The next forty hours weren’t easy for any of the men and it had little, if anything, to do with the unforgiving heat that continued to roast the land and its insignificant inhabitants. Larabee rode ahead of the group, conversing with no one, outside of snapping orders which were loosely veiled as suggestions. Meal times were strained affairs, not only because of Chris‘ dark mood, but because both Ezra and Buck seemed to be deeply depressed.

Josiah suggested that perhaps someone should talk to their brooding companion, but Buck vetoed the idea.

“He ain’t gonna listen. Just leave him be.”

“You seem to know more about all of this than the rest of us. You and Ezra,” Nathan accused, carefully. Buck paled, while Ezra eyed the others nervously. Both had been expecting the question at some stage, but neither had devised a way to answer it.

“Well?” Josiah prompted.

“You need to trust us, my friend,” Ezra claimed in a hushed and unusually emotional voice.

“Why?” J.D. asked.

“Because we’re asking you to. That should be good enough,” Buck stated, firmly.

“It is,” Josiah acknowledged, his hand coming to rest on Buck's arm and his deep tones calming what could have become a tense situation. Ezra and Buck exchanged a glance and then moved off.

Unable to hide his frustration, J.D. burst out, “But why won’t they tell us? I don‘t get it. Maybe we could help.”

“Son, we must trust their judgement. Right now, they need to know we have faith in them.”

“It worries me,” Nathan murmured. Buck being upset he could accept, but whatever it was had Ezra overtly showing his feelings and that was out of character for the gambler with one of the best poker faces in the business. “The question is, does it relate to the fight, to Vin or to something else completely?”

“We will only learn the answer to that when they are ready to impart the burden,” Josiah preached.

“So you’re saying we have to trust them, even though they don't seem to trust us enough to tell us?” J.D. grumbled.

“I get the feeling they’re trying to protect us,” Nathan murmured.

“From what?” J.D. demanded.

“From the truth.”

Dunne drew in a deep breath and released it slowly. “You think they know what happened between Vin and Chris?” The boy paused as he flicked his eyes between the deeply anxious faces of his older colleagues. “You think it’s that bad?”

Neither Nathan nor Josiah answered, leaving J.D. more confused and worried than he could ever remember.

*********

It was four o’clock in the afternoon when the group of physically drained riders arrived at Narrow Entrance. The gorge was aptly named for it was only several dozen feet wide with sheer cliff faces on either side. Chris reined his horse to a stop and waited for the others. His mood had not improved over the course of the day and if anything, the anger was now more overt.

“We’re only a day out of Winton so keep your eyes open. This is as good a place as any for an ambush.”

“Maybe we should go over the top?” J.D. suggested.

“Take a whole extra day,” Chris snapped, urging his horse forward. The others followed without comment, though most were tiring of Larabee's attitude. They felt they understood part of it... that Larabee was frustrated over Vin's leaving, but putting up with Chris' manner was becoming increasingly difficult. Buck was the only one who truly understood the source of his friends rage, but he could not share that with the others for he didn't know how he would explain it.

Inside the canyon, the sounds of the horses' hoofs echoed. “Be hard to sneak up on a person here. You’d hear them,” J.D. commented to Buck as he wiped his dusty and sweat streaked face with a kerchief.

“It gets a lot wider ahead. That’s where they’ll hit if they’re going to.”

“So, shouldn’t we do something about it?”

Buck frowned and then dug his heels in, urging his horse to catch up to Chris. “How do you want to handle this?”

“When we get closer, we’ll split up. Send one group through first.”

“They’ll have to decide whether to hold off the attack or hit the first group?” A grunt was the only response he received. “How about I ride on ahead and scout around? I could climb up and try to cover you, like we did when we rode through Devil‘s Canyon.”

“Like Vin did,” Chris snarled. Vin’s rifle had covered them with ease as they had transported a prisoner through a canyon not unlike this one. His deadly accuracy had cut down the prisoner’s gang quickly, forcing them to abort their rescue attempt.

“Okay, like Vin did, but he ain’t here and I think we need someone up there.”

“You’re not good enough. None of us are.” In that statement, Buck became certain of Larabee's resignation to Vin's loss.

Buck eyed his friend. “Not as good, I agree, but surely someone is better than no one?”

