RDR: NO REGRETS - Chapter 298: A Desperate Situation (Patreon)

Rhodes was finished.

Arthur moved cautiously through the streets, his blood running cold at the sight of bodies strewn everywhere.

Compared to outlaws like them, the so-called detectives and landowners who claimed to represent justice had done far more damage to the town.

The detectives and gunmen had completely cast off all restraint. They were going from house to house, looting whatever they could find and shooting anyone who dared resist.

The anguished screams of women and children rang out from the surrounding homes from time to time.

Rhodes had become a living hell.

As far as these men were concerned, this looting was a perfectly “legal” operation.

That was no exaggeration. Afterward, all they had to do was blame everything on the Van der Linde Gang.

And the truth?

Other than the people suffering through it, who would care?

Officials and the media were all dogs of the capitalists anyway. Who would dare cause trouble for their masters?

Even if, ten or twenty years from now, some “fearless” journalist or brave soul exposed what had really happened, what difference would it make?

After all, even the courts belonged to the capitalists.

More than once, Arthur wanted to draw his gun and teach these animals a lesson.

But every time he thought of Dutch and the others, whose whereabouts were still unknown, he forced himself to turn away.

There was too much injustice in the world.

With only one man and one gun, even if he risked everything to help, how many people could he really save?

Arthur carefully slipped through the alley ahead, then headed straight for the square to the east.

“Hold on a little longer, Dutch.”

Arthur silently prayed that Dutch could last until he got there.

He had no idea how many men were surrounding Dutch, but it certainly wouldn’t be a small number.

Still, he had to go.

If he didn’t, then he wouldn’t be Arthur Morgan.

“Bang!”

“I’ll kill you, you son of a bitch!”

Suddenly, the front door of a house ahead burst open, and a man and woman came tumbling outside, grappling with each other.

Arthur’s first instinct was to stay away.

He didn’t have time to get involved.

But then something about the woman struck him as familiar.

He looked again.

Wasn’t that Karen, the one who had gone missing?

Arthur’s eyes widened.

Karen was clearly starting to lose the fight, so he rushed forward, drew his dagger, and drove it twice into the man’s back.

The man cried out in agony.

Arthur showed no mercy.

He ripped the dagger free and stabbed again.

After another three or four vicious thrusts, the man finally stopped moving.

“Arthur?”

Karen had been about to thank him, only to suddenly realize who was standing in front of her.

Her eyes widened in surprise.

“What are you doing here? Where is everyone else?”

“Now’s not the time for that.”

They had made quite a commotion, and it had clearly drawn the attention of the other detectives.

Even as Arthur spoke, he could already hear approaching footsteps.

“We need to get out of here. If they surround us, we’re in trouble.”

“Come with me!”

Karen grabbed Arthur by the wrist and dragged him into a nearby house.

It was a fairly nice two-story home, filled with all kinds of furniture.

Or at least, it had been.

Now the furniture lay smashed across the floor, and anything worth taking had already been looted.

Karen seemed to know the place well.

Still holding Arthur’s wrist, she led him straight toward the back of the house.

At the very end was a bedroom.

Karen pulled Arthur inside and shut the door behind them.

“I’ll admit, it’s a nice bedroom.”

Arthur looked at her suspiciously. “But I don’t think this is the best time for that.”

The footsteps outside were getting closer, accompanied by angry curses.

The men investigating the disturbance had obviously found their companion’s body and were searching the area.

“What, you think they won’t find us if we hide under the blankets?”

“Fuck, would you shut up?”

Karen swore at him, then yanked the bedsheet aside.

“Get in!”

She beckoned Arthur over, then immediately climbed underneath.

Arthur crouched down and peered inside.

Only then did he discover a hidden space beneath the bed.

“Well, I’ll be damned.”

Arthur stared in surprise, then quickly followed Karen inside.

The moment he got in, he regretted it.

The space was tiny.

It wasn’t really a basement at all, just a shallow pit beneath the floor, obviously made by the owner to hide valuables.

Arthur and Karen were both fairly large, so fitting the two of them inside was already difficult enough.

Arthur was so tall that he had to stay half crouched just to keep his head below the opening.

Karen picked up a wooden board beside her and handed it to him.

“Quick. You’re taller, so you hold this up.”

Arthur took it and immediately understood.

The board was meant to conceal the opening.

There was nothing more to say.

With the footsteps drawing closer, Arthur quickly raised the board into place.

“Bang!”

The door upstairs was violently kicked open.

A moment later, hurried footsteps filled the house.

Arthur and Karen held their breath.

The cramped hiding place became deathly silent.

They could practically hear each other’s hearts pounding.

Arthur tightened his grip on his pistol.

If those men found them, he would fire immediately.

“Anyone in here? I could’ve sworn I heard voices.”

“You heard wrong. Nobody’s here.”

“Then where did those troublemakers go?”

