Caliber Detective Agency - Box Set - Case Files 1-6 by Donald Wells

arm.
    “Take the deal. There’s no ammo left except what we got in our guns and my gun hand is useless. It’s suicide to try and stop them.”
    The sheriff looked over at Jake.
    “How many shots you got in that fancy gun of yours?”
    “Twelve,”
    Next, the sheriff plucked Harrow’s gun from his holster.
    “You’ve done your part, Jim, now go take cover,”
    Harrow sent the sheriff a look of astonishment.
    “You’re standin’ your ground? That’s crazy!”
    “Crazy or not, I’m the law here; and look what they done to our city. They ain’t leavin’ here without a fight, no sir!”
    Harrow gave him a look of incredulity and then limped back toward the jail.
    The sheriff stared at Jake.
    “Follow him son, get yourself to cover,”
    “You can’t fight them alone.”
    “And I can’t ask you to join me. Harrow was right, there’s too many of them.”
    “I ain’t lettin’ you do it alone, sheriff,”
    The sheriff smiled at him.
    “You’re a good boy Jake, alright then, here’s what we’ll do, we’ll—look out!”
    Jake spun around to where the sheriff pointed, gun at the ready and saw... nothing.
    He turned back around to ask Carter what had alarmed him, and the sheriff hit him twice and knocked him to the ground. By the time he regained his senses, the sheriff was charging into the bank with both guns blazing.
    His shots were answered with a loud volley, and then the day grew deathly silent.
    A voice whispered nearby, “Oh no, Bobby,”
    Jake was still on the ground, but he spun around on his hands and knees and found the source of the voice. It was the sheriff’s wife, she was standing by the door of the jail, and Eva was beside her.
    Jake gestured for them to get inside, even as Deputy Harrow came out and grabbed them both about the waist with his left arm, to urge them into the jail.
    As she reached the doorway, Eva pointed down the street.
    “They’re coming,”
    A moment later, and Harrow pushed them inside and a moment after that, Jake heard the sound of the door locking.
    There was a dead bandit lying nearby, and Jake reached for the corpse’s weapon, in a bid to increase his firepower, but then an idea came to him, and he saw how he just might live to see another day.
    ***
    H e lay on his back, watching them approach slowly, guns in hand. There were six of them. They strode boldly down the street with no hoods on. Bo Clayton was among them, along with two men that looked enough like him to be his brothers.
    Jake had taken the black hood off the dead bandit and placed it over his own head, now he laid still, eyes opened and unblinking as the men shuffled along the dusty street.
    They walked towards him, then around, and finally past him, and as the last man shuffled away, he allowed himself the luxury of blinking against the dust swirled up by their steps.
    But then, they stopped, and in the next instant, he heard Clayton speak.
    “No sense in doin’ things halfway, let’s storm the jail there and finish this,”
    The other five men murmured their agreement and then all six of them headed toward the jail, the jail where Eva was.
    Jake rose silently from the ground and ripped off the hood.
    “Calyton!”
    Clayton and his men spun around to stare at Jake. Jake was dusty from the ground, and his hair was mussed from the hood, but his young face wore a look of determination.
    Clayton seemed unimpressed, because he pointed at Jake and laughed.
    “Well, if it ain’t the dude with the strong punch. Run along sonny, or we’ll give you what the sheriff got.”
    Jake craned his neck.
    “I’m gonna kill you Clayton; I’m gonna kill all of you.”
    “Maybe you can’t count boy, it’s six to one, and hell, your gun’s still in your holster.”
    “On three!” Jake said.
    Clayton sent the man standing beside him a look of confusion, even as Jake began counting off.
    “One!”
    Clayton shook his head. “Dude’s loco,”
    “Two!”
    Clayton’s men dropped the canvas sacks full of