Outlaws to the End (HotCider & heartofcourage)

[HotCider]

A Fated Meeting

The apartment was small and hardly suitable for two but that had been the arrangement. The tiny, one-room apartment was a holding cell for his beloved fiancée until their marriage came through. She was Catholic after all and their doctrine deemed that a man couldn’t room with a woman unless they were married. By getting Elizabeth her own nest, it was easier for Stephen to keep an eye on her.

Stephen had stopped by for a visit and had let himself into the apartment with his own copy of the apartment key. Elizabeth hadn’t had too far to go and so his greeting was short and cold before he went straight into the small kitchen to part the sink cabinets and inspect the piping. Her fiancé smelled of frankincense and sandalwood, a pungent cologne and a rather expensive brand he often wore on special occasions. His hair was combed back and styled with grease into syrupy waves. When he rose from his hunched position, he closed the door and then turned to open the fridge. Elizabeth was low on food—he took note of that. Closing the fridge door, he strode briskly for the bathroom and cut on the light to check the plumbing in there.

“Everything seems to be in order,” Stephen informed. “If the utilities here give you any problems, let me know and I’ll put in a work order. I’m going to give you some money so you can stock up the fridge and buy yourself something to eat, and do eat something; dear god you’re thin.”

Turning off the light, he stepped out of the bathroom and closed the door behind him and made his way over to the door. He stopped before it to tug on the cuffs of his brown suit. The bulk he had developed from boxing often had his coat bunch up in some places. Not once did he look at Elizabeth as he checked his nails and made sure none of her hair was on him.

“Do you need anything before I go?” he asked; and then he immediately remembered in his hurry. His brows rose with realization. “Ah-ha! I almost forgot.”

Sliding a hand into his coat, he procured his wallet and drew a dollar free. Walking over to her, he offered the paper bill to her, his eyes locking with her own for the first time since his arrival.

 

[heartofcourage]

The routine was always the same. The moment that he entered the apartment, he would survey the front room to make sure that every little thing was in place and then he would move on to the kitchen after a grunt and a glance in her direction. She could have been stark naked, sitting on the sofa without a stitch of clothing and she highly doubted he would have noticed. Then it would be on into the bathroom, check the plumbing, and then back out the way that he came.

This was Elizabeth’s life since she’d agreed to move downtown with Stephen footing the bill. Her mother was overjoyed to learn that she’d be staying in the Collingwood’s very own apartment complex, but little did her mother know that the little shit hole of an apartment was barely passable. The pipes leaked, the radiator didn’t work half the time, and the hallway stank of desperation and cheap perfume.

Still, she had to smile and act as if everything were wonderful. Her blonde hair was perfectly coifed in the fashion of the day, pulled into a becoming twist at the nape of her neck. She was dressed in a fine skirt of grey wool and a blouse of dark red. Around her neck hung an expensive antique babble that Stephen had given her at Christmas. Well, not Stephen, but his butler. Stephen had been too busy with his charity events to even visit her at the holiday.

Elizabeth’s life was about as hollow as the legs of the kitchen table. She wrinkled her nose at the thick smell of Stephen’s cologne as he came back into the living room. He was a handsome man, one that was very vain about his appearance. He was finely muscled and probably could have crushed her like a bug, but he hadn’t raised a hand to her…yet.

“I do eat, dear.” She said in her soft voice, her blue eyes watched as he tugged at the cuffs of his suit, checking to make sure that not a single iota of herself followed him from the apartment.

“I thought this was a new suit. It doesn’t seem to fit.” She said, moving close to him and placing her hand on the woolen material only to have him jerk his arm away to dig out his wallet and draw free one dollar.

She gave a soft sigh as he offered her the bill and finally made eye contact, her blonde brow rising at an angle as he shook it at her impatiently.

“My cup runneth over.” She said in a sarcastic tone, taking the bill from his fingers, careful not to touch him as she carefully folded it and placed it on the counter. “Perhaps you can stop by this evening after work? I fancy maybe going to the theater.”

She always suggested an outing, but he would pout and groan, insisting that the theater was boring. He would say he was going to the gentlemen’s club, forget that she existed for another night, and then be there the next day for his inspection all over again. This wasn’t a home, it was a prison and Stephen was her jailor.

“They all talk, you know.” She said…mumbled actually, her head bowed as she turned away from Stephen and crossed her arms over her chest. “About how I’ve suddenly turned brunette…”

Had she really said that to him? She was asking for it now. Her mind was screaming at her to be quiet, to calm down and play the part that she needed to play. Glancing down at the sapphire ring on her finger, she thought about all the hopes and dreams her family had placed firmly on her shoulders.

"I wonder why they would think that, Stephen."

 

[HotCider]

Stephen smirked at her observation about his suit. He was actually pleased that she had noticed.

“It is new. I had it tailored to fit me a month ago. I hadn’t worn it since. I suppose I should get it tailored again,” he replied. He watched his fiancée pluck the dollar from his fingers. He had been turning to leave when she asked about an outing. Stephen hesitated to step out as his mind quickly wrote up an excuse.

“I can’t…” Why? His mental typewriter quickly tapped along. “I have a meeting to go to. It’s actually a conference about bank security. I don’t think you would be interested in that.” He laughed lightly.

He reached for the doorknob…

They all talk, you know…

He paused.

About how I’ve suddenly turned brunette…

Stephen frowned deeply as his hand backed away from the doorknob to hang at his side. She never knew how to mind her own damn business, and he thought by moving her to this crummy apartment that she would remain oblivious to his activities.

I wonder why they would think that, Stephen.

The same hand clenched into a large fist. Did she think he was a fool? Stephen turned to face her, his face slightly flushed with his anger. “And who told you this? Have you been going out at night? Seeing someone perhaps since you practically just told me that someone has been spreading these ridiculous rumors. I eagerly await our wedding, really I do. I’m sorry that I can’t give you a better apartment. I’m sorry that I can’t always be here for you, but you must be patient just as I must be patient.”

