Busted Gulch vol 14

The Rescue (Lou's Revenge) - NehpetsEnal

The Rescue (Lou's Revenge)

With the link know broken Denver's mind returned to his physical body, sat alone behind the boulder, he saw Jake returning, laden with the Saddle Bags.

"Jesus Christ Old Man, you could have warned me what was in the Saddle Bags.'

"You couldn't resist a peek, then Son?"

"You're right Old Man, but it was my head at stake, and I needed to know what for."

"Well, now you know, have you ever used this stuff before?"

"Not exactly but have some experience with Chinese firecrackers and rockets."

"Well that's good, so you will I hope know this is far more dangerous than gunpowder.

If you ever find it wet, move a safe distance away and set it off with a bullet."

"Okay, Old Man, but it's about time you stopped talking to me like a kid."

Denver laughs a little and poses a rhetorical question.

"Okay, Jake. Shall I drop the son?"

"I was planning on waiting till nightfall, but the situation in the Shantytown has kicked off, and we have an unexpected window of opportunity."

"Not sure if I'm gonna like the sound of this."

"Jake, that's not without good reason, we have to crawl on all fours, knees, and belly to get close enough to use this ordinance."

"How close?"

"Close enough to throw it accurately at the barricade and blow a hole in it, big enough for the posse to get through."

"Throwing is one thing I can do well, been tossing clowns around for years."

"I'm sure you can, but this has to be done with a short fuse, cannot allow time for it to be disarmed or worse thrown back at us."

"How short?"

"About an inch, that'll be way less than 10 seconds by the time it left your arm, so we can't afford to hang around."

With a bit more after strategy, the Saddle Bags split, and they were ready to go.

"You sure your up to this 'Old Man'?"

Chirped Jake and they were off.

Bobbing up and down like a couple of overgrown prairie dogs, it was not long before they were spotted, and the first shots rang out and bullets were ricocheting off the surrounding rocks, and they were forced to stop.

They awaited the next move, it came almost instantly, the covering fire he had planned, began to rain down from the ridge, it was the snipers turn to duck for cover.

The distraction was all they needed, as expected Jake was in range first and had already launched two sticks of dynamite at the barricade before Denver had extracted his from the Saddle Bag, but his were soon on the way.

True to his word Jake had a good arm, with his first throw he had landed his stick right into the heart of the barricade, the second rolled underneath a wagon.

Denver first stick flew right over the barricade, landing at the feet of a shocked gang member, he bent down to pick it up just as Jake's stick under the wagon exploded launching it into the air, where it flipped over and landed slap bang on top of the guy, he never knew what hit him, on impact Denver's stick went off blowing him and the remains of the wagon into bloodied matchstick like pieces.

Denver's second shot was better, landing within feet of Jakes, it did not have time to ignite, it was caught in the blast of Jake's, in one enormous explosion it blew the desired hole in the previously impenetrable barricade.

Now it was time to flush out the rats from their nests ready for extermination. So, in the melee that ensued, they ran to the buildings and began throwing fizzing sticks of dynamite through random windows as they ducked and dived their way down the rear of the buildings. One after another they went off, with ear numbing explosions, driving the rats from their nests as planned. They scurried into the streets where they were picked off like fairground ducks by rifle shots, from the ridge. The rest of the posse was now charging toward the barricade, but they were soon met and overtaken by the members of Lou's old gang, who from out of nowhere were charging in like the cavalry. They were hell-bent on revenge, no one was getting out of the shantytown alive, they swept through Deep Pool, like a swarm of locust, eliminating the enemy, like a field of corn, leaving no man standing. The foot posse died the dirty work and wiped out the rest of the infestation, sweeping clean the remaining buildings and lost a few good people in the process.

The mayhem allowed Denver to make his way to the cabin where his kids and Buck were holed up and thought he must be getting old for shortly after he arrived a wounded Bart and Missy arrived with members of the posse, soon the street around the cabin was littered with dead and dying men.

Missy was the first through the door, her only thoughts were for her children, but as soon as the hugs and kisses were done she was administering first aid to Buck, Bart had to wait for treatment to his flesh wound, but he was happy to gaze up at the ridge where he saw 'Dead Shot' Annie, stood proud on a ledge, she gave him a little wave, but he could have sworn she was writing.

Denver surveyed the scene and walked among the posse, thanking them and the members of Lou's Gang, one by one for their help in completing the safe rescue of his family, which in his mind now included Buck. Donavan bent forward from his horse and gave Denver's hand a powerful shake and said.

"No partner, thank you for making it so easy for us to avenge Lou's death, now her spirit can rest in peace."

There was no sign of Jake and his sister Brandy, or Bucks twin brother Bruce, their bodies were most definitely not among the dead and neither was Reagan's.

He cursed, but with a smile.

"Goddamit, what are those hot heads up to now?"