The Smell of Gunsmoke and Brimstone
By Hayward Heston, editor of the Brimstone Bee
Our fair town is not what one would describe as a quiet settlement. The sound of a discharged firearm is sadly not an unheard of sound for fair Brimstone. But the gunshots fired yesterday could only be described as exceptional. "Lightning" Lenora Langley, the notorious outlaw partially responsible for the horrific attack on Brimstone's very own Silver Palace that left two dead and three critical injured, and a dozen harmed, found herself locked in a gun duel with Deputy Jackson Tanning, the very man who lead the posse which had apprehended her! The exact details of how the devilish blonde escaped her cell and why she chose to leave her partner in crime Theodora "Thunder" Santos within are unclear, but we at the Brimstone Bee pledge to discover the truth. Regardless however, Deputy Tanning somehow convinced her to face him in a formal contest of speed and wills instead of laying siege to his own shanghaied workplace.
It was 20 past 11 when Langley walked out into the street and met Deputy Tanning in mortal combat. Tragically Lightning proved to live up to her namesake, outdrawing the lawman and came within a hair's breadth of snuffing out the deputy's life. Clinging to the last threads of consciousness, the deputy leveled his sawed-off shotgun and fired, only to find his longarm had jammed. But perhaps our deputy was born under a lucky star, as the Wichita Witch missed her second shot, giving Mr. Tanning the precious time needed to draw his own pistol and give what some witnesses have described as a mirror of his own wound to Ms. Langley. Unfortunately for Deputy Tanning, however, his opponent proved just as resilient as himself, and despite bleeding profusely failed to lapse into unconsciousness. One final shot followed, ending their gunfight with the side of law on the ground in a pool of his own blood.
However a tragedy was prevented that day by the bravery and heroism of two civilians, Doctor Winston Bishop, and new arrival Dell Gunnarson. The latter fired a shot which frightened away the horse Langley intended to commandeer to make her escape, while the former rushed to the dying deputy and using his medical expertise snatched Jackson Tanning's life from the jaws of death. Incensed that her means to flee had been taken by her, "Lightning" Lenora Langley responded by seemingly shooting black lightning from her very fingertips, severely wounded Mr. Gunnarson as well. The more superstitious members of the assembled crowd cried "witch," rationality feeding in the heat of the moment, but the timely arrival of New Mexico Ranger Jared Rockwell put an end to both that nonsense and any chance of the criminal's escape.
Mr. Gunnarson managed to keep hold of his pistol while Ranger Rockwell drew his own. Without a horse, nursing a gunshot wound, and with two guns trained on her, Ms. Langley smartly surrendered. Ranger Rockwell revealed that the woman had hidden a new science device on her person that allowed the collection and release of static electricity, which she used as a literal shock and awe tactic. The outlaw was then escorted back to her jail cell, ending the day's excitement with no loss of life. The Brimstone Bee will never endorse vigilantism, but it's the heroism of men like Mr. Gunnarson and Dr. Bishop alongside our law enforcement, both local and territorial, that prevented a tragedy and the escape of a vicious killer.
And rest assured, citizens, this newspaper pledges to get to the bottom of just how Lightning Langley made her jailbreak and it will bring the truth to light!