The jingle of the door chime raised the head of the man behind the wooden counter, prying him from his newspaper.

  “Hudson, I sure love seeing you alive and out of ammo. What you buying today, 45 scatter or 45 solid?” asked the man behind the counter.

  “Ned, I’m celebratin today. 35 caliber, actually.”

  “Hud you don’t own a 35, unless you found one.”

  “I’m bout to find a brand new one. I’d like a Prima 35 long-chamber, the one with the 5 inch barrel.” He said with a swing in his step as the owner looked skeptical.

  “Hud I’m not selling you another gun. I sure as shit am not selling you a pistol without a license, and you can’t afford the gun, or your debt, let alone a damn pistol license. There’s a reason those two pistols have been sitting there for 5 years and I got new long guns every month. Ever since they moved the pistol license up to a thousand dollars a year, nobody will touch a 150 dollar pistol. It’s been a year since I sold you the 45 long gun, and you haven’t finished paying off. That’s why I charge you double for ammo instead of interest on the 45.” Ned sighed. “At this rate you’ll be even in 6 months. Then you can start financing a new gun, but I’m not going to jail for sellin you a pistol with no papers. Only reason I sell you the 25 ammo that I damn well know is for a pistol, is because you never bring that thing in my shop and I don’t technically know that it exists. That’s your problem. Far as I know you got a 25 long gun, and that’s what I keep hearing in my head every time you ask for shells.”

  “Tell you what. How about you put this on a scale and I wanna see the scale move.” He smiled. The man’s demeanor changed as a handful of brass and lead balls were placed down on the counter. He broke out a set of scales and separated the lead from the brass. “Now hold on.” Hudson said, getting out a small carved stone from his bag. “I brought my own weight just in case.” He said slyly.

  “Nobody cheating you here ol Hudson. Not like I was planning to, but nowadays I can’t say I blame you for double checkin. Oh now, this piece is real nice. Gun brass, not some pot metal button shit. You got my attention, what were you hopin for, for the whole pile? And don’t even mention the damn pistol.”

  “I want 4 boxes of bullets. Two for the 45cal, Two boxed of 35cal. One box of Slugs each, one Scatter, the good stuff. Prima PolyIodine, soft-coated long shells, not the damn stone ones that ruin your barrel. And you clear my debt even.”

  “Hud I know there’s a catch. Unless you got a big bucket of brass up your ass you can’t bribe me to report that pistol stolen and nobody else in town sells a 35 Prima pistol. That brass is easily worth your debt and some ammo… for a gun you can’t have. So what’s the catch? You gonna tell me you got a tusk?” he asked.

  “Even better, easier to move.” He said placing down Jen’s piercings. Carol cringed a little, just thinking about it.

  “He didn’t even wash them.” She muttered. The man behind the counter looked skeptical and unimpressed.

  “Handful of silver jewelry?” he said. “Yea, that’ll get you about 80 bucks. That and the extra brass would cover the pistol… if you had the license.”

  “That ain’t silver, Ned. Go on and bite one.” He said as Ned gave one a hesitant bite and bit harder, looking like it was getting painful. Carol cringed again looking at Jen.

  “What?” Jen whispered. “Not like he’s the first guy to have those in his mouth.”

  “Hud what the hell is this?” Ned asked very discreetly, trying to bend it with his fingers. “It’s harder than holy hammered hell and weighs nothing.”

  “Called it titanium.” He smirked proudly.

  “I don’t even how to price this, or what that is, but it’s tougher than shit. Titanium’s not even on the price books, it’s just mentioned in the metal list every dealer goes through to get our certifications. How do you even know what that is? How do I know it’s real?”

  “You don’t want it, I know dealers that will.” Hudson shrugged.

