“You fellas from Lisbon?”

The trio glanced up, their hands falling to their holstered weapons. “Who’s asking?”

“Doug Barwick. I sent you a note about hiring you.”

The trio relaxed and indicated for the man to take the fourth and final chair at the table.

“You made good time. We weren’t expecting you until tonight.”

“We?”

“I just pass on messages,” Barwick informed them.

The professionals glanced at each other. “So who’s paying the bills?”

“They wish to remain anonymous.”

“Not the way we usually do things,” Lester remarked. Anthony Lester was a fast gun. He and his companions were not from these parts, but then, that was exactly why Barwick’s employer had engaged them. Three men with different skills. Lester was the gun. Godwin was a cardsharp who lured his opponents into a game and half way through ‘terminated’ them under some contrived pretence. The final man was known for the variety of his methods. Everything from garrotting to drowning.

“Two thousand dollars each,” Barwick reminded them. “My boss thinks that should buy anonymity.”

The assassins exchanged looks and finally Lester shrugged. “Alright. So the deal still the same? We wait for these men from Four Corners to come here?”

“Yeah, they're waiting for some fella to arrive. They're supposed to protect him.”

“And you want us to make a permanent ‘adjustment‘ to Four Corners‘ population?”

Barwick nodded.

“These men we’re being hired to expire, tell us a little about them.”

Barwick shrugged. “Just a couple guys who have been hired to protect the town.”

“Any of them real guns?” To Lester, a real gun was someone who could draw fast.

Barwick moved uncomfortably. He had hoped to keep Larabee’s name out of it. “One is supposed to be pretty good.”

“Name?”

Barwick licked his lips. “Larabee.”

Lester’s brow furrowed. He’d heard the name. “Chris Larabee?”

“Yeah.”

Lester smiled at his companions. “Looks like this job may be more fun than I anticipated, boys.”

“The others?” Bill O'Brien demanded.

“One’s a tracker, pretty good I’m told. One’s just a kid. One’s some sort of preacher. There’s a darkie that rides with ‘em. I think there’s a gambler. Not sure about the last one. Some friend of Larabee’s.”

“A gun?”

“I’m not sure.”

“So why does your employer want them dead?”

“How the hell do I know? If I had that sort of money, I’d get rid of some people who piss me off too!”

“What about our money?” Godwin demanded.

“Half now and half after the job’s done.”

“So why here? Why not just go to Four Corners to take care of them?” Godwin asked curiously.

“Opportunity mostly. They’re coming here tomorrow. Puts them out of their element. Larabee makes it his business to know what’s going on in his town. Killing them in Four Corners would have been just about impossible. You wouldn’t want to take them on in their own back yard, believe me.”

“So we just wait until they arrive?” Godwin mumbled.

Barwick nodded.

“Your boss fussed about the way we do it?”

Barwick shook his head. “Just wants the job done. Dead is dead.”

“Good. Means we can have a little fun,” O'Brien muttered.

Lester glanced at his companions. “Larabee’s mine.”

Famous last words, Barwick reflected. Larabee had made short work of the other gunfighter.

Barwick spotted O’Brien and Godwin. The two men crossed the room and took seats at the table.

“What the hell are you doing here?” the nervous man demanded, looking up to see if either member of the Larabee Gang had noticed anything.

“Relax. They don’t know what’s going on,” Godwin stated, eying Ezra and Josiah.

“Lester’s dead!” Barwick shrieked softly.

“Lester chose to take on Larabee. His mistake.” The other two assassins exchanged a glance. “Lester’s gone. We want his cut.”

“Huh?”

“Lester’s two thousand dollars. We want it. We still have to take out the Larabee Gang, so we feel we are entitled to the entire six thousand.”

Barwick flicked his eyes from Godwin to O’Brien. Gathering his courage, he said, “You haven’t done anything yet. They’re all still alive.”

“Not for long.”

Barwick rose to his feet. “I’ll speak to my employer. I’ll mention the six thousand, but we had better have some results soon.”

