Rolo set up the targets. Five bottles at nearly fifty yards. A surprising distance for a revolver. I doubted many people in the world could hit a target that small so far away, but then again, this was a contest. The last thing we needed was a three-way tie.

Rolo tipped his hat to me.

“As the guest, and a lady, I reckon it’s only right that you go first.”

“How polite,” I said. “I’ll wear your hat with the utmost respect.”

I stood at the line.

“Rules?” I asked.

“Main condition is who gets the most bottles. If we get the same number of bottles, it comes down to who got them faster.”

I nodded, placing my hand on my gun.

Rolo gave me a moment to prepare, then shouted.

“Go!”

I drew my gun, aiming carefully, taking my time. The most bottles would win it. It was unwise to rush. I took a deep breath, firing at the first bottle. The bullet was so close it caused the bottle to sway. Remaining composed, I moved to the second. It shattered. Then to the third, fourth, and fifth. All shattering.

“Nice shootin’!” Clarence shouted, patting me on the shoulder hard.

He went out and replaced the bottles, returning to the line.

“Mind of I go, old man?”

Rolo nodded. “Be my guest. I always benefit from a good laugh before I shoot anyway.”

“Yeah yeah…” Clarence mumbled, standing on the line, resting his hand on his revolver.

“Go!” Rolo shouted.

Clarence drew. A slow, clumsy draw. His first shot hit the dirt in front of the targets. As for the second shot, I wasn’t sure where it went. The third shot missed. Fourth shot broke the bottle by grazing the edge. Fifth shot hit the platform, causing the last bottle to fall over.

“That one count?” Clarence asked.

“Obviously not. Didn’t even break,” Rolo said, grinning.

“Bah!” Clarence kicked the sand, holstering his revolver. “I’ve never been any count with these things.”

Despite him saying that, it was probably better than average shooting from this range.

I walked down this time, replacing the bottles and returning to find Rolo standing on the line. He took a sideways stance, indicating he intended to fire one-handed. A gunfighter stance, probably not ideal for competitions, but maybe this was what he was accustomed to.

“Go!” I shouted.

He drew his revolver. Slower than my draw, but smooth. He was on target faster. Cocking the hammer, he fired the first shot, shattering the glass. As quick as he could cock the hammer, he fired again, shattering the second bottle. In no time at all he repeated the movement three more times, shattering all three remaining bottles.

“Wow…” I said.

Even though I hadn’t used my enhancer, the man was over a hundred years old. It was seriously impressive. Thinking of what a guy like this was capable of in his prime nearly gave me the chills.

“Do both of you approve the results?” Rolo asked.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Clarence and I nodded.

“I guess you’re up a shiny new gun and a nice bottle of whiskey,” I said.

“Where did you learn to shoot like that?” he asked.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that? You outshot us both pretty spectacularly. Even if I’d gotten all five bottles, you got yours twice as fast as mine,” I said.

“Fair enough. A lifetime of practice and too many gunfights, I guess. And luck. I’ve always had a lot of luck.”

“I’m not sure. I’ve practiced a little. The implant I have can’t be completely turned off when I’m concentrating so I’m sure that factored in too. I’m probably cheating without even realizing it.”

Rolo laughed. “You’re quite a woman, Taylor. The world needs more like you.”

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a handful of cartridges, replacing the ones I’d spent.

Rolo raised an eyebrow. “That’s a big round. Ain’t no target shooting pistol, that’s for sure. You put yourself at a disadvantage there.”

I shrugged. “Maybe we’ll do a rematch before I leave.”

“All or nothing? I see you like to gamble big.”

Clarence nudged me with his elbow.

“He likes big gamblers so he can take them for everything they have. You’ll be walking out of here in just your underwear you keep letting him talk you into these.”

“I ain’t that bad,” Rolo protested.

“You ain’t? If you say so,” Clarence said, going back over to the campfire and picking up a half-eaten bowl of stew I was certain wasn’t his.

Rolo and I joined him.

“Satisfied?” I asked.

“More than,” Rolo replied, looking around. About a dozen men remained, loitering about. “You boys all staying?” he shouted, looking at each of them.

“Yessir,” one man said, followed by a chorus of nods and agreements.

“About half a dozen for each task… that’s…” Clarence mumbled, scraping his spoon around his bowl to get every drop.

“Stretching us pretty thin,” I said, completing his thought. “Is it possible?”

“Does that matter?” Clarence said, shrugging as he scooped the last spoonful of stew into his mouth.

“Depends on how you look at it,” I said. “I’ve got things I need to do after.”

“Fair enough,” Clarence said, looking to Rolo.

“It we had a superior force, we could potentially avoid bloodshed. With so few of us, they’ll fight for sure. But I’ve trained these fellas and I reckon they’ll outshoot any of the sheriff’s men. I just don’t feel good about sending them to their deaths.”

“Yeah, well, we all gotta die sometime,” Clarence said, bouncing his leg nervously.

“So, what’s the plan? How do we make this work with barely a dozen people?” I asked, eager to get into the specifics.

Rolo picked up a stick and began drawing squares in the sand, each representing a building in the main part of town. He marked two of them.

“Gun store is here, and the executions take place over here… Now, I reckon the whole town’s going to be gathered up for the execution. I bet you’ll be lucky to see a stray dog walking the main street. Probably nothing more than a tied-up horse or two. We’re not going to need to split even. One of us can go with one other person to the gun store. We’ll take advantage of the dead streets to bring a small wagon through, then load it around back of the store. Need it to arrive about the same time we do the rescue.”

Clarence nodded.

“Best we take care of that before he makes it to the platform. After he leaves the jail. If we’re set up ahead of time, we can ambush them on the way. Even if they’re expecting it, we still stand a better chance. They’ll have more guards set up at the execution with better vantage points. Even if they know the fight’s coming, we can at least pick the spot and the time.”

“Good thinking,” I said. “I can go with one other to the gun store while you two and the rest handle the rescue. I can use my enhancer to move heavy crates faster if I need to.”

“What’s an enhancer?” Clarence asked, scratching his head.

Rolo shrugged. I forgot the fact that he probably wouldn’t know what one was either, depending on when he left. They’d only been developed in the last decade, by Frelya.

“Implant in my brain. Takes the human body beyond theoretical limits for brief periods of time. It allows me greater control over my body and lets me concentrate my energy on certain things. I could go several nights without sleep and still feel rested, for example. I could lift twice as much as a large man, or jump a long distance. Or if I’d used it in our competition, shot through five bottles faster than the gun could probably handle.”

Clarence stared, wide-eyed. “You… you’re makin’ that up,” he said.

Rolo was impressed, but disagreed. “Oh no, Clarence, you’d be surprised what those scientists come up with.”

“And mine’s the weakest model,” I added. “Much more limited on what I can force it to do.”

“Why didn’t you get one of the better ones?” Clarence asked.

“I did. I abused it and almost died, so uh… I have this one now,” I said, half proud of the fact and half embarrassed. I still remembered Frelya’s scolding like it was yesterday.

I’d give anything to hear it again…

“Not surprised,” Rolo said.

“Thanks,” I said, as sarcastically as I could manage.

“Well okay… you and your… enhancer and whatever other fancy things you got can take one other man and clean out the gun store. Rest of us will set up an ambush. First gunshot will be your signal to go in, Taylor. Even if we don’t have to shoot nobody, we’ll still fire a warning shot to signal you. Just be ready,” Clarence said.

“Any objections or further suggestions?” Rolo asked.

“Good to go,” I said.