Just Cause Universe 2: The Archmage (16 page)

Sally smiled. “That sounds just like him.”

“He’s a good guy, you know. You should really get back together with him.”

“That might be a problem. He won’t be born for another hundred and ten years.”

Shannon grinned. “Kind of gives a whole new meaning to the term
long distance relationship.”
 

After their nighttime conversation, Sally found it a lot easier to talk to Shannon, and in the process discovered a new friend in the Irish-Japanese girl.

Cheyenne was a bustling little town. They decided to see if they could avoid having to do any more performances and sold the horses for rail fare. “Now that we’re in a more populous region,” said Juice, “I want us to keep absolutely as low a profile as possible.” They bought train fare as far as Chicago. Juice and Will had conferred and decided that Boston was probably the best bet for an end destination in America. From there they should be able to board a ship headed for Europe and make their way to Austria.

“What happens when we get to Chicago and need money?” asked Sally.

“I’m sure some opportunity will present itself,” replied Juice.

They boarded the train and found it a welcome switch from traveling through the wilderness. The seats were comfortable, the breeze blowing through the cars was pleasant, and the rhythmic sound of the engine chugging away lulled Sally to sleep.

That all ended when the engine broke down five miles out of Ogallala, Nebraska. The train ground to a halt in the middle of the prairie and Sally sat up and looked around. She wondered if they were taking on water or passengers or something, but there seemed to be nothing and nobody around for miles. Will asked the conductor what happened and was informed the engine had thrown a rod and wouldn’t be going any further. It would be a few days’ wait while the railroad brought a heavy engine in from Cheyenne to tow the broken locomotive onto a siding so a new engine could complete the trip.

After riding for more than a hundred miles on horseback, a five-mile stroll seemed simple and relaxing to the time-displaced heroes, even burdened by their valises. Some of the passengers opted to wait with the broken train while others decided to walk to town. Halfway to town, a pair of wagon teams met them and brought them the rest of the way.

Ogallala was right in the middle of its busy season. Being a cow-town in the middle of summer, there were some twenty thousand head of cattle to the south and all the trail hands were staying in town. With the law of supply and demand in full effect, the Just Cause members acquired only
one
room in the second floor of Tuck’s Saloon, at an exorbitant rate with meals not included. The Saloon was filled with cattlemen, who gambled, drank, and fought all night long. It wasn’t exactly a restful place.

“We’re going to run out of money,” said Will after a foray to the general store for some basic foodstuffs the next day. “They’re selling stuff at three, four times more than normal.”

Juice counted the remaining cash they had left. “You’re right, Will. This won’t last us more than a couple of days and the train might not get here by then.”

“You think we should break out the traveling circus again?” asked Sally. She hadn’t been very excited about it that much in the first place.

“Actually, I’ve got a better idea if you all want to hear it,” offered Shannon.

“By all means,” said Juice.

“Everybody’s playing cards downstairs. Why not gamble to increase our funds?”

“Well, for one thing we could lose. That’s why it’s called
gambling
,” retorted Will.

“Not if we cheat,” pointed out Shannon.

“Didn’t they shoot people for cheating at cards?” asked Ace.

“No, wait… she’s right,” said Sally. “With Shannon in ghost mode, we have the perfect ace in the hole. We’ll know when to hold ’em, and when to fold ‘em.”

“And when to walk away and when to run,” said Ace. “I know that song.”

“And so on,” said Sally. “It’s a good advantage and we won’t get caught.”

“Won’t they get suspicious? Some of these guys do nothing
but
play cards.” Will sounded doubtful.

Shannon shrugged. “As long as we pick hands to lose, it’ll seem like we’re good, but not cheating.”

“We can’t
all
play. It has to be only one of us. Who’s going to do it?” asked Ace.

“Uh…” they all turned to look at Juice, who had an embarrassed smile on his face. “I… that is, my
wife
and I… we play a little poker up in the mountain casinos.”

Sally’s jaw dropped. “
You?
”

Juice shrugged. “Everybody needs a hobby. Mine happens to be playing cards.”

“Are you any good?” asked Will.

Now Juice looked
really
embarrassed. If his skin tone had been lighter, he would have been blushing all the way to his scalp. “I netted fourteen grand last year.”

