Ferret froze.
“I shot your pard in the shoulder because I wanted to take him alive,” the gunman said. “He didn’t know enough to quit while he was behind. Do you?”
Ferret glanced at Ox, still on his feet, weaving, about to fall.
“Which one of you hurt my lady?” the gunfighter demanded.
Ferret stared at those revolvers.
“Answer me,” the Warrior warned.
“I didn’t touch her!” Ferret replied.
“Figured as much,” the gunman said, nodding. His right gun cracked and the bullet tore into the left nipple on Ox’s chest. “That’s for Blade,” the man announced. The revolver blasted again, and the right nipple vanished. “That’s for Gremlin.” Twice more he fired, and Ox’s eyes became empty sockets. “And that’s for my lady.” He twirled the right revolver into its holster and pointed the left handgun at Ferret’s head.
Ox was slowly crumbling, ever so slowly falling to his knees. He swayed for a moment, then toppled onto his face, his massive body thudding as it struck the ground.
“Now it’s your turn, shorty,” the Warrior stated. “If you so much as blink, I’ll perforate your face and add an additional nostril or two.”
Ferret smiled. “I must hand it to you, Hickok,” he said in reluctant appreciation, “I’ve never seen anyone as fast as you. I thought we’d take you out, easy.”
“The person or thing who finally takes me out,” Hickok predicted, “won’t find it easy.” He paused. “You know my name. And you’re as ugly as they come. So I reckon you’re from the same outfit Gremlin is from. You’re a G.R.D., right?”
Ferret nodded.
“Gremlin told us all about it,” Hickok revealed.
Voices could be heard, not far off, drawing closer.
“Must be tough wearing that brand,” Hickok said thoughtfully.
“Brand?” Ferret repeated, puzzled.
Hickok pointed at the collar. “Gremlin says you can’t ever take them off, that this Doktor controls you with them.”
Ferret nodded, frowning. “We do what we’re told or we’re killed, electrocuted at the Doktor’s convenience. He monitors us using a satellite link. These collars also serve as transmitters, and their range is almost unlimited.”
The voices were much nearer.
Ferret took a step toward the gunfighter.
Hickok instantly reacted, thumbing back the hammer on his left Colt Python. “I warned you!”
Ferret grinned impishly.
“You think having your brains blown out is funny?” Hickok asked, perplexed.
“It beats the alternative,” Ferret answered.
“I don’t follow,” Hickok admitted.
“I’ve failed in my mission,” Ferret explained. “The Doktor does not tolerate failures. Any second he will throw a switch on a certain piece of equipment in Cheyenne, and moments later I’ll be fried from the neck up. Not a particularly appealing fate. Your way will be faster and painless.”
“You want me to kill you?” Hickok queried incredulously.
“Yes.”
“No way! I’m keeping you for Plato to question.”
“I won’t last that long,” Ferret said, his tone pleading. “Please! Finish me now! Before it’s too late!”
“Forget it, shrimp.”
Ferret growled in frustration. “Don’t you see? What happened with Gremlin is a fluke. Hardly none of us ever escape the Doktor’s clutches! There’s no way to get this damn collar off!”
Hickok shook his head.
“I’ll force you to shoot,” Ferret stated, crouching. “If you don’t, I’ll rip you to shreds!”
Hickok stared at the collar, noting the precision of the polished metal.
It was a circular band encircling the neck, with a rectangular blue indicator light in the center of the throat. It wasn’t lit. Yet. If it did light up, it meant the Doktor had engaged the circuits.
“Do it!” Ferret begged.
“Maybe I should just let this Doktor fry you,” Hickok said, “after what you’ve done to my friends.”
“I had to do it!” Ferret snapped, frustrated. “It wasn’t anything personal. Gremlin understood that.”
“I still don’t see why I should oblige you,” Hickok commented.
The approaching voices were not more than a dozen yards away, on the other side of some nearby trees.
Ferret glanced at Gremlin, relieved they’d failed in their mission, then at Ox, feeling slightly sorry for the hulking dolt. Any moment he would join Ox in death. What was the Doktor waiting for? Surely he was monitoring an assignment as important as this one had been to him. The Doktor relished revenge, he savored killing and slaughter, the way some people craved sweets. Ferret just knew a tremendous jolt of electricity would zap him at any second, and he couldn’t stand the suspense.
He lunged at the gunfighter.
Hickok’s response was instantaneous. The left Colt Python boomed and the impact of the hollow-point bullet slammed Ferret backwards several yards. He landed on his back, clutching at his neck.
Ferret twitched a few times, then lay still.
Hickok sighed and slid his left Python into its holster. “I did warn you, didn’t I, runt?” he asked the prone form.
Six Family members burst onto the scene, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi in the lead, his katana drawn and ready. He was accompanied by Yama and Teucer, his Triad brothers, and Plato, Jenny, and Joshua.
“Everything all right?” Rikki inquired, scanning the clearing.
“Everything’s under control,” Hickok replied.
“What was that shooting we just heard?” Plato asked him.
Hickok pointed at Ferret. “The runt there had a vitamin deficiency.”
Plato’s eyebrows knitted. “He had a what?”
“A vitamin deficiency,” Hickok reiterated. “Said he needed more lead in his system.”
Jenny was already at Blade’s side, cradling his head in her lap. “He’s been hurt!” she exclaimed.
“Don’t fret none,” Hickok advised her. “That blue monstrosity hit him on the head. The thing was lucky it didn’t break its hand.”
“This isn’t funny!” Jenny retorted. “We must get them both to the infirmary right now!”
Plato nodded and motioned at Rikki.
Rikki replaced his katana in its scabbard and, with the assistance of Yama, lifted Blade from the ground, Rikki carrying him by the ankles and Yama carefully supporting his broad shoulders. Teucer and Joshua did likewise with Gremlin.
“Don’t trip!” Jenny cautioned them as they departed. She walked ahead, guiding them around obstacles.
Plato watched them go, then faced Hickok. “Did they almost get you too?” He nodded at the two bodies.
“Nope,” Hickok said. “It was a piece of cake. Despite their looks, they weren’t much more than a couple of amateurs.”
“It appears you shot the big one to pieces,” Plato commented, mentally counting the five holes in the blue creature.
“I can’t abide it when someone drools in public,” Hickok remarked.
“Shows a pitiful lack of etiquette.”
“What about the hairy one?” Plato asked, moving toward it.
“It depends on my aim,” Hickok said. He crossed to the furball, knelt, and felt its left wrist for a pulse. At first he couldn’t locate any, but then he detected a faint, rhythmic beating. “This one is still kicking.”
“You didn’t kill him as well?” Plato inquired, sounding surprised.
“Nope. I kind of liked the cute way he twitched his little nose,” Hickok answered, grinning.
Plato searched for wounds, but none were visible. He looked at Hickok.
“How?”
Hickok reached over and tapped the metal collar the creature wore.
“I don’t under…” Plato began, then he saw it. Hickok’s shot had struck a rectangular component in the middle of the throat. The skin under the collar was broken, but the rectangular part had absorbed the impact of the slug and prevented it from penetrating the neck. “We must get this one to the infirmary. If he lives, he may provide valuable information concerning the Doktor and the Civilized Zone.”