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azombiewritesTitle: False Identity
Fifth story in 'The Continuing Ezra Standish Saga'
Rating: PG
Warnings: Bad writing ahead!
Fandom: The Magnificent Seven
Genre: Hurt/Comfort
Summary: Ezra suffers from amnesia after an accident and he is found by a group of outlaws who are able to convince him that he is part of the gang.
Main Characters: Ezra, the rest of the seven, and some OC's
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. *is ashamed*
Notes: Fifth story in the ‘Continuing Ezra Standish Saga’.
Spoilers: None.
Word Count: 13,767
Part Two
Chris and JD were waiting in the saloon for Buck and Vin to get back. And when they did, their expressions were ones of confusion. "Well?" asked Chris as they sat down and said nothing.
Buck looked at Vin who nodded as if to say you tell him. "He didn't know who we were."
"What do you mean he didn't know who you were?" Chris frowned.
"He didn't know us and one of the men he was with called him Cal."
"JD, go and get Nathan."
"What for?" questioned JD.
"Just do it, JD."
He returned ten minutes later with Nathan and Josiah both of who were surprised to find out that Ezra had returned. They listened as Buck repeated what he had told Chris about Ezra not knowing who they were.
Nathan thought for a moment before saying anything. "Did you see any sort of head wound?"
They all looked at each other in confusion. "What do you mean, Nathan?"
"From what you told me Buck it sounds like Ezra's lost his memory and that usually happens after a head wound. So did you see any sign of one?" He asked again.
"No we didn't see anything," Vin looked down. "He had his hat on anyway."
"So what do we do, Chris? Those guys that he’s hanging out with don't look very pleasant," asked Buck.
"First of all we’re going to have to convince him of who he is."
"I don't think that is going to do any good," muttered Buck not really wanting to tell him what Ezra had said about friendship. Chris raised his eyebrows at him so he continued stepping away from Chris in case he reacted to what he had to say. "We told him that we were his friends but he didn’t believe us."
"Why didn't he believe you?" asked Nathan.
"He said that if we were his friends . . .” he stopped for a moment looking at Chris "that Chris wouldn’t have done what he did. That friends don't treat each other like that."
"And what did Chris do?" Josiah wasn’t aware of what had happened earlier but he did know what Chris was capable of.
"Chris confronted Ezra who actually pulled a gun on him. And then his new friends had him put the gun away and that's when Chris hit him." Explained Buck.
"Well, were just going to have to talk to him again aren't we," smiled Chris.
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Ezra and his new friends had gathered in Alex's room. They needed to go over the plans to rob the bank. "Here's what we’re going to do. Peter, Fred and I’ll go into the bank while Sam and Cal create a distraction for the six lawmen. You will need to give us a least fifteen minutes just to be safe and then we’ll meet on the outside of town, due South. We were hoping that some of them may not be here but I think under the circumstances we should just go ahead and do it. Does everyone agree?" Alex knew that they had to do it now, if those men did know this gambler then they were not going to leave him alone and they might be able to bring back his memory. They all nodded their agreement, even Ezra. "We do it tomorrow then."
"Do you know what sort of distraction we should use?" asked Sam.
Ezra smiled. "They seem to think they know me, why don't we use that and if it doesn't work we could always shoot one of them, that would keep them occupied long enough for you to rob the bank."
They smiled back at him; he really had become one of them.
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Ezra and the others decided that they were going to go back to the saloon for a drink as they had left earlier without getting one. They knew that they would probably run into those lawmen again but that didn’t bother them, it gave Cal a chance to put his plan into action. When they entered the saloon they found that the three that were there earlier had been joined by another three. Ezra looked at them on the way past but kept going. He sat down with his friends and waited. He didn't have to wait long before one of them came over to him.
Chris and the others had seen Ezra come back into the saloon. He went to get up but Nathan held him back. "I'll go and talk to him that way I can give him a once over." He got up and went over to the table that Ezra was sitting at. "Ezra, could I have a word with you please." Ezra didn’t answer him though so he nudged his shoulder. "Ezra?"
"His name is Cal," said Sam
Nathan looked at him and then back to Ezra who was now looking at him. Nathan saw that there was no recognition in those green eyes. He quickly gave Ezra an examination with his eyes and saw nothing that indicated that he had received a head injury but he had not check the back of his head.
"What about?" said Ezra.
"I understand that you don't remember any of us." Ezra turned to look at the other lawmen sitting at the table across the room and because he turned away from him, Nathan was able to see the small wound on the back of his head.
"I don't remember you, but that's probably because I don't know any of you," smiled Ezra.
Nathan didn't like that smile; it wasn't Ezra. "Maybe we can talk on our own, maybe go over a few things that might make you remember."
"No," was Ezra's simple answer. "Now would you go away?" Ezra turned away from him indicating that the conversation was over.
Nathan returned to his own table. "There's a wound at the back of his head. This could have caused the loss of memory."
"Did you get through to him at all," asked Josiah.
"No, he wouldn't talk to me."
