outlaw

Standard disclaimers apply: you know the spiel.
Warning violence, blood, language, you know the norm…
This story is winding down the big climax is coming in a couple of more chapters.

 
 
 
 
Outlaw

 
 
Chapter 17

 
 
 
Hilde looked at the two men in front of her, and then twisted in the saddle to look at Duo. She rolled her eyes and said, “You idiot.”
“Hilde!” Duo whined, “I got lost! I’m Sorry.”
“Oh, shut up.” She grumbled. She turned to look at him and mouthed, “Hold on.”
She saw him frown, but turned back around to the front. She looked at the two men in front of her, smirking at their lack of attention. She shook her head slightly; they were idiots for dropping their guard. She grasped the pommel with one hand and reached for the reins with the other.
Duo voiced his protests softly as he realized what she was going to do. “No, Hilde, I don’t think…” Was all he got out as she went into action?
Hilde grasped the reins tightly and kicked the horse sharply in the sides. It squealed and reared, throwing it’s front legs high in the air from the pain and the shock. Hilde felt Duo grasp her shirt and she felt his hand over hers on the pommel. The two men in front were so shocked that one got under the rearing horse’s hooves and was knock off his horse. The horse he was riding was so shocked at the loss of its rider it bolted. The other man struggled to keep his horse under control, as their horse hit the ground and took off running.
Hilde leaned forward as she felt Duo lean on her back. She heard him say in her ear.
“That was pretty crazy, babe. But you know they‘ll come after us.”
“Yeah, I know but at least we have a bit of a head start.” She replied back. Just as she was going to slow the horse down gunshots could be heard in the distant.
“Shit. That was short lived.” She mumbled. “Duo, Where are we exactly?”
He leaned forward and said, loudly. “The fortress is over there about 4 miles or so from here.” He pointed to the northwest.
“Is there any where we can hide, until dark?”
He was quiet as if thinking.
“Duo, they’re getting closer, come on! Think!”
There’s a cave over there about a quarter mile to the south.” He finally replied.
“A cave?”
“Yeah, well, more like a mine shaft.”
She nodded, “It’ll do.”
She turned the horse south and let make a run as the two men who had caught them appeared to the right of them.
Duo turned to look at them and leaned on Hilde’s back.” Can you make this horse go faster?”
“He’s going all out, ok.”
Duo leaned forward to shield Hilde’s body as the men behind them began to fire their guns in earnest. Most of the bullets went wild, missing the target, but one clipped Duo’s upper arm, making him grunt softly. Hilde tried to turn and ask him what happened but he kept her tight in his grasp.
“I’m alright.” He said to her, ignoring the pain and the blood that was flowing freely from the wound. “We have to keep going… if the hit the horse by accident…”
He felt the horse shudder under him. “Shit.” He sighed.
He reached out and grasped the reins from Hilde’s hands and gave them a sharp twist, jerking the horse’s head around. The horse followed the lead reluctantly but followed.
“Duo! What are you doing?” Hilde cried out.
He didn’t answer her just pushed the horse a little hard towards a ravine he knew was ahead. It was a deep ravine and they could hide there if the horse would make it. He knew the two men were closing on them and they had to get away. He didn’t want to face Treize on his grounds. Duo would have rather met him somewhere nel. Hl. He was lost in his thoughts as the horse topped the revive and lost it’s footing. Then they went down in a tumble of bodies in the snow.

As the two men who were pursuing them rode up, they stopped at the top of the ravine and looked down.
“He’s gonna be pissed.”
“Yeah, they’re as good as dead.”
“Man, did you see that horse fly?!”
“Yeah. Well, come on, let’s report back in.” He glanced over his shoulder, “We’ll come back later for what’s left.”
The other man snorted and turned his horse. “Yeah, I’m up for some coffee.”

