Chapter 16 – One Night in Wichita

August 8th, 1865

Wichita, KS

Kid Colt lay dead on the floor. The crowd of rebel Pawnee and psycho outlaws cheered from the bleachers. Marshall and Ira writhed around trying to break free and get to the kid. 10 Crows holstered his gun and gave an order to Red Savage, "Get the vest off the body and hand it over to DuPont. No funny business." 10 Crows motioned Slaughterhouse Slater to follow him and they walked out to the backroom. Just before they entered it, 10 Crows gave one last order...

"Kill the rest."

Wild Card's dog came crashing through the last untouched pain-glass window in the rundown church, a mural of Saint Michael cutting the neck of Satan with his golden spear. The dog landed on one of the officers in the benches. It tore at his neck with its bite and the rest of the rebel gang leaders shot at it. Peyton swung his feet around and knocked Ticonderoga to the floor. Wild Card Cass jumped up as he brought his bounded hands around in front of him, subduing the closest guard by the arm and gun, and shooting another guard across the altar who was aiming at Ira. Marshall spun himself around, yelling, “Don’t touch him!” and kicked Red Savage over as he was bent down sliding the vest off of Kid Colt's corpse.

DuPont screamed and drew a sword from his walking cane. The mad industrialist charged Marshall who was trying to get to the kid. After guiding his beaten-up brother over to Emma, Ira tackled DuPont before he could come down on Marshall with his sword. Marshall hung over Kid Colt, devastated. He defended the fallen boy with his embrace as if he were still alive. Now all freed Peyton found their gun belts and tossed them out. He slung his own around his waist and buckled it, in one fluent motion he drew and fired.

Ira, Peyton, and Wild Card now stood on the altar against Ticonderoga and Red Savage trying to get to their feet, the remaining gang officers wildly shooting through their rounds, and Jebediah FreeLander behind them all, lurking in the shadows. Peyton slung Kid Colt's double dragoon bandoleer over his shoulder. Marshall, still saying good-bye to the kid, released his grief and pulled himself together along with his buck knife out from his belt and finished what Red Savage started, cutting a piece of the impermeable clothe out. He unbuttoned the second and third buttons from the top of his shirt and slipped the cloth over his heart. The safest place he knew. He buttoned up and drew his sidearm.

Marshall ran over to Peyton, and Ira fell back with Will (still barely conscious) and Emma; who was presumably shocked mute, but still responsive. Marshall yelled for Ira amidst the gunfire and pointed at the backdoor 10 Crows and Slater went through.

Peyton yelled to Wild Card, "Take it!" as he threw him Kid Colt's guns. After Marshall signaled to Ira both him and Peyton made a run for the back room door and busted it in.

Wild Card flipped the kid's gun-belt around and spun it, slipping one out as he flung the belt to Ira. Ira caught the handle of the other gun holstered in the belt and drew it. They fired together, standing in front of Emma cradling her husband. Wild Card pointed his gun at Red Savage taking cover behind a box and pulled the trigger. Before Red Savage could move, the shot flew into his abdomen, and out the other side. Ira fired both his and Colt's guns on Ticonderoga as DuPont ran out the front door with a torn up cloth from the Twincloake vest. Ira shot the altar to shreds trying to kill Ticonderoga and got clipped in the shoulder by a bullet from an officer.

He fell to the floor and cringed as Emma cried in horror. But Ira was still awake. Wild Card covered him, and Ira saw something near the floor…the feet of Ticonderoga and Red Savage. Twelve shots; he fired six off lying down and got back to his feet finishing the rest of his rounds. His guns were empty, and the two outcast outlaws were dead. They were now fortified on the altar, against one front of enemies still in the benches. Wild Card concentrated his fire on the remaining officers. Jebediah FreeLander had vanished once again. Wild Card's dog came out from the benches clean.

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Marshall and Peyton busted into the back room only to find it empty. In the cabinet were the two rifles, the Winchester, and Ira's modified. Peyton took the Winchester, Marshall manned the modified. As Peyton stepped back from the cabinet, he stumbled upon a loose plank in the floor. They pulled it out and investigated. Underneath the church was a tunnel leading out. Peyton went to jump in, but Marshall stopped him, "I'll go first."

