The lawyer lit his cigarette as he looked around at the mess that was made in such a short time. Three bodies were taken to the undertaker. There wasn't much property damage done, except for a couple of broken bottles and a chair that broke when the piano player dived to the floor. In actuality, the most damage was done to people's nerves that witnessed the gun fight. Mrs. Harper was a nervous wreck as Deputy Runnels led her out the saloon by the arm. Standing by the entrance was Sheriff Herman who gave the frightened woman a nod and told his deputy, "Make sure she gets home alright."

Seeing his gentlemanly duty was taken care of Herman walked over to the bar to join Lewiston and Archie. With the jailhouse being located a half a block away from the saloon, the two lawmen made it to the saloon shortly after the shooting stopped. From there, they took over as Lewiston stayed out their way, so they could do their job.

The lawyer and his client handled the aftermath differently quite differently from one another. Archie stared hard into the bar's counter as he clasped onto his drink. If he held on any tighter, he might have broken the glass. Lewiston on the other hand, leaned with his back against the bar, smoking his cigarette. This was not the first gunfight he ever was a part of, and it probably wouldn't be his last.

Lewiston looked at his client and said, "You better tell me something."

"Give me a minute!" Archie said through gritted teeth.

"You haven't been out of jail for a whole day, and you're already starting trouble in my town." Herman said as he leaned against the counter with his elbows on the bar top.

"I didn't start it!"

"You did when you did what you did," the sheriff said bluntly.

"What did he do?" Lewiston asked.

"He hasn't told you yet?" Herman said as he raised an eyebrow at Archie who just ignored him.

"No," Lewiston responded, "He's been awfully quiet about the whole thing. I might have to report a cat for armed robbery."

"Well Archie Cummings here was arrested for murdering a child."

"A child?" Lewiston couldn't help but show an ironic smile on his face as he said this. He immediately grabbed his bottle of gin and the two glasses that were waiting for him and poured himself and the good sheriff a drink.

"I didn't mean to kill him," Archie coldly uttered.

"Then you shouldn't have used a stick." The sheriff scolded.

Lewiston laughed as he handed the sheriff his drink. He then looked at Archie as he exclaimed, "A stick? I see you haven't changed much!"

"You know about this?" Herman asked Lewiston.

"Know about it? I've been on the other end of it!"

"I've had enough!" Archie said as he exploded away from the bar. He started marching towards the stairs when he stopped and looked at the two men who were mocking him and said, "And my name is Archibald Cummings. Not Archie!"

With that, he turned on his heel and stormed upstairs. Herman and Lewiston leaned back over the bar and went back to their drinks.

"Archie is feeling real sensitive tonight," the sheriff said.

"Sometimes bullets do that to people." Lewiston retorted.

They were both quiet for a little bit as they sipped on their drinks. After another moment, the sheriff broke the silence as he said, "It seems I made a mistake by letting him out of jail. He may be safer with me."

"I would want nothing more than to be rid of him, but he won't go for that. It's okay." Lewiston said as he put his hand on Herman's shoulder. "I'll keep him locked up in his room. He won't go anywhere until trial."

Lewiston picked the bottle up and offered another pour to Herman's glass by waving the bottle. The sheriff nodded and gave him the glass. Lewiston topped off his own glass as well.

"Whose child did he kill?" Lewiston asked.

"Russ Landon's kid." The old sheriff answered. "His family are big people. Important people. Rich people! Guess the little guy got cross with Archie, so he beat him. He didn't die right away. It took a whole day for him to succumb to his injuries."

"I see." The lawyer said as the story started to sound oddly familiar to him.

Lewiston took another sip of his drink. Herman gave the lawyer a curious look.

"How do you know him?" He finally asked.

Lewiston looked at him for a moment. After another sip he answered, "He was my English teacher." Lewiston then slammed the rest of his drink and set the empty glass upside down on the table and started walking towards the stairs. As he parted he said, "Goodnight, sheriff!"

The moment Lewiston reached the top of the stairs, he didn't turn left into his room, but instead, turned right and barged right into Archie's room. Archie sat in the chair with his head leaning all the way back, while holding onto a nice tall glass of beer, before he was interrupted. He quickly sat up when he saw Lewiston.

"Not tonight!" He called out.

Lewiston marched up to Archie and slapped the glass out of his hand. The glass crashed into the wall and broke against it.

"What the hell!" Archie exclaimed as he went to get up, but Lewiston put his foot on his chest and pushed him back down. While keeping his foot on his chest, Lewiston leaned over and looked him in the eye and said, "The time of me taking orders from you is over. The moment someone draws a gun on me, I take charge. Do you understand?"

