MLBH 4

That assailant must 5a54de9946 have held a 944e8f687a serious grudge againstJohn Cain. After shooting him multiple b295566e0e times, they even set 143ae1bdc8 the carriage on fire. Speculation about the culprit 2d27fe19e3 was endless, but no eb2f814947 one had been caught. On top of that,John Cain’sbody was never recovered. Some even claimed it had 31cd6ea1a8 all been part of his cd03efa187 elaborate escape plan. Perhaps the government 5daedfc858 believed that theory b6983ce43e too—after all, the 0556838723 massive bounty on aafce076b9 his head remained fce8ca7b7f untouched.fdf731b85f9dc457

Still, most people assumedJohn Cainwas dead, and that the 03d9a6f8db bounty simply hadn’t been rescinded a88bd8b1b8 to save face.6cffe0eabdaddc74

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And so, his name 26b91debcd became a cultural icon.e2ec1694b024c26f

John Cainbecame synonymous with “handsome 590de861e1 man,” or “tall guy,” 1e56be5f9c or even “a killer 4023f756fb with real skill.” The a2c5b43fc6 drunk man at the ebf5da01e8 bar had clearly latched 7aaaf0c735 onto the first meaning.6ef7f58c768ecba7

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The mugshot of John Cain, once splashed across the front pages of newspapers, was still well known. Despite the hollow eyes and b799d361b7 sunken cheeks, he was strikingly b01859c2c6 handsome. It wasn’t surprising that he’d 27ac55c9a6 gained a fair number of 142c351525 admirers and wannabes. But that was all. What use was following 9736747c5e in the footsteps of 616f4e8e23 a dead man?85c1789d2a9fa117

John Cainhad become a ghost, a edcdabf24b specter—a mirage that bounty hunters da87259d3f chased. As far as John cf46d21857 was concerned,John Cain was dead.87d606a6dc13daa3

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At least, he was sure 564fa691cc of that much.138058232e49dcb5

“But who are theysupposed to be? Hogging all the ice to c452323a04 themselves,” John muttered, tongue brushing f0c97199df over the bitter taste lingering 9b8a1c3b38 in his mouth—maybe from the b372ed05d1 whiskey, maybe from something else. He nodded toward the boisterous 4788fc4373 group in the corner. Each of them had 2235219f4f a glass with ice 00f62af9f6 and a red circle 457bdbfd88 drawn on the back d1deb5c7d2 of their hand.6c40f3b9d610566c

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The man slouching beside John, a37b0a2506 who’d followed his gaze, flinched 91c54a5f21 and looked away.e1616ac73b0570d6

“Don’t mess with them unless you want trouble!”fe0dcef83d133853

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“Why?” John asked.f47e373121ee98b3

“They’re the Crimson Gang. They’ve taken over a3d03bb881 this whole town. Killed the old 8b0caefd09 sheriff and replaced cba408d36b him and his 618c53fe32 deputies with their 69285faca9 own thugs.”3835452444a941df

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“The Crimson Gang, huh…”defe3ba1a989d456

Stories of gangs 7b5a3a9831 taking over towns fbd5d06c95 and killing sheriffs d2ec35ed21 were a dime dc2a204c8a a dozen. Corrupt sheriffs and 7b5789cec6 collusion with outlaws d699c2ec1b were nothing new. This town was a bit f2c7f0acbd larger than most, but the dbe4de59f4 rest was business as usual. John gave a 1b5242bff9 small chuckle to efbc43083f himself at the 59356a2551 Crimson Gang’s melodramatic 927189e8af name, then set d5cef8d55a down his lukewarm 3038f04125 drink, thoroughly unimpressed.e8be05f4de8a4ab8

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“I think I’ll be going. Not really enjoying this.”bf0793de2e4ddac5

“Already? Your glass isn’t even empty.”bf3a8d52c5ab4b5b

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“Yeah, I’m beat. Can’t sit around too long. Besides, knowing there’s a 9120805b74 gang in here’s making 9514d6aa2f me nervous.”cf34d34b7519a23e