Wilmington took Larabee's silence as approval - not that Buck actually needed any approval. He rode on ahead to where the canyon opened up. He could see no sign of any ambush, but still climbed high and perched himself where he had a good view in both directions.

Half an hour later, Chris led the boys through the perceived danger area without incident and Buck rejoined them. The thought crossed Chris' mind to send Buck on ahead and up into the mountains once the canyon opened up, but the thought never got passed that.

**********

The canyon itself finished, graduating into two separate rises with a valley between. The sides of the mountains, while still steep, did support vegetation, though it was brown and dead.

The riders rode to the far left of the valley, close to the base of one of the mountains to utilize the shade provided. The valley curved sharply at Hair Pin Bend, which was where the group decided to stop and set camp for the night. Sunset was only a very welcome half an hour away. Again, Chris considered sending someone up into the mountain to check things out and again, he became lost in memories, for usually that was Vin's role.

“Hell, it’s dry, isn’t it? It’s worse here than back home,” J.D. noted, scanning the area. The flat space between the mountains was littered with boulders, some of them the size of hills themselves. “Maybe the judge was wrong,” J.D. reflected. “Maybe no one will try to get the statement.”

“He did say no one was supposed to know about it,” Nathan agreed, tipping his canteen to his lips. “Looks like the trip is going to be uneventful.”

“I think such a conclusion may be premature,” Ezra murmured, rising to his feet and inclining his head toward two riders coming toward them.

Chris exchanged a glance with Buck who nodded and edged out of sight.

“Stay calm, boys,” Josiah advised, wiping his brow with the back of his hand and smudging his weary face with dirt. “They may just be passing.”

“And I may be a monkey’s uncle,” Ezra muttered, his hand sliding down to rest on his holster.

The pair of riders continued slowly and spotting the group collected in the shade, changed direction and started toward them. Both men were covered in trail dust and appeared pleased to see the men from Four Corners.

“Howdy,” one called. “This heat is ruthless. You camping for the night?“

“We‘re thinking about it,“ Josiah informed them, rising to his feet and walking across to greet the riders. “You boys far from home?“

“A days’ ride. We’re from Winton. So, the five of you the group that Judge Travis sent with the signed statement?”

Chris and his men tensed. Larabee was seated off to the far right and apparently uninterested in the newcomers, though he was studying the strangers with meticulous skill. J.D. kept his eyes on his leader, ready to respond to any signal as he continued to prepare a meal for his companions. Nathan nodded to the newcomers from the rock he was seated on, while Ezra moved across to the group’s horses. If there was one thing Standish was sure of, it was the fact that if they were separated from their mounts, it would be a long walk to Winton.

Noting suspicion cross Josiah‘s eyes, the second of the cowboys took a swig from his canteen and stated calmly. “Relax. Paul and I were sent to meet you. Things are a bit tense in Winton and the judge thought it would be best if we collected the statement and snuck it back into town. People are real jumpy with strangers at the moment.”

J.D. continued to watch Chris, while Nathan rose and walked across to join Josiah. “Are things bad in Winton?” Jackson asked, curiously.

“Yeah, and getting worse by the minute,” the sandy haired cowboy added. “Army should arrive in a day or so, but until then, the sheriff is outnumbered fifty to one.”

“Perhaps he’d welcome some extra guns in town,” J.D. suggested, turning toward the riders.

The older cowboy shook his head. “Appreciate the offer, but right now there’s a lot of suspicion on both sides. The last thing we need is either side thinking we’re bringing in outsiders against them.”

“If you give us the statement, Bob and I'll make sure it gets to the right person,” Paul offered.

“Not what we were told to do,” Chris growled softly, from beneath the brim of his hat. Both riders stared across at the man crouched on the ground with his head down.

“Our orders were to place the statement directly into the hands of Judge Walker,” J.D. explained, flicking his cautious gaze from one of the strangers to the other, his hand nonchalantly dropping down beside his holster. It was clear that denying they were the couriers was pointless.

“Yeah, we know, but Walker felt that the arrival of outsiders may add to the tension. If you give us the statement, you can head home and leave the rest to us,” the older of the pair offered.

“We appreciate that, friend, but we must do what has been asked of us. I’m sure you understand,” Josiah explained with an affable smile.

The two riders exchanged a glance. “Are you saying that you won’t hand over the statement?” the younger man asked, beginning to move in the saddle with agitation.

“He’s quick,” J.D. muttered, smirking at Chris.

