After the courtroom cleared out, Slade confronted Sampson.
“What the hell are you doing?” Slade asked, his voice raspier than ever.
“Marshal, I hate this as much as you do but the Governor has the right to issue pardons and once he does there’s absolutely nothing I can do about it. Take it up with him.”
Slade, man of action that he was, ripped the star off his shirt, slammed it down on the Judge’s bench, and stormed out of the courtroom.
“Slade!” the Judge called after him. “Don’t be ridiculous! This town needs you!!!”
Gunther’s stomach churned. The idea of leaving a job he held most of his life was unsettling, as was the idea of being disloyal to Slade.
“I don’t reckon there’s some kind of generous retirement payment for a man who’s held the position of Deputy Marshal for over forty years, is there?”
“Not that I know of,” the Judge replied.
“I figured as much,” Gunther said as he tugged at his star. “Oh well, here’s mud in your eye.”
Gunther tugged and tugged but the star wouldn’t budge.
“Deputy,” Sampson said. “I don’t have all day.”
“Now hold your horses,” Gunther said as he continued to fumble around, “I don’t want to rip my vest. My wife made this for me…ah…here we go.”
Gunther slammed his star down next to Slade’s.
“Gunther, don’t do this,” Sampson said. “You could take Slade’s place and become the Marshal yourself.”
“What?” Gunther asked. “And be the man who has to make all the decisions and be responsible for everything? No thank you. I’d rather be hung upside down by my toes and beaten with a wet noodle.”
“What will you do now?” Sampson asked.
“I don’t know,” Gunther said. “Get even older and die I guess.”
Bookshelf Battle 
clean.
It happens occasionally lol
Hey I appreciate you doing this. Take a peak at Pop Culture Mysteries if you have a free minute. The narrator is an old time style noir detective and his style is to just complain about everything in a funny way.
So in other words it’s just me more or less in my own voice pretending to be a detective because if I ever told you a story it would be a list of complaints with jokes mixed in.
I dunno I think that’s probably why I do a bit better with that one.
[…] 24 Chapter 25 Chapter […]
Reblogged this on Bookshelf Battle and commented:
This is a take on the old “cop doesn’t like how things went down so he slams down his badge on the captain’s desk and walks off” scene.
Except it is a judge instead of a captain, but he’s a higher authority figure so he’ll do.
Gunther doesn’t really want to, he’s been a deputy for over forty years. But he’s loyal.
But to be funny, I have him struggle to take his star off. It gets stuck. Won’t come off. The judge gets tired waiting.
I’ve had moments like that. Someone does something dramatic and does it so flawlessly. I try to do the same and get no cooperation whatsoever.