With a Bullet

Part 3

The lights had gone out but the stifling heat remained and there was a heavy dampness in the air that could not be accounted for solely by the steam rising from her own sweat. The humidity in the room filled her lungs and made it difficult for her to breathe. An additional torment? The scent, not eucalyptus, but familiar. Of course! Val dropped to the floor and kept her breathing shallow. Gas!

Despite her quick reaction, she was already feeling light-headed. Indeed, she realized that there was little she could do to prevent herself from feeling whatever effect was intended. Once the room was saturated, staying low would be little help as the fumes would gradually sink all the way to the floor. She felt her mind tiring and her breathing grew heavy. With a start she realized the lights had come back on but the room was engulfed in fog. Had she heard a door opening? Two sets of hands grabbed her arms and forced them behind her back as a knee pressed between her shoulder blades kept her stationary on the floor. Once her wrists had been safely shackled together, she was roughly hoisted to her feet to be escorted from the room. In truth, despite her efforts to walk on her own might, her rubbery legs left her handlers to do most of the work as she was unceremoniously dragged into a hallway.

Free from the noxious air, her mind began to clear and she recognized Jones and Wilson as they took off their gas masks. She tried to rise to her feet but stumbling legs still refused to follow her mental command and she again found herself half-dragged, half-carried by the pair through a haze of corridors until, with a suddenness, she was on the grounds of the estate squinting against the late afternoon sunshine.

The fresh air and natural light aided her in shaking off the effects of the sleeping gas and, by the time the trio reached their evident destination, Val was again alert and fit. Courtwright stood with the rest of his bodyguards before her.

"Hey, there, Colt, I hope you've been enjoying the accommodations!" Courtwright had a wide grin on his face from the knowing sarcasm, cocksure that he was in control.

Val took a long look at her "host.'' He was decked out like some gunfighter in a spaghetti western with a longcoat, double-gunbelts, and two six-shooters. She pursed her lips as if giving the question consideration. "Not particularly."

"Well, we'll have to do something about that." Courtwright retained the grin, but his annoyance at the nature of her reaction was visible in his eyes. He had expected false bravado from a proud heroine. "I suppose you're wondering why I've brought you here?"

"Actually, I'm more interested in determining how I'm going to leave."

There was a little bit more of the attitude he expected, although still not what he had imagined. Courtwright had to admit she was a cool one. "Oh, it all ties in. You may recall, when you first arrived, noticing my interest in firearms. At the time, modesty precluded me from admitting that my interest runs quite deep. In fact, more than an interest, it's a passion!"

With lightning speed, Courtwright drew a sidearm and a bullet crashed through a wooden stake planted in the ground 25 feet away as the gun's report and the pistol sliding back into its holster happened almost simultaneously. "A passion that led to my taking up shooting at a tender age." He whirled and fired his other weapon, obliterating a different stake 30 feet away. As he casually slid the .45 back into its holster, it was difficult to recall the gun having been drawn.

"As a young buck, I showed some promise." Both guns blazed as stakes in two separate directions 35 feet away shattered and with a twirling flourish each pistol was re-holstered. "Since then, it's been practice, practice, practice!" Before she could blink, Val was staring down the barrel of an old Smith and Wesson.

Courtwright winked, and put the gun away. "To make a long story short, I've developed a reputation in some circles as the fastest gun alive. I've met some others who've made the same claim. We meet at privately sponsored contests, here and there, around the world. So far, I'm the only one who can still claim to be the fastest. Or alive, for that matter."

"Yeah, you sure killed those wooden stakes dead." Val nodded appreciatively as if she was serious.

Courtwright's eyes darkened. "Make no mistake, the mortality of the target is of no concern to me. Indeed, that's why I was approached about you. You've made some enemies and it seems that at least some of your enemies are the kind of people who have knowledge of my extracurricular activity."

Placid blue eyes returned his gaze. As Courtwright's pause failed to elicit a response, he continued, "Not interested in who? Well, probably best, as I'm not at liberty to divulge that information just yet. Anyway, I was approached by these as yet unnamed individuals and asked if I'd have any interest in engaging you in a gunfight. Colt? The Weapons Mistress? says I! She's got a reputation as a crack shot. Some might even say she's the fastest gun alive! Of course, I'd be interested in a duel. If the price is right. But, how? She'd never agree to such a thing!"

Val let him talk. Not only was information valuable, but the insights into his character might be exploited. It was evident that he enjoyed being in control of the situation. He wanted her to know how good he was and to remind her that he had power. Partly, she surmised, out of ego, but buried deep she sensed that, like many arrogant people, he had self-doubt.

"Funny thing is, Colt, the price was right. So right that it had to happen whether you would agree or not. I suppose your enemies knew that would be the case when they approached me. You see, any price would have been right if it was enough to make it happen. Once they put the thought in my head, I had to know how it would turn out. They paid me handsomely and left the arrangements to me and you walked into my trap like a doe to a brook.

"Still, despite my disappointment at how little opposition you've been so far, I'd like to be as fair as possible. That's why I've arranged for this little demonstration. So, you can see exactly what you're going to be facing."

Courtwright shed his long coat and turned. A set of sequenced lights, like those found at the start of a drag race, was set up 50 feet away. The two vertical columns of lights, going from red at the top, through 4 rows of amber, to green at the bottom, were unlit. "Ames, show Colt here how fast the sequence goes from red to green."

Ames pressed a button on a remote and the lights cycled in less than a second. Giving her a toothy smile, Ames pressed the button again and again green appeared a split second after red.

