It was a strange noise that woke Alain that night. His eyes fluttered open, and a low, tired groan escaped from between his lips as he turned to face the window. Thin rivulets of rain trailed down the glass, the droplets gently drumming against the roof of the inn where he was staying. Off in the distance, a bolt of lightning illuminated the cemetery, the headstones standing out for just a moment against the backdrop of the night sky.

And through the sound of the storm, Alain could have sworn that he heard a woman crying.

A chill went down his spine as he recalled Felix's story, but he was quick to brush it away.

"Fucking bartender, trying to get me spooked…" Alain muttered to himself as he turned over and closed his eyes, eager to get back to sleep.

Despite that, through the soft rainfall outside the window, he could almost swear he was still able to hear the occasional choked sob from off in the distance.

–

When the sun finally rose, Alain finally stood up with a low groan and a yawn. He hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, Felix's story and the rain having kept him up far later than he would have wanted. But that was in the past, thankfully – today was a new day, and it was also the day where he was finally going to leave Los Banos for greener pastures.

Alain threw on his clothes and stowed his weapons, then placed his Stetson back on his head and marched outside. He intended to leave immediately, but naturally, the universe had other plans.

"Hold, friend!"

Alain paused, a tired sigh escaping him. He turned towards the person who'd called out to him, and found a man in a nice suit chasing after him. He was an older gentleman, probably in his late forties if Alain had to guess, and had on a thick set of eyeglasses over his blue eyes. He was bald, and slightly overweight – enough that Alain took notice of it easily enough. A thick mustache covered his upper lip.

Does every man here except Az and I have facial hair? He couldn't help but wonder.

"Can I help you?" Alain asked.

The man stopped a short ways away, a friendly grin crossing his face. "I would certainly hope so! Couldn't help but notice that it seemed like you were about to leave town. I was wondering if I could maybe convince you to stay by offering you some work?"

"What's it to you?" Alain asked.

"Ah… well, I'm the mayor of this town, Adam Ansley. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Ansley stuck out his hand, and Alain reluctantly shook it.

"Anyway, are you interested?" Ansley questioned.

"Depends on the nature of the job, I guess," Alain said.

"Excellent! Well, I'm sure by now you know about the mines-"

"I do," Alain interrupted. "Felix told me about them. Something about trying to attract investors into town to fund the mine."

"Precisely correct. Now, the plan is solid, of course, but there is one catch, as there always is."

"Of course…" Alain sighed. "What do you need me to do?"

"Well, there's an old quarry where we were keeping the equipment for digging the mine," Ansley said. "However, some bandits broke in one night and stole the dynamite we were using. Without that, we can't blast our way through the mine any further."

"Alright, hold on," Alain said, raising a hand. "You want me to take an entire bandit gang by myself? What makes you think I'm capable of that?"

"You seem to know your way around a gun," Ansley replied. "And, of course, you are always free to refuse if you so desire, but I would pay you handsomely for it."

"How much?"

"Two-hundred dollars, cash."

Alain's eyes just about bugged out of his skull. Two-hundred dollars was less than what he'd get for the diamond he'd earned from Sable, but that much cash could keep him going for a long time, at least long enough that he could find a buyer for the diamond currently burning a hole in his pocket.

He had misgivings, of course, but that kind of cash was too good to pass up.

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"...I'm going to need some backup," Alain offered. "And I think I know just the person."

"You are free to hire whoever you like, just be aware that their payment will come out of yours," Ansley said.

"That's fine. I can afford to part with some of the money if it keeps me alive."

"Very good. Come see me when the job is done, I'll get you your money then."

Ansley gave him a soft clap on the shoulder, then turned and walked away. Alain watched him go, then sighed, his brow furrowing.

He didn't want to have to speak with Sable and Az again, but if Az was even half as capable as he seemed to be, then he was going to have to get over himself.

"This is going to suck."

–

"Well, look who it is," Sable greeted as she opened the door to her room and placed a hand on her hip. "Come back to lick my boots, Alain?"

"Not quite," he said. He was tempted to tell her to take her stuffy attitude and stick it up her ass, but since he was trying to hire Az, he thought it best to refrain. He peered around Sable and into the room. "Is Az there? I need to speak with him."

"About what?"

"A job."

Sable rolled her eyes. "Do we look like we need the money?"

"Money makes the world go 'round," Alain said. "And a hundred dollars of it ought to make a pretty convincing argument for you."

"Hm. Az!"

Heavy footsteps from inside the room signaled Az's arrival. Sable stepped aside, allowing him and Alain to speak face-to-face.

"Yes?" he asked.

"You interested in a job?" Alain questioned.

"I already have a job, serving my queen-to-be."

"I meant a real job. You know, one that pays actual money."

Sable scowled. "How dare you!"

Alain ignored her, instead turning back to Az. "So, do I have your attention?"

"What is the nature of the job?" Az requested.

"A bit of pest removal, so to speak. It'd be us two versus a small bandit gang. Don't know how you are in a fight, but you're a big enough guy that I figured you'd know a thing or two about it."

"I do not like to dirty my hands with such frivolities," Az said. "However, should my queen-to-be request it of me, I would take you up on your offer."

Alain cursed under his breath. He probably should have expected that answer given how devoted Az seemed to be to her, but he'd been too blinded by the money and his annoyance with Sable to even consider it.

In any case, this job appeared to be a bust at this point. There was no way Sable was going to agree to-

"You have my permission, Az."

Alain froze. "Sorry, what?"

"He has my blessing to assist you," Sable said.

