RDR: NO REGRETS - Chapter 334: The Plan Moves Forward (Patreon)

Of course, Stephen had not come up with all of that on his own. He was hardly a master at manipulating people.

Hosea and Michael had worked out those arguments together, then coached Stephen on how to deliver them.

In fact, Stephen still had a small slip of paper hidden in his palm, a cheat sheet Hosea had prepared for him.

However, Stephen might truly have a natural talent for persuasion. He barely used the cheat sheet at all. After all, once the right emotional tone was set, the rest fell into place much more easily.

With Kevin, the local insider, on board, Stephen’s plan quickly took shape.

With ample manpower, there was a great deal they could accomplish.

Just as they were finalizing their plan, Charles and Sadie returned.

Naturally, they didn’t come back empty-handed. They were dragging four people along with them.

Charles tossed the four men, trussed up from head to toe, onto the floor. “These four were trying to get out and warn someone. A few civilians tried to run too, but we sent them back.”

“Very good.”

Charles was as reliable as ever. That was exactly why Stephen had put him on the outskirts of town.

Although there were several roads leading out of town, Stephen clearly didn’t think these guys were smart enough to take a detour.

As for the civilians who tried to flee, honestly, let them go if they want to.

Although the West was sparsely populated, large numbers of immigrants poured in from all over the world every year. As long as it was safe here and there was money to be made, there would never be a shortage of people.

Tumbleweed was also close to the border, with Mexico not far away. When the time came, Stephen was confident he could find plenty of young, strong laborers there.

After all, that was how Juan had ended up here.

And since neither Stephen nor Kevin cared about race, Stephen had no problem welcoming Native Americans and Black people into the town.

Of course, it would be even better if they could attract a large number of Chinese immigrants.

But that’s getting ahead of ourselves. Stephen walked slowly over to the four men, crouched down, and took a good look at them.

“Mayor Kevin, come take a look and see which of these men has elderly parents or young children to support,” Stephen said, turning to Kevin.

“I’m not the mayor yet.”

“You are, starting right now.”

Although Kevin said this, Stephen could tell he was secretly a little excited.

Power. Who did not like having a little of it?

Kevin didn’t argue further and seemed to accept the reality.

Kevin looked over the four men, then nudged one with his boot. “This one. His father owns the general store, and he's got a wife and a son.”

“The other three are bachelors. Town loafers who spend all day doing nothing.”

“Very well, Juan, drag these three out and shoot them.”

Stephen called Juan, who had been standing guard outside the door, inside. Just as he had addressed Kevin as “mayor,” it was clear he now considered himself the sheriff.

Kevin didn’t seem to find anything wrong with this either. Just as Stephen had said, they were all in this together now.

Juan struggled to drag the three men out one by one. With each one he dragged out, a gunshot rang out from outside.

The last man left was shaking like a leaf. Every shot fired outside felt as if it were hitting him. By the time the third shot rang out, he had completely broken down.

Unfortunately, Charles had gagged him tightly, so he could only make muffled grunting noises.

“I’m going to calm the townspeople down. I’ll leave this place to you.”

Kevin called out to Stephen, then put on his hat and turned to leave the sheriff's office.

Just as Stephen had said, the sheriff's office was now his territory.

“Sadie, take this guy to Michael. He’ll know what to do.”

Stephen gave the man a kick. A stream of yellow liquid immediately spread from his trousers, making Stephen jump back in surprise.

The guy had actually wet himself out of fear.

“As you command, Mr. Sheriff.”

Sadie gave Stephen a wildly exaggerated salute, then dragged the guy out with a look of disgust on her face.

Thinking he was about to die, the guy began struggling violently, leaving a huge puddle on the sheriff's office floor.

It has to be said, the flow was quite substantial...

Stephen pinched his nose and hurried to open the front door. The smell was awful.

“Charles, Mayor Kevin told us he’s sheltered forty or fifty starving, freezing, and critically ill Black farmers at an abandoned estate up north.”

Next up were those Black farmers. While they might not be able to take up arms on the battlefield, they’d certainly be useful for odd jobs.

Moreover, these people had endured extraordinary hardship. With food, care, and fair treatment, they could become trusted members of the group.

They had survived conditions that would have broken many people.

Hearing Stephen’s words, Charles understood immediately. At the thought of his fellow people suffering from hunger and cold, his expression instantly darkened. “I understand. I’ll bring them back.”

“You’d better take Mr. Seth with you and have him bring plenty of food. I’m sure those brothers are starving.”

