RDR: No Regrets - Chapter 292: Chaos (Patreon)

Gunfire erupted across the town, and bodies began piling up everywhere.

There were far more gunmen lying in ambush than Dutch had ever imagined.

At Allen Cornwall’s signal, every member of Cornwall Group’s private force opened fire indiscriminately.

Almost immediately, seven or eight elite marksmen positioned in the distance pulled their triggers at Dutch.

But Dutch had clearly been expecting it.

The instant he heard the first gunshot, he leaped from the podium.

In the blink of an eye, he disappeared into the crowd.

The square was already in complete chaos, and the gunmen quickly lost track of him. With Dutch gone from sight, they turned their weapons toward the rioting townspeople, as well as Javier and Bill, who were directing the resistance up ahead.

But Javier and Bill were both seasoned outlaws.

They immediately found cover, drew their weapons, and began trading fire with the attackers.

Hidden among the crowd, Dutch watched more and more gunmen pouring in from every direction.

His expression was grim.

No one could tell what he was thinking.

“Dutch! Dutch!”

John, who had already left, suddenly came back.

The moment he spotted Dutch in the crowd, he forced his way over.

“Dutch, we have to get out of here!”

John looked around.

More enemies were arriving by the minute, and no one knew how many more Pinkerton agents were still on their way.

“There are too many of them. These... these people aren’t going to hold out much longer.”

John stared at the townspeople falling one after another in front of him, his expression shaken.

“You... we shouldn’t have...”

He was right.

The townspeople couldn’t protect them for long.

And as the man who had started all of this, Dutch knew that better than anyone.

The only reason these foolish people had dared charge forward was because he had worked them into a frenzy.

Bullets would sober them up quickly enough.

And once they were dead, they certainly wouldn’t have a choice.

Three minutes.

At most, three minutes.

Probably not even that long.

Once fear took over, the crowd would completely collapse.

Watching people die one after another, John could barely stomach it.

They had always called themselves outlaws with principles, men who robbed the rich and helped the poor.

But now...

John felt sick inside.

Dutch didn’t answer him.

Instead, he grabbed John by the collar.

“Why are you still here?”

“What?”

John stared at him blankly.

He didn’t understand.

“You should be protecting your wife and son!”

Dutch roared over the gunfire.

“I’ll keep these people occupied! I don’t care what I have to do!”

“And you! Right now! Get the hell out of here! Protect your wife and your boy! Protect Hosea! Protect everyone else!”

“But... but...”

John hesitated, glancing at the chaos around them as if he still wanted to argue.

Dutch cut him off.

“You’re a woman’s husband and a child’s father. Right now, you need to do your duty!”

Dutch grabbed John by the collar and shoved him backward.

“Get the hell out of here! Protect your family!”

“I’ll hold them off, then I’ll meet up with all of you safely!”

“Go!”

Seeing the absolute conviction in Dutch’s face, John stared at him for a long moment.

Then he turned and left.

John had never been one to agonize over decisions.

If Dutch said he would hold them off and come back safely, John believed him.

Just as he had believed him all these years.

“Javier! Bill!”

After sending John away, Dutch used the crowd as cover and pushed toward the front.

He shouted to his two men again.

“Keep attacking! Hold them here! Buy the others enough time to get out!”

By now, many innocent townspeople had already died.

In just a short span of time, at least twenty or thirty bodies lay scattered across the square in Rhodes, while many more wounded people writhed on the ground, screaming in pain.

Barely more than a month after the last disaster, Rhodes was being devastated all over again.

Javier and Bill hastily rallied what remained of the Rhodes police force, along with several armed townspeople who were still willing to fight.

Together, they managed to block the Pinkertons’ main force at a street leading into the square.

By now, both sides were fighting with blind fury.

Following Allen Cornwall’s orders, Cornwall’s gunmen and the Pinkertons began killing and looting throughout the town.

Compared to what the Lemoyne Raiders had done not long ago, these supposed agents of law and order were proving every bit as vicious, if not worse.

The badly mauled people of Rhodes finally began fighting back.

The last time they had faced the Lemoyne Raiders, they had been too frightened to resist.

They had hidden inside their homes, trembling and waiting for someone else to come save them.

This time, Dutch’s rallying cry had given them enough courage to fight.

But just as John had said, how long would that courage last?

No one knew.

For now, at least, this hastily assembled mob had managed to hold the Pinkertons on the street in front of the square.

Gun barrels repeatedly appeared from windows on both sides of the street.

Whenever an opportunity presented itself, someone would fire a shot at the Pinkertons fighting below.

The complicated battle left the Pinkertons, who had always considered themselves the righteous side, completely bewildered.

They couldn’t understand how a straightforward arrest operation had turned into this.

Before setting out, they had assembled forces from the Braithwaite family, the Pinkertons, Cornwall’s security forces, and even several bounty hunters.

Together, the four groups numbered somewhere between three and four hundred men.

That was enough manpower to fight a small battle.

Where the hell had these townspeople found the courage to resist them?

It made no sense.

But no one was more baffled than Allen Cornwall, who stood watching from a tall building.

The young master had gone through his entire life getting whatever he wanted.

No one had ever dealt him a humiliation like this before.

And as far as Allen Cornwall was concerned, failing to gain an advantage was already the same as losing.

Worse still, he had carefully designed this entire operation and arrived brimming with confidence, expecting to enjoy watching Dutch make a fool of himself.

Yet before his plan could even properly begin, a few words from Dutch had thrown everything into chaos.

Then Dutch had somehow incited the common people, whom Allen regarded as little better than stupid livestock, into turning against him.

To Allen, it was an unbearable humiliation.

“Send everyone in!”

“I want Dutch Van der Linde’s head brought to me as quickly as possible!”

Seeing the attack stall, Allen never once considered pulling his men back and reorganizing.

Instead, he continued demanding that they press harder.

Milton finally couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Mr. Allen, with all due respect, I think we should...”

“If you already know you’re going to ask for my forgiveness, then don’t bother saying anything.”

Allen coldly cut him off and gave him a sideways glance.

“Tell your men that if I don’t see Dutch’s head within half an hour, I’ll bring in the State Guard!”

In America, each state maintained its own armed forces in addition to the federal military.

Texas, for example, was famous for the strength of its state forces.

And if regular troops were sent into a situation like this, the scale of the fighting would change completely.

Compared to trained soldiers, even the Pinkertons and Cornwall’s gunmen would seem far less intimidating.

Simply put, once the State Guard became involved, Rhodes could easily be devastated, and whether anyone made it through the fighting alive would be left to chance.

Milton wanted to keep arguing, but Ross, standing behind him, tugged hard at his coat.

Milton understood perfectly well.

Trying to reason with this enraged young master was pointless.

All it would accomplish was offending their largest financial backer.

But...

Milton turned and looked outside.

His eyes passed over the bodies scattered across the square.

He clenched his teeth.

Ignoring his deputy’s attempt to stop him, he stepped forward once again.