ARENA

DISCLAIMER: All the characters from the "Magnificent Seven" TV series are property of Trilogy Entertainment, The Mirisch Group, MGM Worldwide.

ARENA

Prologue:

Defining Moments

There are moments of clarity in ones life that define everything a person will ever be.

For Laurel Chase that moment had come when she was ten years old.

The venue for her divine revelation occurred, oddly enough in the most unlikely of places, the schoolyard in Philadelphia where she would spent the first eighteen years of her life. Until then, she had adults make mention of it and had listened to the other girls whisper unkindly about it behind her back. She had never understood in the beginning why they would do that, why they would refuse to allow her into their games and ensured that she knew that there was something about her that threatened them. It confused her just as much as the hungry stares of young boys who had no idea what so mesmerising but were still slave to the yearning nonetheless.

However, at the age of ten it became all clear to her.

A veil had lifted from her eyes and the light of understanding came to her in what could only be called a religious experience that explain to her what the rest of her life would be in that one second. As she watched Tommy Wallace and Russell Townsend rolling in the dirt, fighting for the privilege of walking her home, Laurel realised what it was she possessed that made the other girls so jealous with craving, so utterly envious that they could only tolerate her presence with scorn. What she would always have that was capable of giving her the kind of power women dreamed of from the moment that they first discovered their reflection in the mirror.

Her lineage was nothing extraordinary although in later years, she would tell people that her mother was an exiled Russian Empress and her father, a deposed warrior. The tales would get more fanciful as time wore on and as the face that became everything she was, negated the desire by anyone to learn the truth, Laurel actually began to believe a little of the lie herself. However, the fabrication of her past was as much illusion as she allowed herself because had she been merely beautiful, she would have hardly been memorable. However, she was not simply beautiful, she was intelligent and with an intellect that was formidable to say the least and utterly self-serving.

In truth, her father had been a bookkeeper and her mother a seamstress, hardly the stuff of legend that little girls liked to construct in their fairy tale world in the clouds. Both were hard working Christian folk who attempted in their way to instil her with good values even though she could not imagine how she had come from them because there was nothing of the stunning beauty in them that everyone else saw in her. Until that day in the school yard, Laurel had not thought much of her features and had gone through her days confused at the hostility received by girls her age and adoration from the boys. When she learnt how easily manipulated the male of species could be, she lost interest in them rather quickly and soon boys did not impress as much as men.

By the time she was thirteen, Laurel knew she that she could manipulate men as easily as she could use boys. With dark coloured hair that sheeny to the touch, she had been described in later years by one lover as having the face of an angel and a body made for sin. With emerald coloured eyes and full lips, she shook the resolve of every man she encountered and was particularly chagrined when she could not. Those she could not acquire she went out and took, as if an unseen gauntlet had been dropped whenever she was refused.

By the time she was fourteen years old, her schoolmaster had become her first lover and there she discovered just how power she truly had at her fingertips. He not only became her teacher in that most primeval of arts but he opened the possibility of what her mind was capable of conjuring without any aid from her body. She discovered an affinity of the sciences for she possessed a remarkably logical mind, a by-product of her calculating manner. With an appetite for learning that was almost as insatiable as her need for sexual conquest, she found that the world of chemistry, physics, biology and other sciences were almost as easy to understand as it was for her to keep the men in her stable pliable.

Her parents suspected nothing and indulged the desire for an education even though it was always assumed that like any respectable young woman, she would tire of it by the time she reached a marriageable age. Of course, their expectation for the kind of suitor she would attract was higher than one would normally expect of a working class family but Laurel was no ordinary beauty and it was always expected by those around her that she would marry well.

She had no intention of letting them think that she had plans of her own and sought to disappear when the time was right. While her father was not exactly a man of means, he had squirreled away a stipend, which was invested wisely and soon amounted to a delightful sum of 50,000 dollars. Unfortunately, she was to learn that the princely sum was being held in anticipation of her future marriage and would never be hers to control. By the age of seventeen, she was dreading the moment when suitors would come calling at her door.

Unknown to her parents, she had written to the Emma Willard Academy in New York, one of the few colleges in the continental United States that offered college level education for young women and was ecstatic when she was accepted with a place waiting for her. However, her parents were not prepared to send her there, believing that it was a waste of time when she should be thinking about marriage, not an education. For the first time in her life, Laurel found that it was time she discarded those who were a liability in her life and it surprised her how truly easy it had been. All it had taken was a whisper in the right ear and by morning, she stood with the rest of her neighbours as she watched the house that had been home all her life burn to the ground with her parents in it.

The money that was held in trust for her marriage was soon hers to do with when she seduced the lawyer who had been left to execute it and then blackmailed him into complacency by threatening to expose him to his wife. Before the ashes of her parents had even grown cold, Laurel Chase was on her way to New York to begin her first year at the Emma Willard Academy for young ladies. Once there, she excelled as she knew she would, graduating as its valedictorian at the end of her tenure and deciding that she had no taste for school teaching since that was the best an educated woman could hope for.

For a time, she wandered aimlessly, having no outlet for her genius even though it waited in the depths of her like a snake coiled patiently in tall grass, waiting for the foot that would provoke it into being. She travelled extensively, allowing her inheritance to dwindle into nothingness, refusing to allow the lack of funds to reduce her to panic for she was never a woman who would be in dire circumstances. There was always a man who was a willing savant to her needs both financial and occasionally sexually. She enjoyed her relationships with them and was of the belief that they were terribly misguided creatures.

They seemed to have this incredible arrogance which gave them the audacity to claim that the female of the species was emotionally weaker when they could be guided by their baser instincts to commit the most ludicrous of acts. While she enjoyed her encounters with men and found pleasure with them, there had not been one she had encountered yet that gave her any indication that men had a right to call themselves masters of the earth. Nor did she equate love with sex. She had no difficulty discarding a tantalising lover if he became inconvenient.