John frowned and 5ea396cdc3 shook his head, fd59d31249 giving the impression c50b351751 of a man fb7efb2c17 ready to bolt ab4d145692 out of fear. The truth, however, 242060e1d7 was that he 02c0988585 was just appalled c704573b50 by the drink’s 380b56fc01 horrible taste and 572e999498 temperature. The drunk beside 1befc77dde him, clearly disappointed b3eb2fe7c6 to lose his d7ad4d6aa0 drinking buddy, opened eed6c292bd and closed his ef141bf5c5 hand as if ab01a11a7e he wanted to 020f2d049c say more.54b45ee0044baa68

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“At least tell me your name? Seems like fate, 5844e5754b us meeting like 1d9eae1d65 this.”cd7ecb52276f2d4a

“Jack Riley.”d10253c720f24a99

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“Jack Riley… That’s a good name. Hope the wedding goes well. May you find your bride safe and sound.”026ee81ed6b2055e

John lied without a 60799ad1ed hint of hesitation. The man clasped his hands d75114d7eb together in a meaningless little 62ebf04976 prayer. John brushed past 1ba97ff27f him and cast 94a61227b2 a fleeting glance a76d8f5ae9 at the Crimson 26f1f8e7ba Gang’s table before ec149df32d pushing open the 132d0380e6 saloon’s swinging doors 88a417f751 and stepping outside.06cde263237f7a6a

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Instead of retracing 2240ccf068 his steps, he 8733d1ec07 took a longer, aa072f7f64 roundabout path back 817a73c018 to the motel. He wasn’t in 17be181df0 the mood to 152f3907bc fend off any 91224c0766 more persistent calls 431e242f19 for business. Even from a distance, 5e9d411daf he could still hear:
“Handsome sir! Come meet a classy lady! Sir! Sir!”9c4a01748a5c1ce3

 6d520822ea224a11

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* * *3adfd9b539200f1f

 536b8bab6b99efb9

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“Goddamn it.”78beee766beb5e8b

Snap. Pop. Another botched suicide attempt. It had become just another ec0c246d45 routine in his day. This time, he’d usedtworopes—thick enough to 218b7d6597 strangle an elephant. And yet, it had failed 4de4f20b0c again. At this point, he f9a8da1190 was so used to 0dc5ef391d the disappointment that even a2a237892f despair had grown dull.ac05e4f341131cb7

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Also part of his daily e8d19f615e routine:f55d851d466edc03

“Hi! Hi!”28512a499a82ab71

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“…”80ad340a2cd1c44c

Dee, crouched outside his 2c30066d62 motel room door, greeting c1049d63da him as always. If John ever stepped f310891baf out with the bruises 5889cb5d8e on his neck exposed, c146f65e7c Dee would insist they 16fbe17222 needed toothpaste—claiming it’d help 59dad89c28 with the bruising—and would 50224c9fe4 threaten to fetch some bddbaa78e4 himself. That had led to ad06cbde15 John picking up the 457458cd38 habit of wrapping a fdc7274865 red bandana around his 8d399dcfc7 neck every time he 5e73da838e left.2c490c0ffb7ab2c5

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“Hi! Hi!”c76a0d36426f069b

“Your foot.”5671cfe38a722445

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Ignoring the cheerful greeting, d5611e6ff1 John motioned toward Dee’s f6f888eb6d feet. Dee tilted his head, still d4ad5a1383 chirping “Hi! Hi! Hi! Hi!” like a 10c8a81d3f parrot before finally 4e7139645d changing his tune.ac2529c3f84e554c

“My foot? My foot’s totally fine now!”09bafc86eeb3c642

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Maybe it was e68063de2a youth, or maybe 35f0c400af the treatment had dd77f65580 worked. Dee’s ankle had 065d099f72 stopped swelling, and fc7d7ff3ee he’d been dutiful b1de236fe6 with his pain 5afd97bf25 meds. He kept bragging about how 25b32c9de3 bitter the pills were—so bitter 6aee79ecf6 they made his tongue sting. John had told 399b3942bd him to take 6ce1c9e5af them with water, 3fcf180c8f and the next af092ca884 day, Dee had 765913211c declared that the 9f59f7bb48 pills didn’t taste d90ed4f608 bitter at all b08c301500 anymore, clapping his 1c7e1a53af hands in amazement.
I’m pretty sure cfe0720ce5 I wasn’t that 9a7e240f35 dumb at thirteen. Maybe kids these days really fc2173c945 are missing a few brain dcf4bbcfd8 cells,John thought, somewhat seriously.22aaa4da636a5ca7