“Hell if I know. Probably ran off.”

“Want to check somewhere else?”

“Come on. That bastard was just unlucky.”

The voices gradually faded.

Only then did Arthur and Karen finally breathe again.

“How did you know this was here? You know this place pretty well.”

Now that they were temporarily safe, Arthur holstered his pistol and looked at Karen.

“Sir, before we talk about that, can we get out of here first?”

Karen gave him an exasperated look.

The hiding place really was far too small.

Arthur and Karen were practically pressed against each other.

It wasn’t as though nothing had ever happened between them before, but this was obviously neither the time nor the place.

And it was damn uncomfortable.

Arthur grabbed the edge of the opening, pushed off with his legs, and hauled himself out.

Then he turned around and pulled Karen up after him.

The moment she was out, Karen walked straight to the nightstand, opened the drawer, and took out two handguns.

“This is my home.”

“What?”

“I said, this is my home.”

Seeing Arthur’s disbelief, Karen repeated herself.

Then she slowly explained, “Sean and I have had our eyes on this place for a long time...”

“Sean became a mounted policeman, so he’ll have a steady paycheck every month now. We borrowed some money from the others in the gang and rented this place.”

Karen sat heavily on the edge of the bed, covered her face with her hands, and spoke in a low voice.

“We were even planning to save up enough to buy it someday...”

“Then get married in this house. Maybe even have a child...”

Arthur’s lips moved, but no words came out.

His chest felt tight.

A good life had seemed so close for all of them.

And then...

Maybe it had never really belonged to people like them in the first place.

“Damn it...”

Only then did Arthur understand.

Karen hadn’t gotten lost.

She had come back here on her own.

She couldn’t bear to abandon this place.

“Then why were you fighting that bastard? You could’ve just hidden down there.”

Karen rubbed her face hard, then snapped irritably, “That son of a bitch was going to burn my house down!”

“You think I was going to let him do that?”

Fair enough.

Knowing Karen’s temper, there was no way she could have ignored something like that.

“So what are you going to do now?”

Arthur pulled over a chair, sat across from Karen, and briefly explained the situation.

“I don’t mind you staying here. Being out there alone is too dangerous. But...”

Running was obviously the best option.

But where could Karen run?

Stephen and the others might already have left.

And even if they hadn’t, there was no guarantee Karen could make it out of town by herself.

Arthur fell silent.

For once, he couldn’t think of a good solution.

“I’m coming with you to save them.”

Karen didn’t hesitate for even a second.

“If Sean is there, then I’m going to get him!”

As far as Karen was concerned, there was no decision to make.

“But... it’s dangerous as hell over there!”

“And it isn’t dangerous here?”

Karen answered without hesitation.

“If it comes to that, I’d rather die with him!”

“And don’t underestimate me. I’m not some helpless little princess. I’m a fighter.”

Karen raised both revolvers and smoothly spun them around her fingers before slipping them neatly into the holsters at her waist.

Seeing the determination in her eyes, Arthur knew there was no talking her out of it.

“Damn... all right. Stay with me.”

“Come on. We need to reach the square first. I heard gunfire coming from there just a little while ago. Dutch and the others might still be there.”

Now that the decision had been made, Arthur didn’t waste any more time.

He opened a nearby window and cautiously leaned out to check the street.

There were noticeably fewer detectives and gunmen outside now.

Apparently, most of them had already found places they wanted to loot.

The gunfire coming from the square in the distance was also becoming less frequent.

Arthur frowned.

“Then let’s go. I saw something on my way here. I’m pretty sure it’ll help us.”

Karen pointed toward a building farther down the street.

“Right there.”

“What is it?”

“You’ll see when we get there. Trust me, you’re going to like it.”

...

“Dutch Van der Linde!”

“You’ve got nowhere left to run!”

“Surrender!”

“Surrender now, and you can still save the lives of these loyal men of yours!”

“Can you really stand there and watch the men who’ve remained loyal to you die?”

“And what about this woman? Think about it!”

“Bang!”

The man calling for their surrender had barely finished speaking when a bullet punched straight through his skull.

“Looks like these bastards intend to fight to the bitter end.”

Allen stared at his dead subordinate, the vicious look on his face growing even colder.

“Mr. Cornwall, should we keep pressing the attack?”

Milton hesitated.

“This... this church is extremely solid. We’ve already lost a lot of men...”

He wasn’t wrong.

The church was built entirely of brick and stone, far too solid for bullets to penetrate.

Even the main doors were made from heavy solid wood.

To make the church look grander, the doors had even been covered with a layer of sheet metal and painted dark gold.

Bullets striking them left little more than dents.

They had even resorted to explosives to force their way inside.

With machine guns and explosives working together, they had finally managed to destroy the thick doors and break into the church.

But the members of the Van der Linde Gang inside fought like ghosts.

Every man they sent in died.

