Who: Dimitri Belikov and John Ross Ewing What: The Russian who wants to be a cowboy gives the Texan cowboy a tour When: Wednesday afternoon. Where: prison Warnings: Nah, doubtful.
Truth be told, John Ross had half expected his cousin to jump from the helicopter after him. Not that it would have mattered either way to John Ross. There was no way anyone was going to convince him to hide out in Canada while leaving the ranch to whatever came for it. He put up an honest fight to try and save his birthright. Christopher and John Ross cleared out several hoards of zombies and tried to keep their cattle and horses alive. Eventually it became too much. There was too much land to protect, and even the Ewing cousins had to concede it was a losing fight.
On his way off the ranch, he'd stopped by the family graveyard and spoke to his daddy and Miss Ellie. He vowed he'd be back. That he'd keep Christopher safe until they could both come back and reclaim their birthright. They'd put the Ewing name back on the map again. They could rest assure of that. Then he helped Christopher load up their truck with everything they could take with them that would be useful. The last thing he did was let his prized stallion go so it had a chance in hell at surviving. He wasn't much of a crier, but both he and his cousin were choked up and silent as they watched Southfork disappear in the rear view window.
The trip across country was mostly the same thing different city. They met other survivors and traveled with them from time to time. Then they'd head off on their own. They used their family shotguns to put down the zombies that were stupid enough to cross their paths. One good thing about being a Ewing was you may be born with a silver spoon in your mouth, but you learned to live off the land at an early age. Those lessons helped the boys to survive. Some times they would hit a place that was so far removed from civilization and destruction that they could pretend the world wasn't going to hell in a hand basket. Skies clear and full of stars at night. Air clean and free of smog. They'd hunt and camp, sometimes lingering in places like that before they forced themselves to get back on the road.
Everett was a surprise. They'd heard the rumors of a civilization of survivors, a prison full of people who were working together to overcome the elements. John Ross had made it clear he wasn't staying in no damn prison. He'd done time before for something he hadn't done, and no amount of Christopher trying to convince him it wasn't the same sort of prison could change the elder cousin's mind. He'd live in the bed of his truck before he'd take refuse in a cage. The hot little Texas blond gave them a better option, and John Ross was much obliged. As was Christopher since his cousin decided to go ahead and take the first dibs that John Ross offered him on the cute little girl. John Ross would show his appreciation at a later time.
He spent the first couple of days getting used to the Inn. Observing every inch of it and making mental notes of those who lived there. He was pretty sure the redhead girl wasn't as charmed by him as he wanted, and he was damn sure her boyfriend wasn't impressed. That just made him amused and determined to wear her down. The man who ran the place was something else, and John Ross couldn't quite place what it was about him that was intriguing. It wasn't just that he as a Brit. They had time to suss it out though. He and Christopher had decided to hang up their hats for awhile until they could figure out where they needed to go next. John Ross wasn't hiding in Canada. He'd die first, and it wasn't up for negotiation.
His third morning in town, he decided to take the guy with the Russian name up on the offer to visit the prison. The pretty girls were staying there, and John Ross never turned down a chance to see pretty girls. Plus it was just smart to get an idea of all the players in town, and there had to be some big players in the prison. Especially if Bass was biding his time there. He decided to walk on over instead of wasting the truck's resources. He had his shotgun on him as well as a pistol and hunting knife tucked into his jeans. It was a black hat kind of day and he spent some time polishing his black boots before heading out. The walk was made without incident. Which was good since he had a bottle of the Ewing brandy on him. He'd been raised to show gratitude and hospitality to those who showed him the same. If they were stuck in the prison, they must be wanting something decent to drink. He doubted Everett had much in the way of quality booze. Though the bar at the Inn had been surprising. Some top shelf liquor had been found. Curious indeed.
As he approached the gate, he looked up at the Sentry tower and tipped his hat at the person inside. "Howdy. I'm John Ross Ewing and I'm here to see Dimitri Belikov." He flashed his best winning smile and waited to see how his reception would be.