by Risner, Fay
Annie stood up and ducked a shot that whizzed past her head. The bullet chipped pieces of brick from the building and showered both of them. “Jake, we need to split up. I'll meet you back at the drainage tube.”
She pushed Jake behind the dumpster and squatted down.
“I can't go off and leave you here with these men,” Jake growled.
“This is no time to grow a backbone. I'm not sticking around here either, you fool. Get going. I'm running as fast as I can in the opposite direction,” Anne said. “That way those goons will have to split up.”
“You'll run, huh? You won't be fast enough to out distance them as weak as you are,” worried Jake. He eyed the men coming at them. “Not nearly fast enough Cowboy Girl Annie. No matter what we do one or both of us is screwed.”
The four roughnecks footsteps sounded like elephants, echoing on the packed alley dirt. The tromping became louder as the men marched closer.
“Don't worry about me. I'm the one with the gun. Remember? Just get ready to run,” Annie hissed. “Big Ed, you and your men better stay back. I'm a good shot and heeled as you well know,” she threatened from behind the dumpster.
“Do tell?” Big Ed snorted. “So are we, and we have four guns to your one.”
A gun fired. The bullet bit into the dumpster wall, sending a ringing sound through Annie and Skinny Jake's ears.
“Jake, see ya later, ya hear?” Annie said urgently. “I'll be all right. Just get moving.” She turned her attention to Big Ed and his gang. “Cut that shooting out before you really make me mad,” she blustered. To show she meant business, Annie fired over the dumpster at them.
That made a believer out of the men. They flattened to the ground.
Annie said, “Get going, Skinny Jake now. I'll see you later.”
Jake did as he was told this time and raced for the end of the alley.
Police car sirens screamed, and strobe lights swirled against the alley wall. It hadn't taken someone in the bakery long to call the cops when they heard shots fired. Annie and Jake took off, knowing Big Ed wouldn't risk another shot with cops coming down on them.
Big Ed snapped, “Stevie, you go after that dame and off her while we keep the cops occupied.”
Annie heard Big Ed bark the order, but she didn't think that Jake did. At least, she hoped he didn't. If he thought she was in danger, he might be dumb enough to try to defend her. She was relieved when she saw him run across the street headed for the park, going back the way they had come.
Annie headed the opposite direction, keeping her right hand on the pistol butt in her pocket. At the end of the block, she turned around. A man came out of the alley, walking fast in her direction. Great! He was going to corner her sooner or later.
Chapter 15
Annie darted into the next alley she came to. She climbed into one of the four dumpsters lined up along the wall, hoping the guy would go on by her.
Luckily, she'd picked a recycling dumpster so it was half full of flatten cardboard boxes from the appliance store. Right now as weak as she felt she was thankful to be hiding and resting in a clean dumpster.
Annie heard fast footsteps and panting. The man had run catch up to her when he thought he was far enough away from the cops. He rushed past her dumpster and the other three to the far end of the alley.
Annie lifted the lid and stuck a finger in the crack to peek out. The guy looked both directions. He decided she couldn't have gotten out of sight that fast. He turned and looked to see where she could hide in the alley.
That goon was smarter than he looked. He came back to the four dumpsters in a row. He stopped at the one nearest him. As he took his gun out of the shoulder holster, he slowly lifted the lid. He pointed the gun inside, looked around and eased the lid shut.
He repeated the same procedure with the next dumpster. As he looked in dumpster number three next to the one she was in, Annie prepare herself for what was coming next. She lowered the dumpster lid.
Her mind raced, already knowing where this was leading. Her shooting at men was becoming a habit. She didn't like being forced to do it, but the man sure meant to kill her. That eased her conscious some as Annie resigned herself to the fact she wouldn't be shooting to miss this time.
She squeezed herself into the corner and eased her breathing down as she listened to the steps coming closer. With both hands on her pistol, she pointed the gun and waited for the lid to squeak open.