Laurel was travelling in the west when she had another one of those defining moments almost as clear as the one she had in that school yard so many years ago. It had been the same thing as watching little Tommy who ended up marrying some dour face girl and becoming a baker just like his father and Russell who ran off to join the war even though he was too young and got his stupid self killed at Bull Run. Two men had been fighting on the street, beating each other senseless with bloody knuckles and teeth bared, determined to show everyone that he was better than the other.

Laurel had watched with just as much fascination, the crowd who were witnessed to this spectacle and how they relished the opportunity to show their lust for blood, unhampered by confining thoughts of morality. They cheered with each blow struck, with every tear of skin and with each spurt of viscous blood as if it was a streamer to be carried in a parade. It was barbaric and it was just as captivating for man as it was for woman, although personally Laurel saw nothing compelling about it. When the fight had come to an end with both men still standing but exhausted, she realised something even far more profound.

There was no satisfaction in a fight halted before death.

The crowd was disappointed. They wanted to see one man down, not a fight ended before the natural conclusion had been reached. They wanted to see pain, blood and smell victory, not the hollowed version of boxing matches and legal competition but the true brutal product borne of Cain that would mark him forever. They wanted to see that most brutal of battles, the one from which all others began and they would pay anything for it.

Of course men were not as willing as they were in those early dark days of mankind to fight for no reason and to see it through to its bloody end. Ten thousand years of civilisation had stripped the beast from the man and left him a creature of reason; powerless and robbed of everything that had made his climb the evolutionary ladder as the true king of the beasts.

Man was the lion.

The memory of that primitive past was hidden beneath a veneer of reason and civilisation that had to be stripped for the power of him to surface once again. She had seen men fight for a woman but even the need for sex could not outweigh the desire to survive. No, if there was a way to reach that part of him, it was not though the womanly arts. What was needed was something special.

Something that was capable of reminding him of who he was in one simple application.

Laurel spent the next year after that discovery, finding that very something. At times, she thought that perhaps her ambition had outweighed her each but stubbornness refused to make her give up. She had any number of volunteers who were willing to play her guinea pigs, all she had to do was promise them a taste of her flesh and they would do anything for her almost as willingly as the task she was attempting to accomplish.

Eventually she succeeded, there was never any doubt that she would not and with that success, Laurel Chase gave life to the Arena.

Part One:

Acquisition

Vin Tanner did not like Vesta City much.

It was a dry, dusty old place well on its way to becoming one of those towns that would be forgotten with the coming of the railroad. He watched the wind blown streets and knew that the dust storm that had come from the desert would be here to stay for at least a day or two. He remained seated on the front steps leading to the boardwalk in front of the saloon, watching the streets for people passing by for the lack of anything better to do. He glanced at the courthouse across the street and so no signs of life except for the occasional citizen of Vesta City who was walking past the sturdy wooden doors.

Vin did not expect to be waiting long and knew that if he wanted to return to Four Corners, Chris Larabee would allow him to do so. However, Vin knew that leaving Chris’ side was not an option. Their relationship was such that it was impossible for Vin to imagine himself anywhere but at the gunslinger’s side, covering his back in a fight. He did not understand the feeling that bound him to Chris; not from the very first moment they had looked across the street and made that silent agreement to save Nathan Jackson’s life. Even his wife Alex, understood that there were some things about him that he would not give up for anyone, not even her and that specifically meant his friendship with Chris Larabee.

Besides, Chris was no happier to be in Vesta City than he was, which was why Vin had offered to come with him. With Mary being weeks away from giving birth to their first child together, Chris was not at all happy to be away from her at this time. It was entirely possible that she could deliver any moment despite Alex’s projection of her delivery being weeks away. When Elena Rose had been born, the little girl had not arrived when anticipated and had the misfortune to be born in the back of a wagon following her parents escape from a homicidal Don.

Hopefully, this birth would not be as eventful.

Unfortunately, Chris had little choice but to be in Vesta City because he was required to testify in the proceeding against one Peter Robertson, better known as Smiling Pete a notorious outlaw who had killed a number of people and robbed a bank in Vesta City. Chris had been responsible for capturing him when Pete had come through Four Corners but since the majority of his crimes had taken place in this community, Judge Orin Travis decided to hold the trial here instead of Four Corners.

Orin, who was just as aware of Mary’s condition, being the lady’s father in law and grandfather to Billy, had assured them that they would be here for no more than a day and already it felt much longer than that. Vin disliked this town because he remembered the circumstances the last time he had been this way. In a convent not far from the outskirts of town, was Josiah Sanchez’s deranged sister who was being tended to by the nuns who occupied the place. Vin had come here seeking aid for Josiah when Silas Poplar, a Pinkerton detective had accused the former preacher of murder. Vin had hoped that Josiah’s mysterious trips here could provide him with an alibi and only succeeded in uncovering a very painful secret in Josiah’s life.

Even though it was probably wise to get indoors, Vin preferred to remain out in the open and continued to sit patiently at the steps while waiting for Chris to finish up what he was doing. His attention was momentarily distracted when he suddenly saw the arrival of the stage into town. Vesta City was a large enough to warrant a stage stop but Vin had a feeling that this was a premature visit. Judging by the state of the horses and the driver, the desert storm had become too much for both and no doubt this was an unscheduled stop to escape the bad weather.

He saw the stagecoach driver climb down from his perch at the top of the stage before going to the passenger compartment where he no doubt explained to those inside that they would be taking a break from the weather. Vin watched the proceedings mostly because he was bored and there was not much else to do. After a moment, the stagecoach driver pulled open the door and two individuals stepped out of the carriage.

