In the shadows behind the saw, Cedar reached for his rifle, though he hesitated. Would the air gun be the better option? Was an unseen Cudgel somewhere in the group?
One of the men behind Kali bumped her in the back with his rifle. “Over there. In the light.”
His ire returned at seeing her prodded with the gun. He slid his Winchester free. He would get Kali out of danger first and worry about Cudgel later.
Cedar considered his odds of shooting four men before they could shoot him—or Kali. Even though he had cover and might survive the gunfight unscathed, she was out in the open.
Andrews was too. When he passed through the light, Cedar spotted blood on his collar and a knot swelling on the side of his face. He might not have betrayed Kali willingly, but Cedar had a hard time forgiving him for the act, regardless. If a bunch of thugs pinned him down and started beating him, they would have to do a lot more than punch him a couple of times to get him to spill information about a friend. More than a friend.
A fifth man strode in the door, and Cedar groaned inwardly. How many people were coming to this meeting? He hoped he hadn’t missed his best opportunity to attack. The new man, however, merely walked to the office. Cedar sank lower into the shadows—from the office, he was more clearly visible than he would be from the front door area. The new fellow didn’t look in his direction; he was carrying a bucket of ice and turned straight into the office. Ice? Scraped freshly off a glacier? Or stored in some ice house in town? Maybe that bottle of wine Cedar had seen was actually champagne. One wouldn’t want one’s boss drinking a lukewarm beverage...
“I guess this means you aren’t interested in selling Travis a claim,” Kali said to the man Cedar had pegged as a foreman. His straight black hair fell to his shoulders, and he wore a cowboy hat with a feather sticking out of the side. He looked like he might have some Indian blood in him, but nothing about Kali’s stance suggested she recognized him. Of course, she was busy scowling at Andrews and wasn’t looking at the foreman as she spoke.
Andrews shrank under that stare, looking more cowed by her than he was by the gunslingers.
The ice man walked out of the office, his feet stirring the piles of sawdust in front of the door. At this point, Cedar had his rifle across his knees and was itching to shoot someone. He thought about grabbing the man and hauling him into the shadows behind the boiler for questioning, but doubted the lackey would know anything. Besides, with the saw turned off, there wasn’t much noise in the mill. His actions might be heard.
“Funny, but I hear that’s not what you’re really here for,” the foreman said. “The owner had a little chat with your beau there.”
Kali clenched her jaw. Cedar expected her to say that Andrews wasn’t her beau, but all she did was glare.
“And then we found you and your beefy friend lurking outside of my mill.” The foreman fished in his pocket, pulled out a cigarette case, and extricated paper and tobacco for rolling a fresh smoke. “Like the kid said you’d be.”
Beefy friend? Was that supposed to be Cedar? But they hadn’t seen him.
“Sorry, Kali,” Andrews whispered. “I thought they believed me about wanting to buy, but their bullies showed up five minutes before I aimed to leave tonight and... questioned me. With fists.”
There wasn’t much forgiveness in the way Kali’s lips thinned, but she didn’t accuse him of being a spineless soot rag, the way Cedar would have. All right, his words would have been stronger than that.
“The owner isn’t stupid. He knows who’s friends with who around here.” The foreman used a wall lantern to light his cigarette and stuck it in his mouth. The scent of burning tobacco wafted into the air. “As soon as your friend is caught, I expect the owner will be along to start this meeting.”
Caught? They thought Cedar was out running from some thugs? If that was true, he would have to thank Kali for that—she must have tricked her captors into thinking he had run away right before they showed up. They wouldn’t search forever, though, especially if they didn’t find any evidence of him out there. He had to act quickly. Also, his thighs were starting to burn from crouching in the shadows—he could wait through the discomfort if he had to, but taking action... that would be better. He rested his rifle on the top of the log, taking a bead on the foreman, and groped for a way to catch Kali’s eye without alerting anyone else to his presence. All he needed was for her to run and throw herself behind some lumber as soon as he started shooting, anything to get out of the way. She might think to do that anyway, but maybe not. The men might have taken her visible weapons, but she had a hand in her pocket, and he wagered one of her smoke nuts was nestled down there.
