Lasso Lass: The Saint Chapter 1

> Being Nolan

 

I hate this shithole of a place my family calls home. The air is dry and acrid. The rain sparse. But what I hate more is the grunts that my father keeps around. They don't know their station and speak to me as if I am below them. ME of all people. Heir to the Santos! And my father lets them, as if he's mocking me. As if I have no right to call myself his son...

Sighing, I sit up on my bed, and walk towards my dresser. The small knife my father gave me on my last birthday rests on the wooden surface. The wooden handle is carved with the intricate symbol of our gang. Next to it, a small portrait of my mother stares at me.

 Picking it up, my hand traces her profile. I miss her dearly. She was a kind mother, until an accident took her from us. My father was never the same after that. His regards towards me became cold and distant. His goons followed suit. They never listen to me and...

I set the picture down, and holster the knife. I may not be a violent person, but a man should never walk around unarmed in these parts. Smiling almost sardonically, I grab my duster and top hat. There is business to take care of today.

 However, something catches my eyes while I'm walking down the stairs. It's a few of my father's men, whispering amongst themselves. The head two are the troublesome twins, Flim and Flam. They've always irked me. I watch as they continue to converse.

"-heard the boss is piping mad about sumthin'."

"Reckon it has something to do with this Lasso Lass we been hearin' about?"

"Yeh, the one that took down poor ol' Johnny B and Timmy the Typhoon."

"Lord Almighty, they ok?"

"A few days rest and they were right as rain. Gotta say, Johnny B is downright embarrassed. Lassoed his pistol to his face."

They both laugh and I resist the urge to roll my eyes. Johnny B, huh? One of the cretin's who was harassing the poor indian girl a few months back. I shake my head, not wanting to remember my own cowardice for not being able to stop them.

Ever since then, rumors of the Lasso Lass had begun spreading across the town like wildfire. How she could lasso a twister, stopped a stampede by simply flicking her wrist. I chuckle, that just sounds silly.

My laughter draws the men's attention and one of the twins speaks up, "Well lookie 'ere. It's the brat. Whatcher' doin' up there?"

I stop and glare at the brothers in contempt. The other one laughs at me, "Uhoh Flim, looks like ye made 'im mad!" The entire group bursts into a chorus of laughter, "Whatcha gonna do boy? Huh?"

I grit my teeth and give them my best sneer, "Oh nothing, just wondering what the trash is still doing here." They all look at each other, and I place a hand on my hip, the other gripping the handrails of the stairwell.

"Now look here you-" Flam comes up the stairwell, his hand reaching for his pistol. He pushes me down and aims the barrel right at my head. "If you weren't the boss's boy, I'd kill ya right now."

 Snorting, I grab his hand and press the gun harder against my chest, "Do it, mongrel."

Flam's face becomes dark as he leers at me, his trigger-finger itching to pull the hammer. "It would be my pleasure, brat."

I brace myself and close my eyes.

BANG!

 

My eyes snap open, I'm not dead. The entire front hall's attention is centered over by the hall leading to my father's study. I turn my head and follow their line of vision. There stands my father, a smoking pistol in one hand and a cigar in the other.

The entire front hall is silent, save for his footsteps echoing as he draws closer to us. "Now, now gents. Can y'all tell me what's going on?" He pauses at the foot of the stairs and looks around. His lips curl into a smile and he draws the cig from from his mouth, exhaling a stream of smoke. "Flam, what do you think you're doing to my boy?" The man stands up, hiding the pistol from sight.

"Nothin', boss. We just er...playin' 'round with Nolie here." He laughs uncomfortably, his rancid breath reeking of whiskey. "Right?"

I give him a dry smile and pull myself up, dusting myself. "Yes. 'Playing'. Evening, father."

He merely inclines his head, taking another huff of the cigar. Something is wrong, I can tell. His eyes look like those of a rabid dog, hard and soulless. "I just came from the mayor's office. The damned Lasso Lass..." he pounds his fist against the wall with a loud thump. "One of our documents is missing, boys. If the townsfolk catch wind of it, we're finished." He regains his composure, and stands to his full height. "It's you boys' job to get it back. Whomever brings it back will be rewarded handsomely, as well as gain full recognition." He clasps his hands behind his back and turns to walk down the hall, back to his study. In the last minute he turns around and addresses everyone again. "You mustn't read the document, you hear me, men?" Everyone barks out a short yes. "Good, now go. You have three months to find it. Don't disappoint me"

Once the study's door closes, the hall turns to chaos with all the men scrambling to get out of there to go searching.

Full...recognition...the words replay themselves over and over in my head as the men fight amongst themselves. My eyes widen in realization and I take a step back. I manage to get away unnoticed as I slip out the door towards the stables. This is my chance. My one true chance to be acknowledge as the heir. I must find the document before the others do, at all costs. I cannot mess this up.