Hilde woke from the tumble first. At first all she could see was white, then she blinked again and saw the brown of the horse lying to the right of her. She frowned as she tried to get a grip on the situation. Then she looked up and saw blue sky and the branches of a few trees above her. She blinked again, remembering what happened. They had fallen into the ravine and had some how ended under a bank that hid them from the top of it. She sat up and rubbed her head.
“Ouch.” She muttered, as sriedried to focus a little better. She gazed around, looking for Duo. Her eyes picked him up a few feet away from her. He wasn’t moving, which prompted her to her feet quickly. She hurried over to his prone body as quickly as her own injuries could get her there. She knelt down beside him and gently grasped his shoulder. She rolled him over and heard him groan, and then hit him hard in the chest.
“Ow.” He mumbled and opened his eyes slowly. “What was that for?”
“For scaring me like that! I thought you were dead!”
“I.” Was all he got out as she dropped on his chest and hugged him?
“I’m all right, Hilde. I’m all right.”
She released him, and then did a quick survey of him, her eyes roving over his body, looking for injuries. She spotted the reddish wetness on his left upper a She She looked at him and then the wound.
“You were shot,” She stated.
He sat up and rubbed his head. “It’s nothing, a flesh wound.”
Duo staggered to his feet, then reached down to help Hilde up. “ We have to get out of here.”
Hilde stood with Duo’s help and brushed the snow off her, then reached out and brushed off some that was on Duo. “I’ll look at your arm when we find some shelter.”
“Yeah, I think our transportation is done for.” He stated as he looked over at the dead animal.
Hilde moved over to the horse and patted its neck. “Sorry, girl, it wasn’t supposed to end like this.”
The white snow wasn’t white any more it was a dirty pink color, a mix of dirt and blood.
Hilde sighed, wondering if it had been better if she hadn’t been so rash. They might have been better off … then the thought slipped away. Either way they were dead, at least this way their fate was in their hands not someone else.
Duo grasped her arm, “Come on, babe. That failed mine entrance is here somewhere. It will at least be a bit warmer in there and dry.”
She nodded as he pulled her through the snow. Neither one of them gave the footprints they were leaving in the snow a second thought.

 
 
 
~~~~~~~~~

Heero looked at the blonde woman and the doped up man. He turned to Relena and spoke to her softly.
“Would you mind staying here with these two while a few of us search for Duo and Hilde?”
She shook her head. “We can use this as our base of operations.” She replied. “But you should leave at least one man here and take Sally with you. They may be injured. “
“Hilde’s a healer.”
Relena nodded, thoughtfully, “Yes, but what if she’s injured?”
He nodded. “Good point.”
He turned from her just as she reached out to touch his arm. He stopped at her touch.
“Heero, Be careful.”
He turned back to her and stepped close to her, his eyes never leaving her face. He leaned down and pecked her lips quickly and softly.
“Yes.” Was all he said, as he left the room?
Relena’s fingers went to her lips as she relived the sensation. She looked across the room to the blonde woman sitting at the table. She was smiling. Relena gathered herself up and decided to find out her story.

 
~~~~~~

 
 
