“I never understood why it’s called the Empty Wedding,” Bill admitted in the silence following the story. A couple hours had passed, and evening brought a chill to the jail.

  “A few reasons,” said the Sheriff, who had been mostly silent while listening. Every so often he’d sigh or grumble, but he let the outlaw tell her story. “Mostly, that big raid emptied the bank and coffers of several people. Guests at the wedding came in their finery and walked away empty handed, some even naked.”

  “Don’t forget all the people who had the soup,” said Jesse with a wicked twinkle in her eyes. “They were emptied out pretty good too.”

  Bill made a disgusted face, then laughed. It was only when Jesse joined in but the Sheriff didn’t that the deputy stopped and cleared his throat.

  “You think that’s funny?” Rickens demanded, leaning forward. His lined face was stretched in harsh grimace. “Eighteen wedding guests died that night. Some from opium poisoning or shitting themselves to death, and some from being shot by her gang. But that’s okay because they’re richer than you, right? Ain’t a real person if they’re rich.”

  The outlaw rolled her eyes. “Yep, you got me figured out, Sheriff. I lose all empathy the second I find out someone’s got more than me. We both know it ain’t like that. I love seeing people prosper. I just don’t have much tolerance for people who take as much as they can and give nothing back. They make their fortunes off the backs of the people they use and throw away, and somehow I’m the bad guy?

  “Yeah, we’ve killed some. But the people we kill? For each one of them we shoot, they’ve killed dozens or hundreds more with the stroke of a pen. The only difference is you bastards consider those deaths to be acceptable and legal, and thus moral.” Jesse Jane glared at Rickens and spat on the floor. “How many broken homes and lives are you responsible for, Sheriff?”

  Sheriff Rickens stood up. He wasn’t a particularly intimidating man, and her times outsmarting him and getting away left Jesse with contempt for him and his capabilities. Still, he didn’t get to be and remain the sheriff of Koda Junction during her reign of robberies without reason.

  “I don’t know or particularly care,” he said, voice surprisingly light and jovial. “When people break the law, it’s my job to break them. Personal circumstances don’t matter. Laws exist for a reason. They’re there to keep order, to keep the world running. People fall on hard times? Well, tough shit. Life’s hard, doesn’t mean everyone can turn on each other and take whatever they want just because it’s easier.

  “It’s not my fault people falter and break, but it is my problem. This is the world we live in, and it’s not gonna change anytime soon. I’d say get used to it, but the only thing you’re going to get used to is taking a dip into a lake of fire.” The Sheriff smiled widely.

  Rage burst inside of Jesse, crackling up and down inside her like a bolt of lightning. If she had her guns or if Rickens had been closer, she would’ve thrown the plan out the window and killed him then and there. Impulse control had never been her strongest trait, but now at the end, it was all she had.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “You serve a broken system that doesn’t give a shit about the people living in it,” Jesse said quietly. “You and everyone who upholds it deserves a bullet to the head. I swear to you, I’ll live just long enough to see you dead.”

  The worst sound in the world was the bastard’s donkey-like laughter. Even Bill winced as the Sheriff guffawed in her face, holding his belly the entire time. “You’re not going anywhere, Jesse Jane. Unlike the wedding, I can vouch for every one of my boys. They’ve been working with me for months and have taken down some of your best people. Maria, Jim, Ezekiel, Luke, and others.

  “Half of them shot, half of them fitted for their last neck-tie. Just another eight hours until it’s your turn. And after that, we’ll clean everything up. My only regret is that you won’t be there to see it.”

  Still smirking, Rickens returned to the table and poured himself some more whiskey. Despite his words, she knew there was a part of him that wasn’t so confident. Not after a dozen failed attempts to bring her and the Scales down. Which was exactly what she needed.

  “You’re right,” she said, falling back down on the cot. “We’re pretty done. Samson turning on us was the last straw.” She buried her face in her hands and inhaled sharply. “He won’t be able to keep the gang together, and they’ll probably turn on each other, and either sell each other out or shoot to kill. You might get the last laugh in the end. Oh god.”

  Tears weren’t normally her weapon at all, but it was easy enough to let her eyes water at the mention of her dead friends. With luck and determination, they would be avenged, even if it killed her.

  “That’s right,” said Rickens. He lifted his glass and toasted her before taking a sip with an appreciative sigh. “You sold your soul, and for nothing. You got a few good years of pissing off your betters, but you’re going to die for it. Within five years, everything you’ve tried to do will be undone, and life will go on.”

  Bill looked between them both. He seemed genuinely sad at the way Jesse hugged her sides. Her breathing grew ragged, but she swallowed it down in time. “Do you have any regrets? Before you’re hanged. Anything you want to get off your chest? I’m no priest, but…”

  He seemed a decent enough kid, for one of the Sheriff’s dogs. If she had more time, Jesse might have been able to turn him. For now, he gave her a perfect opportunity.

  “There is something I would love to be able to talk about,” she said. “The time the Sheriff almost caught me.”

  From the table, he scoffed. “Which time? I nearly had you at least three or four times.”

  Jesse shook her head. “No, you didn’t. You only almost got me once. Every other time, you weren’t anywhere close. But I can and want to tell you about the one time it almost happened. I think you’ll find it very interesting, Sheriff.”

  He feigned disinterest with a pig-like grunt.

  “I’d like to hear it,” said Bill, brightening up.

  Jesse took a long, deep breath, letting her mind wander back to the memory and find the right words for the story. Time ticked away, and she had until dawn to make her play.

  “It was five months ago, during one of the few jobs I consider a full failure.”

  “Ahhh,” said the Sheriff. “Halloween. That was the closest I came?” In spite of himself, he perked up. “Really?”

  “Really,” Jesse chuckled. “I was cornered, and you came within five feet of me without ever knowing I was there.”

  “Tell you what,” Rickens said. “You surprise or impress me, and I’ll give you a bit of whiskey to help dull the pain and horror.”

  Well, now she had to. Smiling, Jesse began her second story of the night, knowing that by the end of it, Rickens would either kill her or be that much closer to where she wanted him.