Under Dutch's orders, Micah and Pearson were sent into town to meet with members of the O'Driscoll Gang.
After all, this was real life—not a game where the story falls neatly into place and you can just set off whenever you want.
A meeting needed arranging.
Time, place, people—everything had to be in order.
It was obvious Dutch never intended to negotiate sincerely with Colm. His plan was simply to keep Colm pacified for the moment. As Micah had pointed out, the Van der Linde Gang had made too many enemies already.
And if their plan involving the two major families in Rhodes leaked, they'd be in even deeper trouble.
Hosea understood all of this, so he didn't try to stop Dutch. Instead, he focused his efforts on Mrs. Braithwaite. Ever since the last banquet and dance, Hosea had grown much closer to her—meaning he could now gather far more information.
Meanwhile, after the Valentine bank robbery, Bill and Lenny had been sneaking off to the saloons in Rhodes to have themselves a good time.
Karen had traded her usual drinks for whiskey and brandy. Over two thousand dollars was enough for them to live comfortably for quite a while.
"Hey, Arthur, I picked up some valuable intel at the saloon. Interested in another job?"
Bill found Arthur and made the offer.
Arthur was already stressed about the O'Driscoll situation and had planned to refuse. But remembering their last score, he asked, "Depends on what it is, Bill. I don't think your luck is going to hold forever."
"You telling me you already burned through the money from last time? That was over two grand, you idiot."
"There's been a lot going on with the gang lately. I don't think we should be stirring up trouble. You know we need to keep a low profile right now, not go around making enemies."
"Or are you just ignoring what Dutch said?"
Bill snapped, "Hey, Arthur, don't you question my loyalty to Dutch, you thick-skulled fool! Think about how perfect and smooth my plan was last time!"
"This one will go just as perfect and smooth. I'm not like you lot, always messing things up with one accident or another."
"Listen, Arthur. It's a payroll wagon. Sometimes their guard is down. Not far from here, at a crossroads, there's an old rundown church."
"Every week, a wagon carrying locked cash boxes passes through. They switch guards a little north of there, but the lead wagon travels alone for a while before it reaches Rhodes. That's our chance."
"After that, it links up with the others. That's the best moment to hit them—easy pickings."
Arthur listened and found the plan sounded decent. Robberies were common in the West, and they wouldn't necessarily be suspected.
"A payroll wagon, huh… Might be worth a try. But it won't work with just the two of us. Maybe we should bring Charles."
Bill grumbled, "That buffalo-brained fool? Fine, Arthur. If you think he'll be useful, I won't argue."
"I was actually going to ask Javier. You know—he's got good skills, and we've worked together before."
"But Dutch sent him out scouting. The wagon comes by before sunset. Shame, really."
"Let's hope Charles doesn't screw things up and ruin my plan."
Bill had always been a bully who picked on the weak. He hardly dared speak to the Callander brothers, and when Kieran first joined, Bill often bullied him. That's why Arthur had wanted Kieran to leave with Davey.
Charles had only been around a few months, yet Bill made no effort to hide his contempt.
"Maybe you should show some manners, Bill. If Charles knocks your teeth out, I'm not stepping in."
Arthur had worked with Charles before—he knew the man was skilled, whether in hand-to-hand combat, shooting, or archery.
"He should be the one careful, Arthur," Bill said smugly.
Arthur just shook his head and went to find Charles. The three of them set out for the crossroads Bill described.
…
Sure enough, a lone wagon appeared. After stopping it, they realized it was Cornwall's payroll wagon.
Cornwall, having been robbed several times already, had beefed up security. But it didn't matter—against Arthur's sharpshooting, the guards were useless.
By nightfall, they even took out a group of Lemoyne Raiders along the way.
"Oh, hell, Bill. How did you not know this was Cornwall's wagon? We've crossed him too many times already."
"If he finds out it was us, he'll throw even more money into hunting us down. This is a real mess."
Arthur complained, frustrated.
Bill could only say, "It was an honest mistake, Arthur. I didn't know it was Cornwall's wagon."
"Relax—he won't know it was us. The man's swimming in money. He won't care if we help lighten the load a little."
"I shouldn't have trusted you, Bill. If Cornwall finds out it was us, we're in deep trouble."
"Maybe I should talk to Davey, see if there's anything we can do."
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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