Newhouse, Beylix, Outside Jailhouse, 12:20 am, Day Three
“Stop in the name of the law!” shouts Luke Pearson as he clears his pistol from the holster. Chad keeps on running.

BLAM, BLAM

Luke opens up on Chad, firing two shots into the man’s back. Both bullets hit their target with deadly accuracy and Chad goes down like a sack of potatoes. Luke then twirls the gun in his hand, all fancy like and re-holsters it. All around him, people stare in disbelief of what they just saw, but then they start to clap and smile cheerfully.

“Thank you Luke!”

“Nice shooting Mr. Pearson!”

“Good aim there Deputy Pearson.”

The praise and cheering goes on as the two men who had been chasing Chad caught up. But the smiles don’t hide the fear in these people’s eyes. The cheering can’t hide the terror you see in them.
Andrew Bowman had seen a lot of death so violence didn’t shock him.. but seeing this running man shot in the back without much chance given for him to surrender made him cringe slightly. What appalled him even more, was the callous comments from those on the street regarding it. He closed his eyes and shook his head slightly at the scene before him.

He heard the fear in the voices of the towns folk as they ‘congratulated’ the Deputy .. on what amounted to murder.. of the man whose only visible crime was running down the street.

“You ruttin’ trigger-happy sumbitch,” Sam’s gaze had already swept back past Sloat’s sprawled form and found the back of Pearson’s head again, “what’d ya have ta go an’ shoot that poor bastard fer?!”
Andrew heard one of Wyatt’s Crew, Sam.. he think he heard him called, comment on the needless death. He could only agree with the man’s words and opened his eyes again and focused them on Pearson as he stood up on the Mule as it came to a halt.

“Seemed downright uncalled for to me,” Andrew spoke up to add his words to those of Sam’s, “the man wasn’t a danger to anyone especially with his hands full of that there strongbox.”

He spoke loud enough so that all of the people ‘cheering’ for Pearson can easily hear what he thinks about the situation. He had stood so that he would stand out atop the Mule and call the attention to himself; easier to be heard that way.

“Hard to try a man when he’s dead… don’t you think!” He finished with a shake of his head again.

Newhouse, Beylix, Outside Jailhouse, 12:20 am, Day Three
Wolf slammed on the brakes of the Mule as first Pearson, then Sam, jumped out and started moving towards the passenger called Sloat.

BLAM! BLAM!

Before Sam could reach the ex-deputy he had opened fire and placed two bullets into the running man’s back.

“What the guay ” Wolf spoke in disbelief, what the hell did this “former deputy” think he was doing, in no way in hell was it fair to shoot a man in the back. Especially as Wolf would have stopped him using the Mule.

“This ain’t right Cap’n” Wolf stated as he started getting out of the mule, at the same time releasing the straps holding his two sub guns in place in their holsters.
It was then that the mechanic, for the first time, noticed the way most of the people were looking to the now ex-lawman. Though they praised him it was clear they feared him for some reason. Reaching Sam’s side he let him know he was next to him.

“This ain’t right Sam, I don’t like it one bit. We need to disarm Pearson and find out wtf is going on before we let him step foot on our the ship”

With that Wolf started towards both Pearson and the body he also was headed to............

Wyatt had thought he'd come to a pretty good solution for the fix they'd suddenly found themselves in. After all, he had given the elephants a pat on the way out of his quarters that morning, and Luck had seemed to be with them what with the discovery of Andrew Bowman someone Sung had thought lost to time, his serendipitous release from the cell, and the ham hock instead of land lock...Ya stupid Sah Gwa! That was three!
It was time for bad luck.

With the man that was supposed to be the Law gunning down one of their passengers, and their previous encounter with the sheriff having gone so awry, Wyatt was suddenly very aware of their mortality. This was a tight situation, and one that could very well wind up with their necks stretching either here or there if it weren't played out correctly. He knew without a shadow of a doubt why the sheriff had been so eager to get rid of this hot hand.

As his indignant crew jumped to action Wyatt remained calmly seated in the mule, his right hand drifting from his sidearm to his thigh, one boot up on the scuffed dash. The townsfolk's reactions spoke volumes to the captain about the likely course this deputy would take were he to be crossed, and Wyatt didn't want none of it here on Beylix, or on Roc. The trick was how to get it so that the tables turned without turning it into a firefight.

"Well, that's some pretty shootin', Deputy," Wyatt drawled, hoping his crew would rein in. "Put two holes in the man clean-like sure enough."

Dropping his booted foot to the dirt, he rolled out of the mule and readjusted his hat low across his brow before sauntering towards the fallen form of Chad Sloat, ignoring Pearson as he did so. Truth be told, he wanted to air out the deputy's brainpan, but that'd neither help their case, or help the situation, so he continued on to the fallen man's side. The whole of the way his calm gaze kept an eye on Sloat's trunk to see if it rose or fell with breath--some sign that he was salvageable. It would sure be handy if he could eventually tell them what had happened. Might be ammunition enough to resolve the situation outright...maybe, but Wyatt sincerely doubted it.