They sat there for another hour watching Ezra and the men he was sitting with. They were laughing and seemed to be enjoying themselves. It was as though Ezra had known them for a long time. When they got up to leave, they saw that Ezra was the last one to go. He stopped at their table on the way past. He grimaced at Chris but then turned to Nathan. "Meet me here tomorrow at eleven, I’ll talk to you then." He turned to leave but added. "All of you."
"Now he does remember us," smiled JD.
Alex and the rest of the gang were waiting for him outside. "Well?" he asked.
"They're all going to meet me here tomorrow at eleven," smiled Ezra. "Should give you plenty of time to rob the bank."
Alex smiled back at him. "Good." He allowed Ezra and the others to go on ahead of them and then spoke quietly to his brother. "If he shows any sign of remembering who he is tomorrow, kill him."
"I hope he doesn't, I’m beginning to like that man and they way he thinks."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Even though Ezra didn’t remember who he was, he still hated early mornings and it wasn't until ten that he rose from his bed and prepared himself for the day ahead. He met Sam and the gang in the lobby to go over the plans again just to make sure and then they split up to put that plan into action. Ezra and Sam went to the saloon and Alex, Peter and Fred to the bank.
Ezra went into the saloon leaving Sam outside. He moved over to the table that the protectors of the town had gathered at. He sat down at the table but didn’t say anything; he wanted them to make the first move.
"Ezra, how you doin' this morning?" asked JD.
"I prefer that you call me Cal as that is the name that I associate with myself at the moment. Unless of course you can convince me otherwise." He knew that he had to drag this out. Alex and the others needed fifteen minutes and he intended to give them that time.
They had decided that Nathan was going to do the talking, as he may know how to get Ezra to remember something. "We know you as Ezra Standish," said Nathan. He watched as Ezra raised his eyebrows. "We’re your friends Ezra; you’ve been protecting this town with us for six months now."
"The gentlemen I’m with claim to have known me since we were children."
"Then how come you have a Southern accent and they don't?" growled Chris. He really disliked the man that Ezra was now.
Ezra frowned at that remark. If it had come from one of the other men, he may have even questioned it. "So," he continued, "you say that you’re my friends."
"Yes we are, we've all been through a lot lately," said Nathan.
"What about him?" Ezra nodded at Chris.
"Even Chris," agreed Nathan.
Ezra looked back at Nathan. "Then why did he hit me?"
Nathan didn’t know how to answer that one. He looked to Chris.
"We’re friends Ezra, it's just that we have our moments," said Chris
Ezra scrutinized Chris. "I don't believe you, friends protect each other, they don't hit them." A thought flashed through Ezra's mind then. 'Run out on me again and you’re a dead man.' Ezra's eyes were glassy for a moment.
"You just remembered something didn't you?" asked Nathan.
"No I didn't," said Ezra. "So far you gentlemen haven’t done a lot of convincing."
"Maybe you remember your mother Maude," asked Josiah. "You and she departed on not to friendly terms the last time she was in town. You had been sick and you didn't want to tell her what happened.
And we all stood by you in your decision even though some of us didn’t like it."
"Maybe you would like to go upstairs and look at the room that you have been staying in until you left town three weeks ago," asked Nathan.
"One of the lawmen left here three weeks ago didn't he?" muttered Ezra.
"Yes he did, and that was you Ezra. You wanted to time to think but from the look of the wound on the back of your head something happened and it caused you to lose your memory." Nathan leaned forward hoping that they were actually getting through to him but before he could say anything else, they heard gunshots from outside.
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Alex and the two remaining members of his gang entered the bank to find only one customer being served by the bank teller. Alex nodded to Peter who went in line behind the businessman who was banking his weekly takings. Peter moved up to the counter after they had turned away. He pulled his gun on the teller. "Put all of the money that you have in this bag." He handed the teller a bag.
"All I have is what that man just deposited," wined the teller.
"Well then you better open the safe and get what you have in there," growled Peter.
"I can't, only the manager has the key and he’s not here." The man cringed as the bank robber's face grew angry.
"What is going on, Peter, get that money and let's get out of here," yelled Alex.
"There's nothing here," he yelled back.
Alex went to have a look for himself. "Where's the money?
"He claims that this is all there is," answered Peter.
"To hell with that." Alex then shot the teller twice. He grabbed the money that was on the counter and ran out the door with Peter and Fred on his heels.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Ezra watched as the rest of the men who were seated at the table rise with their guns already drawn. He had to do something quick. He pulled his own gun and grabbed the closest man to him, which was Vin. He wrapped his arm around Vin's throat, pulled him towards him, and placed his gun against his temple.
"Put all your guns down or I’ll shoot him," yelled Ezra.
They all turned around to see Ezra holding Vin. They stood there for a moment shocked at what Ezra was doing.
"Ezra what are you doing?" asked Nathan.
"I told you the name is Cal," he looked at each of them. "Now do as I say or I’ll shoot your friend."
Usually they would not do such a thing but they didn’t want to risk either Vin's or Ezra's life. They put their guns down on the table.
"On the floor not the table," smiled Ezra. He watched as they did this and then began to drag Vin out of the saloon. He saw Sam out of the corner of his eye. "Get the horses Sam."
