After inquiring around town, they finally discovered Marcus was having a late supper at the restaurant with a lady friend of his. Despite her companions objections, Louise insisted on being the one to pay Marcus a visit. She pointed out that it would look suspicious if Cody appeared to eager to meet up with Callahan. In order to win this game, they had to play their cards carefully.

“Watch yourself,” Cody ordered. “Meet us back at the saloon as soon as you can.”

With a nod of her head, Lou promised that she would. Then she departed and headed for the restaurant. The fancy dining area had few customers due to the late hour, and Lou easily spotted Marcus seated with a lady comfortable on his lap. She recognized his companion. It was the same saloon girl that had firmly attached herself to Kid earlier. Seeing her with Marcus gave Lou a bad feeling. Marcus seemed to be too acquainted with the ladies of this town.

“Louise,” Marcus called happily after discovering her watching him. “Please, join me.” As Lou made her way towards his table, Marcus ordered the woman to excuse herself.

“I’m not going so she can stay!” the woman spat. She refused to move from his lap.

“Joyce,” Callahan said with his notable arrogance. “Don’t disobey me.”

“But-” Her protest was silenced by Callahan’s cruel hand stinging her face. Roughly he shoved her to the floor.

“Leave,” he commanded. This time Joyce followed the directions given to her. However, she threw Lou a disgusted glare before leaving them alone. “I hope I didn’t upset you,” Marcus said as if he were a gentleman.

“No,” Lou lied. Everything about the man upset her. He appeared content with her answer and motioned for her to have a seat. Hesitantly, Lou sank into the comfortable chair.

“So, to what do I owe the honor of your visit?” He turned his attentive gaze away from her long enough to motion a waiter to approach the table.

“I’m only here to deliver a message,” Lou stated.

“Why not over dinner?” Marcus didn’t wait for her consent. Instead, he ordered a meal for Lou and a dessert for himself. Before the waiter left, Marcus insisted on having the finest wine the restaurant offered.

During Lou’s absence, her accomplices managed to pass secret messages to each other. All the riders knew about Lou being the one to meet up with Callahan except Kid. Jimmy left that small detail out when he visited with Kid earlier. He would be furious if he discovered Lou went alone. Instead, Jimmy only told him about Callahan’s partner. Why make Kid worry? Besides, he was doing enough worrying for the both of them. Lou should have been back by now. “Hell,” Jimmy exclaimed as he left the saloon. He had to make sure Lou was all right.

“I think you’ve had enough,” the barkeep stated to the man who sat beside Kid at the bar.

“”Nope,” the drunk answered as he passed the man a sizable amount of money for another shot of whiskey. His offer pacified the bartender, and he poured another drink for the man.

“Anything you want, Mr. McCarty.” The bartender collected the money and left the heavily intoxicated man to finish his drink.

“Daniel McCarty?” Kid asked. He had an idea that was floating in his head. Maybe he could use the man’s drunken state to his advantage.

“Yep,” the man slurred. “And you are?” He practically fell when he turned to face Kid.

“Sam Hunter,” Kid lied. Quickly he helped steady the man. “Mr. Callahan sent me to find you.” From what Kid reasoned, McCarty was a middle man. Mostly likely, Callahan didn’t keep him up to date with all his projects. In fact, Callahan probably only talked to McCarty when his assistance was of need.

“Marcus?” the man asked in surprise. “Was he mad?” The man had an obvious fear of his partner that even alcohol couldn’t subdue.

“No,” Kid reassured. “He just wanted me to talk to you about some army documents he received.” He knew he was taking a chance by playing with McCarty’s mind, but he had a feeling the man could give him several leads to follow. Besides, judging by the man’s state, he would have a terrible time remember their conversation the next day.

“Oh, the gold shipments,” McCarty exclaimed in relief. Suddenly he frowned in confusion. “You work for Mr. Callahan?”