Crouching at the body, Captain Sung felt for a pulse, again ignoring Deputy Pearson completely.

Newhouse, Beylix, Outside Jailhouse, 12:30 am, Day Three
“You ruttin’ trigger-happy sumbitch,” Sam’s gaze had already swept back past Sloat’s sprawled form and found the back of Pearson’s head again, “what’d ya have ta go an’ shoot that poor bastard fer?!”

“What the guay? ” Wolf growled.

“Seemed downright uncalled for to me,” Andrew spoke up to add his words to those of Sam’s, “The man wasn’t a danger to anyone especially with his hands full of that there strongbox.” Andrew said, “Hard to try a man when he’s dead… don’t you think!”

Luke stares calmly at the dead body before him as the townfolk gather and the crew speak their minds. “I called out that I was the law – he didn’t stop. Seemed clear to me. Innocent people stop when the law tells them to, only criminals run. But don’t worry gentlemen,” He said at the Frisco gentlemen, “That one was on the house. As to trials, well, I guess I saved the people a peck of taxes.”

"Well, that's some pretty shootin', Deputy," Wyatt drawled, hoping his crew would rein in. "Put two holes in the man clean-like sure enough." Wyatt walked over to Chad and checked for a pulse. Sure enough, Chad was dead.

“This ain’t right Cap’n” Wolf stated as he started getting out of the mule, at the same time releasing the straps holding his two sub guns in place in their holsters.

The two men from the miner’s guild look at each other and back. “I don’t understand why he didn’t stop though. We asked Mister Sloat to wait while we checked the ballots. There was some discrepancy because … well he was the name on every ballot. But he got real nervous like and grabbed the strong box and ran!”

Well what do we have here?” The voice of the sheriff rings out rather breathlessly as the balding man approaches from the other side of the mule with a gun in both hands trained upon Wolf. “Captain, your man here has machine pistols ready in a park where there are woman and children. Please make him rack and pin them or I will drop him where he stands. We have differences but I believe you would prefer to be civilized.”

(I am gonna assume that Wolf will comply to the request)

“Right! Luke. What happened? The sheriff asks with guns still out and ready.

“Man ran out of mining Guild office. One of these gentlemen called stop thief. I identified myself, told him to stop, he didn’t, I did.”

Sheriff nods rapidly, “Fine. Clear cut case to me.”

“Fine!” John Blake cries out, “Chad was one of us! From Frisco.”

“Really!” Sheriff says, “Good then, you can take the body home and I don’t worry about getting Morty to do it.”

“I think we have re-thought our decision with Mr. Pearson.” John calls back angrily.

“Re-think all you want, you have a binding legal contract that I witnessed for you. Now load up your friend, take Luke to your ship and get the hell out of my town now!”

Newhouse, Beylix, Emmett’s Bar, 12:30, Day Three Benny agrees to accompany Willow out to the ship, “I know a way through the back alleys that will take us most of the way here.”

Darla comes up and impulsively hugs Willow, “You get yourself out of here Girl. If the sheriff finds out you have that kind of cash, you’ll find yourself in a world of hurt. He’s a mean conniving man with a thousands trick and no heart. I hope this piece you are getting is gonna do you good.!”

Benny and Willow left from the back door favoured by the deputy which leads out behind the bar. As Benny leads Willow away, she can here the sheriff’s voice carry “Well what do we have here? Captain, your man here has machine pistols ready in a park where there are woman and children. Please make him rack and pin them or I will drop him where he stands.”

Newhouse, Beylix, Outside Jailhouse, 12:30 am, Day Three
“I called out that I was the law – he didn’t stop. Seemed clear to me. Innocent people stop when the law tells them to, only criminals run...”

Sam’s mouth was drier than the deserts on Beaumonde and his jaw was clenched tight with anger as he tried to swallow what had just happened without succumbing to the urge to shoot Pearson in the back of his gorram overzealous head. That tension in his jaw worked down his neck, into his shoulders, and along his spine. His head swam and his stomach turned a bit as he clenched his fists tight enough to whiten his knuckles. “Seems clear ta me, humpface,” the pilot growled through clenched teeth once he got his jaw to move, “that you ain’t the ruttin’ law, here, no more what with ya havin’ signed on wit’ Frisco an’ given yer gorram badge ta Ken an’ all… Figger that make ya as much law on Beylix as makes me a registered companion…”

“…But don’t worry gentlemen,” Pearson said at the Frisco group, “That one was on the house. As to trials, well, I guess I saved the people a peck of taxes.”

On the house?!?! Saved taxes?!?! Dash shook almost visibly and, had his fist been unclenched when it bumped against the butt of his pistol, he was sure Pearson’d be plum full of lead, now…

“This ain’t right Sam,” he heard Wolf mutter as the big mechanic drew up beside him, “I don’t like it one bit. We need to disarm Pearson and find out wtf is going on before we let him step foot on the ship.”

“Tze sah ju yi (suicidal idea), puhn yoh,” the pilot answered after forcing his glaring eyes to turn Pearson loose, “No matter how much I might be inclined ta agree… even if we did manage ta not get shot down, there’s too many innocent folk around… can’t have none o’ them gettin’ tangled up in our mi tian gohn, get me?”