The first was a bear of a man, stocky in size with thick muscles and a thin drooping moustache whose ends came all the way down to his neck. Wearing a suit like any white man, Vin was surprised to see that he was Chinese and did not fancy getting into an argument with someone built that way. The thickness of his arms indicated that he would have no trouble snapping a man in half if he felt so inclined. He was dressed in a black suit and cast his gaze about the place, taking stock of everyone about before he extended his hand.

The woman he emerged was without doubt the most beautiful woman Vin had ever seen in his life. While seeing her was not the same as seeing Alex for the first time because that had been an emotional experience where he had recognised instantly that they were soul mates and that he was in love with her from the first moment, this was what entirely different. Vin could only call his reaction to be one of lust, utterly and purely naked lust. This was the kind of woman that you simply wanted to pleasure and nothing else. Vin found himself turning red with embarrassment as rather unsavoury thoughts crossed his mind and he had to remind himself, quite pointedly that he was just married and had no business thinking what he had just been.

She had the same effect on him as every person she came across as she glided towards the hotel in her finery that indicated that this was a woman of privilege. Mahogany coloured hair was worn up, revealing the promise of alabaster skin and a face that could only be described as carved from fine marble. Every man who saw her paused and looked, much to the annoyance of the women some of them were with. Vin found himself watching her with his mouth open until she disappeared from sight and felt the need to go home to Alex more profoundly than ever. When she was finally out of his sight, the tracker shook his head in disbelief at his reaction

What the hell was that about?

Vin found himself taking a deep breath when she was gone from sight unable to believe that he had been so enamoured by a woman other than Alex and suddenly decided he had to go buy something for his wife immediately. Stuffing his fingers in his pockets, he decided that whatever it was, it was going to have to be expensive.

*********

"That’s real nice," Chris Larabee commented as he looked at the brooch that Vin had purchased while he had been giving his testimony in court. He looked at the jewellery with its intricate design and had to commend the tracker for his choice. The colour would definitely sit well against his wife’s exotic coloured skin.

"So what’s the occasion?" Chris asked as they shared a drink in the saloon when they had met up again. It was evening and was much too late to make the trip back to Four Corners tonight even though Chris would have liked to have gotten going as soon as possible. He had no wish to be absent if Mary should suddenly go into labour. He had almost missed Adam’s birth when Sarah had gone into labour because he had been away and he was certainly not allowing a repeat of that by being absent when he could help it.

"No occasion." Vin cleared his throat and picked up his mug of beer and took a nervous sip.

Chris had been married long enough to know that look very well and had on occasion been forced to experience it himself. With a smug smile, the gunslinger eased into his chair and regarded his younger friend. "Okay pard, what did you do?"

"Do?" Vin looked at him. "I didn’t do nothing." There was just enough defensiveness in his voice to tell Chris otherwise.

"Vin," Chris looked at him as if he were a child who needed the facts of life explained to. "There’s two reasons a man buys something for a woman. One because its a special occasion and two, because he’s done something wrong. Now I know it ain’t your anniversary since you both ain’t even been married a month and if it was Alex’s birthday you would have said something before this so that only leaves number two. So come on, what did you do?" Chris replied taking some perverse pleasure in Vin’s discomfiture and was not about to let Vin squirm out of this.

Besides, a man had to find some things to amuse himself.

"There was this woman....."

Chris was about to take a sip of his own beer and had to pause at that remark, his surprise showing.

"It ain’t nothing like that!" Vin retorted when he saw Chris’ expression and scrambled to explain before Chris got the wrong idea. "I ain’t never seen a woman like this. It was the kind you just want to just....."

"I get the idea." Chris stopped Vin from continuing, needing no further clarification and found himself choking back his need to laugh out loud because Vin would probably slug him if he did. "So you were checking out a piece of tail and felt so guilty that you had to go buy something for your wife?" Chris asked, trying to stifle the snigger that was threatening to escape from him.

"Something like that." Vin grumbled, hating that his actions were so transparent and completely forgetting that it was not so much transparency as it personal experience.

"She must have been something." Chris remarked with a smile.

"I ain’t never seen anything like her." Vin had to confess. "If Buck was here, we’d have to nail him to the floor."

"That ain’t saying much when we’re talking about Buck." Chris responded knowing his old friend was not particularly discriminate when it came to the kind of women he liked but then with Buck it was not all about appearances.

"True," Vin agreed and decided to change the subject since he felt bad enough as it is for admiring the lady in question without having to keep her on his mind by talking about it as well. Moving to a safer topic, he spoke after a moment. "Reckon we’ll get moving in the morning?"

Chris aware that Vin was uncomfortable at having been attracted to another woman when he had was just a newly wed. He smiled inwardly, thinking how well marriage suited the tracker even if the younger man did not know it. While he might have been caught admiring another woman, there was no doubt in his mind that Alex was the only woman that Vin had truly loved, not even Charlotte had made Vin as happy as Chris had seen him in the presence of the lady doctor.

"Yeah," Chris nodded answering Vin’s question, "don’t look like the Judge is gonna need any more testimony about Pete. Besides, he knows I got to get home. With the baby turning up any time soon, he knows I don’t want to be away from town for too long."

"Things has sure changed haven’t they?" Vin said introspectively as he gazed at the brooch in his hand and everything that it meant to his life.

"They have," Chris agreed, understanding perfectly what the tracker was talking about. It seems like only yesterday that he had ridden into Four Corners, hoping for the bullet that would send him to Sarah and Adam. He had never expected salvation to be waiting for him in that dusty town in the form of seven men and a woman with eyes like a dove. "I thought I’d be dead by now, not married with a baby on the way."

"I never expected to be married, was sure at one point, they was going hang me." He confessed. "Didn’t think I’d be married no lady either, especially a doctor."

