The King of Sante Fe Session Three
Please note SPOILERS will follow
Founder’s Day was supposed to be a day of celebration, Steaming Rock’s premier family day out, but Howard Ross, of the New Mexico Mercantile Cooperative (NMMC) and a half dozen of his rowdy employees have been taking the celebrations a little too far.
Danny, Cody, Winston, Dutch and Diego, aka The Players, have taken over the Mayor’s meeting and decided direct action works best. A plan is hatched, and they request each citizen at the meeting to go out and gather up two or three like-minded folk. They will meet outside the Sheriff’s office and then approach Ross. A show of force will see him turn tail and head out of town. It is at this point that Danny realises his gun is back at his homestead and requests Aida, his sister, to go and get it.
Whilst they wait, Deputy Cody and Winston enter the Sheriff’s office, who is out of town on business, and break into a drawer that the Sheriff had furtively stuffed some papers into. Winston’s light fingers quickly work the lock, and inside are two items. One, a letter from C. King, thanking Sheriff Jon Fletcher for his friendship and two, contracts drawn up by Ellis Rockcliffe and backed by the NMMC to invest in the Church, the Brooklyn Hotel, and Tyler’s Whiskey Co. There are also plans to rebuild the Sheriff’s office and a new jail. In return, the Sheriff will provide security for NMMC ventures in the town of Steaming Rock.
As Cody and Winston replace the documents and exit onto the street, they see one of Ross’ men pistol-whipping Brody, alleging that he’s scammed them in a game of three-card monte. Mayor Bertrand steps forward, trying to diffuse the situation, but Ross steps in, turning to his men, “That’s enough, boys. Leave him be.”
Winston pipes up, “Time to leave, Mr Ross. We don’t need your type in Steaming Rock.”
Ross retorts, “What is my type, young fella? Those sound like dangerous words.”
Winston looks behind him, making sure he’s got the backing of the others. Dutch steps forward, looking menacing. Winston replies, “Criminals, pure and simple, low-down types. Now you get going, else.”
Things escalate quickly, harsh words are spoken, Ross demands his honour be satisfied with a duel, and eventually Winston steps forward into the street, facing Ross. They eye each other up. Winston is handy with a pistol, and he has the backing of his friends and a good selection of townsfolk. Ross has his men behind him, and these don’t look like your average miner or labourer; they have the scars and the dead-eyed look that suggests they’ve been in a lot worse situations than this.
The crowd find cover. Both men go for their guns, a dead heat, an explosion of gunfire, smoke and the smell of cordite drifts across the main street.
Ross holsters his gun as Winston collapses to the floor, blood oozing from a wound in his left arm. His friends rush to help him, as Ross’s men cheer and break open a bottle of whiskey.
The townsfolk are taken aback, Winston grimaces, but he’ll live. A shadow passes over him, he sees Ross with a bottle of whiskey and some glasses, he offers drinks to Dutch, Winston and the Mayor. Dutch refuses, on account of his Presbyterian ways. But the Mayor and Winston take a slug.
Ross looks at Winston, “Brave fella! I take my hat off to you, sir; not many end up living in a duel with me. Now, no hard feelings, we’ve all got to pull together to make something of this town. My boys and I will be making ourselves scarce; you folks all enjoy what’s left of Founder’s Day.”
The Mayor thanks Ross, offers his assistance, and assures him that the town is looking forward to a prosperous partnership. Then, he looks somewhat sheepish as he sees the eyes of the others on him.
With that, Ross and his men saddle up and ride north out of town, watched by a stunned set of townsfolk.
Aida rushes up to Danny, offering a box with a nice bow on it. Danny looks down at her, “Your timing’s off, Aida, no need for a gun now. Maybe we’d best be getting young Winston some assistance, see if that bullet’s stuck or went clean through.”
Later that day, Tabitha approaches Cody. At his request, she’s been going through the local papers, and she’s found a picture from the Santa Fe Gazette. It shows Ellis Rockcliffe, a local Steaming Rock businessman, shaking hands with a large-looking fellow by the name of Clarence King; they are supposedly working on new ventures to “open up the West”. C. King? Could this be the man in the letter they found?
In the evening, Cody, Dutch, Winston, Diego and Danny each receive a hand-delivered invitation to lunch tomorrow at Ellis Rockcliffe’s house.