Peyton looked over at him and froze. Marshall didn’t notice his partner's despair as he jumped for the hole in the floor. He was grabbed by his collar and viscously pulled back up. Marshall was thrown to the other side of the room. Peyton went to fire his rifle but after he flung Marshall, Jebediah FreeLander grabbed the barrel of the Winchester rifle. Peyton abandoned the rifle and tried to draw his revolvers.

As the Winchester drifted down through the air, Peyton kicked it into old FreeLander, scrambling his attack, and fired on him. The bullets coated his chest and the assassin fell to the ground. FreeLander tried to draw his gun, but Peyton put two more bullets in his head. He twitched and fell limp. Marshall brushed the dust off himself as he got up. Peyton stood before him, a hero, reloading his guns. Rubbing the back of his head, Marshall spoke quaintly, "I can't believe he's dead."

April 1865

Appomattox, VA

Ira

Ira polished the barrel on his modified rifle. It had been two years since the Battle of Gettysburg, and he had yet been able to recall his memory after his time at Sniper training camp. At first, Ira tried writing his loved ones to help remember. It did not seem to work, but one lasting effect was the opening of a door that for a long time had been closed. Emma and Ira wrote to each other almost every week.

The first letter Emma wrote to Ira informed him of his older brother, Daniel’s death in the war. Daniel joined a militia shortly after Ira’s departure from the family. The reason he joined a militia was because of its country-spanning contributions to the war. Daniel figured it was his best bet to find his brother after he basically fell off the face of the earth after he enlisted. Unfortunately for Dan he never could find his brother before his time was up.

Emma helped Ira through his brother’s death, the war, and his memory loss; and he gave her something she could not find anywhere else. He had just finished writing her another letter, talking of how it had been some time since his battalion had seen any real action.

In the past year Ira was promoted to Sergeant. His sniper column had captured over fifty spies, and counter-intelligence responsible for turning the tide of the war in the North's favor. Ira had long since gone into early retirement. They were stationed in a courthouse in Appomattox, waiting for further orders. A runner came in and informed the commanding general that the Confederate general, Robert E. Lee, was on his way to surrender. They were assigned positions around the courthouse in high anticipation. Ira’s ranks were chosen to be the guardians of the official end of the Civil War.

He climbed up to his post. Suddenly, he began to receive flashes of memory. He could not figure out what he was seeing. He remembered guarding the National Mall. Just then a threat emerged. Ira targeted the rebel through his scopes. He got a good look. It was Addison Rey. Ira did not hesitate. He shot Addison dead. Ira reloaded and showed no remorse.

That’s because he had no recollection of his fallen rival, or the amulet that went unseen around his neck. Rebel terrorists began to bombard the town. Ira fired all around with his battalion along the rooftops. A convoy of carriages could be seen riding into town. Ira fired shot after shot, keeping radical nationalists from tossing fire bottles at the convoy. Ira could not believe that he was ending his time in the war by saving Robert E. Lee from his own men.

The carriage arrived safely at the courthouse. Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant met and signed the treaty that ended the rebellion. The Southern States dissolved the Confederacy and rejoined the Union. The era of Reconstruction began. Ira celebrated in the streets with the rest of the nation. It was not until the morning did he get her letter; the last letter he would ever get. Apparently, Emma had left out one crucial detail in all of her correspondence. Emma was still with Ira's brother Will. This last letter informed him that they were getting married. In fact, the exact words were, "'...By the time you are reading this, I'll have been married for more than two weeks..." Emma went on to ask him if what they had didn't have to change. Ira could not believe the audacity.

Ira would never write her again. For all Emma Riley knew Ira could have died in the final days of the war. The next few days Ira would spend trying to reenlist. His papers had already been pushed through though and he was forced to discharge. Ira watched the remaining time of his military tenure slowly slip away, wishing it would never end, for he had nothing to go home to.