"Well there ain’t many men who could say they landed a doctor." Chris gave him a teasing look and caused Vin to throw beer nuts in his direction.

"Or a newspaper editor." Vin pointed out, tit for tat. "We sure had us some interesting times and it still ain’t over yet, even though we are all nice and settled in."

"Trouble seems to have our number pard," Chris commented. It seemed that domestic life was merely a reward for all the danger their lives seemed to attract. Not that Chris minded to tell the truth, he liked the excitement and the hard edge of his existence that kept his senses alert and always sharpened.

"Its been good knowing you pard," Chris suddenly found himself saying to the tracker, unaware whether it was the beer talking or simply the atmosphere of reflection that had descended upon them. His camaraderie with Vin had been the impetus, which opened up the rest of his heart. Sharing a friendship with the young tracker, caring about someone else had made him accessible to the others and prepared him for Mary. Chris wondered if Vin knew just how much his friendship really meant to him.

"Same here Chris," Vin replied, swallowing the lump that formed in his throat whenever he was called to discuss something so personal with anyone other than Alex. With her it was easy because she knew him so intimately and words were not usually needed with Chris. A slight tip of a hat, a gentle nod of acknowledgment, that was all that was required. It was somewhat disconcerting to hear Chris say how he felt out loud.

"They say the restaurant in town has got a pretty decent cook." Vin suggested. "I’m buying if you keep it yourself why I bought this thing." He joked as he tucked the brooch into the buckskin jacket.

"Sure." Chris grinned as he drained the last of his beer and followed Vin as they left the saloon.

**********

"How long before we leave this god forsaken place?" Laurel Chase said to her trusted companion Mr Zhang.

"The driver tells me tomorrow morning." Zhang replied shortly as he escorted his employer across the street from the hotel to the only restaurant in this town. Although he was a big man, he was not very tall and matched her height as he walked alongside of her, cautiously keeping an eye out for trouble.

"I suppose it will have to do," she remarked, her gaze sweeping across the street and not very impressed at having to remain in this rather depressing community any more than she had to. The territory was virgin lands as far as opportunity was concerned and an ideal location for her business pursuits but it was a crude and rustic environment, suited only to people who wanted to smell like cornfields and animal manure. In the little enclave where she had built her kingdom, she had thankfully brought some measure of civilisation to her existence and was eager to return there once again.

"This trip has been far from fruitful." She muttered as they stepped onto the wooden boardwalk. "We need something special for the masses if we are to bring in the numbers and I am afraid pickings have been lean."

"The men that you require will not be found easily, my Lady." Zhang answered. "They usually lie in wait in the most unexpected places, waiting to be seen."

"A diamond in the rough you mean," Laurel said with a smile. Zhang had been her trusted companion ever since she found him in that jail in San Francisco. He had spent most of his life playing muscle to the Chinese gangsters who ran supreme in the town that was fast becoming the enclave of western Orientals. Upon securing his release, Laurel had liberated him from the employ of his masters and started him working for her. Zhang who considered himself the devoted servant of a great lady had been worth every cent she had paid to have him released into her custody. She knew without doubt or having to use her considerable charms that he would die for her if it was required.

"However, we need more than just a diamond." She mused. "What we need is a force of a nature, one that will hold the crowd, one that will not only make them want to see him spill blood but also want him to win more than anything else. Find someone that stops the heart of every person watching and we will make a fortune."

"I do not think you will find such a man here." Zhang pointed out, casting another look at the town and seeing nothing extraordinary emerging from this place with its signs swaying in the wind, the worn look of all the buildings and the people who seemed in a similar state of the gloom.

Laurel was almost ready to believe Zhang when suddenly she saw him.

If it was possible for a man to make her breath catch, the blond god who stepped out of the saloon, with a long black duster billowing in the wind and the equally black hat perched on his brow, accomplished that quite easily. Laurel had never seen a man ooze pure sex and magnetism the way he managed as he surveyed the street upon coming out into the open. His gaze studied his surroundings with calm deliberation and she knew that he was taking note of everything in the street, filing it away from future reference. As he started walking towards the same restaurant that she and Zhang were heading for with his younger companion, Laurel watched him closely, unable to believe her incredible luck at finding him.

He moved like a predator.

His entire body was sinew and lean muscle, perfect in everyway and yet his movements were quiet and stealthy. Instinctively, she knew his was the manner of someone who was used to the hunt as well as being in charge of everything that transpired in his life. She watched him walk and knew in an instant just what made him tick. There was pain buried deep inside of him and the pain had given him an edge that most men could not ever dream of possessing. The eyes which were meant to the windows to the soul told her nothing and that in itself, told her everything as well.

"Him." She said quietly, nodding slightly in his direction.

Zhang observed her choice and had to admit there was potential there. Her desired acquisition looked formidable. The people who saw him and his friend gave them both a wide berth and though he did nothing to indicate it, they knew he was dangerous by the sheer emanation of his commanding presence.

"I will make the arrangements." He replied automatically.

"Not yet." Laurel retorted, not about to waste her time no matter how magnetic he seemed. "I want to see if the reality is as promising as the package. You know what to do. If he is as interesting as I think he will be, then you can proceed with the rest."

**********

"There she is." Vin pointed out when the lady walked into the restaurant and captured the attention of every man in the place including that of Chris Larabee’s. Eyes immediately shifted in her direction as she entered the room, wearing a dress of sapphire silk that seemed to accentuate every curve in her figure while she seemed completely oblivious to the attention as she glided towards her table and sat down. The woman was alone and just about every man in the room, seemed to feel that was a crime even though none would dare act on the impulse to join her because there was something about her that was simply too overwhelming.

