Chapter Text
There was rarely a peaceful day at the bank. There was always someone swearing they had more money in their account or complaining about a wire transfer that hadn’t taken place yet. Thomas Dunderson was mostly used to the usual chaos that came with being a bank teller in west Texas.
Key word being “mostly”.
The door burst open on a relatively calm day. “Hands in the air! This is a robbery!” shouted a man, his face obscured by a bandana. The only thing Thomas could see was his bright blue eyes as he brandished his guns at the patrons and workers.
“Nobody try to play hero,” the masked bandit warned. “Just hand over your valuables and nobody gets hurt, alright?” He tossed one bag at the tellers, instructing them to empty the safe, and he held one bag out to the patrons for their valuables. “Just like that, nice and easy.”
Once he had what he wanted, the masked man tipped his hat. “Thank y’all for your hospitality.” Then, he ran out of the door.
—----
The masked man charged down the street on horseback as people flooded out of the bank, calling for the sheriff. When he heard another set of hoofbeats behind him, he fired a shot into the air and urged his horse faster. “Come on, we can make it this time…..”
The sheriff and the bandit rode far, far, far out of town. They rode through rivers, around lakes, and across railroad tracks. Just when it seemed they were about to race their horses to exhaustion, the bandit suddenly stopped. “Woah, woah,” he muttered. “I think it’s about time we all found some water,” he said, taking off his bandana. “Poor girl’s about to give out.”
The sheriff chuckled and came up beside him. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Damn good race though.”
“Damn right it was; I won, after all.”
“Only because you had a head start.”
They found a watering hole and dismounted, letting the horses drink while they got their canteens out of their saddlebags.
The sheriff took a long drink, then wiped his mouth and closed the canteen. “You know… I can’t keep letting you get away with this stuff. If I’m gonna stay sheriff, I have to catch you a few times. I got a reputation to keep up, Hoyt.”
Hoyt sighed. “This is why I told you not to apply for the job in the first place. We’ve been robbing for decades; it’s a lot more fun and you know how to get me out of a bind better than anyone, including me. I need my riding buddy, Cordell. I always have.”
“I just wanted to try something different,” Cordell muttered. “I’m tired of dying to a bullet or a blade because of one of your hair brained schemes. Just once…. I wanted to try doing this right.”
“Cordi, we’re gonna die no matter what kind of life we live. And then it’s just gonna start all over again. That hasn’t changed since the Crusades. I just think we may as well have a little fun with it.”
“You and I have very different ideas of what’s fun.”
“Since when?” Hoyt snapped. “This is the first lifetime you’ve decided to give me a lecture. Hell, A couple hundred years ago, you were calling the shots!”
“It’s different this time,” Cordell bit back. “I’m just- I’m tired of the lies!I’m tired of screwing people over! I’m- I’m tired of living just- just to live! Maybe- Maybe I want my life to mean something for once! Maybe I want to do something good, use this- this curse for good! I can help people. We can help people! Why is that so damn hard for you to understand?!” He shoved Hoyt and stomped away to cool off.
“Cordi….” Hoyt stumbled after him. “Hey, man, I didn’t mean it like that,” he said,t one soft, placating. “I didn’t know you felt that way. I’m sorry.”
Cordell sighed, taking his hat off. “I know. I’m sorry. I just- I’m tired, Hoyt. Tired of living. Tired of dying. Tired of starting all over again. Tired of feeling like it’s all just…pointless.”
“I get it,” Hoyt said gently. “Believe it or not, I do get it.” He held his hands up, wrists together as if cuffed. “You wanna take me in? Show those folks they didn’t make a mistake trusting you with their town?”
A smile tugged at Cordell’s lips. “We’ll let the horses rest a bit longer. Thank you.”
“Anything for you, brother.”