Stephen sighed in exasperation and rolled his eyes as he thought about the money he had given her. He was unconvinced that she ate so little. What could she possibly be spending it on?

“You know it’s really hard for me to trust you now. I give you your own space, I’ve given you clothes that only stars wear, the finest jewelry, and money to get yourself some food; and yet that fridge is as bare as the last time. It looks like I starve you. Let’s make an agreement. I’ll pretend that you’re not going out on the town behind my back with another man, spending my money on something other than food, and you’ll disregard any ill-rumors you’ve heard about me. What do you think of that?” he asked her with a clever smile.

 

[heartofcourage]

Stephen’s temper could be legendary and it seemed that he was keeping it under control for the moment. Which was good for her, Elizabeth thought as he turned the tables on her and the accusations began to fly. Her icy blue eyes opened wide and she sputtered as he asked if she had been out at night.

“No, I never…” She was cut off as he asked if she were seeing someone else. She felt her cheeks flush with shame that he would even suggest such a thing. Since their engagement, she hadn’t been alone with another man and he damn well knew that.

“You know I haven’t been out. The women at the country club were talking…” She was cut off yet again as he started to lay on the guilt thick and heavy. She sighed softly and lowered her eyes as he talked her the clothes and the jewelry and the money for food. He had been supporting her since she had moved from her parent’s home to downtown. It wasn’t much, but it was his money.

“Stephen, you know I haven’t been out with another man.” She insisted, finally able to get the words out as he grinned at her with the clever smile of a man that believed he’d won an argument. “I would never spend your money on anything but what it was intended for.”

There she was, turning back into that simpering little woman that would bow to his beck and call. Was she really so weak that he could smile and make excuses and she would back down? It seemed that way as she stood before him like a little girl being scolded by her father.

Little did he know where his money was really going. Not to food or clothes or another man. It was going into a savings account. One that might very well help her fund her way to freedom. She almost had enough for a train ticket to California. Away from him. Away from her family. Away from her life.

She finally looked up at Stephen with tears in her eyes. “I just miss you, Stephen. If this is the only way I can get your attention, then so be it.” He hated a hysterical woman. The first sight of tears and he’d be running for the hills. No, he wouldn’t comfort her because she might cry on his suit.

 

[HotCider]

I just miss you, Stephen. If this is the only way I can get your attention, then so bet it.

Stephen’s smile faltered when he saw the tears in Elizabeth’s eyes. He took a step back from her as though she might try to cling to him in her grief. A comforting smile twitched to life from the corners of his mouth and quickly he glanced at the overhead clock. He didn’t have time for this. He hadn’t planned to waste his time trying to coddle his fiancée.

“Starving yourself will only bring you harm, my dear. Now please, use that money and eat for god’s sake,” her fiancé pleaded, and without further delay he strode for the door. “I will see you tomorrow Elizabeth.”

The door was slammed behind him without hesitation. With a sigh of relief, he locked the it and descended the stone steps to a gleaming, red convertible, an automobile Elizabeth had had the joy in experiencing once and that was when he was escorting her to her new bird cage.

Stephen looked near overjoyed to get away from the place as he whistled a tune and sang to himself:

And I followed her to the station with a suitcase in my hand… (Robert Johnson “Love in Vain”)

He popped open the door and sank into the felt seat before starting up his red baby and darting off down the road.

 

[heartofcourage]

Elizabeth watched as Stephen faltered when he saw her tears, his gaze turning from one of smug satisfaction to panic as he looked for the fastest way out. She nodded her head meekly as he pleaded with her before striding to the door with a promise to see her tomorrow. She waited until she heard the keys in the door and the sound of his little red sports car roaring to life before she moved from her spot.

“And good riddance.” She said under her breath as she grabbed her camel colored coat from the closet and slipped into it. A new scarlet hat upon her head and the new kid gloves that Stephen had given her last week completed her ensemble.

She grabbed the dollar off the counter and made a mental note to stop by the vegetable stand to pick up an apple or two to appease Stephen’s watchful eye the next day. It wouldn’t cost much and would appease his criticism for a while longer. She would suggest going to her parent’s home for the weekend and he would object, telling her that she needed to stay in the city. Then he would counter with a weekend at his family home, a weekend at the country club, and attention to appease her before ignoring her for another week. It was a vicious cycle that she would soon see ended.

Locking the apartment door, she made her way down the stone steps into the nearly empty street. This time of day, most people were at work, making an honest living. She doubted that Stephen had ever worked a true day in his life. Money came easy to him, handed down from his father, and he took great pride in showing off what that kind of money could buy. It turned her stomach slightly to think of how much his car had cost and how much her apartment didn’t.

Stopping by the fruit stall on the way to the bank, she bought three apples, paying the vendor with a smile and taking the change gratefully, tipping the man a nickel for his troubles. She liked seeing the light in people’s eyes at the surprise of unexpected blessings and it gave her hope that she might be able to change someone’s life even if she couldn’t change her own.

A few blocks away from her apartment was a little bank she did business with. It was far away from Stephen’s sphere of influence and she didn’t fear that he would discover her little account of money that she’d been stashing away. The clerks were friendly and discreet, always falling to do as she asked for even the smallest amount of money.

“Hello, Miss Darrow. How can I help you today?” She was greeted as she pushed open the door and stepped inside, her bag of apples hanging loosely from her wrist as she made her way to the counter.

“Hello, Mr. Jones. I have a deposit to make and then I would like to know how much I have in the account.” She said as she fished into the pocket of her coat, looking for the change that she had just put there.