She lowered herself into her chair and went through the ministrations with the waiter, uncaring of the fact that she was being watched closely by everyone in the dining room floor. Chris had to admit that he was staring because Vin was right, she was the most incredible looking woman he had ever seen in his life. Chris could understand what Vin had been talking about, that she was the kind of female that inspired nothing but pure naked lust and Vin was right about something else too, Buck would have passed out just from the sight of her.

Suddenly, Chris wondered if he ought to be buying a gift for Mary too.

"I see what you mean." He remarked and then poured himself a glass of water for something to do because it was rude to keep gawking at her like a teenager.

The lady gave her order to the waiter who went scurrying away to fulfil it before allowing those incredible coloured eyes to move across the room. Chris tried not to look but could not help it when her gaze touched his and instead of moving away, she held his stare for a moment and her lips curled into a smile of invitation.

"That sickening." Vin muttered, noticing the come hither look she was giving Chris.

"What?" Chris looked at the tracker, bristling with annoyance that he had been caught indulging in strictly forbidden fare, considering his present marital status. "You said she was pretty, I was agreeing with you."

"Not that," Vin retorted, capable of reading body language quite adeptly to know that the woman’s smile at Chris was inspired by more than just a passing note of interest. "How do you do it? You got better luck with the women than Buck and you don’t even try."

Chris shrugged because this was not unusual. When it came to women, they always seemed to have a soft spot for him, whether or not he wanted the attention. Ella came to mind most prolifically and his interest in the lady across the room from him curdled at the thought of how he had become the object of Ella’s obsession and what had it had cost him. With that in mind, he broke his gaze and turned back to Vin.

"It ain’t all that its cracked up to be." He muttered.

"Sorry pard," Vin apologised, scolding himself inwardly for putting it that way especially when that line of thought would bring him inevitably to Ella Gaines. "Didn’t mean to stir up old ghosts."

He had every intention of ignoring the woman for the rest of the meal, when suddenly she stood from her chair and left her table to approach theirs.

"Gentlemen," she said politely, with a voice as silky as the dress she was wearing. "I was wondering if I might impose on you to join you. I hate dining alone and it appears my arrival has a caused a bit of undue attention."

At that moment, Vin knew she was lying.

He had spent a lifetime learning to read people by simple observation. As a bounty hunter, he was an absolutely essential skill if he wanted to stay alive. Vin had learnt now to interpret a person’s intention from their body language, from facial expressions and even the slight nuances in their speech. So when the woman made her entreaty to join them, he was quickly able to ascertain that her reasons for doing so were not what she claimed and that immediately put him on guard, even though he could not imagine why.

It could simply be that she had designs on Chris which would not be surprising because the persona of Chris Larabee lent itself well to the opposite sex Vin had noticed. They were drawn to him instinctively, despite the fact that most of the time he intimidated the hell out of them but it was obvious the darkness of him was something compelling they could not deny themselves. However, gut instinct told him that this was not the case with the desirable stranger before him. There was something more behind those eyes that gave him reason for worry.

Chris on the other hand, did not seem bothered and gestured for her to sit even though he did not address her directly.

"Thank you," she smiled her most alluring smile that would melt any man’s resolve if Vin’s state of mind had not shifted and Chris’ devotion to Mary too powerful to be influenced by any person, no matter how beautiful the face. "My name is Laurel Chase and you are?"

It was clear that Chris had most of her attention.

"Chris Larabee." He said shortly, not wanting to seem rude when it appeared the lady had good reason to join their company. A woman in the Territory was always open to danger as Chris and Vin could personally attest from the number of times they had been called on to get Mary and Alex out of trouble.

"Vin Tanner." The tracker answered just as laconically, paying attention to her for entirely different reasons now.

Laurel studied Chris and became more and more certain that he was precisely what she was looking for. His companion was interesting as well but not in the way that Chris was and Laurel did not want to push her luck by overextending her reach. Displacing one person at a time was a tricky venture, she had no intention of risking the entire enterprise by attempting to take another. Besides, she had a feeling about the younger man that put her on guard.

Together, they were dangerous.

"Please to meet you both." She smiled. "Are you locals here?"

"No," Chris answered, trying his level best to remain unaffected by the woman and noticed the slight edge in Vin’s voice and wondered what had changed for the tracker to make him suddenly cautious about the woman. Chris glanced briefly at his best friend and noted the way Vin had eased back into his chair and was now giving the woman the same look he did when he was sizing a potential enemy. "Just passing through."

Even better, Laurel thought inwardly. She noticed the wedding band on his finger and realised that he had a wife somewhere that was expecting him back. She could not imagine what kind of a woman a man like this would willingly shackle himself but considered the question more or less academic because it would matter little when they left here. At the moment, her greatest concern was his companion and wondered whether or not precautions should not be taken to neutralise the problem of Mr Tanner.

"What about you ma’am?" Vin asked in slow drawl. "You just passing through?"

"Yes," she offered him her most charming smile and bristled inwardly when Vin continued to wear that same unflappable mask, seemingly unaffected by her attempt to win him over. She was almost tempted to spend some time breaking him into a thousand pieces if she had not already made the same plans for his black garbed companion. "I’m on my way East. I’ve been travelling through the Territory, taking in the sights."

"Alone?" Chris asked, finding that very hard to believe. It was extremely dangerous for a woman to be travelling alone in the Territory.

"I have a travelling companion." She answered. "An old friend of the family."

"I saw him," Vin replied, remembering that huge Oriental man that had emerged from the stage with her. "I wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of him."

"Mr Zhang is very good at what he does." Laurel said with a smile. "He ensures that I am well protected."

"I can see that." Vin replied and wondered what else he did for her.

***********

The evening past quickly with Chris finding Miss Chase to be quite intriguing even if his interest had lapsed into something a little more innocent after their initial encounter. While he could not deny that she was extremely attractive in the sense that some men would be wiling to pay theirs souls for a night with such a beauty, Chris found that he could not dismiss the caution that appeared in Vin’s eyes. While the tracker had said little during the evening which was hardly surprising because Vin was always quiet with someone he did not know, Chris found that there was something more at work here. Unfortunately, until Miss Chase had departed from them, Chris could not clarify with Vin what that something was.