“Sounds like we have our man,” chuckled Shannon. “Let’s work out a system of communication and go make some money.”

Half an hour later, Juice and the others went down to the main floor of the tavern. Shannon was already invisible and insubstantial, as it wouldn’t do for anyone to see her snooping around the tables. Juice had made it clear that he didn’t want the whole group kibitzing around him, so he suggested Will and Ace go find out if there was any news on when to expect a train. He smiled at Sally, telling her she could be his “lady luck,” which made her blush to the roots of her hair.

Juice surveyed the room and looked at the various card games in progress and which tables had empty seats. “That one,” he said, nodding toward a group of three that sat in a back corner. Sally slipped her tiny hand into his huge one and let him guide her across the crowded floor. He was easily the largest man in the room and people seemed eager to melt out of his way.

“Howdy,” he said to the three mustachioed men at the table. They looked up at him. “Mind if I join you fellas?”

One man leaned back, sucked on a thin black cigar, and glared at him. “I ain’t playin’ cards with no nigger,” he said.

Sally felt Juice’s hand clench and winced, but he made no other outward show of emotion.

“Relax, Hank,” said the man in the middle. “His money’s good as anyone else’s, and if he’s willin’ to lose to us, I’m willin’ to take it. You got money?”

Juice flashed some bills that he’d tucked into a pocket of his vest.

“Fair enough,” said the man. “Grab some wood, stranger. This is Hank, and that’s Joe. I’m Sam. Sam Bass. You heard of me?”

“I’m Jim, and no I haven’t.” Juice sat down gingerly in the chair, which creaked under his weight.

Sam smiled a predator’s smile at him. “You will.”

“Jesus wept, but you’re the biggest damn cowboy I’ve ever
seen
,” said Joe as he shuffled. “Whereabouts you from, Jim?”

“Boston.” Juice tossed his ante onto the table.

“Five card draw fine with you?” asked Joe.

“’Cause if it ain’t, you can always take your black ass elsewhere,” grumbled Hank under his breath.

“Hank,” said Juice with a smile. “I’m going to enjoy taking your money.”

Sally sat next to Juice, held his arm and pretended to watch him play. Mostly she surreptitiously glanced around the tavern to watch for potential trouble. Occasionally she felt a brush of cool mist across her face as Shannon’s ghostly form touched Juice with the code they’d worked out. Juice lost the first few hands, which made Sally nervous as she kept a mental tally on what cash they had left. Hank started upping bets, hoping to push him out of the game. When Juice took a large pot which almost tripled their starting wealth. Sally squeezed his arms gleefully.

The game continued for a couple of hours. Juice made a point of losing some large pots, which put the others more at ease when he won them back a few hands later. Soon the cheerful chatter waned as the pile of cash in front of Juice grew. Sally figured they had somewhere close to fifteen hundred dollars. Hank’s face was dark red as he toyed with his cards; a lot of the money in Juice’s pile had come from him.

“Well I’m
hung
if I can see how you’re doing it,” he said after losing another five hundred.

“Doing what, Hank?” asked Juice.

“Cheatin’.”

Conversation in the immediate vicinity ceased as the loaded word hung in the air. People looked toward them with interest.

“Are you accusing me, or can’t you stand that a
nigger
is kicking your sorry ass at cards?” Juice said softly.

“He’s awful big, Hank,” said Sam. “I hope you know what you’re doin’. We
all
lost money to him. I ain’t seen no cheatin’. He’s just a damn good card player.”

Sally was afraid things were about to get out of hand and tensed up, but Juice laid a calming hand on her shoulder. “Not that this hasn’t been fun, but I think I’ll call it a day. Joe, Sam, it’s been a pleasure.” Juice stood up from the table and turned his back on Hank to show the others he wasn’t afraid of the man. “I think perhaps I’ll see what other entertainment this town has to offer.” He collected his cash and stuffed it into the pocket of his vest.

Juice and Sally walked out of the quiet tavern. Sally could feel every eye in the place focused on them. She kept glancing back toward Hank and the others, expecting to see pistols come out, but they managed to get out without any incidents. “Find Will and Ace,” ordered Juice. “I’ll bet we haven’t seen the last of those guys. What’d we take off them?”

