Blood and Love

It was almost high noon and the town was dead quiet. The air was thick with tension. Two men stood in the middle of the street. They stared eye to eye with contempt as their hands hovered inches from the butts of their pistols, ready to draw in the blink of an eye. The street was clear save the ones about to do the shooting, as no one in this town was enough of a dunce to stand anywhere near a man that could very well be shot. People gathered on their wooden porches to watch. The wooden porch of the saloon was crowded with people. They crowded around the windows as well. One man even began to take bets as to which man would survive the showdown.1

The odds were heavy against the newcomer. He was a rumored outlaw who had already managed to gain quite the reputation in the short time that he was there. He must have been in his early twenties. The other man was an old grizzled civil war veteran. He was known as the Grizzly for his ferociousness and tenacity in battle. He rode with General Sherman during his infamous march through the south. He was twice as old as his opponent. It had all started when the newcomer first came into town.2

It was shortly after dusk when the newcomer came riding into town. He had a mane of long blond hair that framed his face. He had a look on his face that seemed to say do me ill and you'll be a dead man. He had been through a long ride, and wanted to stop and rest. He also wanted some drink for his parched throat. He saw the lanterns burning at the saloon. The drunken revelry got louder and louder as he got closer. He tied his horse's rains to the post outside the saloon and went in through the bat wing doors.3

The saloon was packed with men drinking and the piano player cranked out a lively tune. As the newcomer approached the bar, he was bumped into by a very drunk man with a scraggly beard and very few teeth.4

"Watch were you're going friend." He said. "Some folks may not take too kindly to you bumping into them."5

"I'll stroll where ever in the hell I damn well please!" The drunk yelled. Then added in a mocking tone,"friend." Everyone in the bar turned to watch. The saloon was suddenly silent.6

"If you wish to start a fight I'll gladly oblige you." The newcomer said. "We can use pistols, knives, or fists. It's your choice."7

"Think your tough?" The drunk man asked mockingly. He then scooped up a bottle and smashed it against the bar, leaving a jagged edge. He swung it at the newcomer. The newcomer ducked under the first swing and pulled out his knife. When the drunk swung at him a second time with the bottle, he slashed his hand, causing him to drop it. Then he stabbed him in the throat, twisted his knife then yanked it out. Blood spilled out of the drunk's throat and down his chest like a waterfall. He collapsed. He lay in a growing pool of his own blood as he struggled to take in his last few breaths of air.8

"Take heed all of you!" The newcomer yelled. "My name is James Bonnie. Folks call me Jimmy." The whole saloon listened in silence. "I look to start a quarrel with no man. In fact if you act decent towards me I'd have no problem discussing the weather and any other matters with you. Hell I might even buy you a drink. Start a quarrel with me however, and I will end it fast." He pointed towards the dead man as he said this. "Take heed to what I have said, for this is the last time I will say it." He then sat down at the bar. As soon as he sat down several men lifted the body and carried it away. Then someone mopped up the blood. Everyone in the bar went back to their conversations. Some talked about what they had just seen.9

"I saw that man on a wanted poster quite a few miles east." One man said to the group of people that he was with. They all called him Peg Leg because, well, he had a peg leg. It got shot off in the civil war. "They say he robbed and burned a train station." He said. Jimmy checked into the hotel that was over the stables that night. Word of the fight and what he had said was all over town the next day. Peg Leg went to his friends house the next day. His friend was the commander of his unit during the war. Both men had been through something only they could understand, thus they had a deep friendship. 10

"You missed some excitement at the saloon last night." Peg Leg said as he sat across the table from his friend, a man known as the Grizzly.11

"What happened?" The Grizzly asked. Peg Leg responded by telling him about the fight in the saloon the night before. "Considering the attitude he exhibited when drunk and the frequency he was in that condition, I'm surprised he's lived this long." The Grizzly said, speaking of the drunk that Jimmy had killed. "So you said you recognized this Jimmy fellow?"12

"Yeah." Peg leg said. "When I went to see my daughter back east I saw him on a wanted poster. Speaking of which, where's Veronica?"13

"She took the wash down to the river." The Grizzly responded. "What was he wanted for?"14

"Burning and robbing a train station." Peg Leg said.15

"Lets hope for his sake he meant what he said about not starting trouble. If he does bring trouble to my town, then hell's coming to breakfast."16