They emerged into the night and the dust storm that had caused Laurel to break her journey had not ceased. The wind was still sand blasting the town with tiny grains of desert that seemed to bite into the skin after a lengthy exposure.

"You staying at the hotel Miss Chase?" Chris asked over the sound of the wind.

"Yes," she nodded strands of dark hair struggling to free itself from the confinement of her coiffeur to blowing freely in the wind.

"We’ll walk you there." He replied, making the offer out of politeness more than anything else.

"Sure," Vin answered, with no intention of leaving Chris alone with this woman. While he believed Chris would not betray Mary for anything in the world, there was something about Miss Chase that made him think that she was trouble.

They were starting across the street, when suddenly a group of men appeared before them. Chris had seen the quintet around town during his stay in Vesta City but had no reason to cross their paths or give them any reason to approach him.

"I hear you’re testifying against Smiling Pete." The leader declared. The man was large and heavy set, with the face of a bruiser and appeared as if he was looking for a fight.

Neither Chris nor Vin made any move to react, although slowly and almost unseen, their hands were both sneaking towards their guns, prepared for the worst if things deteriorated any further.

"What’s it to you?" Chris asked, watching the man closely. The wind brought the scent of liquor cling to him and judging by the potency of that stench, he guessed that they were drunk and itching for trouble.

"Pete was a friend of ours and we’re looking to take it our of your hide since you served him up to the law." The man declared.

"You boys are drunk and mad," Vin added, trying to keep this thing from getting ugly. "It ain’t no way to start a fight. Why don’t you sleep it off?"

"Sleep this off!" The leader swore and threw his fist directly at Chris. The gunslinger side stepped the blow easily and still had enough time to shove Laurel away from the fight to safety.

"Get out of here!" He ordered as she stumbled away from the fighting and withdrew to a safe distance where she could watch the proceedings.

No sooner than he had ensured that Miss Chase was safely away, he felt the shadow of someone behind him and reacted by slamming his fist backwards, his knuckles meeting bone as his attacker staggered backwards, reeling from the blow. Vin was holding his own, ploughing into the man who had attempted to come to their leader’s defence only to be halted by the tracker who preferred the odds a little more even. So far no one had drawn their guns yet and Chris was grateful for that, preferring not to turn this into a shooting match if he could help it but they were still out numbered two to five.

The bruiser recovered from the blow and came at Chris once again only this time the gunslinger was on the offensive and slammed a focussed blow into the man’s very solid stomach. As Chris suspected he was drunk and had no time to prepare for the punch as Chris felt his knuckles impacting against unclenched muscle which took the worst of the hit. He doubled over as Chris threw another, this one connecting with his jaw. He uttered a small cry of pain as he reeled from multiple blows to the face as Chris threw a succession of blows, one after the other, determined to bring the man down fast.

While his opponent’s punches were wild, Chris was delivering focussed strikes and each one connected with devastating effect until finally the man was having trouble staying on his feet. Chris was hardly exerting much skill since all he seemed to understand was brute force. Chris threw a final punch and almost flipped the man over as collapsed onto the ground in a messy heap. Without wasting any time to see if he would get up because Chris was fairly confident that the hulk of a man was down for the count, Chris hurried to give Vin aid.

One of the four had his arms around Vin’s, pinning them to his sides as his companions moved in for the kill. Vin pulled up his legs and kicked out hard, slamming both feet into the man’s abdomen and sent him reeling into Chris who promptly spun him around and downed him with a left and right hook in quick succession. As Vin slammed his head backwards, impacting into the forehead of the man holding him captive with the back of his skull, Chris hurried forward and caught the arm of the opponent nearest to him who was attempting to help his comrade with Vin in his grasp.

Dragging the man towards him by the collar, Chris slammed and elbow into his face as the last number of the quintet closed in on the gunslinger. A crunch of bone indicated a broken nose and Chris did not have to see it for himself to know that he had just shattered the man’s nose. A cry of pain followed as he staggered back holding his broken appendage, bleeding profusely with thick rivulets running down his fingers. Chris cast a brief glimpse at Vin and saw the tracker was handling himself well enough, having forced the one who had him trapped to release his arms. Certain that Vin did not require his help, Chris turned back to his own opponent who was in mid punch before Chris stopped his fist by grabbing the man’s wrist before it could reach his face.

Chris threw another strong blow while still keeping a firm grip of the man’s arm and refused to let go as he followed that strike with several others until the man was so dazed that he could barely stand. When Chris finally released him, he collapsed on the ground without further resistance, joining his leader, who was still prone on the ground, while his companion with the broken nose had fled altogether. Vin was swinging at the last man on his feet, while another was scrambling away, the pain sobering him up with far more efficiency than anything else was capable. Those he had downed was picking themselves up and vacating the area, deciding that this was just too much trouble.

With the last of them taken care of, Chris dusted himself off and approached Vin who like him had hardly broken a sweat over the altercation. The five attackers had fled into the night, dazed and bleeding and Chris was in no mood to go after them. Besides, he could tell by the way they had turned tail and run that he and Vin were not going to be troubled by them any further.

Still there was something odd about the encounter.

"Is it me or did those boys look like their heart just wasn’t into what they were doing?" Chris asked feeling a little puzzled as he stared at the backs of the men receding into the distance.

Vin straightened his hat before he looked up at the gunslinger and nodded in agreement. "Yeah," the tracker nodded wondering if it was not prudent to go after those men and see what they were after. "Maybe I should go have a little talk with them."

