(F/N) was sitting down next to Karen, the two were doing what else, drinking. (F/N) took a large swig of his beer, "I agree with you there, she is pretty bad."
Karen laughed, she leaned forward, "Just pretty bad? She's horrible. I tell you, (F/N), if I hear that voice one more time, so help me god, I will throttle her myself."
(F/N) laughed as Karen did an impression of Miss Grimshaw, "Miss Jones! Go do some more work!"
(F/N) finished off his beer, he looked around to make sure the camp dragon wasn't anywhere near them, "Yeah...after all these years, I'm still scared of her."
The tipsy woman smirked at the gunslinger, "(F/N) (L/N), the man I robbed a bank with is afraid of a forty something-year-old woman?"
(F/N) shook his head, he had known her a lot longer, "She's a demon."
The two shared a laugh, unfortunately, Molly heard them laughing and decided it was about her, "I hear you two laughing at me!"
(F/N) stopped laughing and looked at the woman, he was put off by her already, "We weren't laughing at you."
The Irishwoman stormed over to them, Karen looked at (F/N), and loudly whispered, "I kind of was."
Molly glared at the drinker, "What is your problem, you little strumpet?"
(F/N) shook his head and moved away, he wanted nothing to do with this, Karen surprisingly kept her cool, "Please go away."
(F/N) slowly got up as the other woman only got angrier, "What is your problem?"
Karen rolled her eyes, and poked at her, "I got lots of problems...mostly I drink too much, with (F/N). No wonder you're angry, it's more than you get with him."
Karen pointed at (F/N), he backed away some more, he didn't want any part of her rage, "You can leave me out of this."
Molly's mouth was open, in disbelief that she was being disrespected, "And what is that supposed to mean?"
Karen got off the ground and turned to the wagon, she winked at (F/N), "It means go away, I was having fun before you showed up. Maybe that's why you're so angry because it was with him."
(F/N) bit his lip and took a few more steps back but the Irish woman didn't take her attention off Karen, "Just who do you think you are saying them things about me?"
Karen sighed and turned away from her, "I'm the dumb strumpet. Now get lost."
(F/N) had never seen Molly so angry, "Look at me!"
Karen didn't turn around or even acknowledge her, the Irishwoman walked right up to her and grabbed the woman by the arm, "Look at me, you little..."
(F/N)'s eyes widened when Molly slapped her, he was about to step in until Karen got angry and clenched her fists, "Damn you!"
(F/N) was even more shocked when he saw Karen punch Molly right in the chin, that was a good punch. The stuck-up woman grabbed her face in pain, she moaned slightly. Karen didn't stay calm, and pointed in the opposite direction, "And you be careful before you hit me again, you goddamn moron."
Molly shot Karen one last look and ran off, most likely to go sulk somewhere, she yelled after her, "Dutch or no Dutch, you'll be up there with the angels playing harp before sunset. You hear me?"
(F/N) chuckled slightly, he was still in shock, "Good punch."
Karen smirked as (F/N) walked off, "I didn't want to go for her eyes just yet."
(F/N) sighed as he left her, she was one of the most fun people he knew. He sighed and decided to get back to it. The gunslinger headed to Dutch's tent. He wanted to tell him about the situation with Trelawny, and that everything was fine. (F/N) smiled when he saw Dutch with his back to him, in his tent he was talking to Arthur and Pearson.
(F/N)'s smile faded when he saw Micah, also talking to Dutch. The young outlaw wanted nothing to do with his father, so he turned around, and started heading back to his tent, he would tell him later. Unfortunately, the asshole saw him and pointed him out to Dutch, the gang's leader spoke up, "(F/N), son. I need you for something."
(F/N) sighed and clenched his fists, he slowly turned around and started walking over to his tent. If Dutch hadn't asked (F/N) wouldn't have come, he was still angry. As he walked over Micah smiled at him, and kept kissing ass, "Good call, Dutch. I think we do need a fourth man for this. You're so good at making these calls."
Micah looked at Pearson, his demeanor changed, he was clearly impatient, "Go on, fat man."
Pearson shot Micah a look but the smile on his face didn't fade, as he continued on with his story, "As I was saying, I met a couple of O'Driscoll boys on the way into town. It was about to get ugly. But you know how I am in a fight." The middle-aged, balding, fat Pearson, pulled out a knife, "Like a cornered tiger!"