 

[HotCider]

The bank was small with a sufficient amount of investors, but for still being a bank in such a time of economic hardship it was just as eager to scrape in pennies as the Collingwood business. A farmer, skin dark with dust and hands black with soil stood in his suspenders behind Ms. Darrow as he waited his turn to deposit what little his farm had to save. With money being so tight, people didn’t have money to buy his produce and he couldn’t afford to slash the prices any cheaper.

Three older women wrapped in their minks and clenching their purses were lost in gossip about the Collingwood bank on the other side of the city.

“Isn’t this bank cute? I have been a loyal investor of the Collingwood bank for years, but ever since The Depression, he’s been taxin’ us into povereteh!”

“Oh my! We must have been thinking the same thing. I was with Collingwood and I chose to invest here too. It is much cheaper.”

“Me too!”

The women fanned their faces with cloth fans as they giggled over their wise and similar decisions.

A cop was seated on a chair in the corner with his arms crossed. He was trying to stay awake, but with the lack of activity and with how quiet the bank was, his head was bobbing and his eyes fluttering to stay open. The door to the bank opened and was held agape for a mother and the infant in her arms by a grinning, trench coat-wearing man.

“Thank you,” the woman said before she shuffled over into the line.

“No~problem~” the man replied on a mischievous drawl.

From behind dark, circular shades he swept the bank’s interior mentally marking each individual within: rich, rich, rich, poor, mother with child, rich, cop…His brown eyes flicked over to the cop to his right and examined his physical appearance. With his grey hair and drooping face, the copper looked old enough to be his grandfather.

Sliding an index finger along his handlebar moustache, the man wore a long and cocky smile as he thought: This is gonna be a piece of cake.

Dropping his hand, he grasped the lapel of his coat and reached with his other hand inside it to remove an ominous Tommy gun. He thrust the machine gun to his right and the sight of the muzzle had the old cop jumping upright in his chair.

“All right; all right; all right~! This is a stick up. Get your nasty, sticky-fingered, poor-robbin’ hands where I can see’em!” the bank robber screamed.

The farmer whirled around and shakily raised his hands. “But I’m poor and I ain’t rob nobody!”

“Hush up! I ain’t ask for an explanation Pig Keeper!”

The bank robber then leered at the cop as he made his way over to the teller. The infant that had been in his mother’s arms went off like an alarm. Grinding his teeth irritably, the robber barked, “You best quiet that kid before I do it for you!”

The mother gasped in horror at the robber’s threat to her baby and quickly pressed her child’s face to her breast.

The bank robber smoothly approached the teller window and rested against the counter with his elbow. He was eying up Elizabeth and what she was wearing as he made his request to the teller, “Good day to you Sir, I would like to make a withdrawal. If you don’t mind fillin’ this bag with all of your money, then I won’t mind lettin’ you live to see old Johnny Boy back home.”

With his free hand, he removed a sack from his belt and handed it to the banker. The banker fearfully started stuffing it with the bills he had behind the counter. For ten seconds, the bank robber said nothing to Elizabeth as he stared at her, still wearing his cheesy smile. He might have been enjoying what he was seeing but behind those sunglasses it was unknown. The bank robber appeared to be quite the whimsical character, and almost unreal to be true up close. His eyebrows were black and thick like caterpillars, his moustache curled in a dastardly fashion, and his goatee sharp like an arrowhead. His ensemble was beneath a black, wide-brimmed hat and at his waist was a seemingly protruding belly absent of a navel beneath a sweat-stained shirt. A clever person not lost in the chaos that an evil robber was afoot might have guessed that the shirt was stuffed.

“Hey there Doll Face,” the bank robber finally spoke. “I like your ring and that necklace ‘bout your neck. You mind puttin’ it in the bag?”

When the teller handed the mildly fat sack back to him, he handed it to Elizabeth and motioned with the machine gun nozzle. “You see them other rich dames over there? Get their valuables too and you best do what I say with haste or you ain’t gonna see your fiancé ever again.”

As the bank robber was threatening her, the old gun of a police officer had snuck his pistol from its holster and was carefully directing it in the robber’s direction.

 

[heartofcourage]

Elizabeth placed her coins upon the counter, the gentle clink of the metal on the stone surface nearly drowning out the sound of the old biddies behind her gossiping about her father-in-law’s bank. Stripping off her gloves, she took the ledger from the teller and gladly signed her name at the bottom of the sheet of paper, looking over the totals and figures that signified her account. She was nearly there. Just a few dollars more and she might have a chance at freedom.

“Thank you, Mr. Jones. I do believe that soon I’ll have enough for my vacation.” She said with a smile, handing the ledger book back to the man behind the counter and waiting as he wrote up her ticket.

She kept them carefully tucked away in her apartment in the medicine cabinet, folded neatly inside an empty jar of face cream. The mysteries of feminine beauty kept Stephen from snooping around in there. From time to time he would present her with a new jar or bottle, but never did he take the time to unscrew the lid and see what was inside.

Tucking her gloves into her grocery sack, she reached out for the piece of paper when she heard someone scream behind them. All eyes turned towards the man that had thrust a gun into the face of the old cop at the door, demanding that everyone put their hands. It seemed as if everyone but her complied, instead she felt frozen in time staring at the man as her heart leapt painfully into her throat.

This couldn’t be happening, she thought as she listened to the sounds of a screaming infant, the robber barking orders at the mother to keep the kid quiet. A bank robbery would make the news. Stephen would know that she’d been there. He would question her, question the bank, find her money. She watched as her secret plans were suddenly burning around her, falling like ashes to the floor as the robber smoothly slid up to the counter beside her.

The silence stretched between them as the teller leapt to do the robber’s bidding, placing the bills into the sack without a word. She stared at the man beside her with her lips slightly parted, breath coming in a sharp pant while he looked her up and down like a little prize to be had. She couldn’t exactly see his eyes behind the tinted glasses, but she knew what he was doing all the same.