Once Ezra was out of the saloon Chris picked up his gun and followed him out. He saw Ezra still walking backwards and then saw one of the other gang members heading towards Ezra with a couple of horses. He pointed his gun in Sam's direction. He then yelled to Ezra.
"If you don't let Vin go I’ll shoot your so called friend over there."
Ezra looked from Chris to Sam. He somehow knew that this man was going to shoot Sam so he acted quickly. He pulled Vin around to his left and then took aim while Chris had his own gun pointed in a different direction. At the same time, Sam had seen what was going down and began to pull his own gun and point it in Chris's direction. The sound of two guns firing echoed through the air.
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Alex heard the two shots coming from the saloon and knew what was happening. He jumped on his horse and headed towards the edge of town to wait for his brother and Cal. 'Cal had better be doing what he’s supposed to be doing, if anything happens to Sam he’ll pay for it.' thought Alex. They got to the edge of town and waited for ten minutes and when his brother didn’t show up; he knew that something was wrong. "Come on guys we better leave, we'll come back tonight and find out what happened."
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Both Ezra and Sam dropped at the same time. Josiah had come out of the saloon just in time to see Ezra aim for Chris. He had no choice, with the state that Ezra was in he knew that he would shoot Chris and when Ezra had opened himself up after shifting Vin to the side Josiah quickly took aim himself and fired watching Ezra go down in a heap as the bullet entered his right shoulder. 'Great now he’s going to have another scar to match the one he got last month.' thought Josiah.
Chris saw Sam draw his gun but before Sam could pull the trigger, Chris fired his own gun. He saw Sam drop his gun and clutch his chest. Ezra also saw this from where he was lying. He watched in horror as his friend fell to the ground. He struggled to get himself up and stumbled over to where Sam was lying in the dirt. "SAM!" he yelled.
The six lawmen watched in stunned silence as Ezra went over to the man that Chris had shot. They watched as he fell to his knees next to him and then pick him up and held him against his chest. They moved closer to watch what was happening.
Ezra had seen Sam go down, watched as the blood flowed freely from the wound close to his heart. He moved over to him ignoring the pain that he felt in his own shoulder. When he reached him, he could see the pain on the young man's face.
"Sam," muttered Ezra. "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault, Cal," he grimaced as a shot of pain went through him. "Make sure that Alex knows it wasn't your fault and then promise me that you will revenge my death."
"You're not going to die, Sam."
Chris and the others were now gathered around Ezra and the man that he was comforting. They couldn’t understand what was going on. They knew that Ezra couldn’t remember anything and that this man and his gang had convinced Ezra that they were friends but Ezra was acting, as he had actually known the man for a long time. He was so convinced of this that he was responding as though the man was a brother to him and he was about to lose him.
Ezra was clutching Sam to his chest when he felt him shudder and then go limp in his arms. He laid him down on the ground and looked up into Chris's eyes showing the hatred that he now felt for this man and with his left hand he went to draw his gun. Chris saw this happening and as a natural reaction, he struck Ezra on the side of his head with the butt of his gun. Ezra once more fell to the ground in a heap.
Chris looked down at the unconscious Ezra. "Josiah, Nathan, take Ezra to the jail and take care of him," he saw their questioning looks. "If you take him to your room he might try and escape and then where will we be."
They nodded. Josiah then picked Ezra up being careful of the wound that he had caused; he then carried him to the jail. Nathan rushed to his room to get the medical supplies that he would need to take care of Ezra.
"JD, get someone to help you take this one to the undertaker's," he pointed down at Sam's body. "The rest of us are going to see what the shooting was that we heard earlier." Chris and the others then headed in the direction of the bank. He had decided that by the reaction of Ezra in the saloon that the rest of his friends must of been up to something and the only thing that he could think of was the bank.
When they reached the bank, they could see a few people looking inside. Chris went inside and saw the bank manager standing behind the counter; he looked up to see Chris. "They shot, George," he said.
Chris joined the others outside. "They robbed the bank and shot the teller."
They all looked down knowing what this meant for Ezra. He had helped a gang rob the town's bank.
"Are we going to go after them?" asked Vin.
"We're would we start. No, I think that we should talk to Ezra; he would know what the plan was. He and that other guy would have a plan to meet up with them later." Chris turned and walked towards the jail.
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Josiah had placed Ezra on one of the bunks in the jail cell. He then sat on the bunk and waited for Nathan who arrived five minutes later to see Josiah watching Ezra. He moved into the cell and together they took Ezra's jacket, vest and shirt off. Nathan noticed that the bullet had gone straight through. It was a clean entry and exit wound. Nathan cleaned and stitched the wound. He then bandaged the wound while Ezra groaned in protest at the pain. He then checked the head wound that was caused by Chris's gun. It looked nasty, the cut was actually deep and the blood was still flowing freely. He did the same to this wound, he cleaned it and stitched it and after bandaging it he looked up to notice that Chris and the others were watching him work from the outside of the cell.
"Well?" asked Chris.
"I've cleaned and stitched the wounds, his shoulder should be fine as long as it doesn't get infected which I don't think that it will but the wound to his head looks nasty. I’ll have to wait for him to wake up to see what sort of damage it may have caused him."