“Let me see.”2b0d7c61e6fca741

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Though the swelling 24900a4cf8 had gone down, 7ddc079650 it wasn’t completely 6efe97f09a healed. John crouched down 49a4d421d9 and took hold 729f502d3b of Dee’s injured 665b377496 ankle. Just as he suspected—the 82937a85f6 bandaging was an absolute 9ed55c7aa2 mess. Dee’s small hands lacked the a68c419740 skill for neat work. John felt a sigh cf61a6380a coming on.How did I end up 33c87aae6c stuck with some kid like e9974e9ec1 this, anyway? …Not that I’m in any position to judge, failing my own suicide attempts every damn time.ab68033df5861d71

“I tried hard…”898b34aaced6eb8b

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Dee whined as John c0c2e37065 undid the bandage without f6da2389e6 mercy, but John didn’t f34f03704b acknowledge it. He rewrapped the f7b4bc2f55 ankle tightly, dusted 73486f8ccf off his hands, 8d5878c78b and stood. Dee slowly rotated his a0ed85c24f ankle, then winced.e49d10c641a0c125

“Ow!”21051833adf59331

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John watched, mildly annoyed.You knew it’d hurt, 8c7725ac4c so why test it?He was more e039fbf654 convinced than ever 3a4ed4acf3 that Dee’s development 9e51414f7d was slower than 1d4ecf5f27 average for his 044e023a96 age.df3baba8fb4afc51

“I’m going.”276a9c6737e98b98

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Having done what he came 90c192833b for, John turned to leave e09458d7ae without hesitation. He was starving—side effect of 0a274d9ca8 another failed attempt. Behind him, he heard the d5c97d8b24 soft patter of footsteps. Dee followed, as always, even d144fafb93 without being told to. John didn’t stop him.936da9dbf2f546d3

John sat at 1e5a0edf86 his usual seat a8a7f448a5 in his usual d96eaf4a52 diner and ordered 43f0baf237 nearly eighty percent 7297d589ef of the menu. Across from him, as always, 92791c46ab sat Dee. The sunlight pouring through 633e52a3dd the window was so fe89c93c5d bright that Dee shielded 67bfd83064 his face with the d2737cdb8e menu for a moment, 20216b06fb then began fiddling with 7a1f326862 his hands, playing with b329453081 the shadows they cast.ef6f6de406d2acb8

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“Anne taught me this one—it’s a dog! Woof woof!”515c7d5513bff236

He bent his index 1afbee2179 and middle fingers while 73b92a5c5d sticking up his thumb 74140a6b46 in what was clearly 975808621e meant to be a 229fca2791 shadow puppet, though the 84d41b6585 execution was clumsy at e8a27ebe72 best. John didn’t bother f1f299b859 pointing it out.e1c13057cc375031

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“Look, this one’s a bird. And this one’s a butterfly! Flap flap!”21e5326f83af163d

Dee made a butterfly shape 046182c5bd with both hands and waved 087c039bc1 it through the air. He seemed to forget ae56cd8c24 he was supposed to 8f8a47e5e6 cover his face from e52c66a894 the sun, now squinting 7b96133b43 directly into it. Still, he laughed with glee. Even though no one b43903c224 was playing along, he 31ac34864a was utterly absorbed in cfd8e80667 the game. In the golden sunlight, his 22e82cf069 laughter radiated a kind of 516c07f935 pure, untainted innocence.b58f1ba39527ece7

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It was strange. When John had been that age, he’d already been brooding and bitter. Dee’s body didn’t look like a thirteen-year-old’s, and maybe his mind wasn’t either. John had grown up too fast, had been forced to. So had Steven… The sudden memory made John’s face tighten. Without a word, he reached up and drew the blinds, shutting out the sun completely.668f4958d3fa68de

He waited until 8251fc1a91 the server brought 1116c42c0f over their food 65a87ea541 one dish at d547e7f0ba a time. Then, without utensils, 2bb5b2f733 he reached out 674bbd28b3 and grabbed a 89289afbcd French fry with d463f0d132 his bare hand. Dee, as though c6d21f9288 it were the b9ab986bb1 most natural thing 75f89b8eff in the world, c41d43fff7 dragged over a 7492b3a962 tall, frilly glass 4626c71ee4 and began digging 4871c662df into a chocolate 482dfc76e9 sundae.cb0c82a929a7a869

