RDR: No Regrets - Chapter 294: So... What’s the Price? (Patreon)

“Hey! Lenny, wake up!”

Inside a pitch-black room, Sean and Lenny, the two unlucky bastards, were tied back-to-back to separate chairs.

Sean was already awake. He struggled desperately against the ropes while trying to wake Lenny behind him.

The gunfire outside was growing more intense.

Sean had no idea what was happening, but whatever it was, he needed to get out of here first.

By now, he had more or less figured out who had done this to them.

His good friend Chet.

That bottle of liquor.

Chet had drugged it.

Sean thought he had treated Chet pretty damn well. He had even suggested to Dutch that Chet join him as a mounted officer.

So why the hell had the man betrayed him?

Sean didn’t understand why Chet had done it, but he intended to find him and get an answer.

He kept struggling, but Chet had been a cop for years. He clearly knew how to tie someone up properly.

After fighting against the ropes for a while, Sean not only failed to loosen them, but somehow managed to make them even tighter.

Frustrated, he felt like slapping himself.

All because he couldn’t resist a damn drink.

“Ugh...”

Just as Sean was wallowing in regret, a groan came from behind him.

Sean immediately perked up.

“Lenny! Lenny, are you awake?”

“Stop shouting... I’m so tired...”

Great.

The poor bastard still hadn’t realized what was going on.

“Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!”

Sean started thrashing around again, then slammed his head backward as hard as he could.

“Ah!”

“Ah!”

Since they were sitting back-to-back, the back of Sean’s head smashed directly into Lenny’s.

Both of them cried out in pain.

At least it worked.

Lenny was wide awake now.

“Huh? What the hell? What happened to us?”

Lenny stared at the ropes around his body, then immediately panicked.

“Sean! Sean! What happened?”

“Quit yelling!”

Sean shook his head helplessly.

“Start thinking of a way out!”

Lenny looked at the ropes binding him from head to toe and groaned.

“What the hell am I supposed to do?”

He had a point.

Tied this tightly, what could he possibly do?

“Hey, feel my ass!”

Sean called out.

“Quick! Right above my ass, behind my waist!”

Lenny nearly lost it.

“If your ass itches, go find Karen when we get back! I’m not some pervert, and I’m sure as hell not interested in you!”

His voice was full of disgust.

He couldn’t believe Sean was apparently that kind of man.

“What the hell are you thinking?!”

Sean was speechless.

“I’ve got a little dagger hidden behind my waist!”

“A... dagger?”

“Yeah! A small dagger. For emergencies!”

“Why the hell would you hide it there?”

“Isn’t it obvious? For exactly this kind of situation!”

Sean had hidden the small dagger at his waist, but with his hands tied to the chair, he couldn’t reach it himself.

Lenny wasn’t having much luck either.

He struggled for ages, twisting his arm as far as he could.

“Ah!”

Lenny suddenly sucked in a sharp breath.

“Did you get it?” Sean asked excitedly.

“No. My hand cramped up...”

“...”

“Come on, keep trying. Once you get that dagger, we can get the hell out of here.”

Sean tried to encourage him.

“I know you can do it!”

“I’m trying!”

BANG!

The door suddenly flew open.

A figure appeared in the doorway.

Sean and Lenny both jumped, nearly shouting out loud.

Sean turned his head.

It was Chet.

His good friend was standing there with a bottle of liquor in his hand, already thoroughly drunk.

Chet looked at the two men tied tightly to their chairs and sighed.

“Stop struggling. Those knots are tied tight. You’re not getting out of them.”

He raised the bottle, took a long drink, then dragged over a chair and sat in front of Sean.

“Hey, buddy. Isn’t there some kind of misunderstanding here?”

Sean discreetly moved the few fingers he could still control, signaling Lenny to keep trying.

At the same time, he kept talking to Chet, doing his best to hold his attention.

“Uh... I know I can be kind of... well... whatever. If I ever did something that pissed you off, don’t take it too personally, all right?”

Chet stared coldly at Sean without saying a word.

“Come on, buddy. What the hell do you want?”

Sean was running out of things to say and finally sounded almost resigned.

“Money.”

“What?”

Chet answered coldly.

“One thousand dollars, and a small house in East Boston.”

“That’s what they offered me.”

“Can you match that?”

“Can the Van der Linde Gang?”

The corner of Sean’s mouth twitched.

One thousand dollars was one thing.

It was a lot of money, sure, but not completely out of reach.

But the house in East Boston...

Chet took another drink.

“I’ve wanted to leave this place since I was a kid. Leave this... godforsaken place.”

“But I couldn’t.”

“Family. Blood. Money.”

“Those things kept me trapped here. They tied me down so tightly I could never get away.”

“Now I finally have a chance.”

“So I’m sorry, my friend.”

Chet drained the bottle, then hurled it against the floor.

The glass shattered instantly.

“You’ve treated me well. And our friendship was real.”

“So I’m not going to kill either of you.”

“This place is safe. Stay here until everything is over.”

“When the time comes, I’ll find a chance to let you go. After that, you can leave on your own.”

With that, Chet stood and headed for the door.

“Ah!”

Just as he reached it, Lenny suddenly lunged forward from behind and wrapped both arms around him.

There was a small dagger in his hand.

“Heh. Didn’t expect us to have another trick up our sleeve, did you, you bastard?”

Lenny tightened his grip.

“Talk! Who told you to do this?”

Chet immediately began struggling.

He had been a cop for years. He was strong, well-built, and knew how to fight.

Lenny alone could barely restrain him.

Even with Lenny’s arm tightening around his neck, Chet raised his right arm, bent his elbow, and drove it hard into Lenny’s chest.

The blow nearly knocked the breath out of him.

Lenny’s grip loosened instinctively.

Chet seized Lenny’s arm, spun around, lifted his leg, and prepared to kick him square in the chest.

If that kick landed cleanly, Lenny would be in serious trouble.

“STOP!”

Sean’s roar filled the room.

Chet froze instinctively.

He looked toward Sean.

Sean was holding a revolver.

“Buddy, betrayal definitely has its rewards.”

Sean slowly cocked the revolver, staring directly at Chet.

“But have you thought about what betrayal costs?”

Looking at the murderous expression on Sean’s face, Chet finally remembered something.

These men weren’t harmless.

Sean might be loud, flashy, and constantly running his mouth.

But underneath all that, he was still a ruthless outlaw who had killed more people than Chet could count.

As if already knowing how this would end, Chet slowly closed his eyes.