Chris looked down. "When he wakes up let me know, we need to talk to him." He then left to go to the saloon; he needed a drink.
Vin followed Chris but the others stayed. They wanted to stay with Ezra. They watched as he lay on the bunk behind the bars, his pale complexion becoming a regular occurrence.
"What just happened out there?" asked Buck for the second time in two days. "He acted like he had known that guys for years instead of just days."
"You have to remember Buck that he has no memory of who he is and these men seem to have given him a history of who he was and he has believed it to be true. He thinks that they are his friends and unless we can convince him, otherwise he’s going to continue to act the way that he is. He thinks that he’s a bank robber," explained Nathan.
It was nearly two hours later when they heard Ezra groan from the bunk, his eyes opened and he looked around to see where he was. His gaze fell on the five lawmen who were watching him. Nathan went to open the cell so he could check on Ezra but Josiah held him back.
"JD, go and get Chris and Vin," said Josiah.
JD slapped his hands against his thighs in frustration but did as he was told. Ezra continued to watch the lawmen. Nathan moved towards the cell again. "Ezra, do you know who I am?"
Ezra smiled and Nathan was expecting one of his sarcastic comments. "Yes I do." Nathan smiled, as did all the others. "You’re a friend of the man that killed Sam and he’s going to die for what he did." Ezra continued to smile.
Nathan sighed and looked back at the others. Chris and Vin then entered the jail and went straight to the cell. "Does he remember anything?" asked Vin.
"No," said Nathan. "He's still the same."
Chris and Ezra were staring at each. "Ezra, we need to know where the other bank robbers went."
Chris asked gently to start with. He would get rough later if needs be. He knew it was wrong but Ezra was thinking like an outlaw and Chris knew that he might have to be treated like one.
Ezra continued to stare at him. "Ezra, tell me where they are please."
"I don't know where they are, perhaps you may run into them later when they come back to kill you." Ezra sat up and winced at the pain in his shoulder and head. He got up, swayed for a moment, and then moved to the bars so he was face to face with Chris. "And if they don't I will!"
Ezra blinked and his expression faltered. He felt another pain in his left shoulder for a brief moment. 'Might be sore for a while but at least you'll have two hands to deal a card with.' He looked at Nathan. He shook his head and grimaced at the pain he felt. Everyone saw the old Ezra for a fleeting moment.
But then Cal returned.
"Did you see that?" Nathan whispered to Josiah. "He’s starting to remember things."
"Are you going to tell me or not?" growled Chris.
"No. Do I have to keep repeating myself to you?" Ezra frowned at that statement. It felt as though he had said that already.
"JD, give me the keys." Chris put his hand out.
"What are you going to do, Chris," asked Vin.
"I'm going to make him tell me where they are," Chris smiled at Ezra.
They all heard Ezra laugh at this. They looked at him wondering what was so funny. "And you all wonder why you can't convince me that this man is supposed to be my friend; well this is a perfect example. Here I am with a bullet wound and he wants to come in here and beat an answer out of me. Now tell me does a friend usually do this sort of thing."
"You seem to forget that at the moment you are not my friend, Ezra is my friend not this Cal that you say you are."
"Really so it is this Ezra that you are worried about, not me is that correct."
"Yeah, it is."
Chris didn’t expect Ezra to do what he did, none of them did, and it was as though he had become crazy. They didn't understand it at all. It was as though he was full of anger and he wanted to take it out on somebody. Nathan though wasn’t sure if it was the anger of Sam being killed or all the anger that had built up over the years. But either way it didn’t matter now as he watched Ezra take that anger out on someone and that someone was himself.
They watched as Ezra slammed his wounded shoulder against the bars tearing the stitches and reopening the wound. His face screwed up in pain but he didn’t voice the agony that he was feeling. Nathan quickly grabbed the keys to the cell and opened the door. Ezra didn’t stand back though, he tried to attack Nathan but the others grabbed his arms and held him back. He struggled in their arms but he didn’t struggle for long as the pain in his shoulder eventually caused him to black out.
"What the hell . . ." muttered Buck.
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"Why did he do that Nathan?" asked JD as he watched Nathan and Josiah lay Ezra back down on the bunk.
"I don't know, JD." He was as shocked as the rest of them. Even Chris was at a lost for something to say. "But we’ll have to keep an eye on him to make sure that he doesn't do something like that again."
"Do you think he would?" asked Josiah.
"He did it once . . .," Nathan shrugged. "Did anyone else notice that he seemed to remember something before he did that?"
"Yeah, you could see Ezra for a moment," commented JD.
"I think that when he wakes up we should talk to him about things that might make him remember instead of this robbery that just happened." Nathan was looking at Chris.
Chris nodded his agreement. "But we all stay here just in case his friends come back."
Buck frowned at this. "Chris your talking as though Ezra never existed. You seemed to have forgotten yourself that this is not Ezra's fault; you can't blame him for losing his memory. That's not right. We have to remember that he’s our friend and we have to see him through this."
Chris didn’t answer him though; instead, he went and sat in one of the empty chairs.
