Editing King of Spades: 'Godhand'

Ah, you wanna hear that King of Spades story, kiddo? Alright son, Lemme tell ya all about it.

Y'know, long time ago I was an outlaw. 'Was part of a gang called the Howlin' Boys, small-time thugs tryin' to make it big. Must'a only been 18 back then, when I joined 'em. The leader of the Howlin' Boys was a young'un himself, by the name of Bradley. He was a hot-shot punk, 'bout 25 years old then. 'Course, I idolized the fella, as did the rest of us Howlin' Boys. He orchestrated a good number of the robberies we did. Bradley liked business, an' business seemed to like 'em too. Few years went by an' no lawmen ever caught us, we always outgunned 'em all.

Now in our days, we saw some of these Cards here an' there - those legendary 54 Guns. So Bradley decides he's fixin' to steal one of 'em in our next robbery. We just had to find a good target, y'know. Bradley wanted a Face Card in his hands, not one of them low numbers you hear 'bout most often. Lucky for us, that Face Card comes within a few feet of us a few days later.

Bradley an' two other fellas in the Howlin' Boys, name of Holloway an' Morris, were with me in the saloon that night. Four of us just havin' drinks an' playin' cards, when this older fella, a chinaman, waltzes right in an' up to the bar. See, chinamen weren't welcome in these parts in that day, an' most of the bar is in an uproar. See, most folks looked at the fella's face, saw a chinaman and went nuts - but not the four of us. We all saw it fast - a K an' a Spade drawn on the fella's right hand.

Yep, from the elbow down, his whole right forearm was metal, some kinda fake arm attached. Come to find out, this fella's a well-known outlaw himself, by the name of just Lee. No one knew where he came from or what his business was there, 'cause Bradley, Holloway an' Morris had the bright idea of challenging 'im. A Card's a Card, y'know? Actually, it was just Bradley first, the rest of us just followed 'em. The chinaman leaned in an' was about to ask the barkeep somethin' I'll never know, when Bradley beat the fella with his chair. I tell ya, splintered wood went flying everywhere after a couple hits, but Lee barely budged. He shifted just enough to look at Bradley with a cold stare an' all quiet. Now I'm pissin' my pants, maybe I wasn't drunk enough yet, but Holloway an' Morris were quick to back 'em up, lungin' for the chinaman.

Now I was just a scared kid, I didn't wanna die yet. I remained seated an' saw it all, the consequences of challengin' someone for a Card. It turns into a three-on-one against ol' Lee, an' my pals are beatin' on him good, but he ain't showin' any pain at all. Then before I know it, the tables have turned an' Lee's beaten 'em all up at once. He doesn't even fire his King of Spades yet, but he smacks 'em good with that fake metal hand an' lands a few strong blows with his left fist. I believe Lee was trained in those fightin' techniques them chinamen are so proud of. Lucky for them, Holloway an' Morris were down for the count, 'cause Bradley sure wasn't an' just had'ta provoke the guy again. See, Lee turned back to the barkeep, 'til Bradley pulled his iron on 'em. Point blank range, Bradley fires, an' Lee somehow dodges this bullet. No idea how, but the bullet doesn't even graze 'em an' hits the barkeep instead, killin' 'em instantly.

Now that chinaman is really pissed off - an' Bradley is in shock. See, Bradley never killed anyone before himself, he was a mastermind, not a killer. So Bradley is pretty messed up, an' it's too late to take it back. Lee grabs 'em an' throws 'em into a table. The two of 'em continue their brawl, but this time Bradley can't land a single blow on the chinaman. 'Til Bradley gets his gun back anyway, then he gets another shot off, that just gets blocked by that gun-arm of Lee's. Bradley goes to shoot again, but Lee ain't havin' none of it.

Let me describe this gun for ya, to explain what happened to Bradley. Lee's Gun was a fake arm, see he was an amputee since he was in some kinda accident when he was a kid, see. The arm's really a shotgun, it's got a lever an' trigger on its under-side an' the barrel's tip is the fake hand's open palm, see? An' here I am watchin' in awe as I see it used on my friend. Bradley doesn't even know what hit him, Lee fires the damn thing at point blank range into his chest. One turn of the lever, one pull of the trigger an' Bradley's chest is full of buckshot. He falls over dead, an' the chinaman scoffs at the rest of us. 'Least he spares us, an' leaves the saloon. Good thing, I think Holloway, Morris an' I all shit an' pissed ourselves before Lee left.

After that? Without Bradley, the Howlin' Boys were done with, an' as I recall Holloway went to jail soon after that. Morris put a gun in his mouth an' blew his brains out, all gruesome-like. An' me? 'Year later I met up with this pretty lady an' asked her to marry me. An' I couldn't be no outlaw anymore, since I settled down an' been happy ever since. An' that's why I quit livin' on the edge - the day Lee an' his famous 'Godhand' scared me shitless.

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