 
The chief was waiting for Heero when he came out of the house with Quatre, WuFei, and Sally trailing behind him. He noticed that the other two did not follow him out but said nothing. He waited for Heero to approach him and then explained what his braves had found in their search.
“We have found a trail in the snow that goes to the north. After a few miles we found some muddled tracks that may have been a struggle. There are three sets of tracks after that. We will start there.”
They all mounted their horses and began the search.
Heero turned to the chief and said, “I would like to be able to find them before dark.” he looked up at the bright clear sky and knew it would be another bone chilling night.
As the reached the first place that chief had spoken, Heero could tell something took place here.
“Look, “ he said, as he pointed to the ground. “One set goes this way then the other two follow. “ He leaned closer to the mess in the snow. “Looks as if one was thrown from his horse.”
“Yes,” The chief nodded, ‘It is the same conclusion we came to, also.”
Heero nodded as the group followed the tracks in the snow.

 
~~~~~~~

The shaft was dark and semi dry. The snow had piled up near the entrance and had blown in. Duo pushed a few of the boards away that blocked the opening to allow them inside. They stood in the darkness and all-weather eyes to adjust. The n, Hilde moved round the area looking for small bits of wood to start a fire. After she made a small pile, she patted her pockets for a match, but she found only a piece of crumpled paper. She turned to Duo who was fishing in his pockets. He came over to her and handed her two matches.
“That’s all I got, babe.” He said, as he shrugged.
She nodded and took the two pieces of wood and struck one. It flared softly in the darkness. She lit the piece of paper and stuck it into the pile. It took off and soon they had a small fire going. The firelight threw odd shadows in the room, making it more e tha than before.
Hilde stood and looked around, trying to find anything useful. In one corner were some old picks and shovels. She ignored them and let her eyes wander around more. In another corner was something that looked like utensils. She walked over and squatted down to look through the items on the ground. There wasn’t much there but she found one useable plate. Most of the things were rusted through. She could see scraps of cloth lying near by but when she reached for it crumbled in her fingertips.
When she stood she turned and saw Duo sitting by the fire holding his injured arm. She went back to the entrance and scooped up some clean snow, putting it into the plate. Then she walked back to the fire and worked it into the flames. She made Duo shrug of his jacket so she could see his wound.
It was a long gash about 3 inches long and at least a half of an inch deep. It was bleeding profusely. Hilde sighed as she tore the rest of Duo’s shirtsleeve off. She tore it into strips and set a couple a sides. She looked over at the tin plate she had filled with snow. The snow had melted and it was almost hot when she pulled it off the flames. She dipped one of the torn strips into the hot water and placed it on the wound. Duo jumped at the touch and wrinkled his face in pain. She apologized and quickly cleaned the wound. She folded another piece into a square and placed it over the wound, taking Duo’s hand and placing it over it to hold it in place. Then she took another piece and wrapped it around the folded piece securing it with a knot.
Duo shrugged his jacket back on and folded his arms across his chest.
She watched him for a few moments and then said, softly.
“Well, that wasn’t such a good plan was it?”
Duo glanced up at her and said nothing. Then he turned away, looking toward the opening where a little light filtered in. “No.” He stated.
Hilde sighed and knith ith out a doubt he was angry with her and there was no discussing this at all, so she walked back to the entrance of the mine and stood looking out through a broken plank. She really had nothing to say because she had been wrong and she had been right, too.
She heard movement behind her but didn’t turn around. She couldn’t look at him at the moment. Her actions had gotten him hurt and she was feeling a bit guilty about it.
She jumped as his hand rested on sho shoulder.
“Hilde, it’s alright. It was a good plan, we just messed it up.”
She shook her head, “No, I did. I made no thought to where we were going. I just wanted to take flight, and now were stuck here with no where to go and no one looking for us at all.”
“We’ll be ok.”
She turned on him, brushing his hand off her shoulder, “How can you say that? We have no food, no water, no blankets, and no weapons. Night is coming and it’s going to be cold again. How are we going to survive?”
He stepped back, surprised by her anger.” We’ll manage. We always do, babe.”
She sighed again, “I’m sorry, Duo.”
He reached out and pulled her into his arms. “I know we’ll get out of this somehow.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 
The two men rode into the fortress just as the sun was moving toward the horizon. They quickly moved to the stables to let the boys in there take care of the weary animals. Then, they walked to the bunkhouse and went in. The large room had a crackling fire going in the large stove that sat in the middle of the room. The air was warm and semi comfortable. One man striped off his hat and coat and tossed it on his bunk. “I know one thing, I’m ready for some food and some sleep.”
“Yeah. Me too.”
Both men turned as the bunkhouse door flew open and Treize’s right hand woman came in. She was dressed in pants and had a riding crop in hand. She was a sight to see. Both men cringed as she moved toward them, the crop snapping at her side.
“What did you find?” She demanded.
“Nothing. We ran into the Maxwell kid and that crazy woman but….”
“But what.”
“We didn’t see any signs of Trant or that Une woman.”
“What of Maxwell and the woman?”
“We chased them to the ravine. They fell into it. We left them for dead.’
She raised the crop and smacked him across the chest with it. “You didn’t make sure? You didn’t look for the missing items?”
The man staggered back at the blow, “Uh, No ma’am, they didn’t seem to have any thing with them.”
“Did you go to the cabin to check to see if maybe they had been there?”
“No.”
“FOOL!” She yelled as she raised the crop to strike him again. Just as it was about to come down on the hapless man a hand stayed its progression.
“No, lady. We’ll go out in the morning and see if we can find them. It will be too cold and dark to travel. “
Une bowed and began to apologize for her actions.
Treize smiled and told her it was all right. He took her arm and lead he from the bunkhouse and toward the house. He turned to at looked at the two men behind him, giving them a look that meant only a reprieve till daylight.

 
 
