The Bounty of Rob Wilkinson
The Bounty of Rob Wilkinson
By
Andy Gibson
Our story starts in the small little town of Chester. It’s located in Southern Alberta. Our hero, Max Rider, has been a bounty hunter for over five years now. He’s dealt with the likes of outlaws and bandits in those years. After purchasing some ammo from the local gun store, Max heads to the bounty bulletin board to look for some work. He reads a listing that says “Rob Wilkinson, 1000 dollar reward. Speak to the sheriff first.”
Max heads over to the local sheriff’s office. The sheriff is sitting comfortably in his office chair. Max says, “I’m here for the bounty for Rob Wilkinson”. “
The sheriff replies, “Wilkinson, that bastard has been holed up in his fort of bandits for far too long. Wilkinson used to be part of a gang called the Rockwells. They committed a whole bunch of bank and store robberies throughout the whole state. Now, Wilkinson has his own gang and they’ve caused a bunch of trouble. It’s about time somebody brought him to justice.”
Max says, “So what do we do?”
The sheriff says, “Well now, I have a plan.”
“Now, Rob Wilkinson is holed up in a huge fort named Fort Mason,” said the sheriff. “To get to him, you’ll need a Trojan horse of some kind. His fort is filled with bandits that follow him everywhere. You’ll need a powerful weapon to bring him down. I recommend a Gatling gun. I don’t know where you’re gonna get one, but that’s what I recommend.”
Max asks, “Any idea on where to start?”
The sheriff says,s “You should start with my friend Bill Santos. He’s an arms dealer. He could maybe set you up with a Gatling gun.”
“Any other leads?” Max asks the sheriff.
“You should try my friend Cindy Blackwell,” said the sheriff. “She’s a fellow bounty hunter like yourself. She’s been trying to take down Wilkinson for years now.”
“Where can I find her?” Max asked the sheriff.
“You can find her camping a few miles, right outside of town,” said the sheriff. “You can find Bill near the town Bahanas selling weapons out of his wagon.”
As Max left the sheriff’s office, he wondered what a female bounty hunter like Cindy Blackwell would be like. He decided he’d go to her first because he wanted to see a female bounty hunter with his own eyes. And she was closer. So Max got on his horse and rode to Cindy Blackwell’s camp. Since she was no fan of Rob Wilkinson, Max was sure she would be able to help him.
As Max got close to the camp, he could see the smoke from the fire smearing in the air. The night sky made it so the flames were flickering like fireflies dancing in the night. Cindy was brushing her horse as Max rode up toward the camp.
“Who are you?” said Cindy.
“The name’s Max Rider, ma’am. Cindy Blackwell, I take it. The sheriff sent me.”
“And what do you do?” said Cindy.
“I’m a bounty hunter, ma’am. I take it that I’m very much like yourself.”
“Well, what can I do for you, Mr. Rider?” said Cindy.
Max said, “Well, ma’am, I’m looking to bring Rob Wilkinson to justice.”
“Wilkinson!” said Cindy. “I’ve been trying to catch that son of a bitch for years.”
“Well, I think together we can take him down and bring him to justice,” Max said. “So, what do you say? Want to bring in that son of a bitch to justice.”
“I would love to bring Rob Wilkinson to justice,” said Cindy. “But, unfortunately, I am in a bit of a predicament. I’ve been hunting down this fugitive for several months now. Sadie Mclarsin is her name. She’s holed up in a little town-like area run by her and her gang of outlaws. It’s kind of like Fort Mason where Rob Wilkinson is holed up, except it’s not an actual fort. It’s like a little town with a couple of buildings.”
Max said, “Let me guess. You want me to help you deal with her.”
Cindy said, “Yeah. You help me get Sadie Mclarsin, I’ll help you get Rob Wilkinson. You know, you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.”
Max asked, “What did this Sadie Mclarsin do exactly?”
“She and her posse stole from stores in neighboring towns and she personally killed the sheriff in Mile River(another town). She and her posse have killed a good number of innocents, but that’s the most notorious victim.”
“What do you need?” Max said.
“I need a sniper on the canyon above the town,” Cindy said. “I need a sniper to watch and cover me as things go down. Do you have a sniper rifle?”
“Yes ma’am, I do,” said Max. “Just tell me when the deal is going down and I’ll be ready.”
Cindy said “We leave tomorrow morning. You can camp with me here tonight.”
Max and Cindy told stories around the campfire before they went to sleep. Cindy told the story of the wild Mexican bull. “Have you ever heard of the wild Mexican bull?” said Cindy.
