Red West III.

Chapter twenty eight - Constraint

Danny shook his head though. "It's not like that, sir... It seems they arrested Jin Akanishi."

"...What?"

***

Feeling chilly, Cora wrapped herself up in a thick woolen plaid, yet she shivered at the sound of chains rattling between the legs and hands of her handsome bodyguard.

She was just one of many Bozeman citizens standing on the street. Everybody was watching the huge stagecoach with the five-pointed star on its door in front of the Sheriff's Office building. Marshal Botkin was already sitting inside, while his men were working on strapping his wheelchair on the accompanying cart. The rest of U.S. marshals, who had recently arrived to the city, just brought the prisoner outside and escorted him to the coach.

"Is it true?" a voice whispered in Cora's ear. "Jin said that he leads the Black Riders?"

She didn't look at Dana, not ever tearing her eyes off the staggering man with hunched shoulders, when she replied: "He did, but I doubt it's true..."

"What do you mean by that?" the harlot gaped at her.

Before Cora could say anything else, an indignant shouting attracted their attention. It was Harada's stable boy, running to the group of Marshals around Jin.

"Stop! You can't take him away!" Mike yelled, trying to get through the tight circle.

"Get lost, kid!" one of the men shoved him away.

The boy did not keep his balance and fell to the ground, yet did not stop protesting.

"You can't! Jin didn't do anything!"

"Where are the parents of this brat?" another Marshal looked around. "Shut him up or I will!"

Mike scrambled up on his feet, trying to get through one more time and once again, the man in brown coat stopped him by grabbing his shoulder roughly.

"Let me be!" yelled Mike. "Jin! Tell them you lied! Just tell them!"

Akanishi raised his head and looked at the boy, saying something that did not reach the veranda of Cora's brothel. Mike shook his head tearfully.

"No... You can't..." he started sobbing and looked around the gathered crowd. "Why none of you say anything? You all know him just as I do!" he shouted accusingly.

Cora gulped down heavily, already tempted to go and take the boy away. Before she could take a single step, somebody else outran her. Harada approached the armed group cautiously, explained something quietly and took Mike over from the upset Marshal.

"That's right, isn't it?" Dana spoke again suddenly. "We all know Jin! How could he be that infamous leader?"

"And what do you propose that we should do?" Cora reacted with her throat tight. "He confessed, Dana."

The girl pursed her lips, but fell silent, clearly just as lost and helpless as Cora was.

Harada patted the boy's head comfortingly. Then they stood there, while Mike kept crying and watched as Marshals pushed Jin inside the coach. Before its door closed, Cora caught the last glimpse of her employee and friend sitting inside. He seemed to be lost in his own world.

She closed her eyes suppressing the tears of regret. She felt guilty for lying to him. At least, she should have told him the truth about that night they spent in her bedroom. She should have told him whose name he called in his sleep.

She really got to like Jin Akanishi and hoped that if he believed that he slept with her, it would give her a chance to get closer to him. It was wrong and she would not have a chance to remedy it.