“About, uh, thirty-five hundred dollars.” said Sally. “I kind of lost count.”

Juice let out a low whistle. “No wonder they’re pissed. Shannon, you here?”

She faded into existence next to him. “Nice playing, boss. I bet you’d have won without any help from me.”

Juice shrugged. “Maybe. Certainly not so quickly, though. Sally, go.”

Sally trotted off, careful to keep her speed down. She found Will and Ace at the train station. “I’ve got good news and bad news. What do you want first?”

Will smiled. “I’ve got nothing but good news. The train’s on its way. It should be here within a half hour. What’s your good news?”

“We’ve got enough money to go all the way to Austria and then some,” announced Sally. “Juice had a really good run at the table.”

“What’s the bad news?” Ace’s eyes narrowed.

“The guys he won it from are
pissed
. I think they might come after him.”

Will shrugged. “So? He’s bulletproof, isn’t he?”

“No, she’s
right
,” said Ace. “We’ll totally blow our cover if he gets into a gunfight. We’d better go find him. Maybe they won’t feel so excited taking on a group.”

They hurried back to meet Juice. He was talking in low tones to Shannon out front of the general store when they walked up.

“Train’s a half hour away,” said Will. “We going to have trouble before then?”

“I don’t know,” admitted Juice. “I really don’t want to get into a fight, but
damn
, that guy made me mad. Calling me names I haven’t heard for a
very
long time.”

“Like what?” asked Ace.

“
Hey, nigger!
” shouted a voice from the direction of the tavern. They all looked to see Hank, Sam, and Joe standing in front of it.

“Like
that
,” growled Juice.

“We done talked it over with Hank,” called Sam, “and we reckon maybe he’s right after all.
Nobody
wins that much that quick.”

“We want our money back!” Hank had the flap of his holster undone and his hand hovered in its general vicinity.

Juice put a stern expression on his face. “Now, then… you boys lost to me fair and square. Looks to me like you’re just sore losers.” His courtroom voice boomed across the street. “Besides, there’s five of us and only three of you. Hardly fair to you.”

“You oughtta learn to count better, nigger,” retorted Hank. “There’s only four of you, and two of ‘em are women. I ain’t scared of them, nohow.”

“Four?” Juice glanced around. “Where’s Shannon?”

“Gone,” said Sally, mystified.

“Better give it back, boy,” said Sam. “Or there’s gonna be trouble.”

“You sure this is how you want to play it?” said Juice. “You don’t know anything about us. We might all be crack shots.”

Sam Bass smiled. “Well, I guess we’re about to find out, huh? Maybe if you live, I’ll let you join my gang. Fella of your size and smarts would go pretty far in that line of work. Better than driving stinking cattle.”

Along the street, people ducked into doorways, behind barrels, and peered out windows. Sam and his two men stepped out into the middle of the street, standing in a line, clearly getting ready to draw on the group.

“You want me to disarm them?” whispered Sally.

“No. Do
not
do anything… unusual. In fact, step off, Sally. That little derringer isn’t going to scare anybody.” Juice didn’t take his eyes from the three challengers.

“But…”

“
Now
, Sally.” Juice undid the flap on his own holster. Will did likewise, a terrified expression frozen on his face. Ace calmly swung around her rifle and held it low across her body.

Sally stepped into the doorway of the store and wondered how she could possibly help if she wasn’t allowed to use her speed powers.
Damn it all
, she thought to herself.
I’ll use them anyway if I have to.
 

In the silence, a shrill whistle from the approaching train sounded.

“We aim to leave on that train, Bass,” called Juice.

“Oh, you’ll leave on it all right. In a
pine box!
” shouted Hank.

With a thundering of hooves, a team of four horses pulling a wagon raced around the corner of the Ogallala House saloon, driven by Shannon and bearing down straight on Sam’s gang. They dove out of the way as the team hurtled past.

Shannon didn’t even slow down. As it drew alongside, she reached a hand down to Ace. Will and Juice leaped onto the running boards. Sally ignored Juice’s order about parahuman powers and flew out the door of the general store like a shot to climb onto the back of the wagon. Bass and his men ran to the front of Tuck’s Saloon and untied their own horses to pursue. Cheers and catcalls resounded along the street as the cowboys reveled in the free entertainment.