“Actually,” a voice came from beyond the front door, “we can start this meeting right now.”
A man in a white suit walked in, his alligator-skin boots thudding on the bare floor.
After a heartbeat of shocked stillness, Cedar coolly and calmly shifted the aim of his rifle. He almost shot immediately, but he noticed two things right away, two things that stayed his hand. First off, something with a metallic glint poked out of the top of Cudgel’s shirt, something Cedar recognized because he had seen it before: a skillfully crafted chain mesh vest that was capable of stopping a bullet. Cedar knew because it had stopped one of his bullets once. The second thing... was that Cudgel was carrying flash gold. Not a vial with a tiny flake in it, but a big block about half the size of the one Kali had. From the way he cradled it close to his body, his arm flexed to support it, it was clearly real gold—and heavy—but more than its weight gave it away. Light glowed from the ore, and blue streaks of energy ran up his arm and danced all around him. Cedar’s first thought was that Cudgel had somehow obtained some of his own flash gold, but when Kali’s mouth tumbled open, he realized the truth... Cudgel must have found her stash and stolen it, cutting the big bar in half so he could bring it along. Yes, the edges even had some scrapes from where Kali had shaved off pieces to use in smaller projects.
Almost immediately, she snapped her mouth shut and masked her face, but Cedar knew her well enough to read the rage behind her dark eyes. Yes, that was her gold, her secret energy source with which she planned to power her dream.
“Kartes has nothing to do with the negotiations we are about to have,” Cudgel said. “I’ve ordered my men to shoot him as soon as they find him.”
“That right?” Kali asked. “That tactic hasn’t worked powerful well for you in the past.”
Cudgel smiled thinly. “A sardine can’t evade a fisherman’s net forever.”
Sardine? Cedar kept his growl internal and shifted his aim. If he couldn’t shoot Cudgel in the chest, the face was always a valid option. Except... if Cedar killed him, would Kali ever find the other half of her flash gold stash? Cudgel would have hidden it, of course, and, given its value, may not have told another soul where. To Cedar, it seemed a small price to pay for the death of a criminal who had killed so many and brought pain and suffering to countless others, but could he make that choice? Did he have the right?
His finger tightened on the trigger. He would kill Cudgel, then find the rest of the flash gold for her, one way or another.
“But you’re here,” Cudgel said, stepping forward. A post blocked him from Cedar’s sights. “And I’d like to make you an offer.”
“What’s that?” Kali jammed her hands into her pockets and stared the man in the face without fear.
“Work for me.”
Kali snorted. “Doing what?”
Cedar looked left and right, debating whether he should move to find a better sniping position, or wait for Cudgel to take another step.
“Researching this creation of yours.” Cudgel hefted the flash gold, the tendons in his hand flexing as he held it up. Men murmured and stepped back at the streaks of light that spat from the surface of the ore. “And flying your aircraft, if that’s your desire. Whether you wish to run freight or simply explore the world, I can make that possible. You need never worry about money again. Simply share you
r findings with me and a portion of any of this energy source you’re able to create. I’ll finance the rest of your endeavors.”
Cedar thought about shooting the bar of gold out of Cudgel’s hand. It wouldn’t be a killing shot, but if he dropped it and ran, Cedar ought to be able to get another shot off before the criminal raced out the door. But there was the matter of the men holding the guns on Kali. He needed to create a distraction, something to get them all to look away, maybe scatter for a moment, long enough for Cedar to shoot his man and get Kali out of there. He slipped a hand into his pocket, pulling out one of the smoke nuts.
“You’re not considering it, are you?” Andrews whispered to Kali, touching his bruise.
“Looks like you already took a big cut of my energy source,” Kali said, her focus remaining on Cudgel.
“I took it all actually,” Cudgel said. “I’m prepared to give this half back if you’re willing to sign a contract and become my employee.”
“Partner,” Kali said. “I don’t work for anyone.”
