outtathedamnway | Open Post

Sadie waited until nightfall and then an hour more to let things settle truly before she rode closer to the jail. She waited a little while longer to make sure things were quiet before she got John's and Arthur's horses and brought them around to the rear of the jail.

With the three of them she was ready to get the boys out of their current pickle. Sadie walked in to find the piece of work deputy on duty as the sheriff had gone home. "Hey there, you look like a parched man."

Ten minutes later Sadie was being escorted back to Morgan's and Marston's cell where the man unlocked it to let them go. She gave them a look to keep quiet as she walked them out.

Not until the hit the wood planks of the porch and she'd lead them to the horses did she speak. "Hosea was right, sometimes a little liquid lubrication works even better than a fist." The bribe of a few beers had worked to get them out.

"Now I suggest we skedaddle before they decide to change their minds."

When it came to it, Arthur knew she'd come. He can't say he has the same reassurance about certain others among their group, lately, so he knew he'd made the right choice there. Sadie has more than proven herself to the gang by this point. He'd been only half dozing, listening intently when he heard some voices, a female among them. He got up, stretched, and then hastily, a bit roughly, shook John awake. They needed to be ready when she came in. "Come on, Marston... We're gettin' the hell out of here."

And high time. Arthur nods in approval as she comes along in to get them free, keeping his mouth shut, and even Marston has the common sense not to aggravate things. He himself doesn't feel like saying much until they're out and headed to the horses. He won't feel they've gotten away, truly, until they leave the town behind them. He's had more than a few situations like this go the wrong way, after all. They're not out of the woods, no, but they're so close.

"Good thinkin'..." He looks over toward Sadie for a moment, "You pull this off, you'll have the distinction of carryin' out a plan that's finally going right for once..." Maybe their luck is turning back around, who knows? It's just he'd gotten so used to everything going all to hell, lately.

Damn right she would, Sadie didn't believe in leaving folks behind. Marston had a family to think about and Arthur, well she had some deep reasons for looking after him. Not the least of which was that he so often looked after and took care of everyone else. He was about due someone taking care of him for a change.

Sadie got them out and brought up the rear just in case something went poorly on the way out. "Hosea's idea, I didn't mention this to Dutch and he said he wouldn't either. Figured that might make this all less of a headache for you two." The old man was a genius and she got the sneaking suspicion he was testing her to see if she could use his own methods as well as he did. It would be like him to do that the sneaky conman.

"You sure you're alright?" She gave her horse some heel to spur her up even with Arthur, taking a moment to look him over in the weak light of the moon overhead.

Arthur likewise slowed a bit to keep pace with Sadie, nodding agreement to what she was saying. If anyone could slip and sneak through a situation like this, it was Hosea. It was something Arthur always admired in the man, the way he could pull off a con job with such ease. He himself tended more toward playing the brute force role, something he did indeed have a knack for. Still. Sometimes a situation called more for a bit more finesse. Something Hosea understood well and that Dutch used to understand... Ah, hell. She probably had caught on well enough by now to the way of things around camp to realize she had really made the right call there.

He glances to John. "Keep an eye out for trouble ahead, Marston."

"Will do!"

They seemed to be in the clear, but one could never be too careful. Arthur patted his horse thoughtfully, taking a glance over toward Sadie. "I'll be fine. With how often I'm the one bustin' others out of trouble, it was probably only a matter of time before I took my turn. Just made a bunch of stupid mistakes, is all." Though, he was running it all through his head and wondering... were they all mistakes on his and John's part, or was there something else going on? That was the part that was troubling him, now. He added, after a bit of quiet, "Can't help but feel like word got out ahead of us. Like someone was tipped off. Things went almost too perfectly wrong."

It wasn't as though John and Arthur were always shining examples of good behavior. They were known for getting into trouble but ore often than not they got themselves out of it too. So when Arthur brought up the idea that there could be more going on than was evident it made a degree of sense.

"You think someone in the gang said something?" She didn't want to believe it but after certain things happened she couldn't afford to not take it seriously. Arthur wasn't given to flights of fancy and she trusted his instincts.

It's definitely not something Arthur would even consider lightly, and he's not even entirely certain. Still, it goes to show even himself how much he trusts Sadie if he's willing to even mention it with her.

"Could be. Could damn well be, but I can't say for sure just yet. Just... keep your guard up, is all I'm sayin'." He sighed a bit, giving his horse another pat and a gentle bit of urging to hurry her up. Right now, he was the most focused on getting some distance from town, and then getting back to camp... or at least find a place to lay low for the night if they couldn't make it that far. "But I know, we've got enough problems goin' on lately... It just feels like we can't catch a break." And that's even despite all of Dutch's constant reassurances that things are bound to improve soon, that one of his plans is going to finally work out. Or maybe because of them, since all it does is get everyone's hopes up too much.

"Yeah, like feelin' breath on the back of your neck or eyes on ya from the dark. She nodded, she understood. There had been something off for the last few months and it had only been getting worse since that bad business in Blackwater. "I'll watch yer back, an keep an eye on the Marstons when I can." Because somehow she knew that his primary concern wouldn't be his own well-being, he was always looking out for others.