  “Hey big fella, lock that door and talk to the ladies, real loudly!” Ned yelled to Tom, hunkering over and getting quiet. “Hud they won’t know how to price it either, and you go around to every dealer waving this shit around, you’re gonna end up stabbed or low-balled or both. But, I know your stubborn ass is gonna try it, and I’d hate to see you dead. Galloway family goes way back. So ya got me. I’ll take these, write you a silver receipt. I’m gonna leave one of those pistols on the counter, and go take the longest piss of my life, and when I come back, if it got stolen by a young skinny white guy, that’s just a damn shame, because I never saw his face, and he better never flash that around or his ass is going to jail for a long time. If you get caught, you must have saw him runnin out like he stole something, robbed his ass back and didn’t return it. That’s how that happened, Hud. You were gonna return those stolen goods and you just got a little greedy…right?”

  “Loud and clear, champ. I see ya got 2 of them pistols, lemme check both to see which I like better.” Hudson said with a cocky tone. Ned scoffed, shaking his head.

  “Only a damn tusk hunter buys a gun with a tusk-lined cylinder and has to inspect the damn tusk inserts on a 150 dollar STOLEN gun.” He reminded.

  “Shit, I’ve heard of people’s Prima’s blowin up from bad inserts lately. You know they use the teeth in those now, they don’t use real tusk off-cuts anymore. I heard they’ve been makin them with fresh teeth that weren’t even dried out yet. That shit ain’t strong enough till it’s dried for a year. You think Fredric Prima gives a shit about his father’s reputation or just makin money? The day the pistol license prices went through the roof, the supposedly affordable guns went to shit. I wanna see the cylinder, and I wanna see a little blue in it.”

  “Drive a hard bargain, Hud. I got 2 pistols, take which you wanna steal, and that’s what you got.” He said handing him both. Hudson eyeballed them both and placed one down, bringing the other one close to the owner’s face, almost invasively.

  “Yea, you see them blue specks? You ever see a mammoth with blue teeth?” he asked.

  “No, but I never saw a mammoth at all.” Ned replied.

  “That blue color is only found in the tusk, comes out when it’s good and dried. They look like normal bone on the animal and for a good while after ya cut them off. The teeth stay white and brown. These were old and seasoned before they turned them down to make inserts. Real tusk scraps, not teeth. That’s how you know it ain’t gonna blow up with one of the long bullets if you get a hot one from the box. Why steal a Prima if you ain’t gonna buy the hot shells?” Hudson nodded. “You can have this stick-a dynamite back. I made my selection.”

  “There’s your 45s, your long gun debt receipt, your brass trade and I need a signature. HEY, big fella, come over here! I need your signature on these 35 hot shells I sold about 10 minutes from now to some skinny kid with a bandana. Your name is Robert Smith, ain’t it?” he said very aggressively.

  They strolled out and down the less populated streets at a brisk pace, Carol struggled to catch up to Hudson, almost tripping in the process.

  “So…” Carol nervously chimed in. “Any metal is worth that much? Just brass buttons and some lead are worth a good gun? And titanium is basically priceless?”

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “Sure as hell is. Why, you got piercings stashed away there too you wanna go get?” Hudson asked.

  “No, I told you I didn’t have anything. I just wondered. She said looking guilty.

  “Honey if you got a gold fillin back there behind that pretty smile I suggest you talk less and find yourself a dentist. They can remove them pretty painless for a ceramic tooth and give you the cash difference back. You’ll make money and never miss it. Some thug on the street needin food and a warm coat might just break your jaw to get it. Now I’ll rob your ass blind, that’s my job, but I don’t kill or maim nobody who don’t mean any harm, so do we need to get you quietly to a dentist or are you clean and clear?” he asked darkly.

  “No, no all real teeth. They don’t use metal cavity fillers where I’m from.”

  “Well then stop acting so damn suspicious.” He sighed.

  “I wanna see the teeth.” Tom said abruptly. She gave him an irritated look and crossed her arms as Hudson gave him a look.