Seth had spent years around the port, and he was a pastor on top of that. He knew how to calm frightened people and win their trust.

In fact, according to Michael, it was Seth who had initially scouted out the candidates for his Black gunmen before presenting them to Michael.

After all, as someone under surveillance and confined, Michael didn’t have much time or freedom to handle these matters himself.

Charles understood this, of course. Clearly, compared to the taciturn Charles, Seth was better suited for these tasks.

Moreover, Stephen believed that, thanks to the “efforts” of Seth and Michael, these men would soon be on his side.

Stephen pulled out some money and pressed it into Charles's hand. “Pick up some clothes and medicine in town too. They'll need them.”

Charles looked at the bills in his hand and nodded firmly. “I understand.”

He reached out and gave Stephen a light punch on the chest. Men did not need many words for things like this.

No sooner had Charles stepped outside than Juan walked in. “Boss, what about those three out there? Should we just bury them, or hang them at the town entrance?”

This was an old Western tradition: the most vicious criminals were hanged at the town entrance to serve as a deterrent to others.

But Stephen had no need for that. Now was not the time to flaunt his power.

“Don’t worry about them. I have a job for you.”

Stephen pulled a letter from his bag and shoved it into Juan’s hand. “Head back to camp right away and give these two letters to John.”

“Remember, give them only to John, and make sure only he reads them!”

Stephen’s tone was very serious. Juan understood the gravity of the situation and nodded firmly. “Got it. I’ll go right away.”

To win the upcoming defensive battle, he needed as many men as possible.

John, Andre, and the others were indispensable. John alone was a killing machine, and even Andre's men were competent gunmen.

Clearly, Stephen was preparing to pull off something big.

Of the two letters given to John, one outlined their upcoming operation plan, designed to support their defense of the town.

The other detailed their retreat route.

The operation plan was simple: John was to lead Andre and his men in providing support from the outskirts. It was straightforward, and he was confident John would execute the mission flawlessly.

The second letter contained the retreat route. If the situation became hopeless or something went badly wrong, John was to kill Andre and his men, then get the elderly and children out as quickly as possible.

He had already decided on the evacuation location: the Tall Trees area in West Elizabeth.

That place was rarely visited by people. It was a primeval forest and an excellent hiding spot.

As for taking out Andre, that was, of course, for the sake of everyone’s safety.

Although they were all on the same side now, who knew what might happen while they were fleeing for their lives.

The Van der Linde Gang would not abandon the others halfway through an escape and run to the law, but Stephen could not say the same for Andre's men. He was not willing to leave them beside a group of elderly people and women who could barely defend themselves.

These plans were, of course, not Stephen’s whim alone, but the result of a detailed morning-long discussion with Hosea.

Compared to Stephen’s plan, Hosea’s suggestions were even more radical. He even wanted to take Stephen straight to Fort Mercer and take it down.

In his words, they should sneak in when it was late at night and quiet, plant bombs all around, and just blow those people to smithereens.

Stephen had to talk the unusually excited Hosea down. Only then did he realize the old man still had plenty of fire in him.

No wonder he got along so well with Dutch back in the day.

Stephen had no intention of using a plan that extreme. They could not afford to lose people, and more importantly, they currently held the initiative.

Charles had already intercepted all the messengers sent back to report the news, and as for the other townspeople, that was left to Kevin. He was confident Kevin could handle it.

So, to sum it up, the Del Lobo Gang wouldn’t discover their men were dead anytime soon.

The reason they left one man alive was precisely so he could return at the right moment to deliver the message and lure the Del Lobo Gang to the right location.

A graveyard carefully prepared for the members of the Del Lobo Gang.

What they needed most was time. The longer they could delay the Del Lobo Gang's retaliation, the more thoroughly they could prepare.

...

While things were in full swing on Stephen’s end, the atmosphere over at Arthur’s was extremely tense.

He carefully took an ornate pocket watch from inside his coat, a trophy from Van Horn.

It was now 12:48 a.m. In 12 minutes, they would launch their attack.

Their target was right in front of them.

The estate of an Italian mob boss named Angelo Bronte.

According to Dutch, Leviticus Cornwall and Molly were currently inside that estate.

In fact, based on the intelligence they’d gathered, tonight was their last chance. Once the sun rose, Molly would be transferred to a ship and sent to Sisika Prison.

Bronte's estate sat right on the lake. From there, a boat could sail directly to the island prison.

