"No. You aren't." It was a losing battle, but one he planned to wage. Even staring in the face of defeat. There were only two people in Sagebrush that could defy him like this. The other was down the stairs holding a knife.

"Yes. I am." Charlotte responded firmly. Jedd stood in front of the stairs, partially blocking her way. She pushed past him, went down a few steps, then tipped her head back up to look at him. She raised her eyebrows, feigning innocence in her expression. "Oh. You can come too if you'd like."

Jed nearly facepalmed, but instead...

He fixed his hat, "just get going." She'll be sorry, he predicted. Some very serious things were about to go down, things that she will wish that she'd never seen. "Whatever you want, sis."

"Thanks." Charlotte offered him a too-bright smile. "Actually... I don't think I should be seen, so you go ahead." She nodded towards the stairs. After Jedd had passed, she nestled into the corner of the stairs, just high enough to where the wall obscured the view of her. Or, so she hoped.

She had a feeling the Marshal wouldn't be happy if she came down to interfere with "official business." So she hid--she'd done it many times before to hear things she shouldn't. And in this situation, there was definitely something involved that the adults wouldn't want her to hear. So she stayed where she could see, but be unseen. It was better that way.

"Good boy, Abe," the Marshal said softly, sending a quick glare in Caldwell's direction, then gently pressing the knife against the corner of Abe's eye. "You know what it means to get marked like that. So you are connected to the Triad."

The Marshal casually glanced toward the stairs as she heard footsteps. She nodded at Jedd, then turned back to Abe.

"How many people are involved in it now?"

Jedd strode in, grabbed a wooden chair and straddled it backwards, his arms resting upon the backrest. If any good came out of this particular scenario, it'd be that he would learn some new and interesting interrogation techniques.

The fight, what little was left after Jedd had gotten through with him, was thoroughly gone from Abe now.

"Not many. Maybe 20. Maybe a few more. Haven't met everyone."

"Good enough. Why did they come here? What does Sagebrush hold that's so interesting?"

"I don't know. Just the idiot outlaw you've got in the cell over there. They wanted him dead."

"Well golly, they could have waited a few days. He'll be hung from a rope near the end of this week." Patience was clearly not a triad's strong point.

However, it apparently wasn't Jedd's, either. The marshal threw him a 'shut up I'm talking' look, then turned back to Abe, finally lowering the knife away from his eye and out of sight.

"Caldwell isn't the Triad's problem, though. Why are you working for both the Triad and Meyer? What inspired that mix?"

"It's one of the things we do now," Abe answered. "Find bands of idiots and halfwits running around the wastelands holding up trains and pretend to form alliances. They're too stupid to realize we're just going to take everything they've got and leave them dead in the desert for the iron wolves and the mecha-buzzards. I heard they tried to send a representative to that Caldwell yokel and he shot the guy. Said he doesn't play well with others."

The Marshal glanced over at Caldwell.

"For some reason, I'm not surprised at that," she muttered, then shook her head. "Who is running the Triad, now? who plays the part of your bossman?"

Abe started to answer and then he stared at the Marshal's face, his eyes narrowing in concentration. He seemed to see her as if for the first time and a look of recognition crossed his face.

"You should be pleased. It's an old ...friend of yours, Marshal. Or should I say Mercy Tzu?" He smirked for a second. "Long time no see. Law-woman's an interesting look for you.

The color drained from the Marshal's face and her lips disappeared into a thin line. Seconds later, the sounds of gunfire echoed through the metal cells, reverberating in the Marshal's ears. She stood frozen for a moment, then stepped back and dropped the gun as if it was something she had never seen before. Her aim was good. There was no question that Abe was dead, and in those quiet seconds, only the dripping of his blood could be heard.