He turned, then, and his eyes skimmed over Wolf but didn’t really see the big man too awful much… There was the vague recollection that Wolf’s SMGs were unsnapped and at the ready and that that fact had prompted Sam to mutter something along the lines of ‘button down an’ saddle up, puhn yoh, we’re outta here’… The men from the Mining Guild were talking, too, but Sam didn’t hear much more than static and chatter… And Sam was already three steps past Wolf when he flicked a glance at Wyatt and said; “Cap… I can’t… stay here… I… I gotta go…”

Dash stopped dead in his tracks, though, when the out-of-breath sheriff rounded the mule with guns drawn and trained…

“Well what do we have here?” The balding man sneered, leveling his weapons at Wolf and prompting Dash’s eyes to follow, “Captain, your man here has machine pistols ready in a park where there are woman and children. Please make him rack and pin them or I will drop him where he stands. We have differences but I believe you would prefer to be civilized.”

“You wouldn’t know civilized from yer pi guh, mister,” Sam grumbled from behind teeth clenched so tight that his jaw hurt. He was pretty sure, too, that he could feel his fingernails digging into his palms even through the leather of his gloves… whiskey-hued eyes flicked from the sheriff to Wolf, from Wolf to Wyatt, and from Wyatt to Pearson before panning across the crowd of townsfolk and them on the mule.

((Going on the assumption that Wolf complies with the Sheriff and things go as Alacrity posted))

“Right! Luke. What happened? The sheriff asked with guns still out and ready.

“Man ran out of mining Guild office. One of these gentlemen called stop thief. I identified myself, told him to stop, he didn’t, I did.”

The Sheriff nodded rapidly, “Fine. Clear cut case to me.”

“Fine?!” Blake cried out, “Chad was one of us! From Frisco.”

“Really?!” Sheriff answered, “Good then, you can take the body home and I don’t worry about getting Morty to do it.”

“I think we have re-thought our decision with Mr. Pearson.” John called back angrily.

“Re-think all you want, you have a binding legal contract that I witnessed for you. Now load up your friend, take Luke to your ship and get the hell out of my town now!”

Dash would’ve spit on the ground at the Sheriff’s feet, just then, if he could’ve worked his jaw loose and mustered the saliva from his seemingly parched mouth. Instead, he looked the man up and down in a cold, appraising manner, shook his head in disgust and, without looking in the Captain’s direction, called out; “If we’s bein’ forced ta ferry this Pearson piece o’ sh** back ta the boat, Cap, I reckon I’ll walk my own self if that’s ku by you. If I don’t, I’m like ta bao xin jiu huo (choose the wrong method to handle a situation/ “lit. “bring wood to put out a fire”), get me?”

The glowering pilot didn’t hear Wyatt’s reply (if the man even made one other than an understanding nod), he just glared at the Sheriff a moment longer and, before finally stomping off on an angrily frustrated path back toward Rocinante, leaned in another inch or so towards the lawman as if he were going to say something other than the ‘chui ni duh’ that hissed over his lips after a moment’s hesitation.

((OOC: There goes Sam… as much as he’d love to just blow big smoking holes in Pearson, the Sheriff, and whoever else might be fong luh enough to back those two crooked pukes, he can’t let himself do much more than what he’s doing now… walking away before he acts on his true feelings and gets innocents killed in the process…))

Newhouse, Beylix, Outside Jailhouse, 12:30 am, Day Three
“This ain’t right Sam, I don’t like it one bit. We need to disarm Pearson and find out wtf is going on before we let him step foot of the ship”

“Tze sah ju yi (suicidal idea), puhn yoh, no matter how much I might be inclined ta agree... even if we did manage ta not get shot down, there’s too many innocent folk around... can’t have none o’ them gettin’ tangled up in our mi tian gohn, get me?”

“I don’t care, this ain’t right”

With that Wolf started towards Pearson and Wyatt who was now kneeling by the dead Frisconian. It was here that the tension of the moment spiked, for just as Wolf made it to Pearson's side and was about to speak to the ex-deputy, the sheriff arrived.

“Well what do we have here?” The balding man sneered, at once leveling his weapons at Wolf. “Captain, your man here has machine pistols ready in a park where there are woman and children. Please make him rack and pin them or I will drop him where he stands. We have differences but I believe you would prefer to be civilized.”

"You wouldn’t know civilized from yer pi guh, mister,” Wolf heard Sam mutter from behind him as he stopped dead in his tracks.

Slowly, with his hands at shoulder level, palms out, and away from his guns, the big mechanic turned to face the sheriff dead on not saying a word. His mind for a moment weighed the odds on whether he could move out of the lawman's sight pattern and draw one or both of his pistols fast enough to take the sheriff down, but only for a small moment. His fight was not with the bald headed A**hole but with his ex-deputy.

Still facing the sheriff, not saying a word, a small smile of disdain on his face, he snapped both safety clips closed.

"Right! Luke. What happened?" The sheriff asked with guns still out and ready.