The guy eased the lid up slower than the other three, because this was his last choice. He had it figured this was where Annie was hiding. The gun barrel poked in the opening. He intended to fire without looking coward that he was.
Annie hoped because of what she was about to do that the cops didn't come around until she was gone.
The thug's gun barrel pointed down into the layers of cardboard she was sitting on. His aim was a few feet from her cowboy boots. The blast from the gun was deafening in the close metal quarters. She had a ringing in her ears she bet would last a month.
The guy got curious enough to see if he hit her. That was his mistake. He slowly lifted the lid to look inside. She eased her gun in his direction and shot him between the eyes. He sank to the ground, never knowing what hit him.
She climbed out of the dumpster, being careful not to step on the body or in the pool of blood forming under his head. She raced to the end of the alley and glanced both ways. She took a deep breath as she quickly walked away. No cops yet.
Annie made her way back to Jake surely but slowly. She wanted to make sure she wasn't followed which would give away their safe place. Besides, she was about out of energy to stay on her feet.
Annie felt a surge of sheer relief when she spotted the tangle of bushes ahead of her. She slipped up to the branches and looked around her as she spoke softly, “Jake, it's me.”
Jake grunted. “Come ahead.”
Annie crawled into the drainage tube. Jake lay on his belly, his head resting on his hands as he watched her. He grinned, looking relieved to see her. “It's seems like forever since we parted. I was just thinking I should go back out and find you. I figured I might have to carry you back here if you gave out and had to stop to rest. You're lucky if you didn't bust open that wound and start bleeding again. What happened?”
Annie shrugged. “Coming out in the open would have been a stupid thing for you to do. I told you I can take care of myself. I always have and always will.”
“Aw, now who is forgetting we are supposed to watch each other's backs,” Jake chided.
The fact that Annie killed a human being was just sinking in. She put her hands over her face.
“Something bad happened, huh?” Jake surmised.
Annie shook her head and wiped the moisture out of her eyes with her jacket sleeve. “Jake, Big Ed sent one of his goons after me while he talked to the cops. The guy stayed on my tail so I hid in the appliance store dumpster.
He figured out that's where I disappeared to and started looking in the dumpsters with his gun drawn. The dumpster I was in was the last of the four. The coward stuck his pistol in first and shot without looking.”
“Oh no, did he hit you?” Jake asked, looking her up and down.
“No, not even close. I was doubled up in a corner so he missed me by a mile. He was curious enough to peek which was his mistake. When he did, I let him have it between the eyes. He dropped without a sound, and I got out of there before the gunfire was reported to the cops again,” Annie said.
“Well, don't feel too bad for the guy. It was either you or him going to bite the bullet. I'm just glad it was Big Ed's man that went down for the count and not you.
What are we going to do now? We can't stay in this storm drain forever with winter coming on,” Jake groaned.
“No, we can't. We need to trap Big Ed and get him jailed permanently before he kills one of us,” Annie said frankly.
To Jake that seemed like an impossible plan. “Oh, sure. Sounds like you're getting one of your cockamamie ideas to
me. Now just how are we going to trap Big Ed?”
Chapter 16
“I think I know a way,” Annie said, grinning at him. “It involves you buying me another doughnut.”
“Oh, come on. Quit your joking. That bakery is the last store we need to be seen near. Big Ed is sure to have it figured out by now that the two of us can only afford doughnuts. He already knows we hang out in that alley a lot so he's sure to have one of his goon's keeping an eye out for us,” complained Jake.
“Exactly, so he knows where to find us if we get another doughnut and eat it in the alley,” Annie agreed. She checked her pockets. “I've got enough change to buy two more. After that, I better go back to work, rummaging.”
“Hey, awhile back you told me you only had enough money for one doughnut we'd have to split,” Jake groused.
Annie chuckled. “So I lied.”
“That wasn't a bit nice of you to make me feel sorry for you and spend my hard earned money on doughnuts for us both when you had money to buy your own. I thought you said you weren't going to lie to me anymore,” Jake said.