Her horse kept pace and she sat a bit straighter in the saddle, a bit more aware than the trail necessarily called for but it didn't feel like the wrong thing to do. "What are you gonna tell Dutch, when we get back I mean. I wanna make sure anything I say is in line with what you will."

"That's just it." Arthur nodded agreement to what she was saying, voicing the concerns that had been troubling him, things he'd think about while up around the fire at night, things he'd until now only pondered about on his own time. He hadn't even yet gotten to putting it in writing, not so sure he ought to. Not just yet, not until his suspicions were more confirmed. But having someone as shrewd as Sadie was proving to be... having her notice, was definitely confirming it more for him.

He looked ahead into the darkness, always watching, keeping an eye out. There were more potential enemies beyond the law lurking out there, so it never did any good to drop your guard. "I appreciate you doin' that... especially for Jack's sake. I know you've shown yourself loyal." Not to menton skilled, able to hold her own. This life was hard and harsh, not for the faint-hearted, after all. "I've got your back just the same, when it comes to it. As for Dutch..." Ah, hell, what was he planning, anyway? He had been thinking about this, though, again, in those quiet moments left to himself. "It's gettin' on time I should tell him... just wanted to be sure. Let me bring this to him first, he'll want to hear it from me." Not to mention, he might listen better to him than most others. Might being the operative word here.

She reached out and laid a hand on his arm, her grip strong even through her gloves and his coat. "There's a few people left in this world that mean something to me, and I look after my own. That includes you." She knew better than to offer any words of kindness or praise of him because, well, a man like Arthur would just push them off.

She gave his arm a squeeze before she pulled back and rested her hand on the saddle horn. She nodded to letting him talk to Dutch. He knew the man, they had a history she didn't share. Not that she wanted to, something about the older man didn't sit right with her. It wasn't that he'd been cruel to her, beyond not letting her ride with them for the longest time, but there was just something in how he talked and acted these days. It felt off and this other feeling that she now knew Arthur too had at the back of his neck, well that just made her doubly concerned.

"Whatever it is, we're aware of it, means we're better prepared."

It's the sort of thing that always catches him off guard, although that in itself isn't actually a bad thing. As she reaches out, makes contact, reminds him of that, Arthur at first isn't too sure how to handle that. He looks away for a moment, a little bit unsure as he lets it sink in. He forgets too often that this whole thing goes both ways. He needs people to have his back, for all that he's always putting himself forth as the one who's got all of theirs. Now more than ever, he has to be sure who he can trust.

He's more than sure he can trust Sadie Adler.

"And we've got to look out for our own," he agrees, that much being especially clear in recent times, what with so many enemies out there coming for them. O'Driscolls, Pinkertons and other lawmen, not to mention all the rabble they run into out on the road. "If... No,when the time comes that we have to move on again, I'll be counting on you. Might be worth starting to scout out a new location soon..." It'll be Dutch's call, mainly, but by now he knows the signs to watch out for, that things are getting less safe for them. "Seems that's how it's going to be, from now on. Can't afford to get too comfortable in any one place."

He pauses a moment. Well. There's always the grand talk of Tahiti, but that's seeming more and more out of reach, these days. For now, they just have to find some way to survive. "I'll talk to Dutch right when we get back."

She sees in Arthur, and John, men she can trust. By extension, Charles and Javier had earned her respect as well. Some in the camp might never get there but she knew who she could trust and who made her gut stir like a nest of rattlers. It wasn't hard to find herself in that position when she'd first arrived. She hadn't really cared enough to trust anyone and had just wanted to die. But Arthur and Abigail looked after her and like they'd both said eventually things got better.

She had a new life now, a new goal, and a purpose. Sure revenge wasn't the best possible goal in life but every time she killed another O'Driscoll her grief got that much lighter. She wasn't proud of it, but she wasn't exactly sad about it either.

"You say the word and we'll ride." She offered her support with those simple words and a nod. Sadie was loyal to those who had earned that from her, and Morgan sure as hell had. "You talk to Dutch, I'll be watchin what's going on round camp. Can't hurt to have another set of eyes watching things."

"Then I'll hold you to it. I'll be countin' on your judgment out there. When the time comes to move on... we've got a lot to consider. A place that's out of the way. Defensible. Easy access to get out, come and go as we need to. You come across anywhere like that, let me know, but I'm sure we can do that scoutin soon." It really can't hurt at all to get an early start, and Arthur is definitely thinking ahead here. They have to. The Pinkertons always seem to already be two steps ahead of them, and they need to get ahead of that. Dutch is usually the one doing that sort of strategizing, and Arthur is more than fine leaving it to him. But right now... things are getting tougher, in ways they haven't been before. He just hopes that Dutch will have some more clear way to deal with things this time. It just feels like it's always getting out of hand, more quickly, these days.

And if he were being completely honest with himself, he thinks Sadie's got better sense than a lot of folk. Maybe it's also that she's relatively new to all of this, she's got a perspective a lot of them don't. Sure as hell a better one than he has in some ways, for as long as he's been in this way of life.

