Caroline

New Mexico Territory: 2

The sun flooded through the curtains and poured onto the wooden floor. Rodriguez was already awake and making coffee, Ruffle greeted me with a sloppy lick on the face. I patted her gestured her away. I sat up on the couch letting my hair fall to my shoulders before brushing it back with my hand. I desperately needed a wash, for I had felt every bit of grime and dirt that my hand grazed over.

"Bueno dias." Rodriguez said behind the kitchen counter with his back to me.

"Morning." My quavering with sleep.

He brought me a cup of coffee and sat in the armchair across from me. "How'd you sleep, amigo."

"Alright. We're friends?"

"I let you sleep in my house, güey."

"Yes, you pitied us to that extent." I slept in my clothes, I soon remembered.

My black shirt was wrinkled and awkwardly portioned on my built frame. I wiped the annoying sleep crust from my eyes and stretched out my arms, tiredly groaning as I did so.

Deak was still asleep, but that was to be expected. "Does he usually sleep in?" Rodriguez would ask.

"Yeah, since we were boys." I answered before lightly shaking my brothers arm to wake up, when that didn't work I slapped his arm rather hard.

I didn't want to strike his face as that would lead to an altercation, no doubt. He finally woke up around the third slap and shot me a nasty glare through his squinted eyelids.

"What?" His voice booming with such bass that it felt like the ground shook under an angry God on his path to destruction.

"Wake up." I said giving him the coffee Rodriguez made for him. He took a sip of coffee and sighed.

"We need to get to Amarillo, like now. This lack of decent sleep is killing me."

"Gladly, you're up, so we can begin discussing exactly how you're going to go there." Rodriguez said. "As I mentioned, there's a train that transports goods to them, an armoured one to ensure the suministros get there, supplies. There should either be a weapons train, or payroll."

"And just like that, we'll be in Amarillo?" I asked.

"No exactamente. You'll have to transition through different trains at each stop."

"Then, how will we know which is which?" Deak inquired.

Rodriguez paused on thought, then shot up once he had an idea. "I'll come."

"No." Deak said immediately after. "That's an extra life to look after."

"Por favor, let me come. You two will running around like pollos without my guidance."

"What about your dog?" I asked scratching Ruffles ears.

"We'll take the perro de mierda." Deak and I looked at each other in confusion. Our spanish was decent enough, but we had no idea what he said. "The fucking dog." He clarified.

"No, definitely not." I spoke with intensity. "Just tell us how we can differentiate the trains."

"Güey, you won't be able to without me." He was getting annoyed.

I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration. No way were Deak and I going to let this man who had nothing to do with us, nor our family, get caught in cross fire that he had no business to be a part of. Not to mention his dog was certain to die if we brought it.

"I'm sorry," I spoke, "but we are not risking your life over something you have no business in."

"I ran with Joaquin Jean, puto. I know how to handle myself. You have no choice, I'll leave Ruffle with Rosa, a village girl in town. She's very trustworthy. Amigo, I have not been completely honest with you two vaqueros." He took a deep breath before saying; "Joaquin Jean killed a lover of mine while I ran with them. I tried my best to keep her out of the life. Los monstruos killed her in front of me, stabbed her thirty times in the chest and forced sand into the open wounds while she still screamed. They had me tied to post and were ready to burn me until a native, Calm Winds, came to my la ayuda. He, and a lot of his men, attack the fort the Hall Jacks had me tied up in. This is why I must go. I must get venganza para mi amor." Deak and I were silent, at a loss for words.