(F/N) laughed at Pearson's comparison, but he quickly, realized no one else was laughing soon enough. The gunslinger scratched his neck awkwardly as the camp cook sheathed his knife, "Anyway, it didn't get ugly, instead we got to talking. And they suggested a parley, to end things like gentlemen."
(F/N) laughed even louder than before, at the thought of Colm O'Driscoll acting gentlemanly. Dutch found the idea even more laughable, and upsetting, "Gentleman? Colm O'Driscoll?"
The gang's leader had an angry look on his face, he took a few steps forward, Micah and Pearson backed up, Dutch saw right through it, "Have you lost your minds?"
Micah went back to his usual flattering ways, "You're always telling us Dutch do what has to be done, but don't fight wars ain't worth fighting."
(F/N) was about to state the obvious, but Hosea who was sitting a couple of feet away, reading a paper, beat him to it, he didn't even look up from his paper, "They want a parley? It's a trap."
(F/N) pointed at Hosea, he knew what it was and he wasn't even listening. The gunslinger couldn't believe he even had to explain this, "There's gonna be an army of O'Driscolls there, ready to kill us."
Micah scoffed at (F/N), as if he was the crazy one, "Of course, it's probably a trap. But what have we got to lose finding out?"
Arthur answered that question, "Get shot."
(F/N) added on, this was crazy, "Or get Captured, tortured, and killed, to be honest staying at war would probably have less chance of death."
Dutch nodded as he looked at the two men, then back at Micah. The asshole shook his head and spoke in a calm tone, "We won't be any of those things. Because (F/N) here will be protecting us."
Micah put his arm on (F/N)'s shoulder, he immediately threw it off and brushed his jacket with his hand. Dutch shook his head, and walked out into the middle of camp, the sane part in him spoke, "I don't see the point in all of this."
Dutch paused to look at (F/N), then sighed there was sadness in his voice, "I killed Colm's brother, a long time ago. Then he killed...my Anabelle. I loved her dearly."
Micah smiled, as he kept trying to convince him, "Dutch you're the wisest fella I know. So I know you can see why this is worth taking the risk."
Dutch sighed then looked at the ground, he eventually looked back up, a newfound strength in his eyes, "Let's do this."
(F/N) groaned, as Dutch pointed to Arthur and Micah, he knew this wasn't a good idea, "You'll both ride with me."
Then Dutch turned to the young gunslinger, "Son, I know you have your doubts about this. But I would feel a hell of a lot safer, with you watching over us."
(F/N) sighed, as he looked at the man with a plan, "I'll go...begrudgingly."
Dutch laughed, and slapped him on the shoulder, "You don't even know what that word means."
The gang's leader looked at them all, "Let's ride," as the three men started to walk away, Pearson yelled out, "What about me?"
Dutch glanced back at him, "This ain't the time for tigers, my friend."
(F/N) walked next to Dutch and Micah, Arthur stayed behind for a moment then muttered, "Fine."
He quickly caught up to (F/N), and spoke softly, "When we get to the horses, don't take off just yet, I gotta give you something."
(F/N) nodded, he did as he was told and stopped before he could get on Bullseye, "What is it?"
Arthur walked over to his horse, then pulled something out of his horse's saddle, Arthur threw whatever he had pulled out over Boadecia. (F/N) caught it, his eyes widened in surprise, it turned out to be Arthur's old rolling block rifle. (F/N) spent a couple of seconds just staring at it, "You're trusting me with your long scoped rifle?"
Arthur smiled as he mounted his horse, "It's not mine anymore, it's yours now. I got a new one."
(F/N) smiled, he almost forgot what to say, "Well...I just wanna say thank..."
Micah interrupted, "Are you two women finished? Or do Dutch and I have to go alone?"
(F/N) grumbled as he saddled up, he felt his blood warming, "Don't push me Micah or you might find yourself on the other end of the barrel."
Micah smiled, and poked at him, "Oh I can see the killer in you now."
(F/N) stored the rifle in Bullseye's saddle, he clenched the reins a little too tight, he didn't want to be holding a gun. Micah led the way out of camp, a large grin on his face. Dutch sighed as he rode next to (F/N), he started reflecting over the past, "You know, I've been fighting Colm for so long now...I can hardly remember a time when it was different."