"As for around camp... same there, too. It's always worth staying on guard. Especially when you're camping with a bunch of lowdown thieves and murderers." All of them... except for Jack, of course. He's never had illusions about who and what he is, what they all are, as much as he makes it a point to stick to loyalty above all else.

"Yeah, I think I know what ya mean, much as I like camp it's too open an' accessible in my mind. We had wanderers show up the other day." They needed a place they could secure and easily watch the comings and goings around them. And a place that was large enough to contain them all and all of the animals and wagons.

They were looking to set up their own small community and that wasn't like setting up a tent for a couple of people in the forest. There were more considerations than that. Plus there needed to be nearby resources, water, and food to gather and hunt. They couldn't always rely on going to the nearest town as an option, they needed to be as self-sufficient as possible. It helped when they were working on a score if they weren't as easy to identify if they hadn't been seen all that much.

she chuckled about his feeling on those they shared camp with and nodded about them. "That's what I get fer running with the likes of you all. But I guess I kinda got used ta you all and it'd be an awful lot of work to find a new band to join up with." Her sarcasm was emphasized by her lighting up a smoke with the cigarette between grinning lips.

It's not too surprising, but Arthur narrows his eyes, turning over the possibilities in his mind of who might have started sniffing around the place. Either way, if it's the law, or some gang, O'Driscolls or just some lesser bandits, they've got a lot on their hands to deal with. "Let me know if you see anyone else like that around again. Could be I'd be able to do something about that..." Trail them, interrogate them for answers, something.

At least there was some open country to be found. It's not the same as out further west, where he'd prefer they take it, but... it'll do, for the situation they're in for now. Going back that way is just out of the question.

That even earns a bit of an amused look from Arthur for a moment. "You could've done a lot worse than the likes of us. A hell of a lot better than the likes of us, too, but beggars can't be choosers and all of that. Least we don't smell too bad most of the time, right? Not like an O'Driscoll..."

Saide nodded as they rode, she hadn't brought it up to him before only because it didn't seem to be on anyone else's mind but hers. So she let it drop, now that she knew the feeling in her gut was shared by Arthur she'd keep him informed of what happened when he was frequently out.

She didn't much care where they went so long as it wasn't back in the cold. She'd spent her time there and had no desire to revisit that anytime soon. Or ever again if such was possible.

But there was a smile and she had to pause to just take that in. As good-natured as he was it felt like a rare thing to see him smile, even if it vanished long before his humor did. "Most of ya, ain't so sure about Bill or Uncle. And Kieren, well he just smells like horse most of the time now. And I don't mind that to O'Driscolls stink so much, you can always smell the bastards coming, that way."

It's a rarity indeed, more and more lately, that Arthur has any moment to... just relax, or even let any sort of lighter side come through. It's just easier, anyway, around the rest of them, to be the gruff protector or the brutal defender, and mostly that's what they need. They've all got their main roles and tasks. Lately, he's got to go around doing things like shaking people down for debts, holding up a coach or so, doing whatever it takes to keep them afloat.

"You sure as shit can't ever be sure about Uncle," he says with a roll of his eyes. "But you're right. And you're right about Kieran, too." Arthur hadn't been too sure about him for a good while, at least until he'd proven himself. "There's going to be plenty more of the likes of the O'Driscolls to deal with, not to mention whoever else we've made enemies of... it gets hard to keep track of 'em all after so long..."

"Feels like we just keep pickin' up more an more folk, like stones in my boot. 'cept they ain't just looking to make us wince, these folks want to put us in the ground. O'Drislcolls already hate Dutch and y'all but it feels like it's spreadin'." SHe shook her head, this was just bad all around. When was the last time they even pulled off something successfully?

"Can you recall the last time something went according to plan? Where we didn't lose someone or get someone caught up in a cell or worse?" Because she was feeling hard-pressed to bring one to mind. "I worry sometimes, not 'bout you an John so much. You boys can hold your own. But Karen, Tilly? Mary-Beth? Jack and Abigail? They ain't like," She glanced over at Arthur already expecting him to say something to what she was about to add. "They ain't like us. They're good folk, decent folk." She's a killer and she knows it.

Worrying about the women, and about Jack, is something Arthur does constantly, himself. This lifestyle... it's not for everyone, and he knows it, and once you're in, you're in, no going back, no getting out. When he'd once considered doing that himself... well. It... hadn't worked out. No. They were stuck and had to do whatever they could to keep alive, keep moving on, even when they didn't deserve this. "I know what you mean. They all deserve a lot better than what they've got. Wish there was some way to get 'em off to a better place... Dutch wants that, has wanted to do that for us all, but... well... it just feels like those plans are getting more off track, lately...

"It really does keep feelin' like our luck's run out, somehow, I don't know what you'd call it. We've always gotten by before... maybe times are changing too much, I don't know. It's just not how it used to be."

