RDR: NO REGRETS - Chapter 311: The World Turned Upside Down (Patreon)

People actually came here to buy the gold?

"Who comes to buy it?"

Stephen asked curiously, "Aren't they afraid the Del Lobo Gang will kill them and steal everything?"

Even for gold, that seemed awfully bold.

"Wealthy merchants from Blackwater."

Kevin pointed toward the railroad tracks not far from the door. "They come once a month by train, with plenty of bodyguards traveling with them."

"And just like you said, the Del Lobo Gang has tried going after them."

"Once, they gathered forty or fifty men and tried to rob one of the trains that came to buy the gold."

"Unfortunately for them, the train was heavily guarded. They lost several men and still couldn't take it, so after that, they gave up trying to rob them by force."

"Besides, if they killed all the buyers, who would they sell their gold to?"

So even the Del Lobo Gang understood the idea of sustainable business.

Gold might be valuable, but that was all it was. Valuable.

You couldn't eat it or drink it. If nobody was willing to buy it, it was nothing more than a pile of pretty rocks.

Stephen nodded thoughtfully. It seemed the Del Lobo Gang had someone clever working behind the scenes.

A sustainable way to bleed the place dry. Interesting.

"But I doubt that's the whole story."

Stephen thought for a moment, then smiled at Kevin. "As the only sheriff who survived, didn't you make some kind of deal with them?"

The room suddenly went quiet.

Stephen knew he'd probably hit the mark.

After all, if Kevin hadn't made some kind of agreement with the Del Lobo Gang, why would they leave him alive? Why let someone who openly hated them remain sheriff?

Why not just kill him and find someone obedient in Tumbleweed to replace him?

That would be much easier.

Kevin simply stared at Stephen with his huge, bulging eyes and said nothing.

The sheriff's office fell completely silent. The hot coffee on the table gradually cooled, a thin wisp of steam drifting upward before fading away.

The wind outside grew stronger.

Sand whipped up by the gale rattled against the front door, sounding almost violent enough to tear the building apart.

"Haa..."

Kevin rubbed his head and spoke in a low voice.

"You're a smart man."

"That's right. I've always thought so."

Stephen wasn't modest in the slightest.

"So you sold out the town?"

"Bang!"

"I didn't! I'd kill every last one of them right now if I could!"

Kevin slammed both hands onto the table. Coffee splashed across the sheets of drawing paper beside him, spreading into dark brown stains.

He glared viciously at Stephen.

"No matter what happens, I will never betray this town!"

Stephen said nothing, merely watching Kevin with curiosity.

Kevin suddenly seemed to lose all his strength and collapsed back into his chair.

He covered his face with both hands, his voice carrying the faint hint of a sob.

"I... I didn't have a choice. I had to keep this town alive."

"They told me that if I refused their terms, they'd kill everyone here."

Kevin leaned his head back, his entire body going limp in the chair.

"I'm not afraid to die, but I can't drag all those innocent townspeople down with me."

"So you had no choice but to agree to those Del Lobo bastards' demands. Keep order in Tumbleweed and provide them with whatever supplies they need?"

Stephen sighed.

"You really haven't had it easy."

If everything Kevin had said was true, then the man really had been dealt a terrible hand.

"So you'd better get out of here while you can. If the Del Lobo Gang shows up, I won't be able to protect you."

Kevin took a deep breath, forced himself to his feet, and walked toward the cage.

"I'll take care of this guy. He won't get a chance to talk."

"What about you?"

"Me? I don't care anymore. They won't kill me. They still need someone to keep order in Tumbleweed."

Kevin opened the iron cage and kicked One-Eye over onto his back. Then he pulled a dagger from behind his waist and drove it straight into One-Eye's throat.

One-Eye's remaining eye widened in shock. He clearly hadn't expected to die here.

He collapsed onto the floor, his body twitching involuntarily a few times before going still.

Clean and quick.

This guy was ruthless.

"Pah! Bastard!"

Kevin spat on One-Eye's corpse and gritted his teeth.

"One day, I'm going to kill every last one of them."

Stephen watched Kevin's swift, decisive movements with interest.

"You killed him. Won't the Del Lobo Gang come after you for that?"

"Come after me?"

Kevin pulled out his dagger and wiped it clean with a handkerchief.

"No. I didn't kill him. You did."

"You wanted the bounty, but when you found out I couldn't pay, you killed him instead."

"I couldn't stop you by myself, so I had no choice but to let you leave."

Kevin tucked the dagger back behind his waist and looked at Stephen, who was watching him with an amused half smile.