“Man ran out of mining Guild office. One of these gentlemen called stop thief. I identified myself, told him to stop, he didn’t, I did.”

The Sheriff nodded rapidly, “Fine. Clear cut case to me.”

“Fine?!” Blake cried out, “Chad was one of us! From Frisco.”

“Really?!” Sheriff answered, “Good then, you can take the body home and I don’t worry about getting Morty to do it.”

“I think we have re-thought our decision with Mr. Pearson.” John called back angrily.

“Re-think all you want, you have a binding legal contract that I witnessed for you. Now load up your friend, take Luke to your ship and get the hell out of my town now!"

Seeing that they would need the mule to carry the body back to the Rocinante Wolf turned back towards the passenger filled carrier, pausing only long enough to pass on some low voiced advice to Pearson.

“Yo niou-se, you might want to rethink your travel plans, space flight these days is so very risky.”

With that Wolf walked back to the mule, got back into the driver’s seat and moved it forward to Wyatt and the body, arriving just as Sam decided to walk.

“If we’s bein’ forced ta ferry this Pearson piece o’ sh** back ta the boat, Cap, I reckon I’ll walk my own self if that’s ku by you. If I don’t, I’m like ta bao xin jiu huo, get me?”

Leaving it running, and nodding to Sam, he climbed out and waited for the Cap’n, or someone else to help him with the body. However unlike Sam he truly hoped that the ex-deputy would indeed get on the ship, for true to his word the two of them would be having a “talk” once off planet and back in space.......................


(OOC: Ok after the body is in the Mule I’ll wait for everyone, but Sam, to get settled, including Pearson, if he does not take my hint, and of course head back to the ship.)

Willow hugged Darla back – the obvious sympathy and well-wishes from the woman were a balm to Willow’s ragged nerves.

“Take care of yourself, honey, and don’t let the sheriff blame for none of this trouble,” Willow finally managed, then left with Benny.

They hadn’t gotten very far when the sheriff’s voice rose into the air. “Well what do we have here? Captain, your man here has machine pistols ready in a park where there are woman and children. Please make him rack and pin them or I will drop him where he stands.”

Willow stopped at those words, her heart sinking and her eyes closing. “Please, please, run-tse duh FWO-tzoo , let that not be “my” Captain,” she breathed, but knowing that it just had to be. She waited, wringing her hands as part of her told her to run towards the sheriff, but more of her told her to run in the opposite direction. When she didn’t hear any gunfire, she let out her breath and nodded to Benny to keep going.

“I don’t think we need to add to the confusion…hmm? Tell me, how did such a sorry bit of tin become sheriff here, anyway? Nobody else showed up for the interview?”

No pulse...Wyatt listened to the banter that spilled about him as he considered the situation they were in with only half an ear. He hadn't really known Sloat, but the man was a passenger on board his boat, and that meant that he had been under his protection. Of course, the man had been on his own, and it is more than a little difficult to protect him. Still, as much as that bothered Wyatt, he had to admit that Sloat was dead, and his greater concern had to be for his crew, and those who were boarding the ship to return to Frisco.

“Well what do we have here? Captain, your man here has machine pistols ready in a park where there are woman and children. Please make him rack and pin them or I will drop him where he stands.”

Sung Slowly rose from his crouch, eying Wolf from the peripheral to make sure he complied. He heard very little of Sam's undertone, but the look on the pilot's face was alarming. All the same, Wyatt remained calm as he made his way towards the mule.

"Right! Luke. What happened?" The sheriff asked with guns still out and ready.

“Man ran out of mining Guild office. One of these gentlemen called stop thief. I identified myself, told him to stop, he didn’t, I did.”

The Sheriff nodded rapidly, “Fine. Clear cut case to me.”

“Fine?!” Blake cried out, “Chad was one of us! From Frisco.”

“Really?!” Sheriff answered, “Good then, you can take the body home and I don’t worry about getting Morty to do it.”

“I think we have re-thought our decision with Mr. Pearson.” John called back angrily.

“Re-think all you want, you have a binding legal contract that I witnessed for you. Now load up your friend, take Luke to your ship and get the hell out of my town now!"

As the exchange wound down, Wyatt settled back into his seat, waiting for the others to load the body back up and get underway. He paid no attention to Pearson, saying only:

"Let's git on back to the ship, Gentlemen."

He'd give Sam his leeway to walk it off, the pilot needed it. He'd get the townsfolk back to Rocinante and then back to Frisco, and then he'd dust that rock with a fresh tank of fuel and enough pay to cover wages, and possibly some repair on the ship before they had to worry about another contract. Right then, they had to get as far from the sheriff as possible before that third strike hit.

Newhouse, Beylix, Outside Jailhouse, 12:30 am, Day Three
"Let's git on back to the ship, Gentlemen.”
Andrew nodded slightly at what he saw as Wyatt’s wise decision… this wasn’t the place to start a fight.. Besides it wouldn’t bring back the poor soul with two bullets in his back. His hand moved away from where it hung next to his gun.. He had no doubt that he could have dropped the sheriff where he stood before the man could have gotten a shot off.. The man’s attention was too focused on those on the ground that he saw as a greater threat.. But he was glad that he didn’t have to kill the man.. It would have made the exit from this backwater world more urgent and a bit tougher.