He pauses for a moment, the only sound the horses' hooves and the wind. "But... I don't know if you're as bad as all that, though." He pauses, trying to gather his thoughts right. "Not the way I am, that is..." Another quick pause. Because alongside that, he's seen her fight, after all. "Not that I ever want to get on your bad side..."

Off-track was one hell of a way to put it, not inaccurate but also pretty damned kind from what she'd seen lately. Dutch wasn't acting like the same man who'd brought her down off that mountain. The one who had stood up for her promised to see her through, felt compassion for her loss. She didn't know what exactly was different but she could see it and feel it. Of course, she was outside all the history of things and she didn't know the man like Arthur or others did. All she knew was her history with him but it troubled her nonetheless.

"Oh we been havin' plenty of luck lately, just the bad sort. Folks getting picked up by the law, run-ins with O'Driscolls an who knows who else, jobs that seem to be comin' too easy only to fall apart in the worst way." It was too much to be considered a coincidence. That was what made her worry.

"You'd have to work real hard to get on my bad side, Arthur." He had been there at her worst moment, he'd stepped between her and Micah right then and there. He'd stood up for her and vouched for her. And he was good company underneath all the bluster and he was a far softer man than he let most people see.

The whole matter with Dutch was troubling, so much so that it was almost too much to wrap his head around. It almost felt easier, sometimes, remembering the way things had always been, all along, and just assuming it'd go back to that. That the same Dutch who'd led them all these years was still in there under these recent failed schemes. He'd always been an idealistic type, always having these grand ideas... only difference was, it had always worked before.

Leading them was Dutch's job, something he'd always just handled. Just as Arthur preferred doing the same, just handling things that are his job to deal with. Go off, go on with the plan, get it done, move on.

"I know one thing, we've got to make our own luck, it's us who've got to turn it around... we can't wait around for that to happen." They can't afford to wait around, ever, not in this life. You have to keep moving, to keep alive.

He glanced over for a moment, getting quiet, thoughtful. Damn it all... just when he thinks he's not about to go and get attached to more people, here it is, happening all over again. It's a rough life, when you've got to fight to get by, when you don't know if your gang, your whole entire family, will make it out, day to day. She understands that, though, and that's good enough for him. "Then I'll try to keep it this way, as best as I can. For what it's worth."

Sadie hadn't been around as long nor gotten in as deeply as Arthur, John or some of the others. She'd had a life she loved before the O'Driscolls took it from her. To her the influence and power Dutch held over the gang was almost disturbing sometimes. She never got that feeling from Hosea, that man was a huckster but an artist about it and kindly to the rest of them.

She didn't figure she'd ever be a permanent fixture for the gang, she just wasn't the type. Too headstrong, too wild maybe. Hell, it might be she was just too damned ornery to belong much of anywhere. Jake had been kind enough to accept and embrace her even with that rough side of her.

Jake had been a man not easy to match, kind and generous and with a softness to him that wasn't weak. She'd never meet another like him she knew that, but ti didn't mean there weren't other good people in the world. One of which was riding right beside her that very moment. John and his family were good people too and she had a fondness for them that surprised her.

"You best keep on my good side, be a shame to have to put you down." Half crazy as she was it might have been hard to tell if she was joking, but the grin wide and sunny as it was that came after made it clear.

Even that earns a bit of a gruff laugh out of him. "I wouldn't want to take my chances, if it ever came to that." He might be the better shot, and has experience to draw on, but she's got a wildness and an intensity that he's not too sure he could match, if it circumstances went a certain way. Then he gets all serious again, thoughtful. While yes, he takes it in jesting, he also at the same time... feels like her judgment is sound, strange as that may seem. After all, there are times where... well. Things need doing that aren't too pleasant to think about, someone double crosses them, or along those lines. Someone needs to be stopped before doing something foolhardy or the like, for the good of the whole gang. "But I'll still trust you to put down any one of us, if it came to that. If it came to a damn good reason for it."

It's been a longer road for Arthur, who really doesn't know any other way of life. Anything else was so long ago and he was so young that it almost doesn't matter. His entire adult life has been in the gang, and his younger adult life was a desperate struggle for survival on the streets. That was what had made it so hard to even just contemplate getting out of it. Even when he had, when he'd wanted... No. Not worth bothering about that now. Point is, he knows he's too far into this to ever get out. But Sadie...

"You've still got a chance. Maybe not anytime soon, it may take some time... but you've still got a chance to get out of all of this, one day. If that's something you want." He'd stand behind her decision, either way, it's just how he is.

"Maybe I'm foolish for thinkin' it, but I kinda this we all got a chance of gettin' outta this. If we choose to." And that was really the crux of it all wasn't it? The choice was there to be made and she knew she could do it. She'd been forged in literal fire and blood into who she was now, she hated what happened but it had made her more formidable.

"Might'a left already if it weren't for, well some of y'all are hard not ta get attached to." She didn't look at him when she said it and she probably didn't have to. She was fond of enough of the people in the gang to want no ill to come to them, the girls were good if sometimes silly women. Javier, Charles, Sean all good men who made her laugh. Kieran even wasn't so bad once he washed the O'Driscoll stink off him, an she admired Hosea as a kindly figure. The Marstons, well as prone as they were to fighting she didn't think she'd seen many with more love between them, it was like that was the only way they knew how to express themselves.