  “Now don’t get your britches a-twisted there bucko. I’m not about to go poking around in everyone’s mouths for gold. I’ll take her word for that and if she’s lyin it’s her jaw getting busted and I’m not shootin someone over it if she done told me there’s no gold back there.” Hudson said stepping up to him with the black wood gun in hand. “I just saved all your lives so you both work for me now, and I can’t shoot two pistols at once very accurately. Any man who carries a brass 6-gun and a knife when he goes to take a piss at night, knows how to shoot. So don’t tell me you cant, mister cavalry man. The question is…can I trust you not to shoot me? Can you see without those glasses, or are you gonna make me give this to the lady?”

  “Hell no. Gimme the gun. Worst you did was rob me, worst I’d do in return is rob you back. I don’t kill people for savin my life. I don’t shoot a man in the back, and you got a nicer gun, so I’m not dumb enough to challenge you on a draw.” Tom said.

  “Good. Just so you know, that gun’s a piece of shit anyway. That’s why I stole the Prima. Couldn’t afford anything better. Bottom of the barrel garbage gun. Shoot me with that I’ll shoot you right back and limp to a doctor, leave your corpse.” He said coldly.

  “I thought you said this was a damn fine pistol.” Tom huffed.

  “Well, I wasn’t gonna tell you it was a limp-dick piece of shit when I was using it to rob you, now was I? Barrel is worn to hell, spits gas like a sonvabitch, can’t hit dick past ten feet anymore. These guns without the tusk inserts are good for about 50 shots. I’ve shot about 90 out of that. Them bullets come out tumbling and driftin, but it’s better than a rock.” He chuckled.

  “So I get to defend myself with a worn out gun?” Tom argued.

  “Son, havin a gun at all is half the battle. Lotta home-made guns and hand carved fake guns that don’t work get carried around because nobody wants to find out if it shoots or not. If it cocks, it’s real. Don’t tell them it’s worn out and they won’t know. You sure didn’t. Robbed your ass just fine with a worn out gun. There’s a lot to learn here, sonny. Best be listening and takin notes in that thick head of yours.” He said as he headed out, and the others followed behind. Hud cut through an alley for a short cut and stared down the face of another man walking their way. He kept his head down until he passed them and suddenly the stranger grabbed Carol, sticking a very home-made pistol to her head as Tom and Hudson drew pistols.

  “Hey Hud. Haven’t seen you in while. You remember me?” the mugger asked.

  “Don’t believe I do for sure, but you look a lot like a dead man too stupid to drop his gun. Prove me wrong. Drop the gun and live” Growled Hudson.

  “Card game a month ago. You cheated. I lost 10 dollars in that game.”

  “Seein as how I don’t cheat at cards, you either got the wrong guy or just ain’t very good at cards. You got a problem with me, let the lady go, put the gun down and we can settle this like grown men. You get shaky with the hand made-gun it might go off and that ends you real quick. First shot kills her, second shot kills you. Seems like a pretty desperate move for ten dollars.” Hudson said spitting through his teeth as punctuation.

  “I’m not gonna get killed over ten dollars Hud, but you just walked into that shop with 3 friends I never saw around here and came out with a pretty big grin on your face, jingling with ammo. How much metal you get?”

  “Enough buy something that jingles. Got news for ya, you wanna steal some brass you should have robbed me when I had it.”

  “Prove me wrong, old timer. Pockets out, wallets open. I bet the girl’s got some hidden away.” He said patting her sides for a purse or a pocket.

  “Well now I have to give you a beating for that,” Hud sighed. “BUT, I don’t have to kill you for it. You best decide which you prefer before I just get tempted to shoot you.” He said flashing the new red revolver. “I hear this Prima 35’s so accurate someone could shoot right past her and into your nose.” Hudson smirked.

  “Boots, buckles, rivets?” he asked Carol reaching down to lift her dress and check her footwear as she struggled and he pressed the gun tighter to her head. “Oh she’s got something to hide in the boots. You see how she got nervous?” the mugger grinned excitedly, as another man turned the alley and stood still as if watching or assisting.