"With that attitude you should run for sheriff." Peg Leg said.17

"I'm to old for that." The grizzly said. "Besides, I've done my bit, we both have."18

Meanwhile, Jimmy was down at the river washing his clothes.19

"Now that's something I've never seen, a man doing his own washing." He heard a woman say. He turned toward the sound to see a beautiful young woman walking toward him with her own laundry. 20

"I travel on my own." Jimmy said to the young woman. "I got to rely on myself for everything." He said as the young woman got closer. She had long dark hair that spilled over her shoulders and down her chest. He guessed that she was his age or just a little younger. She had a head turning body and a set of hypnotic eyes. He had never seen anyone like her. 21

"I've done all the washing for my father and I ever since my mom died." She said.22

"Sorry to hear that." Jimmy said. "How did she pass?"23

"Some no good coward southerners killed her during the war. They would have probably raped me to, only I was just a small lass and had not yet blossomed." she said. "After that, daddy joined up with the north and had his vengeance with those filthy southerners. My aunt Mary looked after me while daddy was away at war. She's my aunt on my mothers side. Anyway, what's your name?" She asked.24

"My name is Jimmy." He said.25

"I heard quite a bit of talk about you as I was going through town." She said. "Is it true what they say?" She asked.26

"That depends on what it is they say." Jimmy responded.27

"Did you kill a man in the saloon last night?"28

"Yes, to keep him from doing the same to me." Jimmy said.29

"So are you on the run? Did you really burn down a train station?" She asked.30

"What are you a Pinkerton?" He asked. 31

"No." She responded, some what confused.32

"Then why all the questions?" He asked.33

"Cause I'm curious." She responded.34

"What's your name?" Jimmy asked.35

"Veronica." she responded.36

"That's a nice name." He said.37

"Thank you." She said.38

They talked about little insignificant things as they washed their clothes. Jimmy knew he was attracted to her and he was becoming more so by the second. What Jimmy didn't know was that Veronica was feeling the same. She also didn't know that Jimmy was going through the same thing as her.39

"Would you like me to walk you back to your house?" Jimmy asked when they were both near finished with their washing.40

"Sure." Veronica said. Her heart skipped a beat when she said it. "You're quite the gentleman to see me safely home." She said. They walked in silence for a while. Then she said, "It's almost hard to believe that just last night you killed a man."41

"Believe it." Jimmy said. "It happened."42

"You've got such a hardened look to your face." She said. "I can tell you've been through a lot. Yet your eyes seem to tell a different story."43

"Really?" Jimmy asked, puzzled. "What is the story that my eyes tell?"44

"They say the eyes are a window to the soul." Veronica said. "When I look deep in your eyes I see a certain tenderness and vulnerability that that menacing scowl of yours can't hide."45

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jimmy asked.46

"I'm saying that I think deep beneath the violent outside exist a sensitive person." She said. Jimmy smirked and snickered a little at that. It was then that they came to her house.47

The Grizzly was sitting by the window when he saw Veronica coming back from the river. There was a young man walking next to her that he had never seen. He went outside to meat him and get to know a little about him and to see if he had any kind of interest in Veronica. If that was the case he would have to go through his usual threats with him.48

"Are you Veronica's father?" Jimmy asked when he saw an old hardened looking man with a scraggly beard step out of Veronica's house.49

"Indeed I am." He said.50

"I was doing my own washing when Veronica came down to the river. We had a little small talk and I decided to escort her home." Jimmy said.51

"My name's Seth. Folks call me Grizzly." He said.52

"My name's James Bonnie." Jimmy said as he extended his hand toward Grizzly. "Folks call me Jimmy."53

The Grizzly's eyes went wide when Jimmy said that. Jimmy's hand hung in the air for several silent seconds.54

"Go hang the wash." He said to Veronica. She did as she was told. After she was gone he turned to Jimmy. "Listen here outlaw." He growled. "Friend of mine saw you on a wanted poster back east. I know all about you being on the run. So if you think you can come into town and deflower my daughter and run off you got another thing coming. You do the slightest thing to her and I will hunt you down, kill you and cut your pecker off. Not necessarily in that order either."55

"I'm just passing through town." Jimmy said. "I won't be long and I won't deflower you daughter and run off."56

