Dr. Wayland didn't seem of a mind to have a seat.  Instead, he took up a position near a window.  Chosen specifically to give him a vantage point not currently being watched by anyone else.  He muttered very quietly to himself, "Eggs and baskets...  Eggs...  Ovah.  Awl ovah?  Easy...."  He alternated between keeping an eye out his window and paying attention to the proceedings inside.  The lightning gun cradled in his arm, with the dangerous end pointing as up as possible.  One had to be careful with such things in crowded, indoor situations.

Garrett’s eyebrows rise. ”Bill Longley? I heard of him back when I was hunting out on the Llano. Ruthless as all hell, so the stories went. The sort that would kill a man because he didn’t like the way the fella looked.”

He begins to build another cigarette. ”I heard about Blazer’s Mill. By the time any of my people rode out there, the town was basically gone. A couple of my deputies were eager to pin it on Bonney and his crew, but I thought there might be more to the story.” He shakes his head. ”At least Evans is six feet under. And most of his people with him.”

“You were right to hide your prisoners, Ranger, for whatever my opinion’s worth. They wouldn’t have stayed put if they were in the jail here. They’d have either been cut loose, or turned up dead in their sleep. I would especially like to speak to Dolan after most of this mess is over with. I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve overheard in town expressing how relieved people are about him up and disappearing. I think rotting in a cell might just be too good for the son of a bitch. Pardon my language.”

He lights the cigarette with a candle on his desk. ”So you want to ask the Regulators for help?”

For a moment, Horn seems distracted by Dr. Wayland’s muttering, but he quickly returns his attention to the conversation when it turns to the subject of the Regulators. ”You don’t mind me saying so, Sheriff, you’re going to need all the help you can get if you’re planning on prying Murphy out of that house of his. He’s got plenty of gunhands out there to watch after him. It’s not going to be a simple task.”

Roberts clears his throat before speaking up. ”If I could have a few hours, I reckon I could bring some help, Sheriff. I’ve got friends among the Mescalero. They’re no friends of Murphy’s.”

”I could probably scare up a few spare horses, in case we’re shy on mounts,” Kearney offers.

“I’d appreciate that,” Garrett tells Roberts and Kearney.

”I’ve heard from more than one reliable sort that Billy and his partisans are a bunch of loose cannons,” he says, looking pointedly at Lee. ”But if you have reason to trust them, and think you can convince them to come along, I’ll concede that we need all the help we can find.”

Albert listened to the discussion, mostly nodding along with what the others said. As everyone started suggesting folk they might be able to add, Albert made his own suggestion. "I could see if any ranch hands of my uncle's might be willin' ta join. And if there's anythin' else he can offer."

"Billy and his friends are indeed a bunch of loose cannons, but we stopped them from killing Mr. Roberts over here and got them to see reason. I think their more reckless actions so far have stemmed from the fact that the law as far as they saw it had been giving Murphy a free hand to continue his crimes and ruthless campaign of intimidation. If they can see that we are finally moving in to apprehend him, then I believe they can perhaps be reined in a bit. I've established a rapport with them."

"You almost forgot they hired me to kill someone."  Kansas Kate added absentmindedly.  She seemed to be coming out of her reverie.  She had thought long enough, although paying attention to the conversation.

And then she asked the question in a voice that was low and quiet.  "Is there truly no other way?"

Riding casual, Jacinta passed on, eventually joining her friends at the Sheriff's office.  She paused on the porch, giving Tom a nod.  "Nice to see you again, Horn."  She flicked her chin back toward the store.  "You ever heard of a fella named Kinney?  Think I saw 'em coming out of Murphy's place."

Dr. Wayland, who just happened to have ended up near enough to Kate to catch her quiet words.  He leaned in just a bit to say very quietly back to her, "Any /othah/ way?  To stop this devilish man?  Ah you ill?  You seem fah more hale than Ah have evah seen you..."  The Doctor was quite perplexed by Kate's seeming turn.  And concerned.  Or just confused really.

Tamsin was uneasy. She always was when there were no plants or people to tend to, or so she told herself. She doesn’t know what to do with herself. They were going to deal with Murphy, but at the moment...