“I can’t say I have, Miss Blackwell,” said Max.
“Well, legend has it that there was a special bull that some Mexicans supposedly got from Mexico. It was a bull that no person could tame. Some say the bull was immortal. Some say it came from another universe, parallel to our own. No one really knows what happened to the bull. However, some say it will return and haunt people with its presence.”
Max told the story of the gray ghost. “Have you heard the story of the gray ghost?” said Max. “Well, legend has it that there was a mysterious spirit that haunted a mansion. The mansion was filled with the spirit of only one person. That person was filthy rich. The gray ghost was said to haunt famous people. One day, a wealthy man who lived in the mansion heard a noise in the kitchen. Everything seemed fine at first. Suddenly, the man felt a cold chill on his back. He looked behind. There, right in front of him, was the gray ghost! The man was never heard from or seen again.”
“Well, that was an interesting story, Max,” said Cindy. “How many years have you been a bounty hunter?”
“Over five years,” said Max.
“What made you want to become a bounty hunter, if you don’t mind my asking?” said Cindy.
“Both my parents were murdered when I was ten. We were caught in a crossfire between rival gangs. The only reason I survived was because the sheriff and his deputies arrived just in time to save me. It was too late for my mom and dad.” Max elaborated as he explained his origin.
Cindy gave a real unsettled look. “Sorry I asked,” she expressed.
“Ever since that day, I have vowed to bring the same type of criminals to justice. Why did you get into bounty hunting?”
Cindy said “My husband was murdered. He was a traveling salesman. One day, a criminal tried to rob him. My husband was a stubborn old thing. He tried to fight back. The robber had a gun. He took my husband’s life and his money. I was devastated. I eventually decided to take action. So I found the scumbag and got justice for my husband. I eventually decided that I could make a pretty good living and I wanted to help put more rotten criminals behind bars.”
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Max expressed.
“Shows that good people like us just want to do some good and right the wrongs that were done in our own lives.”
“Well, we better get some shut-eye. We have a big day tomorrow.” Cindy said. Max thought Cindy was an interesting person. If he wasn’t in his own kind of work, Max would totally want to date Cindy. However, they were both bounty hunters. Their kind of work involved dangerous people. If one of their enemies knew about the other, they could be in big danger. So, Max decided it was best that their relationship remain professional.
As the morning sun rose, Max and Cindy awoke. They rode near the place where the town was. Max set up near the canyon where he was going to do his sniping. “Okay, you ready. Watch my back as this deal goes down,” said Cindy.
Max said, “I’m ready.” Max scoped the area with his sniper scope. There were two guards next to this woman with blonde hair. The woman was a real beaut. Max thought she was Sadie Mclarsin. He was correct.
Cindy rode on horseback to the town where Sadie was. Cindy got off her horse and hitched her horse near the first building of the town. The two guards got close to Cindy as Sadie walked closer to Cindy. Sadie was doing most of the talking.
“Now, just who might you be?” said Sadie.
Cindy said, “My name is Cindy Blackwell.”
“Come on, Cindy. What are you doing?” Max whispered to himself. Sadie started to turn around. Then Cindy swiftly shot the one guard on the right in the head. Max then shot the other guard on the left in the head.
Sadie yelled, “Everyone, kill her!” as she ran away from the firefight. The real fight just began.
Sadie Mclarsin’s men were storming up the whole place. Bullets were raging in front of Cindy as she hid behind the cover of one of the buildings. Max provided cover fire from the enemy. He landed headshot after headshot. Bang! Bang! Bang! Shot after shot, Max kept the enemy at bay. Meanwhile, Sadie Mclarsin fled the scene.
After all the bandits were killed, Max left his sniping position and went to Cindy on horseback.
“Are you okay,” said Max.
“I’m fine,” said Cindy. “We need to find Sadie”. Sadie Mclarsin appeared on horseback.
“You’ll never catch me, Cindy Blackwell,” said Sadie. Sadie then fled on horseback away from the town.
“Come on, we got to catch her,” said Cindy. Cindy got on her horse and rushed after Sadie. Max followed in pursuit. The chase had begun.
Max and Cindy raced after Sadie Mclarsin as fast as lighting. Sadie brought out a handgun that she holstered. “Don’t wait for me, Max. Go get her!” said Cindy. Max rushed right behind Sadie and got his lasso in hand. He was going to lasso Sadie when he got close enough. Sadie shot her handgun right behind her, trying to hit Max. Max swerved to the right and then to the left, narrowly dodging the bullets. Max then threw his lasso directly onto Sadie. Sadie fell like a ragdoll, hustling and tussling on the ground while being lassoed. This was it. Max and Cindy had caught Sadie Mclarsin.
