Chapter 7 - The Name Behind the Outlaw
Dawn painted Red Mesa gold.
Silas Creed sat beneath guard with his hands shackled.
His surviving men had surrendered.
For the first time since Elias had known him, Creed looked small.
Not harmless.
Never that.
But human.
Elias had spent three years turning the man into something larger than life.
A shadow behind every stranger.
A gunman behind every ridge.
Now Creed was simply a criminal sitting in the dirt.
Aayoka stood beside the spring.
Elias approached.
“You all right?”
“No.”
He appreciated the answer.
Most people lied.
She looked toward the burned village beyond the ridge.
“Stopping him does not bring them back.”
“No.”
“But it means he cannot do it again.”
“If the law holds.”
Aayoka looked toward Creed.
“You still do not trust it.”
“I trust evidence.”
“That sounds lonely.”
Elias glanced at her.
“Probably is.”
Major Mercer approached with Judge Webb, who had arrived with the second cavalry group.
Webb held the letter.
“We have a problem.”
Elias sighed.
“I was hoping for breakfast.”
“You can eat while having problems.”
“That's disappointing.”
Webb unfolded the letter.
It contained instructions for Creed to secure Red Mesa by any necessary means before a railroad survey team arrived.
The signature belonged to Senator William Harcourt.
A powerful territorial businessman preparing for a United States Senate appointment.
Mercer frowned.
“This could be forged.”
“Could be,” Webb said.
Elias looked at Creed.
“Ask him.”
Creed laughed.
“You think I'm talking?”
Webb crouched.
“You're facing murder, conspiracy, theft of government weapons, impersonation of federal troops—”
“I know.”
“Then cooperate.”
Creed smiled.
“And get hanged politely?”
Aayoka stepped forward.
“No.”
Creed looked at her.
“You speak because you want us to think you are powerful.”
His expression changed.
“But you are afraid.”
“Of what?”
“The man who hired you.”
Creed said nothing.
That was answer enough.
Elias looked at Webb.
“Harcourt.”
The judge nodded slowly.
Creed's silence had confirmed more than a confession might have.
But proving it would be another matter.
The senator had money.
Connections.
Lawyers.
Creed had a ledger.
And Aayoka had something equally important.
Memory.
She had seen the men who burned her settlement.
She could testify.
Elias could testify about the freight robbery.
Pike was dead, but the ledger connected everything.
Webb closed the letter.
“We go to Tucson.”
Elias frowned.
“Why?”
“Federal courthouse.”
“You said San Rosario.”
“That was before a United States senator's name appeared.”
Aayoka looked toward her ruined home.
“How long?”
“Several weeks.”
“I cannot leave.”
Webb studied her.
“Without your testimony, Creed may claim the village attack was unauthorized.”
“He commanded it.”
“Then tell that to a court.”
Aayoka's expression hardened.
Elias understood both sides.
Justice demanded she leave the place she was trying to protect.
A bitter bargain.
That evening she sat beside the spring.
Elias joined her.
“I don't know what to do,” she admitted.
He looked surprised.
“That's the first time I've heard you say that.”
“Do not enjoy it.”
“Too late.”
She nudged him lightly.
Then became serious.
“If I leave, others may come.”
“Mercer can station soldiers.”
“Soldiers helped cause this.”
“Creed's men dressed as soldiers.”
“And real soldiers have never harmed my people?”
Elias had no answer.
Aayoka nodded.
“That is why trust is difficult.”
“Yes.”
“You understand.”
“More than I'd like.”
They sat quietly.
The spring reflected stars.
Elias heard no voice.
He wondered if that chapter had ended.
Then Aayoka spoke.
“Come to Tucson.”
“With you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Creed destroyed your name too.”
“I've survived without clearing it.”
Aayoka looked at him.
“Surviving again.”
Elias sighed.
“You really won't let that go.”
“No.”
“What happens afterward?”
Aayoka stared at the water.
“You decide.”
For the first time, Elias realized that frightened him.
Running had eliminated decisions.
There was always another town.
Another job.
Another road.
Freedom required choosing where to stop.
And perhaps who to stop beside.
The following morning they left for Tucson.
Creed rode under guard.
Aayoka rode Boone.
Elias rode beside her.
Three days into the journey, they entered a narrow pass.
Elias noticed something.
Birds flew suddenly from the cliffs.
He raised a hand.
“Stop.”
Mercer turned.
“What?”
Elias looked upward.
Sunlight flashed on metal.
“AMBUSH!”
Gunfire erupted.
A cavalryman fell from his saddle.
Creed laughed.
Riders appeared above them.
At their center was a man wearing an expensive gray coat.
Elias recognized him from newspaper portraits.
Senator William Harcourt.
The man was not waiting for a trial.
He had come to erase it.
And his first command echoed through the canyon.
May you like
“Kill Creed first!”
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