She listened and looked, eyeing Kansas Kate and Dr. Wayland in particular.

”John Kinney? Certainly have,” Horn tells Castillo, ”John Chisum and a couple of the railroads have put together a handsome reward for whoever can bring in his scalp. Nobody’s managed it yet. The talk is that Kinney’s one hell of a gunhand. And that he has several equally capable sorts in his gang.”

He clears his throat, then speaks up. ”Say, Sheriff? Miss Castillo here just spotted John Kinney stepping out of Murphy’s store.”

”It just gets better and better,” Garrett says with a shake of his head, ”Last I’d heard, Kinney and his gang had drifted north, toward Colorado. But I suppose it makes sense. Jesse Evans gets himself killed, so Murphy hires the man who taught Evans everything he knew about the outlaw life to replace him.”

Garrett looks to Cooper. ”Mr. Cooper, there’s still quite a bit I have to learn about this county. But it hasn’t taken me long to come to the understanding that your uncle is one of the best people residing in it. Like the Montano family, Henry and Alice have done a lot to help people facing hard times here, including those who lost land to Lawrence Murphy.”

“In my mind, your family’s already done plenty of good for Lincoln. But if they’re open to lending a hand with this, I certainly won’t turn them down.”

He nods as Lee describes his interactions with the Regulators. ”I’m willing to put my faith in your judgment, Ranger. If you feel you can steer those boys in the right direction, I know they could prove very valuable.”

“If I may say so, it sounds as though it will take a little time to get all this help rounded up. And there’s a couple of trustworthy deputies I need to track down myself. What do you say we all meet back up at Ike Ellis’ place at sundown?”

Kansas Kate looked at Dr. Wayland, and looked like she was about to answer him, when she suddenly lost her voice completely.

She had been so lost in her own thoughts she had missed something very important, or nearly so.  She did answer the doctor, but very cryptically.  She now understood why she'd been sent back.

So be it.  Better to die whole as you were meant to if one was to die.

"Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have."

She turned and said to no one in particular.  "Kinney is my mess.  I will clean it up.  He has to die the right way."

"I think one of the concerns the Regulators had was with the local establishment and the lack of their faith that anyone would hold the man calling himself Murphy to account. I think if we show them that we're willing to do that, they would join us willingly. I'll talk to 'em," he said.

"As far as reconvening, Ellis's place is as good as any. I think that anyone going far afield best go in numbers until that time. Nobody going about on their lonesome."

Garrett raises an eyebrow at Kansas Kate’s words, apparently curious about their meaning. But the sheriff says nothing. Nodding at Lee’s assessment, he turns his attention to Bauer. ”Deputy, I’d appreciate it if you would accompany the Ranger when he goes to speak with the Regulators. You can assure them that the local law is friendly where they’re concerned.”

Bauer nods in agreement.

”I will go with you, hoekwai,” Roving Wolf tells Roberts, ”Help you to tell the story of the mountain and gather as many as we can.”

Albert nodded at the response about his aunt and uncle. "I'll bring 'em up to speed, talk 'em through what we're facin'. Never know what Henry or Alice can do ta help."

The cowboy looked over at Kate and squinted as she mentioned cleaning up a Kinney-shaped mess, though he didn't comment on it. Instead he nodded. "Ike Ellis' around sundown sounds good ta me."

Albert waited to see if there was anything else to be said before he would point Brandy in the direction of home. If nothing else, she would be well fed and cared for. "Any of y'all want me ta take yer mounts ta the ranch, lemme know. Or if y'all wanna join me at the ranch fer a bit, my aunt's home cookin' is hard ta beat."

"Kate, while we don't anticipate that Murphy will be going along quietly when we attempt to apprehend him for his crimes, I'm gonna need you to hold off on any notions of gunfighting in the streets where men, women, and children live and where stray bullets can cost lives," he said firmly.