Andrew Bowman eased back into his seat and reached to hold on for the ride back to the ship.. He didn’t know the rest of the crew yet.. Be he knew Wyatt enough to know that this wasn’t over yet.. He believed that he would find out what was going to come of all this once they were deep in the black.

He was ready to get off this rock.. Having been here only a short time.. It had worn out it’s welcome in a very short time.

OOC – I left Sam out of this as I need to know where he is going. I will PM with Robert on this

Newhouse, Beylix, Outside Jailhouse, 12:45 pm, Day Three
“This ain’t right Sam, I don’t like it one bit. We need to disarm Pearson and find out wtf is going on before we let him step foot of the ship”

“Tze sah ju yi (suicidal idea), puhn yoh, no matter how much I might be inclined ta agree... even if we did manage ta not get shot down, there’s too many innocent folk around... can’t have none o’ them gettin’ tangled up in our mi tian gohn, get me?”

“I don’t care, this ain’t right”

“Yo niou-se, you might want to rethink your travel plans, space flight these days is so very risky.”

“If we’s bein’ forced ta ferry this Pearson piece o’ sh** back ta the boat, Cap, I reckon I’ll walk my own self if that’s ku by you. If I don’t, I’m like ta bao xin jiu huo, get me?”

"Let's git on back to the ship, Gentlemen."

“Well now!” the sheriff drawled, “I’m hearing some threatening language to a law man here. That isn’t very civil considering I released your friend here as payment for his safe passage. Before you get any ideas in your little heads about revenge and retribution let me tell you, if I don’t get a wave from Luke every 24 hours telling me he’s being treated goodly, I’d have to assume the worst. Put out an arrest warrant to the cortex for y’all, and make sure I told all my friends in the verse that you people have a tendency to kill clients. Even if you avoid the law, how much work you gonna get with that reputation?”

“Wait just a minute!” John Blake glares at the sheriff, “Captain Wyatt is a good decent man, unlike you sir. He would never stoop to your level.”

“My level!” Sheriff growls indignant, “I do have two guns here. So you better watch your mouth.”

Luke steps forward, “Whoa! Listen. I’m a lawman. I follow the law of the land. You have to talk tough when you are in my shoes but I am deeply sorry for the death of your friend. He was running, he didn’t stop and as you heard the sheriff, I did what he felt was right. Now if you have other ways and laws in Frisco, I’ll follow them to the letter I assure you. I wish that Mr. Sloat here had just stopped running when I told him to, especially for nothing but ballots.”

“He’s right” Sherman says to John, ‘Chad should have stopped. He’s been acting twitchy since we left. And we can plainly see that the sheriff here is heavy handed.”

“Excuse ME! Keep the commentary to yourself!”

“We came all this way for a Sheriff John,” Fiddler said, “and spent a lot of platinum. I think Chad did himself in by acting strange and running. Let’s go over the rules and laws with Mr. Pearson on the way back and make sure he knows what we expect.”

Mr. Blake is obviously not thrilled by his companions’ mercantile attitude but he does agree with them, “Right. Let’s take Chad home then. Mr. Pearson. First order of business, you don’t shoot anyone unless they are holding a gun or knife on you.”

“Yes Sir.” Pearson agrees, “Captain Wyatt, if you want me to hand over my irons now and you hold them for the length of the journey, I accept that your word is law on your ship.”

Newhouse, Beylix, Behind Emmett’s Bar – heading to Spaceport, 12:45, Day Three
Tell me, how did such a sorry bit of tin become sheriff here, anyway? Nobody else showed up for the interview?”

“Well, you ain’t far from the truth there. See, Newhouse was founded by a man named JW McClarrin. Now JW started the smelting after the war and it brought a lot of people jobs when they needed them. But he struck it big in some mine and left Newhouse just as it started to get big. So the merchants decided they had to have a council and the council decided that they needed a sheriff. Up to that point, Ken Weaver did the law and order thing and people were happy with him. Ken is polite, always respectful but knows when things have to be done, even if he don’t like doing them. But the council brought Arness in, he was a friend of someone, on the basis that Ken didn’t read or write too well and had a hearing problem. Funny – no one really noticed it interfering before. Anyway soon after the council took to taking three month vacations and Arness took to keeping their case log clean.”

Benny directs Willow to a side alley between the buildings, “So Arness sets up the whole protection scam, which wasn’t bad at first because he wasn’t greedy. But then the Tong came into Newhouse and things got ugly –fast. So Arness gets this deputy Luke Pearson to come help him. Except Luke is real fast at killing people which cleans the case log clean but isn’t what people expected. Oh there’s always a reason or some sort of just cause but he churned most the Tong into a grave in a fortnight. Tough guy too – once the Tong caught him with 6 guys using machetes and Luke was outta ammo. In the end, Luke barely had a scratch and Mortie had six more caskets on order.