Andrews sucked in a startled breath. Cedar almost did too. Surely she wouldn’t consider working with his nemesis? No, she was simply giving Cedar time to act, as he’d suspected.
He had a smoke nut in hand and was tempted to hurl it then and there, but again, he had the problem of Kali being in the line of fire. Instead, he inched through the shadows to the furnace. He waited until Cudgel was speaking again to ease the door open, afraid it would squeak and someone would hear it.
“Partner,” Cudgel said. “You’re an audacious girl, aren’t you? What are you? Twenty?”
“Something like that,” Kali said.
Cedar eased the furnace door open. The flames had burned low but had not yet gone out. Trusting the smoke nut had something combustible inside, he tossed it into the coals. He closed the door and crept to the far wall as quickly as he could without exposing himself.
Heavy footsteps sounded on the boardwalk outside. Two sets. Cedar grimaced as he slipped into a crouch at the end of the elevated log waiting for the saw’s attention. Not a good time for reinforcements to show up.
“Mister Conrad, sir,” someone panted, running inside. “We haven’t been able to find the bounty hunter anywhere. We blocked off those streets, like you said. We even put a man on a roof across the street. If he were out here anywhere, we would have seen him.”
Cedar readied his Winchester. From his new position near the back wall, he could see the backs of the two men holding their weapons on Kali. He couldn’t see Cudgel, but when his distraction went off, he hoped everyone would be startled for the few seconds he needed...
If his distraction went off. He glanced toward the furnace. Maybe his assumption that something combustible shot the shrapnel out of the little ball had been a wrong one.
“Where did your friend go, Ms. McAlister?” Cudgel asked softly. Cedar might not be able to see him, but he could see the light of the flash gold bouncing on the walls as Cudgel shifted the bar around. What was he up to now?
“He forgot to tell me,” Kali said.
Cedar pulled out a second smoke nut. He would have to risk throwing it into the gathering. He would try to get it to land so that that shrapnel struck the men instead of Kali.
“Search the mill,” Cudgel said.
That was it. No more time to waffle.
Cedar activated the smoke nut in his hand and rolled it under the length of the long sawing bench and toward the group. He inched forward, rifle at the ready.
The two men who had come through the door jogged toward the office and the mill equipment.
An explosion boomed. It wasn’t the smoke nut he had just rolled out, but the one in the furnace. The shrapnel striking the inside of the fire box sounded like dozens of guns shooting all at once. One of the men behind Kali dropped to the floor, covering his head. The second man reached for her. Cedar shot that one in the back, even as Kali shoved him away from her.
Cedar stepped out of hiding, the next round already loaded into his rifle. He would have fired at Cudgel, but Kali didn’t know where Cedar was—couldn’t know where he was—and lunged across his sights to grab Andrews, who had dropped to one knee and looked like he wanted to crawl behind a pile of lumber stacked near the wall.
“Not that way,” Kali barked, her voice barely audible over the shrapnel still pinging against the metal fire box walls.
Cedar had a clear shot at one of the men hunting for him in the equipment area and took it. The bullet struck, center mass. The man cried out and stumbled backward onto the saw bench. His partner lifted a rifle to shoot Cedar. But thanks to Kali’s modifications, his Winchester was ready to fire again. He shot first, then ducked, anticipating a retaliatory shot. If it hammered into the wall behind him, he didn’t hear it, because the smoke nut he had rolled onto the floor chose that second to go off.
Cries of pain came from the man on the floor, the foreman, and from Andrews as well. Kali had been leading him under the saw bench, probably thinking to take him through the equipment and up to the loft. Good idea if not for the smoke nut. Cedar cursed.
Someone in the front doorway fired in his direction. It was a wild shot—the cacophony in the furnace had finally died down, but Cudgel’s men were probably still trying to figure out how many people were attacking him—and the bullet clanged off the saw blade several feet away. Cedar leaned out and fired, catching the man in the shoulder before he could duck back outside. He had two more shots in his rifle before he needed to reload, but Cudgel had disappeared. Cedar had been watching the door and knew he hadn’t run out. Could he have applied that powder that quickly? Or maybe he had leaped into the loft?