"We have our orders," Paul growled.

"As do we, brother."

“And what if we insist?” the older man asked, clapping his holster with his hand as a clear signal he was prepared to use the weapon. There was an unseen click which sent Bob's hand away from his revolver as the end of Buck’s rife appeared out from behind the boulder he was hiding behind.

“As you can see, such an action would be an error on your part,” Ezra announced.

“So I see. However, I still have to insist that you hand the statement over.”

“Insisting would make me unhappy,” Chris growled, lifting his face so that the riders from Winton could see his eyes. It was more than just Larabee’s normal ’acted’ glare. This one was real. “We were hired to deliver the statement and deliver it we will.”

“Okay,” the older man conceded, eyeing first Chris and then Buck’s rifle nervously. “But Judge Walker won’t be happy.”

“Not our problem,” Nathan murmured, as the riders turned their horses around and left.

Buck watched them depart with relief. As he moved out from behind the rock he noticed movement off to the left, near one of the huge boulders about 20 feet away. His eyes narrowed as he scanned the valley.

“Chris, they were decoys!” Buck shouted.

“Damn.”

“What?” J.D. asked. While the two men had been distracting the regulators, their companions had been moving in and surrounding the group.

Hearing Buck’s warning, the hidden band of men hired to destroy the statement that would free Mendez, opened fire.

“Down!” Larabee roared, grabbing J.D.’s arm and yanking the younger man behind some rocks. The others did likewise, all drawing weapons and returning fire.

“It appears Judge Travis has excellent instincts,” Ezra commented to himself, shaking his head. “How do I allow myself to get into situations like this?”

A volley of shots rained down on Larabee and his men, each having to withdraw. They waited for a break before re-entering the battle. It was incredibly one sided. The regulators could not see their adversaries and thus were firing blind.

“We’re outnumbered ten to one,” Josiah shouted.

“Chris?” Buck asked, frantically. They couldn’t keep this up for long.

Abruptly, the shots ceased and an eerie silence engulfed the valley Larabee held up his hand to his men. Utilizing the pause in the skirmish, all reloaded their weapons, at the same time straining to hear what was going on.

“Why have they…?” J.D. started.

“Shhh,” Buck snapped, rising up and peering out from behind his rock. “No movement,” he murmured. He didn't like it. What were they waiting for?

The seconds ticked by and then a gruff voice shouted, “We want the signed statement. One of you bring it out to us and then we’ll leave.”

Chris turned and examined the area behind the boys. They had their backs to the mountain and were surrounded on all other sides. Silently, he cursed, knowing that this was his fault. He should have sent someone high earlier. If he had, they would have seen their adversaries moving in.

“Did you hear me? One of you bring out the statement. We aren’t interested in you so do it our way and you’ll live.”

“Go to hell!” Chris shouted. This prompted another vicious exchange. Bullets ricocheted off the rocks like hail, all of the regulators ducking as shards of stone were sent showering over them.

“What are we going to do?” J.D. cried, reloading.

“Wait them out,” Chris snarled, returning fire. This was met with twenty barking rifles.

Dunne swallowed. “Are you sure we can? There are so many of…” Dunne hit the ground as a barrage of shots centred on the rock he was hiding behind. He slid down behind it, shutting his eyes.

“J.D.?” Buck shouted, anxiously. “Chris, we have to do something!”

“I’m open to suggestions,” Larabee growled, ducking back himself as his own place of concealment was attacked.

“What if we were to take out a piece of paper and tell them it is the signed statement,” Nathan suggested, yelling over the top of the wailing of rifle fire that was echoing in the valley.

“They’ll kill whoever delivers it,” Buck pointed out, reloading.

“They are going to kill all of us anyway. They can’t afford to leave us alive. We’re witnesses to the statement’s existence,” Ezra snorted, rising up and emptying his rifle before whipping back and holding his breath as bullets bounced around him.

Buck turned and eyed the mountain behind them. “If a couple of us climb up there, we would be able to get above them and…”

“They’ll shoot you before you get three feet,” Chris objected.

“He’s right. There are too many of them for us to cover you,” J.D. added, before jumping up and aiming wildly in the direction the last barrage had come from.

“We’ve got to try something,” Josiah insisted, dropping back as the boulder he was behind was peppered with bullets.

Larabee glanced up at the sky. “The sun will set any minute.”