“Well, the whole situation unhinged Arness. He started getting demanding about more protection money, and forcing every women he could to pay him on their backside. He rides Darla more often than … well a lot. All the while Luke has everyone running scared. Ken does what he can but he’s outmatched so he plays dumb for survival. Think I’ll use the money you give me to get off this rock, maybe find work elsewhere.”

Newhouse, Beylix, Outside Jailhouse, 12:45 pm, Day Three

“Well now!” the sheriff drawled, “I’m hearing some threatening language to a law man here. That isn’t very civil considering I released your friend here as payment for his safe passage. Before you get any ideas in your little heads about revenge and retribution let me tell you, if I don’t get a wave from Luke every 24 hours telling me he’s being treated goodly, I’d have to assume the worst. Put out an arrest warrant to the cortex for y’all, and make sure I told all my friends in the verse that you people have a tendency to kill clients. Even if you avoid the law, how much work you gonna get with that reputation?”

Wyatt turned a tired gaze on the lawman, but before he could answer one of the Frisco townsmen became the unlikely defender.

“Wait just a minute!” John Blake glares at the sheriff, “Captain Wyatt is a good decent man, unlike you sir. He would never stoop to your level.”

“My level!” Sheriff growls indignant, “I do have two guns here. So you better watch your mouth.”

Luke steps forward, “Whoa! Listen. I’m a lawman. I follow the law of the land. You have to talk tough when you are in my shoes but I am deeply sorry for the death of your friend. He was running, he didn’t stop and as you heard the sheriff, I did what he felt was right. Now if you have other ways and laws in Frisco, I’ll follow them to the letter I assure you. I wish that Mr. Sloat here had just stopped running when I told him to, especially for nothing but ballots.”

“He’s right” Sherman says to John, ‘Chad should have stopped. He’s been acting twitchy since we left. And we can plainly see that the sheriff here is heavy handed.”

“Excuse ME! Keep the commentary to yourself!”

“We came all this way for a Sheriff John,” Fiddler said, “and spent a lot of platinum. I think Chad did himself in by acting strange and running. Let’s go over the rules and laws with Mr. Pearson on the way back and make sure he knows what we expect.”

Mr. Blake is obviously not thrilled by his companions’ mercantile attitude but he does agree with them, “Right. Let’s take Chad home then. Mr. Pearson. First order of business, you don’t shoot anyone unless they are holding a gun or knife on you.”

“Yes Sir.” Pearson agrees, “Captain Wyatt, if you want me to hand over my irons now and you hold them for the length of the journey, I accept that your word is law on your ship.”

Now Wyatt was all about justice. When those Alliance Mi Tian Gohn murdered Summer and Eden he’d sought more than justice…the memory rushed him like it had just occurred yesterday and it was all he could do to keep his face impassive as he felt that hole inside his chest open up again threatening to swallow his entire being. Right at that moment he longed for the numb escape a good bottle of whiskey could bring. But he’d made promises and commitments to those who relied on him, and that was the armor that he clad himself in as his hazel eyes met Pearson’s from beneath the brim of his hat.

“I’ll appreciate that, Mr. Pearson,” he drawled. Then, turning his attention to the sheriff he added. “You’ll hear from Pearson every twenty-four, Lawman.” There was more Wyatt wanted to say to the balding man, but he bit his tongue in favor of keepin’ their skins intact.

Once he was sure that the sheriff wasn’t about to detain them any longer, and that Sloat’s body was aboard, he gave Wolf a single tap on the forearm with the back of his knuckle. As the mule drove away, Wyatt was careful not to posture in any way so as to aggravate the situation any further. All he wanted to do was make it back to Roc, get his crew together, and get plenty of Black between them and Beylix. If Buddha willed it, he’d be back to settle things with the sheriff some other time, and he had plenty of time to decide how to deal with Pearson, especially if he so much as hinted at not obeying Wyatt’s Law.

Newhouse, Beylix, Outside Jailhouse, 12:45 pm, Day Three
“Well now!” the sheriff drawled, “I’m hearing some threatening language to a law man here. That isn’t very civil considering I released your friend here as payment for his safe passage. Before you get any ideas in your little heads about revenge and retribution let me tell you, if I don’t get a wave from Luke every 24 hours telling me he’s being treated goodly, I’d have to assume the worst. Put out an arrest warrant to the cortex for y’all, and make sure I told all my friends in the verse that you people have a tendency to kill clients. Even if you avoid the law, how much work you gonna get with that reputation?”
It took all of Wolf’s self control not to fast pull the sawed off shotgun off his back and put all 5 slugs into the sheriff’s face. However with Wyatt seated next to him, he knew that would be more trouble then it was worth. Knowing the Cap’n he would find a way to turn the tables on this duh PEE-yen of a sheriff.

With Wyatt’s tap on his arm he opened the Mules throttle and headed them back toward the Rocinante...........

Sam Dash walked away for the sheriff, the would be sheriff, the dead man he hardly knew and a group of people he considered family. But he had to walk away, or else he’d put himself and a whole lot of people in trouble and that was the last thing he wanted. The captain would understand, that much Sam was sure of.