"You damn well better be honest when you say that one." Grizzly said. "After you leave I don't ever want to see you around my daughter again. If you're somewhere and she shows up, leave immediately without saying a damn word to her. I'm gonna tell her the same thing. Are we crystal?"57

"Crystal." Jimmy responded. Then he walked away. The Grizzly sat and watched as he went down the dirt road. Then he went out back were Veronica was hanging the wash.58

"I don't want you carousing with that outlaw ever again." He said. "Do you understand that?"59

"Why?" She asked.60

"Don't you dare ask why." He said. "I'm your father and I've given you an order that's why."61

"Jimmy's a nice man though." She said pleadingly.62

"Don't argue or I'll switch you real good!" He yelled. "That man robbed and burned a train station! He's nothing but an outlaw and he wants nothing more than to deflower you! I'm telling you right now to stay the hell away from that man!"63

"Yes father." She said. 64

The next day Jimmy went down to the saloon.65

"Did you hear the news?" The bartender asked.66

"What news?" Jimmy asked.67

"The Pacific Railroad Company is thinking of running their tracks by this town. Then there would be a train station just a short ride away. It would be good for this town." The bartender responded.68

"The railroads are a good thing." Jimmy said. "They help people travel and what not. The railroad companies, on the other hand, are a bunch of good for nothing yellow bellied swine."69

"What do you got against railroad companies friend?" He asked.70

"It's a long story barkeep, and I'll leave it at that." Jimmy said.71

"Fair enough." The bartender responded. "I didn't mean to pry into any personal affairs of yours."72

"No offense taken barkeep." Jimmy said before returning to his drink. After he had been drinking for a little while he heard the metallic click of the cocking of a pistol. He felt the barrel pressed into the back of his head. Then he felt a second gun barrel in the back of his head. "I guess you yellow bellied swine ain't got the decency to look me in the face when you shoot me."73

"Were gonna try not to shoot you friend." Jimmy heard one of them say. "We make more money if we bring you in alive."74

"We'll gladly blow your head off if we have to, though." Another one of them said.75

"You working for the railroad?" Jimmy asked.76

"Shouldn't matter to you none who we work for." One of them said. "Now take of your guns and lay them on the bar."77

These men were bounty hunters. Jimmy knew that for sure. They weren't going to try and kill him. That gave him a bit of an advantage. He would just have to wait for the window of opportunity to appear. He unbuckled his gun belt and set it on the bar. He hated the thought of anyone else getting their hands on his prized pearl handled pistols.78

"Your knife to friend." One of them said. He set his knife on the bar as well. "Tie his hands behind his back." He said. One of the bounty hunters holstered his pistol and held Jimmy's hands behind his back while the other one still held his gun on him. Then the man holding the gun felt a shock wave of pain and blood run down the back oh his head. He turned to see Veronica standing there, holding a broken bottle. He stared at her with growing anger.79

Jimmy ran his shoulder into the bounty hunter that was trying to tie his hands. He then grabbed his guns and shot the man that Veronica hit. His head snapped back and the back of his head exploded. Then he quickly turned and shot the other man. He fell like a puppet whose strings had been cut. 80

Veronica stood in wide eyed surprise. Jimmy grabbed her and they ran out of the bar. He took her around to the back of the building.81

"You're a damn fool!" He yelled. "Do you realize what kind of trouble you could get into doing that kinda thing! What the hell were you doing in a saloon anyway!"82

"I was walking down the path and saw those men with the guns to your head and I wanted to help you." She said.83

"Why the hell would you do something like that?" He shouted. "I'm an outlaw, I'm not worth you risking your life for! Why the hell would you risk your life for me!"84

"Well I'd have to say that when I met you down at the river I became rather fond of you." She said.85

"Your such a naive girl." He said. "I'm telling you for your own good not to do anything stupid like falling in love with me. I'm an outlaw, nothing more. I've got nothing to offer you. A beautiful woman like yourself could do much better than me." Jimmy said.86

"Are you saying that you don't have any feelings for me?" She said as tears streamed down her cheeks. Jimmy felt sick to his stomach when he saw those tears.87

"No, I'm saying I'm no good for you." Jimmy said as he put his hand on Veronica's shoulder to try and comfort her. She buried her face in his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. He hated to admit it to himself, but he didn't want to let her go. "Besides, you father doesn't want us to have anything to do with each other." She rubbed her cheek on his and whispered in his ear.88