"I wouldn’t bother," Chris shrugged. "I don’t think they’ll be back. They were liquored up and looking for a fight. I think we showed them it was a bad idea."

Vin was not so sure but held his tongue since Chris was usually right about these things. While he could read people by the signs they exhibited unconsciously, Chris was driven by a purer instinct that had no basis for explanation. He knew the things he did, because he just did. "Whatever you say pard."

Chris let out a deep breath and remarked. "Hell, I’ll be glad to get out of this place."

"Ain’t arguing with you there." Vin answered and then noticed that Laurel Chase was returning to them. He had remembered Chris ordering her to safety but it appeared that she had lingered far enough away to watch the fight.

"That was frightful gentlemen," she gushed as she reached them. "Are you alright?"

"We’re fine." Chris shrugged, feeling uncomfortable with any woman other than Mary and possibly Alex, showing that much interest in his welfare. "Come on," he said politely, remembering his original promise to walk see her back to her lodgings. "We’ll see you to your hotel. This place ain’t safe for a woman alone."

************'

Mr Zhang was waiting for her when Laurel finally arrived at the suite of rooms that was providing her with accommodation during her brief stay in Vesta City. The large Oriental man was standing by the window where he had been carefully watching the proceedings of a few minutes ago in the street below. She expected as much since it was she who had instructed him to set those five men upon Chris Larabee and Vin Tanner. While they were hardly formidable, it did give her some idea of what Mr Larabee was capable of and she had to admit that he was everything she had expected him to be.

"You saw?" She asked as she closed the door behind her, a small smile on her lips.

"He took care of those men quite well." Zhang commented with a hint of approval on his usually stony features.

"He was magnificent." Laurel replied, unafraid to show that she had been thorougly impressed with Chris Larabee. "He hardly flinched when facing those men and every action, every blow was well thought of. Once we break him in, he’ll own the ring. People will pay anything to see him win, I promise you that Zhang."

"The other one was also quite impressive." Zhang added.

"Yes," she nodded, considering Mr Tanner for a moment. "He is young but he was very good. However, I think we will leave him for now. Together, they make quite a team, too much for my liking. Until we get Mr Larabee under control, keeping them together is dangerous. They came from a town called Four Corners, I believe." Laurel replied as she disappeared into her bedroom while continuing to speak loudly enough for Zhang to hear. The body guard maintained his vigil at the window and would not move unless she gave him permission to abandon his post. "We can always acquire Mr Tanner after we have Mr Larabee under control."

Laurel undressed and slipped into a robe, one that was designed more for the seeing than it was for the wearing. She was still modestly covered but the release of a knot in a strategic place would present her to the man she was attempting to seduce in the most favourable light. Releasing her hair from the confining coiffeur, she allowed the dark strands to fall around her shoulders and ran a silver handled brush through the mahogany locks.

"As you wish my Lady." Zhang nodded obediently as she emerged into the room once again. "Do you wish me to make the arrangements regarding Mr Larabee?"

"Yes," she said without hesitation. "The minute Mr Larabee is prepared, I want to be on my way out of this wretched town. You will tell the stage coach driver to leave as scheduled and to inform anyone who asks that we will be travelling on the stage with him. Impress upon him that should he tell anyone otherwise, the consequences could be dire. However, I do not think that such inducements will be required. Men of his type are easily bought so offer him a decent gratuity to ensure his silence."

"Yes my Lady." Zhang bowed his head gently in acknowledgment of her instructions.

"Mr Tanner and Mr Larabee are staying in this hotel but I believe that they were on their way to the saloon," she continued to issue her orders, having thought out her plan rather carefully before reaching his point. "Find out which room Tanner is staying in and I will leave something for him that will eliminate his interference when we take Larabee."

As she made that statement, she walked to a large chest which sat against the wall. Kneeling before it, she unlocked the large padlock that kept it secured from intruders and thieves and pulled open the lid after a moment. Within the confines of the chest were the weapons at her disposal and shifting through the collection of bottles, held in place by secured groves in the velvet lining. She studied the collection carefully before reaching for the one she required. The bottle looked like any other one might see on the loaded shelves of an apothecary with the same piece of cork trapping its contents within glass walls.

She uncorked the bottle once it was in her hands and took an experimental whiff, just enough for her to know that it was exactly what she needed.

"This, I think will do quite nicely for Mr Tanner." She said with a cold smile.

**********

Vin returned to the room in the hotel he had been occupying after he and Chris had a downed a few beers in the saloon since the gunslinger knew he was itching to find out something about those five men who had attacked them in the street. No matter how he tried, Vin could not shake the feeling that there was something manufactured about that encounter and as he worked the room and spoke to the locals, his suspicions were deepened by what he had learnt. The bartender he had spoken to, remembered the men clearly and after Vin had imparted a few coins in his direction, was eager to talk. The five men were not locals but they were drifters who blew into town on occasion, willing to do all kinds of work for anyone who was willing to pay for it.

While Vin could very well believe that the men who attacked them had no deeper agenda other than stirring trouble, he could not imagine why anyone who hire them in the first place. Chris seemed relatively unconcerned, believing that probably one of Pete’s outlaw friends had put them up to it and would not doubt be making an appearance sooner or later in retribution for his testimony in the man’s trial. They spent the rest of the night drinking and carefully avoided the subject of Miss Laurel Chase. Although Vin had to confess that lady was worth discussing, he had to admit she had made his skin crawl from the very first moment she had invited herself to join them for supper.

In any case, it would soon matter little what he thought of her, Vin decided as he pulled off his suspenders after draping his jacket and hat on the edge of the bedpost. Sitting down on the soft mattress, Vin knew that no bed would feel right as long as Alex was absent and reminded himself that tomorrow night he would be back in Four Corners and with her once again. While he refused to let his desire for her hindered his responsibility to Chris and the six men he rode with, Vin could not deny that he missed her greatly whenever he had to leave town.