Then he spoke. Doll Face. She detested the name and she could instantly feel the hair on the back of her neck rise as he grinned and talked about her necklace and engagement ring. Glancing down at her own chest, she spotted the antique pendant that had caught his eye. The engagement ring around her finger suddenly weighed a lot heavier too.

Put it in the bag, Elizabeth. Let him be on his way. No, then Stephen would really know. The ring would have cost him a fortune and surely he would notice it gone from her slender hand. As the sack was thrust into her hands and the machine gun used to motion towards the two biddies that were cowering in the corner, Elizabeth decided that she’d had enough.

“No.” She told him, her icy blue eyes staring straight into the dark glasses he wore. She could see herself in them and knew by the narrowing of her own eyes that she was about to lose her temper. “No, they are rightfully mine and I will be keeping them.”

With that, she thrust the bag of money back into the robber’s hands, her own perfectly manicured finger coming to poke him roughly in the chest. Gun or not, she was tired of being bossed around.

“I am so tired of men like you telling me what to do!” She cried out as bewildered looks were shared all around by the patrons watching the scene. “I’m not your Doll Face. I’m not you accomplice. If you want to rob those people, do it yourself.”

 

[HotCider]

No.

The bank robber’s brows shot upwards in surprise. No? Even the men and women around her were staring at her like she was crazy. The sack was shoved back at him and as she yelled at him in discontent the bank robber swept the bank with his eyes out of slight embarrassment to fortunately lay eyes on the cop. She refused to be his accomplice; well, he wasn’t going to give her much of a choice.

The bank robber darted behind Elizabeth and roughly slung his arm about her neck. The bag was clenched in his fist and the automatic’s cold lips were pressed against her cheek.

“Sorry Toots, but you don’t have that much of a choice,” he told her with a nervous smile. The small, cakewalk of a robbery was becoming bigger than he expected. He growled at the cop, “Make another move and she won’t have much of a face left!”

He backed toward the women who now watched in fear for the girl. She looked awfully familiar but because they hadn’t seen her around town much, they couldn’t place a name.

“Put your valuables in the bag!” the bank robber ordered. His voice had changed. No longer was it light and silly, but deep and harsh in his anxiety.

“You brute! You’ll burn for this!” one woman cried as she removed her mink scarf and slid it into the sack. She then removed her earrings and necklace, if only for the woman’s sake, but to part with her valuables brought tears to her eyes.

The robber shifted to the next woman, shaking his bag anxiously at her. “Hurry it up!”

“You poor dear. Don’t you worry, the cops will get him! Coward!”

The robber moved to the last woman who was only blubbering over the fact that she had to give up her fancy new purse. She didn’t care that the robber had taken an innocent woman hostage. She regretted having moved from the Collingwood bank.

Clutching his plump sack, the robber grinned greedily and said, “Thank you ladies!”

“Shame on you!”

As he started for the door with his unrelenting grip on his hostage, he announced, “This bank was robbed by the greatest bank robber alive. Crazy Daniels! Crazy Harry McDaniels!”

Directing the Tommy gun in the air, he fired off a chain of rounds that had the cop and the investors diving for the floor. One of the tellers finally hit the alarm as the bank filled with the clamor of a bell.

“That’s my cue to scram. Thanks babe, you played a wonderful hostage. Toodleoo!”

The bank robber released her and sprinted out the door. She may have felt a bareness about her neck and finger where her ring and necklace had once been. Her jewelry could be seen glinting in the daylight gripped and swaying alongside the bag. He not only left with her jewelry, but her savings—like a thief in the night!

The pick-pocket was headed straight for an Oldsmobile parked outside the grocery store next door. A gentleman had left it running as his wife stubbornly opted to stay in the vehicle. Popping open the door, the bank robber tossed his bag across her lap to the other side to free his hand so he could snag her by the arm and yank her out. The woman screamed and flailed the whole way until she landed on her butt on the sidewalk.

 

[heartofcourage]

A short scream issued forth from Elizabeth’s lips the moment an arm slung roughly around her throat and pulled her back against the warm body of the robber. Her hands instantly flew to his arm, digging into the fabric that covered him as she grappled for her freedom. The moment the barrel of the gun was thrust against her cheek, she ceased her struggles, whimpering pitifully with the fear that settled like a rock in her belly.

She didn’t want to die, she thought to herself as the man drug her towards the older ladies, making them empty their belongings into the sack as he used her as a shield. Would he kill her? Surely he wouldn’t. She didn’t know and she let out a squeal again as his voice grew rough with anxiety.

As they backed towards the door, Elizabeth wondered if she was being kidnapped. She was sure that her father would pay a ransom, but she wasn’t so sure about Stephen. He might well let her captor kill her before he paid to have her back. A very real shiver of fear shook her spine as he robber announced his name to everyone gathered.

The first blast of the Tommy gun into the air had her screaming. Her ears rang as plaster rained from the ceiling and dusted them both. The sound of an alarm split the air as people hit the floor and the robber murmured against her ear that he was taking his leave. Suddenly she was free, shoved towards the confusion as the man sprinted out the door.

“He took it all!” One of the tellers cried and Elizabeth felt tears well in her eyes.

He took everything. Every little bit that she’d managed to scrimp and save. Her hand trailed to her throat and she noticed her necklace missing. The glint of her engagement ring was also absent and the despair that she felt in that very moment threatened to swallow her whole. In a few short moments, a man that she had never met before had literally ruined her life.

Gritting her teeth in anger, Elizabeth held her sack of apples and let her gloves drop to the ground, dashing out of the bank and following the sound of a woman’s scream next door to find the man trying to make a get away. He wasn’t going to leave with her things. There was no way he would get one over on Elizabeth Darrow.