There were others less kindly thought of or less trusted. And then there was Arthur who had told her upfront they were bad men, but they weren't the men who killed her Jake. He was right of course on both counts but also wrong. They weren't bad men, they were just men who did things. Some good, some bad, but just things to survive. Of all of them Morgan had, she thought, the softest heart. But it was as if he didn't realize his own kindness or compassion for his brutality. Sadie had, when it came to him she'd noticed a lot. Granted a lot of what she noticed had come only after the darkness of grief and the scarlet wash of rage had subsided.

"Anyway, life has a way of takin' what plans ya make and turnin' 'em on their ear anyhow. So maybe it's best to prepared for whatever comes." And see what fell and how.

"Maybe some of us have a chance." Arthur won't disagree with that, anyway, because he hopes for Jack's sake, and for Abigail... that they have a chance at getting out of all of this, someday. Ah, hell, and John too, may as well count him in that. They could go off, live their lives out somewhere in a more honest sort of a way as a family. Whatever that entails. If he stops to think about it, it's probably pretty mixed among everyone else, too. Some are just too tied up in this life to ever really leave. He believes it for himself for sure. He'd tried... He's just too far gone to ever find a way out of this. In too deep. It doesn't mean he can't try to help others out of that hole, though. Because that's something he wants, he wants to make sure no one else ends up this way, if he can help it. Maybe he's too much of an awful shit person to be anything better, in his way of seeing things, but... there's hope for others not to end up like him.

Arthur glances over at her. "Can't argue with that. There's folks among us who aren't bad company to have around... Then I guess you learn to get used to Pearson's cooking, and Uncle's complainin'..." Ah, hell, he'll poke at them and make an offhand comment here and there, but at the end of the day... they're his people. They're family. He'd put his life on the line for any of them. Grudgingly for say, Micah, but if it helped their gang on the whole, he'd do it.

He turns his gaze back to the dark landscape around them. "You got that right... nothing's a guarantee. We can't ever afford to get too comfortable. There's always someone out there against us." Sure, he's always respected Dutch being the mastermind with his intricate plans, and it's often worked out... except when it doesn't. And that's when you have to be ready to change those plans, fast.

Arthur would never see himself as deserving or worthy of more than he had, not unless something drastic happened. She wasn't even sure it would work then but she hoped for his sake it would. She sure can pick 'em, one man in the grave and another who would never rest until he was there too.

Sometimes it was to the point of exasperation with the dogged loyalty to a man, a concept that wasn't offering the same to him in re turn. She'd seen how Dutch treated John and Arthur. She didn't care for it one bit but it wasn't her relationship to manage. All she could do was be there to offer a gun hand or kind word or support when it was needed. Truth was that she felt woefully inadequate to do much of any of it aside from fighting.

But she laughed with his comments, he always had a way to spin things, as much as he claimed to not be much of a speaker he had a way with words. Just as he could draw things with such softness and beauty he could use words that would surprise most who saw him as just a brawler. He might be a man built and tempered for fighting but there was an artist in him, she wondered sometimes what he might have been if raised by different hands.

"Good outweighs the bad I suppose. An just talking about it ain't gonna do much to help fix it much." It felt like that, words were all they had when actions were vastly left up to someone else.

Which is definitely some of the problem, it seems... there are times they haven't been able to act as they maybe should have.

"In my own experience, talk only ever goes so far. You gotta act... you always gotta act, sooner or later, and you won't get anywhere if you're too late." Act too late, and you or your companions may all end up dead. Or good as dead, imprisoned, or otherwise in a bad way. He's been there, done that, they all had. Look what happened in Blackwater. Things had been really hanging on a precipice there, it felt like just dangling over a cliff's edge... But Arthur was still, even now, willing to trust in Dutch to see them through. He'd always managed it before.

Sure, lately, there was a lot going wrong, but times had changed, enemies were closing in, it just... wasn't the same anymore. Dutch just... he needed to adapt his plans more, that had to be it. He'd come through in the end, or... well, what, exactly? Dutch, Hosea, they're supposed to be the brains, while he's more than content to be the brawn. Always has been. Or... again, it's what he tells himself as much as he tells others, tells himself and then goes off and overthinks it all anyway, when he gets a quiet moment by himself with his journal by the campfire.

"What we're up against, it's not like it used to be. I for one wish we could get back to more open land, away from all of this..." He waves dismissively toward the direction of the city. If he could spend less time in the cities around these parts, the better.

"I think you could be happy holing up in a cabin somewhere away from the rest of the world and all its people till your final days." Sadie shook her head with humor, but there was some truth to it too. Arthur always seemed ill at ease around people, large groups of them or ones he didn't yet know how to approach.

He was no coward by any means, nor was he antisocial, but she felt like he just personally had little use for the majority of the human race. He made exceptions with the gang, and even then some more specially than others, but by and large if he could eschew the companionship of most people.