“We guarantee that by sun down two members of the Larabee Gang will be a memory,” Godwin proclaimed.

“So that will still leave five,” O’Brien snarled.

**********

The livery hand was quite helpful, just as Vin had suspected he would be. He remembered the gunfighter riding in and he remembered his two companions.

“One was flashy. New clothes. The other was just some cowboy. They weren’t very friendly.”

“Can you describe them more clearly?”

“Yeah, the rough lookin’ fella had a long scar on his right cheek. Ugly bastard.”

“Shouldn’t be hard to spot,” Vin muttered. "You heard any other interesting news lately?"

"I hear lots of stuff."

"Sheep?"

"Sheep? I know they ain't popular in these parts. Ain't heard anything else." Tanner nodded his thanks and then he and Larabee exited the livery.

“How’d you know he’d remember them?”

“He’s a busy body. Likes to talk. Spends his day watchin’ people. He hasn't heard anything about the lease."

"I'm starting to get worried about Macquarie. I sent a message yesterday. Still nothing."

"You reckon he may have run into trouble?"

"Maybe," Chris muttered.

The two men paused staring out at the rain. “We don’t know the gunfighter was paid. He may just have recognized me.”

Vin nodded. “It’s like bein’ inside a cloud. You can’t get a firm grip on it. We ain’t got no evidence that any of the attacks were planned or were directed at us specifically. Like you said, a lot of people have been attacked in town.”

Larabee frowned. “What do you think we should do from here?”

“Keep lookin’ for the fella that spilled his drink of Ezra. And see if we can find this fella with the scar. Just because he rode in with that gunfighter don’t mean they knew each other. May just have come across each other on the trail and headed for the nearest town.”

“Maybe.”

“This would all be a lot easier if we were in Four Corners.”

“Homesick?” Chris asked with a grin.

Vin shook his head. “Nawww. Home ain’t a place. It’s a feelin’ ya have inside.” Chris gazed at his friend in wonder. Every now and then Vin shocked him.

The pair set off, walking along under the verandas of the buildings. As they passed the saloons they noted the noise. “Town’s getting rowdy and bored,” Vin stated, thinking out aloud.

“Maybe it’s time Sheriff Brewer disarmed the population.”

“Reckon that’d be a good idea. Once they lose interest in cards and women, they‘ll go lookin‘ for trouble. Be easier to control them if most of them don‘t have guns.”

Tanner and Larabee found Brewer in the sheriff’s office and made their suggestion. The Peter’s Gap sheriff was very enthusiastic but concerned as to how he could effectively carry out the mandate.

“Leave it to us.”

The process was lengthy and time-consuming, but the result was achieved in the end. Some people weren’t happy about giving up their weapons, but the Seven were able to ‘convince’ them of the benefits of doing so.

Chris closed the door of the jail cell, locked it and handed the key to Brewer. The sheriff was ready to admit he had been wrong. He honestly hadn‘t felt it could be done, but Larabee and his men had done exactly what they said they would.

Brewer eyed Buck’s revolver, which was hanging on his hip. “Over my dead body,” Wilmington growled, guessing what was going through the other man’s mind.

“People may ask questions,” the sheriff pointed out quietly.

“Let ‘em ask!” There was no way on God’s earth that the boys were giving up their weapons.

After agreeing there was little they could do but keep their eyes peeled for the drunk, the well-dressed man and the scar-faced man, the regulators went their separate ways... in groups. Ezra, Buck and Josiah headed for one of the saloons. Vin and Chris headed back to their room to change, Nathan going along to do the same and to check both Tanner’s wound and Larabee’s shoulder. The healer was determined to put Vin back to bed. The tracker was looking pale again. J.D., too, returned to the boarding house wanting to change into something dry.

J.D. entered his room and began to change. “I want to go and speak to Mrs. Von Otter again,” he called to his companions. “Did I tell you what I found out today? Fellas?”