"You are not--"

Lewiston interrupted him by using his foot that was still on Archie's chest and pushed the heel of his boot into Archie's shoulder as he now sat pinned against the chair he once found comfy. Lewiston kept pushing in as he stared blankly into his client's face, causing him to groan in pain.

"Do you understand?!" Lewiston repeated.

He said "yes" without looking at his lawyer. Lewiston stood up straight and pulled out a cigarette and lit one up as his client continued to sit in the chair in a pouting position. The lawyer took a deep breath as he inhaled the smoke from his cigarette. After he blew out the smoke, he looked at his client and said, "You beat a boy to death. Why?"

"He was being a little shit!" Archie spouted.

"How?"

"He was calling me names!"

"Like what?"

"Old geezer. Sour puss! He was being very disrespectful. So I thought I'd teach him a lesson!"

"Yes," Lewiston said as he stared at his client, blankly, "well too bad he's never going to learn it."

Archie didn't say anything else. He just sat in the chair and stared at the floor. Lewiston pulled out his pocket watch to see what time it was. He paused when he saw the smiley face drawn inside the lid of his watch. He looked back at Archie and scowled at him. Archie didn't notice. He continued to be oblivious to the past he had with his former student.

"I need you to get comfortable," Lewiston said as he got his composure back, while putting his watch away, "You're not leaving this room for a couple of days."

Archie stood up as he yelled, "I am not trading one prison for another!"

"You don't get to say a damn thing!" Lewiston shouted back as he pushed Archie back into the chair. "Men are trying to kill you. Now smarten up!"

Archie huffed. Lewiston rolled his eyes and he walked back over to the door. He had enough of his client and needed to rest. Before he opened the door to leave, he turned around and looked at his client one more time and told him, "I'm staying across the hall, so don't try to escape. I'll know."

It was three hours later when Lewiston watched Archie open the window and crawled outside. It was only the second story and there were only a few times Archie’s foot slipped off the ledge of something, but other than that, it was a successful climb down. Winded as he was, the lawyer could tell Archie finally felt free the moment his feet hit the ground.

That’s what made it so much funnier to Lewiston as he interrupted his victory by walking up and tapping him on the shoulder. Archie jumped and looked back at Lewiston as he gave him a mischievous smile while taking a puff of his cigarette.

"Get back inside," he said. Archie huffed and did what he was told. 

Lewiston watched his client make his way into the saloon and chuckled to himself. He couldn't help but think of the irony. Archie Cummings caught Lewiston many times trying to escape the school when he was younger. And now Lewiston got to keep Archie from escaping the hotel. "Revenge is sweet," he thought to himself as he laughed.

"Mr. Lee," he heard his name being called out. He turned around to see Mrs. Harper standing in the middle of the street. A heavy shawl wrapped around her arms to protect her from the chill in the air. The moment she felt his full attention, she walked up to him. She moved like a cat who knew she was getting a treat. She gracefully stopped a foot away from Lewiston. Close enough to tell him what she wanted, but far enough to be presentable for the public.

"You're still awake?" She asked in a flirty tone.

"As are you. What are you doing out this late?"

"Had trouble sleeping after all the excitement." She replied. "So I thought I'd get some fresh air."

"By yourself?" Lewiston questioned. His cigarette was nearly done and he was going to need another one soon.

"Despite tonight's events, Atwood is a very safe place."

"I believe you," Lewiston told her, "but I wouldn't go out until after the trial. I fear things are going to be quite rough until then."

"Well perhaps you should join me on my walk then. Could help you relax." She stepped in closer as she said this. Lewiston could almost feel her breath on his skin.

He looked back at the saloon, knowing he may have to stop another escape, then back to the woman who was trying to lure him away.

"I would love to, but not tonight. Thank you for the offer." He replied. "Goodnight."

He began walking back to the saloon when she called out. "You're just going to let a defenseless woman travel by herself?"

Lewiston turned around and looked at her as he flicked away the last of his cigarette. He blew out the last bit of smoke in his lungs and smiled.

"Trouble never travels alone." He said. He then gave one last look around the perimeter and headed inside the saloon.

As he walked up the stairs to go to his room, Lewiston knew he just stopped another attempt on Archie's life. It didn't take a genius to know a distraction when he saw one. Although she didn't hold a gun, he was sure that in some way, she was a part of it. And as long as she was nearby, Archie's life was in danger.