It was happening in slow motion.....the rain.....drop by drop......splashing onto his hat and his duster while he sat upon his horse. It was not ideal weather for a train robbery, but today was the day and there was no changing that. The rag tag group of men that had come together to make a quick buck sat out in an open field waiting for the sound of the locomotive that was heading towards the small mining town to their south. The horses from time to time would make some noise, but besides that and the rain it was very peaceful out in that field. He could have just turned down this opportunity, might have been the smart thing to do. The adrenaline rush of robbing a train was too much to pass up for him though.

"Carlos, you sure that this train is carrying pay roll for the mining company?" The words coming from Richard were spoken plenty already over the past week.

Carlos sighed, "For the last time Richard. I am sure. I got the information from the owners number two guy. Then I verified it with a couple of the workers by asking about pay day. So relax. The train will pay off for the effort it will take."

John shook his head and raised up his bandanna over the lower part of his face. The bickering among these guys was a bit too much to take any longer. At least after today he could leave them behind and move on. He would have to lay low and hide the cash till the heat was off, but just getting away from this dysfunctional bunch would be reward enough.

"John, you make sure you get on that train and take out any guards. The rest of us will do our jobs. Stopping the train and controlling the passenger cars." Pat spoke calmly.

He was the leader of this rag tag group and the only one John could truly stand. He was pretty sure that without Pat, this group would all have found the noose or a federal jail cell by now. So if it wasn't for him, he wouldn't have even contemplated taking this job.

"I'll take care of it Pat. Don't you worry." He took out both his pistols and then his repeater rifle to make sure they were all loaded and ready to go.

The rumbling of a train on approach could be heard now....

"Alright boys, lets get ready. Those two downed trees will get their attention and make them stop. We do our jobs, we get paid, and we all head home alive." Pat and the others pulled up their bandannas to hide their faces as well.

The train came rounding the bend to their left and began to brake as the trees came into view. The group kicked into action as their horses raced across the open space between themselves and the train. Two men went towards the front, two men went towards the middle, and John went towards the back where the payroll was being kept under guard. 

As he approached he could here some shots off further up the train which meant that there were more guards all along the train. Just as he was turning back to the end of the train a bullet whizzed past his head and almost made him fall from his horse. There were two men with repeater rifles firing out a window at him. 

He quickly yanked his horse to the left and made his way to the very end of the train. As he approached he yanked his two revolvers from their holsters and hopped off his horse landing with a roll. As he rose from the ground one man came running out the back of the train. The first revolver rose and fired, hitting the man in the lower abdomen. Following that the second revolver fired and hit the man in his chest sending him tumbling off the train dead.

John rose up onto the train and found cover to the side of the doorway. He peaked inside and quickly retreated under a hail of gunfire. There were at least three men inside firing at him. They seemed frantic and it also seemed like heavy protection for payroll. He turned and fired three shots from one revolver into the train in an attempt to draw at least one of them out. When one man rose from behind a crate John fired the other gun and nailed the man in the head. 

Back to cover....

Two more men left in there. Once again he turned, but this time he ran and slid into the train car behind another crate. Gunfire followed his movements and he was lucky enough not to get shot. He stood and fired the last of the bullets in his revolvers. One shot found it's mark in the stomach of one of the guards which caused him to fall to the ground screaming in pain.

Dropping behind the crate he put the revolvers back in their holsters and took the repeater rifle from his back. One more guard left to take care of. He took a deep breath and rose once again from the crate to find the final guard making a move to help his companion. John didn't have any second thoughts and put two bullets through the man as he left cover. He then made his way to where the injured man lay.

"Please.....just let me live....I don't care about none of the gold...please.....just let me...." The mans words were cut off by the sound of Johns rifle going off.

Gold? John wasn't sure what the man meant. It definitely started to make more sense as to why the amount of guards seemed to be so high. A jolt of motion from the train almost sent John to the ground. 

"Why is the train going in reverse?" He grumbled to himself. Either somebody isn't doing their job or they made a change to the plan. 

Just at that moment he heard more gun shots in the car ahead of him. The rest of the group would just have to do their job and he would do his. Time to find the money....or gold. He made his way over to the lock box that sat among the crates and broke it open with the butt of his rifle. John lifted the lid and inside he found 6 bars of gold, some bonds, about $500 in cash, and a few trinkets including a silver pocket watch and a pair of earrings. This was a hell of a lot more than Carlos had told them about. Either he didn't tell them the whole truth or his information was off on what this train was delivering. 

He grabbed it all and threw it in his satchel before making his way to the door leading further onto the train. Although it wasn't his job, he figured he would at least try to find out what was happening and help the rest of the group out. As he exited the train he immediately spotted two men who were firing upon Pat who took cover behind one of the passenger benches. John quickly lifted the rifle against his shoulder and put two shots into each man's back. Pat rose up and forced a smile onto his face.

"I guess this ain't as simple as we thought John. Did you at least get the money?" He seemed quite worried.

"Yeah Pat. I got the money and more. We just need to stop this train and get out of here." They nodded at one another and made their way further up the train. 

As they got closer to the front they found Richard laying on the ground in a puddle of his own blood. No pulse. 

"Damn, didn't think this bastard would ever go down. One hell of a shooter." John was starting to feel it wasn't one of them that started the train back up.

They continued forward, finding more bodies along the way. Almost all of them were guards who had been shot up by somebody. They also found Mark laying against a bench with three bullet holes in his chest. That left Carlos as the only other possible survivor. One car was left between them and the front. They heard yelling and muffled words from on top of the train car. 