Arthur being the voice of reason, added, "You're still fighting him now, make no mistake of that."
Micah scoffed at Arthur, "Here he goes again Doubting Thomas, is there any plan you ain't sour on?"
(F/N) nodded, he kept a straight face as he spoke, "He's right about that Arthur, you do seem to have a problem with everything, nowadays."
The aged gunslinger sighed, "Maybe you're right. I guess I'm just nervous."
Micah laughed, "Not doing this is what should make you nervous. We have Pinkertons coming after us. Then we got Leviticus Cornwall and his private army. And who knows when this hillbilly gold thing will come to head, hm? Can we really afford to be fighting the O'Driscolls on all these fronts?"
Dutch nodded, he smiled at his words, "There is wisdom in that."
Arthur shook his head, "I know that, but I'm still nervous. I don't want the boy getting shot."
Micah laughed, and smirked at him, as they rode into the heartlands, "He won't even be in danger, he'll be in a nice perch with that rifle. If he keeps a cool head we should be fine."
(F/N) sighed, he looked around at the high cliffs and tall grass, as he agreed to be the sniper, "Fine, as long as you all keep calm, we'll all be alright."
Dutch smiled at him, "Oh I know we'll be fine, we got you."
(F/N) smirked, as his ego got even bigger, "I will do my best."
Dutch kept talking, "Oh my son, with you by my side. I would walk through an army of Pinkertons." Micah turned his head slightly, and spoke in an overly dramatic voice, "As would I."
(F/N) rolled his eyes as Micah lied, he was about to say something incredibly witty, but his father pointed ahead, up on a tall ridge there was a group of men on horseback, "Up there, there are men. Looks like they're O'Driscolls."
Arthur grimaced, as he followed his gaze, "I don't like having eyes on us."
(F/N) tried to put light on the situation, "You don't like anything."
Arthur scoffed, as he was attacked, "I'm sorry if I'm just trying to be careful."
Micah butted into the conversation, as they kept rode slowly, "Maybe, they're right Dutch. Maybe I pushed too hard. Got us into situations...that could have been safer. I just see all those mouths we gotta feed, and I...dream too big. Caring too much that's my problem."
(F/N) was certain Dutch would pick up on the utter shit Micah was telling him. But to his surprise, the gang's leader shook his head, as he fell for it, "Caring too much? There's no such thing."
Arthur wasn't so easily fooled, "That's a load of shit, from both of you."
Dutch shook his head, (F/N) noticed he had that weird dreamy expression on his face as he spoke, "It might be! Micah might be full of shit. Colm might be full of shit! The promise of this great nation, men created equal, liberty, and justice for all might be full of shit. But it's worth a try. Because the day we stop trying, is the day this country truly dies. Can't you see that friend?"
Arthur sighed, as Dutch spoke wisely, "I don't know."
Dutch sighed as well, "Try. Be like (F/N) and try, that's all I ask."
(F/N) looked at him, then Micah added, "Alright, this is where we part ways, you find a spot where you can get a clear view of the plane. Watch our backs now, boy."
The young outlaw didn't say anything, he slowly started riding upward, Arthur yelled after him, "No matter how this plays out, we should all meet back at the fork in the road."
(F/N) snapped the reins, and nodded, he watched as the other men left him, he hoped nothing happened to Dutch or Arthur, he didn't give a damn about Micah. It was easy enough to find a spot, the canyon was full of them. (F/N) quickly tethered Bullseye to a nearby tree so he wouldn't bolt, it was more than likely a trap, so bullets were gonna be flying, everywhere.
(F/N) grabbed his new rolling block rifle off of Bullseye's saddle, he walked right over to the edge of his spot. This was gonna be good, he looked down at the plane, sure enough, he could see three familiar horses heading to the middle, he could see Dutch was leading Arthur and Micah. As they all dismounted, (F/N) looked across the landscape, sure enough, three horses were riding up to them ominously. (F/N) looked down the rifle's scope at the horse that was leading the other two. He couldn't see through the scope that well, but he could see the arrogant grin, it was Colm O'Driscoll no doubt about it.