Part One | Part Two | Part Three
Master Fan Fiction List
Fifth story in 'The Continuing Ezra Standish Saga'
Rating: PG
Warnings: Bad writing ahead!
Fandom: The Magnificent Seven
Genre: Hurt/Comfort
Summary: Ezra suffers from amnesia after an accident and he is found by a group of outlaws who are able to convince him that he is part of the gang.
Main Characters: Ezra, the rest of the seven, and some OC's
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. *is ashamed*
Notes: Fifth story in the ‘Continuing Ezra Standish Saga’.
Spoilers: None.
Word Count: 13,767
Part Two
Chris and JD were waiting in the saloon for Buck and Vin to get back. And when they did, their expressions were ones of confusion. "Well?" asked Chris as they sat down and said nothing.
Buck looked at Vin who nodded as if to say you tell him. "He didn't know who we were."
"What do you mean he didn't know who you were?" Chris frowned.
"He didn't know us and one of the men he was with called him Cal."
"JD, go and get Nathan."
"What for?" questioned JD.
"Just do it, JD."
He returned ten minutes later with Nathan and Josiah both of who were surprised to find out that Ezra had returned. They listened as Buck repeated what he had told Chris about Ezra not knowing who they were.
Nathan thought for a moment before saying anything. "Did you see any sort of head wound?"
They all looked at each other in confusion. "What do you mean, Nathan?"
"From what you told me Buck it sounds like Ezra's lost his memory and that usually happens after a head wound. So did you see any sign of one?" He asked again.
"No we didn't see anything," Vin looked down. "He had his hat on anyway."
"So what do we do, Chris? Those guys that he’s hanging out with don't look very pleasant," asked Buck.
"First of all we’re going to have to convince him of who he is."
"I don't think that is going to do any good," muttered Buck not really wanting to tell him what Ezra had said about friendship. Chris raised his eyebrows at him so he continued stepping away from Chris in case he reacted to what he had to say. "We told him that we were his friends but he didn’t believe us."
"Why didn't he believe you?" asked Nathan.
"He said that if we were his friends . . .” he stopped for a moment looking at Chris "that Chris wouldn’t have done what he did. That friends don't treat each other like that."
"And what did Chris do?" Josiah wasn’t aware of what had happened earlier but he did know what Chris was capable of.
"Chris confronted Ezra who actually pulled a gun on him. And then his new friends had him put the gun away and that's when Chris hit him." Explained Buck.
"Well, were just going to have to talk to him again aren't we," smiled Chris.
Ezra and his new friends had gathered in Alex's room. They needed to go over the plans to rob the bank. "Here's what we’re going to do. Peter, Fred and I’ll go into the bank while Sam and Cal create a distraction for the six lawmen. You will need to give us a least fifteen minutes just to be safe and then we’ll meet on the outside of town, due South. We were hoping that some of them may not be here but I think under the circumstances we should just go ahead and do it. Does everyone agree?" Alex knew that they had to do it now, if those men did know this gambler then they were not going to leave him alone and they might be able to bring back his memory. They all nodded their agreement, even Ezra. "We do it tomorrow then."
"Do you know what sort of distraction we should use?" asked Sam.
Ezra smiled. "They seem to think they know me, why don't we use that and if it doesn't work we could always shoot one of them, that would keep them occupied long enough for you to rob the bank."
They smiled back at him; he really had become one of them.
Ezra and the others decided that they were going to go back to the saloon for a drink as they had left earlier without getting one. They knew that they would probably run into those lawmen again but that didn’t bother them, it gave Cal a chance to put his plan into action. When they entered the saloon they found that the three that were there earlier had been joined by another three. Ezra looked at them on the way past but kept going. He sat down with his friends and waited. He didn't have to wait long before one of them came over to him.
Chris and the others had seen Ezra come back into the saloon. He went to get up but Nathan held him back. "I'll go and talk to him that way I can give him a once over." He got up and went over to the table that Ezra was sitting at. "Ezra, could I have a word with you please." Ezra didn’t answer him though so he nudged his shoulder. "Ezra?"
"His name is Cal," said Sam
Nathan looked at him and then back to Ezra who was now looking at him. Nathan saw that there was no recognition in those green eyes. He quickly gave Ezra an examination with his eyes and saw nothing that indicated that he had received a head injury but he had not check the back of his head.
"What about?" said Ezra.
"I understand that you don't remember any of us." Ezra turned to look at the other lawmen sitting at the table across the room and because he turned away from him, Nathan was able to see the small wound on the back of his head.
"I don't remember you, but that's probably because I don't know any of you," smiled Ezra.
Nathan didn't like that smile; it wasn't Ezra. "Maybe we can talk on our own, maybe go over a few things that might make you remember."
"No," was Ezra's simple answer. "Now would you go away?" Ezra turned away from him indicating that the conversation was over.
Nathan returned to his own table. "There's a wound at the back of his head. This could have caused the loss of memory."
"Did you get through to him at all," asked Josiah.
"No, he wouldn't talk to me."