As fast as her stylish heels could carry her, she was next to the man’s door, yanking it open. That very moment the car lurched backwards and she let out a cry of surprise, her hand gripping the door handle as she was dragged a short distance. Losing her footing, she let out a yelp of pain as her skirt and leg were torn on the pavement before the car stalled out.

Panting for breath, her hair wild about her and blood flowing down her right leg, she pulled herself to her feet and steeled herself to confront the man again.

“Give it back!” She shrieked at him, her hand reaching into the car to grapple with him. “You bastard, give it back! It’s mine! It’s all I have!”

As she was shoved backwards again, she swung with her bag of apples, hitting the man square upside with the face. What kind of desperate animal had she become? She was assaulting a man that had just robbed a bank with a bag of apples. She was furious. She was heartbroken. It all came out in a string of obscenity and constant motion as she bashed the man again and again with her little grocery sack.

 

[HotCider]

Closing the passenger side door, Harry set the Tommy gun in the seat next to him and started up the vehicle. Just as he was pulling away from the curb, his door opened and he was stunned to see that it was that woman.

“You crazy broad!” he yelled.

When she grabbed for him, he swatted at her hands. He only stole her jewelry and perhaps her money if she had deposited it all in the bank, but still. She was rich! Whatever rich man she was married to would probably buy her a new one. That’s all girls were doing now a days, marrying rich men because they dread poverty.

The bank robber hadn’t been expecting the bag of apples. The sack struck his face like a punch, knocking his hat and glasses clean off. He raised his arm to block the relentless bashings and overheard the chubby woman he had dragged out the car earlier screaming:

“HELP! This man is stealing our car. Stop him honey!” she was cheering Elizabeth on. “You give’em the ol’ one two.”

Her husband was charging out of the shop to reclaim his stolen vehicle. Harry was watching his whole plan go to shit because of this meddlesome woman. Now, he wasn’t a woman-beater, but he needed to make a grand escape.

Baring his teeth angrily, Harry apologized, “Sorry sister, but you’re gettin’ on my nerves!”

He released the steering wheel, blocked the sack of apples with his left forearm and sent his right fist straight into her beautiful face before hauling her across his lap. With one hand keeping her from sliding out the door, he didn’t have time to close it. He stamped on the gas and the car lurched forward just as the woman’s husband lunged and snagged the passenger door. Harry dragged the man a few feet before he grasped the machine gun and smashed the stock against his fingers.

The husband emitted a yelp before he collapsed upon the street and Harry was a free bird.

Cornfield.

Harry had hid the vehicle in a cornfield and was seated on the ground counting his spoils and estimating how much money he could make off the accessories. He was still wearing his disguise and a corn pipe was in the corner of his mouth as he smoked in somewhat content. Every now and then, he would glance at Elizabeth who he had comfortably stretched out across the seats. He didn’t know what to do with her. She claimed he had taken everything she owned and he didn’t want to believe it, but he just couldn’t stop thinking about it.

“Dumb broad,” he grumbled. His brows lowered behind his sunglasses as just thinking about how she struck him with a sack of apples and nearly got him caught put him in a foul mood.

 

[heartofcourage]

A red haze had settled across her vision as she pounded the man relentlessly with her sack of apples. Elizabeth gritted her teeth as he yelled at her, the smug look on his face instantly replaced with bewilderment and rage. Good, let him get a taste of what it felt like to be helpless, she thought.

She could hear the woman who was sitting on the sidewalk both calling for help and cheering her on. She could care less what the woman thought about her as she desperately fought with the man that was taking away her dreams of escape.

She gasped as his arm lashed out and knocked her sack aside, his other hand striking out and hitting her squarely in the face. She let out a startled gasp, her knees buckling with the pain that bloomed in her skull. Only, she didn’t fall down. No, instead she felt herself being jerked into the interior of the stolen car.

Her head spun in the most sickening way and she gagged against the pain that radiated through her skull and centered around her eye. She looked up at the man who’s lap she was now sitting in, her vision crossing as he seemed to be fighting with someone else. What was going on, she asked herself as she finally fainted dead away.

The smell of smoke was the first thing that reached her nose when she finally woke. Sighing softly, her eyes fluttered open and she groaned at the pain in her face. Gingerly, she reached up and touched her eye, wincing at the tenderness that was here. Well, that would certainly send Stephen into a tizzy, she thought to herself as she slowly raised herself off the car seat to see where she was.

She could see stalks of corn outside the windshield. Cornfields in the city? That didn’t make sense. Turning her gaze towards the open driver’s side door, her eyes widened when she caught sight of the robber sitting rather content in the field, counting through his spoils.

She sprang quickly, hauling the open door shut as she scrambled to find the key in the ignition. Not that she knew how to drive a car, but it couldn’t be that hard. She let out a whimper as her fingers brushed against the empty ignition. Turning her gaze towards the man that was now looking at her, she moved to lock the doors, keeping him outside.

 

[HotCider]

Harry narrowed his eyes over at the woman when she sprang for the steering wheel. Did she really think that he hadn’t thought about that? He paused in his bill counting to lift the automobile key, whirling it about his index finger for her to see. What he didn’t expect was for her to lock the doors. Frowning, the seemingly-plump robber rose to his feet and marched over to the car.

“I’m startin’ to think that maybe I should have left you in the mud like that chump I left back there. We’re not in the city anymore, and I don’t plan to stay hidin’ out here for long. So you got two options: we’re either going to talk or I’ll leave you out here all alone. I don’t need a car. I’ll take my sack and vanish.”

 

[heartofcourage]

“What’s there to talk about?” She asked in a huff, her eyes narrowing at him as he stared at her through the window. “You were the one that robbed me. You held up that bank and took every single dime I have to my name!”

Elizabeth squared her shoulders and sucked in a deep breath, pointing to the bruise that was darkening around her eye. “And you socked me in the face! If you ask me, you deserved everything that happened to you and more.”

