Martin DeAblo had been convicted and sentenced to hang in three weeks. His brother and Langton were going to spend their remaining days in jail.
Jack Standish who was also to spend the rest of his life in jail died two years later, never to be convicted for the crime that he committed twenty-eight years ago when Ezra's father disappeared, as another prisoner had beaten him to death over the theft of some food.
The six hired gunmen returned to their duties when they got back to Four Corners with Ezra secretly hoping that he never sees another person from his past that would cause the same sort of trouble for him, he'd had enough of it over the last two months to last him a lifetime.
The End.
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six
Master Fan Fiction List
Second story in 'The Continuing Ezra Standish Saga'
Rating: PG
Warnings: Bad writing ahead!
Fandom: The Magnificent Seven
Genre: Hurt/Comfort
Summary: The seven hired lawmen are asked to escort a stagecoach and witness to Rock Falls. Amongst the passengers is Ezra's Uncle who has a dark past.
Main Characters: Ezra Standish and the rest of the seven
Disclaimers: The guys are owned by CBS, MGM, Trilogy Entertainment Group, and The Mirisch Corp.
Beta: Not betaed – written in the early days when I didn’t know what the words grammar and edit meant. *shamed*
Notes: Second story in the ‘Continuing Ezra Standish Saga’.
Spoilers: None.
Word Count: 19,173
Part Six
Ezra had stayed inside the saloon all day while someone sat with him. The others kept an eye on the town as the Sheriff had requested. Ezra had improved through the day as a great burden had been taken off his mind. He even had something to eat which was a relief to Nathan. The day had been long for him though and he retired early for the night. Making his excuses to the others, he went to the room that Josiah had rented for him the day before. He entered his room and walked towards the bed. He heard a noise behind him. He turned around to see his Uncle standing in front of the door as though to stop him from getting out. Another noise made him turn towards the window and he saw Langton aiming a gun at him.
Ezra had removed his derringer from his right wrist so was not able to return the favour as he did the last time Langton put a gun in his face.
Langton walked up to Ezra and smiled at him, "Where's your gun this time fancy man."
Ezra was about to make a retort but the butt of Langton's gun against his forehead stopped him. Ezra crumpled to the ground as the darkness overtook him. Jack opened the door and looked out to make sure no one was watching. He motioned to two men to come into the room. They picked Ezra up off the floor and carried him out of the room. They headed for the back stairs. Once they were at the back door Jack once again checked to make sure that nobody was watching. They put him on a horse and headed out to the abandoned cabin where the DeAblo gang were hiding.
Ezra had woken by the time they reached the cabin. Langton dragged him from the horse and took him into the cabin where he roughly shoved him into the corner. Ezra grunted at the pain as he hit the wall hard and fell to the floor. The wound on his left upper arm re-opened and it started to bleed again. He knew that there was also going to be a large bruise on his shoulder tomorrow. He made himself more comfortable and wondered what the rest of the night had in hold for him. He looked up at his Uncle as he walked in through the door. He had no idea why his Uncle was with Langton and then it accrued to him that he must of helped Langton to escape from the coach. He decided to voice his views and regretted it instantly.
"You helped him escape didn't you?" He nodded towards Langton.
Jack Standish walked towards Ezra. He looked down at him and smiled. Ezra recognised that smile. The muscles in his stomach tightened as Jack landed two hard kicks to his side. Ezra felt one of his ribs crack. His grimaced in pain but didn’t cry out; as he knew that, any noise would only make what he was doing more enjoyable.
"Nobody asked you to speak. You should know better than that, Ezra."
Langton came over then and saw the pain on Ezra's face.
"Mind if I join in," he asked.
Together they beat Ezra until he lay unconscious on the floor in the corner of the cabin. They had used their feet so most of the damage was to the lower part of his body until Jack landed a hard kick to the side of his head.
"Ezra's not in his room and his bed hasn't been slept in," called Nathan from the stairs of the saloon.
"Do you think he's gone after his Uncle?" asked Buck.
"I don't know, Buck, but we’re going to search this town to find out just in case he didn't leave of his own free will."
The others frowned at this, as they didn’t think that Ezra's Uncle would go that far not with all of them in the same building.
Chris moved towards the door. "Look everywhere you can think of. JD, check the stable to see if his horse is still here. We'll meet back here in an hour. Let's go." Chris was worried, he didn't think that Ezra would go after his Uncle - not yet anyway - something must of happened to him.
They hadn’t yet considered the DeAblo gang.
"How are we going to let them know we have him? That's if he's going to be any use to us. It looks like you nearly killed him." DeAblo looked over at Ezra. He hadn't woken up yet from the beating they gave him the night before.
“We’ll just send them a message. Simple as that. And then the messenger will return with their answer," said Jack.
"And who is going to do that and when are they going to do it? The trial is tomorrow," asked DeAblo.
"I’m going to deliver it and I’ll do it tonight. I want to see their faces," smile Jack. He was enjoying himself. He had finally given Ezra the lesson he wanted to for the last four days. He looked over at Ezra. Saw the blood on the side of his head, a result from his boot. There were not many marks on his face as they had used their boots on him. He knew the pain that he was going to be in when he woke up.