~~~~~~~

 
Heero stopped, as he over looked the ravine. He looked back up at the sun, as it filled the sky with red streaks. He felt the air getting colder as it began to set. The chief looked at the signs and pointed after he nodded.
“Down there.” He said.
Heero nodded and lead everyone to the bottom of the ravine.
They spread out and began to search until Quatre spotted the dead horse and blood in the messed up snow.
He pointed to the footprints in the semi deep snow and they all followed them at a cautious pace, unsure of what they may find or where they may lead.
They stopped in front of a boarded up shaft and saw the tracks leading inside.
Quatre approached the boarded opening and called out softly, “Miss Hilde? Duo?”
He listened for a moment then pushed the one of boards open and called again.
He couldn’t see any thing in the semi dark except the low burning fire in the center of the room. He stepped in and listened. He could hear voices and almost sighed with relief, then yelled their names louder.

 
~~~~~~~

 
Duo had lead Hilde deeper into the shaft, looking for a place that would be warmer than the entrance. As they walked through the darkened hall, Duo kept asking Hilde what they would name their child and when they should get married.
Hilde was surprised that Duo wanted to get married and she asked him so.
“Why do you want to get married, Duo? Is it because I’m going to have a baby?”
He stopped and turned to her. “Huh? No, I’ve wanted to for a while, the baby just helps.” He stepped close to her. “You know I love you, right?”
She nodded.
“Good. That’s why. And.” He said, as an afterthought. “It would be better for your reputation.”
She looked at him frowning, “Do tell, Mr. Maxwell, do tell.”
“Well, you would be the married crazy woman. That might help.”
She giggled. “Yeah, the crazy woman married to an outlaw.”
“Err. Yeah. I forgot about that.”
They both laughed and turned back to the entrance and their low burning fire. As they walked back, they chatted not really listening until their conveion ion paused and it sounded like someone was calling to them.
Hilde looked at Duo and he back at her. He grasped her hand and they ran back. They saw Quatre standing by their fire as they emerged from the darkened tunnel. Duo dropped the torch he was holding as Hilde called out to Quatre.
“Quatre!”
He turned toward them and smiled. “Hi. We came looking for you. Heero had a premonition.”
Hilde smiled and replied. “Leave it to Heero.”
“Come on, he wanted to get back to the cabin before it’s too dark.” he waved for them to follow him out.
As soon as he stepped out he called. “I found them.” And there was a collective sigh of relief. Heero looked over to Sally who had dismounted and started to walk toward Quatre.
“Sally would you mind…”
“Sharing a ride back with WuFei? No, not at all, right WuFei?”
He nodded, but said nothing.
She continued to walk toward the entrance and stopped as Duo and Hilde emerged. She looked them over with a curious eye, making sure they were intact. She stepped up to them and asked. ”You guys, ok?”
Hilde nodded, “ Duo got shot and it’s gonna need better care when we get some where. I did the best I could with it.”
Sally nodded.
“Where are we going?” Duo asked as they got on the horse Sally had been riding.
“Back to the cabin you were at before your failed escape attempt.” Heero stated.
“Hey, we didn’t know you were coming, ok. I had to try something.”
Heero grunted but said nothing.
The ride back to the cabin was quite but joyful.

 
~~~~~~~

 
Relena sat beside the quiet Middi as Trowa and Zechs stood in the background watching trant. He had moved from the chair to lie on the couch and was sound asleep.
“So, Miss Middi, why are you one of Treize’s people?”
Middi looked up at the blonde woman and smiled.
“Cuz I like to kill people.”
Relena blinked then laughed, unphazed by her words. “No, I think there’s more to you than that.”
Middi frowned, not sure what to think of this young woman in front of her. “You’re pretty savvy aren’t you?”
Relena shrugged, “I don’t know about that, but this doesn’t seem like your line of work, killing and all.”
She nodded. “Can you keep a secret?”
Relena nodded.
“I work for the Pinkerton’s. Some one hired them to spy on Treize and they sent me. Treize doesn’t care who he hires woman or man as long as they get the job done.”
Relena nodded. “Are you there because he kidnaps people and holds them as his slaves?”
She shook her head, “To be honest no one cares about throw away people. They want the drugs and money.”
Relena frowned. “Throw away people?”
“Yeah, like the boy Treize wants back, Duo, yeah, that’s his name. And that girl.” She said as an after thought. “She’s a throw away person too. And Treize wants her too. He’s not an evil man, don’t get me wrong but he will use and take advantage of people to get what he wants.”
“I have heard that about him.”
Middi looked over Relena’s shoulder at Zechs. “You used to be his best friend. What happened and why are you here?”
Zechs shook his head. “It’s along story and it was a misunderstanding that almost cost me my life.”
She nodded, understanding.
Relena looked up and smiled. “They’re back.”

 
To be continued.