They sat there for another hour watching Ezra and the men he was sitting with. They were laughing and seemed to be enjoying themselves. It was as though Ezra had known them for a long time. When they got up to leave, they saw that Ezra was the last one to go. He stopped at their table on the way past. He grimaced at Chris but then turned to Nathan. "Meet me here tomorrow at eleven, I’ll talk to you then." He turned to leave but added. "All of you."
"Now he does remember us," smiled JD.
Alex and the rest of the gang were waiting for him outside. "Well?" he asked.
"They're all going to meet me here tomorrow at eleven," smiled Ezra. "Should give you plenty of time to rob the bank."
Alex smiled back at him. "Good." He allowed Ezra and the others to go on ahead of them and then spoke quietly to his brother. "If he shows any sign of remembering who he is tomorrow, kill him."
"I hope he doesn't, I’m beginning to like that man and they way he thinks."
Even though Ezra didn’t remember who he was, he still hated early mornings and it wasn't until ten that he rose from his bed and prepared himself for the day ahead. He met Sam and the gang in the lobby to go over the plans again just to make sure and then they split up to put that plan into action. Ezra and Sam went to the saloon and Alex, Peter and Fred to the bank.
Ezra went into the saloon leaving Sam outside. He moved over to the table that the protectors of the town had gathered at. He sat down at the table but didn’t say anything; he wanted them to make the first move.
"Ezra, how you doin' this morning?" asked JD.
"I prefer that you call me Cal as that is the name that I associate with myself at the moment. Unless of course you can convince me otherwise." He knew that he had to drag this out. Alex and the others needed fifteen minutes and he intended to give them that time.
They had decided that Nathan was going to do the talking, as he may know how to get Ezra to remember something. "We know you as Ezra Standish," said Nathan. He watched as Ezra raised his eyebrows. "We’re your friends Ezra; you’ve been protecting this town with us for six months now."
"The gentlemen I’m with claim to have known me since we were children."
"Then how come you have a Southern accent and they don't?" growled Chris. He really disliked the man that Ezra was now.
Ezra frowned at that remark. If it had come from one of the other men, he may have even questioned it. "So," he continued, "you say that you’re my friends."
"Yes we are, we've all been through a lot lately," said Nathan.
"What about him?" Ezra nodded at Chris.
"Even Chris," agreed Nathan.
Ezra looked back at Nathan. "Then why did he hit me?"
Nathan didn’t know how to answer that one. He looked to Chris.
"We’re friends Ezra, it's just that we have our moments," said Chris
Ezra scrutinized Chris. "I don't believe you, friends protect each other, they don't hit them." A thought flashed through Ezra's mind then. 'Run out on me again and you’re a dead man.' Ezra's eyes were glassy for a moment.
"You just remembered something didn't you?" asked Nathan.
"No I didn't," said Ezra. "So far you gentlemen haven’t done a lot of convincing."
"Maybe you remember your mother Maude," asked Josiah. "You and she departed on not to friendly terms the last time she was in town. You had been sick and you didn't want to tell her what happened.
And we all stood by you in your decision even though some of us didn’t like it."
"Maybe you would like to go upstairs and look at the room that you have been staying in until you left town three weeks ago," asked Nathan.
"One of the lawmen left here three weeks ago didn't he?" muttered Ezra.
"Yes he did, and that was you Ezra. You wanted to time to think but from the look of the wound on the back of your head something happened and it caused you to lose your memory." Nathan leaned forward hoping that they were actually getting through to him but before he could say anything else, they heard gunshots from outside.
Alex and the two remaining members of his gang entered the bank to find only one customer being served by the bank teller. Alex nodded to Peter who went in line behind the businessman who was banking his weekly takings. Peter moved up to the counter after they had turned away. He pulled his gun on the teller. "Put all of the money that you have in this bag." He handed the teller a bag.
"All I have is what that man just deposited," wined the teller.
"Well then you better open the safe and get what you have in there," growled Peter.
"I can't, only the manager has the key and he’s not here." The man cringed as the bank robber's face grew angry.
"What is going on, Peter, get that money and let's get out of here," yelled Alex.
"There's nothing here," he yelled back.
Alex went to have a look for himself. "Where's the money?
"He claims that this is all there is," answered Peter.
"To hell with that." Alex then shot the teller twice. He grabbed the money that was on the counter and ran out the door with Peter and Fred on his heels.
Ezra watched as the rest of the men who were seated at the table rise with their guns already drawn. He had to do something quick. He pulled his own gun and grabbed the closest man to him, which was Vin. He wrapped his arm around Vin's throat, pulled him towards him, and placed his gun against his temple.
"Put all your guns down or I’ll shoot him," yelled Ezra.
They all turned around to see Ezra holding Vin. They stood there for a moment shocked at what Ezra was doing.
"Ezra what are you doing?" asked Nathan.
"I told you the name is Cal," he looked at each of them. "Now do as I say or I’ll shoot your friend."
Usually they would not do such a thing but they didn’t want to risk either Vin's or Ezra's life. They put their guns down on the table.
"On the floor not the table," smiled Ezra. He watched as they did this and then began to drag Vin out of the saloon. He saw Sam out of the corner of his eye. "Get the horses Sam."