Max hogtied Sadie. Then he put her on top of his horse, right behind the saddle.
“Whatever you’re being paid, I’ll double it,” said Sadie.
“Oh, no. There’s no way you’re getting out of this,” said Cindy. “Once I get a bounty, I finish it. No amount of money can save you from justice.”
After a long ride, Max and Cindy arrived at the sheriff’s office.
The sheriff said, “Now, what do we have here?”
Cindy said “Sadie Mclarsin, sir. We caught her.” “Mr. Rider, put her in a cell,” said the sheriff.
“Ms. Mclarsin, you will be charged for the murder of Sheriff Walker along with the rest of your victims.” The sheriff turned to Max and Cindy. “Now, here’s your share of the bounty.” The sheriff paid Max and Cindy very well.
“Now, what do you say?” said Max to Cindy outside the sheriff’s office. “Want to help me bring down Rob Wilkinson?”.
“Sure thing,” said Cindy. “Just tell me when the deal goes down and I’ll be there.
Now that Max had secured Cindy Blackwell’s services, he just had to get the help of the arms dealer, Bill Santos. Rob Wilkinson was holed up in a pretty heavy fort, surrounded by a whole bunch of bandits. In order to get inside, Max would need a Trojan horse mechanism. The Gatling gun that the sheriff recommended would be essential in taking down all the bandits in the fort.
Max headed on horseback to the town of Bahanas. When he got there, he saw a man with a wagon of weapons.
“Come one, come all,” said the man. “Come get a super quality weapon from Bill Santos.” Max walked up to the man.
“Bill Santos, I presume,” said Max.
“Why, yes sir,” said Bill. “What can I do for you? You looking to get a new rifle or some kind of weapon? ``
“No, said Max. “I’m more interested in your services.” Bill had a weird look on his face.
“Wait right there.”
Max waited while Bill’s sale of weapons was going on. “We’ll be back in ten minutes,” said Bill to his customers. Bill talked to Max behind the wagon. “Now, what can I do for you?” said Bill.
“I’m looking to bring Rob Wilkinson to justice. Do you want to help?” said Max.
“Rob Wilkinson, you say,” said Bill. “Well, is there anything that would benefit me on this occasion?”
Max responded, “You’ll get some of the money as part of the bounty.
Bill responded with a grinning look. “Well then, count me in.” Where do we start?”
Max said, “Well, first I need a Gatling gun. The sheriff told me you would be the right man to talk to about getting one.”
Bill said, “Well, now that you mention it, I do know where you can get the parts to build a Gatling gun. The problem is, the mine where the parts are stored is guarded by Rob Wilkinson’s men.”
Max said, “If I get the parts, can you build it inside your wagon?”
“Yes,” said Bill, “but the place will be full of Wilkinson’s men. They will try to stop us.”
“Don’t worry,” said Max. “I can take care of them. We should attack the mine at nightfall,”
As nightfall came, Bill parked his wagon a mile outside the minefield. Max readied his sniper rifle. There were two guards right outside the minefield. Max shot the one on the right in the head. Bang! Then he readied his rifle for the other guard.
“What the hell!” said the guard on the left. “Everyone, we got a situa….” Max shot the guard in the head.
“Alright, Bill. Let’s go,” said Max. Max and Bill entered the mine.
Max prepared his rifle. One bandit in front of them said
“Hey, you’re not supposed to be her…” Max shot the bandit. As Bill and Max entered the mine, Max kept Bill safe from the bandits.
“Do you see the parts for the Gatling gun?” said Max.
“Not yet,” said Bill.
“Well, keep looking,” said Max. Max shot bandit after bandit as Bill looked for the parts for the gun. After many moments of searching, Bill finally finds the parts.
“I’ve found the parts for the Gatling gun,” said Bill. “Now cover me as I put these in the crates.” Bill had to move the parts to his wagon by mine crate. Max covered Bill as the crates moved from rail to rail. Max took cover behind a wall and shot four bandits. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! As the bandits tried to stop Max and Bill from retrieving the parts for the gun, Max was an unstoppable juggernaut. He shot bullet after bullet.
Finally, Max and Bill reached the wagon where the rail was. “Okay, so, it may take me a while to install this gun on my wagon,” said Bill. “Come by in a day or two and it should be ready.” Two days later, Max went to visit Bill right outside the town of Bahanas.
“Well, is it ready?” said Max.
“Sure is,” said Bill. “Now just tell me when the deal goes down and I’ll be ready.
