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TALES OF THE OLD WEST: KYRA AND THE BANDITS
Chapter Two

Sheriff Natalie looked up from her desk as Angel, her deputy, walked into her office.

"I hope you have good news for me," Natalie said tiredly. The blue-haired girl was wearing a modified version of her regulation uniform, a fitted grey button-up blouse and pleated skirt, the former emblazoned with the golden six-pointed star badge that symbolized her authority. The same emblem was prominently affixed to her hat, which was also of the same color as the rest of her uniform. A second half-skirt of denim was wrapped around her waist, protecting her hip from any chafing brought about by the gun holster strapped to her star-buckled belt, and serving as a bright splash of color that contrasted with the monochrome of her outfit. On her feet were her trademark custom black boots that were embellished with stars as well, a further nod to her station.

Both Natalie and Angel had been away helping out a neighboring town recover from a recent bank robbery when news reached them that the same six-man bandit gang had struck their town as well. Stunned by the report, the two girls rode back home immediately to find that the outlaws had made off with most of the bank's cash, and that the ensuing firefight had incapacitated the three lawmen they had left behind on duty.

While the situation was certainly bad enough, there remained a glimmer of hope: their men had managed to gun down one of the robbers and had captured another. The unlucky bandit was now in their custody, locked inside the only cell in the local jail.

Angel smiled at her boss. The blonde was dressed in her favorite outfit, a black halter top with a fringed Holstein-patterned vest and a matching pair of tiny tailored shorts that left little to the imagination. That design was repeated on the underside of the black cowboy hat atop her head and the custom-made gun holster strapped to her thigh. The deputy jokingly called it her "cow girl" uniform and often lamented that she could never find a pair of boots with a similar pattern to complete the look. Like Natalie, her badges of office were pinned to her vest and hat.

"The prisoner talked," Angel said. "He told us where the rest of the gang is hiding out."

That was certainly good news, and Natalie practically leaped up from her chair in excitement. "He did?" she asked. "Where are they? How'd you get him to talk? He wouldn't tell me a thing at all, even after I told him how much prison time he'd be facing if he didn't cooperate!"

"I called in a friend of mine," Angel said. "She's a bounty hunter, and a pretty good one at that. She's the one who got him to spill the beans."

"A bounty hunter?" Natalie said doubtfully as she paced around her desk to the front. "I know we're short on hands, but don't they cost a lot of money? Now that the bank's been hit, I don't think we can even spare enough cash to restock our supply of ammunition."

"Don't worry, Sheriff," Angel assured her. "You're right when you say that hiring mercenaries can cost a pretty penny, but my friend's been after this gang for quite a while now. When she learned that we had a possible lead to their hideout, she practically volunteered to help us take them out."

"That's awfully... decent of her," Natalie murmured as she sat back on the top of her desk in relief. Most of the bounty hunters she'd met were violent brutes who tried to milk their employers out of every single cent they could spare. "When can I meet her?"

"Right now," an unfamiliar voice said.

Natalie looked up. Standing in the doorway was a gorgeous brunette with smooth, silky shoulder-length hair. She was wearing a pale, long-sleeved gingham blouse that had been knotted up at the front in such a way that it barely covered her breasts and exposed a great deal of her shapely body. A pair of tight-fitting cutoff denim shorts showed off her long, slim legs, which were tucked into a pair of brown leather boots in khaki trim. A tan Stetson hat and a red paisley-patterned bandanna tied around her neck completed the ensemble. She was holding a revolver in one hand and had a second gun holstered on a black leather belt draped loosely around her slender waist.

"This is Kyra," Angel said, gesturing to the newcomer. "Like I mentioned, she's been after the robber gang for some time. They've always managed to stay ahead of her and any other law enforcers hunting them down, so when she learned that we had one of them in custody, she jumped at the chance to grill him on where the rest of his posse was hiding out."

"I see," Natalie said. "I'm glad you offered to help, Miss Kyra. I hope the prisoner didn't give you too much trouble."

Kyra grinned cheekily as she holstered her gun. "Sheriff Natalie, was it? Nice to meet you. Getting him to talk wasn't too difficult. See, guys around here usually go months without seeing a girl, so all it took to loosen his lips was a little display of my... feminine charms."