  “Do something.” Jen whispered to Tom.

  “Like what? Shoot a sloppy gun I cant aim, in the dark with your friend blocking most of the guy I wanna shoot?” he whispered back. Hudson’s gaze tightened as his hand got itchy.

  “I gave her those boots, they ain’t made of brass, they’re leather and plastic like mine. Hell they ARE mine, the old boots. She’s just scared, and rightfully so when a man with s gun is getting grabby. You got the same reason to be real scared too.” Hudson objected as the mugger pulled the dress up and went silent, they all did, so silent Carol’s heavy breathing was the loudest sound.

  “What…in the frozen hell is that?” The mugger asked, looking at Hudson for the answer and turning his head down to look again. Hudson took the shot while he had one, taking the side of his head off as Carol hopped to safety and caught her breath, Hudson grabbed the shotgun off his back and shouldered it towards the end of the alley, just in time for the second man to escape.”

  “Oh you have explaining to do when we get to my place, but we’re gonna get there real damn fast.” Hud said, waving the red revolver and leading them both to hurry up.

  The wooden door closed and locked, Hudson jamming a chair under the knob to be sure it was, as the others shivered and ran to the gas fireplace, already burning.

  “Okay Miss Carol.” He said, cocking the revolver to get their attention. “What in the blizzard’s dick did I just see under that dress? You wanna make that make sense?” he asked with an order to his tone, sitting down with the gun handy to show he wasn’t really asking. She sighed nervously, realizing there was no point denying it.

  “It’s a prosthetic leg. I lost it 4 years ago, below the knee. Fell pretty bad in the woods and broke the bones, infection set in and I didn’t get any help for… too long.” She muttered.

  “You got a Gat damn silver leg? You must be pretty damn wealthy where you come from to afford that.” He said looking annoyed.

  “It’s… titanium, mostly. They use it for medical applications in the 2000s because it doesn’t rust or get rejected by the body.”

  “You’re telling me that’s titanium, and you got a half a limb made out of it? They kill people for brass buttons to make gun parts, what you think they would do to you for something like that? You just saw what a little jewelry does to people. Get that shit off, we’re sellin in and getting rich before we get dead.” Hudson said anxiously pacing.

  “I can’t take it off.” She yelled, tearing up and looking scared.

  “Oh like hell you can’t. We’ll get you a plastic one made, and it may not be as fancy but you’ll have more mobility with it alive than with that one dead. I’m not robbin you for profit, I’m saving our lives. I just killed a man and a witness got away. If he saw that leg and talks, we’re all wanted. I’m talking about the authorities, the sheriffs, the law, not just some alley sneaks lookin for buttons and jewelry. I’m not askin you, take the damn thing off.” Hud said firmly.

  “It’s osteointegrated! It means I can’t remove it. Even if I had the tools to take it apart, half of it is screwed and glued inside my damn tibia bone. It’s literally anchored in there, it doesn’t just pop off. It’s permanent.” She barked.

  “Well fuck me sideways, we got a problem then.” He said suddenly grabbing the black plastic Donnovan from Tom’s hip holster as he stood up to defend.

  “What’s going on in that head of yours, old man?” Tom asked, subtly looking round for a weapon, not seeing anything in reach.

  “Shit just got real bad, and frankly I don’t trust you that much. If we’re real lucky, that witness didn’t see anything but me shooting his buddy, before he got real gone, but eventually someone’s gonna figure out this lady’s worth her weight in tusk and people will kill for that leg. If we ain’t lucky, he’s already talking to someone about it. This ain’t no nickel and dime shit, there’s gonna be people after that, which I can’t handle with a gun and a lucky shot.” Hudson said. “So any great ideas would be real welcome right about now from either of you, because the smartest thing I could do right now is kill you both, get that leg to a dealer before I get killed, and spend some of that return money on a damn body guard for all the money I’d be carrying home. So go on now. Provide some alternative solutions.” Hudson huffed.