Morning, sunshine...

  The sun had been up for maybe an hour when Red stirred in the back seat of his Mercury Monterey. He scrubbed the stubble of his beard and rubbed his eyes. The girl lying on top of him clucked softly then began snoring again. He slid out from under her and over into the front seat. He found one of his cigars in the glove box and pushed the lighter into the dash. He ran a hand through his jet black hair and yawned deep enough to make his neck pop. The lighter wasn't working- Red checked the ignition key and remembered he’d left the radio on last night while he and his lady friend had a good time.

  He realized he was as naked as the day he was born.

  He’d picked the girl up down at The Barn- a local watering hole right on the river. He’d only planned on a little necking before squeezing the information he needed from her, but she was more than willing and Red hadn’t been with anyone in a long, long time. She got what she wanted. Red got more than he needed- after robbing a bank in San Antonio, her brother was hiding in Crystal City.

  Captain Andrew Jackson ‘Red’ Horne, Texas Ranger, was hunting him down.

  Red reached over into the backseat for his pants, just in time to see the girl slamming the door shut. She had his clothes in her arms as she ran to a truck sitting about twenty yards away. Three men were walking towards the Mercury; one had a bat, another- a rope, the third- the girl’s brother- carried a Thompson machine gun slung over his shoulder.

  Red swore to himself as he remembered locking his badge and gun in the trunk, under the spare tire. He’d been undercover for a week and hadn’t really expected any trouble so soon. Naked as a jay bird, he got out of the car.

  Nothing to do but to get to it.