"Now..." she continued, giving Abby's hand a reassuring pat.  "How about we try to just try to enjoy our breakfast, and then get on with things as usual.  The customers will still be wantin' to see y'all smilin' and dancin' like normal, once the sun goes down."<br/><br/>At her words, the saloon doors opened, and King entered, his boots thumping heavily on the wooden floorboards as he moved.  At his right, the new sheriff entered behind him, his thumbs hooked into the gunbelt at his waist and his eyes roaming the gathered women without regard for subtlety.  At his left, a tall lanky figure (http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q15/doogieporker/Character%20Images/Capture.png) stood, his thick mustache framing a pointed chin and an ever present smirk.  His dark, beady eyes stared at the girls from beneath the brim of his wide hat, and while his hands were nowhere near his weapons, he carried himself with the gait and easy relaxed stance of a gunslinger.<br/><br/>"Truer words have never been spoken, my dear Lola..." King said, walking right up to her table.  Michael, the sheriff tucked into King's pocket, remained by the door, occasionally glancing outside, as though expecting trouble.  The tall, lanky man tipped his hat to the gathered women, and remained by the door as well, though he kept his gaze firmly affixed on King, as though it were his sole occupation, to protect the new owner of Lola's Saloon.<br/><br/>"Now, ladies...I'm not sure if your lovely proprietor here has told you all the sordid little details or not..." he said, his gaze drifting to Abby briefly before drifting away once more.  "But I am the new owner of this establishment.  I am Desmond King, for those that haven't had the pleasure...and for those that have, you'll know that I'm a man who gets what he wants.  It was how I was able to purchase the land beneath your feet.  And anything atop that land becomes either mine, or an obstruction to progress.  The question here, and it is this....is what will happen to this rustic little saloon if Lola here decides she doesn't want a partnership with the man who has the power to ruin her?"<br/><br/>He moved up behind Lola as he spoke, his hands going to her shoulders.  He rubbed them briefly, letting his gaze circle the crowd of girls gathered, watching their expressions shift from doubt to anger to desperation.  Many of them had come from desperate and abusive situations.  Lola's had been good for many of them, pulling them from a hard life of pain and fear and giving them a chance to make a decent life under her employ.  King was now threatening that, but their continued comfort was simple enough to ensure.  Lola just had to agree to his terms.<br/><br/>"Now...the town is under a bit of turmoil, at the moment.  Bill is dead.  Jackson has killed the sheriff and is now a wanted man.  Things will be put right, but I need each and every one of you to understand this...change is coming.  It is undeniable, unstoppable, and if you're not in line with the changes that progress will bring, then you're in the way.  And you will be crushed under the weight of the future."<br/><br/>Leaning down to Lola's ear after he finished speaking, he grinned, and said, "How about that talk now?  Unless you've got another girl that you can distract me and my boys with for another day?"