It pained him to realise this but he was truly a newly wed.

Pulling off his boots, Vin continued to disrobe, keeping his gun belt near his bed because you didn’t leave them too far away when you slept, not unless you were looking to go to an early grave. He placed the loaded sawed off Winchester on the pillow that would have been occupied by Alex if she had been here and stripped down to his long johns before slipping under the covers and leaning over to the lamp burning brightly on the night stand. Blowing it out, he was enveloped in darkness except for the moonlight peering through the small window.

Resting his head on the pillow, he felt the day catch up with him and found that he still could not shake this uneasiness in his bones that had started the moment Laurel Chase had sat down at their table and imposed herself upon them. While there was nothing about what she had said that seemed overly suspicious, Vin just had this feeling. The same one that he had when he had sighted Ella Gaines for the first time and knew instinctively that she was the enemy.

Drowsiness suddenly beset him and Vin was rather surprised how easy it was to fall asleep when normally it took a while for him to lapse into slumber when he was alone in a bed and not in the outdoors. The only time he had experienced a good nights sleep in a bed was when Alex was with him. Most of the time Vin preferred to sleep underneath the stars but with the dust storm outside, that was more or less impossible.

It was only when he pushed himself onto his elbows and attempted to shape his pillow into a comfortable position did he get a whiff of something strange. For a moment, he searched his memory of what the smell might be, aware only that it was like antiseptic or something chemical he had occasionally run across in Alex’s clinic. The drowsiness he thought was sleep started to become more potent until he could the room spinning in the darkness. In panic, as the realisation of what was happening dawned upon him, Vin tried to get up and found himself weighted down by invisible chains that kept him from managing that simple feat.

"Chris....." he opened his mouth to say, trying to call for help as the black that descended upon him was not just the darkness in his room but something all the more paralysing. However, the only sound that escaped his throat in the trying was a croak no one heard except himself before the fog descended and pulled a curtain of sleep over his mind.

***********

Chris was about to turn in when he heard the door knock and wondered what the hell Vin wanted now since he was looking forward to getting some sleep. He hoped the tracker was still not preoccupied with those five men who had attempted to attack them in the street following their dinner at the restaurant. Chris was a true believer in letting the quarry come to him and in this case, it seemed to be the only thing to do as it was very obvious that those five men were hired to do a job and had failed miserably. Such failures usually proceed a more prolific attack and while Chris was by no means complacent, he was not about to turn himself inside out waiting for it to happen.

Vin on the other hand could be extremely persistent when the mood took him and if he believed he was right, there was nothing in heaven or earth that could keep him from proving it. It was one of the things that Chris admired about the tracker while at the same time, being one of the most infuriating aspects of the man. Walking to the door, Chris was prepared to drag the sharpshooter by the hair back to his room and tying him to his bed because as far as the gunslinger was concerned, they were going home tomorrow and that was all there was to it. Vin was going to get some sleep for their early start whether he liked it or not.

Chris pulled open his doorknob expecting to see the familiar features of Vin Tanner when he was confronted by something that could not have been further from what he had expected. For a minute, he wondered if God was having some joke at his expense or at least testing his resolve to keep to his marriage vows. Standing before him with a bottle of champagne and a very flimsy robe was Laurel Chase. It was very obvious what she wanted of him by the smile she was brandishing almost as dangerously as gun.

"Miss Chase." He said unprepared to let her in any farther than the door.

"Mr Larabee." She answered, giving him that killer smile that would have reduced a normal man to a slobbering wreck. "I thought we might share a drink in honour of your victory this evening." She gave him a suggestive smile that she indicated that a drink was not all that she had in mind.

"I’m afraid not." Chris replied. He was taller than her and he looked down at the lovely Miss Chase to catch an eyeful of ample white bosom that looked as if it would have been heavenly to the touch if he was willing to hurt the woman he loved to find out. Which he was not. "I’m leaving early tomorrow and I need to get some sleep."

"So am I," she said brushing past him and Chris was far too rude to push her out and thought how he was going to extricate himself from this situation without getting his face slapped if he became just a little too blunt.

"Miss Chase," Chris started to say as he started to turn around. "I’m flattered but I’m a married man."

"I know," she nodded, planting herself down on the bed that had been waiting for him earlier. "I think it’s a very quaint idea, this concept fidelity."

"Its a little bit more than that." Chris replied, deciding that there was no polite way out of this. Attractive as she was and she was spectacularly attractive, Chris had no intention of hurting Mary by betraying her with another woman. Taking her arm gently, he exerted just enough force around her wrist to indicate that he wanted her to leave.

"Very well," she said with a wistful smile, taking the rejection surprisingly well for a woman. "Can’t blame a lady for trying." She allowed herself to be led to the door once again.

Chris was glad she had no intention of creating a fuss and making the situation all the more awkward than it already was. With the bottle of liquor still in her hand, she turned to face him as she reached the door and without warning, pulled her to him in a kiss of heated passion. Chris barely had a chance to push her away before he felt her tongue sneaking past his lips and exploring his mouth with searing intensity. Despite himself, he could not help being lost in the power of that kiss when suddenly, the back of his head flared in pain as he heard glass shatter loudly.

Laurel stepped backwards after bringing down the bottle on the back of his skull and allowed him to fall down face first onto the hard floor. She wiped her hands, soaked form the liquor when the bottle had broken, onto her robe and stepped away from the prone figure. Laurel looked at the unconscious form of Chris Larabee, satisfied that he would be incapacitated until she was able to administer the long-term solution required for the journey away from Vesta City.

Opening the door, Mr Zhang was already waiting for her. Laurel stepped into the hallway, uttering only one order as prepared to return to her room.

"Take him."

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