"I'll draw your face for them too, then tell them to hunt you down."

"Trust me, I'm pretty good at drawing, especially portraits. In fact, I've always drawn the wanted posters here in Tumbleweed."

"So get the hell out of here and stop causing me trouble."

Kevin opened the door and made it clear that Stephen was no longer welcome.

"Believe me, I might be a lot more ruthless than the Del Lobo Gang."

Stephen stood up and walked toward the door, resting a hand on the brim of his cowboy hat as he smiled at Kevin.

"Maybe I can help you deal with the Del Lobo Gang."

Deal with the Del Lobo Gang?

Was this guy joking?

Kevin scoffed.

"Cut the crap. You and your friend? Just the two of you?"

"I don't want to see innocent people die, even strangers like you."

"And why should I trust you? You think you can just say a few words and I'll lead everyone in Tumbleweed into a fight to the death with the Del Lobo Gang?"

"Clop, clop, clop."

As they spoke, John returned in the wagon.

Stephen turned and saw that it was loaded to the brim. Apparently, John had managed to buy everything he wanted.

"See? I told you my friend was good at talking to people."

Stephen replied without answering Kevin's question.

"All right. I'm leaving."

"If you need anything, send a letter to the saloon in Armadillo. I'll be staying there for a while."

With that, Stephen turned and walked out of the sheriff's office.

Kevin watched the two men disappear into the distance, his expression shifting constantly.

"So what are you planning to do?"

John drove the wagon quickly out of Tumbleweed, then turned onto the main road toward Armadillo.

Given the situation, spending the night in Tumbleweed was clearly a bad idea. If the Del Lobo Gang surrounded them there, things would become much harder to handle.

The townspeople were innocent. If a fight broke out in Tumbleweed, there would inevitably be casualties.

They had already brought trouble to more than enough towns along the way. It was about time they learned from it.

Besides, if they were going to fight the Del Lobo Gang, they should be the ones choosing the battlefield.

Why fight on the enemy's home turf?

"We'll take it one step at a time."

Stephen lowered his head and closed his eyes, seemingly deep in thought.

John glanced over at him. Stephen looked like he was about to fall asleep, and it irritated him.

"You were in there with him forever. What the hell did you two talk about?"

"I just listened to him tell me a story."

Stephen spoke lazily.

"A... pretty good story."

He briefly explained what Kevin had told him, and John finally nodded in understanding.

"I see. Sounds like this Del Lobo Gang isn't going to be easy to deal with."

"But do you believe what Kevin told you?"

"I don't know. But maybe there's something we can do in Tumbleweed."

Stephen spoke slowly.

"All the wealthy people have fled. The only authority left is one sheriff, and he's completely on his own. If we can find a way to deal with the Del Lobo Gang, maybe we could settle down there."

"You sure about that?"

John looked at him suspiciously.

"Dutch said the same thing back in Rhodes."

What happened in Rhodes had left John deeply wary of plans like this.

"Don't worry. I'll think it through."

"Until everything is settled, until I'm sure we can actually succeed, I'm not taking any risks."

Stephen wasn't a reckless gambler like Dutch. He had no interest in betting everything on one hand.

"Man, we can't afford another disaster."

John's voice grew somber.

"We've already lost several people along the way, and now even Dutch and Arthur are missing."

"We can't even go looking for them."

Nobody knew what was happening over in Lemoyne, and Stephen didn't dare send any letters. They hadn't received anything that looked like it might have come from Dutch or the others either.

There was no telling whether sending a letter would bring Dutch to their door or the Pinkertons.

"Still, New Austin has one advantage. There are barely any lawmen out here."

Stephen sounded almost relieved.

"Tumbleweed hardly has any, and even Armadillo doesn't have many."

"Aside from a few mines way out west, this place is dirt poor."

Remote, poor, and sparsely populated.

It was perfect for hiding.

"If you need help, just say so."

John looked at Stephen seriously.

"We're partners, aren't we?"

"Of course."

...

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Even though Stephen and John had been gone for quite some time, Tumbleweed remained deathly silent.

The three sudden gunshots echoed across the town and seemed to linger in the night for a long time before finally fading.

It was already late, yet not a single house in Tumbleweed had a light burning. Even the saloon was completely dark.

Everyone in Tumbleweed knew what those gunshots meant.

Doors and windows were quickly shut tight as families hid together wherever they felt safest, trembling in fear.

The only light in the entire town came from outside the sheriff's office near the edge of Tumbleweed.

A lone man stood in the middle of the street holding a dim lantern.

As the echoes of the gunshots faded, the rapid pounding of hooves approached from the distance.

