Peggy absentmindedly touched her swollen face.

  “What can we do to help, Mrs. Jones?”

  “Find me someone who can answer those questions,” Steve answered flatly.

  “None of the sheriff’s men will talk,” Peggy tried to explain. “They’re too afraid of him. I doubt very much they’d even talk at gunpoint.”

  “Then it’s a good thing I won’t be using guns,” Steve informed her.

  “How are you planning on persuading someone to talk?” Hank wanted to know. “What do you know that the rest of us don’t?”

  “I know that practically everyone is afraid of fire.”

  Hank spread his hands. “How does that help us?”

  Steve looked over at the large fireplace in the middle of the room. It was loaded with wood and was burning fast and furious. He held up a hand. The fire in the fireplace jumped straight up and slowly approached Steve’s outstretched hand. Steve turned to see what the bouncer’s reaction would be and was startled to see that Hank and Peggy had vanished. Two stools had been knocked over as his two newest companions had beaten a hasty retreat.

  He rotated the large ball of flames this way and that before instructing his jhorun to push the fire back into the fireplace and allow it to resume burning the wood. As soon as the fireplace had been set back in order Steve looked around the room to see what had happened to Hank. He found the giant man, along with Peggy and Rosamund, cowering on the floor behind the bar. As one three heads peeked up and over the counter to stare at him with wide eyes.

  The four patrons that were enjoying their drinks had tipped over their table and were hiding behind it. Four grizzled faces peered anxiously at them.

  “Perhaps a warning would have been in order,” Rosamund suggested as she regained her feet. She waved apologetically at her regulars. “I’m sorry about that. The fireplace appears to be faulty. I’ll have that looked at.”

  “The damn fire done jumped out of the fireplace!” one of her regulars exclaimed. He pointed at Steve. “You did that!”

  Steve nodded. “Yes, I did.”

  “How did you do that?” the man wanted to know.

  “I can’t explain and even if I could, I don’t have the time. I have to get Sarah back.”

  “The lovely young gal that worked here?” another of the regulars asked. Together the four men carefully stood and righted the table. They each pulled their chairs back over and sank heavily down on them. “What happened to Sarah? You kin to her?”

  “She’s my wife.”

  “She’s married? Damned if I knew that.”

  “She kept it quiet,” Rosamund told them. “It’s not important. She’s been taken by the sheriff, Ronald. We’re going to get her back.”

  Ronald, the first regular to have spoken, rose back to his feet. “I’ll help. I liked her.”

  The other three men pushed away from their table and rose to their feet, too.

  “We’ll help. What do you need us to do?”

  “Thanks for the offer, guys, but… wait. You know what? I do think I have something for you to do.”

  “You do?” Ronald eagerly asked.

  “You do?” Rosamund, Luther, and Cecil echoed.

  Steve nodded. “I do. Listen, do you think you can find one of the sheriff’s men for us? I don’t care who. Any of them will do. Go out together as a group and look around town. As soon as you spot one send someone back here, okay?”

  Ronald nodded enthusiastically.

  “Yes, sir! We can do that! Come on, fellers. We got a job to do.”

  “Thank you, Ronald,” Rosamund called out as they exited the saloon. “Drinks are on me today! Now then, since there’s no one left in here and Gerry is out fishing today, we’re going to close everything up. Bart, Hank, it’s closing time.”

  The two burly men began the tedious job of securing the saloon. Windows were closed and shutters were bolted in place. As he locked one of the shutters in place Hank looked over at Steve and gave him a quick once over. He shook his head.. Steve noticed.

  “What? What is it?”

  “A little feller like yourself ain’t gonna be able to take on the likes of the sheriff. I hope you’re good with a gun, buddy.”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever been called little before in my entire life. Hmmmph. Doesn’t matter. No guns. I hate guns.”

  Hank’s eyebrows shot up. “No guns? What are you plannin’ on doin’? Politely ask him to let your woman go? He’s gonna put up a fight. I hope you know that.”

  Steve ignited both hands.

  “I certainly hope so.”

