Stay where she is! The bush can keep her hidden for now.

The bush was decent enough cover, and there were too many of these crooks fanning out in too many different directions. Before Texas could even count to ten, the graveyard was saturated with Roxxie’s minions, all looking for…something in particular, though whatever that might have been, Texas knew about as much as Roxxie knew about common decency. The important thing was that they weren’t looking for Texas. Not for now, at least. None of them knew that the sheriff was here, which gave the sneaking weasel all the advantage she needed.

It wasn’t a leap in logic to say that Roxxie was up to no good. That was simply the kangaroo’s natural habitat and that was justification enough for Texas to lean in close and listen closer to whatever that no-good outlaw had to say. Thankfully, Roxxie had always had a mouth near as big as her gigantic ass, and she loved to use it near as often which always made eavesdropping all too easy.

“Keep searching, ya damn half-wits! You remember what that damn swine told us, right? Underneath the grave decorated with a raven’s feather! How can it take all of you dumbasses so long to find something so simple?”

As if to motivate the rest of the team, Roxxie gritted her teeth and furrowed her brow. The ground rumbled and a spray of mud took to the air as a long, low, burbling fart ripped out of Roxxie’s asshole onto the prone bodies of the mooks who had already disappointed her.

FRRRRRRRRRRRRRBLLLLLLLT!

Interesting. So Roxxie was here on a treasure hunt, and desecrating the resting place of the dead was nothing to the vile villain. But what was it that she expected to find? Money, most like. But Texas couldn’t help but feel that this didn’t sit right with her. If Roxxie wanted cash, she had other means of finding and taking it. This way…it lacked Roxxie’s usually bombastic flair.

It was around about this time that Texas realised the one severe downside to her choice of cover. It was, unfortunately, downwind of the gang’s rank-assed leader and all of Roxxie’s fumes that weren’t being blasted onto her wanting rookies were being borne aloft in the breeze directly to where Texas was holed up.

An inadvertent inhalation hit Texas like a fist to the jaw and she stifled a squeal of disgust as the putrid fumes invaded her nostrils. Sweet mother of mercy! How can anything living create a stink so vile?! Texas recoiled and fell onto her ass, holding her hands over her nose and cringing in disgust.

Texas turned and found a pair of eyes in the darkness of night staring back at her. That was when she supposed there’d been yet another flaw in her plan to hide in a bush.

Just because Texas wasn’t the subject of the search, it was by no means a guarantee that she couldn’t be found. In fact, it only seemed all but inevitable that someone would happen upon her little hiding spot, and she’d just gone and made it easier for the searching lackies by causing a stir.

The figure in the darkness shone a lantern into the bush to get a better view and Texas froze as they regarded the sheriff slowly, carefully. In the glow, Texas could see that this mook was a possum, a lithe, spindly little thing. She definitely looked easy enough to snap like a twig, but there was no way of doing so without drawing attention first.

“Don’t…” Texas said, her whisper barely audible under the gentle breathe of wind.

The mook squinted. She was clearly weighing her options. She could cry out and bring the posse down on the sheriff as quick as a bullet. But the more Texas looked, the more she thought she might have seen something else in the possum’s eye. Something a little like... fear? But for Texas, or for her boss?

Texas’ heart pounded like a war drum in her chest, her life in the balance with only the next few seconds to indicate if she was about to topple into an abyss.