Trouble

by Nomooretears

1 Hour Fic Challenge - theme word 'belt'

Ezra grunted as another fist connected with his stomach. If he'd had any air left after the previous hit, it would have been exhaled in a rush. He could vaguely hear yelling in the background, but couldn't make out the words past the ringing in his ears. He could only gasp in pain as he was suddenly pulled upwards, the sudden stretching of the abused muscles felt like fire.

As the spots in his vision cleared, he became aware of an arm wrapped around his neck, and a gun pressed into his head. He was facing an angry Larabee, whose gun appeared to be huge as it seemed to be aimed right at him.

Ezra closed his eyes as his captor shook him, causing the spots to briefly reappear as a wave of dizziness washed over him. He sighed as he wondered about how often he seemed to find himself in these situations.

It was beautiful sunny afternoon, and Ezra had decided to take Chaucer out for a quiet ride. He wouldn't admit it to the others, but there were times that he loved nothing more than being out on his own, away from the business and noise of towns and people. While the urge did call him nearly as much as it seemed to attract Mr. Tanner, it was not unusual for him to ride out for a bit.

That had been his intent when he had strode into the livery that afternoon. Before his eyes could adjust to the shadowy interior of the livery, a strong hit to the face had knocked him back. A second belt to his face took him down, stars bursting in his vision from the sucker punch.

Hands had pulled at him then, taking his guns and hauling him to his feet. For a few moments the tight grips on his arms was the only thing holding him up. He blinked as he became aware of a figure standing in front of him. They seemed to be giving him a moment to recover, which he was grudgingly thankful for as the whole slowly stopped spinning. Taking more of his weight onto his own feet, he tried to glare at the man in front of him.

"Was there something you needed, gentlemen?" Ezra inwardly winced. Why could he never control the need to antagonize the bad guys?

"Where's Tanner?"

Bounty hunters, thought Ezra. "I am not certain, but as his horse is not in here I might assume that he has temporarily vacated this fair hamlet." He knew that Vin had headed for Nettie's that morning, but wasn't about to reveal that.

"I don't think so, Standish. You know where he is, and you're going to tell us." There was no warning before a heavy first met his stomach, followed by more blows that soon left him only semi-conscious, the grips on his arms the only thing keeping him standing.

Brought back to the present by the sharp growl of his leader demanding his release, Ezra tried to take stock of what was happening. He saw Chris in front of him, gun still seemingly pointed right at Ezra. Buck and JD were beside him, guns aimed at the other two bounty hunters.

"I'll release him when we have Tanner," the man holding him snarled back at Larabee. "So you'd best go get him."

Larabee's mouth twitched into a cold smile. It unnerved the big bounty hunter, and he tightened his grip on his captive. Ezra struggled as his air was choked off, and the spots returned to his vision. The bounty hunter suddenly froze as he felt cold steel at his throat.

"I'm right here, Cutter. Put down your gun and let him go. Now!" The quiet raspy voice of his quarry spoke into his ear. Cutter cursed, how the hell did Tanner sneak in like that. He slowly dropped his gun and opened his arm. Ezra tried to step away, but fell in a heap as his legs betrayed him.

Vin shoved Cutter into Josiah's waiting arms, the look on the big preacher's face taking all the fight out of the bounty hunter. Cutter silently cursed as he and his men were marched toward the jail. He had thought this would be a simple grab, made slightly more complicated when Tanner wasn't in town. He'd heard that the seven lawmen watched out for each other, but had blown it off as exaggerated rumor. He was now realizing his mistake. He and his men hadn't been hunting one man as they had thought, they had taken on seven.

Vin went to Ezra. He had been riding out that morning, and had seen the three bounty hunters from a distance. He had pulled out his spyglass and recognized Cutter, an acquaintance from his bounty hunting days. Vin knew they were there for him, and decided it would be easier to sneak back into town and keep an eye on them. The men were closer to town, and Vin had ridden in just in time to see his friends stalking toward the livery. A brief look from Larabee, and he had headed around the back. He had heard the threats made to Standish and the clear misdirect that Standish had given.

Vin dropped beside Nathan, who had one big hand on Ezra's chest, easily foiling the injured man's attempts to getting up. Nathan looked up and smiled, reassuring Vin instantly. The indignant muttering of the man on the ground brought a grin to his face. He reached down and grasped Ezra's forearm, holding tightly as Ezra looked up at him.

"Thanks, Ez."

The End