The man standing there was Kevin, the sheriff of Tumbleweed.

Under circumstances like these, he was the only person in the entire town willing to stand outside.

His dark skin was difficult to make out in the night, but the lantern in his hand cast enough light to illuminate a small patch of ground in front of him.

The hoofbeats grew louder.

Kevin didn't move.

"Whoa!"

The horse stopped directly in front of him.

Kevin stared grimly at the heavily armed bandit before him.

"Well, if it isn't the famous Hansen. What brings you into Tumbleweed today?"

Kevin's words were polite, but his tone was thick with sarcasm.

"Kevin, my good sheriff."

The man called Hansen sat high in the saddle, grinning down at Kevin.

"I heard somebody killed members of the Del Lobo Gang."

"And I heard they even captured one of our men and brought him here. Is that true?"

There was no respect whatsoever in Hansen's voice.

As far as he was concerned, this so called sheriff wasn't even worth one of his own men.

Kevin nodded calmly.

"It's true. The man they brought in was One-Eyed Eric."

"He tried to rob two men who came to Tumbleweed to buy supplies, and it didn't go his way."

Kevin spoke as casually as if he were chatting with an old friend.

"Fuck, that damn Eric."

"Two men buying supplies? What kind of buyers kill four of our men and capture One-Eye too?"

Hansen cursed.

"Where's One-Eye? Let him out right now!"

A bandit ordering a sheriff to release a prisoner.

What a strange world.

Kevin shook his head.

"He's dead."

"WTF?"

Hansen immediately flew into a rage.

He had never thought much of the one-eyed bastard, but One-Eye was still one of their own. Now he'd suddenly died for no apparent reason.

Furious, Hansen grabbed the rifle hanging from his saddle, worked the action, and pressed the muzzle against Kevin's forehead.

"Fuck! Wasn't he alive when they brought him here? How the hell did he die?"

Kevin stared into the dark muzzle without the slightest change in expression.

He calmly reached up and pushed the barrel aside.

"Those two wanted to collect a bounty for him, but I didn't have any money to pay them, so they killed him."

"WTF? You just stood there and watched them kill him? Are you fucking useless?"

Hansen shouted through clenched teeth.

"Where are those two? Don't tell me you actually let them leave."

"What else was I supposed to do?"

Kevin gave a contemptuous snort.

"I'm no match for them. Both of them are good fighters."

"If I were capable of stopping men like that, I'd have shot you already."

"Fuck, you useless bastard!"

"What the hell can you do besides talk big?"

"Coward!"

Hansen cursed him several more times, but there wasn't much he could actually do to Kevin.

"Where's his body?"

"Inside."

"Take me to him."

"Come on."

Kevin picked up the lantern and turned toward the sheriff's office.

Hansen motioned for his men to wait outside, then followed Kevin in alone.

"Fuck! Useless! You're fucking useless!"

"One-Eye was useless, and so are you!"

"Smack! Thud!"

Almost immediately, shouting and the sounds of a beating erupted from the small sheriff's office.

A bandit barging into the sheriff's office and beating up the sheriff himself.

The whole order of things had been turned upside down.

The Del Lobo Gang henchmen gathered outside burst into loud laughter.

Meanwhile, the townspeople secretly watching from their homes nearby didn't dare make a sound.

All they could do was watch.

A short while later, Hansen emerged from the sheriff's office looking much better after venting his anger.

He pointed at one of his men.

"Go get One-Eye's body. We're taking him back."

"So... we're just letting this go?"

One of his men asked curiously.

"What about those two?"

Hansen swung himself onto his horse, pulled two sheets of paper from inside his coat, and tossed them to his subordinate.

"Come here."

The man hurried over and leaned closer.

Hansen whispered a few instructions into his ear.

"Well? Got it?"

"Got it. I'll go right now!"

The henchman immediately turned his horse around and galloped off into the darkness.

Hansen looked around at the pitch black night and shook his head irritably.

"Come on, boys. Let's find somewhere to have a few drinks!"

"Woohoo!"

"Let's go! Drinks!"

The moment their leader said it, the surrounding gang members erupted into cheers.

The whole group rode straight toward the saloon, which had already shut its doors tight for the night. They smashed the doors open and poured inside.

The owner hid upstairs trembling, but he didn't dare say a word.

He could only let the Del Lobo Gang eat, drink, smash furniture, and run wild downstairs, turning a perfectly decent saloon into a complete wreck.

Back at the sheriff's office, Kevin staggered outside covered in blood.

He looked toward the saloon in the distance and spat a bloody mouthful onto the ground.