Jack left for town six hours later. He took one last look at Ezra who had still not regained consciousness. He didn't care if he woke up again or not. It even seemed deserving that he might die the same way his father did. His father had disappeared, never to be seen again. People thought that he had run off after trouble with a poker game but Jack knew better.
The remaining six gunmen were gathered in the saloon. They had searched for Ezra but they couldn’t find him. JD had found his horse still in his stable and after checking his room, a second time Nathan found his guns including the small derringer. They didn’t know what to do. There was no trace of him. No one had seen anything. They were worried sick that Jack Standish may have had something to do with his disappearance. They were about to get up and leave to search for him again when Jack walked into the saloon. He saw them all sitting at the same table and walked over to them. Chris saw him coming but before he could get up and hit him, he spoke. What he said froze Chris and the others in their seats.
"If I don't return to the DeAblo gang within an hour Ezra is a dead man," he was still smiling. He saw the expressions he was expecting to see. "Now what we want is an exchange. Ezra for the witness," he looked at Chris and saw the cold stare that he had seen so often during the trip to Rock Falls. "Tomorrow at 9am on the western side of town. You bring the witness and we’ll bring Ezra." he began to turn around but stopped. "Oh, and if you try to follow me he will be killed," he left them all sitting there with those expressions still on their faces.
“What are we going to do Chris?" asked JD.
"There’s nothing we can do at the moment JD except wait till tomorrow and hope that they haven't done anything to Ezra." Chris knew that Ezra's Uncle wouldn't be able to help himself.
Jack arrived back to find Ezra awake and in a lot of pain from his injuries.
"Nice to have you back with us, Ezra."
Ezra didn’t say anything, he just returned the stare and Jack saw that the stare lacked something. Fear, he longer saw any fear in his eyes. He looked away from him.
"Did they agree to the deal?" asked Langton seeing the exchange of looks between Jack and his Nephew.
"Yes, tomorrow morning at nine. Make sure that you have your men posted well before then."
Ezra listened to the conversation as best as he could. He was in a lot of pain. Especially his head. His headache was bad. He also felt pain in his legs and his sides and the flow of blood from his arm had only eased. He knew that he now had more than one cracked rib. He was in no condition to try to get away and warn the others. He would have to think of something to do tomorrow. He didn't know what the agreement was but he knew that it was going to be a trap. Jack saw Ezra watching them and he didn’t like the look that was in his eyes. He moved over to Ezra who hadn’t taken his eyes off him. Jack reached down and hit Ezra hard enough to smack his head against the wall. Jack watched him slump to the floor once more. He preferred Ezra to be in this condition.
Early the next morning most of what was left of the DeAblo gang left so they could get into their positions on the outside of town and be ready for the ambush. They hoped their boss knew what he was doing this time. Ezra had woken but he was groggy. They managed to get him on a horse and kept him there while they rode towards town.
What DeAblo didn't know know was that the hired gunmen had the same thing in mind. They were already set up and waiting. Chris and Vin would be in the open with Forster. They had managed to get the sheriff to agree to this by assuring him that Forster would be safe and the gun in his face helped convince him.
They silently waited all hoping that Ezra was okay.
From their vantage points on the roofs of the buildings at the edge of town, they could see members of the gang heading towards town.
"Riders coming in," called JD. "But Ezra and his Uncle aren't with them."
"We'll have to take them out quietly so the others behind them don't hear what’s happening," Chris called back.
Everyone ducked down. Chris and Vin moved Forster out of sight. There were only four riders left of the gang and it didn't take long to deal with them. Nathan heard one climbing up onto the roof that he was on.
"Seems to me that we have the same idea here." The outlaw looked at him in surprise. Nathan pushed him off the roof and he landed on the ground without a sound coming from his mouth. That's where he stayed.
Buck didn't even let the guy know that he was there he just hit him across the back of the head and then left him lying there. He then returned to his position and waited like the others.
Another decided to go down the alley that Chris and Vin were hiding in. The man came face to face with Chris Larabee. He wanted to ask the man about Ezra but knew that there wasn't time. He hit him twice and lowered the man to the floor. Forster looked at him glad that he was not part of the gang that they were intent on destroying.
Josiah took care of the last one. He had also climbed to the roof and instead of finding it empty, he found Josiah standing there with his gun pointed at him. The man thought that he was dead but instead Josiah hit him with it and dragged him onto the roof.
It only took five minutes. They all then motioned to Chris that they had taken care of them all. Fifteen minutes later, they heard JD informing them of more riders and that this time they included Ezra. Chris and Vin moved back into the street.
As they drew closer, they saw the blood on Ezra's face. It seemed that he was only managing to stay on the horse. Langton had his gun pointed at Ezra' head. Jack Standish got down off his horse. He then covered Ezra with his gun while Langton got off his own horse. Jack then reached up and dragged Ezra out of the saddle. Ezra fell to the ground in a heap. He let out a cry of pain but he didn't move. Both Langton and Jack kept their guns pointed in Ezra's direction. Vin looked at Chris and knew that Jack Standish was a dead man.