"Right, right, I heard that. But… why?"

Sable shrugged. "Do I need an excuse to help in wiping the earth free of uncouth ruffians such as these? They would simply be an obstacle to my rule, in due time. They would need to be dealt with anyway; at least this way, we get paid for it."

"If you say so." Alain looked back to Az. "Well, I suppose that settles it."

"It does," Az confirmed with a nod. "Come, my lady. We shall depart at once."

"Whoa, whoa, hang on," Alain said. "No offense, but why is Sable coming? This is going to be extremely dangerous. She should stay here, where it's safe."

"Where Az goes, I go," she said. "Unless you'd prefer to do this job on your own?"

Alain shrugged. "Suit yourself. But don't come crying to me if you take a bullet."

–

A short while later, and the three of them were gathered outside the nearby quarry, watching the bandits from afar. Alain counted eight of them, split into two groups of four across the quarry. Most of them only had revolvers, but one had a shotgun, and another had a lever-action rifle.

"Those long guns are going to be trouble…" Alain observed. He turned to Az. "Think you can take care of those two while I move in on the rest?"

"Az has it under control," Sable said dismissively.

"Of course, my lady," Az confirmed. "Let us move."

"Uh, alright," Alain said. "I'll go in first. Follow after me when you hear the first shot." At the mention of shooting, he paused. "Wait, where's your gun?"

"Unnecessary," Az replied.

"What are you talking about? You can't just-"

"Again, Az has it under control," Sable said. "Worry about yourself, not him."

"If you say so," Alain said. If Az wanted to get himself killed by going in unarmed, it was no business of his. If anything, Az would make a good distraction while Alain cleaned up the bandits, and he wouldn't have to split the money with him afterwards.

"Let's move," he said.

The two of them pressed into the quarry, moving as stealthily as possible. Alain had his Ithaca double-barrel in his hands, and was creeping along to the entry of the quarry. At the opening, there were two guards armed with revolvers, standing there and smoking.

Alain spun out from around the corner and shot them each with one blast of buckshot. Both men fell, dead before they hit the ground. He broke the shotgun and thumbed in two fresh shells, then closed it and began to move in. But before he could enter, Az rushed past him, moving so fast he was almost little more than a blur. Alain was taken aback by his speed, but recovered quickly, instead moving into the quarry.

Inside, the remaining bandits were calling to each other, having heard the two shotgun blasts that had signaled the start of the fight. As Alain made it inside, shots began to impact all around him, and he sprinted to his next piece of cover, just barely managing to avoid being poked full of holes. He sidled up against a slab of rock, only pausing to stick his gun out and shoot another bandit who had strayed too far out into the open.

Off in the distance, over the sound of sporadic gunfire, Alain was able to make out a chorus of panicked screaming. Whatever was doing, it seemed to be completely decimating the opposition. Alain finished reloading his shotgun, then exited cover, expecting to be greeted by more gunfire. He wasn't, however; the moment he left cover, the gunfire completely died down. Confused, Alain looked around.

"What the hell…?"

It was now dead silent, save for footfalls from up ahead. A bandit came sprinting into view, his shirt covered in blood and a revolver clutched in his grip. Alain immediately raised his shotgun towards the man, who froze and threw his hands up in surrender, the pistol slipping from his grasp.

"Are you with them?!" the bandit shouted.

"In a manner of speaking," Alain confirmed.

"K-keep them away from me!"

"What do you mean, them?"

"The girl and the giant! They're monsters!"

"What girl?" Alain's eyes narrowed. "How do you know about her? She was supposed to hang back."

"She was with him! God, they're both demons! You've got to help me!"

"Calm down," Alain urged. "Where's the dynamite?"

"The dynamite?" the bandit asked. His eyes narrowed. "Did Ansley send you?"

"He hired me, yes."

"You can't trust him," the bandit warned.

"Forgive me if I'm not in the business of heeding cautions from a criminal."

"Criminal? Me?" The bandit barked out a laugh. "What's criminal is what's going on in that town."

"You mean the mine?"

"If only it were the mine. So you haven't heard about the missing girls?"

Alain's eyes narrowed. "First I'm hearing of it."

"Why don't you bring it up to him? See what he has to say."

"Alain."

Sable's voice took Alain by surprise. He spun around, almost sweeping her with his shotgun in the process, but he managed to avert the gun at the last minute. Sable and Az were standing there, both of them somehow completely untouched.

"Where the hell did you two come from?" Alain asked. His eyes narrowed. "And why did you not stay put, Sable?"

She shrugged. "I told you, where Az goes, I go."

"Oh God, it's them!" the bandit said. "Shoot them both, now! Before it's too late!"

"Nobody else needs to get shot," Alain assured the man. "Calm down and I'll let you go."

"With those two walking around?! No fucking chance!"

What are you-"

Then, before Alain could do anything further, the man hurriedly bent down and picked up his discarded revolver, moving to point it at the three of them. Alain reacted immediately, firing both barrels of his shotgun into the man's chest. He was dead before his body met the dirt.

Alain stood there for a moment, staring down the smoking barrels of his shotgun, before giving a reluctant sigh and lowering it.

"Well," Sable cut in. "That takes care of that."

"What the fuck was he talking about?" Alain demanded, rounding on her. "What did you two do?"

"We took care of the problem," was all Sable said. "Now then, shall we return for our payment?"

"Lead the way, my lady," Az said.

Both of them turned and began to walk away. Alain spared one last look back at the bandit he'd just shot, then followed after them.

One thing was for sure – after this, he never wanted to see those two again for as long as he lived.