“What kind of man does that? Hitting a woman in the face.” She was on a tangent, her arms crossing over her chest as she sat in a pout in the driver’s seat. It didn’t matter to her that she’d started the assault on him. Never in her life had she ever had someone raise their hand to her and she was finding that it did a lot more than bruise her ego.

“And I’ll thank you to give me back my necklace and ring!” She shouted at him, her icy blue gaze turning towards him and boring into his face.

 

[HotCider]

What’s there to talk about?

What’s there to talk about? he echoed under his breath in disbelief. He couldn’t believe this woman. When she went on complaining about how he robbed her and punched her in the eye, Harry’s lips turned downward in a frown when she said how he deserved all that happened to him. He wasn’t going to waste his time any further with this woman.

“And, I’m outta here,” Harry said simply. He whirled around and started back over to his stash. Grabbing the wide-brimmed hat from his head, he held it upside down and removed his sunglasses next to deposit them inside. Grasping his thick eyebrows, he peeled them free, revealing the dark-brown brows beneath. He pinched the corner of the handle-bar moustache and removed it like tape. For the goatee at his chin, he gave it the same treatment, tugging it free and tossing it along with the other false facial hair into his hat before dropping it upon the grass.

Harry whistled mildly to himself as he loosened his belt to drop the pillow that had been beneath his oversized shirt, getting rid of that pillow had made him feel a lot cooler. He flapped his shirt to conjure a cool breeze to drag it cold tongue up a belly that hadn’t been round or protruding and his chest that was lightly outlined when his shirt settled against it. Bending over, he picked up his sack and started tossing his disguise and his spoils into it. He hooked the Tommy gun on a loop within his coat and before he went on his merry way, he paused to dump the ash out of his pipe. Reaching into his pocket, he removed a small bag and fished out some fresh, tobacco leaves that he stuffed into the bowl. Removing a match next, he raised his foot some ways to scrape it along the sole of his shoe. The match sparked to life and he lightly puffed on it to get the fire going. Shaking the flame out, he tossed it on the ground and shouldered his sack.

“See ya Toots.” The robber started through the cornfield, doing exactly as he said he would.

 

[heartofcourage]

Elizabeth was so busy ignoring the man on the other side of the window that she was startled to hear him say goodbye. Her head snapped to the side as she watched him disappear into the cornfield and she suddenly felt very panicked. She had no idea where she was. She had no idea what time it was. She was all alone.

“Wait!” She called out, scrambling to unlock the car door. Tumbling out of the car, she landed on her hands and knees in the soft soil with an oof. “Wait!”

She could hear him rustling his way through the tall corn, the smell of smoke still wafting on the breeze. Picking herself up, she brushed off the loose soil from her already soiled skirt and she started off after him. Her heels sank into the ground and she stumbled along his trail.

“Please listen. You can keep the necklace, but I need my ring back.” She called to the cornfield around her, a slight note of panic coloring her words as she looked around every which direction for even a glimpse of the man that had left her stranded. “My fiancée will kill me if I don’t get that ring back.”

“Hello?” Silence.

“Please answer me!” Silence again.

Elizabeth brushed her way past the tall stalks, letting out a shriek as she sank in a patch of ankle deep mud, her camel colored coat and skirt ruined as she skidded across the ground. As if that day couldn’t get any worse, Elizabeth felt the horrid feeling of tears pricking the backs of her eyes. Now the bastard had made her cry. Just great…

 

[HotCider]

The cornstalks to her left rustled and parted as the bank robber stepped into the gap in the cornfield where the soil had been too soft and muddy to grow anything. Lying in that mud was that Crazy Broad; pathetic and on the verge of tears. Her disheveled and filthy state almost made him feel sorry for her, but overall he felt that she deserved it. She was nothing but a trophy wife.

Lowering his sack, Harry stood there with his hands tucked into the deep pockets of his trench coat and smoking idly on his pipe.

“I don’t care about your fiancé and you ain’t gettin’ the ring back that’s not how my job works,” the bank robber coldly explained.

He was feeling a little too cold. The other corner of his mouth parted as he sighed breath and smoke in irritation. He could feel his sympathy levels rising the more he stared at her.

“I had no use for that vehicle any way. It’s stolen and they’re probably lookin’ for it right now. If you go standin’ over there by the road, I’m sure a gentleman will feel sorry for you, pick you up, and take you back to the city. I got a train to catch.”

The bank robber hefted his bag and started off back through the cornfield.

“I never hit the same state twice. They’ll be alertin’ every bank in the vicinity.”

 

[heartofcourage]

The cold mud was quickly soaking her skirt and she felt her skin rise with goosebumps as the first tears trailed over her cheeks. She angrily swiped at them, mud smearing across her face as the corn to her left parted and the man stepped into the gap. She looked up at him for a moment and then turned her gaze to the mud that surrounded her.

He looked like he was wholly unconcerned with her, his hands tucked deep in his pockets as he smoked lazily on a pipe. His voice was cold when he spoke again and she actually winced. Elizabeth sighed deeply, pulling herself to her feet, the cold water dripping down her legs and soaking into her shoes. If this was what absolutely misery was like, she decided that she didn’t like it one bit.

She was quiet as he suggested she got back to the road and wait for a car. What car was going to pass by out here in the middle of nowhere? She might very well freeze to death once night came before that happened.

Watching his retreating figure for a moment, she glanced back in the direction that she’d come and then started to follow behind him like some sort of wayward lost puppy. She was quiet as he paused to look over his shoulder at her and she wondered what he saw when he looked at her. Was she really as pathetic as she felt?

“If I go back home without that ring, I’m as good as dead.” She said, drawing up alongside the man. “Seeing as how you have all my money and my jewelry, I might as well follow you until we get to where we’re going.”