“I'm sorry. Old habits are hard to break,” Annie apologized.
“Well, my being cautious is an old habit that is hard for me to break. For your information, your plan don't sound like a great one to me. I don't feel like being bait for Big Ed and maybe getting myself and you killed. Not even for an iced doughnut you bought me,” Jake complained.
“I don't either, but we haven't got a choice. Sooner or later, we won't be able to out run that mean hombre. He'll get us for sure if it's on his own terms. We got to set a trap and catch him before that happens,” she reasoned.
So Cowboy Girl Annie, bold as Annie Oakley, and Skinny Jake, reluctant as always since he didn't expect them to come out of Annie's plan alive (what ever it was), walked in broad daylight in plain sight to the bakery. Any of Big Ed's stooges watching for them couldn't miss spotting the pair out in the open.
“There just ain't anything smart about what we're doing if you ask me,” griped Jake as they made their way through the park full of people during a tennis match.
Cowboy Girl Annie grinned at him. “That's why I didn't ask you.”
“I'd feel a whole lot better if I knew exactly what you have up your sleeve,” Jake declared.
“No you wouldn't,” Annie said as they crossed the street.
Jake stopped in front of the bakery. “Just so you know if you get me killed. I'll never forgive you.”
“That sounds right enough. I wouldn't forgive me either if you end up dead,” Annie said, patting Jake on the back.
As they entered the bakery, Jake whispered in her ear, “Somehow that sentiment is not very reassuring.”
This time Annie ordered the doughnuts and paid for them. Jake braced himself nervously on one foot then the other as he watched out the large plate glass window for Big Ed and his men to show up.
Annie joined Jake and handed him his sack. They stood a few minutes at the window as if they were just watching people that passed by the store.
Jake squeezed her arm and nodded down the street. Big Ed's car slowly cruising on the street.
Annie turned to the clerk as he put another row of glazed doughnuts in the showcase. “Hey, Mister.”
The clerk straightened up. “Yeah, what do you want?”
Annie pointed out the window. “You mind calling the cops. I see some tough guys coming this way. Word on the street is there is going to be a showdown as bad as the one that happened in the O K Corral. I have a feeling the gun fight is happening quick like in your alley again.”
“Not if I can help it,” the man said, already dialing the number.
Jake opened the door for Annie. They stepped out in full view of Big Ed's car as if they had nothing to fear.
Jake and Annie causally walked around the side of the building as Big Ed and his goons drove by. For all to see, it looked like two homeless people out for a leisurely stroll. No way could Big Ed miss seeing the two thorns in his side he and his men had been searching for.
“So far so good, Jake. Everything is going as I planned,” Annie whispered as she looked back at the gray sedan following slowly behind them.
“I just wished I knew what this plan was and how it was going to end especially for me and you. I have a bad feeling it's not going to be in our favor,” complained Jake.
“You sure don't have much faith in me or my plans,” Annie groused.
“I can tell you they tend to be dangerous, and that makes me nervous,” Skinny Jake quipped as Annie grabbed his arm and steered him down the alley behind the bakery.
Big Ed's car pulled over to the curb and parked across from the alley opening. Jake flinched while he listened to all four car doors bang shut.
With their feet sticking out in full view of the car, Annie and Jake sat down with their backs against the far side of the dumpster.
“You sure you want us to have our feet out in the open where Big Ed can do target practice on them?” Jake complained.
“He's got to be able to see exactly where we are. I don't know about you, but as long as I have a choice, my feet is about all I want him to see of me,” Annie explained.
“If I had a choice' I'd be back in our hiding spot, but you didn't give me a choice,” Jake groused.
Big Ed and his goons walked across the street. As soon as they were in the alley, they edged toward the dumpster with their guns drawn. Annie figured Big Ed was worried about an ambush now that he knew she carried a gun.
