The train pulled up at half past noon. The rickety wooden platform bounced and bulged as the engine came thundering though. It came to a screaming halt and the wheels stopped turning. Dong YoungBae stood waiting in the shade as the patrons dumped out into the hot sun and wandered, some purposefully, looking for their families, others or unloading their bags or shuffling out into the market just below the station. All in all it seemed like a perfectly normal day. When the conductor gave the all clear, the sheriff nicknamed Taeyang adjusted his bright red hat, pulled his loose vest to a better position over his otherwise bare chest and pressed his way through the flood of sweaty human bodies pouring from the big streamliner. The heel of his stiff boots clicked and his spurs jingled. He had to strain to try and look over the crashing waves of frilly bonnets and ugly black top hats. It was like the circus had come to town in the form of terribly over dressed city slickers from way back east.

He had to strain to see over the sea of lacey over dressed strangers. Finally he spotted a mess of black hair poking out from under an acceptably dirty white wide brimmed hat. “SeungHyun!” YoungBae called, “Brother!” he waved, and tried to jump but just ended up flailing.

“YoungBae,” the much taller man called out, spinning frantically. Finally the crowd broke and there were only a few people between YoungBae and his older brother. TOP had been threatening move the rest of the way out west since he had first visited his brother here four or five years back, and was finally making good on it. His black leather jacket was dull and well worn in and his denim pants were beat to hell. Man was he a sight for sore eyes.

The expected and costmary, ‘if you hug me I will kill you,’ glare didn’t come, instead there was a casual soft look that unnerved the shorter man much more than it should have. “It’s good to see you brother.” SeungHyun smiled. YoungBae noted the unmoving apparitions on either side of his statuesque brother, a short man with honey blonde and a smile so wide his eyes were barely visible, “Dong YoungBae, this is Kang DaeSung…he’s my partner.”

“You’re the famous Dae? SeungHyun writes all about you,” YoungBae nodded,  “pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine,” DaeSung croaked.

“And this,” Seunghyun indicated over his shoulder to a man dressed so sharply he could cut a log with his stare. “Is Hwang ZiTao. We met him on the train. He’s looking for someone here and we thought you might know.”  His coal black hair was cut short and mess and his smile was cold as ice bow he dipped his head in respect.

“Nice to meet you,” Tao offered in a luscious voice that was smooth as silk.

“Who mightya be lookin’ for?” YoungBae inquired.

The young man reached gently into the small watch pocket of his pinstriped vest and pulled out a folded up flyer. “Someone I’ve been chasing after for a very long time,” he answered, handing it over slowly.

The picture it held was quite familiar to TaeYang. The image was old, starting to fade, but it was clearly a picture of none other than Kris Wu. How strange that this razor sharp city man would be after a simple homesteader with a little farm on the edge of town.

“You ain’t a mobster?” the sheriff asked frankly. “I’ve had just about enough of mobsters coming in to settle debts with folks ‘round here.”

“No,” the stranger laughed an odd laugh, one filled with venom, “Much worse. I’m a lawyer.”

Clearly YoungBae didn’t follow the joke, “A bank lawyer?”

“A criminal lawyer. Not that its any business of yours distrustful cowboy, but WuFan and I grew up together and I have some old business to discuss with him. If you don’t want to help me I will find him myself.”

“Sorry,”TaeYang apologized, “Its just, that we get a lot of people trying to take around here. Take land, take livestock, take lives. It’s hard to trust people with everyone taking.”

 “That’s one thing we have in common,” Tao said.

“Sorry for the misunderstanding,” Youngbae offered, “I can take you out to Kris’ place in the morning if you like. I have work to do this afternoon but if you let me know where you’re stayin’ this evening I’ll swing by in the morning and ride you out to the river.”

“Much obliged?” he said awkwardly, looking to Seunghyun for  some kind of confirmation,

“Yes,” DaeSung offered, “That is how we say it around here.”