At Wit's End

[1stSgt Fritz King]

Fritz decided to ride for home.  He hadn't been there in awhile it seemed.   The job kept him away from home.  "Home," Fritz whispered.  It was a strange sound, but a good one. 

He crossed the rise and saw the house he shared with Scarlet.  The hands waved to him as he came in and tied Buddy to the hitching post.  The stove in the kitchen wasn't going; that meant Scarlet hadn't come home.  He had no reason to worry.  She'd probably spent the night with a friend. 

Fritz spied the skillet hanging from the fencerail.  With a smirk that looked remarkably like one his wife would wear, he pulled the Walkers from their pommel holsters.  Fritz hefted the heavy pistols and began firing.  Each time he was greeted by greeted by a massive boom, a cloud of smoke and the ringing of iron.  Ten shots in quick succession, all hitting within inches of each other.  Fritz smiled as the skillet stopped swinging.

He carried the horse pistols inside and got the fire going.

       

[Scarlet Angel]

The echo of the gunfire reached Jimmy's house.
"There's hope for your Yankee soldier yet." Jimmy said with a smile.

"If you hadn't thought that from the start you wouldn't have let us near each other." Scarlet said knowingly.  "There's more to you than most people can see Jimmy."

"I'm kind of interested to see how fast and accurate he is with those pistols."

"Well saddle up then." Scarlet replied.

[Scarlet Angel]

Rose was delighted to accept a dinner invitation from Ella.

Bo tried to politely decline by telling Ella he didn't feel he would be very interesting company to two doctors. Johnny was within earshot of the conversation.

"That's fine Bo you can talk my language when the two doctors start speaking theirs and keep me company." He said.

[Elegant Ella]

Social errand completed, Ella headed for the infirmary to talk to Hayes. She had sent Lily and Eddie to talk to Archie about Castletown. She wasn't going to ask them to accompany her and Dr. Alan on Hayes's quest without Archie's information.

Hayes was pulling weeds in the infirmary garden when Ella walked up. "You know a man is bored to distraction when he resorts to tending a flower bed," she said with a smile.

"Eddie and Lily are in talking to Archie, so I decided to leave the building to give them privacy."

"Dr. Martin arrived yesterday, so the time to go is getting close. Dr. Alan is going to stay out of planning. He's got to focus on being what they expect him to be."

"What about you?"

"I had plenty of practice looking like what Boston people expected me to be. Since Phillips expects the same thing, I can pull that mask on again for Castletown, though exposing too much prior knowledge would be a bad idea. The easiest way not to expose too much prior knowledge is not to acquire it."

"What about Eddie and Lily?"

"Really counting on them being mostly overlooked."

Hayes stood up and brushed the dirt off his knees, "Time for completing the plan."

They went into the building to join Archie, Eddie and Lily.

[Scarlet Angel]

Jimmy's horse to a stopped next to the fence where the skillet Fritz had shot at hung. Jimmy looked at it for a moment before dismounting. He looked around, noticing most of the hands were busy he grinned and drew his revolvers at the same time and fired. He was fast enough it was hard to tell by the noise that ten shots were fired.

The grin stayed on Jimmy's face as he put his pistols back in their holsters.

"Don't get over confident now." Scarlet teased.

"We both should be practicing that more." Jimmy replied. 

Scarlet raised an eyebrow in question.

"Something is brewing Scarlet, I can smell it, and I can feel it in my bones. Whatever it is I'm ready. Wouldn't be the first time we'd followed each other to hell and back, keep on the top of your game and it won't be the last."

[1stSgt Fritz King]

As Fritz cleaned the Walkers, he heard the horses ride up.  He knew it was Scarlet by Buddy's footfalls.  There was anothe rider, probably Jimmy.  Fritz didn't jump when shots erupted in quick succession.  They flew so rapidly that Fritz couldn't tell if it had been ten or twelve.  

He took his time scrubbing the bores with hot water, and pushing patches through until they were clean and dry.  The coffee pot began to boil; Fritz threw a handful of grounds into the pot and waited for them to settle.  As he stood at the stove, Scarlet slipped in behind him.  As her arms laced around his middle, he felt that familiar thrill as their bodies touched.  

"Hello Darlin," Scarlet purred.  "Miss me?"    

[Scarlet Angel]

"Course he missed you, look he's havin' to make his own coffee while you're out all night." Jimmy answered teasingly.

Scarlet shot Jimmy a wicked look over her shoulder only to see the grin he was still wearing.

"We should all go out and practice." Jimmy said looking at the guns Fritz had just cleaned.

[1stSgt Fritz King]

Fritz remembered a story he was told by General Sherman.  He smiled and said; " there once was a Colonel standing on a hilltop, watching a battle unfold.  The Colonel's heart swelled with pride as he watched his troopers advance.  He drew his Army Colt and started to run down, when his Sergeant called out, 'you shoot that thing sir, and you're gonna have to clean it!"