 

[HotCider]

Harry peered at the soggy woman out of the corners of his eyes as she walked next to him. She was wet, muddy, and had a slowly bruising eye from where he had punched her. She may have looked raped and beaten if they were actually traveling to a train station, but when he said “catch a train,” he literally meant it. The walk through the cornfield was quiet, and every once in awhile, Harry would secretly eye the Crazy Broad walking next to him. Her hair was a mess, face smudged with mud and make up, and blouse soaked and clinging to her chest beneath her muddy coat.

Beautiful, he heard his conscience whisper.

Startled by his observation, Harry quickly averted his eyes and frowned. Oh no, he wasn’t going to get caught up with that Crazy Broad. As soon as they would exit the cornfield there was going to be nothing but grass paving a green road up to the tracks where he would hopefully see his train. Once he saw his train, he was going to leave her in his dust and he would be on his way to Indiana or as far as he chose to ride the thing.

He looked at her again. He may have just ended this woman’s life. What kind of a man would he be to take her valuables and not even at least return her engagement ring? A thief. He swore that when he got into such a line of business that that was what he and his conscience agreed he would be. Thieves had to have some morals. While he was deep in thought, the end of the cornfield came quicker than he realized. A carpet of crisp, green grass stretched down a hill to a brown, railroad track; and on that track was a smoking, chugga-chugging, train!

Harry’s eyes widened in shock to see it had come so early. His adrenaline engines ignited within him and he lunged a foot away from the young woman before he stopped and stared back at her. He felt a sudden outbreak of pains of guilt. His conscience wasn’t going to let him leave with her engagement ring. If there was one thing that he could give back to better her situation, it would be that. Dropping his sack, he thrust his hand into its mouth and frantically stirred it around inside its belly. He felt the facial hair props clinging to his fingers and knuckles and the earrings of that one rich woman pricking his tips. The ring then looped itself about the tip of his middle finger and drawing his hand free it looked like there were fuzzy leaches clinging to it as he stared at the sparkling object with a pleased grin. The bank robber then jogged over to Elizabeth and took her muddy hand in his. He deposited her ring upon her palm and then curled her fingers over it.

“Take it back,” Harry said with a cool smile. He shifted the pipe to the other corner of his mouth and raised his hand to his brow to render her a salute. “You take care of yourself. Have a lovely wedding!”

Walking backwards, he whirled around to snatch up his bag and sprinted to the tracks. As the train passed before him, he scanned its length for the right car, and the blue one with its gaping door and roomy container was calling his name. Slowing down, the car rolled up beside him and Harry tossed his bag into it before he grasped its edge and hefted himself off the ground. He was careful to have his legs not get caught beneath the wheels. Swinging them, he swung right inside the car and rolled away from the edge.

“Ha, ha~Ian, you’re one amazin’ fella’” he self-praised.

Sitting up, he crawled back over to the edge and kicked out his legs to let them dangle over the side. He enjoyed the cool breeze as it combed through the feathery layers of his hazelnut hair and combed its fingers through his shirt. He stared out at the passing cornfield with a content smile on his face. He felt good about giving that ring back. Of course, he would have gotten much more when he pawned it, but money for misery wouldn’t have settled well with him. If he had kept it, it might have haunted him for years.

 

[heartofcourage]

Elizabeth didn’t miss the sidelong glances that the robber kept casting her direction. She hoped that he looked on her and felt the worst kind of guilt there was. She was feeling miserable already. Her face ached fiercely where the bruise was probably forming and growing darker. Her clothing clung to her with mud and water, making her shiver all the way to the bone.

Breaking through the wall of corn, she was surprised to see a beautiful stretch of green grass which lead to a railroad track. Speeding down that track in the distance was a train and she turned her gaze towards the man standing next to her, wondering if his was the train that he had spoken about earlier.

He seemed surprised that the train was already there and she watched as he lunged forward, only to stop and turn to look at her. She stared at him with wide eyes, wondering if he was simply going to leave her there. There was something unnamed in his eyes, an emotion that he obviously wasn’t use to feeling.

It was then that she was surprised as he dropped his sack onto the ground and thrust his hand inside. She narrowed her eyes as she watched him digging around the interior for a moment before his face lit up with triumph as he pulled out a shining ring that was clinging to his finger.

“What…” She asked as he jogged towards her and took her hand, placing her ring in the center of her palm and curling her fingers around it.

He smiled at her, saluted her and wished her a good future. The way he smiled made her belly do a strange flip and she sucked in a breath as he started to walk backwards. He was going to leave her. She shook her head and hurried after him, his stride much longer than hers as he made it to the train much before her.

“Wait!” She called above the clatter of the wheels as she ran alongside the tracks, the man disappearing into the car as it rolled away from her. “Take me with you!”

Her voice echoed across the field as she forced herself to chase the train, her eyes filling with tears of another kind now. She’d been given a chance to run from her life and she’d let it slip through her fingers. He wouldn't really leave her behind, would he?

 

[HotCider]

Half-lidded eyes, pipe in his mouth, and due for another bowl of tobacco. The bank robber’s eyes lazily rolled over to his right to see running alongside the train…that Crazy Broad! Ian’s brows near sprang from his forehead and his head snapped in her direction. Drawing the spent pipe from his mouth, he screamed at her as though she was nuts.

“Are you crazy!?” he yelled.

He rolled backwards into the car and tossed his pipe over by his sack. Returning to the gaping doors, he secured his hand about the door handle and sank to one knee as he watched the girl run. She was pretty fast in those heels and desperation welled in the form of tears in her eyes.

“You don’t want to go with me! I live a dangerous life. If I get caught, it’s curtains for me. Go on back home. I’m sure your fiancé is worried sick!”