Natalie blushed as she realized just what Kyra implied. "Ahem... yes. I don't think I'd have considered that particular method, but now that you mention it, it sounds quite effective, especially with the way you're dressed." she thought to herself. She shook her head in wry amusement. "So what did he tell you?"

"He said that the gang's been hiding out in a place called Road's End," Kyra replied. "Have you heard of it?"

"Road's End?" Natalie mused. "That's a town thirty miles or so west of here. It was abandoned years ago, though, because it was a terrible place -- there's no water for miles around, and the land's too dry for farming. No one's ever wanted to go back there."

"Which makes it a perfect place for a hideout, don't you think?" Kyra smirked. "I'm planning to pay those guys a little visit tonight before they can think of making a run for it. Do you girls want to come along? I know you're both itching for a bit of revenge after what they did to your town, and I could use some backup help myself."

Natalie and Angel glanced at each other, and the deputy answered for both of them. "I don't know if we're cut out for it, Kyra. We're both new at this, and we don't have your experience in an actual gunfight. We'll probably end up getting in your way."

Kyra laughed. "Don't worry about it!" she said. "I just need someone to watch over my back. I'll also make sure to position both of you somewhere safe where no one can find you. All you have to do is follow my lead and leave everything else to me."

Natalie hesitated. It was true that she and Angel lacked combat experience, but Kyra didn't seem to be fazed by it at all. At the same time, Angel had assured her that her friend was good at her line of work, and the bounty hunter seemed pretty confident in her ability to apprehend the bandits all by herself.

The fact that her town was in dire straits, with the cash needed to buy the seed crop for the coming harvest stolen away, and her obligation to uphold the law and bring the perpetrators to justice, made the decision an easy one for her.

"You've got yourself a deal," Natalie said, hopping off her desk. "Let's teach those bastards a lesson."

She stretched out her hand to the bounty hunter for a handshake. Grinning, Kyra took it in her own and gave it a fierce pump. Angel joined in as well, and the three girls clasped their hands together in a gesture of solidarity.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Description
Story by:

TALES OF THE OLD WEST: KYRA AND THE BANDITS
Chapter Two

Sheriff Natalie looked up from her desk as Angel, her deputy, walked into her office.

"I hope you have good news for me," Natalie said tiredly. The blue-haired girl was wearing a modified version of her regulation uniform, a fitted grey button-up blouse and pleated skirt, the former emblazoned with the golden six-pointed star badge that symbolized her authority. The same emblem was prominently affixed to her hat, which was also of the same color as the rest of her uniform. A second half-skirt of denim was wrapped around her waist, protecting her hip from any chafing brought about by the gun holster strapped to her star-buckled belt, and serving as a bright splash of color that contrasted with the monochrome of her outfit. On her feet were her trademark custom black boots that were embellished with stars as well, a further nod to her station.

Both Natalie and Angel had been away helping out a neighboring town recover from a recent bank robbery when news reached them that the same six-man bandit gang had struck their town as well. Stunned by the report, the two girls rode back home immediately to find that the outlaws had made off with most of the bank's cash, and that the ensuing firefight had incapacitated the three lawmen they had left behind on duty.

While the situation was certainly bad enough, there remained a glimmer of hope: their men had managed to gun down one of the robbers and had captured another. The unlucky bandit was now in their custody, locked inside the only cell in the local jail.

Angel smiled at her boss. The blonde was dressed in her favorite outfit, a black halter top with a fringed Holstein-patterned vest and a matching pair of tiny tailored shorts that left little to the imagination. That design was repeated on the underside of the black cowboy hat atop her head and the custom-made gun holster strapped to her thigh. The deputy jokingly called it her "cow girl" uniform and often lamented that she could never find a pair of boots with a similar pattern to complete the look. Like Natalie, her badges of office were pinned to her vest and hat.

"The prisoner talked," Angel said. "He told us where the rest of the gang is hiding out."

That was certainly good news, and Natalie practically leaped up from her chair in excitement. "He did?" she asked. "Where are they? How'd you get him to talk? He wouldn't tell me a thing at all, even after I told him how much prison time he'd be facing if he didn't cooperate!"