(F/N) was tempted to shoot him now, but Dutch would kill him so he stayed his hand. (F/N) took slow breaths as Colm got off his horse and walked over to Dutch. This was gonna be interesting to see play out.
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Arthur looked up at the top of the cliff, even he had to admit, Micah was right to put (F/N) up there. He was a good shooter but a terrible negotiator, if the leader of the O'Driscolls said a mean thing (F/N) would blow his head off. He turned his attention back to Colm, Dutch was walking up to him, both of them were keeping their hands on their weapons, both were ready to shoot the other. Colm smiled, his two lackeys stayed back, "Hello, Dutch...it's been a while."
Dutch nodded and took his hands off his guns, he kept a straight face, "Sure."
Colm put his hands to his side, his shit-eating grin only grew, "So...how's your gang doing? I heard that kid, (F/N) got pretty famous after that ferry job you pulled. He still believing in ya? How bout the rest of your gang? Better world...pure world, hmm? How's that coming along?"
Arthur tensed up when he used (F/N)'s name, Micah smirked as if he had a feeling something was gonna happen. Arthur ignored it, hoping he was just acting confident. Dutch looked at Colm, a look of hatred was written all over his face as he replied, "Just fine."
Colm mirrored his expression, as he moved on, "How's that score you stole off us?"
Dutch smiled, "Which one?"
Colm gave a dry laugh and looked back at his boys, "Oh, I like that. It's like I said, this is a charismatic leader," Colm turned back to Dutch, an odd smile was on his face, "There's a lot of heat on us this time."
The leader of they O'Driscolls looked at the ground, "A whole heap of trouble, for both of us. You know they offered me a price to bring you in Dutch."
Dutch's smile vanished, as he realized there might be more than O'Driscolls waiting to kill them, "Why didn't you take it?"
Colm shrugged, as he looked back at him, "Well...I still might."
The man with a plan sighed, it was evident he wanted to get out of here, "I am...sorry about your brother."
Colm walked closer to Dutch, "Yeah, well I never liked him much."
Dutch took a deep breath, "I...liked...Anabelle."
Colm smiled, a dark expression appeared on his face, "You always liked the ladies Dutch van der Linde. I like that about you."
Dutch took a deep breath and gritted his teeth, "What are we doing here Colm? Is this thing over."
Arthur tensed up as Colm got a really odd smile. He was about to say something but suddenly there was a loud gunshot from on top of the canyon.
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(F/N) was aiming between Micah's legs, if hell broke loose that was the first place he was shooting. Of course, he had a really, really small target. (F/N) sighed, this was boring, he wished Colm would just give him a reason to shoot him already. This was hell though, maybe that's what hell was, him waiting for something to happen. Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him, he slowly put his rifle down. (F/N) turned around just in time to see an O'Driscoll ram the butt of his rifle right into his face, and he immediatley saw stars. (F/N) pulled the trigger on the rifle before everything went black.
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When (F/N) awoke he knew he was in trouble. His head was throbbing and there was a bunch of O'Driscoll's standing over him. One O'Driscoll slapped him across the face, the gunslinger groaned, as one of them smiled, "Hello, sugar."
Another O'Driscoll stomped on his arm, (F/N) let out a muffled cry, pain was flaring through his body, "You ain't dead is you?"
Another O'Driscoll kicked him in the stomach, (F/N) launched into a coughing fit, he was so weak he could barely move, "Not yet anyway." All of the O'Driscoll's started pounding the shit out of him.
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Arthur rode into camp, his face was red, he was so angry he couldn't believe it. The moment he jumped off his horse he was on Micah, shouting, "WHAT THE HELL WAS YOU THINKING?"
Micah hopped off his horse, Baylock, and put his hands up defensively, he didn't take any responsibility for what had happend, "I wanted to take the risk cowpoke. The good outweighed the bad. Unfortunately, we got the bad."
Arthur gritted his teeth, and jabbed a finger in his face, "If they kill that boy," the aged gunslinger shook his head he didn't even want to consider the possibility, "That's on your head!"
Dutch walked up, and spoke in a slightly irratated voice, "Arthur, calm down for a minute, they only grabbed (F/N) to get to me. If they kill him they lose all leverage."
Arthur looked at the other man desperatley, "We still need to get him back, Dutch."