“No, you ain’t told us,” Vin called from his room. There was an element of amusement in his voice, but J.D. didn’t notice.

“You ain’t gonna believe this,” J.D. yelled back, pulling dry trousers on.

“Shock me, Kid.”

“Elsa was carrying James’ baby.” J.D. waited for a response.

“Were they married?” Vin shouted.

“Nooooooooo, they weren’t. So now what do you think?”

“The question is, what do you think, Kid?”

J.D. bent down and grabbed his bag. He lifted it up and froze. His eyes doubled in size. Staring back at him was a rattlesnake. The deadly reptile hissed at the boy. J.D. knew he had to remain completely still. His holster was on the bed behind him and thus out of reach.

“C..h..r..i..s...,” he called, without raising his voice.

“What, Kid?” Larabee called back.

“C...h...r...i...s...”

“J.D.?”

The youth swallowed. One bite and he’d be dead within an hour. The snake was completely still, staring at the boy aggressively.

Larabee strode down the hallway, pulling a dry shirt on. “J.D., what’s...” Chris’ face shadowed. At first, he couldn’t see the snake, but the look on J.D.’s face told him something was very wrong.

“Snake,” J.D. whispered. He was still crouched and holding the edge of the bag, his hand less hand half a foot from the rattler.

“Stay still, Kid.” Larabee reached for his revolver, but alas, he had removed it when he was changing. “Vin!”

Tanner appeared in the hallway with only his trousers on, Nathan holding the end of the bandage that he had been unrolling. “What?”

“Snake and J.D.’s only a foot from it. I need my gun!” Tanner rushed forward, Nathan behind him, still holding the end of the bandage.

“Damn,” the experienced woodsman muttered, recognising the species. “Just stay real still, Kid.“ Vin tugged the bandage from Nathan’s hand and then stepped past Chris into the room. “Kid, just relax.”

J.D. nodded. He trusted Vin, but the snake looked like it was ready to strike if he moved a muscle. “Vin...?”

“Don’t do anything. I’ll get my gun!” Chris ordered. He had noted that all of the men had removed their holsters when they had changed. Nathan had even removed his knives. A grave tactical error, Larabee realized. “I’ll get my gun.”

“Could be too late by then. No one move. We don’t want to upset him. Relax, Kid. Trust me.” There was no question of that. J.D. had seen Vin grab a snake with his bare hands. Tanner slowly crouched beside J.D. The snake’s attention was immediately divided between the two men. “He ain’t happy.“

“That makes two of us,“ J.D. whispered.

“Okay, when I tell ya, I want you to move backwards.”

“You want me to move slow or fast?”

“Like lightning, Kid. If I miss him, I want you out of the way.”

“What are you going to do?” Chris asked. He had an idea. He hoped he was wrong.

“Distract him.”

“Distract him?” Chris cried. “So you get bitten rather than J.D.?!”

“I‘m go back for my gun,” Nathan insisted. If either man was bitten, there would be very little the healer would be able to do for them.

As Nathan stepped back, the snake rose up.

“Stop,“ Vin whispered. “No more, movin’. He’s about ready to strike.“

“Vin, your reflexes aren’t what they normally are,” Nathan warned.

“Should be quick enough. Ready, Kid.”

J.D. licked his lips. “I feel frozen, Vin.”

“Just relax. He’s gonna be lookin’ at me in a minute.”

J.D. gathered himself. “Okay, I’m ready.”

“On three. One... two... THREE!”

J.D. threw himself backward with all his might. The youth rolled and leaped to his feet panting. At the same time, Vin’s left arm darted to the left. The snake lunged. Tanner plucked it out of the air with his right and twisted its head in one movement. By the time J.D had turned to check on his companion, Vin was standing with the snake in his hand, the reptile hanging limply.

“Here, Kid. You can skin it and have it for dinner.” Vin stated, offering it to the boy.

“No, thank you!”

“Hell, Vin.” Nathan muttered.

“It wasn’t in there this morning,” J.D. whispered.