"Thanks, Ron. Whenever you're ready." Courtwright stood feet shoulder width apart, hands at the ready near the butt of his guns.

Val saw the red light and then the green, without a hint of amber crossing her vision, as blazing pistols and shattering glass echoed in her ears.

Courtwright slipped the empty cartridge out of both revolvers and re-loaded. "Of course, you could do that, right?"

"Don't know. I'd be happy to try." Val smiled.

"Yeah, not going to happen today." Firing behind his back, Courtwright blasted the head off a mannequin set up 40 feet away. "Not going to happen tomorrow, either." Another report from his weapon and a bullet burned through twine holding up a wooden target. A third found the bullseye before the target hit the ground.

"Fast and accurate. That's some of the best shooting I've ever seen." Val's comment elicited the reaction she expected. He wanted her to show fear, through word or gesture, to assure himself that he was in control. Her matter of fact attitude worried him. She could sense that Courtwright was becoming more and more irritated that she wasn't seemingly impressed enough with his ability or the precariousness of her situation. He had already spent so much time trying to make sure that she wasn't physically or mentally at the top of her game when he faced her that he had already revealed his own doubts as to whether he was able to best her if she was at full strength. Sowing new seeds of doubt in his mind could only work to her advantage.

"You stupid fool! I'm not looking for your unbiased opinion. I'm going to kill you tomorrow! Gun you down like a dog! Don't you realize that?!?" Courtwright's face began to turn red. "Come on, let's show her where she's going to die."

The group marched toward the side of the estate overlooking the ocean. Val strolled confidently as she was led first down one side of a divided stone staircase and then down the main staircase to a field bordered on the other end by the cliff overlooking the beach below. She kept her posture straight and a look of bemusement on her face as she knew that everyone was watching her. Some, like Courtwright, were looking for signs of weakness or fear. Others were hoping to gain some insight into whether she would survive their employer's murderous intentions, at least long enough to be done in by someone else among the group. Still others simply took pleasure in watching her body move in the sheer fabric of the tight bra and panties in which she remained clad.

With the setting sun behind them, Courtwright said, "Tomorrow, at noon, you'll be brought here to face me in mortal combat." Waving a hand toward the ocean, he continued, "You'll stand over there and I'll descend down this staircase to meet you on the field of battle. I've made a pact with your acquaintances to record the event for posterity so that they may view your demise despite being unable to attend out of what I believe to be an overabundance of caution. I'm sure the video will prove to be an international sensation in underworld circles."

Val rolled her eyes. "Oh, please!"

Courtwright shot her a glance with piercing eyes before allowing a quirky smile to play across his lips. "Come on, I'm the villain of the piece. A little melodrama is to be expected isn't it?"

His bodyguards chuckled at the change of pace. Wilson chided her, "Come on sweet cheeks, where's your sense of humor?" The follow-up pinch of her butt prompted such a startled reaction in Val that the chuckles turned to guffaws.

Val eyed Wilson up and down. "I'll remember that."

De Souza shook her head sadly. "Not for long, honey."

"Okay, okay, we're done here." Mueller motioned for Wilson and Jones to escort Colt back to the mansion.

As the big man stepped toward her side, Val waited until his lead foot was about to plant and then set herself up for a kick that drove her heel down into the side of his knee just as he shifted his weight forward onto that leg. The effect was instantaneous as Wilson crumpled to the ground, howling, and clutching his knee.

"You %!#%*! Oh, spit! This freakin' hurts! Ohhh! I'll kill you!" Wilson reached for the gun in his shoulder holster only to come up short as he saw the barrel of Courtwright's revolver inches away from his forehead.

"Now, Phil, that's my job. I'd hate to lose you." Courtwright stared the big man down. With little other choice, Wilson gritted his teeth and decided to examine his injury rather than follow through with his impulse.

Val looked at De Souza. "I guess I had long enough."

Standing at Colt's shoulder, Jones said, "Just barely," even as she jammed a hypodermic needle into Colt's glute.

Colt winced. She hadn't seen that coming. She felt her body tense up. Soon she was unable to move her limbs as the toxin affected her nervous system. In seconds, she was stiff as a board and about to fall over when Jones caught her under her arms.

Courtwright walked over to the helpless heroine. "You're supposed to be good. Look at you. Pathetic! I was going to make it fairly quick tomorrow, give you an honorable death, but you don't deserve it! Maybe I should gut-shoot you and let you bleed out. That would be appropriate ‘cause you're gutless! You were easy to capture, you're ineffectual at escape. Look at you, you can't even stand up to me. Get her out of here!"

Mueller ordered Ames to help Jones carry Colt's rigid body back to her cell. The involuntary convulsions wracking the body of the Weapons Mistress made the task more difficult but soon she was again face down on the stainless steel floor of her home for the last day. Ames removed the shackles binding her wrists together. "Don't worry, Sugar, the poison wears off in about an hour. You'll be up jogging around again in no time. Let me just say, it's been a pleasure getting to see you in person. I'm a big fan. It's a shame Courtwright's gonna kill you tomorrow."

Val lay motionless on the floor. She knew that the toxin wasn't responsible for the tightness she was feeling in her chest. Despite Courtwright's own self-doubt, no amount of mind games would change the fact that he was faster than her. Much faster, even before his ploys to wear her down. After sleep deprivation, temperature extremes, poison, and sleeping gas, there was no chance that she could beat him on the draw. When noon rolled around, she was going to die. The tightness she was feeling in her chest was fear!

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