By Duke City Times Publishing company

EXT. RAILROAD TRACKS – DAY

A desolate stretch of iron rails cuts through the desert heat.

LUCKY CABALLERO, an outlaw with sharp eyes and an easy smile, walks the wooden ties. Behind him is WILEY BINGHAM, scruffy and breathing heavily under the weight of a heavy burlap sack.

Clinking metal echoes from the sack. Gold.

WILEY: We’re gonna do really good, Lucky. We really got the money going this time!

Lucky glances back over his shoulder.

Wiley reaches into the sack, pulls out a handful of gold coins, and subtly slides them into his own vest pocket. He thinks Lucky didn’t see. Lucky saw.

LUCKY: (Calm, extending a hand) Tell you what, Wiley. Let me hold the bag for us. Make sure it stays safe. I always shot straight with you while even when I was shooting.you know Wiley , sometimes old horses need to be put down ..

WILEY: (Clutching the bag tighter) It’s okay, Lucky, don’t worry about it. I’ll hold it. We’re gonna do really good.

Lucky pulls a Colt revolver from his holster and fires.

BANG.

Wiley drops instantly, a bullet straight through his forehead. The bag of gold thuds into the dirt.

Lucky steps over the body, picks up the sack, and tips his hat.

LUCKY: Nice doing business with you, Wiley. Don’t you worry… I’ll make sure I do really good now.

EXT. RAILROAD TRACKS – LATER

Buzzards circle above.

SHERIFF McKinley  and deputy Hobbs stand over Wiley’s blood-soaked corpse. The desert sun is brutal.

SHERIFF McKinley: Looks like one of Lucky’s men.

Deputy Hobbs: (Nudging the body with his boot) Yep. Probably wanted to hold onto that gold a little too tight.

ENTER LITTLE OLD LADY ADOBE SCENE  

Little old lady crying by adobe

Lucky : why you crying mamm ,

Abuelita Gonzales : because I’m out of money and I’m old and people just walk all over me and it’s a hard life with all these outlaws and sherriffs shooting people ,

Lucky hands her a handful of gold from the bag

Lucky : here to go mamm , just spend it how you like ! Have a good day , don’t cry anymore I can’t stand to see a woman cry !

Lucky rides off into sunset old woman chases and waves

EXT. DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S MANSION – DAY

An opulent, sprawling estate that overlooks the valley.

The DISTRICT ATTORNEY Jack Masterson  (DA), a powerful man in a tailored suit, paces the porch. Standing near him is his MISTRESS, draped in expensive silk, sipping a drink.

The sherriffs and the deputy  stand at the bottom of the porch steps, hats in hand.

Jack Masterson: This Lucky Caballero has been running amok in my beloved Rio Arriba County, and I want him six feet under! Or… I’m gonna put you two sheriffs six feet under.

The DA leans over the railing, glaring down at them.

DISTRICT ATTORNEY Masterson (CONT’D) :And trust me, gentlemen, I have no qualms playing cards with your lives. Now bring him to me, and do it quickly.

The Mistress; Tara Lynn Ketchum steps up behind the DA, running a hand over his shoulder. She smiles coyly at the lawmen.

Tara Lynn Ketchum : Come on now, Mr. Masterson. We need to get to talking about my case before nightfall comes. We have a lot of work to do. Now, sweetheart… let these gentlemen go do their jobs, and come have a little fun with me.

The DA’s anger melts into a grin. He looks back down at the Sheriffs.

DISTRICT ATTORNEY Masterson : Now I must go, boys. I have a little bit of “work” to do.

EXT. RIO GRANDE RIVER – TREE CAMP –

 heavy cottonwood trees next to the rushing river.

Lucky sits on a log, lazily strumming an acoustic guitar. He sings to himself with a smirk:

LUCKY: (Singing) Killed a man of the law… blame it on the alcohol…

In the brush just outside the camp’s light, Sheriff McKinley and deputy Hobbs creep forward, guns drawn.

SHERIFF McKinley: (Whispering) He’s right here. Be quiet. Let’s sneak up on him.

Deputy Hobbs: (Whispering) Okay.

Sheriff McKinley breaks from the trees, stepping into the firelight right behind Lucky.

SHERIFF McKinley :Put your hands up, Lucky!

Lucky does not hesitate. He drops the guitar, spins around, and fires from the hip.

BANG.

Sheriff McKinley takes a hit to the shoulder and collapses into the dirt. Lucky bolts toward the roaring Rio Grande River.

SHERIFF McKinley: I am gonna get you, you son of a bitch!

Deputy Hobbs charges past his wounded partner, chasing Lucky straight into the crashing rapids of the river.

INT./EXT. RIO GRANDE RIVER – CONTINUOUS

The two men collide in the deep water. It’s a brutal, chaotic struggle against the current. Splash. Punch. Gasps for air.

Lucky gets the upper hand, wrapping his arms around deputy Hobbs and forcing his head beneath the surface. Deputy Hobbs thrashes wildly, but Lucky holds him down with cold precision.

The thrashing stops.

Deputy Hobbs drifts away, and his iconic sheriff’s hat floats gently down the Rio Grande.

EXT. RIVERBANK – CONTINUOUS

Sheriff McKinley stumbles out of the tree line, clutching his bleeding shoulder. He spots Lucky wading through the water.

SHERIFF McKinley: (Screaming, firing wild shots) Stop! Stop, you son of a bitch!

The bullets splash harmlessly in the water. Sheriff McKinley drops to his knees in horror as he sees the hat float by.

SHERIFF McKinley: (CONT’D) Oh my God… you drowned him. You drowned Deputy Hobbs !

Lucky ignores the shouting. He calmly walks out of the rushing river, stepping onto the far side of the Rio Grande.

Safe on the opposite bank, Lucky stops. He turns around, looks back across the water at the wounded sheriff, and gives a slow, mocking salute.

Lucky turns and disappears into the dark shadows of the trees.

SHERIFF McKinley: (CONT’D) (Yelling into the river) You can’t run forever!boy  We’ll catch you sometime!

The river rushes on.

FADE OUT.

end of episode..