This was a family they had built here out of wildly disparate people who came together to support each other, all of those personalities and skills woven together into a strong and cohesive tapestry. He might not see where he fit in, but he was a central thread for all of them. And more and more, Dutch was the one coming apart at the seams.

"But maybe you're right, we could.. should get out of places like this. I just don't know if I see how anything anyone's workin' right now is aimed to get us there."

"Now that sounds like a fine way to live... out on a mountainside, with plenty to hunt and fish... and no one to get in my way..." Maybe he'd stop by the nearest town if he really needed something, but a man could get by pretty much living off what he caught. It was indeed just Arthur's way. Dutch kept talking about Tahiti, but give Arthur some distant place back out west and he'd be perfectly fine. The cities were filled with all kinds of scum worse than anything he'd come across out on the road. Just a hive of desperation and double-crossing. He appreciates the honesty of "shoot or be shot" out in the open country, not... whatever sort of scams they run in town. Awful as he sees himself, even he's got to have some kind of standards.

And when it came to the company he kept... well... he did like it, deep down even want it sometimes, he just preferred being around those he considered to be his own, the gang. He'd even join in around the campfire, some nights when they were talking, singing, whatever it took to pass the time.

Somehow, it all worked for their gang. Somehow, they made it work. But Arthur still saw it as Dutch who held them together, one of their masterminds. Even if lately... well, best not to think too much on it. It was something to puzzle over later, maybe write down a couple of those thoughts, it always seemed he could make more sense out of some things when he wrote it out...

"I don't see it, either, not unless someone's got a damn good lead to go off of in these parts, something to make it worthwhile. Otherwise, we'd just as soon find somewhere else... maybe not so much around the swamps, and not too close to any of the bigger cities... can't really tell the difference between those anyway...one's just as full of gators as the other..."

"Sounds a little quiet for me, I had quiet, and it didn't take." She and Jake had tried, they honestly had. But Colter was a hard place, and it made them hard living there. The winters, the bandits, the damned bears and wolves. Half the time they were scraping just to get by and the rest, well, you can do a lot when you have love and determination driving you.

She'd lost one of those, but she was still determined, too much so if you asked a lot of men, which she didn't. Sadie didn't care overmuch what people said or thought about her. Them that liked her, and she liked got on just fine, and them that didn't either stayed out of her way or they'd end up not bothering her in a permanent sort of way. She wasn't a complex and mysterious woman, everything about her was more or less worn out front.

She liked the gang, most of them anyhow, well enough. Some she had a soft spot for out of just their personality, some had impressed her with their strength and smarts, some were just as stubborn as she was, and she had to like them or hate herself. Arthur was the one who crossed over through all categories, she felt the most at home and at ease with him because she knew full well he wouldn't lie to her, or do something intentionally to hurt her. He was a better man than he ever gave himself credit for, and he'd just shoo her on if she tried. So she didn't, not out loud anyway.

She'd been thinking over that when he made his gator comment and drew a short snort of a laugh from her. "I'd rather deal with the ones in the swamp if I had to choose, least I know what they want."

Where could they go though? The law was still nosing around, there had been enough close calls for that to be apparent. North was cold, and if they decided to turn that way again, she'd go off on her own. She wasn't looking to ever live somewhere so cold again, it made her ache in body and heart.

No, south was really the only way she saw for them to go. East was building up cities faster than she could imagine. And telegraph lines meant they could have some tinstar waiting for them before they even had time to ride from one place to another. No, they would have to head down as far as they could to put miles between them and those that would put them behind bars or worse. If along the way she was able to put a few O'Driscolls in the ground, she'd consider that just a happy coincidence.

"We gotta move and sooner's better'n later for us. Maybe that's the next thing to work on. Just scoutin' out new places and putting an ear to the ground. If we could just get somewhere that we can sit for a bit it'd help." She thought anyway.

"They're honest about wanting to sink their teeth into you out in the swamps. You can't ask for much more than that." You never could be sure with some of the human ones, especially the likes of what you ran across in cities like Saint Denis. So that was one good reason among many why he'd just as soon avoid going there, if they could help it. Laying low meant keeping out of the populated areas, anyway, maybe only heading to town if they needed something. But hell, there was probably a good chance they'd have to head off in that general direction before long.

Arthur patted his horse gently as the road started to curve a bit, the trees thicker in this area, the further from town they got. Just to his liking, yes... "There ain't anything wrong with a bit of quiet, though it never lasts long. Seems like it's just not meant for the likes of us." Anytime they'd settle in, and just get used to their location, something would come up, and they'd have to move on, and it happened more often, lately. Which... was troubling. But there it was. There was no leaving the outlaw life, no denying that this was just... the way it went.

"Still, I'd be glad to have you along for that. Let's just say I trust your judgment... you can make sure we get us a spot that's not too quiet... just quiet enough." Maybe on his own, a secluded wilderness life might be feasible, but with the whole gang to think of, they needed a lot more in the way of supplies. But being able to settle for a time and better plot out their next move really did seem like what they ought to do. "Someplace with good hunting nearby, a stream or lake for fishing... good open space for the horses... more alligators than Pinkertons... not asking for much now, am I?"

