Wild West Part 4
Heero walked out to the edge of the town. The church had been one of the last buildings built, and so it perched on the outskirts of the town as if it tried to keep itself daintily out of the cesspool of sin the rest of the buildings sat in. Duo paced beside him, his mouth still in that odd half-smile, but thankfully silent for once.
Heero was wondering what the heck they were going to do about the beast in the forest. It had shown up around the time that the preacher, Mr. Barton and the Chinese couple had also come to town. Silly to think that any of them had anything to do with it, but it was never wise to discount anything.
As they drew closer to the church, Heero heard the sound of raised voices. He quickened his pace. Raised voices usually meant trouble of some kind. He reached the churchyard and as the voices increased in volume, sprinted around the side of the building.
"YOU TAKE THAT BACK YOU FOUL MOUTHED VERMIN!"
A tall young man with long blond hair held back in a ponytail had pinned another young man against the side of the church and was beating the crap out of him. Two other young men hovered nearby, practically wringing their hands. Heero would've laughed but he didn't think that would help the situation any.
"HOW DARE YOU SAY SUCH FILTHY THINGS...!!!" The blond was shouting into the other's face.
"Reverend!" Heero snapped, hoping that the holy title would snap the blond haired man out of his rage. "What are you doing?"
The blond haired man twisted his head slightly to look at the sheriff. His eyes were wide and glazed, his mouth twisted with anger. He didn't answer, he simply growled.
"Milliardo," Heero tried again. "What happened?"
"We messed up Sheriff," one of the other young men stepped forward. "We was... uh... talking about... things and... uh... forgot where we was."
"Talking about things Mueller?" Heero repeated with a raised eyebrow.
"Um, ladies," Mueller clarified.
Oh. Well, that explained it. He heard Duo stifle a chuckle next to him. Heero sighed.
"Milliardo. Let him go. He's an idiot but you can't kill him."
"Why not?" The reverend's voice was hoarse with rage.
"Because of your holy office?" Duo had evidently decided to help out. "We're supposed to save men's souls from hell, not send them there. Even if we think they deserve it."
The reverend dropped the man to the ground. "Get out of my sight, Alex," he snarled.
"Wait-" Heero held up a hand as the young men seemed about to go plunging out past the town. "Go that way-" he pointed towards the town. "There's been some trouble out there. Stay in town for a few days boys."
"Got it Sheriff," Mueller grabbed Alex and with the third young man behind them, headed for the town.
"I thought you were worried that they'd go out anyway even if you told them it was dangerous?" Duo's voice was amused.
"I think they've had enough excitement for a few days," Heero drawled. He turned to look at the Reverend, who was standing with his eyes closed, taking deep breaths. "Feeling better Milliardo?"
"I'm very sorry about that," the other man replied. "It's just they made me so angry." He opened his eyes and smiled. "Thank goodness you came along Sheriff. Were you looking for me?"
"Yes," Heero smiled slightly. "I was going to ask you to talk to those boys about not leaving the town for a few days. We've got some beastie out there that apparently likes the taste of men. We're organizing a hunt, but I don't want those idiots out there alone."
"The thing that attacked the caravan?" Milliardo raised his eyebrows. "I was talking to Catherine about it yesterday when I met her in town. She said there was only one survivor and that you were going out to look. Did you get any clue to what it is?"
"Something big," Heero shrugged, "that's all."
"When you go out, let me know." The reverend smiled faintly. "I'll pray for you. Are you staying for lunch?"
"Thanks but no," Heero nodded. "I've got to get back and talk to Dr. Po and Quatre. See you on Sunday, rev."
Milliardo nodded and turned back towards his church. Heero left the churchyard, Duo beside him.
"And there's another oddity," Duo laughed. "A violent reverend."
"You carry a knife."
"I'm not revered," Duo grinned. "I'm just a humble preacher. So, now we go back to talk to the pretty doctor. Any reason why?" His tone was faintly suggestive.
"If we do go out, we may want her with us, or at the very least prepared if we come back with injured men. She might need to recruit some help."
"Well, this is good. You can talk to the lovely physician and I can talk to Chang and his wife. They might be able to help us as well."
"Is Chang a skilled hunter?" Heero asked.
"Depends on the quarry." Duo's smile changed. "I think in this hunt he'll prove very useful, as will his wife."
TBC...
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