Tanner exchanged a look with Larabee. “That’s because someone put it there, kid.”

“Someone is after us,” Chris agreed. This episode proved it. All of the others could be logically explained by accidents or routine muggings, but this one couldn’t.

“We better tell the others,” Vin murmured.

“Not you. You’re looking pale around the eyes and lips again, which means you’re tired. You‘ve been out of bed quite long enough.” Vin frowned. His head was aching again and the fever that had been on the rise was making him feel drained. “The rest of us can handle it.”

Vin could see the sense in that but it certainly didn’t sit well with him.

“I’ll stay with him this time,” Chris offered. “You boys go and warn the others.”

“I say we should go and look for this scar-faced fella,” Vin argued.

“Josiah and I can do that,” Nathan suggested. “We’ll leave Buck and Ezra in the saloon. We know whoever pushed the sign was in there. There’s a chance they may be hanging around.”

“Good idea... be careful,” Chris warned as Nathan and J.D. headed for the stairs.

**********

“A snake?!” Buck thundered.

“Yeah, Vin just sort of... well, you know Vin. He just grabbed it. I gotta admit, I was so scared I didn’t think I was going to be able to move. It was a rattler, Buck. One bite and... I couldn‘t move.”

Buck was shaking his head. “Reckon I would have reacted the same way, Kid. Vin was right all along. Some bastard wants us dead.” All of the men scanned the room uncomfortably. There were so many faces. In Four Corners, they made it their business to know who was in town. Suspects would be easy to come by. But here! It could be anybody. The group in the corner. The four men at the bar. The barman!

“You reckon we may have disarmed them and that‘s why they had to use a snake?”

“I doubt it, Kid. We probably only got about three quarters of the guns in town. It’s the quarter we missed we have to worry about. Still, less guns makes things safer. Besides, don’t look like whoever’s after us is interested in shootin’ us,” Buck pointed out. “Bastard’s cocky. I wish he’d show himself. I hate looking over my shoulder like this!”

“Josiah, how about you and I take a look around for this scar-faced man?“ Nathan suggested.

“Sounds good to me, brother.”

Buck glanced over at Ezra. “Ezra thinks he may be onto the other one now.”

Nathan looked to the center of the room where Standish was seated. He was involved in a game with only one man. “You think that may be the well-dressed one?”

“Take a look around. You see anyone else outside of him and Ezra that you would describe as ‘well dressed‘?”

Most of the patrons were cow and ranch hands. Their clothes were old. “J.D. and I will stay and watch Ezra’s back. If that bastard tries anything, we’ll be ready.”

Nathan and Josiah rose to their feet. “Watch your backs, brothers.”

**********

“If we can find the scar-faced man or this well-dressed fella, we should be able to find out who hired them,” Vin stated quietly. He was laying down staring up at the ceiling.

“I can’t think who,” Chris muttered, placing a damp cloth on Vin’s brow before sitting down on the chair next to the bed.

“Well, it ain’t as if they’re after only one of us. They aren’t real picky about who they attack. It’s someone who hates all seven of us. Must be someone we’ve pissed off in the last three months then.” Vin glanced up at Chris and the pair exchanged a wry smile.

“That many, huh?”

Vin returned to staring at the ceiling. “Yep. Reckon we’ve ...“ An outburst of coughing interrupted the comment. Vin gripped his head. “What was I sayin’?... oh, yeah, reckon we’re pissed off more than a couple of people in the last few months. James would have to be at the top of the list.”

“Brings us back to the lease.”

“Chris, why did the lease have to signed here?”

"It needed to be witnessed by the lawman in the area."

"Brewer?"

"Yeah. I don't think he knows."

"So this fella, Macquarie wants to start grazing sheep here?" Vin asked.

"Apparently."

"I don't know lots about sheep, but I thought they ate a lot. Cows chew their cud, don't need as much food."

Chris studied his friend's thoughful face. "So?"