Once Ezra was out of the saloon Chris picked up his gun and followed him out. He saw Ezra still walking backwards and then saw one of the other gang members heading towards Ezra with a couple of horses. He pointed his gun in Sam's direction. He then yelled to Ezra.
"If you don't let Vin go I’ll shoot your so called friend over there."
Ezra looked from Chris to Sam. He somehow knew that this man was going to shoot Sam so he acted quickly. He pulled Vin around to his left and then took aim while Chris had his own gun pointed in a different direction. At the same time, Sam had seen what was going down and began to pull his own gun and point it in Chris's direction. The sound of two guns firing echoed through the air.
Alex heard the two shots coming from the saloon and knew what was happening. He jumped on his horse and headed towards the edge of town to wait for his brother and Cal. 'Cal had better be doing what he’s supposed to be doing, if anything happens to Sam he’ll pay for it.' thought Alex. They got to the edge of town and waited for ten minutes and when his brother didn’t show up; he knew that something was wrong. "Come on guys we better leave, we'll come back tonight and find out what happened."
Both Ezra and Sam dropped at the same time. Josiah had come out of the saloon just in time to see Ezra aim for Chris. He had no choice, with the state that Ezra was in he knew that he would shoot Chris and when Ezra had opened himself up after shifting Vin to the side Josiah quickly took aim himself and fired watching Ezra go down in a heap as the bullet entered his right shoulder. 'Great now he’s going to have another scar to match the one he got last month.' thought Josiah.
Chris saw Sam draw his gun but before Sam could pull the trigger, Chris fired his own gun. He saw Sam drop his gun and clutch his chest. Ezra also saw this from where he was lying. He watched in horror as his friend fell to the ground. He struggled to get himself up and stumbled over to where Sam was lying in the dirt. "SAM!" he yelled.
The six lawmen watched in stunned silence as Ezra went over to the man that Chris had shot. They watched as he fell to his knees next to him and then pick him up and held him against his chest. They moved closer to watch what was happening.
Ezra had seen Sam go down, watched as the blood flowed freely from the wound close to his heart. He moved over to him ignoring the pain that he felt in his own shoulder. When he reached him, he could see the pain on the young man's face.
"Sam," muttered Ezra. "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault, Cal," he grimaced as a shot of pain went through him. "Make sure that Alex knows it wasn't your fault and then promise me that you will revenge my death."
"You're not going to die, Sam."
Chris and the others were now gathered around Ezra and the man that he was comforting. They couldn’t understand what was going on. They knew that Ezra couldn’t remember anything and that this man and his gang had convinced Ezra that they were friends but Ezra was acting, as he had actually known the man for a long time. He was so convinced of this that he was responding as though the man was a brother to him and he was about to lose him.
Ezra was clutching Sam to his chest when he felt him shudder and then go limp in his arms. He laid him down on the ground and looked up into Chris's eyes showing the hatred that he now felt for this man and with his left hand he went to draw his gun. Chris saw this happening and as a natural reaction, he struck Ezra on the side of his head with the butt of his gun. Ezra once more fell to the ground in a heap.
Chris looked down at the unconscious Ezra. "Josiah, Nathan, take Ezra to the jail and take care of him," he saw their questioning looks. "If you take him to your room he might try and escape and then where will we be."
They nodded. Josiah then picked Ezra up being careful of the wound that he had caused; he then carried him to the jail. Nathan rushed to his room to get the medical supplies that he would need to take care of Ezra.
"JD, get someone to help you take this one to the undertaker's," he pointed down at Sam's body. "The rest of us are going to see what the shooting was that we heard earlier." Chris and the others then headed in the direction of the bank. He had decided that by the reaction of Ezra in the saloon that the rest of his friends must of been up to something and the only thing that he could think of was the bank.
When they reached the bank, they could see a few people looking inside. Chris went inside and saw the bank manager standing behind the counter; he looked up to see Chris. "They shot, George," he said.
Chris joined the others outside. "They robbed the bank and shot the teller."
They all looked down knowing what this meant for Ezra. He had helped a gang rob the town's bank.
"Are we going to go after them?" asked Vin.
"We're would we start. No, I think that we should talk to Ezra; he would know what the plan was. He and that other guy would have a plan to meet up with them later." Chris turned and walked towards the jail.
Josiah had placed Ezra on one of the bunks in the jail cell. He then sat on the bunk and waited for Nathan who arrived five minutes later to see Josiah watching Ezra. He moved into the cell and together they took Ezra's jacket, vest and shirt off. Nathan noticed that the bullet had gone straight through. It was a clean entry and exit wound. Nathan cleaned and stitched the wound. He then bandaged the wound while Ezra groaned in protest at the pain. He then checked the head wound that was caused by Chris's gun. It looked nasty, the cut was actually deep and the blood was still flowing freely. He did the same to this wound, he cleaned it and stitched it and after bandaging it he looked up to notice that Chris and the others were watching him work from the outside of the cell.
"Well?" asked Chris.
"I've cleaned and stitched the wounds, his shoulder should be fine as long as it doesn't get infected which I don't think that it will but the wound to his head looks nasty. I’ll have to wait for him to wake up to see what sort of damage it may have caused him."