“Yeah, I help relieve the riders of the lists.” The intoxicated man easily accepted Kid’s answer. Unfortunately, the men behind Kid didn’t. Immediately, the barrel of a gun was placed firmly into Kid’s back.

“Is that so?” a rough voice growled. The second man approached the partner, and showed him the same hospitality Kid was receiving. “Why don’t we just go see about that?”

“So Mr. Cody would like to meet with me tomorrow,” Callahan finally acknowledged. It was obvious she was tired of hearing about how wealthy he was. “Did he say what about?”

“I dare not say,” Lou replied. Callahan wasn’t as naive as he pretended to be, but then neither was she. “Mr. Cody always says a woman’s business is far from his business. So, I only do what I’m told.”

“That’s odd.” He leaned across the table and embraced Lou’s hand. “I could have sworn I saw fire in your eyes when we first met.” Looking deep into her eyes, he added, “I still do.”

“There you are,” Jimmy scolded. His presence surprised the dinning couple. “Mr. Cody expected you back an hour ago. He’s very disappointed in you.” Firmly he embraced Lou’s arm and helped her to her feet.

“Tell your boss I look forward to our meeting tomorrow,” Callahan declared. He waved goodbye to Lou before the gunfighter could drag her out of the restaurant. Things were becoming very interesting.

“I think it went well,” Lou informed Jimmy once it was safe. The masked expression on her friend’s face showed he was displeased with her actions. “I didn’t have a choice,” she said defensively. “He insisted I have dinner with him.” Jimmy just nodded his head in response, and Lou knew he didn’t want to admit how worried he was.

“I’ll walk you back to your room,” Jimmy stated.

“But I thought we were suppose to meet up at the saloon?” That had been the plan earlier.

“Well, that was an hour ago,” he answered with slight resentment due to her long absence. At the very moment he realized how much he sounded like Kid. Now he finally understood how Kid felt every time Lou didn’t return from a run when expected.

“I can find my own way back,” Lou spit angrily. Without another word, Lou hurried off and left Jimmy standing in the street.

Jimmy just shook his head. He had to get back to the saloon anyways and let them all know Lou was safe. As Jimmy was entering the saloon, Cody was leaving. He couldn’t help but notice the concern in Cody’s eyes. “Lou’s fine,” Jimmy reassured him.

“It’s not Lou I’m worried about,” Cody corrected. “Kid’s missing. Buck and Ike have searched his room and the livery stable but came up with nothing.”

“Katy there?” Jimmy questioned. At the same time he was wondering what trouble Kid had gotten himself into.

“Yeah,” Cody answered. “Something in our plan has gone terribly wrong.” They had failed to watch each other’s back. That was a mistake they couldn’t afford to make.

Mabel listened sadly as her abusive boss commended her on her brilliant performance. Naturally he apologized for the extreme measures used to create a reliable test. She hated the man more and more with every breath he took. “One day someone will make you pay,” Mabel silently reassured herself. Then he wouldn’t be able to mistreat her and the other girls at the saloon. They were all tired of doing his bidding. Fear and a nice cash reward were the only things Callahan offered. He showed them no love. Mabel was very envious of Louise. Her companions genuinely cared about her.

“You have finally proven your worth,” Callahan acknowledged as he seated himself beside her. He raised his hand and lightly traced his fingers along her chinline. Noticing how Mabel flinched at his touch amused him.

“May I go now?” She asked carefully. Every minute of every second in Callahan’s company was suffocating. Mabel felt as if she was being slowly buried alive as her boss grew closer to her.

“Now why-” An unexpected knock on the door interrupted his interrogation. Drawing his gun, Callahan approached the door. “Who is it?”

“It’s me, Davis,” one of his gang members called from outside the room. “I think I have someone you’ve been anxious to meet,” he said with a disgusting smirk. The man’s excitement told Kid he was in more danger than he had originally bargained for. Callahan would surely kill him that very night.

On to Chapter Seven