“They’ll likely rush us before then,” Nathan decided.

“Unnecessary,” Chris argued. “They just have to hold us here. As long as the statement doesn’t arrive at the trial, their job’s done.”

“A nice piece of logic, Mr. Larabee, but they may not share such a view or have the mental dexterity to see it that way. They are merely hired guns and most hired guns have the intelligence of a carbuncle." Again, Ezra jumped up and fired off six bullets before sidestepping behind another rock to avoid being cut in half by the wave of return fire.

“If they were going to rush us, they would have before now,” Chris disagreed. “As soon as the sun sets, I’ll lead them away. You boys wait here and when it’s dark, sneak out.”

“Lead them away?"

"Chris, that isn’t going to work."

"You won’t get more than a couple of feet before you’re cut down.”

“I’ll get further than that,” Larabee spat. “As soon as the sun's directly in their eyes, I’ll take off and they’ll chase me down.”

“They’ll kill you,” Nathan argued.

Buck stared across at his friend and in Chris’ dull eyes he witnessed the emptiness of Larabee’s soul. Chris knew Vin was gone… and he accepted that he was responsible for the loss of his best friend. It was something Buck had hoped to protect him from, but Larabee and Tanner’s uncanny connection had informed Chris without Buck’s consent. Chris was ready to give up on life and thus his own existence held very little value to him any more.

“Don’t,” Buck begged. “Don’t do this.”

“We don’t have a choice,” Chris dismissed, glancing up at the sky. As he watched, red hues filled the expanse, the sun turning bright golden orange as it began to set against the cloudless vastness above. Lowering his gaze, he found himself under inspection. All of the boys had paused to watch him, their faces twisted with a mixture of horror and grief. Each knew Chris would not be talked out of this.

"Get the statement through," he stated, simply. His eyes met Buck's. "End of the road, pard."

Wilmington swallowed and shook his head. "Chris... I... "

Larabee smiled. "Keep them together," he whispered, inclining his head toward the others. If there was one thing that Chris had learned from all that had happened in the past fortnight, it was that he and the others needed each other... more than he had ever realized or wanted to admit.

"I will," Buck promised.

Larabee nodded and moved off toward the horses in a crouch. If the boys could provide him with some cover, he should be able to dart from one rock to the next and out of range within a minute or so and the cowards who wanted the statement should follow him believing him to be carrying the prize they were paid to retrieve. They would ride him down, but by that time, the others would be on their way to Winton.

"Reload and get ready. We have to try and give him as much cover as possible," Buck growled, holding back the emotion that was brimming in his eyes and threatening to spill down his cheeks.

***

Once again, there was pause in the battle. "Last chance. Bring the statement out now!" the leader of the hired mob ordered.

Buck glanced back over his shoulder and watched as Chris untied his horse. He shut his eyes briefly, knowing he would not see his oldest friend alive again.

Abruptly, a single shot broke the silence... a shot from behind their adversaries. Josiah rose up carefully and peered over the top of the rock that afforded him protection. There was a second shot followed by shouting from the two dozen confused men hidden amongst the rocks in the valley.

A third shot... which also hit its mark.

"What the hell is going on out there?” the ex-preacher muttered.

"They aren't shooting at us," J.D. stated, joining his companions who were all peering across the gorge to identify the source of the shooting.

“Sounds like they're disagreeing among themselves," Ezra mused.

Chris mounted his horse. Now was as good a time as any. Just as he was about to dig his spurs in, there were two more well aimed shots which were followed by angry shouts and return fire... however, the target was no longer the six men from Four Corners.

“Someone's shooting at them,” Nathan stated in amazement.

J.D.'s face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Buck, you don’t think that.....”

“No kid," Wilmington cut the youth off.

"But, Buck..."

"It ain’t Vin, kid.”

“But it could be, Buck," J.D. cried with excitement. "I mean, maybe Vin was on his way back to Four Corners and…”

“IT ISN’T VIN” Buck roared. All of the hurt and grief he felt exploded out of him in that one sentence, stunning J.D. and sending Ezra rushing across to his companion to clamp his hand on his shoulder.

“Calm down, my friend. Now isn‘t the time.”

“Buck?” J.D. asked.

"It... it isn't Vin," Wilmington repeated, tragically. “It can’t be Vin, kid.”