"Ah, hell. I guess we're going up now instead of forward." Pat motioned for John to climb on up.

As he pulled himself onto the roof of the car he spotted Carlos wrestling with another guard. The were dangerously close to the edge and John knew he had to act.....before he could Pat raced past him and got involved in the struggle. John could only watch in horror as Pat and the guard fell from the roof and went beneath the train cutting off their screams. 

"God damn't Carlos! What the hell happened to the simple payroll job you told us about!?" John could feel the anger inside of him. Pat was a good man and didn't deserve the end he just got.

"Just calm down John. Maybe I knew there was a bit more than just cash coming, but I had no idea that the security would be this tough. Now let's just get the money and get out of here. We can split it fifty-fifty and be on our way." As Carlos started to make his way forward John raised the rifle at him.

Carlos went for his pistol, "Don't! Don't you even dare Carlos! You don't deserve to get off this train alive!"

Just as John fired off a shot, Carlos dove from the roof. Landing and tumbling on the grass. John could see him get to his feet and limp off into the woods. A much better end to this job for him than he deserved and John knew he'd go into hiding for quite some time to avoid being found. Now John just had to stop the train and get out of there before anyone showed up to stop him. 

There were no more guards left on the train and John easily made the train come to a halt. As he dropped down off the side of the train, a bit of blood on him from checking on Richard he spotted a man with a horse approaching.

"Hi there! Are you alright sir? I see some blood and the train clearly shouldn't be stoppin' here." The man seemed nice enough....stupid....but nice.

John played into the concern of the man and stumbled to his horse without saying a word...

"Now let me help you sir." The man dropped from his horse to help John.

As the man reached out to help him, he found the barrel of John's rifle under his chin. It was messy, but necessary. The man had seen his face and the train. He couldn't risk the man finding help if he only took the horse. Now it was time to lay low, but he would find time to search for that bastard Carlos....

To be continued.....

Tempe, Arizona

5 months after the train robbery....

John had hid from the law and stayed off the radar for a few months now since the train robbery went wrong. There wasn't any information about Carlos surfacing anywhere he checked. The saloons, crooked lawmen, fences, and other criminal associates were all unable to locate the man. Even if he had been using another name, it would take a big makeover for him to not even be found by description. 

Although John was doing some small jobs on the side and still trying to earn some money, he had one focus which was taking down Carlos for what he did. That bogus information he fed the gang led to the death of some good men that he was going to ride with for a long time. Eventually he figured Carlos would surface and Arizona would be a good place to wait since it's where Carlos grew up and started his criminal activities. 

"You want another one?" The bartender interrupted John's thoughts.

"Yeahhh, why not. Pour me another whiskey. I don't have anywhere to be so I might as well enjoy my time here." John had been in Tempe for about a month now.

The bartender poured the whiskey and John tipped his hat as he handed him a few bills. It was cold and went down smooth. He'd sip on this for a while as he watched the people coming in and out. It wasn't likely, but maybe Carlos would just fall into his lap and make it easier on him.

The doors to the saloon opened and shut all day long as he sat there and worked on a couple whiskeys. At one point a couple of Spanish fellows came in and stood near John at the bar. Eventually they made their way over to a table and continued their drinking. The bartender made his way over to John...

"Who are those two?" He asked the bartender.

"Those are the Fernandez twins. They're a couple of pretty tough bastards who make up two thirds of the Tempe Trio." He took the extra cash John was sliding his way and made his way to help other patrons.

Fernandez was Carlos' last name. This felt like it couldn't be a coincidence, although it didn't mean he would be anywhere in the area even if they were related. John figured it might be best to try to cozy up to the two and ask some questions in order to figure a few things out. He purchased a bottle of tequila after asking the bartender what they were drinking and made his way over to their table.

"Hey amigos, you mind if I take a seat with you? I bring something to drink." John smiled hoping to be welcomed.

The two looked at one another and then at their almost empty cups and smiled back at John, "Of course! Come drink with us for the night. A man with extra drink is always welcome company."

John poured them all drinks and spent the next few hours just being friendly in hopes it would loosen their lips for later when he began his questioning.....

"So you two are twins, yeah? Any other brothers or sisters? You sure their ain't a triplet or quadruplet hiding somewhere?" He chuckled.

"Only the one other brother, he's actually the one we ride with when we go on our trips." The one twin known as Javier said. 

They had been clearly referring to their criminal activities as "trips, jobs, work, etc." throughout the night. So they were revealing some information, but clearly didn't want to let on what they were truly up to.

"Oh so why ain't he here drinking with ya for the night? Seems sad to miss out on some good drinks with your brothers." John poured another round of drinks.

"Well Jack, he is trying to stay a bit off the radar to be honest with you. He had some bad interactions with a business partner who might be looking to settle things the not-so-friendly way." The information all but confirmed they were brothers of Carlos, but John had to be sure.

"Yeah, Carlos don't enjoy coming to the saloon much anymore. He'd rather stay at our little cabin in the woods a few miles out. Just sitting by the fire and having a drink by himself." Ricardo said interjecting. 

That was all he needed to hear as he slowly drew his revolvers under the table and pointed one at each brother...

"Well boys, I've had quite the night with you two. It's been fun. But my name is actually John and I need to go say hello to my good friend Carlos before he leaves town." The name rolling off his tongue made their expressions change as they started to shift in their seats.

It was too late for the twins though as both revolvers went off sending them backwards in their seats and onto the floor.

Two thirds of the trio down....one more to go...