Chapter 2
by 
SquashedFlat
What Does The Day Bring?
Smiling Jacks Has Kidnapped April!
(Originally by DanceDanceImmolation)
Texas arrived in the sheriff's office early in the morning, as she always did, to unlock the doors. Normally April would be waiting for her by the door, but today she was absent. It struck her as a little odd, but she wouldn't be upset at her deputy for being a little late given her usual record of punctuality. Instead, Texas took her tin pot, measured out some coffee grounds, splashed in some water from her office spigot and set it on the burner. She was in need of a hot cup of coffee on this groggy morning. But the water hadn't even started to percolate when she got her first "case" of the day, wrapped around a rock and delivered directly through her window.
Dodging to the ground to avoid the glass shrapnel, Texas quietly cursed every single person in her horrid little town for letting stuff like this happen. She scooped up the projectile, aiming to throw it back at whoever was outside, when she noticed the piece of parchment roped around it. Written on the outside was her name (along with a few derogatory terms that don't need to be mentioned) and on the inside was a plain note:
"WE HAVE YOUR DEPUTY. GIVE UP YOUR BADGE OR SHE'LL GET IT"
It was written in hasty, long lettered script, and at the bottom was a red paw print that gave her a good clue as to who was behind this. And beneath THAT was a scribbled drawing of what she guessed was April, tied up underneath a loose artistic interpretation of a cow and crying. There was also plenty of stink lines included.
Texas understood the urgency of the situation, with or without the drawing, and so she had to act fast. The only problem was that Smiling Jack and his gang weren't exactly the easiest to find. They moved around constantly and had several bases that they hopped between, abandoning or destroying those that were compromised. That, and even if she knew where he was hiding, it was hard enough tracking bandits in the wilds with backup. Without it, she was a sitting duck. But Texas knew what she had to do...