Blood Money
by Holly
Chapter Eight
�I take it, you�ve not been given parole,� Slim commented as Bud Carlin tossed Jess� gun to Anders.
�No, I wasn�t eligible, the judge said, so I decided to grant my own...straight over the wall with a little help from Greg here. Okay, take this gun and toss it with the rest,� he ordered Anders.
Carlin turned his attention to Jess, who was now needing Jonesy�s support to sit upright.
�How you feelin�?�
Jess slowly raised his head, a look of intense hatred on his face. �I�m gonna kill you Carlin.�
�Ahhh, a nice honest thought. Shame you ain�t going to be around long enough to try.� Carlin turned to Slim. �And I suppose you feel the same way, eh?�
Slim didn�t answer.
Bud Carlin stood up as Anders came back through the door after disposing of the gun.
�Okay Greg, bring Harper and Sherman over here, then tie up the kid and old man real tight.�
He aimed his gun at Andy. �Don�t go gettin� any ideas, or I will shoot the kid. Maybe not to kill, I don�t kill kids, but maybe a knee or elbow...get the idea, boys?�
Slim and Jess slowly crossed the room to stand by the bedroom doors while Anders took Jonesy and Andy into the kitchen and secured them.
When he returned, Carlin grinned. �Okay boys, now it�s time to play. I seem to remember ol� Slim here took a lot of punishment from Harper last time I visited. Now nobody can say Bud Carlin ain�t a fair man, an eye for an eye and such...�
Slim glanced at Jess, who was glaring at Carlin like he could tear him apart with his bare hands.
�Greg, hold onto Harper,� Carlin ordered. His gun pointed somewhere in the middle of Slim's belly. �Wouldn�t object if I was you, less you want poor old Slim here to have a nasty accident,� he added as Jess went to move forward. Jess stopped and looked across to Slim. He had seemed ready to fight, but as their eyes met, he relaxed and stood meekly waiting for what was to come.
Greg grabbed hold of Jess, roughly pinning his arms behind him.
�Right. Now hit him Sherman. No pullin� your punch. Hit him real hard. I want to see blood.�
�No.�
�No? Really? Well, now, that kinda causes me a problem. You see, I waited a long time to enjoy watchin� this, and if you hold things up, well, I just gotta think of a way of speedin� things along�maybe if the boy takes Harper�s place and Greg takes yours...�
�You�re bluffin�,� Slim grated.
�Try me!� Carlin screamed. �Now hit him�HARD!�
Slim swung a punch, and Jess� head rocked back under the impact. Blood splattered from his lip.
Slim closed his eyes for a moment, then turned to Carlin. �Satisfied?�
�No. Do it again. I want to savor the moment.�
Jess spat blood, then through a split lip said �I suppose you�re gonna tell me not to roll with the punch.�
�Oh, I don�t care if you do or don�t. It ain�t gonna make a bit of difference Harper, cuz I�m gonna kill you before this is over. You interfered. We could have got clean away if you hadn�t backed Sherman. He�d never took us on his own.�
�I wouldn�t bet on that, Carlin,� Jess replied.
�Aw, stop this jawin� and get on with it, Sherman.�
�What?�
�Smack him again. This time I want to see him down.�
Slim looked to Jess who just looked calmly back.
Slim drew his lips into a tight line and swung a haymaker that sent Jess spinning back against Greg Anders, who released his prisoner, allowing him to crash to the floor where he lay still.
�That was some punch Sherman,� Bud said admiringly. �I doubt he�ll get back up in quite a while.�
Slim looked down at Jess, then back at Carlin. His voice was low �If Jess doesn�t kill you, I will!�
Carlin smirked, �You�d have to be alive to do that, and right now, I don't give much for your chances, Sherman.� He turned to Greg Anders. �I believe you have a score to settle with Harper, don�t you? Like you did with Parsons?�
Anders nodded, a smile revealed his yellow, broken teeth. �Yeah, Harper used to ride with Pete, then I heard he was the one who killed him and helped get you.�
Slim broke in, �Jess didn�t do anything more than anyone around here wouldn�t have done. Morgan was gonna hang sooner or later.�
Anders aimed a kick at Jess and then another. The thuds echoed around the room.
�Stop it! You�ll kill him!� Slim shouted, but the kicking continued until Carlin finally pulled Anders away.
�Okay, that�s enough. There�s plenty of time.�
*********************************