Cursing, Cedar ran into the open area. Someone leaned around the front door frame again, and he shot without hesitation. By then, he had crossed to that door, and he kicked it shut and threw the lock. That would give the thugs out there something else to think about while he found Cudgel. He hurried to load more rounds into the Winchester.
“We got the last one,” came Kali’s voice from near the boiler. That must have been the man delivering the ice—Cedar had accounted for everyone else, everyone inside anyway. Someone was already banging at the front door.
“Where’s Cudgel?” Cedar barked. If there had been more time, he would have thanked her for the help, but all he could think of was capturing the criminal before he escaped.
“Don’t know, but the side door is locked.” There was a smirk in her voice when she said locked. Later, he could ask her for the details of whatever she had done, but for now, he had other concerns.
Something heavy slammed against the front door. Cudgel’s men were using more than fists to try and bang their way in.
“Andrews,” Cedar said, “watch that door.”
His “erp?” wasn’t inspiring, but the kid moved in that direction.
Cedar made his way to the office and eyed the sawdust. The ice man had walked through it, yes, but it was utterly scattered, as if numerous men had come in and out. Odd. Maybe Cudgel was trying to escape through the small window inside. But he didn’t think a man could fit through it. Cedar started to jump up toward the loft, but remembered the flash gold—the weight of it in Cudgel’s hand. He would have struggled to pull himself up to the second level with that in his arms, and Cedar hadn’t heard the clunk of someone throwing something heavy up there.
A floorboard creaked behind him. Cedar whirled and ducked. Nobody was there... at least nobody was visible there. Something breezed over his head, ruffling his hair, then clanked against a support post to his side.
Cedar lunged forward, a knife in his hand. He stabbed at what should have been the invisible man’s gut. His blade sliced through clothing and scratched flesh, but the man dodged the brunt of the attack. It couldn’t have hurt much, either, for he didn’t cry out. Even as Cedar pulled back, keeping his arms up to defend himself, he realized the attacker couldn’t be Cudgel, not unless he had removed that protective metal vest.
The fact had no
more than registered before something slammed into him from behind like a locomotive barreling down a mountain. The force knocked him forward so hard that he lost his footing. He rolled and smashed into the wall between the office doors. Though the blow had been hard enough to knock the air out of his lungs and stun him, he leaped to his feet immediately, knowing he was dead if he didn’t. He jumped to the side, anticipating an attack—rightfully so. A blade gouged into the side of his shoulder. Had it been meant for his neck?
He gave up his own dagger for the rifle, swinging it out in front of him like a club. He struck someone, and the man skittered back, though the Winchester wouldn’t do much damage like this. All Cedar could hope was that it kept his attackers at bay until he figured out how he was going to see them to fight back. He needed the powder in the air gun, but it was still in its holster strapped to his back, and he didn’t dare take the half second he needed to grab it.
“Help,” Andrews cried from the side.
Out of the corner of his eye, Cedar saw the kid’s face being smashed into the door by... nobody visible. In another time, he would have noted the utter ridiculousness of the spectacle, but not now. There were at least three invisible people in here, maybe more. Kali, where was Kali?
The click of a pistol being cocked reached Cedar’s ears. Cursing, he took one more swing, then flung himself forward, hoping he would tackle the would-be shooter, or at least distract him. His shoulder connected with human flesh, and he winced as the fresh cut burned, but there wasn’t time to think about it. At least he had an idea of where his attackers were standing. He threw himself into a roll and came up behind one of the loft supports. Using it for cover, he leaned out and brought up his rifle. He didn’t know what he was going to shoot, but even wildly aimed bullets would be a threat to his opponents.
He fired twice, but no cries of pain promised he had struck anyone. The bullets slammed into the wood by the office door.
A shot rang out, not from the direction Cedar expected but from his side somewhere. He cursed as it whizzed past his head and clanged into the boiler against the wall. Tarnation, how many people were in here with them?