  Finished with securing the saloon, Hank and Bart were sent out to help Ronald and the regulars in locating someone, anyone, from the sheriff’s gang. The reports coming in were less than promising. The sheriff’s gang of deputies had all but vanished. There had been no signs of the sheriff’s presence anywhere in town and had been that way all day. Even a long but tedious check of all two dozen saloons verified the same thing: the sheriff was mysteriously absent.

  “Where are they?” Steve demanded later that evening. He was pacing in front of the fireplace, causing the flames to double in size every time he passed by. “Where is everybody? It’s like he’s abandoned the town. Why would he… Oh, no. He’s jumped ship, hasn’t he?”

  “Jumped ship?” Luther repeated, confused.

  “Steve is suggesting Sheriff Bixby has abandoned the town,” Rosamund translated. “He wouldn’t do that, Steve. He has the richest silver mine in town. He wouldn’t leave that behind.”

  “He would if he had a teleporter under his control,” Luther countered. “If he thinks he can control Miss Sarah then all the silver in the world would mean nothing to him.”

  Cecil stared at Luther in shock. “The sheriff isn’t that stupid. He’d never leave behind his silver.”

  “He would if thought he could get even more at a moment’s notice,” Luther explained. “A teleporter could do that. She could teleport in to the most secure bank vault and back out before anyone would know about it.”

  Steve cursed softly to himself and looked Luther in the eye. “If the sheriff leaves town then we’ll never find her again. We need to find out what’s going on and we need to do it now.”

  “We’re trying, Steve,” Luther snapped, displaying a rare bout of exasperation.

  Steve studied his ancestor closely. He was frustrated, distraught, and clueless as to what to do next. His gaze swept around the room. No one had any inclination what to do. Whatever he was going to do he had to do so quickly.

  Steve came to a rapid decision. He stopped his pacing and headed towards the door.

  “Where are you going?” Luther asked, hurrying to catch up.

  Steve held up a hand, signaling him to stop. Cecil had also hurried to catch up to Luther.

  “You two stay here. I’m going to find us a snitch.”

  “Not by yourself you’re not,” Luther told him in as stern a voice as he could muster.

  “I second that,” Cecil told him.

  “Luther, you’re too important for me to risk. You’re staying put. Cecil, I appreciate what you’ve done for me, but you’re also staying put. I can work faster if I don’t have to worry about you two.”

  Rosamund pushed her way through the tall men and regarded Steve. “Then take someone you don’t have to worry about.”

  Steve met the tiny woman’s gaze. “Like?”

  “Me,” a deep voice rumbled.

  Steve turned to look at Hank, who had just crossed his big beefy arms across his chest.

  “I don’t want you getting hurt, big guy.”

  Hank shook his head. “Every time I close my eyes I see Deke carrying Miss Sarah away while I couldn’t lift an arm in protest. I want retribution. For myself. For Sarah. For you.”

  He held out a hand that was bigger than most dinner plates. Steve took it and winced as Hank crushed it in an eager handshake.

  “Where are we going?” Hank wanted to know.

  “The jail. I’ll bet we can find someone there.”

  “There’s bound to be more than one person there,” Hank advised. He cracked his knuckles. “I certainly hope there are.”

  Steve followed Hank to the door. Just before he stepped outside he looked back at his circle of friends.

  “Be ready to move. Chances are we’re going to be moving pretty fast when we come back here.”

  “Then don’t bother coming back here,” Rosamund instructed. “We’ll meet you at the jail.”

  Steve nodded. “That’ll work. Give us half an hour and then come get us.”

  “We will.”

  Twenty minutes later the two of them were safely concealed within the nearby trees, staring at a familiar two story building. Hank tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to a single man that had just come down the steps and was milling about the front of the county jail. Steve recognized the deputy. It was Gabriel, the same one that had ‘arrested’ him before.

  “He’s perfect,” Steve whispered to his hulking bodyguard. “He’s our guy. Let’s go get him.”

  Hank growled. “With pleasure.”