She laughed again, something that seemed to happen easier and more frequently in some company than others. He trusted her judgement? Hadn't it been Arthur who pulled her back from perforating Pearson? She'd been angry and felt like no one was seeing or hearing her until that moment, but Arthur had changed things. He'd taken notice, and he'd spoken up for her, after a little practice she went from being a fine shot in her own right to down right frightening when she turned a barrel on someone. A necessary change in her, like she'd been one of those caterpillars that needed to turn into something else to be finished. Though she was never going to be anything so pretty or fragile, so maybe it was more like how steel got stronger when it was tempered.

"Yer askin' plenty, but I think 'tween us we can manage it. Hardest part's gonna be keeping people off our backs once we settle in anywhere. Seems like as soon as we get there, we're having to think about pullin' up stakes everywhere we go." She didn't lie it much, it was too hard to get people rallied when they felt unstable, save for the couple who maybe thrived on the chaos. She could do it alone, she figured, now anyway, but there were others who needed the safety and security of the gang.

"But I'll let ya know if I spot our little paradise, or get some good leads on it. So long as we ain't headed back into the cold, I'll find a way to deal with it." If she had her way she'd never set foot in a place like that again. The snow was too full of memories, and it'd take a hell of a lot to coax her back there.

It definitely surprised Arthur himself sometimes, if he were to think back to the situation they'd found Sadie in. Right away, there'd been something different about her, a sure enough sign she wasn't likely to be able to just go back to a more 'normal' way of life... But that in itself didn't make someone worth trusting. After all, she was driven by that thirst for revenge, something which could consume a person if they weren't careful. He'd never been a vengeful type himself, but he knew too well where it came from and what it could do. He'd seen that look in her eyes. And yet, despite that, there was something about her he knew he could count on. Maybe it was because the vengeance came ultimately out of loyalty, and that was something he especially understood...

"Guess we'll just have to keep that in mind, and make sure not to get too comfortable wherever else we go. I'd just as soon avoid the cold too... and the swamps... and the whole of this area, if it comes to it... I'd go back out west, if we could." But Blackwater. No chance of that happening anytime soon, and they all knew it. The law'll be right on any of them the moment they set foot in that region, he's more than willing to bet. "Still, there's parts worth appreciating, some good open country... just far enough from any larger settlements... I'm sure you'll come across something. They're doing their damndest to tame it all, but they can't get everywhere."

[OOC: I don't mind time between tags, I just really enjoy the pair of them, so never worry about tagging fast.]

[ With the way they live guns and ammunition were as necessary to survival as breathing and eating. And there were more than a few times that the former made the latter possible. So she would never be without and she'd be sure to have extra for him just out of what she saw as the normal thoughts in preparation. ]

Figured. Haven't done any live trapping in years, had no reason. I reckon he might just want one for the taste of it.

See you soon, I'll be saddled an ready. I can meet you at the four points cross roads if you don't want to come to camp.

[[Yay, great!! :) Then all is good keeping the threads going over here, in that case, and omg so do I!]]

Neither have I. I just bring 'em back to cook or hand off to Pearson to see what he'll make of it.

[You can't keep something squirming around for very long, especially when you're moving along the road. He thinks about where he's at right now, and about how far off that is...]

Sounds like I can meet you at the crossroads. Headed out now, myself. I've gotten everything worth taking here.

[He's pretty much set, having gone through pockets for valuables and a meager bit of money, and then poked around the camp for some odds and ends, mostly unopened food, a cigarette pack. Not a place he'd have targeted to rob, but it had been too late to stop once things got hostile. Oh, well, anything salvaged is worth it.]

[Once he's sure he's set, he mounts and takes off, riding along at an easy pace.]

[ Four points wasn't just an intersection of two roads, it was a point where multiple smaller townships met and divvied up the land between them. It made the particular area an amusing spot for people of their ilk, as the jurisdiction of one town ended at the line of another, and one step could separate one from the law with full and legal standing.

Not that legality ever did much to stop a bullet, but the idea was amusing enough to make it a memorable spot nonetheless. Once Sadie double-checked her saddlebags and what she's stowed in her satchel, she swung up into the saddle and gave Bob a good nudge to the ribs to start him on the way.

It wasn't quite an hour from camp, close enough to make an easy ride, but far enough away that she hadn't been bothered by anyone else wanting to ride along. She light up a cigarette and hummed quietly as she and Bob made their way to the meeting point, honey brown eyes scanning the horizon for signs of a change in the weather or more threatening things. She'd learned to be wary in a canny way since she'd started taking excursions with the other guns of the gang. And her eyes were as sharp as her tongue.

She arrived a little before Arthur, at least before she noticed him. He was surprisingly stealthy for a man of his height and breadth. ]

[It didn't take Arthur long to get to the general area. He started on the main path at first. There were a couple of wagons, a few stray single riders coming in the other direction, but no one who was looking to start any trouble. No one who looked worth troubling with either. Arthur had always been one to pick fights mainly when it was needed, not just for the sake of it, for no point. If he was that hard up on money, then maybe. But for now, there wasn't any need. He'd just said a friendly enough greeting to a few passersby, before deciding to move away from all of that.]