The belle had him scared for her. If she attempted to board the train in her broken state, she might miss and the train could end her. Just in case she was that desperate, Ian leaned down with his arm outstretched and hand ready to snag her up into his arms. She already looked near out of breath.

 

[heartofcourage]

Legs pumping as fast as she could go in her heels, Elizabeth saw the robber’s gaze turn towards her and then he looked at her like she was crazy. She must have been crazy to be running after him like this, her eyes full of desperation as he shouted from the train at her.

“I can’t go back!” She called back as he leaned over the side of the moving train, his hand outstretched towards her as if he was going to help her board.

She stretched out her free hand, her fingers slipping through his as she stumbled and nearly fell. Gritting her teeth, she gave it her all and charged towards his car once more, her hand slipping firmly into his. She was jerked from the ground and lifted into the car as if she weighed nothing, speaking to the man’s strength as he pulled her safely inside.

She was panting, her mouth dry and her chest heaving as she was gathered into his arms. Well, he certainly doesn’t smell like Stephen, she thought absently as he placed her firmly on her feet in the train car beside him. She thought about the firm body she could feel beneath his clothes and she blushed as she looked up towards his handsome face.

“My fiancée probably hasn’t noticed me gone.” She said as she took his hand and put her ring back into his palm, pushing his hand towards his chest as she slowly san to the floor to have a seat and gather her wits.

She offered him no explanation as to why she was handing it back. The damn ring had started this entire mess and it was rightfully hers, but it was also a symbol of all the things that were wrong in her life. Stephen would have thrown a fit if she showed up at home without it. He probably would have had another fit at the black eye and ruined clothing. He wouldn’t have cared if she were alright or not, as long as she kept up appearances.

“Think you can get me to California?” She asked him after she’d gained her breath, her blue eyes turning towards his as he stared down at her.

 

[HotCider]

She couldn’t go back. She didn’t need to explain anymore than that. With how she had been acting since they met, he deduced that she had been facing a conflict of decisions. His heart had jumped when her fingers slipped free of his own and he vowed to himself that next time he would take hold of her hand and not let it slip again. He did just that, his rough hand taking hold of her soft and delicate one and he tugged her along until his arm could curl around her and hoist her into the car. The door had been good support. He stood up with her, still holding her against his chest when her doe-like blue eyes peered up into his grey. The smile that curled on his lips was soft and gallant. She had his heart a flutter until she slipped into his hand the ring and took a seat upon the car floor. Opening his hand, he gazed at it as she told him mildly about her fiancé’s behavior. Tossing the ring up, he caught it in his hand and smirked.

“Toots, I’ve been to California, and I can most certainly get you there. Of course, I won’t be goin’ straight there. I need to pawn these items and spend some money first. I might even schedule another heist on the way.”

Ian shrugged his coat off and slipped it around her shoulders. It was warm and dry, and would do her better than the one she was wearing. He turned his back to her and started over to his back while holding the ring between his index finger and thumb. He mentally calculated how much it could possibly be worth and a sly smile stretched across his lips.

“I ain’t ever stolen a man’s fiancée before.”

 

[heartofcourage]

He’d been to California. She sighed in relief as he agreed to get her there. It didn’t matter if there were side trips along the way as long as she ended up somewhere far away from her life. Stephen had no influence in California, he wouldn’t look for her there, she would be safe.

“Another heist?” She asked, her brow furrowing in confusion as he shrugged out of his coat and draped it around her shoulder. “Surely you made enough money off that hold up to keep you satisfied for a while.”

Elizabeth was stunned as the garment settled around her in a cloud of warmth. She reached out and touched the material of the coat, tracing over a seam with a look of astonishment. Stephen would never have offered her his coat. Why was this man, one that she didn’t know, taking care of her?

“Thank you.” She said softly, wrapping the coat further around her as she sighed at the wonderful warmth that circled around her.

She reached down and pulled off her shoes, watching as brown murky water spilled out across the floor of the train car. The pretty heels that she’d put on that morning were now hopelessly ruined. She supposed the rest of her garments were much the same and she wondered what kind of frightening picture she painted.

“You didn’t steal me.” She said with a voice that was full of indignation. “I ran away.”

“You’d be in for a world of trouble if you stole me from my fiancée. He’s not a man that takes kindly to others touching what’s his.”

 

[HotCider]

Ian slipped the ring back into his sack and slid the bag over into the corner. He then sat down and reclined against it comfortably before he reached out to reclaim his pipe and prepare another bowl. Closing his eyes, he smiled mischievously at her comment.

“For awhile,” he agreed, “But sometimes opportunities pop up and I can’t resist takin’em.”

He fanned out another match and drew his arms into his shirt to keep warm. “The world ain’t gonna see it that way. People are interestin’. They see you and me together and they’ll automatically think we’re a couple. If your fiancé is the way you describe, if he sees you with me, I stole ya. It’s a man’s first judgment. His gal was taken from him. I suppose we don’t think women would have the audacity to make their own decisions, and when they do, we don’t think it’s right.”

Ian frowned as he sank into deep thought about it. “Take me for example. I rob a few banks, pick a few pockets, and I’m suddenly a murder, baby-snatcher, and raper of women. Churches already condemned me to Hell. God’s abandoned me. I ain’t ever killed anyone, and I ain’t ever done any of them things they claim. I’ve been shot more times than I’d like to admit, stabbed, and I’ve rassled with hero boys who’d beat me to death before they’d see me behind bars.”

The bank robber was glaring harshly at the other end of the container. “If my soul is damned, I’m already there. People…huh, people are nuts.”

He set his head back and closed his eyes. The pipe swished over to the corner of his mouth as he muttered, “I’m gonna sleep. We may be gettin’ off at night. Maybe not. Depends on how soon we get where we need to be. I’m plannin’ on gettin’ a nice hotel room. You’ll be able to have a nice hot bath and we can get ya some clothes.”