Editing Six of Diamonds: 'The Answer'

"What'd you say?"

The gunslinger snarled through rotten teeth at the thin bespectacled man who had broken the cardinal law of silence. A gold plated Gun bearing the six of diamonds waited in the holster at his hip.

"I s-s-said... be q-quiet, p-p-please?” Reuben stammered. 

"What're you gonna do if we don't?

It had been a month since "Diamond" Dan and his cohorts had waltzed in, shot the sheriff and claimed the town. Nobody wanted to tangle with a Card carrying gunslinger, and so the unsupervised gang quickly drove the pleasant town to ruin. Even the one room schoolhouse- of which Rueben had once been immensely proud- was now a pile of ashes, courtesy of a night of debauchery and arson. 


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"What're you gonna do if we don't?” the gunslinger inquired again, his fingers tracing lines around the number six on the Gun. 

Of course, Reuben knew the answer he wanted to give, but trembling knees persuaded him otherwise. Fumbling for an answer that wouldn't displease the man with a Gun, he quietly offered, "I-I'd have to give you a demerit." 

"Oh no, teacher's gonna give me a demerit!"

The gang of ruffians started laughing immediately. Burning with embarrassment, he quietly slunk away from the group. Returning to his corner of the saloon he was surprised to find a stranger shuffling a deck of cards...


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"How's your poker face, teach?"

The dealer's last words echoed as Reuben considered the worn Card in his hand- the six of diamonds. Covered in scratches, the six-shooter's dull barrel bore the engraved words "Knowing is Not Enough" in an elegant cursive. The cracked wooden handle, lashed together by some previous owner, was branded with a number and suit and fit comfortably in Reuben's hand.

Another loud crash drew his attention, Dan and his gang had begun harassing the bartender. Reuben stood slowly, sliding the Card into his back pocket…


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"What're you gonna do if we don't?” the gunslinger inquired again, his fingers tracing lines around the number six on his gun. 
  
Of course, Reuben knew the answer. He had always known. He also knew how Dan and his gang would respond. He had always known that too. Reuben smiled as the infinite web of possibility coalesced into a single outcome.

“Call your bluff.”


-Half the Battle

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