[With a pat to her side, Arthur offered his Kentucky Saddler, Umbra, a peppermint to thank her, not that he ever needed much of an excuse to give his horses treats. Then he turned along off-trail, figuring to cut the distance with a way he knew that would take him there quicker... not to mention, he just preferred it overall, as there was more of interest to see along the way. He had that kind of eye that got caught by an intriguing detail here and there, something he might sit down and idly draw later on when he got the chance... an abandoned farm way off in the distance, a distinct rock formation, or a large bird in flight, taking off just ahead...]

[Sure enough, the short cut did mean he came from an unexpected direction, slowing down as they approached.]

Thought I'd take the scenic route.

[ It would come as no surprise to see Arthur spoiling his horse, the man was sweeter and gentler with the animals than almost any person she'd ever seen him with. Had she never witnessed it she might have a different idea of who he was, then a far more complex and complicated person she found him to be. For all his size and brutality, he was capable of so much kindness and had a soft heart.

It was impossible not to hear about his romantic past when she had spent time early on with the ladies of the gang. They all had strong feelings about his former lady love, and while she could understand both sides of that whole mess, she could hardly help but be touched by how deeply Arthur had the capacity to feel. She'd seen other levels of that with how he took care of and looked after the gang, he seemed to feel like a self-appointed protector. Once the shock of her situation had worn off, she'd learned quickly to respect him for his actions in the face of other's behavior.

Those reflections faded as the familiar broad shoulders came into sight, and she offered a tip of her hat to him. The night was warm, a mild breeze kept the flies off and the temperatures more or less comfortable. Her horse was idly grazing as she finger combed a tangle from the mane. She offered a smile at his reason for approaching from an unexpected direction. ]

Sounds 'bout right. Just been enjoying the quiet, that opera was ringing in my ears for at least two miles of the ride.

[If he were asked, or it were mentioned to him, of course, Arthur would gruffly deny anything of the sort, that he still had any kind of goodness left in him. He had seen quite a bit, a lot of different people coming and going into his life, and he was sure he could make enough of a judgment on himself, compared to a lot of the others. Well, maybe he'd admit there might be a few people out there worse than him, but only a few. He just knew it was a hard life, and it made for hardened men, made him into who he was now. A criminal, a good for nothing thug. Good people... they didn't last long out here like this, and that was why he'd protect any of them as much as he could. Did that make him any good? Even a bit? There usually wasn't much time to think about this sort of thing, and he'd definitely have to save it for later, much later.]

You can't be too careful... or else you'll find yourself humming it next time you're doing chores around camp.

[He had been there and done that and was guilty of such just a couple weeks back while chopping some wood. He'd quietly cursed Dutch for that, but at least there'd been no witnesses.]

Glad I could give you an opportunity to escape that fate. Meat supplies were getting a bit low, anyway.

[That and he's all in favor of having backup around while scouting the area. There may be more where that first camp of bandits had come from, and if so, it'd be good to deal with that before they started getting too close to camp.]

[ Which is why Sadie, intelligent woman that she was, wouldn't force such opinions on him. Arthur could let insults roll like water off a duck's back, but give him one once of kindness, and he'd drop it like a two dollar pistol. Most of the others would take praise, hell most of them took their own praise, but not Arthur. Never him, she knew he thought of himself as nothing more than the brute enforcer who was strong enough to look after the rest, so it was his job. He never let himself think that maybe his looking out for others had way more to do with the size of his heart than his shoulders.

It was, at times, infuriating. It also meant you'd only ever get the straight truth out of him, without embellishment. She liked that, it was good to know where you stood and get a good read on things sometimes. ]

If I do you have my permission to shoot me.

[ Her wry smile slipped only long enough for her to set a cigarette between her lips and light it. ]

Escape is something we all need now and then. Even you.

[ She gestured at him with two fingers while holding the smoke. ]There's more to life than just doing jobs and hunting for the gang you know.

For that offense, I'd definitely shoot without hesitation. Put us both out of our misery.

[Arthur said in that gruffly wry sort of way he has himself. He appreciated that people liked to liven things up at camp, but there were some entertainments that were definitely... more worth it than others.]

You're gonna have to remind me what else there is, as I can't say I've thought of much else for a good while.

[Times had been tough, to say the least, and Arthur had been doing all he could to make sure they didn't get any worse. He felt himself responsible, in many ways, to see to it that everyone was looked after. Protected, for one, but also there were a lot of other things beyond that. There were all those nagging little things that needed doing around camp, smaller chores, but then there was hunting to see to, getting supplies, and obtaining money, in any and every way that entails... Then there was always one more situation where he'd go and get more blood on his hands because... well, someone had to do it. He was the man for such jobs. It's just what he did and always would do.]

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Continued from tfln https://bakerstreet.dreamwidth.org/7611354.html?thread=3326434010#cmt3326434010

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