"I don't want to be mistaken as endorsing any sort of vigilante justice here. We're doing things under the auspices of the law. I don't care what history you have with this Kinney character. If that's the path you're taking, then you'll be on your own hook where the law is concerned, and bear in mind you've just stated your intentions of killing a man in front of the duly appointed sheriff, one of his deputies, a Texas Ranger, and a host of witnesses. Calling him out for a duel like a character in a dime novel might sound good, but it won't end up well. Put down your feud for a moment and stick with us. I have little doubt you'll have a chance at Kinney when we head to Murphy's place, and if he doesn't show there or gets away, I promise to apprehend him afterwards -- and you can come along for the ride."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:06, Tue 28 July 2020.

"Ranger, what would happen if little ol' me happened upon some folks.  An' not folks likes ya'll with yer Winchesters an' yer Chiney fightin' an' yer bullets what can explode a buffalo.  I realize ah ain't no count amongst ya.  But don't think folks like that.  Think just folks.  Tryin' ta live."  She cocked her head.  "Two, three dead before ah even have to reload?  Six, seven dead before one of ya'll makes mah noggin into chili?  An that's being modest Ranger, cause sometimes ah do better.  'Cassionally worse, but more often better."

She leaned back.  "Now think about that feller a' gettin' the jump on ya when ya go to collar Murphy.  Because if he ain't a damn hack like the scum Murphy's been gettin' up ta this point, that could be a real problem.  His boys ain't had any real leadership up ta this point.  An' ah have a way ta cut th' head off th' snake."

She smiled sweetly.  "An' that snake's nasty Ranger.  Ah ain't askin' ya to do something ain't in your nature, ah'm just sayin' don't try to leash yer coyote.  It lets th' snake have th' run of th' place an' it don't stop th' coyote nohow.  An' what's worse here, th' snake, or th' coyote?"

"Your capabilities are truly impressive. In my career, I've tangled with no small number of talented gunfighters, and you rank up there with the best of them. That's why I want you at our side as we move forward. Don't get me wrong - you're damn good, but you're not invincible. You went off on your own hook earlier, and that didn't quite work out for the best, as well as I can reckon. I don't want to leash my coyote, I wanna make her a wolf so that she'll hunt with me as part of the same pack," he said.

He held up his hands for a second, then put them to his sides.

"Look I can't stop you from doing whatever you're about to do. Killin' snakes is all well and good, but there's a process that I'm aware you're skeptical of for handling these types of individuals. I hoped that I'd maybe change your mind over the last little bit here as we've taken down a good number of serpents, but apparently old habits die hard."

”Ma’am, Kinney himself, along with every member of his gang, carries a price on their heads. So if you happen to shoot a known outlaw dead, I’ll consider your actions in the same light that I would any bounty hunter working in this territory. There’s only so many criminals that a lawman like myself, or the Ranger here, can contend with at any given time. That’s the reason rewards are offered,” Garrett says.

”But if any innocent person catches a bullet because of some ruckus you start in my town, you’ll answer to me for it. And mark my words, answer you will. Lincoln has seen too many honest people murdered. I mean to see that halted.”

He moves to the door. ”The Ellis Store, then. Tonight. I appreciate you trying to round up some help. Murphy...I don’t think he’s the sort to go quietly.”

"There's a reason ya duel in th' street wit' nothin' behind ya fellers."  She answered sweetly.  "Ya'll wouldn't unnderstand.  An' ya wouldn't, cuz it's dumbass.  Here ah go, shootin' people in the street.  Ah could be doin' anythin' else.  Lit'rally ennythin' else would be better."

She chuckled.  She then caught Dr. Wayland's eye.  She had changed her mind about the use of the explosives, but that didn't mean there weren't still uses for them, not the least of which was making sure Murphy didn't have them.  If she could have such vile ideas, so could he.

"Now, this here might be a mighty fine chance fer a gentleman of accomplishment ta procure some spicy provisions.  Ah ain't aimin' ta start nothin' right way, understan', but... these things is a might im-predikable.  Still, it's a damn good distration fer... shoppin'."

Dr. Wayland had been eyeing the conversation going back and forth, particularly after it was mentioned that most of these men had bounties.  He had assumed, but it was always nice to have it verified by an actual authority.

When Kate looked his way, the Doctor grinned mildly and touched the brim of his hat in a faux-tip, "Ah would be honah'd to accompany you on this mercantile adventure.  Ah do have a bit of a shopping list..."  He took up his lightning gun and pushed off the wall, ready to follow.