Sarah - The Next Morning

From last time ....

"Switch on the outside light as you leave, okay? And close and lock the door."

"Sure, Ma. Where you goin'?"

"Nowhere's. I gotta take a shower is all."

And now ....

Sarah pulled up to the house that stood where the line shack once stood. Again, she marveled at the size of the place - and at the look of the place, too. They really did a nice job on this place - it's amazing. I'm gonna hafta do something for Billy's uncle so he doesn't lose so much money on this job. Shit. It had to cost him twice what he charged me. These guys must really have loved Jake. Oh, Jake ....

Sarah walked into the house.

"You still up, Mackey? I thought you'd be sleeping by now."

"Nah. Waited for you. I guess you saw Ma. I guess you've seen that they're closed after dark, now."

"Yeah. I did. How come you guys never said anything when you called me - or when I called you?"

"She's only been closed at night about a month, now. And with all the construction and stuff, well ... I just figured we weren't ready to take anything on. Besides, we knew you were coming out and we figured we'd wait on you."

"That's bullshit, Mackey. You should've told me as soon as the trouble started."

"Ma said 'No'. Two Feathers suggested we let you know way back when all this started and Ma jumped right down his throat. Besides, we figured anybody that could intimidate Sully must be able to take care of herself."

"Well, you still should have told me. Damn. What do we know about this Pablo Flores?"

"Well, he's the one we've been tracking for the next shot. So we pretty much know everything about him. We also know that he's been off his schedule for the last two months. I think Ma has thrown a monkey wrench in his works. There must be some internal pressure coming down on him to get her in line, because he's been focused almost exclusively on her for weeks now."

"Ma told me about her problems while I was there. We've got to do something. Who else out here is running protection?"

"Billy says there's a small group in the Sheriff's Department that seems to be in business for themselves. Why?"

"We're gonna help Ma, that's why. But at the same time, we can't expose ourselves. So if we can convince Flores that there's another group involved, some competition out there, then maybe we can do the job and not let on who WE are and what we're really doing. Comprende?"

"How do you intend to do that?"

"That's what we're gonna work out tomorrow morning with Ma. We're gonna meet up at the diner for breakfast. I told her to start getting ready to go back to 24 hour operations."

"When?"

"Day after tomorrow. So we gotta get ready. Get hold of Two Feathers and give him a heads up. Have him meet us at the diner."

"Okay. Right away."

"Oh ... and Mackey? You better spruce up a bit. Wear some after shave in the morning, okay?"