The pilot walked across the Green without a heading but his feet and heart took him on a direct path to Rocinante, as if he was following a beacon home. He passed by families having picnics, couples taking a stroll, all through this small round park in the middle of a smelting town. Who thought of a park here?

“Brrrraaawwwwwww!’ a young boy ran across Sam’s path abruptly, forcing him to stop. The child is holding a toy Firefly class ship in his hand, outstretched. “Sorry Mister.” He says as he passes hurrying on to his waiting parents. “I’m gonna be a pilot when I grow up Daddy!”

“A pilot? Better work on your flying skills there. You came close to crashing.” His mom answers while scooping the boy up for a hug.

The Green ends at a sidewalk and a roadway that Wolf drove up to get to the sheriff’s office. Sam notices the sign marks it as J.W McClarrin Ave. Could it be the same one? On Sam’s left is a local bar called the Planetfall and across the street to the right he sees another place called Edgar’s place. As he looks across the street, he notices a man and a woman moving through the alleyway beside the bar. The man is unknown to Sam but even from this distance, Sam knows that bu…sway anywhere. Willow! What she doing using back alleys? Seems she is heading toward the ship too.

For the first few dozen yards after he put Arness, Pearson, and the rest behind him, Sam’s thoughts were a tangled, indecipherable mess… kind of like trying to view a wave from Tink without confessing that you believed in faeries, first… Urges to turn and shoot down everything that wore a badge in this joke of a town bumped up against thoughts of innocent folk getting caught up in the crossfire and getting themselves killed for doin’ nothin’ but passin’ by… then those thoughts wrestled with others that said maybe them folk weren’t so innocent because it was them as put the likes of Arness where he was and encouraged Pearson to shoot first and ask questions if the body was still breathing by buttering him up with compliments when their eyes said they felt different….

“Brrrraaawwwwwww!’ a young boy, holding a toy Firefly class ship in his outstretched hand, abruptly ran across Sam’s path, forcing him to stop. “Sorry Mister.”

“It’s shiny, kid,” Dash offered the kid weak smile and watched as the boy hurried on to his waiting parents.

“I’m gonna be a pilot when I grow up Daddy!” the kid chirped as he flew his boat into his folks’ orbit.

I’m gonna be a pilot when I grow up, Dad…
“A pilot?” Mom cooed, scooping the little flyer up in a hug…

If you’re going to fly for any respectable Alliance outfit, Morgan, you’re going to need to buckle down in your studies and watch your mouth in school…
“Better work on your flying skills there. You came close to crashing…”

Now, Virgil… Can’t you give the boy some encouragement?

I’d watch my mouth if those people weren’t so stupid and I don’t need to study, anyway… I can rutting fly without math and manners!

Morgan Thomas Trent!!!

You see, Lily?
Sam shook his head, clearing away the memories of another lifetime that the scene with the kid and his folks had dredged up, and realized he was still kind of staring at the family… He swallowed a lump that had crept into his throat along with the memory that had crawled into his head and tried to smile at the kid and his folks. “You did fine, partner,” Sam winked at the boy, “Buzzin’ the tower every once in a while never hurts nothin’…”

His eyes lifted from the boy’s face to the mother’s, then; “Keep him away from the boats with guns on ‘em, huh?

You folks have a good day,” he added as he got his feet working again and continued on his way.

As he reached the edge of the Green and his feet found the sidewalk, his gaze happened to catch sight of the sign that labeled the street as J.W. McClarrin Ave… “Well, I’ll be humped,” he muttered, the coincidence of the street name and the name of the guy on Frisco mixed into the turbulence that already roiled in his brainpan, “Wonder if it’s th’ same guy or if it’s mebbe a relative…his old man or his grandpap or somethin’…”

Your mother would’ve been proud of you, Morgan… I know I never said it much, myself, but, I’m proud of you, too… Lt Trent…You go out there and you fly some good for the Alliance, son…
Another shake of the head, clearing away yet another memory that he couldn’t afford to think… it was a hard one to clear, though… Mom had passed before he graduated flight school so Dad attended his graduation alone and cried more than Mom might have had she still been alive to see the day. The visuals of the memory dispersed quickly enough but, even after they did, he still felt his father’s fingers straightening the pips newly pinned on the collar of his uniform…

“Yeah,” Sam grumbled, rubbing at his collarbone to chase the phantom feeling off, “Some good I did, Dad… I’ll bet you and Mom are both proud as hell of me now…”

His gaze tracked up and down the street for a moment, looking for anything that might take his mind off the path his thoughts had started wandering along. The pilot’s eyes found a bar named Plantefall nearby and, just across the street, another joint called Edgar’s Place... Sam debated the decision he was about to make for a minute… he really wanted to get back to the ship, get her prepped, and dust this rock as soon as Wyatt would let him but, at the same time, he knew that Pearson would be along for the cruise and Dash wasn’t looking forward to that, at all… especially not right now…