Chris stared across the six feet that separated he and Buck for several seconds, his brow furrowing. “You seem very sure,” Larabee accused in a gravely voice that was only just above a whisper. Why was Buck so sure?

Buck swallowed and tried to turn away from his oldest friend's critical gaze. Larabee’s eyes narrowed further. He could read Buck and right now he knew Wilmington was holding something back. “Buck?!” Larabee’s glare intensified. “Why are you so sure? Do you know where the hell he is?”

Across from the men, well aimed shots continued intermittently, followed by volley after volley of bullets in retaliation. The mob were caught between the regulators and the mystery shooter. Aware of the emotional scene taking place behind him, but knowing at least one of them had to remain on guard, Josiah focused on the battle raging and fired off several shots when some of the mob revealed themselves in their efforts to shelter from the other gunman.

“Let’s get out of here while they’re distracted,” Nathan suggested, racing for his horse and firing off several shots to back up Josiah. Ezra was right. Now was not the time or place for an argument. Buck and been holding something back, that much was obvious, but his reason and what it was would have to wait. “Come on, boys. We may not get another chance.”

Chris continued to glower at Buck until finally, the latter broke under the weight of his own guilt. “Chris... Vin’s dead. I… I’m sorry. Vin did what he felt he had to.“

J.D. and Nathan froze, Buck’s words cutting them deeply.

“How do you know?” J.D. demanded.

“He...” The words were so difficult. Buck struggled to find some way to break it to Chris gently, but there was no way. “He rode back to Tascosa and...”

Larabee’s face contorted as shock and horror blanketed him, causing his chest to constrict with such force he gasped. “What? What the hell are you talking about? Tascosa?”

Buck nodded his head crestfallen. “I’m sorry, Chris. I didn’t want you to know but...”

Larabee leapt from the saddle and charged Buck, but Ezra threw himself into Larabee’s path.

“Wait!”

Chris slammed into the smaller man, catapulting him into Buck and all three staggered backwards. Nathan and J.D. dragged the enraged man off his two companions.

“Vin left me a note,” Ezra explained, haunted by the look of dread on Larabee’s face. Now he understood why Buck had been so adamant about keeping it from Chris. However, Larabee was entitled to the truth, particularly now as their chances of survival were slim at best. “Vin rode back to Tascosa to see if he could clear things with the sheriff there. He said he’d contact us if he was successful, but we never heard back from him. Clearly, he failed and I... I’m sorry. We have carried this burden on your behalf. Buck insisted... we felt that we should keep it to ourselves because... we felt it was for the best.”

“Tascosa?” Nathan repeated. All of the sudden he realized what Vin’s fate had been and Nathan Jackson lowered his head. Vin had suffered the fate he had saved Nathan from. “Oh, God.” Jackson turned and walked a few feet away to grieve silently.

“Vin’s dead?” J.D. whispered, blinking. His thoughts surged in a vacuum. They were wrong. They had to be wrong. “No. No, you’re wrong.”

Ezra turned to the boy and swallowed. “He chose to face what he saw as his destiny.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Chris ground out, his green, pain filled eyes, flashing daggers at Buck.

“Because he wanted to protect you,” Ezra whispered. “Because he knew how much it would distress you.”

“Distress me?” Larabee roared. “He... he went to Tascosa and you didn’t try to stop him?”

“It was too late by the time we got back, Chris,” Buck tried to explain. “Vin had nine days ride on us and...”

Larabee turned away, his chest heaving as the destructive news rose up around him. Now he knew with certainty why his connection with Vin was gone. An image of Tanner struggling at the end of a rope filled his mind and the place where love and happiness had resided in Chris shrivelled and died. His best friend had hung... and he was responsible.

“Chris...” Buck started, approaching the overwhelmed man as his legs failed him and he dropped to his knees. Wilmington crouched in front of him. “Chris, it ain’t your fault. Vin did what he...”

**

Another single shot echoed over the valley. Immediately, the shooter was showered with gunfire from the hired mob that seemed to have completely forgotten about the regulators.

Josiah, who was still on duty, frowned. “Whoever’s out there’s on our side... and he's damn good.”

“Maybe the judge in Winton sent some men to help us,” Nathan offered, dragging his thoughts back to the present. If they were to survive, they needed to put their shock and grief to the side. There would be time to mourn Vin later.

“No it’s one man,” Josiah argued. “He’s moving around so they don’t get a handle on him.“