Young Writers Society

James made his way to Sailor's rock alone, noting where the sun stood in the sky, keeping in mind they had only a few short hours before sundown. As he walked up to the ship-shaped rock, he noted that Tasha and Cowell were nowhere to be seen.

"...He'll be here at sundown. For now it's just me. I made sure I wasn't followed."

She pushes out of the bushes. "Good to see you didn't come to any harm."

Cowell popped up out of the bushes behind Tasha, slipping his gun back into its holster.

"Usually he's a magnet for that sort of thing," Cowell chuckled.

James didn't respond at all to Cowell's comment, and ignored him. "Glad to see you're relatively alright as well."

"Well, unless there's rabid squirrels we haven't seen anything even remotely dangerous," she chuckles.

With brows raised, James smirked. "That's an oddly specific qualification for danger."

"Well it's not like there's much else out here," she chuckles.

"Now that that big cat is gone, yes," James replied, his smirk growing slightly.

"Damn right. Still have that thing's tooth in my bag."

Cowell looked at the two with confusion. "Big cat have anything to do with whatever trouble brought you two to meetin'?"

James sighed, but nodded.

"Oh. Also. I asked for a horse as payment, so if they keep to their word, I might be getting one. Depending on if Romano's an honest man or not, I may want to make the exchange before you two pop out."

She nods. "Sounds like a plan."

Cowell nodded. "Yes. Good."

Spoiler

want me to timeskip? :0

Later, as the sun began to fall in the sky, becoming painted with splashes of oranges and pinks and reds, the three saw a group of four approaching - all on horseback, towing another horse behind them. James, prepared to initiate at least the beginnings of the deal with Romano, waited in plain sight, his bag slung over his shoulders and his hands resting on his sword, which he leaned on as it speared the ground.

James maintained his casual position as he watched the group emerge from the thick of the forest in to the small clearing before Sailor's rock. Naturally, he eyed Romano's three big, bulky henchmen who shadowed and surrounded him on all sides but the front. It seemed that the odds were in their favor. Three against one - especially with him and Tasha being two of those three - would make this a relatively easy extraction.

Romano glided off of his horse with a surprising amount of grace for one known as a druglord (and at least, according to word of mouth, dabbled in his own product often). He wore an expectant smirk, seemingly confident in his security between his three guards.

"You know how drop-spots work, right?" He asked, with the condescension James would expect from someone who thought him inexperienced and desperate.

"I just thought I'd be here to make sure the exchange went properly. I'm sure you understand," James explained, before pulling out a sizable pouch from his bag and holding it up.

"You hand over the horse and I toss over the goods, alright?" James instructed.

Romano, wearing a look that said he wasn't pleased with being told what to do, folded his arms, but obliged. "As you wish," he agreed, nodding to one of his henchmen to bring the horse forth. The large man hopped off his horse and led the horse by the reigns to James.

Just as James was about to take the reigns from the henchman, he tossed the bag over, with Romano gleefully catching it.

"Deal," James said - speaking the agreed upon code word for Tasha and Cowell, who both simultaneously leapt out.

James yanked the hand of the unsuspecting henchman with the horse and pulled him off balance, then pushed him to the ground with force.

Cowell ran in, sword out, sliding in towards the guard closest to Romano. Romano... well. He froze.

Spoiler

FINALLY I DID IT!! @falconrygirl9086

Tasha throws three small knives at the other two henchmen before leaping out of the bushes on horseback - the beast is trained well, and had been laying down in the cover so that in an instant she could be on her feet and in combat. Nightmare may be a pill, but she is a damn fine war horse.

Within moments she is upon the surprised thugs, horse rearing as she slices at them with her dual blades.

One of the henchmen, with the knife lodged in his side, lunged at Tasha. James, beating down the guy with his fists, eventually knocks him out with a swift kick to the head. The henchman Cowell was locking swords with, put up a fight for a short time before he leapt onto his horse and fled the scene.

Romano stood frozen in place, his hands gripped around the bag. With only one of his henchmen standing, he realized he had no chance of escaping - however, as soon as the realization hit him and he finally tried to make a run for it, Cowell had made his way to him, and easily knocked him out by whacking the hilt of his sword on his head. Cowell began to tie the unconscious man up, and James turned to Tasha and the last man standing.