Now Max had the Gatling gun and Cindy Blackwell’s services. All they needed was a plan of attack. That very night, Max called a meeting between Bill Santos, Cindy Blackwell, the sheriff, and the sheriff’s deputies.
“Okay, first of all, Sheriff, You, Cindy, and your deputies will wait outside the fort. I’ll give a signal for you to come in once it’s time. Bill will advertise his weapons while I wait inside the wagon with the Gatling gun. Once inside the fort, Bill will open the wagon and I will rain fire on the bandits. Once I give the signal, you, Cindy, and your deputies will come into the fort, taking out any bandits that remain. Then we corner Wilkinson, tie him down, and take him to the sheriff’s office. Are there any questions?” said Max
One of the sheriff’s deputies asked “Yeah, what will the signal be?”
“Probably a whistle or something along those lines,” said Max. “Now get plenty of rest. Because tomorrow is the day. The day Rob Wilkinson gets what he deserves,” said Max. All the preparations were set. Now the only thing Max had to do was wait. Wait for tomorrow. Sleep until tomorrow. Because tomorrow was the day that Rob Wilkinson faced justice.
The next morning, Max woke up with a defiant determination. He went up to Bill Santos and his wagon. “Are you ready?” said Max.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” said Bill. Max entered the wagon. The sheriff, Cindy Blackwell, and the sheriff’s deputies arrived on horseback near the fort. Max waited in the wagon as Bill got closer and closer to the fort.
Bill had finally arrived at the fort. The fort had strong, durable stone bricks with a huge main gate that was closed. The gate was the only way into the fort.
One of the bandits at the top said, “Who are you and what is your business here?”
Bill said, “My name is Bill Santos. I am an arms dealer. I sell the greatest weapons you can imagine. I would like to provide you guys with some of my best weapons.
“Boss, we have an arms dealer saying he wants to sell some of his weapons to us,” said one of the bandits to Rob Wilkinson. Rob then appeared at the front entrance, above the gate. The wagon did not look suspicious to Rob.
“Let him in,” said Wilkinson.
The gate entrance to the fort was lowered. Bill drove his wagon inside the fort.
“Get ready and feast your eyes on this,” said Bill. Bill took the cover of the wagon apart. Suddenly, there sat Max, in position with the Gatling gun, ready to fire. Bullets from the Gatling gun started raining fire on the bandits.
“What is this?” said one of the bandits.
“We’ve been betrayed,” said another bandit.
“Wilkinson!” yelled Max. “It’s time you faced justice.”
One of Wilkinson’s bodyguards took Wilkinson and said, “Sir, we need to get you out of here.”
“You got that right!” said Wilkinson.
Max took down bandit after bandit with the Gatling gun. Bill had a revolver and was helping shoot up some of the bandits, but it was Max and the Gatling gun doing most of the work. Rob Wilkinson was trying to leave the fort. The bandit that was going to open the exiting gate got shot by Max. Bill opened the main gate so Cindy, the sheriff, and his deputies could come inside the fort. Max then signaled the sheriff, Cindy, and his deputies. He gave a loud whistle. The cavalry had arrived.
The sheriff, his deputies, and Cindy Blackwell came rushing into the fort, guns blazing.
The sheriff yelled, “Find Wilkinson before he gets away.” Cindy saw Wilkinson go up the stairs into his office.
“I saw Wilkinson go up to his office,” said Cindy. “Max, go up there and get him,” said Cindy. “We’ll cover you.” Max sprinted up the stairs to Wilkinson’s office. Wilkinson held a revolver to his head.
“Don’t come any closer!” said Wilkinson. “I’ll do it! Max knew he was serious. “You’ll never take me alive!” said Wilkinson. Max wondered what was so serious that Wilkinson would take his own life. Max holstered his rifle away. Then he swiftly took out his revolver and shot the gun right out of Wilkinson’s hand.
“Come on, Wilkinson,” said Max. “You’re coming with me.” The chase had finally ended. Rob Wilkinson was caught.
Most of Wilkinson’s men were dead. The rest had fled the scene or surrendered. Max hogtied Wilkinson and brought him to the sheriff’s office.
“Wilkinson, you will be tried for your crimes,” said the sheriff. Max put Wilkinson into the jailhouse next door. “Max, here’s your payment for this bounty,” said the sheriff. Max received most of the 1000-dollar bounty. The other portions went to Cindy Blackwell and Bill Santos.
“Well, it was a pleasure working with everyone,” said Max. Max then got on his horse and gave them a parting glance as he rode away, onto the next adventure that he would witness.
