U.S. Marshal Joshua Hawkes rode into Ft.Hadley and up to the entrance of the Livery stable then stepped down of the large bay quarter horse, he could see the man he was after on the far end saddling his horse. He'd been on the mans trail for roughly a month since He'd ran from Justice and now that Joshua had him cornered in the stables, he wasnt going to let him get away, Joshua had a hunch Blackie would stay true to his nature and would'nt be able to resist whiskey, whores and a game of cards for long. He watched the man stop unsaddling his horse when the crunching of hay under Joshua's boots caught his attention, Joshua squared up then called out in a tone steady and confident,

"Dont turn around Blackie, keep your hands where I can see'em, I'm here to take you back to Sweetwater".

Blackie tense at his words, then widen his stance but, but kept his hands up on the saddle and answered back with a slight hesitation in his voice," Take me back to swing from a tree you mean, dont you Marshall?", Blackie paused a moment to gathered his courage, " You rode a long way fer noth'in Lawdog cause I aint going back", Blackie paused again, he knew he was in a tight spot, but the fear of swinging at the end of a rope was greater then eating lead, he was about to make his move when the Marshalls next words caused him a moment of doubt,"Alive or dead Blackie, it dont matter to me much, but your going back to Sweetwater", Blackie gritted his teeth and his lips curled into a twisted grin as he spun on his heels to face the Marshall, his hand going for the pistol on his right hip.

Blackie may of been a murderous scoundrel, But Joshua wasnt the kind of man to shoot another in the back no matter how much of a dirty dog an Outlaw was,but he also knew Blackie wasnt the type to go peaceably and Joshua couldnt blame him for trying, the thought of dying by haveing your neck stretched out wasnt a pleasant thought even to him. So he waited the few seconds for Blackie to spin on the heels of his worn boots and go for his gun, Joshua's own hand flashed like lightening, gripping around the handle of the Colt.44 and bringing it up out of the holster, thumb cocked the hammer, and squeezeing off a single shot before the barrel of Blackies gun cleared the holster.

The dark red spot at the center of Blackies upper chest grow instantly and he was dead before his body hit the dirt floor of the Livery Stable. Joshua holstered his pistol then took out a piece of paper and began unfolding it as the crowd slowly crepted up to see what had happened. It wasnt long before the Towns Sheriff and Deputy came bargeing in with guns drawn, stopping to look between the body on the floor and the only other man standing inside the Stables. Joshua held out the unfolded piece of paper, already knowing the Sheriffs question, he cut him off with the answer, "That man was wanted in Sweetwater for the murder of a Rancher and his family", Joshua nodded toward the dead Blackie, "I'll need you to bear witness that the man lying deads the same one on this wanted poster, then put your mark on it". 

thought taken aback by the nonchalance attitude of the Marshall, the Sheriff took the poster then walked over to the body and knelt down to examine the face then the picture on the poster, after a minute he stood up and walked back to the Marshall, "Yup, that be the same man, I'll call for the Undertaker, you can come by the Office later and pick up this here poster and reward money". Joshua nodded then turned to go,"Didnt do it for the reward", was his calm reply as he stepped outside, then looked around for a saloon, wanting a drink of whiskey to cut the taste of trail dust from his throat. 

Joshua walked back to his horse then stopped and decided to spend the day in town and actually eat something other then beans. Thinking it best to get a room first. He grabbed the reins and lead the horse inside the Livery stable just as some of the local menfolk were carrying the body of Blackie out. He paid for a stable for the night, unsaddled his horse then paid the Stableboy alittle extra for him to give the good hay and some oats to his horse. Grabbing his Saddlebags, He left the Stables and made his way down the boarded walkway, tipping the brim of his hat to the Ladies and nodding his head toward the men as he passed them, but for the most part they seemed to more interested in staring at the silver star pinned to his chest.

He made his way on down to the Inn, noticing it was across the dirt street from the Saloon he asked for a room towards the back of the building as he signed his name in the Inns ledger and paid for the room. The Innkeeper had a boy run his saddlebags up to the room. He stepped back outside of the Inn then took out his tobacco pouch and rolled a smoke, striking a wooden match on the post next to him, he took a puff then glanced over to the Saloon before crossing the street. Joshua stopped his lanky frame just inside the swing doors of the Saloon and looked around as his eyes adjusted to the dimly lit interior, there appeared to of been some sort of commotion going on as he watched some of the patrons fussing over some card game.