  Steve and Hank stepped out into the open and began striding confidently towards the jail. Sensing movement, the deputy looked over in their direction and paled. His eyes widened as he recognized Steve and instantly turned tail and fled. He was screaming profanities as he disappeared into the nearby woods.

  Steve frowned. “Hmm. Flaw detected. I didn’t think he’d do that.”

  “I’m sorry,” Hank began. “Many people are intimidated by my size.”

  “Believe it or not, I don’t think he was running from you.”

  “Have you met him before?”

  “Yeah. That was Gabriel. He was the one that tried to prevent me from escaping when I busted Luther out of jail a few days ago. I gave him a little demonstration what I could do and he passed out on me.”

  Hank chuckled. “Serves him right.”

  Alerted by the commotion the jail door banged open and two more men appeared. They spotted Steve and Hank and ran down the steps, drawing their guns and training it on them as they did so.

  Hank stiffened with surprise. Steve even heard the big man growl.

  “It’s him,” Hank whispered.

  “Who?” Steve whispered back.

  “It’s Deke Babcock. He’s the one who kidnapped Miss Sarah.”

  “Is he now? Change of plan. There’s our snitch. He’s going to tell us everything he knows.”

  Deke and the second man were now standing in front of them and had a pistol in each hand trained directly at them.

  “If he resists,” Hank quietly told him, “then I get to be the one to persuade him.”

  “He took my wife,” Steve answered, not bothering to lower his voice. “I have first dibs.”

  Deke cocked both pistols and leered at the two of them. He noticed Hank slowly raising his hands.

  “Lookee what we got here, Sirus. I remember this feller. This is the yellow-skinned pea brain from the Silver Spike. He’s all bark but no bite.”

  Steve’s arms remained by his side. In fact, once he saw Deke look over at him he deliberately crossed his arms over his chest and scowled.

  “Get your hands up, fool. I… yeow!!”

  Deke hastily dropped both guns down on the dirt ground. His cohort had also dropped his. Together they stared in amazement as all four of their guns glowed red.

  Steve dropped his hands back to his sides and ignited them. He pointed a flaming finger at Deke.

  “You and I need to have a little chat.”

  “Who…who are you?” Deke stammered.

  “My name is Steve. Sarah, the woman you kidnapped, is my wife.”

  Deke’s eyes shot open. He turned on his heel, shoved Sirus to the ground, and bolted back up into the jail. They could hear doors slamming shut as he barricaded himself inside.

  Sirus scrambled to his feet and hesitantly backed away from them. Steve looked up at Hank.

  “Would you take care of him, please? I’ll take Deke.”

  “It would be my sincerest pleasure,” the huge man rumbled.

  Sirus bolted, with Hank hot on his heels. Steve turned to look up at the closed front door. He walked up the steps and tried the handle. It was locked.

  Steve pumped his jhorun into his hand and pulled the handle. After a few moments the metal handle, and much of the lock’s inner workings, were forcefully yanked out of the door. It creaked open.

  “Stay away from me!” Deke’s high-pitched voice screamed out. “Someone get the sheriff! I need backup! Hurry!”

  Steve checked the small jailer’s office and found it empty. He moved toward the large holding cell in the middle of the building. Three scruffy men immediately pointed up at the second floor. Steve nodded and started to head toward the stairs when he paused. He looked back at the three men who were desperately staring back at him.

  He grabbed the locking mechanism on their cell with both hands and waited for the metal to heat. Ten seconds later he gave a violent twist to the right and then the left. The entire lock was pulled from the door. Steve ordered his jhorun to remove the heat and waited another five seconds while the metal rapidly cooled. He dropped the misshapen ball of metal and opened the cell door.

  “Get out of here, guys.”

  The men didn’t need to be told a second time. They practically tripped over each other in their haste to leave their cell behind. Once they had disappeared out the door Steve climbed the stairs to the second floor.

  Having recently been repaired after he had successfully freed Luther and several others from this very jail, the cells on the second floor were empty.

  All but one.