"What father doesn't know won't hurt him. Meet me back here the same time tomorrow." She then pulled him toward her and gave him a parting kiss that seemed to send an electric charge through his body. What neither of them new was that Peg Leg had seen the scuffle in the saloon and had shadowed them outside. He didn't want to get caught following them, however, so he didn't get close enough to hear what they were saying. Just as they parted he was on his way to the Grizzly's house to tell him what he had seen.89

Jimmy thought of Veronica the rest of the day even though he tried his damnedest not to. Every time he would force his mind to go to another subject, her face would flash back through his mind. Sometimes he would remember the kiss, and feel that electric charge all over again. Damn it! How the hell could this happen? He told himself. He hardly knew this woman yet she was consuming so much of his thoughts and so much of his feelings. What the hell's happening to me? Jimmy asked himself. How the hell could I have gotten so soft?90

"What the hell did I tell you about that outlaw!" Grizzly yelled after Peg Leg told him what he had seen. "Now he's got you helping him dodge the law! Honestly I thought you were a smart girl! I would have never though you would be so naive!"91

"But father those folks weren't lawmen." Veronica pleaded.92

"No but they were going to take him to face the lawmen back in the territory he committed the crime in."93

"You don't know Jimmy like I do!" Veronica pleaded. Grizzly backhanded her so hard she fell to the ground.94

"I told you to stay away from that swine and I meant it! Now you stay here and don't go anywhere! Don't think I'm so stupid that I won't know when you've seen him!"95

Jimmy woke up in his hotel room later that night and it was pitch black. He felt the presence of someone else in the room. He reached for his six shooters.96

"Don't try it. I've got a gun on you." The Grizzly said.97

"So do I." Said another voice in the darkness.98

"How many of you yellow bellies are there?" Jimmy asked.99

"You would like to know wouldn't you." The Grizzly said. "Now turn over and lay on your belly." Jimmy had no choice but to comply. "Tie his hands behind his back." He said to his conspirator. Jimmy's hand were tied. Then the Grizzly put his pistol to the back of his head.100

"If you shoot me in the back of the head with my hands tied, how the hell are you gonna convince the sheriff that it was a fair fight?" Jimmy asked.101

"I got some fast horses out there. I could easily kill you dead right now and take off. No one, including the sheriff, would be none the wiser. I got other plans for you though. Now get up and start walking." Jimmy was led outside. In the moonlight he saw that the Grizzly had only had one other man with him. The man had a peg leg. They led him to the horse trough. The Grizzly shoved his head into the water. Jimmy struggled to no avail. His lungs started to burn and everything seemed hazy. Then the Grizzly pulled his head out of the water and put a knife to his throat.102

"I could easily cut your throat right now." He said as he ran the blade down Jimmy's cheek. The blade was razor sharp and it made a clean cut. It burned. Jimmy felt his blood running down his cheek. "Or I could drown you, bludgeon you to death or leave you in the middle of the desert to die. Instead I will show you infinitely more mercy than you deserve and leave you one last chance to get the hell out of town." Then he punched him in the stomach, causing him to bend over. He hit him another time, knocking him to the ground. Then he mercilessly kicked him again and again. "Be gone tomorrow outlaw or it's your life." The Grizzly said just before him and Peg Leg left Jimmy coughing in the street.103

Jimmy planned to leave town the next day. Normally he would kill the man in the Grizzly's position, but he didn't want to leave Veronica without a father. Veronica would be heartbroken to never see him again, but she would recover. Jimmy knew that if he left town, Veronica would be better of in the long run. That poor naive girl with her crazy romantic fantasies would easily find someone else to fall in love with. I'll head out tomorrow, he told himself as he went back to sleep.104

The next day he woke up and looked out the window. He saw a man in a clean expensive suit walking down the dirt road. He had several big, scruffy rough looking characters with him. He saw the face of that man and instantly he knew that he could not leave this town. Not yet at least. He could not hide from Veronica, but he would have to explain to her that he wasn't going to stay in town for very long. Maybe her feelings would be hurt, but it would be better for everyone that way.105

Jimmy followed the man in the suit. As he was following him, he heard Veronica yell his name. She ran out of nowhere and hugged him, almost knocking him over. The man in the suit turned and saw Jimmy. They both locked eyes for several seconds, then the man in the suit turned and kept walking.106