Arthur, Dutch, and the others all agreed that there was no way they could use the small wooden boat he was standing on to first catch up to a motorized armored vessel, then storm the ship and rescue Molly.

God only knew how many men would be aboard by then.

So they had no choice but to act tonight.

The plan was simple: Dutch and Javier would go in first and take out as many guards as possible without making a sound.

They’d take out as many as they could until they were discovered.

Once the gunfire started, they’d hold off as many people as possible, allowing Arthur, Bill, and Sean to rush in quickly.

Their targets were the two bigwigs, Cornwall and Bronte.

As long as they could capture these two as hostages, the rest would be much easier to handle.

Whether they used them to exchange for Molly or as human shields to make their escape, the upper hand would be in their hands.

“Remember, we're not here to kill everyone. We're here to capture people and rescue Molly. Got it?”

Arthur turned to look at the three behind him and said, “Sean, Bill, you two stay right on my heels. I won’t have time to turn back and save you when the time comes.”

“Oh, I'm not some useless little thug. I'll show them what I can do!”

Sean pursed his lips and said sarcastically, “As for you, you’re getting old and your legs aren’t what they used to be. Why don’t you leave the charging to me?”

That was Sean for you. The more serious things got, the more he talked. Arthur could not be bothered to answer.

He turned to Bill. “So, are your bombs ready?”

“Don’t worry, nothing will go wrong.”

Bill answered in his muffled voice. “A dozen or so bundles of dynamite, plus seven or eight Molotov cocktails. More than enough to give those bastards a nasty surprise.”

That much explosives would be enough to raze this place to the ground.

Arthur nodded in satisfaction. Although Bill was a bit slow, he was at least much more reliable than Sean.

“Karen, stay hidden here and don't go anywhere. This boat is our only way out. You have to guard it.”

Bronte and Cornwall were both men of enormous influence. One was an underworld king, the other an emperor of capital. Arthur had no idea why the two got along so well, but one thing was obvious.

That is, no matter which of them came to harm, it would send the entire city of Saint Denis into an uproar.

He was certain that when that happened, the city’s lawmen, the mob, and Cornwall’s personal guard would all rush here, so they couldn’t retreat by land.

Only the boat beneath their feet could get them out safely.

They had to steer this small boat as fast as possible into the treacherous Black Marshes, then mount their horses and ride north.

Of course, Dutch had already scouted out a retreat location: the Van Horn Estate, where Arthur and Sean had been.

It was close to Van Horn Trading Post. The place was crowded and full of gossip, but all sorts of people passed through, and there were no lawmen. That made it a good place to disappear.

Moreover, it was already within the borders of New Hanover. As soon as they crossed the state line, the lawmen would withdraw, significantly easing the pressure on them.

If all else failed, they could head straight into the sparsely populated state of Ambarino, where those foolish lawmen would never be able to find them.

If they rescued Molly and killed Cornwall, the wealthy backer funding the Pinkertons' hunt, then in Dutch's mind they would finally be safe.

Of course, all of this was what Dutch had told Arthur, and Arthur thought Dutch was being a bit too optimistic.

But they were already here. All Arthur could do now was take things one step at a time.

Hearing Arthur’s orders, Karen furrowed her brow.

She was clearly a bit dissatisfied with Arthur’s plan, but she just pursed her lips and said nothing.

She was a strong-willed person who’d always believed she was every bit as capable as any man. Back at the camp, she’d been the only female combatant besides Sadie.

She’d even taken turns standing guard with a rifle or gone out with the group to hunt and raid.

But she knew full well that now wasn’t the time to be stubborn.

“It’s about time. Dutch and Javier should have already started their operation.”

Arthur glanced down at his pocket watch again. It was already 1:00. Dutch and the others must have already made their move.

“Get ready. As soon as you hear gunfire, follow me.”

Arthur, Sean, and Bill immediately got into position, while Karen slowly backed away to the side of the small boat.

Second by second, time ticked away. Even battle-hardened Arthur and Bill were starting to feel a bit nervous.

Sean, meanwhile, could not stop moving his mouth. He seemed to be muttering nonsense under his breath.

No one knew where Dutch and Javier were, what the situation was like, or whether the operation was going smoothly.

Arthur felt a bit nervous too. Truth be told, no matter how much Dutch had argued, he still didn’t fully agree with this plan.

But there was nothing he could do. When Dutch brought up the whole “we can’t abandon our comrades” line of reasoning, even Arthur couldn’t argue with that.

They already had nothing left. If they abandoned their comrades too, what would they have left?