October, 1889

- Come on, guys. Welcome back to Heystack Village.

The clock shows 5:15 pm, the sun is leaning towards the horizon, but continues to burn, and the four horsemen enter the bustling town. Haystack Village, Kansas, is not big, but not small, and serves as a home for more than four hundred people. Here you can drink in the saloon and not be afraid of poisoning, put money in the bank and not be afraid of losing them during a robbery, just walk along the street and be sure that you will not have extra holes. The inhabitants were honest and hard-working people, and the visitors consisted mainly of cowboys from the nearest ranches and farms, having a rest after a hard day’s work. This place served as a haven for all kinds of criminals, and not so long ago. C half a year ago. Until a new sheriff appeared in Heystack Village ...

Riders slowly drove through the streets of the city, catching on themselves the views of passers-by. These views expressed recognition, but at the same time, curiosity. After all, riders, having fun talking among themselves (except for one, keeping a gloomy silence), have been seen here more than once. They were gangsters, and, like many other "desperados", regularly visited here. The townspeople bypassed them for a few meters. No, they did not expect trouble, but God protects the cherished, right? Moreover, almost everyone was sure that they saw these guys for the last time.

Yes, you can be sure that the Gang of the Wrong, if they leave the city, it is only in a fortified stage for the transportation of criminals. Or, most likely, will move to a quiet well-kept cemetery at the northern entrance. The gang of Versilia was wanted, for each of its members a reward was announced. Apparently, not big enough for them to chase the horde of "hunters". The captain was the Mexican Joaquin Mendoza, known for his impressive size as the "Big Man", and "cost" more than anyone, as much as $ 200. For the rest, they offered 150 each. Joe Wood, an unpleasant half-breed who took the nickname “Apache” (although he had no idea which tribe his mother was from). "Taciturn" Garry Yang, seemingly and not like a gangster, never said a lot, preferring to shooting than talking, and now he was completely silent. The latter, Eddie Cooper, was called “Handsome,” and the nickname was purely sarcastic, for his nose was greatly shifted to the right as a result of an old injury, about which he did not spread. He joined the gang the last, not so long ago, and the residents of Heustack Village had not yet seen him.

The gang of Versilia drove up to the whiskey and rose saloon, in which they whiled away the time each time they visited the town. The saloon had two floors, there were rooms upstairs, and for only 20 cents you could rent any for a day. But few of them had a desire to sleep on the bed, on which, perhaps, yesterday some dirty cowboy tumbled with a decorated prostitute. Or it will be tumbling in the next room, making it difficult to sleep. After all, the second floor of the saloon was reserved for the brothel. Several young girls lived and worked here, and this sinner was ruled by a mature “madam” named Bonnie Chapman, known as “Prickly” Bonnie. Why is "Prickly"? Some believed that because of their causticity, others - that the name of the institution played a role, more precisely, the second part of it. The most witty said something about unshaven legs.

It was still pretty early, there were few visitors in the saloon, but by eight there would be no overflowing. One prostitute was standing near the taper, who tuned up the piano, and chatted merrily with him.Bonnie led a business discussion with the balding baleened fatty Lloyd Brady, the owner of the entire saloon. A little in the distance, leaning on the bar counter, with a bored look stood Suzanne "Doll Susie" Douglas. Nineteen years old, with curly brown hair, a childishly sweet face, fair skin and small breasts, Suzy was the “pearl” of the institution and was more popular than any two of her companions. Fights among young hot guys for the opportunity to be the first to retire with her were common. Therefore, it is not surprising that when the Big Brother and the Brothers went into the saloon, they began to catch dirty hungry glances on themselves not at the “lady-and-piano”, but Dolly, who saw the light ten years later.

The bandits immediately attracted all the attention of a few visitors. Glances shifted from the notorious trinity here to the not yet visited here Handsome. The guys, as befits the people of their craft, with weapons - the revolvers on the sides, shotguns and rifles remained in the covers on the horses. Road dust has settled on clothing and faces. The boots left traces, while the four, ringing with spurs, walked to the bar counter, behind which Lloyd Brady was not at all pleased.

“Wow, Lloyd,” he loudly greeted Master Brig, leaning on the counter and making her creak. On the right, there is a Handsome looking at Susanna, on the left is Apache and Taciturn. - How's it going?

“Wonderful,” he answered dryly, which he had not allowed himself before. But times have changed.

- It's good, good. Splash ka us whiskey, frozen from the road, even kill.

“Double,” the Silent added gloomily, uttering his last word.

- I think today to visit the old Henry. By the way, how is he doing there? - asked the big man, watching the filling glasses.

- Poorly. He's dead, ”Lloyd replied, with a kind of excitement in his voice and a gleam in his eyes that went unnoticed. - Now we have a new sheriff.

There was a pause, during which the old trinity and the bartender turned their gaze to Handsome and Suzy. He had already moored to her, and now they were whispering about something directly into each other's ears, and the intoxicant drink, sip by sip, disappeared into the stomach of the crook-carrying gangster. His right hand was wandering around the camp of the girl, while she giggled softly.

- Really? And how did this happen, pray tell? Said the Mexican again, returning the others to the ground. Anxiety, a sense of elusive confidence that a serious change had taken place, was reflected on his face.

- I know little about it. Why don't you ask the new sheriff personally? Here who will tell in all details.

The big man looked around nervously. Everyone immediately looked away and stared where it was. He thought. I thought that along with amigos was wanted. Big guy with Henry Wilcox were old comrades, and, once again without creating problems (and, what really there, unfastening small profits), the gang could easily be in Heystak Village. The atmosphere of security seemed to envelop this place. But the new lawyer ... Who knows how much his sense of righteousness plays in his ass? The sixth sense, and common sense prompted: "Drink up your whiskey, jump on your horses and get out of here while the skin is intact!" But the hope that it will be possible to come to an agreement with the sheriff, and everything will be fine, everything grew and grew. And in the end he made a decision. The big man decided that luck was on his side today. He made a mistake.

* * *

Five minutes later, Ralph Baxter, a sixty-year-old funeral home owner, was on his way to the city jail and, concurrently, the sheriff’s office at a rate his old man’s feet were capable of. It just so happened that he was sitting in the saloon closer to the exit, and Chucker rather peacefully asked him to go to the sheriff. Apparently, Ralph’s old age meant nothing to him. And Ralph himself could not understand, he was glad that he had got out of there, or not. One undertaker could almost certainly say: he had four clients in turn, and if they suddenly found themselves without money, their horses had quite decent saddles.

Having passed about a third of the way and turning on the next street, he saw two people standing and talking near the pharmacy.Blinking his eyes half-sightedly, Ralph approached and only twenty meters away recognized Ben Hopkins and Charlotte Adams. Ben, despite his twenty-five years, wore a sheriff assistant token and was loved by citizens almost as much as his boss. Especially this handsome blond woman fell into the soul of the female half of the population. And now Charlotte, the young daughter of the pharmacist Charles Adams, while listening to some funny story, was flooded ...