Dutch nodded, that crazy look in his eyes returned yet again, he turned to Micah, "This is all your fault. I went against my better judgment because I trusted you. And now I'm down a man. You better pray to God he makes it out alright, or you won't either."
Micah nodded, he was suddenly full of remorse, "I'm sorry boss, really I am. But I thought the boy could handle himself. And I thought they would be focused on us, not him."
Dutch groaned and stormed off, "Now I have to think of a plan to save the him"
Arthur shook his head and stormed back to his tent, he ran his hands through his greasy short brown hair. He couldn't deal with Micah, what the hell had he been thinking? As soon as he made it back to his tent he hit the side of his wagon. Pain flared through his hand but he was so angry he ignored it. Before he could yell in pain, a voice spoke up from behind him, "What happened? Where's (F/N)?"
Arthur turned and saw Mary-Beth, his anger faded slightly, he looked at her bright blue eyes, they were scared, but not for her, for him. Arthur shook his head, and didn't beat around the bush, "Colm O'Driscoll caught him."
Mary-Beth put her hands to her mouth, Arthur could tell she was trying not to think the worst, "Is he..."
Arthur shook his head, immediately he went to council her, "No, we think he's still alive."
The woman nodded, and looked at the ground, she was obviously trying to those kinds of thoughts out of her head, "That's good. Still...the O'Driscolls. If they kill him...I wish I could have told him, how I fell about him."
Arthur walked up to the woman and held her hand, "Hey you look at me."
Mary-Beth did as told, she had tears in her eyes, he cleared his throat, "Did he tell you the story about his momma?"
Mary-Beth nodded, Arthur smiled, "The only other people who know that are me and Dutch. He cares for all of us very much. He cares about you to, in his own way. And I'm sure he knows you care for him."
The sad woman smiled, as she nodded, "Thank you, Arthur."
Arthur nodded, "And this is (F/N) (L/N) we're talking about, he's probably giving them hell right now."
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(F/N) slowly woke up, his head still hurt like hell. The whole world was spinning and seemed to be shades of multiple colors. To add on, his entire body also hurt, from the beating those O'Driscoll thugs had given him. (F/N) could hear the echoing voices of O'Driscolls talking, he didn't have the strength to stand so he listened in. One of the O'Driscolls spoke with a thick Irish accent, "Handing him over to the law, it's I don't know...strange times."
Another O'Driscoll spoke up, he had less sympathy, "They killed Seamus, fuck the whole lot of them. This fella right here is Van der Linde's prized pet, Colm's right, we can draw them all back."
(F/N)'s eyes widened, once he realized he was just bait, they weren't going to kill him. O'Driscoll number three spoke up, "Once Van der Linde 'finds out' where we are they'll all come right into Colm's trap. Once the law catches them all, then they'll forget about us and we'll be free as birds."
(F/N) mustered what little strength he had left and slowly pushed himself into a standing position. He had to warn Dutch, he needed to go. (F/N) was wobbling and jogging with a limp, his head was bobbing around and he had to fight the urge to go to sleep. But he was going as fast as he could, his body wouldn't let him go faster, the world was spinning. (F/N) was certain he might throw up. His fears of puking were quickly sidelined when he heard one of the O'Driscolls casually say, "The boys escaping."
O'Driscoll with the Irish accent laughed, he casually got up and aimed a gun at him, "I got him."
(F/N) felt a bullet graze past his leg, it didn't hit anything important, but it still hurt like hell. (F/N) fell to the ground, he was gasping for air, grabbing his leg, the side of his leg was bleeding. The group of O'Driscolls walked up to him, laughing, "You dead yet?"
(F/N) kept breathing, he groaned and gave the only response he could, "Yes."
One of the O'Driscolls laughed, "Well I guess this won't hurt one bit."
The O'Driscoll put a double-barrelled shotgun right on (F/N)'s shoulder, one of the hammers was pulled back, the gunslinger's heart rate picked up, he tried desperately to stop him, "Wait. No!"
The O'Driscoll pulled the trigger, there was a large bang, and pain flared through his entire body. He got shot, he got shot, he couldn't believe it. (F/N) passed out from the pain, there was a large bloody hole in his shoulder, as the O'Driscoll's laughed at him. There was one thing he knew for sure, he was gonna die, and he hoped it happened soon.