Chris looked down. "When he wakes up let me know, we need to talk to him." He then left to go to the saloon; he needed a drink.
Vin followed Chris but the others stayed. They wanted to stay with Ezra. They watched as he lay on the bunk behind the bars, his pale complexion becoming a regular occurrence.
"What just happened out there?" asked Buck for the second time in two days. "He acted like he had known that guys for years instead of just days."
"You have to remember Buck that he has no memory of who he is and these men seem to have given him a history of who he was and he has believed it to be true. He thinks that they are his friends and unless we can convince him, otherwise he’s going to continue to act the way that he is. He thinks that he’s a bank robber," explained Nathan.
It was nearly two hours later when they heard Ezra groan from the bunk, his eyes opened and he looked around to see where he was. His gaze fell on the five lawmen who were watching him. Nathan went to open the cell so he could check on Ezra but Josiah held him back.
"JD, go and get Chris and Vin," said Josiah.
JD slapped his hands against his thighs in frustration but did as he was told. Ezra continued to watch the lawmen. Nathan moved towards the cell again. "Ezra, do you know who I am?"
Ezra smiled and Nathan was expecting one of his sarcastic comments. "Yes I do." Nathan smiled, as did all the others. "You’re a friend of the man that killed Sam and he’s going to die for what he did." Ezra continued to smile.
Nathan sighed and looked back at the others. Chris and Vin then entered the jail and went straight to the cell. "Does he remember anything?" asked Vin.
"No," said Nathan. "He's still the same."
Chris and Ezra were staring at each. "Ezra, we need to know where the other bank robbers went."
Chris asked gently to start with. He would get rough later if needs be. He knew it was wrong but Ezra was thinking like an outlaw and Chris knew that he might have to be treated like one.
Ezra continued to stare at him. "Ezra, tell me where they are please."
"I don't know where they are, perhaps you may run into them later when they come back to kill you." Ezra sat up and winced at the pain in his shoulder and head. He got up, swayed for a moment, and then moved to the bars so he was face to face with Chris. "And if they don't I will!"
Ezra blinked and his expression faltered. He felt another pain in his left shoulder for a brief moment. 'Might be sore for a while but at least you'll have two hands to deal a card with.' He looked at Nathan. He shook his head and grimaced at the pain he felt. Everyone saw the old Ezra for a fleeting moment.
But then Cal returned.
"Did you see that?" Nathan whispered to Josiah. "He’s starting to remember things."
"Are you going to tell me or not?" growled Chris.
"No. Do I have to keep repeating myself to you?" Ezra frowned at that statement. It felt as though he had said that already.
"JD, give me the keys." Chris put his hand out.
"What are you going to do, Chris," asked Vin.
"I'm going to make him tell me where they are," Chris smiled at Ezra.
They all heard Ezra laugh at this. They looked at him wondering what was so funny. "And you all wonder why you can't convince me that this man is supposed to be my friend; well this is a perfect example. Here I am with a bullet wound and he wants to come in here and beat an answer out of me. Now tell me does a friend usually do this sort of thing."
"You seem to forget that at the moment you are not my friend, Ezra is my friend not this Cal that you say you are."
"Really so it is this Ezra that you are worried about, not me is that correct."
"Yeah, it is."
Chris didn’t expect Ezra to do what he did, none of them did, and it was as though he had become crazy. They didn't understand it at all. It was as though he was full of anger and he wanted to take it out on somebody. Nathan though wasn’t sure if it was the anger of Sam being killed or all the anger that had built up over the years. But either way it didn’t matter now as he watched Ezra take that anger out on someone and that someone was himself.
They watched as Ezra slammed his wounded shoulder against the bars tearing the stitches and reopening the wound. His face screwed up in pain but he didn’t voice the agony that he was feeling. Nathan quickly grabbed the keys to the cell and opened the door. Ezra didn’t stand back though, he tried to attack Nathan but the others grabbed his arms and held him back. He struggled in their arms but he didn’t struggle for long as the pain in his shoulder eventually caused him to black out.
"What the hell . . ." muttered Buck.
"Why did he do that Nathan?" asked JD as he watched Nathan and Josiah lay Ezra back down on the bunk.
"I don't know, JD." He was as shocked as the rest of them. Even Chris was at a lost for something to say. "But we’ll have to keep an eye on him to make sure that he doesn't do something like that again."
"Do you think he would?" asked Josiah.
"He did it once . . .," Nathan shrugged. "Did anyone else notice that he seemed to remember something before he did that?"
"Yeah, you could see Ezra for a moment," commented JD.
"I think that when he wakes up we should talk to him about things that might make him remember instead of this robbery that just happened." Nathan was looking at Chris.
Chris nodded his agreement. "But we all stay here just in case his friends come back."
Buck frowned at this. "Chris your talking as though Ezra never existed. You seemed to have forgotten yourself that this is not Ezra's fault; you can't blame him for losing his memory. That's not right. We have to remember that he’s our friend and we have to see him through this."
Chris didn’t answer him though; instead, he went and sat in one of the empty chairs.
Part One | Part Two | Part Three
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