"What are you crazy?" Jimmy said. "Anyone could see you with me out here!"107

"Then we'll go behind the saloon where they won't see us." She said. They went behind the saloon. "I'd like to believe you're a good man, you certainly seem so. Why are you on the run Jimmy?" She asked. "What have you done?" 108

"I've never done anything that I didn't think was right." Jimmy said.109

"Why were those bounty hunters after you?" She asked.110

"All right here goes." Jimmy said. Then he paused for several seconds and let out a long sigh. He looked toward the ground and closed his eyes, as if he were remembering something painful.111

"Years ago I lived back east." He said. "My father, mother, my sister and me lived together on a nice ranch. Then that man with the railroad company wanted to buy our home to build a railroad there. It was our home, we didn't want to leave. So father refused to sell."112

"The railroad company man said,the world is moving on with or without you." Jimmy said. "We're big time, you don't mess with us!. He said before he left. Later that night i woke up to the dogs barking and saw a few horses approaching the house. The men riding them had hoods over their faces. The next thing I know, there was this loud boom, the windows shattered and the house caught on fire. I was the only one to survive that fire."113

"That's terrible." Veronica said. "I couldn't imagine that."114

"I ran after that. I came across a train station that belonged to the Pacific Railroad Company. The same folks that burned my house down and killed my family. So I stuck one of my daddy's injun shooters in the tellers face, told him to get out. I wasn't thinking of robbing the place, just torching it. The teller thought I was robbing the place and handed over the money. I figured I'd take it rather than let it burn up with the station. So I set fire to the place but I left the teller alive. He ran to the law. I been on the run ever since."115

"Wow that's.... I really don't know what to say." Veronica said in a hushed voice.116

"You don't have to say anything." Jimmy said. "Just do yourself a favor and stay away from me. That man in the suit that was walking down the street with all those big guys is a man by the name of Ben Palterer. He's the man that tried to buy my family's house all those years ago. He's the one that killed my family. I'm going to kill him even if I have to go through his entire entourage to do it. I may not live through this, but if I do I'll be back on the run again. That ain't any kinda life for you."117

"I'll run to the end of the earth with you, Jimmy." Veronica said. "Give me a gun and teach me to shoot and I'll fight with you."118

"Veronica god damn you, don't you get it!" Jimmy said as he grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. "I am an outlaw. It's the hardest and loneliest life you can choose. You got no one and nothing except for your horse and six gun. Traveling is brutal. Your hot as hell in the day and cold as hell in the night. Sometimes you get so hungry it's like a pain in your stomach that won't go away. You can go weeks, sometimes months without any kinda bath."119

"With you by my side, I could do it." She said. "I would be willing to do that to be with you." She said as she hugged him tightly. He hugged her back and once again didn't want to let go.120

"This is not your fight." Jimmy said. "Just stay out of the way. I can't let anything happen to you. If you care about me you'll stay out of my way and leave this to me. Promise me." He looked into her eyes as he said this. "Now I want you to look me in the eye and promise me that you'll stay out of this."121

"I promise I will stay out of it." She said.122

"Good." Jimmy said. "Now I guess this is goodbye." He said.123

"I guess it is." Veronica said quietly as tears flowed down her cheeks. She turned and ran off. Jimmy forced his mind onto what he was about to do and away from the image of Veronica's tear streaked face.124

"Hello folks, my name is Ben Palterer." He said as he walked into the tavern. "I'm gonna turn this place into a boom town." Jimmy walked into the saloon. He saw that Ben only had one of his men with him. "I'm gonna run a rail through this town then all of the businesses here will have people coming from all over the country and doing business here." Peg Leg saw that Jimmy was in the bar. He instantly hobbled over to the Grizzly's house. "So when it comes to a vote, you folks need to vote in the interests of yourselves and vote aye for a railroad in your town." After his speech, Ben sat down at the bar next to Jimmy. 125

"I heard about that girl helping you kill those bounty hunters I hired." He said in a whisper. "You have cost me entirely too much money. Just like I told your old man, the world is moving on. My company looks to reap the benefits and no one will stand in the way. You cost my company way too much money. You're gonna have to pay for that. That's why my men went and grabbed that little girlfriend of yours. If you're not standing in front of the hotel with your gun belt off and held high at high noon my men and I are gonna take turns raping her then we'll kill her before we kill you. If you show up there tomorrow at high noon however, I'll spare her and just kill you. So sleep on it, come up with a decision by high noon tomorrow." He said before him and his hired gun left.126