Sirens rang out. A parade of squad cars screeched to a halt behind Big Ed's car. The cops were in a hurry to end the fire fights of the last few days by not letting another one get started.
Jake groaned as he peeked around the dumpster. “Oh no, here the cops come already with their guns drawn. Big Ed and his men have their guns aimed right at this dumpster. We're bound to be full of bullet holes by the time this all goes down.”
“What's a few more holes to me. I already have one in me. Actually, two if you count the front and the back of me,” Annie joked.
“This is no time to joke. I don't have a hole in me yet, and I don't want one,” Jake complained with a white knuckle grip on his doughnut sack.
“Now just trust me, Skinny Jake. This plan of mine is going to work out all right. Just go along with everything I say,” Annie whispered to him. “Here, you hold my doughnut sack.” Annie saw the death grip Jake had on his sack and pulled her sack back from his out stretched hand. “Don't you mash my doughnut because you're all nervous.”
“Oh Annie, I won't,” Jake replied reaching for the sack with shaky hands.
Annie gave him her sack. “Fine, but I paid good money for that doughnut. Whatever you do don't drop it. Not in less you really want to see me mad.”
“Yes, ma'am,” Jake snapped.
Annie scooted until she was half exposed at the end of the dumpster so Big Ed could see her. She waved at him friendly like just to make sure she had his attention, and to tick him off just a little. It felt sort of like waving a red hanky at a mean bull. Now she had to make sure she dodged this mad bull when he charged her.
“Oh mercy!” Jake cried softly. “You're just asking to get shot again, Annie.”
“Hush,” she hissed.
Chapter 17
The remaining two henchmen, with Big Ed in the lead, had their guns out and were just waiting to get close enough so they wouldn't miss when they shot. Evidently, they hoped to shoot Annie and Jake and be long gone before the cops got close enough to stop them.
Annie stuck her arm around the side of the dumpster and fired into the side of it. She chuckled when she saw the thugs duck and freeze. They thought she was shooting at them, and it tickled her.
They had good reason to feel that way. Any other time, she might have shot as many of them as she could before the gun went empty. Today killing Big Ed and his galoots wasn't in her plan.
Jake was hissing in her ear again. “Cowboy Girl Annie, you have a way of
completely bamboozling me. What did you do that for? If we don't have enough trouble, now you're wasting bullets. Cain't be too many more left in that gun, and us headed for a shootout with four armed men.”
Annie chuckled. “Last count of heads I took behind this dumpster we only have one gun and I'm holding it so there ain't a we to this shootout.”
“I'm trying to tell you that gun doesn't have enough shells left in it to kill all four of those men,” Jake reminded her.
“Now why would I want to harm any of those men with cops coming here to witness me do it?” Annie asked.
“I'm glad to hear you thought of that. The other thing, I'm saying is somebody isn't going to like that dumpster shot full of holes, and we ain't got any money to pay for fixing it. I'm just saying,” Jake griped.
“That won't be our problem. I didn't shoot the dumpster,” Annie said in a hushed voice over her shoulder.
Jake's face went blank. “You didn't?”
Annie gave him a hard look. “Jake, read my lips. That's exactly what you say if you're asked by the cops.”
Annie used her blouse tail to give the pistol a fast wipe down. She threw it into the alley just out of reach of Big Ed.
Jake gasped. “Oh, have mercy on us. Now you're giving Big Ed that gun which was our only protection.”
“I didn't give that man anything, and I don't intend to,” Annie said stubbornly.
“Yeah, right! Need I remind you that is what started this whole battle in the first place. That's why we're sitting here like rats, waiting to be picked off by Big Ed,” Jake told her.
Right on cue, four policemen came into sight at the end of the alley and scattered out. They had their guns drawn.
“Throw the guns down. Do it now, and put your hands in the air!” screamed the closest cop behind Big Ed and his gang.
As soon as Annie heard the soft plunk of guns hit the ground in the vicinity of her gun, she said softly, “We're home free now, Jake. Let me do all the talking.”
