Baxley 2
second installment of Baxley
Baxley sat at the table in the corner of a bar. He was looking around and drinking a beer. A black wolf wearing a blue cloak and black tunic entered the bar and spoke to the bartender. Baxley whistled and the wolf turned and looked at him. The wolf walked over to the table and sat down, smiling. "So, you're the black fox I've heard so much about." Baxley nodded and took a swig from his bottle. "Yes, I am, what do you want me to do for you, sir", he said. The wolf shook his head and chuckled. "Please, don't call me sir; my name is Mikey. And to answer your question I have brought you this." Mikey took out a picture and handed it to Baxley. Baxley looked at it and nodded.
"You want me to kill this lion?" Mikey nodded. "Yes, I do, he has caused a great deal of problems for the Spanish army." Baxley nodded and stood up to shake the Mikey's paw. "I will pay you when the job is done", said the wolf. "We shall meet back at this bar." And with that the wolf left.
Baxley looked down at the picture, turned it over and found the name of his target and his current living place. Gareth lives in Ainsa, Spain. The fox left the bar and whistled. A moment later a horse came galloping towards him. Baxley mounted the horse and rode off towards the city.
When Baxley arrived in Ainsa, Spain, he was amazed by how many people were walking around the streets and how the markets were arranged. He dismounted his horse and walked around a bit. Baxley asked a couple if they knew where his target was and would get two different answers. He finally just gave up for a while and walked over to a market selling fruit. The market salesman, a black puma, smiled at him. Baxley smiled back and bought an apple. The puma saw the picture of Gareth and tapped Baxley's shoulder.
"You looking for him", asked the man. Baxley nodded. "He lives in big house on a hill not far from here." Baxley's ears shot up and he asked for directions to the house. The puma gave him directions and Baxley thanked him, gave the man a tip, and left the market towards his horse.
Baxley followed the puma's directions accurately and found the house. There were guards posted around the perimeter and on the roof. 'Looks like he knows he's a man with a price on his head' thought Baxley. He took out his bow and arrows and climbed a tree, letting his ragged brown cloak blow in the wind a little. Baxley notched two arrows and took a breath, letting an arrow loose as he exhaled. A guard dropped to the ground as one of the arrows hit him in the chest while the guard next to him jumped in surprise, but was quickly killed by Baxley's second arrow. Baxley then focused his attention to the guards on the roof and killed them with four well placed arrows.
The guards on the sides of the house soon got their asses in gear as Baxley was picking the lock on the door. "Hey, what are you doing here", said a lion guard. Baxley drew his dagger and killed the lion in one swift motion. The three other guards glared at the fox and charged him. Baxley smiled and sidestepped them, killing one of the guards. Baxley threw his dagger and hit another guard, killing him. The last guard, a black dog, swung at the fox with his spear. Baxley ducked, caught the spear, and disarmed the guard.
The dog stood there in fear, staring at Baxley. "I'll let you live if you open the door", said Baxley, with a smile. The dog nodded and fumbled with his keys as he looked for the right one. Baxley retrieved his dagger and watched the dog closely as he opened the door for him. "Thank you", said Baxley, nodding to the terrified guard. "Now, get out of here and start a new life before I end it." The dog hastily got as far away from the hostile fox while he still had breath in him. Baxley chuckled and walked into the house.
He walked down the hallway and soon found the living room. There was a lion lounging on a couch taking to a black wolf whose back was to Baxley. "So, when will our guest be here", the tiger was saying as Baxley stepped into the doorway. "Ah, this must be him, now." Baxley smirked and drew his dagger. "Aye, it is and it is I you will see last before you die." The wolf turned and Baxley nearly dropped his dagger as he saw the man's face. It was....Mikey. Baxley's face was that of surprise, but he still gripped the dagger firmly. "What the hell is going on here?" Gareth stood up, arms raised and spoke. "My friend says you are here to kill me, fox", he said in a nonthreatening tone. Baxley nodded then looked at Mikey for a moment. "I-I am and he's the one who sent me here", he said pointing at Mikey.
Gareth nodded. "I know, that's why we have made a new deal; the deal that we take you back to France and give you back to the king." Baxley chuckled. "You think the two of you can take me back to France." Mikey pulled out a pistol and pointed it at Baxley. "Yes we do." Gareth picked up the phone and called someone. "Yes, send your men, we have the fox." Baxley glared at Mikey.
"So, it was all a lie", asked Baxley. "Yes, just a trick to get you here", replied the wolf. Baxley shifted his grip on the dagger and spun it so he was holding the blade. The wolf continued to speak. "You see, the French king paid us a lot of money to capture you and we just couldn't pass that up." Baxley nodded to Gareth. "And what about him, why did you want me to kill him?" Gareth spoke this time. "All part of the plan, my friend." There was a knock at the door and Gareth went to go answer it. As he left Baxley threw his dagger, hitting Mikey in the shoulder. The wolf staggered, giving Baxley enough time to close the distance between them and finish him off.
Soldiers came rushing in with their guns and began to fire at Baxley who took cover by flipping over a coffee table and crouching behind it. He spotted a window and judged it would take about two strides to reach it. Baxley sighed and adjusted his belt before he broke from cover and headed towards the window. He dived through it and rolled to soften his fall. The soldiers came to the window and started to fire upon Baxley as he ran to his horse. He climbed onto the horse and was soon riding away down the hill.
The soldiers weren't letting him go easy and had set up a road block at the bottom of the hill. Baxley sped up and stood up on the back of his horse preparing to jump over the trucks. Gareth was at the head of the road block and was aiming an M16 at the horse. "Halt, or we shoot and carry your dead body back to France", he growled. Baxley smiled and notched an arrow aiming it at Gareth and as he got nearer to the trucks, he jumped in the air, using the speed of the horse to propel him further over the trucks.
As he jumped over he loosed several arrows and killed the four soldiers who were surrounding the trucks. Baxley looked at Gareth with a grin. Gareth glared at the fox and aimed the gun at him. "Don't come any closer or I will shoot." Baxley drew his dagger. "Okay, why don't you come to me then?" Gareth slowly took a step forward, still keeping the gun trained on the fox. "You can move faster than that, can't you", Baxley sneered. "Shut up or I'll shoot", replied the lion. Baxley nodded. "Okay, I'll shut up, but you have to promise me something." Gareth inclined his head. "And what would that be?" Baxley smiled and took a step forward, stepped to the side, dodged some gunfire, quickly disarmed the lion and held the dagger to his throat, pushing him against the truck.
"What are you going to do now, fox, kill me", Gareth said, smiling. "Maybe, but if you accept my offer I may change my mind", replied Baxley. Gareth stared into the emerald green eyes of the fox expectantly. "My offer is this, I will let you live if you call off your men and pay me", said Baxley. Gareth grunted. "I guess I don't really have a choice now do I." Baxley smiled. "Not if you want to live." Gareth pulled out a radio and called off his troops.
Baxley let the dagger drop to his side and stepped back a little. Gareth than reached into his pocket and pulled out a sack of gold coins. He handed them to Baxley who smiled and nodded curtly. Baxley then got into one of the trucks and drove away. Gareth took out his cell phone and called someone. "Sir, the fox escaped."