"I called in a friend of mine," Angel said. "She's a bounty hunter, and a pretty good one at that. She's the one who got him to spill the beans."

"A bounty hunter?" Natalie said doubtfully as she paced around her desk to the front. "I know we're short on hands, but don't they cost a lot of money? Now that the bank's been hit, I don't think we can even spare enough cash to restock our supply of ammunition."

"Don't worry, Sheriff," Angel assured her. "You're right when you say that hiring mercenaries can cost a pretty penny, but my friend's been after this gang for quite a while now. When she learned that we had a possible lead to their hideout, she practically volunteered to help us take them out."

"That's awfully... decent of her," Natalie murmured as she sat back on the top of her desk in relief. Most of the bounty hunters she'd met were violent brutes who tried to milk their employers out of every single cent they could spare. "When can I meet her?"

"Right now," an unfamiliar voice said.

Natalie looked up. Standing in the doorway was a gorgeous brunette with smooth, silky shoulder-length hair. She was wearing a pale, long-sleeved gingham blouse that had been knotted up at the front in such a way that it barely covered her breasts and exposed a great deal of her shapely body. A pair of tight-fitting cutoff denim shorts showed off her long, slim legs, which were tucked into a pair of brown leather boots in khaki trim. A tan Stetson hat and a red paisley-patterned bandanna tied around her neck completed the ensemble. She was holding a revolver in one hand and had a second gun holstered on a black leather belt draped loosely around her slender waist.

"This is Kyra," Angel said, gesturing to the newcomer. "Like I mentioned, she's been after the robber gang for some time. They've always managed to stay ahead of her and any other law enforcers hunting them down, so when she learned that we had one of them in custody, she jumped at the chance to grill him on where the rest of his posse was hiding out."

"I see," Natalie said. "I'm glad you offered to help, Miss Kyra. I hope the prisoner didn't give you too much trouble."

Kyra grinned cheekily as she holstered her gun. "Sheriff Natalie, was it? Nice to meet you. Getting him to talk wasn't too difficult. See, guys around here usually go months without seeing a girl, so all it took to loosen his lips was a little display of my... feminine charms."

Natalie blushed as she realized just what Kyra implied. "Ahem... yes. I don't think I'd have considered that particular method, but now that you mention it, it sounds quite effective, especially with the way you're dressed." she thought to herself. She shook her head in wry amusement. "So what did he tell you?"

"He said that the gang's been hiding out in a place called Road's End," Kyra replied. "Have you heard of it?"

"Road's End?" Natalie mused. "That's a town thirty miles or so west of here. It was abandoned years ago, though, because it was a terrible place -- there's no water for miles around, and the land's too dry for farming. No one's ever wanted to go back there."

"Which makes it a perfect place for a hideout, don't you think?" Kyra smirked. "I'm planning to pay those guys a little visit tonight before they can think of making a run for it. Do you girls want to come along? I know you're both itching for a bit of revenge after what they did to your town, and I could use some backup help myself."

Natalie and Angel glanced at each other, and the deputy answered for both of them. "I don't know if we're cut out for it, Kyra. We're both new at this, and we don't have your experience in an actual gunfight. We'll probably end up getting in your way."

Kyra laughed. "Don't worry about it!" she said. "I just need someone to watch over my back. I'll also make sure to position both of you somewhere safe where no one can find you. All you have to do is follow my lead and leave everything else to me."

Natalie hesitated. It was true that she and Angel lacked combat experience, but Kyra didn't seem to be fazed by it at all. At the same time, Angel had assured her that her friend was good at her line of work, and the bounty hunter seemed pretty confident in her ability to apprehend the bandits all by herself.

The fact that her town was in dire straits, with the cash needed to buy the seed crop for the coming harvest stolen away, and her obligation to uphold the law and bring the perpetrators to justice, made the decision an easy one for her.

"You've got yourself a deal," Natalie said, hopping off her desk. "Let's teach those bastards a lesson."

She stretched out her hand to the bounty hunter for a handshake. Grinning, Kyra took it in her own and gave it a fierce pump. Angel joined in as well, and the three girls clasped their hands together in a gesture of solidarity.

TO BE CONTINUED...