  Deke had locked himself into the farthest cell, the one that Luther had been held in, and had dragged the cot over to wedge it up against the cell door. Steve peered angrily at the smarmy looking individual who was crouching fearfully behind the thin cot.

  “You and I have a lot to talk about,” Steve told the trembling man. He caught sight of a dagger sticking out of Deke’s right boot and stepped a few paces back. “You’re going to remove your weapons and drop them through the bars here.”

  When Deke didn’t move Steve smacked a fist against the bars, making a loud clang. Deke jumped.

  “I said, drop your weapons. Now. Any metal on your body is going to heat up in about five seconds. Your choice.”

  Deke still refused to cooperate. Steve shrugged.

  “Suit yourself.”

  The dagger in Deke’s boot was the first to be yanked off and thrust through the bars. Then a second dagger, hidden in his other boot, joined the first. An ammo belt, his regular belt, and a pocket watch followed moments later.

  Steve kicked the items across the floor and watched them fall over the edge of the balcony onto the ground floor below. He turned his gaze back to Deke, who had fallen to his knees.

  “Please don’t kill me.”

  “Why would I do that? You’re much more valuable to me alive.”

  “What do you want?”

  “Information. You are going to tell me everything I want to know about the sheriff.”

  “I can’t do that.”

  “I’m sorry, but did I phrase that in such a way where I insinuated I was giving you a choice? You will tell me what I want to know.”

  Deke swallowed nervously.

  “Why would I do that?”

  Steve grasped two of the metal bars in his hands and leaned forward to glare at his wife’s abductor.

  “Because I’m going to say ‘please’.”

  At the exact instant he said ‘please’ he yanked the bars right out of the wall. He looked at the blisteringly hot bars in his hands and then pointedly looked back at Deke. He tossed them inside Deke’s cell and watched with grim satisfaction as Deke tried to put as much distance as possible between him and the smoldering bars.

  With his arms shackled securely in place behind his back, Deke was led out of the jail and down the street, towards the heart of the town. Hank appeared, with an unconscious man draped over his shoulder.

  “Is that our friend Sirus?”

  Hank nodded. He poked a threatening finger at Deke, who shied away from him.

  “Was he much trouble?” the big man asked.

  Steve shook his head. “Not really. For some strange reason he didn’t want to come with us. Thankfully it didn’t take much persuasion. Personally I was hoping he’d put up more of a fight.”

  Deke’s head hung a little lower. Steve knew he had seen the people gawking at him as they slowly walked by. They stared at the sheriff’s deputy and started whispering amongst themselves.

  “You’re never going to get her back,” Deke mumbled.

  Steve motioned to Hank, who reached out a huge hand to cuff Deke’s head.

  “Let’s agree to disagree, pal.”

  “I’ve never seen him so obsessed with one person before.”

  “It’s because he knows what she can do,” Steve told him.

  Rosamund and her wagon appeared. She pulled her buckboard to a stop next to them and smiled appreciatively at Hank and his captive.

  “You’re looking good, Hank. How are you feeling?”

  Hank grinned at his employer and tipped his hat.

  “Mighty fine, ma’am. Thank you.”

  “Deke Babcock, is it?” Rosamund turned in her seat and watched Hank dump Sirus in the back and then single-handedly toss Deke up into the back, too. “I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced.”

  “I know who you are, woman,” Deke sneered. “You’re the b…”

  Deke was cut off as an insanely huge hand appeared on his shoulder and was now squeezing so tightly that Steve was afraid he’d hear snapping bones any moment. Deke fell silent and gritted his teeth through the pain.

  They made it back to the Silver Spike without any further incidents. Hank dropped Sirus by the fireplace and trussed him up tighter than a fly caught in a spider’s web. Hank looked over at Deke and pointed at a chair. Deke didn’t offer a word of protest as he reluctantly sat. Within moments he had so many strands of rope encircling his body that he could barely breathe.

  Steve slid a chair over, flipped it around, and straddled it as he sat down. Luther and Cecil also slid chairs over but elected to sit as a normal person would. Rosamund continued to pace. Steve looked up at her.

 

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