Willow? Sam caught sight of the former companion, just then, and wondered what she was doing out and about all by her lonesome in Newhouse’s alleyways… worried about what might happen to her if someone (like them as Tink said was lookin’ for Miss Will on the cortex) caught her alone… and was about set to hustle across the street and catch up with her when he noticed that she wasn’t alone. She was with a man that Sam didn’t recognize but, given the body language between the two and the way Willow seemed comfortable enough with her company, figured it wasn’t anybody he needed to worry much about… Prob’ly a client or somethin’, he decided, lucky li’l huen dahn. Looks like she’s headin’ back to Roc herself, anyway…
He abandoned the thought of catching up to Willow, then, but proceeded across the street, anyway… by the time he got to the other side, he’d decided that he wasn’t hot on getting back to the boat directly, either, what with Pearson liable to be pokin’ around… and Ma maybe catching on to the fact that Sam was in a mood and trying to hug him up and make him feel better… and Willow overhearing and trying to soothe him, too, with her own brand of care and wisdom...

Nah… Sam didn’t want any of that right now… didn’t want to try and explain what he was feeling… didn’t want to be hovered over and mothered… Mebbe a drink or two ‘afore I head back and saddle up, he thought as he stepped through the door of Edgar’s Place, jus’ ta take the edge off…
((OOC: Okay… into Edgar’s Place goes Dash… his intent is to have a whiskey or two in order to “mellow his mind” a little bit before he heads back to Roc… if nothing interferes, he’ll have his drinks, make his way back to the ship afterwards, and head right to the cockpit to do pre-flight and such…))

Newhouse, Beylix, Outside Jailhouse, 12:45 pm, Day Three
“Well now!” the sheriff drawled, “I’m hearing some threatening language to a law man here. That isn’t very civil considering I released your friend here as payment for his safe passage. Before you get any ideas in your little heads about revenge and retribution let me tell you, if I don’t get a wave from Luke every 24 hours telling me he’s being treated goodly, I’d have to assume the worst. Put out an arrest warrant to the cortex for y’all, and make sure I told all my friends in the verse that you people have a tendency to kill clients. Even if you avoid the law, how much work you gonna get with that reputation?”

“Wait just a minute!” John Blake glares at the sheriff, “Captain Wyatt is a good decent man, unlike you sir. He would never stoop to your level.”

“My level!” Sheriff growls indignant, “I do have two guns here. So you better watch your mouth.”
At this Andrew looked over at the Sheriff from where he was seated aboard the Mule waiting for the ride back to the ship.. he had thought the matter settled but the big mouth Sheriff kept spouting off showing that he shot his mouth off more than his guns. Andrew was becoming sorely tempted to test the Sheriff’s bravado.. his constant belief that he was the fastest gun here on this rock.

From what he had seen, the Sheriff always liked to come in guns ready in hand.. he wondered how the man would fair in a true duel when he didn’t get the jump on someone. He was contemplating stepping from the mule and putting an end to this whole thing right now. He was sure that is the lead started flying that Wyatt and his men would take care of Pearson if the man got involved, but it was the thought of Wyatt and his men that stayed Andrew in his seat aboard the mule. Wyatt had saved his skin from his stupid mistake of letting himself be taken into custody and trusting the ‘system’ with setting an innocent man free. He should have known by now the ‘system’ was broken.. not to trust it. He vowed that he would not find himself in a similar situation again any time soon.

Luke steps forward, “Whoa! Listen. I’m a lawman. I follow the law of the land. You have to talk tough when you are in my shoes but I am deeply sorry for the death of your friend. He was running, he didn’t stop and as you heard the sheriff, I did what he felt was right. Now if you have other ways and laws in Frisco, I’ll follow them to the letter I assure you. I wish that Mr. Sloat here had just stopped running when I told him to, especially for nothing but ballots.”

“He’s right” Sherman says to John, ‘Chad should have stopped. He’s been acting twitchy since we left. And we can plainly see that the sheriff here is heavy handed.”

“Excuse ME! Keep the commentary to yourself!”

“We came all this way for a Sheriff John,” Fiddler said, “and spent a lot of platinum. I think Chad did himself in by acting strange and running. Let’s go over the rules and laws with Mr. Pearson on the way back and make sure he knows what we expect.”

Mr. Blake is obviously not thrilled by his companions’ mercantile attitude but he does agree with them, “Right. Let’s take Chad home then. Mr. Pearson. First order of business, you don’t shoot anyone unless they are holding a gun or knife on you.”

“Yes Sir.” Pearson agrees, “Captain Wyatt, if you want me to hand over my irons now and you hold them for the length of the journey, I accept that your word is law on your ship.”

“I’ll appreciate that, Mr. Pearson,” Wyatt drawled. Then, turning his attention to the sheriff he added. “You’ll hear from Pearson every twenty-four, Lawman.”. Andrew smiled slightly as he sat back .. he could tell that Wyatt was holding back what he really wanted to say.. he hadn’t seen the man in years.. but he thought he knew him enough to read some of what he felt... besides.. he felt the same way.

He held on as the Mule moved off towards the spaceport… and hopefully off this planet as soon as possible.