By now, they had already lost twenty or thirty men.

Milton no longer dared order another charge.

Their casualties had gone far beyond anything they had expected.

Neither the Pinkertons nor the Cornwall guards were government troops.

They were private forces.

The medical expenses and compensation for the dead and wounded alone would already amount to an astronomical sum.

Worse, casualties this severe had driven morale to rock bottom.

And with noise constantly coming from the town nearby, most of these men were more interested in getting into Rhodes and filling their own pockets.

Fortunately, Dutch and the others were already trapped here.

Quite a few lesser members of the gang had escaped, but that hardly mattered.

As long as they captured Dutch, they would still have something to show their superiors.

“Rest for ten minutes, then storm the place again!”

Allen couldn’t care less how many casualties there were.

He wasn’t the one dying.

He turned toward the gunmen behind him and shouted, “Whoever captures Dutch Van der Linde gets five thousand dollars!”

The enormous reward immediately breathed new life into the exhausted gunmen.

Five thousand dollars.

That was more money than most of them could earn in an entire lifetime.

The men straightened up at once, their fighting spirit restored.

Watching them suddenly come alive again, Allen smiled contemptuously.

Any problem that could be solved with money wasn’t really a problem.

“By the way, what should we do with Dutch’s woman?”

Milton asked, “It looks like things weren’t quite the way she claimed. Dutch clearly doesn’t care that much about her.”

Milton was obviously talking about Molly.

“Do whatever you want with her. I have no interest in a foolish woman like that.”

Allen waved dismissively.

“I’m going to rest. Hopefully you’ll have some good news for me afterward.”

With that, he turned and walked toward a nearby tent.

Even under these conditions, his men had managed to prepare a comfortable one for him.

An expensive rug had been laid directly over the muddy ground, with a coffee table and sofa placed on top.

Allen sat gracefully on the sofa.

An attendant immediately stepped forward and poured warm tea into the cup in front of him.

Allen lifted the cup, took one sip, then spat it straight back out.

The clear tea splashed across the expensive rug.

The attendant beside him immediately went pale, unable to understand what he had done to anger his master.

“Trash.”

“Just like this town.”

Allen looked toward the smoke rising over Rhodes in the distance and curled his lip in contempt.

“I want something to drink. Wine.”

Compared to Allen and his life of luxury, Dutch and the others were already close to the end of their rope.

“How much ammunition do you have left?”

Dutch looked at the few rounds remaining in his possession and forced himself to sound calm.

“Not much.”

“Maybe a dozen rounds.”

“I’m already out...”

They had been short on equipment to begin with.

After fighting for so long, they had almost completely run out of ammunition and supplies.

They didn’t even have any water left.

They could hold this position for a while longer.

But they had no way out.

In truth, Dutch and the others could have escaped earlier.

Molly had cost Dutch that opportunity.

By the time Dutch finally made up his mind to leave her behind, the Pinkertons had already surrounded the church.

Now there was nowhere left to go.

“At least Hosea and the others made it out, right?”

Dutch forced a faint smile.

“At least we protected our families. I’m sure they’re safe now.”

“If... if any of you are afraid, you can surrender. I won’t blame you.”

Dutch raised his head and looked seriously at the four men in front of him.

Bill, Lenny, Sean, and Javier.

“I’m grateful you stayed with me this far. I mean that...”

“Dutch! We’re not abandoning you.”

Bill shouted, “Are you questioning our loyalty?”

Javier sounded offended as well.

“We’ve already come this far, and you’re still saying things like that?”

“I... I just don’t want all of you dying because of me...”

“They only want me.”

For once, Dutch sounded defeated.

It was impossible not to feel discouraged.

That very morning, he had been the heroic mayor admired by everyone.

By afternoon, everything had fallen apart, and he was once again surrounded by enemies on all sides.

Dutch suddenly felt exhausted.

He remembered what the man outside had just shouted.

Could he really stand by and let the people who had remained loyal to him die?

“We’re not leaving you.”

Even Sean, who normally treated everything like a joke, had lost his usual grin.

“Don’t even think about getting rid of us.”

“We still have a chance, don’t we?”

Lenny frowned at the grim mood around him and spoke quietly.

“These people have to eat and rest too. If we can hold out until dark, I think we’ll find an opening.”

“And it’s already evening. It’ll be dark soon, right?”

Lenny’s words seemed to snap everyone out of their despair.

Dutch quickly pulled out his pocket watch.

Without anyone realizing it, the time had already passed five in the afternoon.

If they could hold out until nightfall, they still had a chance.

A very good one.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

They were still discussing it when gunfire erupted outside once again.

“All right. Looks like those bastards aren’t going to politely wait for nightfall.”

Dutch raised his pistol again, painfully aware of how little ammunition remained.

“Let them get closer before we fire. That way, we might be able to get our hands on some more ammunition.”

“Then we hold until dark.”