"JAMES BONNIE! YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING LOW DOWN COWARD!" The Grizzly yelled from outside of the saloon. "I TOLD YOU IF YOU DIDN'T LEAVE TOWN YOU'D BE DEAD! NOW I'M CALLING YOU OUT RIGHT HERE AND NOW!" Jimmy downed his drink and walked outside. It was almost high noon and the town was dead quiet. Jimmy and the Grizzly were now in a good old fashioned Mexican standoff.127

"What good would a shoot out do either of us?" Jimmy asked.128

"I've got to kill you to keep you away from my daughter." The Grizzly said.129

"Your daughter has been kidnapped by the railroad company. It's their attempt to get at me. Ben has got quite a few guns on his side. Saving Veronica would be more probable with two gunmen instead of one." Jimmy said.130

"So you'd be willing to risk your life to save Veronica?" The Grizzly asked.131

"I've got unfinished business with Ben, I want to see him dead. Veronica didn't deserve to get dragged into this mess. I can't let her die because of me." Jimmy said.132

"So you care about her?" The Grizzly asked.133

"Are you with me or not?" Jimmy asked.134

"Yeah." The Grizzly responded. "You may not be that bad after all outlaw." He said as they walked toward each other and shook hands.135

They were watched intently the whole time by everyone in the saloon. 136

"I bet that Jimmy would win the standoff so I won the bet." One man said. 137

"I bet that the Grizzly would win so I won the bet." Another man said.138

"Both of you are wrong." Said the man who had taken the bets. "In betting on the victor you were betting on who would kill the other. Neither one was killed so I keep all of your money."139

At high noon the next day Jimmy stood outside of the hotel with his gun belt held high.140

"I'm here!" He yelled. "Now come out with Veronica!"141

Ben emerged along with one of his hired guns. The hired gun was holding Veronica and had a knife to her throat. Jimmy saw that there were several more gunmen in the windows.142

"It was rather stupid of you to expect me to be true to my word." Ben said, laughing.143

"I know." Jimmy said. "I didn't." Then a gunshot cracked through the air. The man holding the knife to Veronica's throat was shot. His head exploded, spraying blood and bits of brain all over Veronica's face. There were several more shots, hitting the men at the windows. Jimmy pulled out his six guns as Ben tried to pull out his gun. Jimmy quickly shot his hand and both of his kneecaps. Ben fell to his knees and began wailing in pain. Jimmy shot him right between the eyes, cutting off his cries of agony. Veronica ran toward Jimmy. Jimmy grabbed her and they ran around the building across the way from the hotel. They heard more gunshots from the hotel as they ran. They went over to the other side of the building where there were two horses waiting. They jumped on one. The Grizzly jumped off of the roof and landed on one of the horses. He winced in pain when he landed.144

"I'm getting too old for this." He said.145

"Let's get going." Jimmy said just before they took off. As they rode through the desert they saw about a half dozen men chasing them from a long distance back. They were the rest of Ben's men.146

"We'll have to fight them." Jimmy said. "The terrain's too flat to hide and they won't stop chasing us, so we can't outrun them."147

"You can outrun them if I go head them off." The Grizzly said. 148

"But we are outnumbered. We probably couldn't take them together. You definitely wouldn't take them on your own." Jimmy said.149

"That doesn't matter." The grizzly said. "You will be able to get away with my daughter. I'm an old man, I'm on my way out anyway. You, however, got a lot of life left in you." He said.150

"All right then." Jimmy said as he and Veronica began to ride away.151

"Hey outlaw." The Grizzly said. "Take care of my daughter for me." Tears flowed down his cheeks as he said this. 152

"I will." Jimmy said. "I swear it upon my honor that I will." They looked each other in the eyes and nodded. The Grizzly put his reigns in his teeth and pulled both of his guns. He kicked his horse into a full gallop toward the gunmen. Jimmy and Veronica galloped in the other direction. They heard a cacophony of gunshots as they rode away. Veronica cried as she thought of her father. She squeezed Jimmy tightly as tears streamed down her face. They kept running and didn't look back. 153