"So why this area? It's drought striken six months of the year and flooded for three of them. I mean, I can understand the cattlemen in our area being concerned if sheep moved in near us, but to my knowledge, there ain't any cattlemen in this area. Nothing grows."

Larabee frowned. "It has to be this area, because Brewer had to be the one to witness it."

Chris and Vin stared at each other. "Unless there ain't no lease. Macquaire was a lure."

"Just to get us here?"

Vin began coughing. Chris helped to raise him until the fit passed."Works for me. I mean, this fella approaches Judge Travis. He's a sheepman. We all know that's gonna cause trouble. So of course the Judge says we'll ride into Peter's Gap and keep an eye on things so the signing isn't interupted."

Larabee was nodding. "Maybe."

"You aren't convinced?"

"Who wants us that badly, Vin? I mean, really."

The pair became quiet. Tanner’s eyes closed.

Chris shifted uncomfortably in the chair, consciously reviewing the events since they had arrived in town. First Josiah. Then Ezra. Then the sign that had fallen. Then the gunfight and finally J.D. and the snake. So who was it? Was Vin right and someone had lured them here to kill them? Was it James? Royal? It could be any number of people they’d run out of Four Corners. Too many possibilities and not enough answers. Perhaps they could check and see if a land lease in this area had actually been applied for?

Larabee found himself wondering what the others were doing. Had they tracked down the scar-faced man or the drunk or the well-dressed man the livery hand had described? Chris felt frustrated not being out there and actively searching himself, but Vin needed to rest and the tracker couldn’t stay on his own.

Vin’s fever had been going up and down while he slept. Every now and then he would stir and cough. The minutes became an hour.

Tanner moved uneasily in his sleep. Chris reached for his friend’s arm and the restless man calmed immediately. It appeared that Vin was still suffering from nightmares, despite not having taken any laudanum.

Larabee sat back and once again reviewed all of the events since they had arrived. Something struck him. It was a ridiculous thought, but... perhaps...”Vin?”

Tanner stirred. “Yeah?”

“J.D.”

“J.D.? J.D. what?” Vin asked, blinking the sleep away.

“None of this started until J.D. started poking around about the ghost.”

Tanner frowned. “Surely someone... you reckon?”

“It would explain a few things.”

“Not the gunfighter.”

Chris grunted. “Not the gunfighter,” he agreed.

“Maybe the ghost has got it in for us,” Tanner chuckled, drawing himself up with Larabee’s help.

“Maybe the person who murdered James does. Hired the gunfighter when his own attempts failed. Let‘s face it, J.D. could be making him nervous.”

Vin laughed.

“No?” Chris asked smiling, recognizing the absurdity of the suggestion.

“No,” Vin chuckled.

“How do you feel?”

“Like I need to get out of this room for an hour. Let’s go see what the boys have found.“

**********

Ezra watched his opponent with unblinking eyes. This man had sought him out. He was well dressed. If he was one of the people hired to kill the Seven, then he had well and truly met his match.

Godwin had been palming cards since they had started playing. Standish waited... and there it was again. Ezra smiled. Godwin realized he had been caught out.

“Now, my friend. Let us dispense with this farce. You have been hired to kill my companions and I. I would very much appreciate it if you were to inform me of the name of the individual who appears to feel such animosity towards us.

Godwin jumped to his feet and activated the small gun he had strapped to his arm in one movement.

Buck and J.D. leaped from their chairs.

A shot pierced the air. Godwin crumpled to the floor. Ezra Standish retracted his own derringer.

Buck dropped beside the wounded man. “Who hired you?! Who was it, you cowardly, bastard?!!”

Godwin blinked twice and then lost consciousness.

Buck glanced up at Ezra and J.D. “Find Nathan. We don’t want this bastard to die... yet!”

The two men didn’t get as far as the door, when Nathan and Josiah rushed in. News of the shooting and spread remarkably quickly.

The healer bent over the wounded man.

“Nathan?”

“Find Doctor Holstein.”