Whisperers of a Blue Whistle |BTS| ✓

1. Afterclaps: Kim Taehyung

"He's a gunslinger. An outlaw. I need you to catch him for me."

"I'm not no bounty hunter, Sheriff. This can't be why you called me in."

It didn't make sense at first. Why Sheriff Clint requested Taehyung's assistance, of all people, that is. Taehyung isn't a good guy, not most of the time, and hasn't been since joining his gang roughly thirty years ago when he was barely considered an adult. But Mudtown-a nickname given to this shabby settlement by its residents of a similar description-is just a small livestock town run by perpetually tipsy paupers. It's raucous and dirty and the roads are simply paths of four-inch-deep trampled horse shit. Nobody likes Mudtown. That's just a fact. But the prices at the general store are cheap for the area and the drinks at the saloon aren't that diluted, so the moochers stick around.

Taehyung and his gang stay at an off-site camp that's sort of temporary but doing well enough, so doesn't have to worry about getting stuck in Mudtown. At least, it's not an actual concern until Sheriff Clint tries lassoing Taehyung in to collect his bounties. Again. In the past, Taehyung ambitiously refused simply because he doesn't care to get in on the business they call bounty hunting or to support the Sheriff's way of spending down time with his Left Handed Wife (aka getting frisky with Mrs. Szell who works across the street as a novice nurse even though she's married) but Taehyung needs extra pocket money to buy a new saddle for Soju. And the bounty is worth roughly two hundred big bucks. Taehyung can't not accept when that kind of money is involved.

"It is," Sheriff Clint says. The cherry end of his cigar points towards the Wanted poster nailed to the wall beside the holding cells. He flicks burning embers into the bottom one-third of a sawed beer can whilst Taehyung rips the Wanted poster off the panel wall and holds it up. He quickly realizes why the Sheriff was so adamant on Taehyung's auxiliary help.

There's no face on the poster.

"They call him Shotgun Silver. Ridiculous if you ask me. We caught wind that he's coming 'round Mudtown tonight, so I suggest booking a room at Belle's and staying for a while."

"If I'm goin' through all this trouble, I'm expecting some compensation in return," Taehyung says as he leans against the wall. The paint is peeling in baby blue ribbons. Taehyung narrows his eyes at the Sheriff below the flat brim of his hat. Sheriff Clint returns the gaze with a snaggle tooth. His teeth are caulked with the plaque of cigars. He props his ankles up on his rickety desk.

"I've been doing this for long enough to know you can't catch a sinner with a saint." The gruff of Clint's voice and the white hairs of his handlebar mustache support the veracity of his words. Taehyung hasn't been around Mudtown nearly long enough to know how many years Clint has been working as the sheriff but the stress shows in the many wrinkles of his old brow and the dullness of his gummy eyes. Or maybe that's just the result of smoking too much. "You do this for me, and I promise you full immunity from the law. As far as Mudtown's jurisdiction goes."

If the two hundred dollars wasn't tempting enough, that certainly is. But:

"My gang," Taehyung says. "I want full coverage for all of us."

"If you bring Silver to me alive, you've got yourself a deal," Clint says.

"Alright, feller. I'll catch him." Taehyung tips his hat and leaves the sheriff's office before Clint changes his mind. It wouldn't be the dirtiest of waters Taehyung has trodden through but it would be tricky to get out if Clint decided to dig into Taehyung's shady background. Down the main road is a yellow building larger than most of Mudtown's storefronts by the name of Belle's Hotel and that's where Taehyung grabs a room for the night. He won't be staying long, just needs somewhere to catch a quick nap and maybe get a bath while he's there.