Jimmy laughed, knowing the response.  "So the Colonel holstered his sidearm and stayed with his Sergeant!"

"Right," Fritz replied.  "These go back to the pommel holsters."  He hefted the Walkers.  "But I'll go get my Schofield."

   

[Elegant Ella]

"Lily and Eddie, Dr. Coatsworth and I are going to Castletown. I would like you two to come along, but it will be dangerous, as Archie should have told you," stated Ella quietly.

Eddie spoke up first, "I'm game!"

Lily was a second slower, "I'm in!"

"Well, Lily, you're going to have to dress like a lady's maid."

Lily made a face, but repeated, "I'm in."

Ella turned to Hayes, "I've decided that I need to NOT know the details of the plan. Lily should be in charge of the operation."

Lily squeaked, "Me??" while Hayes looked surprised.

"I have to assume that I'm going to be watched too closely to be able to do anything," replied Ella. "Eddie and Lily both brought what they need for a few days stay. Eddie should be able to get up to speed on the telegraph while Lily works with Hayes and Archie on the plan. I'll find Jimmy to ride back to town with me."

Ella left the infirmary, and followed the distant sound of gunfire to the practice range. She needed practice as well, and had her pistols, one in a holster on her belt that she always rode while riding, and the other concealed under her pockets. She could talk to Jimmy when everyone was done.

[1stSgt Fritz King]

CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!!!

Five shots in quick succession strunk the sklillet.  Satisfied, Fritz broke the pistol open, sending empty cases spinning through the air. 

"That's a nice piece," Jimmy remarked. 

Fritz smiled.  "My wife has good taste!"

Scarlet grinned, and held out her hand.  "May I try it darlin'?"

Fritz handed her the Schofield, and five rounds from his cap pouch.  She stepped in front of him and loaded the cylinder.  Snapping the pistol shut, Scarlet levelled the pistol at her target.  Fritz admired the smooth way she transferred the energy of the draw through her hips.  The shots came quicker than his, and were just as accurate.

"Lookin' at my ass again darlin'?"

Fritz answered matter-of-factly.  "Yes."

Scarlet giggled.  He loved the sound.  "Good," she replied, as she emptied the cylinder.

[Scarlet Angel]

Jimmy grinned "An advantage the ladies seem to use. I seen a man killed doin' that." He said with a laugh. 

[Elegant Ella]

Ella dismounted and joined the others at the loading table. "Jimmy, have you ever been to Castletown?"

"It hasn't been called that but a few years, but yeah, I've been there. Why are you asking about that hole?

"Dr. Alan is looking into a position there. I'll go with him to check it out, with Lily and Eddie as servants. Lily and Eddie are plotting with Hayes now, about how to get the information needed. The initial is for them to signal when they have it, then have the Army ride in and take over the place. I was wondering if you, and maybe Scarlet in one of her other guises, might be able to show up before the Army, to help us get out safely."

[Scarlet Angel]

Jimmy's back straightened and he faced Ella "Last time I was there it wasn't a place I would think Dr. Alan or you would want to live." he had a few other unflattering comments about Ella's husband and Hayes but chose to keep them to himself. Ella's remark did explain the uneasy feelings he'd been having and Scarlet had said Castletown had been a subject of discussion recently.

"I'll be there; only if you promise me we have a chance to talk about it before you leave," he said.

"If you would escort me back to town we can talk about it."

"Can you tell me how many men the army is after or how loyal the rest of the town is to the one in charge. What will I be up against to get you out safely?"

[Elegant Ella]

"Somewhere I got the idea that most of the town doesn't really know they are ruled by a king. The army will be after that 'king' and his inner circle, which might be only a couple of men. Archie might have some idea how loyal the rest of the town is to the one in charge, and have some ideas of how hard getting out without permission is going to be. It could be that Phillips was honest when he told Dr. Alan this would be a visit to see the place before making a decision, and we will be able to leave freely if he decides against taking the position of town doctor," replied Ella before mounting up for the ride back into town. "Of course, if we can leave freely, that means those in charge would be confident that we would not have learned anything interesting to the law."

[Scarlet Angel]

Jimmy swung into the saddle. "If you can't leave freely, having me ride into town may not go well for you and the doc. It's no secret we both have ridden for the Marshal's office."

[Elegant Ella]

"I hope that the only help we might need is supplies and a guide. As long as they are serious about wanting a good doctor, they cannot use force against us effectively. But if they supply servants who make it hard to gather provisions for a journey, and prevent us from seeing important landmarks on the trip there, they will believe they have built a sufficient cage around us."