"Are you ready to swap?" called Langton.
"No were not," Chris answered.
Langton looked at him and smiled. He then glanced up to the rooftops expecting to see his men up there but instead he saw the other hired lawmen. His mouth dropped. DeAblo noticed this and looked at what he was seeing. What he saw were not his men. Langton reached down and dragged Ezra to his feet, which was difficult because the man was not capable of standing on his own. He pointed the gun at Ezra's temple.
"You tell your men to back off or I’ll kill him," he snarled.
"You kill him and you’re a dead man," returned Chris. "Looks like you’re in another standoff Langton."
Langton was determined to win though this time. He nodded to DeAblo to backup and he tried to drag Ezra backwards but he found it difficult with Ezra's weight collapsing beneath him, he legs dragging along the ground.
Chris and the others could see that Ezra was not going to be able to help. He nodded to Vin to take at shot at Langton. He trusted Vin to shoot when he had a clear shot at the man. Vin returned the nod to indicate that he was ready. The others also noticed and knew that things were about to go down. Jack saw the exchange and tried to warn Langton and DeAblo but he was too late. Vin fired his gun as soon as he had a clear shot at Langton. He was struggling to keep Ezra on his feet and he shifted his body to get a better hold. This opening gave Vin his chance. The bullet hit Langton low in his right shoulder. He let go of Ezra and his gun at the same time and then they both fell to the ground together. Langton yelling abuse at them and Ezra lying motionless next to him. DeAblo didn’t know who to point his gun at, as he knew that they would all shoot him if he did manage to shoot one of them. So he dropped his gun, he had no hope against six of them. His brother was going to be mad at him when he joined him in jail but he preferred his anger than a bullet from one of the six guns pointed at him.
Jack showed himself to be the true coward that he was. He let his own gun fall to the ground and dropped to his knees, "Don't kill me, they made me do it. They threatened Ezra's life I had no choice."
It only took a matter of minutes before everyone gathered around Ezra. Buck and JD had gotten DeAblo down off his horse and kept their guns pointed at him while Nathan knelt down beside Ezra. He saw the large bruise that had formed on the side of his head where Jack had kicked him. The cut itself was only small but it had caused Ezra to lose a lot of blood. He checked the rest of Ezra's body for injuries. Ezra grimaced and moaned at nearly every spot that Nathan tested.
"The worst is his head wound and some cracked ribs. The rest is bruising but they’re all over his legs and sides. They must of used something to beat him with," Nathan looked disgusted by the injuries that they had caused to Ezra's body.
Chris turned to Jack Standish who was still kneeling on the ground. He kicked him. "Is that what you did to Ezra?" Chris kicked him again. "You kept kicking him didn't you?"
Jack was afraid. He knew that this man was going to kill him. Chris intended to do so until he heard Ezra ask him to stop. He turned to Ezra confused as to why he didn’t want him to return the favour.
"Don't, Chris," Ezra was looking up at him. He struggled to sit himself up.
"Stay down Ezra," said Nathan.
"I'm all right, Nathan, and no I’m not being stubborn, I'm just sore mostly." He looked back at Chris.
"The man deserves what he gets Ezra," growled Chris.
"You told me that you’d be behind me in my decision of what I want to do. And I don't want you to beat him."
"Why not?" asked Chris beginning to understand what Ezra was saying.
"Because I’ve faced my fear of him. I’m no longer afraid of him and if you do to him what he did to me, then you’d be just like him and I don't want you to be."
Chris thought for a moment and knew that Ezra was right. He if beat him to death then it would be the same, the man would not be able to defend himself after a point. They would have to settle with seeing the man spend the rest of his life in jail. Chris gave him one last kick anyway and it landed squarely on the side of his head.
"That was for Ezra," he told the unconscious man.
Ezra couldn’t help but smile at this. It brought a grimace of pain though from the wound on his own head. Buck, JD and Vin had DeAblo half drag and half carry Jack Standish to the jail while Langton had to manage on his own under the cover of one of the lawmen's guns. Once they did this, they intended to go back and get the rest of the gang. The others helped Ezra to his rented room at the saloon where Nathan saw to his injuries. After Nathan cleaned and bandaged his arm, head injury and strapped his ribs and made sure that he was okay emotionally he left Ezra to sleep.
It was another two days before Ezra came down from his room. He had spent most of those days sleeping. Nathan had said that he was going to be fine. He wasn't going to go through the sort of thing that he did last time. It was another week until they began the journey to return to Four Corners.
Martin DeAblo had been convicted and sentenced to hang in three weeks. His brother and Langton were going to spend their remaining days in jail.
Jack Standish who was also to spend the rest of his life in jail died two years later, never to be convicted for the crime that he committed twenty-eight years ago when Ezra's father disappeared, as another prisoner had beaten him to death over the theft of some food.
The six hired gunmen returned to their duties when they got back to Four Corners with Ezra secretly hoping that he never sees another person from his past that would cause the same sort of trouble for him, he'd had enough of it over the last two months to last him a lifetime.
The End.
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six
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