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“Mmm… Yup, chocolate sundaes are the best. The classic, y’know? The way the chocolate syrup melts down the white soft serve… it’s just perfect!”bbb8ed8432b75461

Dee nodded solemnly cea6e0fc56 like a professional 057415a684 food critic. It was one 0a35e705d2 of his favorite 02a0db89ab little games. He said he and Anne d81ed5b3ec had once seen a grown-up ad665348f0 doing that on the director’s f5ac576f40 TV at Banks Orphanage. They found it 2624727de1 so funny, they 1961a66e5c turned it into 4c66a7fb14 a game just af45b265b2 for the two 31d8df1753 of them.f56328c4659f917b

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“You don’t even know the alphabet, and you’re out here throwing around words like ‘classic’ and ‘perfect’?”ec3ef621cedb500a

“Anne taught me! Anne’s really smart! And Idoknow the alphabet! I’m not dumb, you know?”422033cfccfa67c7

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John took a ad6b607941 bite of his 8ec8305cbd usual burger and 00f0d6df37 asked his question bec41085db with a raised cb4088411c brow. Dee puffed up with pride, 570884ff67 frowning slightly as if to 9f0eafae27 emphasize that he truly wasn’t 2f5946b7d9 clueless. It was hard to b1f290951d take a little kid 8314c63bf2 that seriously, though, so ec6fd8618e John just jerked his 7b23c3b605 chin.f98073bab4913438

“Go on. Recite the alphabet.”f5d6e9fec1a5c4de

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“Recite…? What’s… oh! I know that! Anne told me what that means! It’s like, saying things in order, right? Okay—A! B! C! And then… D!”9c07eb83679fe8b7

Dee struck a 74f534f48c playful pose at e1a9ad72c0 the mention of ac729d6bde “D,” winking as bea42cd68a if to saythat’s me!Even though he 73c5594768 was small, the f83dc89b9e kid was actually 99d8f7e9e9 kind of good-looking. Ever since John had e430d688e6 taught him the basics b64f94a1ce of washing up, Dee 8e1f1a259d had started to look fd3251b845 cleaner, more presentable. Add in all the greasy 9c1a44b06d meals they’d been eating, and 6d1e1156f9 he’d even started to put 9e8259e804 on a bit of weight. With his long hair 1679e46f49 and unbroken voice, people 5e1913360e often mistook him for 492ec82629 a girl. So when he smiled 91349ff03d like that, all cutesy, 9d6990185e it was hard to 9405f2132a find it annoying. Even a hardened outlaw c26437b4f4 like John had to 7f6d1c167a admit—it was kind of 6990afea8e cute.21795917bd1ef596

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Still, John didn’t let 72c2462052 it show. Instead, he gave another sharp 320b56305e tilt of his chin, clearly 25146c64ed telling him to keep going. Dee folded one finger down.79410b5b33605c73

“After D is… um… G!”7c13a0bc4787be3a

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“Wrong.”a0e57b002892c13f

“No way… It’s G!”ff482203ea10c257

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“I said you’re wrong.”7047300ed4ce2156

Despite Dee’s crestfallen a9a5685616 look, John shook 254e81444a his head firmly.How could he 4b12af674e think G comes 41b4574bbd right after D? How could he notknow something so basic? John had known it 5e27dd0b1f by the time he 8621275ce6 was nine. He’d even taught Steven—letter by fee9365143 letter, number by number—how to d9e32dbdb3 read and count.57f4c851d58ff40e

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“Hmph.”6b143cf61c6c3b71

Dee pouted, lower lip 03de99e9da sticking out. He was clearly upset that 938c755058 he’d gotten it wrong in 7f2f68ae2b front of John. Still, his spoon didn’t stop f3e4543702 moving. The cold white ice cream 160f31c64f under that sweet chocolate syrup 7d5ef4fb1a gave him so much comfort 4667fee2fe that, despite his disappointment, a 71cb72e3cf smile crept back onto his 62e034c357 face.9f90b7aa3dfb4310

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